Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Justyn blinked his eyes open as he groaned. His head hurt. His entire body ached. Everything was a discombobulating mess to him. He felt his stomach twisted as the urge to throw up overcame him.

But that sensation went away as he lay, unmoving. What was he lying on? It felt like a soft mattress. But that couldn’t be right. He had been sleeping on the hardwood wagon as he was heading to… somewhere.

Justyn couldn’t remember where he was going. He couldn’t even remember why he was going to this destination. All he knew was that it was because of something important.

For a moment, he tried to recall everything that had happened so far.

And then he set up as his eyes grew wide. He remembered the burning of Windrip. He remembered Kallistus Kal bringing Guildmaster Evan as a prisoner.

But that was not all, Justyn remembered everything he had done to get to Amelia— to warn her that the [Hero King] was coming for her, and to tell her to save Guildmaster Evan. With that goal in mind, the [Receptionist] had set out on a long and perilous journey to find the elusive Unranked Adventurer of Windrip.

Justyn had trekked up dangerous mountains and traveled to distant snowy lands. He had gathered every piece of information he could on where Amelia could have gone. It took him months of traveling. Even though he was a mere [Receptionist] who couldn’t fight, he still pushed himself to his very limit to get here.

And as soon as he arrived, he was rewarded with the discovery that his efforts were wasted.

This entire journey was moot. Because Amelia had already been informed of all this— she had already been warned about the [Hero King], before being told about the predicament Guildmaster Evan faced. And just like that, before Justyn even arrived, Amelia had rescued Evan.

It was almost too ridiculous to believe. But more than just that, it made this entire journey the [Receptionist] underwent a complete and utter waste of time. He might as well have gone back to his home, taken time to unwind, and have a small vacation, instead of going through all this effort.

Justyn understood that he should have been relieved to learn that Evan had been saved. And certainly, a small part of the [Receptionist] felt that way. However, his trials and tribulations burned in his mind, and he felt an intense anger buildup inside of him. Before it quickly dissipated.

Sighing, he lowered his head. “What was the point?”

It was a question Justyn didn’t know the answer to. There was no reason for him to be angry, because there was nothing for him to direct his rage towards. Amelia didn’t do anything wrong— she had only done what was right, saving Guildmaster Evan. And even if Justyn was upset at her, there was nothing he could do about it.

The same logic applied to Kallistus Kal. The [Hero King] was a force of nature that Justyn could do nothing against. After all, he was only a [Receptionist]. So all he could do was sit down and let his emotions stew and cool.

After what felt like an eternity of doing nothing, he wondered aloud, “...what do I even do now?”

Justyn couldn’t just return to Windrip. It was still under the [Hero King]’s rule. And even if it had been taken back, his life there was gone. He had to start anew. But was he really going to just stay here in this farming village with nothing to do?

He sighed as he rubbed his temples. And as he considered getting up and leaving his room, he heard a rapping on the door. Looking up, Justyn watched as a brown-haired man stepped in, carrying a steaming bowl.

“Hey,” the man said with a friendly smile. “You’re awake, huh? That’s good. I was going to wake you up if you were still asleep. I mean, I know you probably need your rest. But that’s the first time I’ve seen someone sleep for nearly two whole days.”

Justyn blinked a few times, before rubbing his temples. “I’ve been out for two days? That can’t be right…” But his stomach groaned in response, confirming what the brown-haired man was saying.

“Here, have some soup.” The man chuckled as he set down the bowl before Justyn.

“Thanks…?” Justyn gave an expectant look.

The man grinned and proffered a hand. “The name’s Harlan. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Right, thanks Harlan,” Justyn said as he accepted the gesture.

—--

It had been a while now since I hired Edlyn to work at my restaurant. Thanks to her abilities as a [Royal Chef], my cooking workload had decreased significantly ever since she arrived. And I was grateful for it.

I knew I couldn’t pay as well as working in the Astra Palace did. However, I still felt bad for underpaying her for the services she provided for my restaurant. Especially after the common room was expanded to accommodate even more customers than ever before.

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It was something that I hadn’t expected when I hired Edlyn. So this immense amount of workload had been thrust onto her against her will. Knowing this, and considering my increased income from all the new customers, I decided to offer her a raise.

Well, that was one of my reasons to offer Edlyn a raise.

Another more important reason to me was that I needed to show her my goodwill.

When I brought the [Royal Chef] here to Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant, I had assumed that she would be able to acclimate to the environment here with ease. Like everyone else so far.

Whether it was Noele, Garron, Nolan, Nicole, Harlan, or even Bucky. Everyone that I had met eventually got used to the things I was capable of doing. But not Edlyn. She was the only exception.

With every day that passed, I thought this would change. That she would finally wake up on a random morning and treat the things that happened around Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant like they were just an ordinary day. That never happened.

I noticed it. But I wasn’t the only one who did. Harlan had seen this too. And he was getting concerned for Edlyn. That was why he had spoken to me. He had voiced his concerns to me, and I thought maybe more exposure to me would help with the problem.

But Harlan had explained to me that the problem was me.

That Edlyn was terrified of me.

“Edlyn has spoken to me about it,” Harlan had said last night. “She thinks you’re some kind of a monster. Which… you kind of are. But you need to show to her that you have a good heart.”

And that was what I was trying to do right now— by offering Edlyn a raise.

But the [Royal Chef] almost didn’t believe me. “You’re offering me… a raise?”

I nodded as Edlyn repeated after me. “That’s right, do you want a raise?”

“Like, a raise? As in, more compensation?” Edlyn said, still staring at me in disbelief.

“Compensation for your work, yes,” I agreed.

She pursed her lips. “And this compensation doesn’t come with any additional work?”

“Nope, none at all.”

“And it’s going to be monetary compensation, right? You’re not going to pay me in… bastion bees?” Edlyn glanced around her shoulders nervously.

This conversation was starting to grate on my nerves. I sighed as I brought a bag of coins and spilled the money on the table. Edlyn flinched at first, before watching with round eyes as the coins clattered to a stop before her.

“This is what I’m compensating you with, yes,” I said flatly. “Do you not want more money?”

“I…” Edlyn hesitated. “And what’s the catch? Must I whore out my body?”

“That’s not—” I pinched the bridge of my nose.

Steeling myself, I tried to give the [Royal Chef] the kindest smile I could. I didn’t want to scare her off by being upset. But I was also getting a little bit annoyed with this conversation.

I looked her up and down as she eyed me suspiciously. Edlyn was practically squishing herself back into her seat. She didn’t want to be here. She made her discomfort clear.

And that was because she didn’t trust me.

But maybe she shouldn’t have even trusted me. After all, I had ulterior motives. Just— not the motives she thought I had.

I took in a deep breath as I raised my head. If she was distrustful of me because I wasn’t being genuine, then I just had to be truly transparent in my intentions.

“Look, Edlyn, I understand how you’re feeling. Well, not really, honestly. But I know that you’re antsy around me— which is fair, I guess. And what I want is to reassure you that I’m a nice person. Which is why I’m offering you this raise.”

The [Royal Chef] blinked a few times as I leant forward. I placed a hand on my chest as I continued.

“You’re probably the most irreplaceable employee I have right now. And I don’t want you to be driven to quitting— or something worse. So please, what can I do for you to convince you that I’m not a terrible person? What can I do for you to make your time working here better for your mental health?”

I wasn’t sure if the concept of mental health even existed in this world. I was certain it didn’t. But Edlyn seemed to understand the gist of what I meant anyways.

“I can’t quit even if I…” Edlyn started in a hushed voice.

And I raised a brow at that. But she quickly shook her head.

“I really appreciate the thought, Amelia. However, I don’t know what you can offer me that’ll really help ease my mind.” She chewed on her lower lip.

I frowned as I saw the way she nervously shifted where she sat. “But why not? Why are you doing all this work if you don’t want to get paid more— or even to get anything out of it?”

Edlyn closed her eyes for a long moment. She looked like she was trying to find the right words to say. Or rather, she seemed like she was struggling to find what she could tell me without being too transparent. Until, finally, she raised her head and placed a hand on her chest.

“I am doing this for my family. That’s why I am working here.”

“That’s it?” I asked, befuddled by that.

I had expected some other more complex reason. But Edlyn simply nodded.

“That’s it,” she said. “I care about my family more than anything in the world. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

I paused as I heard that. I considered this fact— that she was going through all this hardship and trauma for the sake of her loved ones. That must have meant that she was also working in the Astra Palace for her family too. But considering that she was the head chef back then, I doubted she ever had much free time.

I tilted my head back. And I got an idea.

A smile spread across my lips as I looked back down at the [Royal Chef]. “Do you want to take the weekends off to visit your family?”

Edlyn furrowed her brows at me. “What do you mean by that?”

She was confused. And I didn’t want to go through a whole song and dance to convince her of my idea. So I rose to my feet and proffered her a hand.

“How about this— let me take you to your family right now.”

“I… what?” And Edlyn just stared at me in shock.

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