Once again, when James was discharged, he got the exact location from the doctor and started walking. He could see many vestals around. But compared to the size of the city, vestals seemed few.
Continuing west, he finally came across a building. It was white, just like the other buildings. Its windows were dust, looked misty inside, and deserted like a haunted mansion.
James stopped. He looked at the map, then asked in a skeptical voice, "Doctor's information shows this place, but... Did I come the wrong way, Fox?"
[No. This is where the doctor said. Look at the sign.]
The sign on the restaurant said "Moonlight Restaurant". For a moment he did not know what to say. Then Fox spoke as if she knew what he was thinking:
[Different from what you imagined?]
"Well... Yes."
James nodded his head in agreement. He imagined a well-maintained, busy place. He had even imagined that he himself would probably have to struggle to get a job and would probably fail.
Fox, too, sounded surprised, as her voice indicated.
[Isn't this a small city? Even so, it's strange that it's so deserted.]
James nodded his head in agreement and stepped inside. When he walked through the door, he saw no one.
The tables inside were as dusty as the windows from the outside. Someone with allergies could have died from sneezing. It was as deserted inside as it looked from the outside. There wasn't even a robot or a voice, let alone a person.
The silence was actually comforting for James, but the absence of anyone...
This was a great distress. He shouted:
"Hey! Anybody here?"
But there was no answer. James sighed at this. The place was nice, at least he could live a comfortable life. If he talked to himself, no one would mind.
But the problem was that he didn't even have a boss to ask for a job. He hesitated for a while. Then he shouted:
"Anybody here! I heard you were looking for someone to work. I'm here to work!"
A woman's voice answered immediately, despite his shout heard in the silence.
"Wait a minute! I'm coming."
The voice sounded sleepy and distant. He couldn't help frowning.
"Fox, are restaurants normally like this?"
He knew the answer, but the situation had become so absurd that he felt the need to ask anyway.
[No, normally they are always on].
He wondered as he sighed again.
'What kind of trouble have we gotten ourselves into?'
Just at this moment some voices were heard.
TAK!
"Auw!"
TAK!
TAK!
James wondered what she was doing that was making so much noise. Fox made her own guess at that moment.
[Someone apparently tapped her foot.]
He smiled for a moment but refrained from giving an opinion. Meanwhile, it was possible to hear the sound of things falling to the ground. After a while these sounds were replaced by strange noises. James couldn't stand it and asked:
"Is this woman building robots or something?"
Fox was quick to respond.
[I don't know, but it sure looks creepy.]
James didn't think so. It was just weird. So he just said, "If you say so."
After these strange noises continued for a while, someone came running out of the door on the left.
"Hah! Welcome to the Moonlight Restaurant! You said you were here on business?"
James didn't know what to say as he looked at the woman in front of him. Despite all the noise, it was as if she had just gotten out of bed. She was wearing pajamas. Two of the pajama shirts were torn off, exposing her breasts a little. But she didn't seem to care about that.
Her blonde hair looked a little tousled. But it was too obvious that it had been done on purpose. James looked at her for a moment. Then he spoke:
"Ahem. Yes, I heard that you're looking for someone to work. If you give me a place to stay, I will work regardless of the price."
She showed surprise when she heard what James said. Her eyebrows went up.
"I don't remember renewing the ad. How did you hear I was looking for a full-time employee?"
James answered without hesitation.
"The doctor told me."
The woman raised one eyebrow.
"Which doctor? Are you talking about my brother?"
"Exactly," James affirmed, and a puzzled and then mocking expression appeared on her face.
"Would he be interested in this place?"
Then she coughed slightly.
"Ahem... Whatever it may be, but in the current situation you probably won't get paid at all. I'm having a hard time, as you can see."
The woman had a sad expression as she pointed to the empty tables. James's eyebrows relaxed. Contrary to his expectations, the woman was honest. Well, it seemed that most vestals were honest. With some exceptions.
He spoke with a smile:
"No problem, ma'am. All I need right now is a place to stay. I can fill this place as long as you provide that."
He spoke with a little unnecessary confidence. So much so that one eyebrow raised in suspicion.
"You are overconfident, sir."
James showed his gauntlet.
"Isn't it normal?"
The woman's eye twitched, knowing what the gauntlet was.
'A bakugan warrior?'
Bakugan battles were a hugely popular game. From one-on-one duels to duo fights, they were very popular.
Naturally, good players of such a popular game also became famous. There were many businesses that capitalized on this popularity.
The woman's eyes lit up. At first she looked skeptical. She looked James over. He didn't look very conspicuous. She couldn't find any ulterior motive in his face. His confidence was understandable. But she couldn't understand why he had come here, even though he was a warrior. If his ranking was good, he could easily get a foothold elsewhere.
'Maybe he's low ranking.'
She thought about it and then decided it made sense. James said nothing as he waited for her to think.
Finally, the woman spoke with an expression of resignation:
"If you don't mind not getting paid, you can stay. What was your name again?"
James replied, keeping his smile.
"James. Just James."
The woman was surprised.
"No last name?"
He shook his head from side to side.
"I'm afraid I don't remember. The doctor said I have short-term memory loss."
She shook her head. She felt sorry for James.
"I see. Mr. James. You're hired, then."
James's expression relaxed.
"Then take care of me, ma'am..."
"Lucy Sweetapple. Lucy's enough."
James nodded in agreement, thinking it was an interesting surname. He was relieved, however, that the deal was done.
With a relaxed expression, he waited for her to tell him to do something. Lucy looked at him, not understanding what he was waiting for.
Their staring at each other continued until Fox shouted inside James' mind.
[Say, "You didn't tell me what to do."]
"Hah! Yeah, you didn't tell me what to do, ma'am. What is your order? What do I work as?"
Lucy finally realized.
"Yeah, right. I'm supposed to give you a job, right? You can, uh..."
She glanced around and noticed that the tables were dusty.
"You can clean the tables. Just clean the dust."
James had been waiting for a job like this. The state of the restaurant was obvious, and it needed an overhaul.
"Sure. And where's the cleaning stuff?"
Lucy quickly gave him directions. Then he went and got what he needed and started to clean up. There was a seriousness in his face.
Lucy was surprised by his serious expression, but decided to go back to bed when sleep overcame her.
"When you're done, go left. Walk straight ahead. There's a room on the right. You can stay there."
James thought as he thanked her politely.
'If I clean the tables fast, then maybe I can squeeze in one more match for today.'
Having made up his mind, he decided to focus on his work. His job was quite simple. Wipe off the dust, clean up any dirt. That was it. Nothing more, nothing less.
Simple as it sounds, James took it very seriously. As a result, he wasted half his day. Yet he had no regrets.
"Haaaah! It's finally finished. It looks good. What do you think, Fox?"
[It's certainly several times better than before.]
Like a father proud of his masterpiece, he was looking at the result of his cleaning. The restaurant, which gave the impression of being an empty place that had not been used for years when he arrived, now looked very clean. It was possible to see one's own reflection sitting at a table. And it was not only the tables that were clean. The floors, the walls, everything was clean. It was like a restaurant opening for the first time.
Normally his only orders were to clean the desks, but James had cleaned almost everything, and he enjoyed it.
[You certainly have strange tastes.]
"Tastes and colors are indisputable."
[Okay...]
After making sure it was thoroughly clean, he thought about what he could do.
'It's very late. I'll throw a match tomorrow. My time is limited. At any moment Dan, Marucho and the Resistance and the Vexos could clash. I don't know exactly when, I need to get in quickly.'
He could sigh as the problems snowballed. Sighing once more, he headed for his accommodation. He opened the door and threw himself on the bed without even bothering to turn on the light.
"Hah, how tiring. I've got the accommodation sorted, but I need to revitalize this place. What's the best way to make money?"
When James started a business, he wanted to make the best of it. He didn't need money himself. But she hired him and gave him a place to stay.
He felt he had to return the favor. He also needed something to fill his free time, no matter how much he focused on the matches.
So he started thinking. Of course, he soon found the solution. An image of a certain anime appeared in his mind.
"Food! Of course. But I don't know how to cook. Hmm..."
No matter how much he rummaged through his memories, there was no detailed memory of cooking. Then he came up with the most likely solution.
"Fox..."
Fox spoke in a pained voice, realizing what he was thinking.
[Yes, I know how to cook and yes, I can teach. You're thinking of becoming a chef, aren't you?]
James nodded with a grin. At that moment a mission appeared in front of him. And after reading its contents for a while, he quickly accepted it and told Fox about it. She laughed.
[Hahaha! It'll be interesting.]
James nodded in agreement.
"Exactly. That would probably work quite well."