Amelia the Level Zero Hero

The work day was over. It should have finally been time for Edlyn to wind down— to relax after so much laborious cooking. While she was a [Royal Chef], and she certainly preferred cooking the food here at Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant over the Astral Palace, she still found herself getting exhausted after preparing so many dishes.

There had to be over thousands of customers that came and went today. While the common room could certainly hold hundreds of customers at once, they weren’t going to fill it to full occupancy, considering they didn’t have enough staff to accommodate them all.

If Edlyn had maybe half a dozen employees— other [Chefs] who were roughly Level 10 to 20– she was certain she could serve enough food for even a thousand customers at once. She was a [Royal Chef], and she was rather high-leveled, so she was certain in her own abilities.

And while Amelia was helping out as a fellow cook in the kitchen, Edlyn couldn’t see her employer as anything but a monster.

Truth be told, Edlyn had started to feel better about Amelia, despite all the insanities that the former had witnessed carried out by the latter. But still, Edlyn didn’t know how to act around Amelia.

The two of them rarely talked. They had spoken a little bit when they first met at the Astral Palace. They also tended to interact a little bit when they were cooking together. However, they didn’t speak much beyond that.

So not only was Amelia just intimidating in general, Edlyn wasn’t well-acquainted with her employer either. When they weren’t talking about cooking, there wasn’t much for them to talk about, because they didn’t know each other. And that was another reason why Edlyn would’ve preferred not to talk to Amelia. Edlyn would’ve preferred to avoid any other kind of conversation.

Unfortunately, today, that was not going to be possible. Because for whatever reason, Amelia had invited Edlyn out for dinner.

Edlyn shifted uncomfortably as she sat across from Amelia. The two of them were seated in the middle of the common room of Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant. However, they weren’t here as cooks, they were here customers.

“Harlan, can we have some drinks, please,” Amelia called out, waving down the only waiter in the room.

Arthur and Jax had disappeared. No one knew where they had gone. Or at least, Edlyn didn’t know. But it was just her, Amelia, and Harlan present now.

“Of course!” Harlan said as he rushed into the kitchen.

He went to find some drinks, leaving Amelia and Edlyn alone.

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Please don’t go, Edlyn mentally begged, eyeing Harlan pleadingly. Unfortunately, his back had already been turned from her, so he didn’t notice her cries for help. Don’t leave me with A—

Amelia leant forward and spoke simply. “You’ve been working very hard since you got here, Edlyn.”

Edlyn blinked a few times, almost squeaking. But she caught herself and broke out of her stupor.

“M-me?” The [Royal Chef] took a moment to process the compliment she received. And then it took her another moment to find a proper response to it. “Oh, uh, thank you?”

Her words came out like she was asking a question, because she didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about the praise. In fact, she couldn’t ever read her employer, so she wasn’t sure if that was meant to be a serious compliment or not.

“Yeah, honestly,” Amelia said as she shook her head, “I’ve been needing help with the cooking ever since Xakor left. Especially since we’ve gotten a lot more attention since then. There’s way more customers now compared to when we first started.”

“Right…” Edlyn nodded hesitantly.

She didn’t know where Amelia was going with this. But the [Royal Chef] wasn’t going to question it. Instead, she just sat there silently and listened.

Amelia shook her head as she glanced towards the kitchen. “While I think Harlan is great and reliable, he isn’t the most skilled employee either. Jax does a better job— when he’s trying. But Harlan consistently does a good job.”

Harlan emerged from the kitchen with the drinks and set them down onto the table. Amelia nodded at him with a smile.

“And I’ve pre-prepared some food. Can you get them please?”

“Of course,” he said and swept back. He disappeared once again into the kitchen as Edlyn pursed her lips.

“Where are you… going with this?” the [Royal Chef] asked apprehensively.

She didn’t know what to expect. And she certainly didn’t expect what her employer said next.

“And while Arthur is great, he isn’t really standout either,” Amelia said as she shook her head. “That’s why I think you’re my best employee right now.”

That made Edlyn pause. “I’m… your best employee?”

Amelia chuckled as she leant back in her seat. “Definitely. Thanks to you, my workload has lessened quite significantly. So I’m grateful for that, and that’s why I want to treat you to dinner too.”

“I see.” Edlyn nodded, slightly perplexed.

Harlan returned with a full tray of dishes. He laid the food out before them as Amelia smiled.

“That’s why I’d like to ask you— what do you want?” she asked.

And Edlyn frowned. “What do I want? I, uh— what does that mean?”

“I mean, I’d like to reward you for your hard work.” Amelia waved a hand off dismissively.

“My hard work?” Edlyn blinked a few times, her confusion was evident. “But… why do you want to do that?”

Amelia laughed as she shook her head. “Because I’m a good boss, you know? But seriously—” She began listing things off. “Do you want a raise? Do you want some time off? Or do you want something else?”

Edlyn stared in shock as she heard what her boss was saying. She didn’t know what was going on. But somehow, for whatever reason, it almost seemed like Amelia was possessed. And now, Amelia was offering the [Royal Chef]... a raise?

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