Waking up for the 2nd time

“Onii-chan, wake up.”

I was awakened by a slap on the cheek along with my sister’s grumbling voice.

In front of me was Letty with a dissatisfied look.

Or rather, this is the 2nd time I’ve seen this scene today.

“You’re hurting me, Letty.”
“You should know how I feel about me waking you up twice in the morning alone.”

While I rubbed my cheek, Letty returned casually.

Certainly, it would be a hassle to come to the 4th floor to wake me up.

Next time I’ll sleep in the courtyard or try to wake up on my own.

“It’s going to be a busy lunchtime, so you have to help me.”
“Okay.”

When I went downstairs with Letty, there were already several guests sitting in the dining room.

The lunches were not mainly for the guests, but for the carpenters, merchants, travelers, and adventurers who worked in the city.

Although they are based here, the places they work are not always in the same neighborhood. If they are in the neighborhood, they will come to have lunch at our cafeteria, but most of the time, they will go to stores or stalls near where they work.

However, some customers come to have lunch every time they want to see Letty, our poster girl, to relax their hearts and minds after a hard day’s work.

“Miss Letty, get the stir-fried vegetables with a large portion of meat.”
“You’ll have to pay extra for the extra meat.”
“Oh, come on, at least give me that much service.”
“Why don’t you be a man and pay for it and eat a lot of meat?”

Letty proposes that to the customer, who requested a large serving.

The expression is so cute, even from me, a brother’s point of view and somehow the desire for asylum is invited.

If such a cute girl looks up at you and says, “Be a man,” you’ll want to pay her.

“All right! I’ll take a large serving of meat like a man!”
“Thank you very much!”

While she bows with a smile, after taking the man’s order, Letty walks to the kitchen.

“A large serving of stir-fried vegetables.”
“…… Did they do anything weird to you, Letty?”
“I’m fine. You’re worrying too much, Dad. Besides, I’m used to it.”

I’m not sure if my dad saw it, but he sounded somewhat concerned, but Letty didn’t seem fazed.

“Letty has become very tough. ……”
“I’ve learned how to deal with customers like that from my mother and Ayla-onee-san.”

When I mutter deeply, Letty answers with a slightly lower tone.

I mean, she was serving customers with a smiley expression and a cute voice, but when she suddenly stopped and lowered her voice … It’s simply scary.

“And the way you begged me earlier?”
“Sort of.”

Maybe Ayla taught her that mocking begging method.

Ayla’s family is a family of innkeepers like us. I’m sure she knows how to treat a man.

I’m glad that the innocent Letty is growing up, but at the same time, I’m afraid that I’m starting to feel that she’s getting feminine and cunning.

Could it be that she knows about the third floor? She is becoming more cunning. She’s at an age where it wouldn’t be surprising if she had a little bit of sexual knowledge.

The truth is, she knows, but she’s pretending to be pure because she doesn’t want to be forced to clean the third floor …… It’s not like that, is it ……?

“Onii-chan don’t be late to come here soon!”

When I entered my sea of thoughts, Letty called me from the cafeteria.

There, Letty was listening to orders while holding a lot of dishes.

Mom is busy washing the dishes, and now I have to work without thinking about anything else.

I move through the crowded cafeteria, taking orders from customers, waiting for their orders, bringing the food to them, taking down the plates, paying the bill, and repeating the process.

This is the time when people who are working come to have lunch as a break, and many of them eat quickly to make the most of the limited time they have.

The turnover rate is much faster than in the morning, with customers coming and going.

“Hey! Tori-kun! Looks like you’re busy at lunch!”
“As you can see.”

As I was frantically carrying my plate, Michael was leisurely walking into the cafeteria.

The canteen was crowded and there was no place for him to sit.

I wonder if he knew this in advance, and he had taken measures when he ate lunch at our house.

“Oh, it’s Michael-onii-san.”
“Over here!”

There was a four-seater table at the back of the cafeteria, and the kids occupying it were waving at Michael.

“Oh! You saved a seat for me again today! Thank you!”

Michael thanked them, and the children smiled happily.

“It’s easier than working in the Church and it doesn’t matter.”
“And we get to eat delicious food.”

Yes, Michael has been asking the children of the orphanage to help him get a seat at his favorite table. And as a reward for this work, Michael buys the children lunch.

It may be an aristocratic indulgence, but he treats the children of the orphanage in this way without distinction.

Some of the orphanage children have been introduced to him and have gone on to work for him, so he is very trustworthy.

“Go ahead, order what you want!”
“What should we order?”

Michael said, and the children looked at the menu and voiced their concerns.

Such a scene made me smile.

After the hectic lunchtime, the number of customers calmed down.

Occasionally, some customers come into the cafeteria late, but it’s a relatively small group, so there’s no need for the whole family to wait around.

I leave the kitchen and dining room to Mom and Dad, while Letty and I take in the morning’s laundry.

When we stepped out onto the patio, a nice breeze was blowing and the white sheets were fluttering.

The sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the weather was beautiful.

Letty and I worked together to pull the bedsheets down from the pole.

“It smells like sunshine!”

Letty says innocently as she smells the sheets.

The sheets were just shining in the sun and giving off a soft scent.

The knowledge that this smell was the result of dead insects like mites flashed through my mind, but I decided not to worry about it.

They say it’s not good to worry too much about the details.

“Sleeping on a sheet that smells like the sun is a good way to sleep.”
“All you do is sleep, Onii-chan. Don’t you have anything else to do?”
“That’s not a very nice thing to say, Letty. I’m choosing sleep among all the other activities. It’s not because I have nothing else to do, okay?”

Yes, it’s important to choose sleep out of all the options.

There’s a big difference between deciding what to do when you have a choice and when you have nothing else to do.

“I wonder if that’s true, ……?”

However, Letty looks at me with suspicion.

Indeed, civilization in this world is not as advanced as it was in my previous life, but there are still games to pass the time. However, I still choose to sleep properly.

So I’m not a bored person.

“If you have time to spare, why don’t you cook? Otou-san lamented that my brother was a good cook, but he never trained.”

I think my father is trying to make me the inn’s cook.

I have some cooking experience from living alone in a previous life, so I have a general knowledge of cooking, but not nearly as much as a chef like my father.

Besides, I’d rather work as an employee and take a break than be busy in the kitchen, as I am now.

So, to be honest, I don’t want to be a chef.

But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to try to recreate the dishes of my previous life once in a while.

I can’t be a perfect cook, but I think I can contribute in that way.

“Well, I’ll give it a try next time.”
“Well, when you do, make something delicious for me to eat!”

My little sister is very careless.