189: Cafe
Making our way into the carriage, I was surprised to see Lily already inside, taking up an entire bench herself. Well, she was until Sylverith sat on top of her, forcing her to move over. I couldn’t help but laugh at that. If anyone else tried the same move, I’m certain she would not move at all.
We soon arrived at the nobles’ market, as the carriage slowed down while people parted to make way.
“They are not all there for Micca’s shop, are they?” I asked.
Liane chuckled next to me as she looked out the window.
“They probably are, dear. There has been quite the buzz about it,” Sylverith commented.
I couldn’t help but feel nervous now. Was bringing Lily a mistake? I thought that if it wasn’t too busy, then people could easily move around her without the natural pressure causing too much issue.
The carriage came to a halt, and before I could even gather my thoughts, the door opened, looking directly at the entrance to Micca’s cafe. It had been completely changed since I had last seen it. There were now large open windows on the front that looked into the store, with a large wooden double door that was currently closed.
Out front, there appeared to be several tables and chairs set up, with some plants growing in pots. Up top I saw a sign: Ember Cafe.
Just off to the side of the doors I saw George and Darren in brand new full armour that had red embellishments on it, along with an obvious symbol of a dragon on the chest plate. Next to them stood two Royal Guards, making the entrance look very imposing.
Behind the guards, there was a line of people. From what I could see, they were mostly nobles, going by how they were dressed. I didn’t see a weapon or piece of armour at all, with most of them craning their necks to get a look at who had just arrived. I heard some let out a shout as Crisplet and Lily stepped out behind me.
With Liane and Sylverith coming out last.
“Oh, I do like what she’s done with the place,” Sylverith said.
“Is that because she’s gone all in on the dragon decorations?” Liane said with a chuckle.
“Of course, dear. We dragons are prideful after all,” Sylverith commented as she inspected everything.
I nearly laughed out loud as I saw Darren panicking as she was inspecting the dragon image on his chest plate.
Crisplet surprised me. Rather than waiting, he immediately went right next to the entrance and caused a couple more soft screams as he started to build a statue. I watched as I saw what appeared to be a smaller version of the tree that sat outside the front of the house now taking form right next to the entrance.
I also couldn’t help but sigh when Lily chose right there to flop to the ground and observe everything, forcing everyone who would enter the store to walk past her.
The Royal Guards clearly were not sure what to do with the situation, but rather than say anything to us, they instead shuffled the crowd just a little further back to give Crisplet and Lily some space, as the door to the cafe opened and Micca was standing there looking frazzled.
“Great! You’re here. Get in here,” she said.
I was about to take a couple of steps forward when I stopped, looking at Lily and Crisplet. I didn’t want to leave them out front alone, but Crisplet just sent me the feeling of overwhelming excitement as he was quickly building a chest-height version of the tree.
“Lily is going to stay out here and observe,” Sylverith commented.
With that, and one final glance, the three of us stepped inside, the door closing behind us.
Inside, Jen, Milo, and Hari were all sitting at a table with giant grins on their faces. Behind them I could see several people rushing about, heating water and bringing cakes to the display from the kitchen.
“Micca, I have more candies and the lemon tea for you as well,” I said.
There was a look of relief on her as I said it. “Amazing! Because we absolutely were not prepared for a turnout this large and had nowhere near enough tea,” Micca said.
“As I told you, if people miss out, it will only make them want to come back again to figure out what they missed,” Jen said.
Looking out the window, I saw the carriage pull away and was surprised that there was even a crowd watching from the other side of the road.
“We should probably move upstairs before I pull everything out,” I said.
Micca nodded, leading me towards the stairs, with Milo following close behind, heading toward a wooden door off to the side of the room and pulling out a key before unlocking it. That led into a small sitting room with the stairs behind yet another door.
“This was turned into a small waiting room for expected guests to have a private sale,” Micca explained as we walked past the small room.
When we made it upstairs, I saw there was now a study with several shelves and a large desk in the middle. The second room that was up here was now behind a locked door.
On the desk, I removed all the goods I was holding, starting with the jerky, the new candies, and finally all the tea.
Stolen from NovelFire, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“This next one, though, I need to warn you, it is burnt tea,” I said.
Micca just looked at me strangely.
“Adventurers will still buy it due to the buff it provides despite the unpleasant taste, so sell it, don’t serve it, and let them know it has a strong smoky taste,” Milo said from the doorway.
“And you’re sure we should serve the lemon tea for free today?” Micca said, looking at Milo.
“Absolutely, if you’re okay with it. Again, I’m going to warn you, this will absolutely cause a reaction of some kind. We don’t know how extreme it will be, so there is a risk, and this is your shop,” Milo said.
Micca shrugged. “Let’s do it.”
I noticed that Micca now had a second storage ring on her fingers as she stored everything away before taking a deep breath.
“Ready to do this?” Milo asked.
“Yep. Let’s go,” Micca said with a giant grin.
Heading back downstairs, I saw there was a new carriage sitting out front of the store, one that I was now very familiar with.
“Looks like we were right. Someone from the royal family is here,” Milo commented as we walked past the window.
“Looks like Crisplet has nearly finished the statue too,” I noted.
Micca was slightly confused by that before catching sight of it out the window.
“He made a statue?! I’ll have to look shortly,” Micca said, rushing behind the counter with the tea.
After instructing her staff to prepare some tea, she came to the door. I quickly took a seat with the others, spread across two tables before the place filled up. Part of me wanted to go into the kitchen and see if I could help, but I suspected I’d only get in the way right now. Desserts were probably my weakest skill.
Micca opened the doors wide. The noise from outside went quiet almost immediately as I heard Royal Guards in their full plate armour straightening up.
Crisplet was the first to come inside, spotting us and coming straight over with a burst of sparks.
“That statue looked amazing,” I said as he got closer, getting another burst of sparks.
I was half expecting a crowd to move in immediately, but instead there seemed to be a commotion as I heard guards moving outside, followed by the carriage door opening. Out stepped the Queen, Amber, followed by Kathrine. Both were wearing very fine-looking red dresses.
Micca bowed as they entered. “Welcome, Your Majesty and Your Highness.”
“Thank you for having us. That’s quite the entrance guard you have out there,” Amber said with a chuckle.
“Entrance guard?” Micca asked, confused, looking towards us.
“Lily,” I said simply.
Micca’s eyes just opened wide.
I was distracted by the arrival of two teapots at our table, followed by two plates, which both had a dozen different small cakes on them.
Amber and Kathrine both sat at a table directly next to ours, as Micca rushed to serve them tea. Slowly, others came through the entrance, all seemingly taking as wide a berth as possible around Lily.
They were quickly seated. I noted with again a wide berth given around the Queen and Princess, this time as they spoke in hushed whispers.
“Quite the turnout today,” Amber said to our table.
“There are so many people out there. Are they really all nobles?” I asked.
Kathrine chuckled. “No, not at all. There are plenty of nobles out there, but it appears like the houses have sent staff members as well.”
Amber was sipping her tea as a similar plate of desserts arrived at their table as well.
Kathrine was taking a sip of her own tea before her eyes went wide.
“You didn’t…” she said in a whisper.
I just grinned.
Amber was looking between us, clearly sceptical about the tea now.
“Check your buffs,” she whispered to Amber.
Shortly after, Amber’s eyes also went wide. “Is there a potion in the tea?” she asked.
“No,” I laughed.
I didn’t elaborate further. Kathrine was now trying cakes, clearly curious to see if they were buffed as well.
Micca was welcoming people into the shop as it slowly filled up. I noticed that the gap quickly filled with people taking any table they could, no longer avoiding being next to the royals. However, no one attempted to make conversation.
Sylverith was happily sitting in the corner, watching the room with tea in hand, clearly inspecting everyone.
I was not sure where Liane had vanished to. She left as soon as the room filled up. I also noticed half the cakes went missing too, but what really made me smile, I saw Crisplet making a small statue for two children. I could have sworn it was a replica of the cat and a fireplace he got from the market.
By now, the guards had stopped letting people inside. Clearly, it was at capacity, and one of the guards had moved inside and stood close to the table.
I overheard several people discussing Lily at the entrance, but even more discussing the burning tree. However, it was all interrupted when a middle-aged man sitting at a distant table practically yelled, “This tea gives a speed buff?!”
Then chaos ensued as people rushed to drink the complimentary tea they were provided, and those who were standing were now trying to get a better look.
It wasn’t long before Amber stood up, and with almost no effort at all and two small coughs, the room fell silent, as all eyes turned on her.
“Remember, you are at a cafe. Please act appropriately and allow people to enjoy their cakes and tea in peace,” Amber said.
And although her voice sounded soft, an almost motherly tone, there was something to it that I couldn’t describe, an authority that couldn’t be argued with. I wasn’t the only one who noticed, either, because the room fell silent to just hushed whispers.
“That’s a bold move, and one that’s certainly going to ruffle some feathers,” Kathrine said, looking over at me.
I shrugged. “Whatever happens, happens.”
Micca approached the table. “There are still so many people outside. We’re going to run out of cakes in no time. We expected maybe a hundred people. It feels like everyone from the noble district is here.”
Jen again reassured her that it would be fine.
“Oh, Miss Carlye, when you get a moment, I would love to discuss your other products with you,” Kathrine said.
Micca nodded, looking behind her.
“No rush, of course. I’m more than willing to wait,” Kathrine added quickly.
“Thank you,” Micca mouthed as she snuck back into the crowd.
“It’s amazing what the arrival of a dragon can do for a business,” Amber commented.
This seemed to have got Sylverith’s attention. “Who, me?” she asked.
It was only then that I realised perhaps they had not met yet, judging by the shock on Amber’s face.
“My apologies. I forgot introductions. You’ve obviously met most of my team already, but this is Sylverith,” I gestured.
Sylverith reached her hand out to Amber, who took it lightly.
“Ah, now you, you have a very interesting class indeed. One day you’ll need to tell me what that started as. I am very intrigued,” Sylverith said with a smirk.