Chapter 611 - Work, Princess!
“I think you may have some sort of misconception regarding the term ‘waitress’. A waitress is someone who serves customers. I’m the owner of this restaurant, and I have no intention of retiring anytime soon, so I don’t need a manager to replace me. Our restaurant is indeed looking for a waitress, but each and every waitress here has to satisfy a certain set of criteria before they’re hired. If you want to become a waitress here at Mamy Restaurant, you’ll have to do the same.” Mag couldn’t help but burst into laughter as he looked at Babla. She really had no idea how anything worked in the world.
“So what you’re saying is, I have to serve customers here like how my maids serve me?” Babla stared at Mag with incredulity in her eyes.
“That’s a decent analogy, but as a waitress here at the restaurant, you won’t have to tend to the customers’ every need. All of you have to do is take orders, bring out dishes, clean up tables, and offer service with a smile.” Mag nodded in response.
“Really?” Babla stared intently at Mag as if she were trying to determine whether he was telling the truth. Prior to today, she would have never even considered serving anyone. However, the situation had spiraled out of her control; furthermore, Mag’s roast beef kebabs really did have a very special effect on her body. If she could eat it consistently, perhaps it could cure her chronic condition.
“I feel like I don’t need to answer that question from you. You have to realize that I’m not begging you to become a waitress. There are far better options out there in the free employment market. They could already be skilled servers who are really quick on their feet and won’t require much training before starting in their role.” Mag looked at Babla with a calm expression, and said, “I’m giving you a chance to show me what you’re capable of. If you can prove to me that you can succeed in this role as a waitress and can perform to an above-average standard, then the job is yours.”
“Is the waitress selection process that rigorous?” Babla’s eyes widened as she grappled with an intense internal conflict. In the end, her desire for more kebabs and to return home won out over her reluctance to discard her dignity, and she nodded as she said, “Alright, using me as a waitress is a waste of my brilliant talents, but I will reluctantly accept this job. All a waitress has to do is carry dishes, right? That’s a piece of cake for me.”
Babla extended a finger and pointed toward the plate on the table carrying the roast beef kebabs. The plate hovered into the air and instantly appeared in her hand.
“I can place plates on every single table extremely quickly. That’s not a skill that everyone has, right?” Babla turned to Mag with a smug expression. She took a bite of one of the kebabs on the plate as a confident smile appeared on her face.
“That’s so cool!” Yabemiya turned to Babla with awe and admiration in her eyes.
“The plate flew! What amazing magic!” Amy also exclaimed.
Mag’s eyes also lit up upon seeing this. Spatial magic casters were very rare, and this young girl was at least a 7th-tier spatial magic caster. If she could use her spatial magic on the job, then she really did have an advantage that no one else could replicate. However… it did seem like quite a waste. But then again, he was already using a 7th-tier water-type elven magic caster to clean the restaurant for him, so it didn’t seem too out of place to use a spatial magic caster to bring out dishes.
Even though Mag was quite impressed, he made sure he didn’t show it as he nodded indifferently, and said, “That is indeed not a skill that everyone has. If you can remember every customer’s orders, the sequence the orders were placed in, and the quantities of each food item ordered, then you can become a Mamy Restaurant employee.”
“My memory is pretty good.” Babla nodded confidently.
“Don’t get overconfident.” Mag strode into the kitchen, and soon re-emerged with a pile of plates of different sizes. He then pointed at a table in the restaurant, and said, “From the entrance, that row of tables is numbered from one to four. I’m going to tell you what kind of plates are required on each table, and you have to memorize that before placing the correct dishes on the table with the corresponding number. If you get less than three plates wrong, then you pass.”
Babla nodded, and said, “Easy! I’ll have no issues with something like this.”
“Table number three needs two plates, four bowls, and two small plates; table number six…” Mag began to deliver a string of instructions, and Babla’s relaxed expression had also become quite focused.
“Now then, please begin.” Mag stated his requirements for eight tables at once. This was already quite a challenging memorization task.
This test is really similar to the one I had to do; is she going to succeed? Yabemiya was looking at Babla with a nervous expression.
“You can do it, Big Sister Babla,” Amy cheered her on indistinctly through a mouthful of beef.
Sally was also looking at Babla with a serious expression. She didn’t really dislike Babla; the latter was a little spoiled, but definitely not to an incorrigible degree.
Babla closed her eyes in deep thought for a while. When she reopened her eyes, the 100 or so bowls and plates on the table rose into the air at the same time. They converged toward her before flying out one by one, gently landing on the tables without even the slightest sound.
In the blink of an eye, all of the plates and bowls had been placed down without even a single one remaining.
“Is that correct?” Babla exhaled as she turned to look at Mag. She was trying to put on a casual expression, but the anxiety in her eyes was quite apparent.
“You got two wrong; that’s very good for your first time.” Mag swapped a plate and a small plate on tables three and seven. He then turned to Babla with a smile, and said, “Congratulations. If you’d like to, you can become Mamy Restaurant’s third waitress. After deducting the cost of the roast beef kebabs from your first month of wages, you’ll be getting 600 copper coins per day.”
An elated expression appeared on Babla’s face, but she quickly repressed it as she grumbled, “Nine roast beef kebabs cost 2,700 copper coins, yet I only get 600 per day? How am I supposed to survive? I’ll only be able to eat two kebabs a day! I’m going to starve to death!”
Mag looked at Babla with a calm expression, and said, “You can go out and ask any restaurant in the Aden Square to see if they’ll offer 600 copper coins per day for a waitress on probation. Your income should dictate your spending, not the other way around. If your wages can only afford you two kebabs a day, then you should be choosing more affordable foods rather than whining about your wages.”
“Work, Princess!” Amy clenched her little fists with a smile on her face.