After the barmaid shouted toward the back kitchen, a curvaceous woman walked out.
She looked to be at least thirty years old.
It made sense, considering her daughter was already quite grown.
Then again, not everyone’s daughter was as developed as hers.
“Why did a child wander in again?”
The woman stood before the bar, her eyes carefully scrutinizing Sephine.
The other girl remained by the counter, continuing to fiddle with the wine glasses out of boredom.
“Little girl, this isn’t the kind of place you should be coming to.”
“I’m here for the job application!”
“Hiring child labor is illegal.”
“Look… here’s my identification! I’m an adult!”
Sephine pulled a small card out of her pocket and handed it to the landlady.
The landlady looked at it closely. It did indeed seem to be her.
“But I still might not be able to hire you. It’s not that I’m discriminating based on looks, but you look way too much like a child. It wouldn’t look good for the tavern’s image if you worked here.”
Unsurprisingly, it seemed she had been rejected again.
Sephine couldn’t help but feel a wave of disappointment.
‘If this really doesn’t work out, I’ll just have to use the startup funds Aglis gave me to buy some equipment and head into the dungeon.’
“I can wash dishes, too! I’ll do anything! Please.”
Sephine tried to move the landlady with her sincerity, but the woman seemed unmoved.
“We already have someone for the dishes. You should head out.”
“Then give me another cup of milk.”
Relenting, the landlady went to pour Sephine another cup of milk.
The milk in the tavern was originally meant to help drunk customers sober up, but occasionally, people like Sephine who just liked milk would come in to drink it.
When the landlady returned with the cup of milk, she noticed a new guest had suddenly appeared in the neighboring seat.
“What would you like to drink, sir?”
“Milk.”
The landlady found it strange.
Why were so many people coming in for milk these past few days?
“We’re almost out of milk. Yi, go buy some more.”
“Okay.”
The landlady’s daughter took off her apron, grabbed a small basket, and left.
Sephine followed her out.
At that moment, the customer leaned toward the landlady and whispered sneakily, “Was that girl just now one of your employees?”
“No, though she is an adult.”
“I see… actually, I think she’d make a pretty good employee.”
“Do you know her?”
“I don’t, I just think she’s very cute.”
“Would people really come to our shop just for that?”
“Why don’t you take a look at the café next door?”
The tavern was located on the second floor, and through a large glass pane, one could see the state of the neighboring café.
Whether it was day or night, the café was always packed with people.
While the tavern had a decent number of customers at night, it still wasn’t quite enough.
Rent in the city center was expensive, and the landlady didn’t want to give up this location.
‘Maybe I can give it a try and hire her as a clerk.’
She and her daughter were the only employees in the tavern.
They were too idle during the day and too busy at night; hiring another clerk might actually be a very good choice.
However, she wasn’t sure if Sephine could truly attract customers.
Moreover, if she worked here, she would surely be inside the tavern. How would people outside see her?
‘There’s a window on the second floor. What if I have her sit there?’
The landlady was already considering it, but she realized the most important problem now was how to get that little girl back.
“Boss, another cup of milk.”
Sephine had returned, having been rejected elsewhere.
Was she really that pathetic?
‘What’s wrong with being short? It’s not like I’m asking them to give me some of their height!’
“I’ve reconsidered what you said earlier. I think you could become a fine clerk.”
“Boss, you’re not trying to scam me, are you?”
Just moments ago, this woman had coldly rejected her, and now she suddenly needed her?
How strange.
“How could that be? People need time to think. I just gave it some careful thought and realized you’re actually quite a good fit.”
‘Boss, you have great taste.’
No matter what, she had found a job.
She didn’t know what the salary was like, but Sephine couldn’t afford to be picky right now.
Having work was good enough.
“As for the salary, how does 20 Silver Coins a month sound?”
“Deal.”
The pay was decent.
Earning 20 Silver Coins a month in a tavern was enough to make Sephine wake up laughing from her dreams.
“So, will I be mixing drinks or handling the bill?”
“Just go sit in that spot. I’ll put two bottles of wine next to you for show.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s just try it like this for now.”
Sephine did as she was told, even though she found it a bit nonsensical.
The view from that spot was nice, though it was somewhat boring.
A short while later, another customer arrived.
Upon entering, the guest whispered to the landlady, “I heard your shop has an incredibly high-quality clerk.”
The landlady pointed toward Sephine by the window.
She was still staring blankly out the pane.
The crowds passing by on the street blurred before her eyes; her fingers were gripped tightly around a wine glass, but she didn’t take a single sip.
“Oh! Give me a drink.”
The landlady happily served the guest a beer.
She hadn’t expected someone would truly come here just to catch a glimpse of the girl.
These guys were truly hard to figure out.
The landlady approached Sephine and tapped her on the shoulder.
“Give me your Identity Card so I can register you.”
“Here.”
“If possible, I’d like you to wave at the people down there or something.”
“Understood!”
‘I haven’t felt like a subordinate in a long time.’
Her last superior had been the Demon King.
But the Demon King almost never scolded her… but that was in the past.
Sephine realized that she was actually there to attract customers.
Sitting in this spot, she could perfectly see the pedestrians below, and the pedestrians could naturally see her as well.
She had seen shops like this before that used such methods to attract many customers.
For example, maid cafés often had waitresses standing at the entrance to bring people in.
She couldn’t worry about her dignity now; having a job was enough.
Gradually, the tavern began to fill with people.
The owner of the café next door was a bit puzzled, wondering why the neighboring tavern suddenly had so many customers during the day.