I like crossing the most

Chapter 937 The Last Routine 116

Chapter 937 The Last Routine 116

In order to raise money for the church repairs, Kobayashi and his friends took action to get the café run by the Axis Church back into business... or rather, to make the café's business thrive.

On the streets of Axel, Darkness was handing out flyers, giving one to every passerby and shouting, "The café is reopening! Coupons are being given out now, please come and visit!"

For reopened shops, regardless of what they sell or whether the quality is truly good, what shop owners need most is customers' price sensitivity—and coupons, which can subtly increase prices without requiring changes to the product's price, are the most efficient means.

"Hmm?" A passerby casually took a flyer, examined it carefully, and said with some doubt, "Could it be that coffee shop near the Church of Axis?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Darkness nodded and invited with a smile, “The shop will reopen tomorrow, and we’ve prepared many new dishes. Please be sure to come and visit.”

"Um--"

Upon hearing this, the passerby showed no interest whatsoever, and instead said with some resistance, "However... I heard that's a café under the Axis Church, so to be honest, I'm not really keen on going."

This was unavoidable; the Axis cultists had caused the town no end of trouble, especially since most of the residents of Axel were Eris cultists, who frequently harassed them. The fact that they were giving Darkness a friendly look was only because Darkness wore the Eris cult's emblem.

Darkness quickly made a gesture to persuade him to stay, and said sincerely, "Although there are such rumors, I promise you will not feel uncomfortable. Consider it my invitation, why don't you come and take a look?"

"Really?" The passerby looked at her suspiciously, his face full of distrust. "Those guys are known for their aggressive proselytizing. Can we really just go there so easily...?"

"That's precisely why you should come here freely. And it's only by coming here freely that you can receive your exclusive baptism!"

Darkness suddenly became slightly excited.

"baptism?"

The passersby were even more puzzled. They had thought it was some kind of baptism like the Church of Eris, but they hadn't expected it—

"I was also subjected to all sorts of excessive treatment, such as being pelted with stones and forced to eat horse feed... Ah, just thinking about it makes my body restless and I can't control myself...!"

"...N-I'm sorry!" Seeing how perverted the female knight was, the passerby was immediately frightened and at a loss for words. He thought to himself that the Axis cultists were indeed a bunch of people with problems in their brains. He quickly said, "I suddenly remembered that I have an urgent matter at home. Please excuse me!"

Then he turned and ran.

"Ah, wait a minute...! Attracting customers is really not easy."

Darkness reached out to call out, but the passerby ran so fast he disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving her somewhat annoyed and pouting. But this guy didn't even consider whose fault it was; not everyone enjoys being treated like that.

That means Kobayashi isn't here, otherwise she would definitely be in trouble.

the other side.

In the café, Aqua was squatting in the backyard, her hands cupped around a container that resembled a bathtub. As light emanated from her hands, the ordinary water inside was purified into holy water. She then shifted her position and repeated the process. Soon, she grew bored and couldn't help but complain.

"Sigh... I'm getting a little tired from purifying water all this time. I need to take a short break."

"No."

Kobayashi, who was pouring the bathtub into a larger container and then pumping water from the well, decisively rejected the foolish goddess's complaints and requests, saying, "We're opening tomorrow, we can't afford to rest so frequently, can we?"

Aqua is so impatient. After only half an hour, she started complaining that it was boring and she wanted to slack off. If Kobayashi hadn't been watching her closely, she would have run off somewhere to have fun long ago.

"Ok?"

Suddenly, Aqua sniffed a few times with her little nose sticking out, a slightly drooling expression on her face, and said, "It smells so good... Kobayashi, what are you cooking?"

"Fried noodles," Kobayashi replied casually, a confident and smug smile on his face. "It was a huge hit when I made it at the beach."

Then he picked up a jar of seasoning and said, "After all, sauces are a rare condiment for people in this world... and the aroma is very strong, so it's perfect for attracting customers, isn't it?"

"Really!" Aqua smiled, seemingly quite satisfied with the taste of Kobayashi's special sauce, and said, "If a shop smelled like this, it would definitely make you want to go in and take a look!"

The café run by the Axis Church, while not located in a secluded corner like a deep alley, wasn't actually on a main street either. Therefore, Kobayashi had to find other ways to attract more customers. With inadequate marketing and a lack of visual appeal, aroma was the best way to draw in customers.

"To prepare for tomorrow's opening, I tried making it once first." As he spoke, Kobayashi picked up a little bit of fried noodles with his chopsticks and chewed it, commenting, "Hmm... adding more cabbage and seaweed powder might make it taste even better and more layered."

"Me too! Me too!" Aqua pounced on her, saying eagerly, "Let me try some too!"

"No, wait until you've bottled the holy water and filled five barrels before we talk about it."

Kobayashi nimbly dodged Aqua's lunge, but Aqua, not to be outdone, became motivated again under the lure of delicious food, and said earnestly, "I understand! Don't underestimate the power of the water goddess!"

Then this guy used the goddess's power to make five buckets of holy water in one go... Damn it, I knew he was dawdling. I should have said more. Anyway, it was just a waste of divine power.

Meanwhile, in the changing room of the coffee shop.

Youyou tugged at her waitress uniform, asking shyly and doubtfully, "Huihui, do we really have to dress like this?"

"Now that things have come to this, what's there to hesitate about?" Huihui, dressed in her waitress uniform, rolled her eyes, then decisively opened the door to the cafe's backyard and called out, "Kobayashi—! We're all changed—!"

Then, the door was fully opened.

Three stunningly beautiful girls with distinct styles appear.

They were all dressed in lace-trimmed maid outfits, all in bright red, with black aprons on their bodies—although their accessories were slightly different, there were still significant differences, especially around their chests.

After Cecily made her dramatic entrance, she shouted, "Jam-jam-jam—! From a beautiful priestess to a beautiful cafe clerk, I'm going to steal the hearts of many men again... I'm such a sinful, wicked woman!"

"Pah!"

Kobayashi couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of air, but seeing them come out dressed in normal clothes, Kobayashi felt relieved.

"Hmm, not bad. I was a little uneasy about entrusting the costumes to Cecily, but they turned out quite well. In any case, they have a real waitress vibe. You should try your best to attract customers."

All three of them look quite attractive, so there shouldn't be any problem...

At this moment, Youyou raised her hand somewhat uncomfortably and said, "My uniform seems a bit too tight compared to Huihui's..."

"Hey, could you please stop secretly showing off your good development?" Huihui, as expected, got angry and glared at Youyou, who looked a little aggrieved and upset.

"...However, this time it's to help my older sister, so I'll turn a blind eye to this little thing."

Huihui said this very generously.

But is this guy serious? He's clearly upset that Youyou's clothes are a bit tight, what does that have to do with her being so magnanimous in turning a blind eye?

Kobayashi asked with some curiosity, "Is it because of the favor you mentioned earlier? Huihui, what exactly happened between you and the Axis Cult?"

It was so intriguing that Kobayashi couldn't help but ask. After hesitating for a moment, Megumin finally told him the reason.

"...That was shortly after I left the Crimson Village, when I was still looking for teammates. I passed through Alcanredia before I arrived in Axel. That's when I owed that favor."

"Hey----"

Kobayashi gave a meaningful hum.

Cecily's face showed a touching and nostalgic smile as she said, "Even now, I still remember the first time I met Megumin."

"That happened back then?"

"Yes!"

Seemingly because of Kobayashi's interest, Cecily also became interested and said happily, "Back then, I was a poor thing, running around trying to escape the vicious Eris cultists. It was Megumin who lent me a helping hand back then!"

She looked at Huihui, her eyes sparkling.

Huihui sighed and said, "Actually, it should be the older sister who kept harassing the Eris cultists who was wrong, but I protected her without knowing the truth."

Hmm... I have a general idea of ​​what it is.

"Honestly, don't say things like that." Cecily hugged Huihui tightly and said with a smile, "Didn't you use the intelligence of the Crimson Demon Clan to help us spread our religion?"

"Hey, did you do something bad again?"

Xiaolin looked at Huihui with some fear; she was completely aiding and abetting evil.

"H-How can you say it's a bad thing...?!" Huihui naturally denied it and quickly explained, "I was just trying to repay her for taking me in, otherwise I wouldn't have helped her!"

"Hey----"

"really!"

Seemingly noticing Kobayashi's suspicious look, Huihui shouted loudly, then said in a low voice with a sense of helplessness and despair, "Back then, I was fired from my part-time jobs several times, and I was struggling to make ends meet... Just surviving was almost an exhaustion."

"Well, that's right."

Kobayashi certainly knew how hard Huihui's life had been. She had been an incredibly poor child since childhood, never having enough to eat or wear, which was a major reason why she was so short. But that couldn't be the reason she helped the Axis cultists, or even taught them how to deceive believers.

Then, Huihui continued, "While I was being taken care of by the Church of Axis, I also met a strange old man..."

“He’s not some weird old man!” Cecily seemed a little unhappy with Megumin’s statement. She pouted and corrected her, “That man is the highest leader of the Axis Cult, Lord Jesta.”

Oh, so it's Lord Jesta, who can do anything. Speaking of which, it seems like I haven't seen him for a long time. I wonder if he's still as perverted as ever.

“That’s right, that’s right.” Huihui nodded and said, “It was Lord Jesta who gave me enough money for the carriage. Thanks to him, I was finally able to reach Axel.”

“I see…” Aqua nodded, looking quite surprised, and said, “I never imagined that there was such an unknown bond between Megumin and the Axis Cult.”

Can this be called a bond? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a karmic entanglement.

Aqua, however, spoke like a goddess, saying, "My followers, though often alienated by those outside the church, still manage to reveal their undeniable kindness at times like these!"

"But as expected of the highest leader of the Axis Cult, his level of mental instability is also at the highest level..."

Huihui sighed deeply.

Kobayashi shared the same sentiment.

"But even so... you're still grateful to him, right?"

"Well... um, that's right, otherwise I wouldn't have helped."

Huihui smiled.

“Alright! In that case—” Following Huihui’s desire to repay the favor, Kobayashi raised his right hand and loudly addressed everyone, “Then let’s make the café prosperous, repair the church ceiling, and take this opportunity to repay the kindness of the Axis Church!”

"Xiao Lin...!"

Huihui looked at him with deep emotion.

Kobayashi grinned and said to the perverted priestess who wanted to get close to Megumin, "And Cecily, I want to take 30% of the café's revenue as my commission."

To be precise, it's a consulting fee.

After all, Kobayashi not only helped them come up with ideas, but also prepared novel foods and various unique ways of entertaining them, enough for them to earn a lot of money.

Cecily readily agreed with a smile, saying, "Okay, I just need enough money to repair the ceiling!"

"Sigh, you really know how to calculate things carefully."

Huihui said helplessly, not knowing whether she was talking about Kobayashi or Cecilia.

So, with the team members banging drums and gongs, the shop started operating quickly and opened smoothly the next day.

(End of this chapter)