Welcome to Olivia’s Magic Stone Jewelry Store

legant street, where the young man points to a store.

“We’ve arrived.
That’s most likely it.”

(!! Stylish!)

Pink and white potted flowers complement the light blue walls and white wooden door.

There’s a very sweet smell coming from inside the store.

Olivia rushes over, her eyes sparkling.

It looks even better than she had hoped.

When she sees the sign on the door, her shoulders slump.

[fully booked, now a two-hour wait]

(Sigh… I left early, but I got lost, and the crowds had arrived.)

Olivia is disappointed, and the young man looks at her, silently thinking.

Then he muttered, “Is it some kind of fate?” and opened his mouth.

“Let’s go inside.”

“Eh? But there’s a two-hour wait…”

“Well, just follow me.”

A young man opens the door and walks in.

He says something to the receptionist, and a middle-aged man appears from behind him.

“It’s been a while, Dixx-sama.
How is your father?”

“Yes, he’s fine.
Is “that” room available?”

“Yes, of course.
This way and your companion please.”

Olivia follows the man, looking on blankly, and is led into an elegant room with a table and chairs by the window.

The young man motioned for Olivia to take a seat and then opened the menu on the table.

“What do you want?”

“Uh, um…”

She looked at the young man’s well-groomed face, unable to keep up.

(Isn’t this a VIP room? Who is this man?)

Seeing Olivia’s confusion, the young man murmured, “Ah, that’s right”

“This is a business financed by our trading company.
That’s why we were given a special room.”

“I-I see… Please excuse me, sir…”

“I know.
It’s weird that we’re having dinner together and we don’t even know each other’s name.”

The young man gracefully placed his hand on his chest.

“Please allow me to repeat my name: Elliot Dixx, third son of the Dixx Trading Company.”

“M-My name is Olivia Carter, and I’m a magic tool maker at Gordon’s Great Magic Tools Store.”

Olivia manages to introduce herself with a stutter.

Then she was convinced.

Even Olivia, who has only been in the royal capital for half a month, has heard of the Dixx Trading Company.

It has to be a large trading firm.

As a trader, it stands to reason that he is familiar with bridles and magic tools.

Then she asked anxiously.

“Um…Excuse me.
Do you happen to have a peerage?”

“My father holds the title of baronet.
Olivia-san? “

“Ah.
Yes.
My father is also a baronet.”

Olivia patted her chest in relief.

She wondered what she would have done if he had been a highborn aristocrat, but they appeared to be in the same position.

(But he’s from the capital, and he’s far more aristocratic than I am, despite the fact that we’re both baronets.)

Following that, the two of them ordered the pancake set, which is the restaurant’s specialty.

When she sees the food being brought to her, Olivia’s eyes light up.

(It looks delicious!)

Two layers of well-browned pancakes filled with cream.

It has jam, honey, nuts, and berries on top.

“Itadakimasu (Bon Appetit).”

Olivia carefully cuts the pancake with a knife and puts it in her mouth.

The sweet taste in her mouth makes her gasp.

(Ah… the joy…)

It goes well with tea, and the taste changes depending on what you put on it.

It’s an excellent meal.

Olivia eats sparingly at first in Elliot’s presence, but by the time half the pancakes are gone, she’s blown away.
She loses track of him and becomes engrossed in the pancakes.

“You’re a very good eater.
I’ve never seen a woman eat so much,” Elliot says happily when he sees Olivia like that.

“You may have another.” and “Shall I order some tea?” And so on and so forth; he looks after her well.

An hour later,

Olivia satisfiedly placed her fork on her plate after finishing two plates of pancakes and three cakes.

(Sigh.
It was delicious.
It was a happy time.)

Elliot smiles and happily pours tea into Olivia’s cup.

The sight brought Olivia to her senses.

She’d almost forgotten he existed.

(It’s too rude to ignore the people you’re eating with and just keep eating in silence.)

Olivia looks away, uncomfortably sorry.

Elliot raised the corners of his mouth, sensing Olivia’s emotions.

“Don’t worry about it.
I had a good time as well.”

“…But, you only ate one pancake.”

“With due respect, but this is standard.”

They then leave the restaurant and make their way to Gordon’s Great Magic Tools Store.

On the way back, the topic of conversation was still magic tools and business.

Olivia discusses magic tools, whereas Elliot’s knowledge is wide-ranging..

And,

“Please excuse me here.
I thoroughly enjoyed your company.
I’m looking forward to exchanging more information with you.
Next time, let’s go to a cake roll shop.”

“Cake roll! Please! Thank you very much for today.”

Elliot’s broad back is seen off after a conversation.

She had an epiphany.

“On that subject,today, I couldn’t recall anything about Henry-sama or my uncle’s family.”

Their faces kept popping up to torment Olivia while she was working or alone in her room.

But that hadn’t happened once today.

She is both mentally and physically lighter.

(I guess I’ve had my fill of good food.)

Olivia expresses gratitude to Elliot for inviting her in.

She was able to feel so satisfied because of him.

That night, she stayed up late drafting for the first time in a long time.

And she fell asleep quietly for the first time in a month.

***

At around the same time

in a simple but magnificent office with a wall-mounted bookshelf.

A young man named Elliot laughed, reminiscing in the light of a magic lamp.

(Today was really interesting.)

He recalled her vivid blue eyes as she ate her pancakes.

(I’ve never seen a woman eat so boldly.)

In general, women are advised to eat small meals, and when they do, they typically take small pieces of food and place them in their mouths one at a time.

This is especially true for the nobility.

But she is unconcerned about it.

She slashes them into large pieces and shoves them into her mouth as quickly as she can.

When he offered her a second helping of pancakes, which she devoured, she ate not only the pancakes but also several pieces of cake.

Her happy expression made him happy as well.

After the meal, she did not pry into his affairs or look at his face.

Her expressions and behavior are genuine, and her only interests are cakes and magic tools.

(I’ve never been happier or more at ease with a woman.)

He almost burst out laughing as he remembered the sparkle in her eyes when he said, “Next time we’ll have cake rolls.”

She was well-versed in magic tools and told him many fascinating stories.

Her unpretentious demeanor was also very appealing.

Combined with her pleasant eating habits, he looks forward to their next meeting.

“…I’ll have to ask the maids where the cake rolls are located.”

Elliot murmurs to himself quietly, then smiles and turns back to his work.