Chapter 25: Café, Competition, and Olivia’s Struggles

[Marie's POV]

"Alrighty, everything is set and done!"

Greg spoke enthusiastically, finishing up the final bits of preparations.

'This better earns me some serious money! I don't want to go into those damp and dirty dungeons anymore!'

The last month or so had been a struggle for them. Especially for her.

Since all five of her partners were disowned and didn't receive much in terms of funds, they had to get down and dirty and become adventurers, hunting in dungeons to earn dia and make a name for themselves as adventurers, like a certain someone.

The only positive thing that came from the whole ordeal was that the five were getting stronger. But that was that.

It didn't matter much in the end since the rate of growth was abysmally slow!

And their financial condition refused to improve.

Oh, how much she missed the delicious high-quality meals from the cafeteria and the sweet pastries and tea from the cafés.

Nowadays, she had to survive on simple soup and bread. Most of the money they earned went to armor and weapon repairs. Who knew those things were so expensive!?

"Haaa…"

A tired sigh leaked from her mouth as she watched the place.

After a harsh month of saving money and barely getting by, and then taking a secret lone from somewhere on behalf of the prince, she had managed to put this place together.

Café Princess.

She even rented a new dress for the special occasion, her vanity getting the better of her.

'Please, please, please… let this be super successful. PLEASE!'

She kept praying in her heart.

But life had rarely been fair to her.

"Hey, did you guys know? That adventurer guy, Leon, is also opening a café. And it's right next door."

'Eh?'

She thought she had misheard one of them saying something about the monster opening a café.

'No, no. It might have been my imagination. There's no way that brute will open a café next door to us. I mean, what are the chances of that happening? Amirite? … Wasn't he like busy doing something silly?'

She had heard of the rumors about an "Amusement Park" built by the monster somehow.

She didn't understand what he was up to, but she had to admit, she felt a little nostalgic hearing about it… after the initial emotions of anger, frustration, disgust, and fear calmed down.

She even had a ticket with her. Julius seemed to have given it to her, unable to decide what they should do with it after the duel happened.

She was going to tear it and throw it in a dustbin at first, but then she read the details of the benefits the black ticket provided and she couldn't find it in her to throw it away after that.

She refused to miss out on the free VIP pass! It might have come from the person she possibly disliked the most in this world after the ex-protagonist and the antagonist bitch, but how could she miss out on the chance to live a posh life in a supposed Utopia, filled with resorts, parks, and other alluring attractions?

It would be a nice break from the hardships.

At least the monster had a heart, even if it was probably black in color.

Oh, how much she waited for it to open so she could run away from her problems for a while.

Anyway, there was no way he would open a café next door. No way.

"Oh, yes. I heard it too. Should we go check it out? I so want to get him back for that humiliating defeat."

Greg suggested eagerly, pumping his fist to his other palm.

'Ugh, you've got to be shitting me!'

"No, let's not bother with him right now. I see some girls already approaching the café. We should start promoting."

Julius reasoned.

"Yes, I agree. We should focus on our own café."

She added her two cents which caused the others to easily accept.

There was no way she was going to let this go badly this time.

She had to make even and earn a profit from this if she wanted to have something other than soup and bread. She was so freaking tired of it!

[End of Marie's POV]

***

So, it turns out, the power rangers and the Marie girl had somehow decided that they'll open a café RIGHT NEXT DOOR to us.

Now, what were the chances of that happening? Was it the plot at work again? I mean, I got that this was an anime world originally, but this was just too cliché.

Anyway, I decided to deal with it in the best way possible.

"So? Who cares if they did? Let them be."

I decided to ignore them for the time being.

I had more important things to do, like– managing my own café, preparing for someone's expected visit, and the newly added task on the list— finding ways to tease Angelica more. She showed some really cute expressions when she was flustered.

"What?"

"Huh?"

My impassive reaction seemed to cause them to fumble.

"You heard it. I have no interest in what they do in their free time. If they want to open their own café, they're free to do so. Even if they take our profits, I don't mind. I am not short on money. So, really, it's no problem at all."

I shrugged.

'Unless it'll earn me World Points, I have no reason to bother with them. Now… would it earn me World Points if I went there? Hmm… maybe?If a big commotion happened somehow, then yeah… Hardly worth the effort, though. I can earn more from doing something else.'

I was really not in the mood to deal with the power rangers right now. I was on a mini-break and doing better things.

So, naturally, I decided to focus on my own things.

"I agree. There's no need to do something if they don't actively try to cause us trouble."

Turning to look at Angelica, she seemed to have regained her stoic expression.

'Aw, pity.'

The two left once they heard that, though they didn't seem to realize the loss they had incurred me.

I did hear them discussing something along the lines of 'It's going to be hard gaining customers with THEM as our competitors' and 'Why is the world so unfair?'.

Poor guys had it hard, it seemed. I pitied them a little, but then they ruined the mood, so, meh.

***

[Olivia's POV]

"Come and check it out! We're putting on a play over here!"

"How about a haunted house?"

"Taste these delicious buns. Straight from my girlfriends'—Ack!"

"Oi! Don't add my name to it, you dork!"

"It starts tomorrow! Don't forget to visit!"

Olivia stood in the populated area of the academy ground, donning her waitress uniform and a self-made banner in her hands.

"Alright! I need to do my part as well!"

Olivia had been happy when she heard about the school festival. She was even more excited to be a part of it. She knew it was mostly because of her request that Ian accepted it. He normally didn't like such bothersome things.

She smiled warmly, remembering it. He cared for her so much. She felt honored and grateful. She wanted to return the favor and so she decided to take it upon herself to be the advertiser.

She would help him gain more customers.

With that though, she was determined to do her very best.

…

"Be sure to come! I'll be cheering for you, honor student!"

One of the guys smiled as he and his friends left.

Somehow, instead of promoting their café, she ended up getting a pamphlet for a crepe stand being run by some guys.

But at least she managed to say her own bit in the end. But she wasn't sure if she did well. They hadn't made any promises and were actually expecting her visit instead.

'It's okay… I can still do this.'

She then found a group of girls standing not far away, talking amongst themselves.

She took a deep breath and approach them.

"Ex-excuse me…"

She fumbled on her very first words, her shyness and awkwardness getting the better of her, but she didn't give up.

They stopped their conversation and turned to look at her and then one of them spoke in an annoyed tone.

"What do you want, scholarship girl? We're busy here."

"Um, I'm promoting a café."

They looked at the banner she was holding up.

"Mr. Beans? What kind of name is that?"

One of them giggled.

"It's kind of funny. I kinda like it."

Another added.

"Hey, doesn't it say it's being opened by that popular Adventurer?"

"Him? Wow, that guy was pretty strong. But I lost so much money because of him."

"Yeah, me too. I had to sell one of my slaves because of that match."

"Angelica really went and bought him of all people to fight with the prince and his entourage. How outrageous! Actually, how did she even get him to agree?"

"She's that kind of person, you know? The Duke's daughter always gets what she wants. She must have done something underhanded. Who knows?"

"Yeah, some girls can really do ANYTHING to get what they want, if you know what I mean."

"She annoys me to no end—"

"T-That's not nice!"

Before she realized she had yelled, causing everyone around to stop and look at her. She fumbled realizing it but didn't back down. She couldn't let them talk like that about the two friends she cared about so much.

"Ian and Angie—I mean, Leon and Angelica are very nice people. Please don't talk about them like this. It's rude and—"

"Shut up!"

She jolted from the sudden aggressive tone. One of the girls, a long black-haired one came up to her, her face showing clear annoyance.

"You know, I think the fact that he likes you has gone to your head or something."

"Eh?"

She failed to answer due to the surprise, giving the girl a chance to continue.

"But you are just a commoner in the end. You are less than nothing. Why would someone like him bother with someone like you? Think."

"That… I…"

She couldn't find words to reply. She wanted to refute it, she really did, but the heat of the moment made her unable to speak.

"It must be nice being able to mooch off of him and the duke's daughter, huh?"

Another one added with a contemptuous snort, causing her to turn her head down.

She couldn't help but feel some truth to those words. She had indeed been relying on him and his kindness since the very beginning. She had never been able to give back and had only accepted things from him. He was generous and benevolent to her for some reason and she felt burdened when she was unable to pay him back.

This thought sowed a dark seed of doubt inside her.

Was she worthy of being with him… or Angie? Being called their 'friend'? Friends were supposed to be equals. She was a poor commoner while they were nobles.

She didn't have anything to give to them back while they had so much that they happily shared with her.

She zoned out, feeling herself getting swollen by a pit of self-doubt and before she knew it, she was standing all alone. The girls had left after saying something about not messing with her because it'll cause trouble from her 'masters' and giggling derisively.

"…"

'Am I… not good enough?'

…

"Excuse me. Are you running a café?"

"!"

A voice brought her out of her downwards-spiraling thoughts.

She turned to look at the owner of the voice, finding a dark-blue-haired and blue-eyed girl standing near her.

"Y-yes?"

"I'm Carla. Carla Foe Wayne from the regular class."

The girl introduced herself politely.

Seeing no visible hostility shown towards her, Olivia felt slightly more at ease but still cautious.

"Um, I'm Olivia. We're running a café and I'm promoting it. Would… would you like to come and visit it when it opens?"

She asked, unsure if it'll go the same way as before. But she had to try.

"Oh? I see. And I just heard that it's run by the prodigious adventurer himself? I've heard a lot about him. Is he really as amazing as the rumors say?"

"Eh? Um, yes. Mr. Leon is managing it. And he's very amazing! He's strong, reliable, and observant. He cares for people. I'm truly honored to be his friend."

She felt inferior saying those words. He truly was an amazing person, while she was barely anything above ordinary.

"Oh, I see. He sounds like an even more wonderful person. By the way, it's so nice to meet you."

Olivia felt slightly more at ease as she talked more to this girl. This girl was a nice and polite person.

"I know it's a bit sudden, but can I ask for a small favor?"

She blinked, wondering what Carla had to ask.

"Could you please introduce him to me when I come later? I'll be truly thankful if you could do it. He's too popular for someone like me to meet him."

Carla clasped her hands in a praying fashion.

Since she'd been nothing but polite to her, she couldn't bring herself to refuse that request.

"Oh. Um, okay?"

"Thanks! I'll definitely stop by at your café!"

The girl overjoyed, grabbed her hands, and after saying her words left.

Olivia was a little surprised and taken aback by it, but at least this meant she had secured one customer. She was not a complete burden on them. She was somewhat helpful.

***