The morning air was crisp, the kind that bit at my skin and made me question every life decision that led to me being awake at this hour. A thin fog clung to the ground, mixing with the lingering scent of salt from the ocean breeze—great for the lungs, terrible for my mood.
I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stifled a yawn as I reached my destination—a well-maintained two-story building with a crooked sign hanging at its door. Ave's place.
Lifting a hand, I knocked. Waited.
Nothing.
I was about to try again when the door abruptly swung open.
Ave stood in the doorway, looking about as lively as a corpse. Her blonde hair was an unkempt mess, stray strands sticking out in every direction, and dark bags clung under her eyes. Damn. Either she fought off an intruder last night, or business was driving her into an early grave.
"…You're early." Ave's voice was barely more than a mumble. She blinked at me like she was still processing reality. Her smile was thin, the kind of polite expression you give when your soul already left your body.
I frowned, her current condition worrying me slightly. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she waved a hand dismissively as she moved aside to let me in. "Just didn't get much sleep last night."
"Is that so…" Taking the chance, I walked passed her she closed the door behind me.
The usual scent of herbs and dried flowers filled the air, though there was a faint acidic undertone. Was something burning?
"Well, where should I start?" I supressed my curiosity for now and focused on the task at hand.
"Let's head to the storage room first." Ave turned, already walking toward the back. "I keep the broom and cleaning supplies there."
I stepped past the curtain—then immediately took a step back.
What the fu—
The back of the shop was an absolute disaster. Half-empty vials of strange liquids were scattered across the floor, some tipped over, their contents seeping into the cracks of the wooden planks like alchemical crime scenes. A cauldron in the corner was still foaming, bubbling over the rim with a slow, menacing hiss. Herbs, bones, and… yeah, those were definitely fresh animal parts… were strewn across the tables in chaotic piles.
I turned to Ave, my brain still buffering.
"…What the hell happened here?"
Ave, who had already started rummaging through a side closet, let out a dry laugh. "Hahaha… I was conducting an experiment last night, and, well… things got a little out of hand."
I take it back. It wasn't business running her to an early grave, it was her work life.
My eyelid twitched, but I kept whatever I wanted to say to myself.
Ave finally emerged from the closet, holding a broom in one hand and a dustpan in the other. She extended them toward me.
"For now, could you help me tidy up the back?"
I sighed, already accepting the items. "No problem."
"Great." Ave dusted off her hands. "I still have some bookkeeping to do, so I'll head upstairs and finish that while you clean up."
You still want to do more work?
Suppressing my internal shock, I gave her a brief nod.
She turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped. "Oh, and while you're cleaning, try to avoid coming into physical contact with any liquid."
I blinked. "Why?"
"Well, most of them are harmless… but a few might have severe side effects."
A few?
Looking at the colorful arrays of liquid splashed across the ground, I couldn't help but ask, "…What kind of side effects?"
"Ah, nothing you need to concern yourself with," she said quickly, clearly not wanting to elaborate further on this severe health and safety hazard. "Just be careful."
And with that, she turned on her heel and disappeared up the stairs, leaving me alone in the wreckage of her failed experiment.
I took a slow, deep breath, tightening my grip on the broom as I surveyed the wreckage.
…What the hell did I get myself into.
....
"Hahh..." Ave yawned as she finished up the paperwork in her office. She had been experimenting with a batch of new ingredients she had acquired yesterday and had ended up staying up all night.
Collapsing on her desk, a long grunt escaped her sore body.
"Another failed experiment..." Releasing another sigh, her eyes shifted to the clock on the wall.
It had been an hour since she left the boy Kana had brought downstairs.
"...I wonder how he's doing?"
She had warned him about the side effects of the potions, but honestly, she had exaggerated their effects.
She didn't want him slacking off, after all.
After a minute, Ave reluctantly forced herself up from the chair and made her way downstairs.
Usually, at this point, she would just put off cleaning until later in the evening and open the shop, but since she found such a willing volunteer, why not let him give it a shot?
She kept all the valuable stuff upstairs anyway and didn't have to worry about him breaking anything.
"By now, he should've finished cleaning the floor..."
As Ave descended the stairs, she immediately saw the figure of the boy rummaging through the shelves.
Curious about what he was doing, she quietly approached him from behind and peeked over his shoulder. It wasn't difficult, considering he was about half a foot shorter than her.
'Is he reading the labels?'
Watching as he traced the letters of the labels with his finger, Ave guessed that he must have been trying to recognize the names.
She frowned slightly.
'Wasting your time reading this stuff. Have you even been cleaning properly?'
Scoffing silently, she glanced across the room in annoyance but was immediately left puzzled.
'Where is this? Is this my lab? Why don't I recognize it?'
Ave's brain stalled as she stared blankly at the changed landscape.
"Huh? When did you come down?" The boy finally noticed Ave's presence, replying in a slightly surprised tone.
Ave's eyes scanned the room from side to side.
"...What did you do?"
"I cleaned up." The boy tilted his head, looking somewhat confused.
"Where did all the trash—I mean, stuff—go?"
"If you're referring to the mess that was left on the floor, I mopped up the spills and moved the vials aside. I cleaned the empty ones and placed them on the counter over there, along with the ones that were still half-filled. Since I didn't know what they did, I just arranged them according to where I found them for you to sort out later."
"...What about the bits and materials that were scattered across the tables?"
"I saw you had an unused shelf in the corner, so I just sorted them out according to type."
Looking at the 'unused shelf' the boy was pointing at, Ave instead found her unused medical shelf that had been collecting dust until now—cleaned spotless, with neatly sorted boxes filled with herbs, beast parts, and bottled powders.
She continued to gaze across her now unrecognizable lab, noting all the other small changes.
"Are you pleased?" the boy asked, a worried look spreading across his innocent face.
'Am I pleased?'
Ave questioned herself upon hearing the boy's question.
'Am I pleased??'
She questioned again.
"AM I PLEASED?!"
This time, she shouted out loud, startling the boy.
Ave's brain was still struggling to catch up when another thought struck her.
'He did all of this in just one hour...'
Looking at the godsend of a little child before her, Ave's tired eyes instantly lit up.
She grabbed the boy—who was now starting to look a little creeped out—by the shoulders. "Kid, how about you come work for me?"
Hearing the sudden proposal, the boy couldn't help but smile.
...
Jackpot.
Trying my hardest not to break out in a grin, I gently held Ave's hand that had been placed on my shoulder.
Ave had practically handed me exactly what I wanted on a silver platter. If I played my cards right, the Midnight Inn would soon be nothing but a bad memory. I had pushed my body for the last hour to get this result, I just didn't expect Ave to come out with such... energy.
"Can you please calm down first?"
"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, I don't know what came over me!" Ave hurriedly stepped back, her arms flailing, her face slightly flushed.
However, I wasn't going to give her time to calm down.
"Back to your offer, are you serious?"
Putting on a serious, albeit excited, expression, I patiently awaited her response.
"Uh—" Perhaps sense had finally returned to her, as Ave's expression froze. But it was already too late, as her face scrunched up under my innocent gaze.
I must say, despite all the negatives that came with my current body, at least my face is somewhat cute and can come in handy in situations like these.
"Haah." Releasing a sigh, Ave dropped her head to the side as she answered, "Yes. I was being serious, but I can't afford to pay you a high salary due to the current financial situation of the shop."
"How much are you willing to pay?"
Ave closed her eyes as she frowned. "I can pay you 30 crowns per week. Not a penny higher."
"And accommodations?"
"Don't you currently have accommodations?"
"I live in the inn. If I start working for you, I'll get kicked out before I can even say I quit."
"Hmm... I do have an extra room upstairs, but I don't quite feel comfortable letting you sleep there..." Ave trailed off, her frown deepening.
"Is there some way I can prove myself?" I didn't back down, even in the face of her unwillingness.
"I guess if you continue to display exemplary work for the remainder of the week, then perhaps we could work something out." Ave eventually relented, giving me a condition for guaranteed hire.
I bowed, trying to hide my growing grin as I shouted excitedly, "Thank you!"
"Don't thank me yet. You're not guaranteed to be hired." Ave turned around, her exhaustion returning to her face.
"I'll head up and clean myself up first. You can start working on sweeping the front. Once I come down, we'll open the store."
Watching Ave ascend the stairs, I finally released the sigh of relief I had been holding in as a wide grin spread across my face.
With this, I have everything I need to escape that wretched brothel.