Chapter 181

Jangle, jangle.

On a hot summer day, the door of a candy shop in downtown Lambart opened with the light jingle of a bell.

Jacqueline, stepping out after finishing her part-time shift, flipped the sign hanging on the door and stretched as she untied her apron.

“Ughhh! Well then, I’ll be heading out now.”

“Jacqueline, do you think you could come in two hours earlier tomorrow morning?”

“Two hours? That’s practically dawn…”

“We’ve been swamped with orders because of the event this weekend. We’re seriously short-handed. I’ll make sure to pay you extra, of course.”

“Hehe, well then I definitely have to come.”

“And here…these are just scraps left over from making candy. Have some on your way home.”

“Thank you, Auntie. See you tomorrow!”

It had been almost a month since the academy’s summer break began.

In the dormitories, about half the students had gone back to their hometowns, while the other half remained.

Jacqueline, of course, belonged to the latter.

She wanted to see her family, whom she hadn’t seen in six months, but her hometown was far from the royal capital. The round trip alone would eat up most of her vacation, so going home required real commitment. Most of the students who stayed in the dorms were in a similar situation.

But staying behind during break wasn’t all good.

First of all, the allowance provided by the academy was cut off during vacation. The dorm cafeteria still served three meals a day, and there was a small stipend for basic expenses, but it was just barely enough to keep from starving.

That was why the students who remained usually found part-time jobs during the break.

In the job market, being an academy student wasn’t such a bad credential. The short employment period was a drawback, but their verified status as academy students made up for it.

Of course, well-paying and comfortable jobs were quite rare. Often, upperclassmen would pass positions down to juniors they favored, or even sell them for a premium.

Jacqueline was one of the lucky ones.

She didn’t have a senior looking out for her, but she did have family running a shop in the capital.

As expected of someone who lives in the city, Auntie really has a good sense of style. She even gives me little treats like this sometimes.

Jacqueline smiled to herself in satisfaction as she opened the paper wrapping.

Inside were pieces of candy studded with walnuts and cashews.

It was her favorite treat.

Rita said she’d be staying with her parents during the break… Maybe I’ll share this with Shannon.

She popped one of the leftover candy pieces into her mouth. It tasted wonderful.

Hmm… what if it’s so good that I end up eating it all before I get back to the dorm?

That concern quickly became irrelevant.

Before long, Shannon appeared in front of her.

In a deserted alley on the way back to the academy, there was a blonde head sitting sideways on a set of steps angled like the evening sunset.

Their eyes met by chance, and they both spoke at the same time.

“Huh?”

“What are you doing here…?”

Jacqueline answered first.

“I’ve got a part-time job around here.”

“Me too.”

“Shannon, you’ve been working too?”

Shannon averted her gaze for a moment, as if reluctant to answer, then spoke.

“Starting today. I ran out of money.”

“Oh…”

Jacqueline had recently found out that Shannon had practically run away from her family home in Karaf.

Shannon had always spent money so freely that Jacqueline had assumed she was just a rich girl.

It seemed the money she’d brought with her when she left home had finally run out.

Jacqueline asked, “Then why are you just sitting here? Are you done for the day?”

“Yeah. I’m done. Completely.”

The way Shannon said it sounded nothing like she had simply finished her shift.

“Don’t tell me…”

“I got fired.”

“Didn’t you say you just started today?”

“Mhmm. So I guess I got fired on my first day.”

No wonder she looked especially down.

Seeing Shannon quietly clutching her own shoulders, Jacqueline felt a pang of sympathy and sat down beside her.

Then she held out the bag of candy.

“Want some? Auntie gave it to me.”

“Thanks.”

Shannon took it without hesitation.

Her eyes widened, and she brightened immediately.

As expected, sweets had the magical power to lift a person’s mood.

“By the way, where were you working? Firing you on the first day… the owner must be pretty cold-hearted.”

“Powell Bakery.”

“Huh? That’s right across from where I work.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Just across the street. You can even see it from our window. They get tons of customers there…wasn’t it exhausting?”

“I wouldn’t know. I got fired after two hours.”

“Right… you did say that.”

Carefully, Jacqueline asked what had happened.

Shannon answered as if it were nothing.

“I was hired as a kitchen assistant, but I messed up the very first batch of dough. I followed the instructions exactly, but the result turned out weird. Later I figured out…”

“Figured out what?”

“I mixed up the measurement units. I was unconsciously using the units we use in Karaf.”

“Oh, now that you mention it, that’s how they taught it at the academy too.”

Jacqueline remembered how complicated Karaf’s units were and how hard they were to calculate.

If Shannon had made that mistake, the dough definitely would have turned out strange.

“But you can just make a new batch of dough. They kicked you out of the bakery over that?”

Shannon shook her head.

“After that, they moved me from the kitchen to the front to serve customers. But this time, I honestly don’t even know what I did wrong. A customer asked me a question, so I answered politely. Then the owner got mad.”

“What did you say?”

“The customer asked, ‘What does this pastry taste like?’ So I answered honestly. I said, ‘I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure. But it looks like it’d make you gain weight. I saw them put almost a whole cup of sugar into it’.”

Shannon’s expression was completely serious as she said this, and Jacqueline bit down hard on her lower lip.

She was trying not to laugh.

But in the end, she burst out laughing.

Shannon frowned.

“Why are you laughing?”

“It’s just…haha! It’s so… you. Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh.”

“Maybe I’m just not cut out for working.”

Still wiping tears from her eyes from laughing so hard, Jacqueline patted Shannon on the shoulder.

“It’s okay. It’s not that you’re bad at working. You just… need a little time to adjust.”

Shannon let out a long sigh.

“If this were Karaf, I could easily make a living with my abilities. No, even if it weren’t Karaf, as long as I could use magic.”

It was something she said because the academy rules prohibited students from using magic for personal purposes.

The rule had been created to prevent possible magical accidents, and also because there had once been an incident where someone showed off their power and ended up tarnishing the academy’s reputation.

Seeing Shannon in a rare state, her confidence sunk all the way to the bottom, Jacqueline decided she would help her.

“Shannon, do you want to try working at my aunt’s shop?”

***

The next day, Jacqueline grabbed Shannon by the hand and took her to the candy shop her aunt ran.

Just as her aunt had said the day before, they arrived two hours earlier than usual.

Dawn had just broken, and since it was summer and the sun rose very early, it was practically still the crack of dawn.

Shannon mumbled in a groggy voice.

“Do we really have to go this early?”

“She said they’ve been swamped with orders lately.”

“I’m really not a morning person…”

“They say the early bird catches the worm.”

“I’m scared of worms. I can’t catch one.”

The fact that she was rambling like that showed she really wasn’t good with mornings.

Still, once she got moving, she gradually woke up, rubbing her eyes.

And then she started to worry.

“Are you sure this is really okay? Just showing up like this all of a sudden?”

“Just trust me.”

“You didn’t even ask for permission in advance.”

“Well, not exactly… but don’t worry. My aunt absolutely dotes on me. One word from me and she melts.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

Answering confidently, Jacqueline opened the door to the candy shop they had arrived at and stepped inside.

The shop was still getting ready to open, and the lights in the workshop were brightly on.

Inside, Jacqueline’s aunt, Austin, was moving around busily.

Austin had lively brown hair and eyes full of warmth and laughter.

“Auntie! I’m here!”

“Alright. First, go adjust the heat under the pot over there with the syrup simmering… Oh my, and who’s the pretty girl you brought with you?”

“She’s the new employee at our shop.”

“Hmm?”

“Her name’s Shannon.”

“Is she your friend, Jacqueline?”

“You said you were short-handed, so I brought her.”

At Jacqueline’s cue, Shannon politely greeted her. “Hello.”

Austin stroked her chin thoughtfully.

“Unlike Jacqueline, she has small shoulders and thin arms. She doesn’t look very strong. Are you sure she’ll be okay? Handling candy dough isn’t exactly easy work.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure if doing your best will be enough. Do you know how hot candy dough gets? If you make even a small mistake and end up with a burn…”

As Austin hesitated, Jacqueline cut in.

“Then just give her something that’s not so physically demanding. Right? I’ll handle all the heavy lifting.”

“Jacqueline, dear. Even if she’s your friend, I can’t just let anyone work here.”

“Can’t you just give her one chance? Please? Aunt Austiiin.”

Jacqueline began dragging out the last syllable and acting cute.

For Shannon, who had only ever seen Jacqueline’s bold and spirited side at the academy, it was so unexpected that she couldn’t help but be impressed.

She even found herself wondering what Rita would have said if she had been there to see it.

With a helpless sigh, Austin fetched an apron and slipped it over Shannon’s neck.

“Alright. I’ll let you try. But if it gets too hard, don’t push yourself. You come tell me right away, understood?”

“Yes. I’ll work hard.”

“You’re the best, Auntie! Love you. Mwah! Mwah! Mwah!”

“Jacqueline, you little rascal! Stop clinging to me and put your apron on already. You’ll get sugar all over yourself.”

“Yes!”

Saying she was busy, Austin returned to the large copper pot with steam vigorously rising from it and began stirring the sugar syrup.

Jacqueline looked at Shannon and flashed a V sign with her fingers.

“See? Just like I said. She can’t resist my charm.”

“I don’t know. I think it might be something else…”