The second day of the festival.

Lu Jue's temporary restaurant should have been the place with the fewest customers, but the tasks were anything but easy.

"Nu Tao, the steaks and pasta I asked you to order, can they arrive this afternoon?"

"I've already contacted them; the vendor said they'll deliver this afternoon." Nu Tao can be clumsy sometimes, but other times she's quite reliable.

"Alright, tomorrow will probably be very tiring, so be mentally prepared." Lu Jue was ready for battle.

"Okay, okay!"

...

Since Rice Shower and Nu Tao needed to do their makeup and change clothes in advance, Lu Jue let them off work early.

However, the delivery efficiency was truly slow; the goods only arrived close to evening.

A truckload of goods was truly difficult to unload with just Lu Jue, Taiki Shuttle, Eishin Flash, and the driver.

"Oh, dou—" Eishin Flash lifted who-knew-which box, but her legs suddenly went weak, and she stumbled, almost falling.

"Careful." Lu Jue quickly helped her steady the box, then took it over completely. "You go rest, I'll do it."

"But..."

"Listen to me, go rest." Lu Jue had already moved several loads back and forth and was too tired to even speak.

His strength was actually inferior to these Horse Girls, and he didn't move as much as them.

He just did as much as he could.

"Okay." Eishin Flash nodded obediently, looking at Lu Jue's back, and murmured softly, "He suddenly has such a domineering side..."

"Tree, you go rest too; I'll handle the rest."

"OK." Taiki Shuttle was also exhausted, sitting on a chair, sweat flowing down her cheeks, quickly dampening a spot on her chest.

Lu Jue finished moving the last box of goods, counted the quantity, confirmed the receipt, and then sat down to rest.

"Mr. Lu Jue, do we need to prepare this much?"

"Yes, we do. There might not be many people in the morning, but we need to consider the repeat customers in the afternoon, as well as the number of customers after a morning of promotion."

Somehow, Lu Jue had an ominous feeling... could these foods still not be enough? No way, he had prepared so much.

As he was thinking, a striking crimson appeared in his vision.

"Eishin, what happened to the back of your hand?"

"I just noticed it... it seems I scraped it when I got off the truck earlier."

The skin on the back of her hand was scraped off, and that area now looked like it had been filled in with a dark red paintbrush.

"Wait, I have ointment." Lu Jue, who had just sat down, got up again to rummage through the counter and quickly returned with the ointment. "Give me your hand; I'll apply it for you."

"Oh, arigato..." Eishin Flash wasn't shy. "I didn't expect Mr. Lu Jue to be so thoughtful."

"It's a habit. I got burned when I was learning to cook, and after that, I had a bit of a phobia, so I always keep some on hand, just in case." Lu Jue used a cotton swab to treat Eishin Flash's hand and then put a bandage on it. "It's a good thing I had it ready; I hope it doesn't leave a scar."

"It's okay if it leaves a scar; I don't care about these things." Eishin Flash was still thinking of Lu Jue, thinking he would blame himself since it happened while helping him move goods.

In fact, she also had hard calluses on her palms, and she didn't think much of it; instead, she felt they were part of her sturdy armor.

"You should still care a little; after all, you're a girl." Lu Jue put the ointment away.

"Why? Will Mr. Lu Jue dislike me?"

"Uh..." Eishin Flash's bluntness was always so sudden, making it difficult for Lu Jue to parry. "Of course, I wouldn't dislike you."

"Then it's fine, isn't it?" Eishin Flash smiled.

"Alright, alright~" Lu Jue was quite helpless.

But those were indeed his true feelings: he didn't dislike her; in fact, she was beautiful.

"Alright, you're off work early today. There won't be many more customers, so you can rest for a while and then leave."

"No food today~" Taiki Shuttle stretched.

Lu Jue was about to nod in agreement, but Eishin Flash said, "Tree, Mr. Lu Jue must be very tired too. Let's go eat out by ourselves today. Do you want to come with me?"

"Oh~ that's right. Then we won't trouble Trainer Lu today." Taiki Shuttle nodded. Although she was a bit slow, she wasn't incapable of understanding.

But she just wanted to eat something delicious, and there was nothing wrong with that.

"Actually, I could also..."

Lu Jue's words were cut off again by Eishin Flash, "Then let's go eat outside? I know a very affordable and delicious place right next to where I work."

"Okay, okay~"

"Then it's settled." Eishin Flash gave Lu Jue a look. "Mr. Lu Jue, we'll be leaving now."

Lu Jue understood the meaning in her eyes.

It felt like he was being understood and protected by a mature and sensible older sister... With such a sister, her younger siblings must be very happy.

"Okay, be careful." Lu Jue nodded, watched them leave, then picked up a broom. "I'll clean up, then I'll eat and shower. I'm also meeting them for the courage test event tonight."

After a simple cleanup of the restaurant, Lu Jue intended to wash the dishes and utensils in the kitchen before leaving.

However, when he arrived in the kitchen, he found that the large basin of dirty dishes and utensils had already been washed and neatly placed in the cabinet.

Lu Jue was wondering who it was when his phone suddenly received a text message from Eishin Flash: Mr. Lu Jue, there weren't many customers this afternoon, so I washed the dishes and utensils when I had free time. I feel like I didn't do much work, but I received so much money for nothing, which makes me quite uneasy.

"It really was her..." Lu Jue carefully read the text message, noticing that she used the word "uneasy" rather than "sorry."

Eishin Flash's background wasn't that tragic, but from this girl, Lu Jue felt for the first time that "mature and sensible" wasn't always a positive compliment.

Lu Jue: Thank you for today.

Eishin Flash: It's a small thing~ But next time there's such easy work, please be sure to find me.

Lu Jue: Absolutely, absolutely~

Eishin Flash: Actually, there's no need to thank me. You're the boss... well, a good boss.

...