'Would it really work that well?'
Tizmilly couldn't help but doubting the duo Mother-Son's idea.
'I don't understand. Were maids really that popular, or was it only the two of them who liked them so much?'
According to her noble teaching, maids were reserved, dutiful, and loyal maid servants whom she grew up with since she was young. They never truly show their real feelings, not even voice a protest after their masters hurt them, whether on purpose or accidentally.
Maids with different characters, with different style in accompanying the customers, she didn't have the imagination power enough to imagine them in her mind.
'Wasn't that just a group of uniformed rude waitresses?' she thought.
"We need at least 3 girls before we open the restaurant," said Theo's Mother, before looking at Tizmilly with a gentle smile. "Tizmilly, you can help Aunt in the kitchen if you don't want to face the customers directly."
Then her face blushed again with excitement. "The other three will handle the customers. Yes, that's right. We needs three maids!"
Tizmilly looked at Theo, and even he was overwhelmed by his own Mother's unexpected passion.
"Mom, you are too excited. Think of your age—"
He immediately received a glare from his Mother, so he shut his mouth before he could finish what he wanted to said.
His Mother, a mature lady named Calary Roost, then clapped her hands to attract Tizmilly and Theo's attentions.
"Today, what about you two try some of my cookings and decides which one we'll add to the menu later?"
With that, the discussion was over. For now.
Following behind Calary, Theo and Tizmilly moved into the kitchen.
Compared to the small kitchen Roost Family had in their house, the building's kitchen was more spacious and had a lot free space. Ten people could work here without feeling cramped.
Calary started to cook using new tools while Theo and Tizmilly were watching from the sidelines, sitting on chairs like good children.
It only took 10 minutes for the first dish to be ready.
Calary placed two plates with big, darker red meat on the on table before the two teenagers.
"First, try it. Fried orc meat, small portion. Fried perfectly, with my special homemade sauce!"
The meat looked as simple as a fried meat could be. But the combination of spicy sauce and the perfectly fried meat created a special mouth-watering aroma that tempted Theo and Tizmilly to immediately dig on it. They gulped, before looking at Calary.
"Mom, this is..."
"I learned how to cook it after working in Ratovich Family house before. They were a family of Dungeon Divers, so they only wanted to eat protein-rich foods. We receive commoners as well, don't we? So it will certainly popular among them!" Calary guessed what Theo wanted to ask, so she immediately give him the answer.
"I see." Theo nodded.
Without further ado, Theo and Tizmilly immediately raised their fork and knife to eat it.
As they brought the meat to their mouth and chew it, the strong taste of freshly fried meat and the spicy sauce melted their tongue in the harmony of strength and energy.
"It's good!" Theo exclaimed.
"It's good!" Tizmilly also exclaimed, but with tears on her eyes. "But too spicy!"
And with that, they spent the day testing foods Calary cooked for them. Some were approved to enter the menu, while some were not. For now, Calary also wouldn't let Theo entered his foods into the menu. According to her, there would be time when the customers were ready to it. And they needed to be known first before that.
...
The next day, Theo and Tizmilly were wandering around the city in their casual clothes to look for girls who were suitable in their restaurant.
"To be honest, this is not the kind of restaurant I had in mind when you said you wanted to open a restaurant with me before..." Tizmilly protested.
She still couldn't understand why they should hire Maids that were different from the standard.
Theo's face turned awkward. He scratched his cheek.
"Well... it will be fine, I swear. Though it looks different, we still have what a normal restaurant has. Which is a place to eat peacefully, outside the toils of daily lives!"
"Sure..."
Tizmilly didn't buy his reasonings, but since she didn't have any other choice but to comply since she had lost in this argument because one voice couldn't win two voice from Theo and Calary, she could only agree.
She stopped thinking about that for now. For now. And instead focused in looking around and checking every girls that might be suitable for their restaurant, just like what Theo was doing.
Then, when they were close to a boutique, they saw a long-haired blonde girl who was arguing about something with the boutique's employee.
"That girl looks good, let's approach her."
After watching them from the side for a while, Theo suddenly blurted out something that sound ridiculous in Tizmilly's ears.
'What!? Wouldn't it be bad for us strangers to suddenly get into their conflict out of the blue like that!? Ah! He had already gone toward them!'
"W-wait..."
Tizmilly reached to stop him, but he had already gone and approached them. Left with no other choice, Tizmilly followed him while sighing.
"Good day, ladies. You looks troubled, what's the matter?" He greeted them with a fresh smile.
Their attentions were diverted toward the two of them after they heard his greeting. The blonde girl put her right hand on her waist and looked at them while raising her chin higher than necessary.
"And who might you be?" She asked back.
The employee didn't say anything, since she seems to be too overwhelmed to react.
'Oh, a poor girl.' Tizmilly pitied the employee.
"Good morning, my name is Theo Roost." Theo introduced himself. "I see that you were having an argument with this lady here. May I ask what happened?"
The blonde girl didn't even hesitate before she introduced herself back and started to explaining what happened. According to her, she was the daughter of a rich merchant who wanted to enter the boutique, but faced with rejection unreasonably afterward. And her name is Carole.
"Mister Roost, it was her, this clueless girl, who started it. I wanted to enter their place, but she kept saying that I couldn't because that place was now rented by someone important! I am Carole, that Carole, you know!? I am also important, so how could a small boutique like them reject a lady like me!?"
But from the Employee's side, it was different.
"It's wrong, Mister. She's clearly trying to intrude on our place! She appeared disheveled, looked uneasy about something, and was so forceful as she tried to enter our place! Even if we aren't currently welcoming an important customer, w-we wouldn't let a suspicious girl like her enter our place!"
Tizmilly didn't know what to do since she never experienced any store rejected her presence before, so she kept her lips shut while watching them arguing from the side anxiously.
"You little...!" Carole hissed.
They were about to break into a brawl, but then Theo clapped his hands loudly to interrupt them.
"Alright, I got it," He said that, before grabbing Miss Carole's shoulders.
"There's a rumour around the city lately," He whispered to Carole's ears. "They said that there is a girl who always enter expensive places while using the false identity of a daughter of a rich merchant to steal their stuff. Miss Carole... It was you, right?"
Carole's body froze, her eyes started to looked around unfocusedly.
"So that's true, huh?" Theo chuckled softly.
Suddenly, Theo grabbed her arm and brought her toward an alley. Carole wanted to resist, but she couldn't after what he said about her earlier. She could only stared at the ground while Theo was pulling her.
"Looking at her closely, she's actually someone I know. Sorry for the trouble, Lady!" Said Theo toward the employee before he entered the alley with Carole.
The employee and Tizmilly were shocked.
""H-huh?""
After being stunned for a while, Tizmilly finally recovered and immediately rushed to follow them after announce her leave to the employee.
When she was finally find Theo and Carole, Theo was pressing Carole to the wall. Tizmilly halted her steps instead of immediately approaching them. For some reason, that sight made Tizmilly feel uncomfortable.
"Wh-what do you want?" Carole asked Theo.
Theo raised his index finger before her face.
"I have a way for you to stop running, Miss Carole," Theo whispered, his voice cold but offering a lifeline. "Work for me. Wear the uniform, follow my rules, and I'll give you a salary that's worth more than those trinkets you've been stealing."
Carole gulped. The predatory glint in Theo's eyes told her he wasn't someone she could easily trick.