Chapter 43. New Employee, Iru and Aru.
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{POV: MC}
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After confirming the payment, the bunny girl then brought me to her office to settle the paperwork in order to own those twins legally. Honest I didn't expect another world with magic and fantasy creatures using paperwork to settle their slavery ownership business.
["Actually, according to the history of the world this method was introduced by a reincarnated civil worker person a century ago to make governing and data processing easier."] The system suddenly explained.
So this world already become a place for reincarnated persons from a century ago, huh?
["The oldest record was a modern person reincarnated to 200 years ago, by the way. Also, More than a hundred people already reincarnated in this world are from earth, while there are also a lot of people from another world "]
Dozens of people? That might be the reason why a lot of furniture in this world resembles things from Earth.
["Yes, magic stove and magic refrigerator basically the same as on earth except they run on magic stone instead of electricity."]
The sense of isekai-ness now fading. This world now is basically just like Earth but with magic.
["Pffft. It's only some part of daily life necessities. It would be much harder for you to run a restaurant if it's not the case since you need to learn to get used to the tools you are not familiar with."]
That's true. I probably need to check what already exists in this world to determine what I can use in this restaurant.
It would be great if a magic air conditioner also existed, since I can tell this city is pretty hot to live in.
...
Later I would find that also a real thing, and obviously buy it for the restaurant. After all, unlike on Earth, I don't have to worry about electricity bills at all in this world.
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After completing all the necessary paperwork and obtaining both twin slave certificates, I quickly used teleport magic to bring both of the twin catgirls to the restaurant.
Fortunately, using magic in public in this world is something normal, otherwise, I probably need to bring them together by walking on the street--- which would grant me unwanted attention from the surroundings and I don't really want that to happen.
...
"Welcome to your new house, Iru, Aru."
*Snap*
Using my wish to remove their gag and blindfold, plus cleaning their white dress, I was finally able to see both of the twin catgirls' faces properly for the first time... and yep, I didn't regret it.
Their childish face with blue eyes looked at me differently, one of them looked at me timidly and the other one looked at me with wary. Unlike Saya and Kaya who can only identified by their eye color, Iru and Aru are much easier to identify since their hair length is different and their behavior is also quite contrasting at first glance.
"Human... you are our master? How did you know our name?"
Aru, the cat girl with short hair noticed Jin quickly stepping up in front of her timid sister bravely. Honestly, I really didn't expect to be greeted with such a question, After all logically-- I bought two of them together so it's obvious I know their basic information from that bunny girl.
"My name is Jin, so call me with my name."
I introduce myself kindly since I want to make a good impression on my employee candidate, "As for your name, I know it in your slave contract document."
I bring out their slave ownership certificate and show it to their eyes which proves that I am currently legally owning them.
After believing what I own is a real thing, Aru who still looked at me with wary asked, "Then, you are really our master, Jin?"
"Yes, Aru. I am your master."
"I see. You don't seem to be a bad guy!" Aru exclaimed, but her reaction really confused me. I am sure that with a god as my identity, I couldn't be given a bad guy vibe-- but for now, I guess I will just try to get along with her.
"Thank you for the compliment."
"I am still not 100% sure though! You need to prove it!"
"...Yes, yes, yes."
Looking at her who doubts my identity, actually reminds me of when Rin looked at me the first time she was adopted by my parents. Her childish behavior is quite jarring to deal with, but compared to most of the girl's behavior-- I would rather deal with her all the time.
["Should I report this to them, Jin-sama?"] The system commented, scared me out of nowhere.
Don't you dare!
["Pffft."]
...
While I was getting absentminded warning the system in my mind, the timid long-haired twin, Iru, suddenly asked, "S-So, umm... master-sama, Why do you buy us together?"
"Indeed! I also want to ask that!" Aru followed.
Looking at their genuinely confused reaction, it seems that the bunny girl manager doesn't explain anything to them about my identity which is really a hassle, to say the least. However, the fact that Iru, the long-haired timid cat girl finally able to talk to me means there is progress, and she doesn't seem to be an introvert like I thought earlier.
"Good question." I smiled at them and explained, "The reason for that is because I want both of you to work with me."
""Work?""
Hearing my answer, both Iru and Aru look surprised, probably didn't expect my answer at all. From their tangled expression, they probably expect me to use them to engage in indecent behavior, but I obviously won't do such a degenerate thing.
*Cough*
"Take a look where you are currently at. Where do you think is this?"
After that, both of them looked at the surroundings-- which obviously filled with a set of tables and chairs everywhere since I didn't have any decorations to put in yet. Heck, I don't have any menu list either yet, but I do plan to make it tonight after settling down both of these twin catgirls.
"This is... a restaurant?" Iru muttered.
"Correct. This is my restaurant, and I bought both of you so you can help me manage this place together."
"Master is owning this restaurant?"
"Yes, I do Iru."
"Then... you want both of us working for you?"
"That's correct." I nodded and thumbs up, "You are very smart, Iru!"
Despite being timid, it seems that Iru was quite smart since she was able to deduce what was going on. If this is that kind of 'trope', then Aru must be...
"A restaurant? Isn't this a place for people to eat? We don't have to feel hungry anymore!"
"Aru! Don't be rude to our master!"
"We agree! Let us work here, master Jin-sama! As long you give us enough food every day!"
"Aru!!"
...
Aru who at the beginning was wary of me suddenly changed his attitude 180 degrees and became very excited as I could tell there was a literal sparkling star in her eyes..
Yep, it's really that kind of trope. Iru must be timid but smart, and Aru must be brave but also stupid. These twins are really counterparts which each other, without a doubt. That also explains why Aru made a very confusing reaction earlier too.
However, I don't really mind her reaction since from her request alone, I vaguely understand both of them must have had some sort of difficulty just to eat in the past.
I am really curious about what was going on with them in the past, but I decided to postpone it until I am done settling down with them and deciding their role in the restaurant. Anyway, my guts told me they weren't bad people, and I always believed in my guts.
"I promise, but both of you need to work hard to help me."
""Work hard?""
I put their certificate on the table and then said all the benefits I could offer, "I will make sure to feed both of you every day, give you a monthly wage, and also free both of you from 'slave' status within a month as long both you worked seriously."
I don't know what benefit a restaurant owner in this world normally gives to their employee, but I think mine is quite good. The only missing thing would be a free day and insurance, but I plan to offer them that later too.
As for their status, that's only insurance in case they don't work seriously. I would naturally free them from slavery later even if their work result is not satisfying, but for now, I will use their status as a motivation.
...
"Everyday food..." Aru muttered while her mouth began to drool and reacted to my proposal.
"Monthly salary..." Meanwhile, Iru reacted more to the wage and asked, "How much gold master is gonna pay both of us every month?"
"...Well, let's talk about that later."
I averted my eyes from them, avoiding their question. Since I haven't checked what is normal pay for an employee of a restaurant in this world, naturally I really can't answer.
Although the amount of salary has never been a problem for me, considering my ability.
...
"So what do you think of my proposal?" I said confidently, knowing they couldn't refuse my good offer to them.
Obviously hearing my question, after looking at each other for a while, both Iru and Aru nodded together and excitedly answered, ""Of course, we agree, master!""
...
Hearing their positive answers, I nodded and immediately led them into the kitchen to test their skills. Before assigning their positions, I need to know their ability, after all.
This is proven to be a bad idea later on.
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With their brimming confidence earlier, I thought I was hitting a jackpot employee. However, after seeing the result of their cooking on the table, I realized that maybe I got scammed by that bunny girl.
"Umm... what is this?"
"A boiled fish!"
Aru confidently answered, but her answer actually made me feel depressed... because what I could see on the table were literal fresh boiled blue fish lying on the plate without any decoration.
"...Literal boiled fish?"
"Um, master. What is literal?"
"You don't even know what that word means..."
"I don't know! But it should be good, right?!"
Ignoring her question, I proceeded to take a look at her 'dish' properly and even smell it... which still smelled fishy. The fish itself also looked intact without any cuts and only released some smoke due to the boiling process.
"How it is master? I must be passed, right?!"
Aru asked my opinion eagerly, but unfortunately, my answer going to disappoint her.
"You are failed, Aru. Maybe you shouldn't even enter the kitchen ever again."
"Ehhh?? Why?? But you haven't tasted it, master! I bet it tastes good because fish is my favorite food!"
"No."
"Just give it a try!"
"I am sorry..."
"Master!"
Aru kept protesting my decision, but I didn't need to even taste the fish to know it would be horrible. Basically, this silly catgirl just put a fresh fish on the boiler for several minutes and thought it was done, not even seasoned.
She didn't even bother to remove the scale or the intestine either so in a nutshell, this is basically boiled raw fish! Obviously, she would like fish because, in her species, there is a 'cat' before a girl!
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After leaving Aru with a bad evaluation, I moved to Iru's table to test her dish. Unlike her sister, this time what I see is a bowl of soup on the table-- which obviously had much more effort to create than mere boiled fish.
As expected of a smarter sister, she does it better than her twin counterpart.
"Iru, can you tell me what is this?"
"A-A soup?"
"Why interrogative sentence?"
"Because I am not sure if I actually made it correctly! I am so sorry, master!"
"..."
Iru quickly acts dogeza on the floor despite I am not even angry at her.
I quickly took note that this girl really needs to improve her mentality, otherwise, it would be problematic for her to deal with a rude customer.
Surprisingly, dogeza also exists in this world huh? That's good to know at least. Maybe a lot of Japanese actually reincarnated into this world and brought their culture.
["You guess it correctly."]
Pffft... Figured.
...
"Raise your head, let me taste it first and after that, I will tell you what I think."
I said kindly, trying to make her feel better.
"Umm. Please master."
Anyway, from the look of crystal clear soup water and the smell, the soup itself doesn't seem to have anything wrong so I will give it a taste at least.
The moment I did though, I quickly spurt it out, and even made me choke... since it tasted horrible!
"Pfffffttt...!"
""Master?!""
Both Aru and Iru quickly panicked at my reaction but fortunately, I prepared a cup of fresh water nearby in case which greatly helped my situation.
*Cough* *Cough*
"I am... okay..."
I said trying to reassure them but I guess they are still worried since it's probably shown on my face how terrible it was.
I thought Vera was already terrible enough at cooking but it seems there's always more horrible cook than you ever imagined existed.
"Iru... I am sorry, but you have also failed and probably also got banned from the kitchen."
Hearing my evaluation, unlike her sister, Iru seems able to accept it albeit clearly depressed "I-I am sorry..."
"I just wanted to know... why that soup is so sweet?"
"B-Because I put a lot of sugar on it."
"Sugar? Why it's not salt."
"Umm... B-Because sweet is good? S-So I put a lot of sugar"
"No... It's no good, Iru... at least for soup."
"Ugh."
I thought she was mistaken sugar for salt but surprisingly, she really did it on purpose and thought it was genuinely a good idea!
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"What I should do for both of you..."
Looking at the result of their cooking, I know that I have been scammed very hard by that bunny girl. After all, I was looking for a slave who was able to cook and clean, but these twins clearly didn't know how to cook well.
Using logic, I probably turn them back to that store since they are not employees that I am looking for, but...
...
"Master! We are sorry! Don't send us back!"
"I-I don't want my mouth getting gagged again!"
"Oii... stop clinging on my leg... I am not angry, don't worry!"
"B-But you seems a-angry, master..."
"I don't want to leave! I don't want to go back to that store again!"
"I said, I promise that I won't send you both back!"
...
While I was trying to reassure them, the situation quickly became worse as apparently the door of the restaurant suddenly opened, revealing my sister who looked at me with very scary eyes after seeing two lolis clinging on my leg with teary eyes
"Onii-chan? Who are they?"
"Sister, w-welcome back?"
At this moment, I feel a Deja Vu, reminding me of the moment when I revived Vera and got caught by her in the storage room.
A huge crisis situation!
...
"No wonder you haven't made a move on any of us, so you are secretly a lolicon, huh?"
"No. Listen, sister, please let me explain first!"
...
After that, I am doing my best to calm down all of my 'employees' and solve the misunderstanding about the situation, otherwise, I won't doubt that my sister going to report it to others... which not going to be a good thing for me.
Even as a god, I still have a hard time to handle the girls around me.
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[Intermission: Why the twin races are called cat girl instead of cat folk, cat demi-human, or even cat beastman? ]
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(System): ["As the title of the intermission said, I have been curious for a while, Jin-sama. "I wonder why those girls are called cat girl instead of cat folk or cat beastkin?"]
(MC): "Wow, It has been a while since our role in the intermission is reversed, system."
(System): ["Yes, it is. But please answer my question, Jin-sama."]
(MC): "Why?"
(System): ["Something about it bugging my mind, so I am curious."]
(MC): "Well... I don't know either."
(System): ["What? You don't know either despite using it?"]
(MC): "It's just how most people on earth call them. Fox girl, dog girl, lizard girl, etc."
(System): ["Then, how do you call a male counterpart of a cat girl?"]
(MC): "Cat boy?"
(System): ["...Even though they are the same race, you call it by a different name?"]
(MC): "It is how it is. Cat girls because they are female, Cat boys because they are male. I actually not sure either, but we are getting used to calling them like that. Rather than calling them cat folk or something, I feel more comfortable calling them catgirl."
(System): ["...Even Original One calls it cat girl so you are not wrong."]
(MC): "Pfft... It made me wonder if I should call you 'system girl' from now on using catgirl naming system."
(System): ["Please no, Jin-sama. Such a naming system does not make sense and also feels weird!"]