This House Has A Delicious Restaurant - Chapter 8 - Helper (2) - Part 1
08. Helper (2)
Sitting with his legs crossed, he stared intently at Anise, who was drinking tea. Anise, taken aback by the sudden gaze, kept glancing at me.
“Bella seems to have a habit of looking at others with a burning gaze when he has something to say, doesn’t he?”
“If it made you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
“Do you two know each other?”
“If I had to put it that way, I’d call us business partners.”
“I see. I’m Anise, and… Bella? Do you have something you want to discuss with me?”
“…I go by Obella.”
Seeing Anise mimic the nickname I used, Obella gave me a look as if trying to suppress a laugh. I pretended not to notice and watched the two of them talk.
A handsome man with blonde hair and a beautiful woman with blonde hair…
It’s quite a sight.
I leisurely observed the two while drinking my tea.
“Is the ability you used in the building earlier yours? Our group’s abilities seemed to have increased dramatically.”
“Well…”
Anise glanced at me once.
She didn’t say much, only drank her tea, but somehow she started talking about her abilities.
“Yes, that’s right. I have the power to amplify the abilities of others. It seems that my ability is the reason why it happened.”
“I see. Is there a specific range or certain people to whom you can apply this ability?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve only recently become aware of my ability, and I don’t have full control over it yet, so I’ve been keeping it hidden. I used it earlier because it was unavoidable.”
“From what I saw earlier, your ability seems quite strong. Let’s not beat around the bush. I need your power. Can you lend it to me?”
Even though he said not to beat around the bush, isn’t that a bit too direct?
Anise looks at me.
No, why are you looking at me?
“Are you perhaps working with Moa as well?”
At Anise’s question, Obella’s gaze turns towards me. Then, he shamelessly nods.
Look at that. Trying to get something good by throwing me under the bus?
Of course, I did say we were business partners first, but behaving so shamelessly here…
“It’s somewhat similar. As you both know, my ability isn’t very useful in combat, so I handle information gathering.”
“If it’s about combat, does that mean we’ll have to fight someone? I’d prefer to avoid that if possible. It’s not like I have a personal grudge against anyone…”
“Anise might have a grudge.”
Anise tilted her head at my words.
She wouldn’t have forgotten about the recent incident.
“Do you remember the people who kidnapped you back then?”
“Are you saying you’re targeting those people?”
“Yes. Specifically, I’m targeting that organization. As Anise experienced, it’s not a good place. I don’t know the details, but I was also kidnapped before.”
“You mean, other than when you were with me?”
I nodded at Anise’s surprised expression.
Even so, it was only Diswen who suffered the rough end, while I just rolled around on the bed with Zerdan.
Anise seemed quite excited, her face flushed, unlike her usual demeanor.
So, there was indeed a grudge against Zerdan. After all, she was suddenly kidnapped and even threatened with Luke…
It seems Anise also recalled that situation, as she fell silent. Then, as if remembering Diswen who was there at the time, she looked at Obella.
“Are you planning to kidnap and control others like the woman who was kidnapped back then? The woman who was there seemed to be controlled by that man.”
“The person Anise is referring to is Diswen.”
When I clarified Anise’s words, Obella seemed to understand the situation roughly.
“Right. The woman who was with you at that time is also our ally. Zerdan probably tried to use her because he coveted her ability. Even if that weren’t the case, he’s someone who would easily kill ordinary people if it serves his purpose.”
“I see…”
“We’re people who came together to stop the organization and the harm it has caused. Although our group is still quite small compared to that organization, we have no intention of giving up. And since your power might be helpful for our goal, we’d like to ask for your assistance.”
“I see. They certainly looked like dangerous people to leave alone. But I’d like to think about it a bit more. It doesn’t seem like something to decide easily. There will certainly be people who get hurt because of my actions, so I want to decide carefully.”
It seems Obella wasn’t trying to force a decision, as he nodded in agreement and mentioned that he hoped for a quick answer if possible.
A short while later, the sound of the front door opening was heard. Terisier and a woman called Phel, who had finished their work, entered.
Phel ran up to Anise with a bright face and embraced her.
“Are you going to fight with us?! Good thinking, really! If you’re with us, we’re going to win! We were worried about being outnumbered, but with this ability, we can handle it!”
“No, I haven’t decided yet…”
“Why? Are you worried about the danger? If you just use your ability, I’ll protect you first, even before Obella! So please fight with us, okay?”
As I had sensed earlier, she is incredibly aggressive. She seemed to be throwing herself at Anise with a display of affection, despite having never seen her before.
Anise looked flustered, but it didn’t seem like a situation where I could help, so I pretended not to see and watched Terisier, who had just entered.
Terisier was also looking at Anise. However, he had a much calmer expression than Phel, who was making a fuss and seemed to be urging her to join. His face was so expressionless it almost looked like someone else.
I wonder what he’s thinking.
Noticing my gaze, Terisier looked at me. His previously emotionless face now showed irritation.
“What are you looking at?”
Hmm, it’s typical of Terisier, but it still doesn’t feel good.
I smiled at Terisier, who was shaking his hand and tilting his head.
“You seem like you want to join in. If there’s no place to sit, would you like to sit on my lap?”
“What nonsense are you talking about!”
“It’s alright. There are other people around, so I won’t touch you too much.”
“Touch? What do you mean by touch? Leader, get this woman out of here!”
“She’s my guest, so don’t be rude.”
“What kind of guest is she? She’s just a pervert!”
Terisier huffed and sat down next to Obella, looking like a wary cat always sticking close to its owner.
What to do about this cat? I didn’t expect an apology, but there was no sign of him feeling sorry.
I covered my mouth with my hand and smiled.
If he dislikes me without reason, he should make the reason clear.
I didn’t have anything specific to do, but suddenly I had a lot of things I wanted to do in half a day: seeing Zerdan’s embarrassed expression, enjoying Obella’s body to the fullest, and tormenting Terisier until he begged me to stop while crying.
Begging me to stop while crying would be perfect for the bed.
I hope the day comes soon when Terisier becomes an adult.
Somehow, we all ended up sitting in the living room. I intended to leave soon, but I’m not sure how it turned out this way…
Anise was in a situation where she was tightly held by Phel and couldn’t move. Naturally, this meant I, who was staying at Anise’s house, couldn’t leave either.
“Come on, join us. I’ll protect you~ okay?”
“Um, could you please put me down and talk about this…”
Anise, looking exhausted, spoke while Phel had her in a tight embrace, asking for something.
She must be really tired, not being able to rest properly and dealing with this.
“Phel, enough already. You’re going to make her leave.”
“Leave? We need to get a clear answer! It would be great if we could rescue Diswen safely, but since none of us can use stealth, we’ll have to go into open battle. Do you think we have a chance? This person is our savior who will greatly expand our possibilities!!”
Anise’s complexion turned pale, looking even more burdened. In such a situation, I wouldn’t want to do anything either.
“Then you should make a polite request. I’ve given her a general explanation of the situation and she said she would think about it and give us an answer.”
“Why! You could just ask her now! We’re in a hurry!”
“Because of you, she might run away out of fear.”
“Hey, Terisier. Are you done talking?”
Phel shot a fierce look at Terisier in response to his reprimand.
Phel was larger than me and naturally taller than Terisier, but Terisier showed no sign of fear. He simply snorted at Phel’s words and turned his head.
Such consistent arrogance. Besides, neither of them seems to pay much attention to Obella’s words.
Obella frowned.
Is this a place for taking care of kids?
Anise was struggling, and it seemed like we were making no progress, so I set down my cup.