“What’s the matter, Miss Aria?”

I carefully opened my mouth.

“I’d like to offer you a cup of coffee for your hard work, but…”

“I appreciate the thought, but I can’t accept anything while on duty.”

The young and handsome captain of the guard’s voice was clearly tinged with regret. Of course. My drip coffee is just that delicious.

“I know. There’s something you need to handle.”

“What’s the issue?”

Ian’s face turned serious. He jumped off his horse and followed me into the cafe. The con artist’s face turned as white as a sheet when he saw Ian. He seemed to recognize who it was.

“Is it that person?”

Ian asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Do you know him?”

“…We received a description of a vagrant causing trouble in the neighboring town, and it’s somewhat similar.”

“But you’re not certain?”

“No, I’m not certain.”

I fell into thought for a moment. We could use the description as an excuse to take him away, but if it turns out to be wrong, that con artist would cause even more trouble with increased confidence. Moreover, it would leave a bad record for Ian as well.

“I had a disagreement with this person, and I was hoping you could resolve it, Captain.”

“What exactly happened?”

“Well…”

I explained my position in full detail. Ian listened attentively, nodding his head with a serious attitude. After a while, he turned towards the con artist.

“Do you agree with Miss Aria’s account?”

“…That woman’s words are all lies!”

Huh. I frowned. To lie so blatantly in front of the captain of the guard who manages the safety of the entire town. His guts must have been hanging out of his body.

“That woman committed fraud by serving food completely different from what was stated on the menu. Since you’re here, Captain, you should arrest her and punish her severely!”

“You mean… the waffle?”

Ian tilted his head.

“Yes. It’s the second most expensive item on the menu. Isn’t it outrageous that she commits fraud by not making such a menu item properly?”

I couldn’t hold back any longer and interjected.

“Wouldn’t it be best to check with those who ordered whether I made it properly or not? It’s a popular item, so we’ve sold over ten today.”

Ian didn’t even need to ask the customers one by one. The customers, who seemed to have been fed up with the con artist for a while, started chiming in.

“Captain, please kick out that con artist quickly! It’s so distracting. I had to listen to that person’s blabbering when I should have been enjoying the view, I mean, savoring my food!”

“The waffle is perfect. Ma’am, there’s nothing more to change here. Please make it just like this tomorrow too, okay?”

“He should know how shameless he is. How dare he still be sitting there?”

The con artist’s face turned bright red, then blue, repeating several times. Finally, he chose the method he should have selected long ago. That is, he tried to run out of the cafe without saying a word.

But it was already too late. As soon as I whispered “dine and dash” to Ian, he grabbed the con artist by the nape of his neck, which was now covered in cold sweat. I put my hands on my hips and looked at him with a satisfied smile.

“Now, you need to pay for what you ate, right?”

“I-I’m sorry!”

I watched with satisfaction as the con artist ran away with his tail between his legs. The money I received for the waffle jingled in my hand.

In truth, there was no need to drag this out for so long just to chase away that person. But it would have been wrong to keep making bingsu as it was getting colder. Thanks to the con artist, I was able to change the main menu from bingsu to waffles, so I should probably thank him.

Of course, the person I really needed to thank was someone else.

“Thank you for your help.”

I looked up at Ian and expressed my gratitude. I wasn’t unaware of the fact that he helped when he could have just passed by.

“This is my job, after all.”

Ian replied shyly. He must be quite bashful, as his ears turned red.

“It’s nothing. If something like this happens again, please call me anytime, Miss Aria.”

I shook my head.

“You know, my bad reputation is well-known in this neighborhood. So people like that don’t even dare to come around, don’t worry.”

It wasn’t an exaggeration. It had been over 5 years since I opened <Cafe Aria>. During that time, all sorts of troublemakers had tried to cause problems, but thanks to my firm handling each time, now no one dared to mess with me.

That con artist must have been an outsider, not knowing this fact. He might indeed be the same person causing trouble in nearby towns. But Ian’s face didn’t seem to agree with my opinion at all.

“Miss Aria having a bad personality? What nonsense. You’re always so cool…”

Ian’s words suddenly cut off, and his ears turned as red as his auburn hair. His clear blue eyes wandered aimlessly in the air.

I blinked. It seemed my calm handling of the con artist had appeared cool to him. Well, I pretended not to hear, as it might have been embarrassing for a captain of the guard to say that an ordinary cafe owner like me seemed cool.

“A-ahem.”

Ian cleared his throat.

“Back then, we were able to round up that human trafficking ring thanks to the information you provided, Miss Aria.”

“Were they all caught?”

I leaned towards Ian. My voice involuntarily became heated.

“Yes. I reported that we received your help, so the reward should have been delivered by now, but it seems to be delayed.”

“A reward…”

I fell into thought for a moment.

‘It probably got pocketed somewhere along the way.’

Well, it wasn’t really surprising. Due to many people embezzling various support funds coming down from the central office, by the time they reached small cities like this, they often turned into something insignificant.

But it didn’t matter. I was earning enough money now, and instead of a reward, I had gained a cute treasure named Elodie. I looked down at Elodie with eyes full of affection. I wouldn’t trade Elodie for ten million gold.

‘…?’

Suddenly, my body stiffened. Elodie had her head slightly bowed so I couldn’t see her face properly, but her delicate shoulders were trembling slightly. She was clearly crying.

“Elodie.”

I hurriedly bent my knees to meet Elodie’s eyes. Elodie stubbornly shook her head, trying not to show me her face.

“Elodie.”

I called Elodie’s name sternly and cupped her cheeks with both hands.

‘…’

I bit my lip. As expected, Elodie was crying. I felt pathetic for not even noticing until now. I quietly patted Elodie. Even asking why she was crying felt insensitive. Of course, she must have been scared when the human trafficking ring was mentioned. Suddenly, Elodie raised her head.

“…Aria.”

“Yes?”

I tried my best to reassure Elodie, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. Her voice was still trembling like an aspen leaf.

“You shouldn’t ma-make other people angry.”

I blinked. For a moment, I couldn’t understand what Elodie was talking about.

“If you make them angry, they’ll… they’ll come to hurt you.”

At that moment. A chilling realization washed over me like cold water. Ah. Elodie wasn’t simply afraid of the con artist. This small child… was worried about me.

She was afraid that the insignificant con artist from earlier might hold a grudge and try to harm me. It wasn’t hard to guess how she had reached such a conclusion. That con artist must have been a type commonly seen in the human trafficking ring. Of course, Elodie must have seen enough of how such people could harm others. From Elodie’s perspective, she had simply drawn a natural conclusion.

‘The problem is me.’

I should have considered the shock Elodie would receive first. Yet, I was so focused on extracting maximum benefit from the con artist that I missed the child’s concerned reaction. Belated regret welled up deep in my chest.

“Listen.”

I slowly opened my mouth towards Elodie.

“You heard everything I said earlier, right?”

“…Yes.”

“It was all true. I never lied to that person, not even once.”