Chapter 30: Izzy: Look, I'll make you meow!
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"Please wait a moment, dear. The food will be ready shortly," said the brown-haired, cat-eared girl with a cheerful smile.
Since there weren't many customers, the girl remained by Izzy's side after seating him. She showed no intention of leaving, despite the other staff being busy cleaning tables or serving food.
Attracted by his appearance...
Izzy didn't completely rule out the possibility of such things happening.
However, observing the situation more closely, it seemed like this cat-eared waitress was simply looking for an excuse to slack off.
With nothing else to do while waiting for his meal, Izzy decided to strike up a conversation with her.
The girl, who clearly wanted to avoid working, responded with enthusiasm to Izzy's attempt at small talk.
After all, if she was actively chatting with a guest, it could be seen as part of her job, not as laziness.
Anya Fromel isn't slacking off—she's just communicating with a guest, Anya reasoned to herself. Isn't that what good waitstaff should do?
Yes, that's it, meow!
Izzy and Anya exchanged names, and before long, he noticed something unusual about her speech.
It wasn't just her—it seemed like a trait of cat people in general. Their frequent use of "meow" was oddly infectious, and Izzy's mind quickly became filled with the sound of it.
Meow, meow, meow.
An amusing idea suddenly struck him, and he looked at Anya with an unexpectedly serious expression.
"What's wrong, meow?" Anya asked, tilting her head in confusion. Her cat ears twitched as she spoke.
"Anya, repeat after me," Izzy said, suppressing a mischievous grin.
"Meow?"
"On the seventh day of the seventh month, I looked at the flag on a slope with an angle of seventy-seven degrees."
"Meow month, meow day, meow meow, standing on a meow slope with a meow angle of seventy meow degrees, meow meow meow…"
Anya parroted his words almost instinctively, her body reacting faster than her mind.
By the time she finished, even she seemed confused by her own sentence, stumbling over the sheer number of meows.
The constant string of meows drew the attention of the other tavern staff and customers. Though they didn't know what had prompted it, Anya's silly and adorable demeanor elicited smiles all around.
Meanwhile, Izzy, the instigator of it all, couldn't suppress his growing grin. The corners of his mouth curled upward uncontrollably as he thought:
She's so cute... I want to tease her more.
It wasn't until a while later that Anya finally realized what had just happened. Her cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment, her tail shot straight up, and her fur bristled in indignation.
"Meow!!! Izzy, you're so annoying, meow!!!"
"Haha, sorry, sorry. I couldn't help myself…" Izzy laughed, trying to pacify the angry cat-girl.
He didn't deny that he had wanted to tease her, but in his defense, he thought the blame wasn't entirely his.
After all, one hand can't clap.
Just as Anya prepared to launch another verbal assault, a cold, serious voice interrupted them.
"Anya, stop slacking and acting silly. Get back to work. And here's your food, guest."
The voice belonged to an elf girl wearing the same waitress uniform as Anya. Her slightly curly yellow-green hair was neatly adorned with a white headband, lending her an air of calm precision.
He had a very serious and earnest temperament, akin to a rigid boss at work who was inflexible and intolerant of flaws.
Of course, it wasn't to an extreme degree. Rather, the girl's temperament seemed more reflective of the nature of elves.
When it came to elves, the most common impression among adventurers—besides their enviable looks—was their strict and serious personalities.
Toward unfamiliar outsiders, most elves were like glaciers, cold and impenetrable, deterring anyone from getting too close.
However, when dealing with trusted friends or close companions, elves displayed a far gentler and more approachable side.
It was truly a race that inspired admiration but also kept people at arm's length.
"Meow… Ryuu, when did you show up, meow?! And I wasn't being lazy! I was just communicating with the guest, meow!"
Startled by the elf girl's sudden appearance, Anya instinctively took two steps back and tried to defend herself.
"Of course, of course. You weren't lazy at all… Save that excuse for Mama Mia."
The elf girl, named Ryuu, calmly set the breakfast Izzy had ordered on the table. After hearing Anya's excuse, she gave a dismissive nod and gestured toward the bar.
Following Ryuu's gesture, Anya turned to look at the bar. There, she met the amused but knowing smile of Mia, the store manager. A bead of cold sweat slid down her face.
"Meow… Meow, I'll get back to work now, meow…"
Caught slacking off by the sharp-eyed manager, Anya's fate at closing time seemed all but sealed.
Ryuu, watching Anya's dejected retreat, remained calm. Such occurrences were far too frequent to surprise her.
Her eyes briefly flicked to another black-haired, cat-eared girl, Chloe Rollo, who was also slacking off but hadn't yet been caught.
The two cat-eared waitresses were always like this—one naive and clumsy, the other mischievous and prone to trouble. Inevitably, they both ended up being scolded by Mia sooner or later.
"Well then, I hope you enjoy your meal, honored guest."
After ensuring Anya got back to work, Ryuu offered a soft parting remark to Izzy before walking away.
After all, it was still working hours.
Izzy nodded politely and shifted his focus to his breakfast. Once the meal was finished, he planned to head to the dungeon.
About ten minutes later, Izzy emerged from the doors of The Hostess of Fertility. Having spent nearly three thousand Vali's, he couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions.
Three thousand Vali's for breakfast.
To put it into perspective, the average Level 1 adventurer earned a little over five thousand Vali's after a full day of dungeon exploration. And he had just spent more than half of that on a single meal.
In simpler terms, his breakfast had cost another adventurer's entire day's earnings.
No wonder this place was considered one of the trendiest spots on West Street.
Luxury indeed...
Shaking his head to clear the thought, Izzy dismissed the expense.
So what if breakfast cost three thousand Vali's? He could afford it with his income. Just consider it money well spent on quality food and good company. Besides, he might even come back next time.
Merging into the crowd of adventurers walking along the street,Izzy couldn't help but feel a subtle sense of disconnect.
Looking at the glass bottles of various shapes and sizes poking out from the adventurers' bags and pockets, a thought struck him.
Did I forget something...?