I bowed in front of the patrons, "I hope you enjoyed our small performance, everyone! Please clap your hands for our hard working actors!"
The patrons looked a little bit confused until someone laughed which broke the tension and made everyone else start to break out into cheers and clapping.
I took Eris's hand who was still confused and made her do a bow as well before pulling her behind the counter to hand her over to Lian Li.
My 'wife' gave me an amused look before nodding, "I'll take care of her, darling~ Don't worry~"
As reliable as always, Lian Li.
I took over the manning of the register, leaving my part time staff to deal with the drink and sweets preparations. They were obviously still a little confused but seeing how casual Lian Li and I were handling it, they simply shrugged and went back to doing their work.
Manami must have also known that the entire thing was definitely not a show so she quickly helped by resuming her singing, lulling the customers back into a facade of normalcy.
The customers went back to their own seats and things proceeded on as normal again. I even went to comp the customers who got their plates smashed but they were being a good sport about it and praising us that the acting was really realistic.
They wondered if this was an attempt to get the attention of the superstar Kiyomi to come and check out our store.
Of course I wasn't going to tell them that she was already a regular customer here so I just laughed and said they were right.
The rest of the lunch rush proceeded as normal and soon the shop was mostly empty again.
The part timers have already left which meant that there were only Lian Li, Manami and myself left inside the store.
"Thank you for your hard work, Manami. If you wish to become a professional singer in the future, just let me know ok? I'd like to get your autograph first~"
"Ufufufu~ I'll give you more than just a silly autograph, darling~" She giggled.
I chuckled alongside her before turning to Lian Li, "How's Eris doing?"
"I made her take a bath back at our home~ I think she should be done now so should I call her over?"
"N… No need… I'm… I'm here…" A small voice whispered almost inaudibly behind us.
All of us spun around to see Eris standing at the doorway wearing a shirt that was a size too big for her that reached to the top of her thighs. That's my shirt…
The fact that she was pulling the hem down as well kind of suggested that she might be wearing nothing else underneath.
Her hair was still a little wet and while she could use a little bit more meat on her bones, there was no denying that she looked beautiful after cleaning up.
Lian Li giggled, "In that case, shall we leave the two of them alone to chat, Sister Manami?"
"Ara, ara? I was just thinking of the same thing, Sister Lian Li~ Let's leave them to it, shall we?"
Since when were those two on such good terms? They were even laughing the same way with their hands covering their mouths…
The two women disappeared through the door that led to the kitchens, leaving me alone with Eris who was still standing there awkwardly.
I smiled at her, "So… Hot chocolate? Or are you more in the mood for some tea?"
"I… I have nothing on me…"
"I don't think I asked if you could pay for it, did I? Besides, we're on break right now so we're technically not working."
"Umm… I don't need anything…"
Right as she said that, her stomach growled audibly and she blushed up to her ears.
"Hot chocolate and a slice of pie it is then~"
She wanted to protest again but I waved a finger at her, "I'll be having the same thing so at least indulge me, ok?"
That silenced any other protest coming from her and she nodded obediently, taking a seat at the counter that I pointed at.
She sat on the chair uneasily and I quickly joined her with two cups of hot chocolate and two slices of chicken pie.
I placed them in front of her, though she made no move to touch them.
"So… You have questions?" I prodded.
She hesitated before nodding her head, "You… Who are you, exactly?"
"Didn't I introduce myself just now? I'm Master Lin, the co-owner of this patisserie. If you're wondering who the other owner is, it's Lian Li of course."
"No… You… You're definitely not just some pastry shop owner… No pastry shop owner can do what you did!"
"If I told you my past work was being a Master at Heaven Sect, would you believe me?"
She froze before turning to look me up and down, only to shiver rather noticeably when she realised what who I was, "I… I apologise… For everything I--"
I placed a finger on her lips, "Shhh… I told you, I'm just a patisserie owner now. No need to think about all the complicated stuff, ok?"
She looked like she was on the verge of tears already but she nodded her head nevertheless.
"Now at least drink a little of the chocolate before it gets cold."
She obediently picked up the mug and brought it up to her hands shakily to take a sip before putting it back down.
That's when her tears really started to stream down her cheeks.
"Why… Sniff… Why are you so kind to me? I… I don't get it… I'm worthless… I even tried… Tried to steal from you… And you still fed me… And you took care of me… Why? Sniff…"
I grinned, "Would you believe me if I said I was in love with you?"
Technically, I love our World's version of Eris but since this is also her only without her memories, that counts too.
She gasped and turned to me, her tears still flowing down her cheeks, "Bu… But… Your wife… She…"
"She would feel lonely without you, you know? So don't even think about anything stupid like running away after this and disappearing ok? Because you're really not a bother to us and everyone will feel sad if you just disappeared."
Eris's eyes went even wider when she realised I knew what she was trying to do all along.
I then turned to her and patted her head, "If you still feel that you need to atone for what you did, you can start off with helping out in the kitchens. We need someone to help with the dishes and then after that I can teach you how to do inventory. If you'd like to, I can also teach you how to cook as well."
She stared at me for a while longer before she scrunched up her face, "Hick… Sniff… Waaaaahhh! Ma… Master!!!"
I hugged her as she cried into my chest, making soothing noises while patting her head.
That was when the door to the shop opened again and a disguised Kiyomi appeared, her eyes instantly settling on Eris who was still crying and hugging me.
"Bad time?" She asked.
Your timing is really impeccable.
