The heroine was apparently just happy to have customers at all. She hurried into the kitchen, heated some milk, stirred in cocoa powder, and worked away at it with enthusiasm.
Then she brought a cup to each of the teenagers sitting around the table.
“Um, excuse me... How much is it?”
“You’re my first customers, so I’m just grateful you came. It’s on the house today.”
“Oh! Thank you!”
The teenagers beamed as they thanked her.
“Take your time and enjoy it.”
The cheerful atmosphere was as warm as the steam curling up from their cocoa.
Aria! If you keep giving stuff away like that, what are you supposed to earn?! You’re losing money!!
I was the only one watching this whole scene on the verge of clutching the back of my neck. What was the point of dragging four customers in here?!
That was right. Aria had enough nerve to grab her dowry and run away in the middle of the night, and she was capable enough to open a business all by herself...
But she could also be surprisingly scatterbrained.
“Come visit again sometime.”
“Mya-mang! Myaaa! Myang-myah-myah!”
That wasn’t free! Each of you bring two more people next time! Eight total!
I screamed myself hoarse at the freeloading taste-test squad.
One of the teenagers looked at me with suspiciously misty eyes.
“Roro’s crying so much.... He must be sad we’re leaving.”
“Bye! Bye-bye, Roro!”
“We’ll come again tomorrow!”
Earn your keep!
******
As it turned out, the freeloading taste-test squad were pretty decent kids.
They loyally came back the next day, and the day after that too. Sure, they didn’t each order their own drink. They’d order one between two people and share it.
But hey, they were paying money. That was what mattered.
Aria’s rich cocoa must have really suited their tastes.
One of the teenagers even brought his grandmother with him, and the moment she stepped inside, she fell in love with the place.
“To think our village has a lovely teahouse like this. Thank you for telling me about it, Peter.”
“It was nothing, Grandma. Hehe.”
Delicious tea, a cozy atmosphere, a kind owner, and a cat.
That was Aria’s Teahouse.
Maybe word had started spreading, because a fair number of customers were now making the trip all the way out to this tucked-away corner of the village. Thanks to that, on my tenth day here, I finally got to eat meat for the first time.
I had no idea what prices were like in this world, but apparently, if at least five customers came in a day, we could scrape together enough of a living for me to get chicken.
Anyway, I only went outside to drum up business on the rare days when there were absolutely no customers.
The rest of the time, I planted myself in the teahouse too.
Not that I was slacking off or anything.
Jingle, jingle.
The moment I heard the door open, I sprang to my feet and headed over.
Our VIP had arrived!
Grandma Bonnie had come by again in the middle of the day, carrying a lovely knitting bag.
“Myaak!”
Welcome!
I stood up on my hind legs so I could meet her eyes, and she burst into a girlish laugh.
“Hohoho. Roro, are you greeting me?”
“Myang!”
“Oh my, what a good kitty. Such a good kitty.”
Her wrinkled hand gently patted my back.
I took the lead and escorted her to the seat she used every day.
“Hello. The weather is wonderful today.”
“Hoho, isn’t it?”
Aria came out of the kitchen and greeted Grandma Bonnie warmly.
They chatted for a few moments in the pleasant atmosphere before Aria hurried back into the kitchen to prepare her tea.
Grandma Bonnie began pulling out her knitting supplies.
I sprawled beside her and watched the ball of yarn gradually shrink.
“Are you going to keep me company again today?”
“Myaoong.”
“You’re such a well-behaved cat. You don’t even run around....”
“Myaoong, myaaa.”
Running around indoors gets fur everywhere. I’m a cat with manners.
I looked up at the grandmother gazing at me fondly as I answered.
“Aww, Roro never comes over to us.”
“Roro, won’t you come over here too?”
At the next table, a little boy and girl who had come with their mother were staring at me with desperate longing.
I pretended not to hear them and stayed where I was, though my ears twitched upright.
Kids were way too much trouble.
Ever since one of them pulled my tail, I’d gotten kind of wary.
Honestly, even teenagers were exhausting. Imagine a giant five times your size making a racket around you.
It was chaotic.
It sucked the life right out of you.
Grandma customers, on the other hand, were the best.
They just sat quietly and knitted until it was time to leave. And when I stayed beside Grandma Bonnie, neither teenagers nor little kids bothered me.
There was no better sanctuary.
Sure, if I really wanted peace and quiet, I could always escape upstairs....
“Your flower tea is ready. It’s hot, so make sure you let it cool before drinking.”
“Hoho, thank you. The flowers are so pretty.”
But I couldn’t just leave Aria downstairs running the business alone while I went upstairs to relax.
Someone had to keep an eye on the dining area.
“Roro, if you’re hungry, come to the kitchen.”
“Maong.”
When I answered, Aria stroked my head.
My ears folded halfway down, then popped back up.
I watched her return to the kitchen and opened my mouth in a huge yawn.
*****
Aria’s Teahouse usually closed at seven in the evening.
The customers naturally headed home around sunset anyway.
Once the last customer had left today, Aria started cleaning up. I hovered around beside her, pestering her to hurry up so we could go upstairs.
“Yang-yang-yang-yang, mya-yang-yang! Myang-mya!”
Stop cleaning and clock out already! Clock out! Why are you scrubbing everything so hard?!
“Hehe. You’re awfully talkative today. Are you hungry?”
Aria gave a pleasant little laugh.
Jingle, jingle.
Just then, the teahouse door opened.
Aria turned around in surprise at the sudden sound.
I lightly leaped onto a table and stared toward the entrance.
The first thing I noticed was hair the color of straw.
He was tall, but so thin that his build looked downright pathetic, and his cheekbones jutted sharply from his face.
“Are you closed?”
I had definitely seen this character in the webtoon.
“No, not yet. Please sit wherever you like.”
Aria welcomed him with a polite smile.
The man wandered around, looking over the interior, then obliviously sat down at a table that had obviously just been wiped clean and polished.
“What do you have?”
He grinned.
Up close, his greasy hair was plastered to his forehead and sideburns.
...Yeah. It’s that bastard. Fucking hell, take a shower once in a while!
Early in the webtoon, there was this disgusting asshole who kept hitting on the heroine.
He wasn’t even a proper villain. Just a one-off extra.
But the sheer level of revulsion he inspired had been so impressive that I remembered the bastard for a long time.
If I’d known this asshole was coming today, we would’ve closed early!
Since the webtoon focused mainly on the heroine and male lead, unimportant side characters usually got nothing more than a single line of explanation in a rectangular narration box.
And this bastard’s introduction had gone like this.
[At some point... a customer began showing up without warning late in the evening.]
More importantly, did this guy really appear this early?
He showed up before the male lead.
Apparently, he’d been bothering Aria for a lot longer than I remembered.
“...has a refreshing flavor. Lavender tea can also help with sleeplessness, so it’s good to drink before bed.”
When the man asked about the menu, Aria patiently explained the different teas one by one.
All the while, he kept staring at her face.
Then his eyes began roaming over her body.
Aria was too busy explaining the menu to notice, but I was standing right beside them.
I could see exactly where this bastard’s eyes were going.
I jumped onto the table.
The instant I blocked his view, the man’s face twisted into a scowl.
“What’s with this cat?”
He waved a hand at me threateningly, trying to shoo me away.
Aria quickly scooped me into her arms.
“He’s our shop cat. So, what would you like to order?”
“What’s your name?”
At the abrupt question, Aria gave him an odd look.
“Roro.”
“No, not the cat. Your name.”
“...I’m Aria.”
“Even your name is beautiful. Aria. I’m Bill. Heh heh.”
“Yes. And what would you like to—”
“You’re not married, are you? Seems like you’re always running this place alone.”
“...No. I am married. My husband left me this shop.”
People occasionally found it strange that a young woman lived alone, so Aria sometimes pretended to be a widow.
Normally, people would either pity her or feel embarrassed for asking and stop prying.
But—
“Oh, your husband died young? Is that it?”
“......”
This bastard was something else.
“Do you live here?”
“...Excuse me?”
“I mean, there’s an upstairs.”
Aria shook her head.
“No. I live somewhere else.”
Her voice still sounded polite at first glance, but Aria seemed to have realized something was wrong too.
There was a new stiffness to it.
“Are you going to order something?”
“...Uh, that lavender tea? Give me one of those.”
“All right. Please wait a moment.”
Aria quickly went into the kitchen.
I followed right beside her, meowing insistently.
Aria. That bastard is seriously weird. Be careful.
Of course, Aria couldn’t understand a word I was saying.
“You’re hungry, aren’t you? Just wait a little. I’ll feed you as soon as that customer leaves.”
She answered me gently.
While Aria brewed the tea, the man’s eyes stayed fixed on the kitchen.
I stationed myself in front of the kitchen and kept watch in case he tried to come inside.
Fortunately, he remained seated.
“Here’s your tea. Let it cool a little before you drink it.”
Aria served him, then returned to the kitchen.
...Hurry the fuck up, drink it, and get out.
I climbed onto the tall counter in front of the kitchen and glared daggers at him.
The bastard didn’t take so much as a sip of the tea he’d ordered.
He just kept staring into the kitchen.
His gaze was persistent, as though he were waiting for Aria to come back out.
When she still hadn’t appeared after a long while, he finally stood up, leaving the cold lavender tea untouched.
Then he placed a coin on the table and walked out.