Chapter 116 - Talk
Once Yuki along with his new family had finished dining, Yuki helped Elpis take the dirty dishes to the sink which was located in the kitchen. Right as Yuki began washing the dishes out of habit, Elpis stopped him and took the plate which was in his hand away from him.
"Don't worry about that. I'll be washing the dishes. After all, you're our guest here. You can go back upstairs and go to sleep now. You need to get some sleep," said Elpis.
"Oh-okay ma'am," Yuki said as he began to walk back up the stairs to the attic which also acted as his temporary room.
Right as he passed through the dining room which Marcell and his daughter were still sitting at, Marcell called out to Yuki.
"Hey Jack, if it wouldn't be too much to ask of you. What would you say to working under me at my diner? I know it's a lot to ask of you since we've barely just met but you're a hard and efficient worker. I doubt I'll ever find anyone who possesses the skills that you have for any amount of money," Marcell asked while looking away from Yuki's eyes as if he was ashamed of what he had said.
"Of course I would. I thought we already established that. You've done so much for me, there's absolutely no way I could refuse. Plus, it's not that much work," replied Yuki.
Marcell looked at Yuki with the biggest smile on his face as he couldn't believe the words which Yuki had just uttered from his mouth.
"Do you really mean that?" Marcell asked with tears barely holding back in his eyes.
".. Yes? Why would I lie about something like that?" Yuki asked with a confused face.
Marcell instantly went to hug Yuki. Marcell wrapped his large arms around Yuki as he continuously thanked him. While to Yuki it was just a simple task he would do without even having to work on his own since he used his fire constructed flying hands to wash the dishes, to Marcell, it was life saving. He had often come home much later than the store had closed due to him having to clean up after closing hours. Now that Yuki was there, he could sell as much food as he wanted and still come home to his family at a reasonable time.
"It's really not that big of a deal, you can let go of me now. You're suffocating me," said Yuki.
"Oh, sorry. I couldn't help it. I really thought you were going to say no to my outlandish request," said Marcell.
"Of course I would say yes. However, I'll need to come clean about something," said Yuki as he made a serious face.
"What is it? You can tell me anything," Marcell reassured Yuki.
"I trust you so I'll tell you. The reason I was able to wash those dishes was because I'm not an ordinary kid who happened to end up lost here. I'm actually a level 3 player. I used to go into the dungeons with my father in the beginning because he was too scared to leave me alone. So, he took me with him into the dungeons. Soon after, we leveled up to level 2 then 3. However, soon after, I started to get left behind. I wasn't able to keep up with him. In the end, he became addicted to the feeling which people feel when they level up and decided to leave me alone in the dungeon once he had cleared it. I tried to look for him within the dungeon but he was nowhere to be found. After spending so much time looking for him, I soon realized that he had left me for good. I ended up running far away from that place and began to look for a new place to stay at. That's how I ended up here. All I wanted was to find an inn or hotel for the time being but you stayed persistent and wouldn't let me go. So, if you would like, you can kick me out," lied Yuki. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Hearing Yuki's "true" story brought Marcell to laughter.
"I'm sorry I shouldn't be laughing. It's just the last part which sounds ridiculous. You can stay with us for as long as you would like. After all, you'll be helping me out at the diner. I'll just have to talk to Elpis about it first. I'm sure she'll agree so don't be scared. You can go to your room now," said Marcell as he gave Yuki a thumbs up.
"And now we wait," Yuki said to himself as he began to walk towards the stairs which led to his room. Yuki went up the stairs and used his ability to open the attic door after making sure that nobody was around to see him since he was too lazy to get the broom and open the door on his own.
Once inside, Yuki laid on his bed. Unlike most other times, Yuki didn't have anything on his mind. He was just relaxing since he hadn't gotten the chance to do something as simple as that in so long.
A few minutes later, Yuki could hear the sound of crying from downstairs. At first he thought they were tears of anger and disappointment however, moments later, everything had been cleared up. Yuki could hear muffled speech which went along the lines of.
"I can't believe he had to endure all of that. Of course he can stay with us. It's not like he would be a liability to us either. After all, he'll be working at the diner with you," said Elpis.
"How do they fall for such a simple lie? This has to be too good to be true. Well, at least I've secured a place where I can stay for the time being. However I can't be too dependent on them. I should always have my guard up just in case," Yuki thought to himself.
Just like a skilled magician, Yuki had managed to trick everyone without letting a single person know his true intentions.