Chapter 124: 124- New Employee at the Dessert Shop
"Excellent bread!" Rhys exclaimed, after trying a croissant from the plate of desserts Lupet had brought out. He highly praised her skills.
The baking was just right, with a rich buttery aroma and, most importantly, perfectly flaky pastry. Every detail was executed flawlessly, making this ordinary, even somewhat commonplace, bread shine in its own unique way.
"I'm glad you like it." Seeing Rhys thoroughly enjoy the dessert she made, Lupet felt genuinely happy.
"Aren't you opening the shop today?" Rhys noticed it was getting late and Lupet had shown no intention of heading downstairs to open the shop, so he took the initiative to ask. In the food business, it's crucial not to close midway.
They had already closed yesterday, and closing again today would greatly reduce customer loyalty.
"The young girl I hired before went home, so today I need to hire two new assistants first," Lupet explained. She understood the necessity of opening the shop daily, but she really couldn't manage everything by herself right now.
Unless...
Feeling Lupet's gaze on him, Rhys thought it wouldn't hurt to help her out a bit. After all, he didn't have any pressing matters to attend to at the moment, and he was also quite intrigued by the idea of working in a dessert shop. So, a few minutes later, Rhys was downstairs in the dessert shop, wearing an apron.
"Don't worry Master! You just need to package what the customers order and handle the checkout. Leave the dessert-making to me." Lupet cautiously instructed Rhys before heading into the kitchen, where she began manipulating the ingredients with her wand.
Flour, eggs, sugar, and milk were added to a bowl in turn, then stirred automatically under the influence of magic. Soon, the aroma of baked goods wafted out of the kitchen.
As the sun climbed higher, the flow of people in Diagon Alley increased, and Lupet's dessert shop began welcoming its loyal regulars.
With a tap of Rhys's wand, the food that customers ordered floated out from behind the counter and landed in the pre-prepared takeaway boxes. All Rhys needed to do was calculate the price and handle the payment.
At first, he found it quite easy, but he soon realized that customers kept coming to buy things almost non-stop from morning till evening, leaving him with almost no time to rest.
After a whole day of work, Rhys's mindset underwent a subtle change: Damn, making money in the food business is really hard work!
Moreover, he discovered a terrifying fact: after spending so much time in the dessert shop, he actually started losing interest in the array of desserts! This couldn't be happening!
As the flow of people in Diagon Alley gradually thinned out and the desserts in the display case were nearly sold out, Lupet finished cleaning up the kitchen and rushed out.
"I'm so sorry for troubling you! Please, take a rest!"
When the shop first opened, Lupet hadn't realized the problem. But when she finished baking a batch of bread and looked up to see Rhys bustling around the counter, she immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
This was her master!
To make a somewhat inappropriate comparison, it was like if Death Eater Bellatrix Lestrange opened a clothing shop, did the sewing in a small room, and had Voldemort measuring customers on the shop floor—is this suitable? Is this a normal master-servant relationship?
Sweat began to drip steadily from Lupet's forehead as she thought about it. If she hadn't noticed that Rhys wasn't showing any signs of impatience, she would have already run out to close the shop again.
She had made up her mind to definitely hire some extra help, even if it meant closing the shop again tomorrow to do so. What had she been thinking, letting her master run the shop for her?
"Excuse me..."
A young male voice suddenly interrupted Rhys and Lupet's conversation from the shop entrance.
Both Rhys and Lupet turned to see a blond boy with a chubby, round face standing hesitantly at the door, nervously glancing at the two of them inside.
"Neville? What are you... Are you here to buy some desserts? If so, you've come to the right place. The desserts here are incredibly, incredibly delicious," Rhys immediately recognized the Hufflepuff boy who brought a toad to school.
Because of his unusual pet, Rhys initially thought he was particularly skilled in Potions. However, after chatting with Hermione, he learned that this boy had a shy personality, was rather forgetful, and wasn't particularly good at Potions—instead, he often sat alone in the common room reading books on Herbology.
"My gran told me to come to Diagon Alley to find a place to work, so I could improve my speaking skills and courage, and maybe earn my allowance for next year," Neville explained his purpose in a voice barely louder than a whisper, but with a bit of newfound courage after seeing a familiar face.
It must be said, Neville's grandmother had a rather clever idea. Getting a summer job, interacting with different kinds of people, might help him mature a bit and become more confident in handling tasks.
But judging by Neville's appearance, he had probably spent the entire day in Diagon Alley getting turned down. Walking into shop after shop only to be rejected repeatedly—he didn't have any remarkable talents, and he didn't look particularly sharp, so naturally, he wasn't favored by the shopkeepers.
If his grandmother were willing to pull some strings with old acquaintances, finding a summer job would be easy for Neville, who came from a pure-blood family. However, it was clear that Augusta Longbottom had no intention of helping him. She wanted Neville to handle this on his own.
This was her way of testing him.
"So, you want to work here?" Lupet's eyes immediately lit up. "Come on, I'm actually short of hands—can you work as a cashier?"
Lupet was now at the point where she would take anyone she could get, as long as they were alive and breathing—two legs preferred, but even one would do. As long as she didn't have to let her master work for her again!
"Oh, okay, sorry to bother—huh? I got the job?" Neville, having been rejected so many times today, instinctively prepared to say goodbye, but then realized something was off.
Did he really get the job?!
He stole a glance at Rhys, wondering if this might have been thanks to him.
What was Rhys's relationship with the shop owner?
"Alright then, come to the shop tomorrow morning at seven, and I'll give you a simple orientation. As for the pay… how does one Galleon a day sound?"
Neville nodded eagerly like a pecking chick.
After he left, Lupet let out a sigh of relief.
At least now her master wouldn't have to help tomorrow... right?
But then, remembering that boy's clumsy demeanor, she suddenly wasn't so confident.
Rhys yawned and started packing up the unsold sweets in the shop. Halfway through, he paused, noticing that Lupet was staring motionlessly at the store entrance.
Following her gaze, Rhys saw a girl standing outside the shop. She was dressed in shabby clothes and had a pale complexion, and she was staring back at Lupet.
After a few seconds of the two of them looking at each other, the girl finally spoke, "Are you still hiring?"
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Chapter 125: 125- The New Mission of the Secret Order
Lupet didn't immediately answer the girl about whether they were hiring. Instead, she softly muttered the girl's name: Valentina Catalano.
"Big Sister Lupet do you remember me, and are you still hiring here?" The girl with gray hair forced a stiff smile.
Lupet looked over at Rhys.
"I need some time to think about it."
A flicker of despair flashed through Valentina's eyes. She was already at the end of her rope. If Lupet couldn't take her in, the most miserable future awaited her.
Lupet pulled Rhys back a couple of steps into the kitchen and whispered a brief introduction about this unexpected visitor who had appeared at the door.
As Rhys expected, the little girl who had suddenly appeared at the shop's entrance was a werewolf, just like Lupet.
Unlike Lupet, however, she had never received a proper education at a magic school.
After she was turned into a werewolf, her magic school—what Rhys saw as more of a magic cram school—chose to expel her. Her family was also killed in the werewolf attack, so Valentina went straight into a life of wandering.
During her travels, she met Lupet, and they lived together for a while. Later, the two of them got separated due to an accident. After that, Lupet met Rhys, which marked a turning point in her life.
It was clear that the reason she had come today was that she had seen someone she knew outside. At the very least, she could still pick up some leftover sweets from her sister's shop, couldn't she?
"Master, may I humbly request your mercy to bestow upon us the miraculous spell that can transform a werewolf and allow her to work here part-time for a while?" Lupet carefully chose her words, hoping that Valentina could also receive Rhys's salvation.
Although she hadn't meant to eavesdrop, Valentina accidentally overheard how Lupet addressed Rhys.
She glanced at Rhys in astonishment; the development of this situation was completely beyond her expectations.
Could it be that this dessert shop is funded by this little boy?
What exactly is Lupet's relationship with him?
Recalling how Lupet addressed Rhys, the answer became obvious.
Rhys thought for a moment. He considered using the Human Restoration Spell on the girl after she transformed into a werewolf, allowing her to break free from the werewolf curse.
Since he had encountered a werewolf, he would never ignore it; that would be irresponsible to ordinary wizards. However, the method of dealing with it was a matter of choice. Using the Human Restoration Spell to prevent them from transforming into werewolves for a period of time was one approach, while killing them was another.
In the past, Rhys had leaned towards the latter—a simple and immediate solution.
'Ok.. I think I was a bit racist.. BUT we were still fighting for the wizards at that time and creating the school!'
But now, he was willing to put in more effort.
"Stay here, and let me know when she transforms next time—oh, and I'll need to give you another spell as well," Rhys decided.
The spell developed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff is only effective against werewolves that have transformed into wolf form. The principle is to use their own magic power to eliminate the wolf poison attached to the werewolf, and continue to eliminate the curse on the werewolf through spells to suppress the werewolf's transformation.
When the spell's energy runs out, the werewolf will still transform on the night of the full moon, at which point another Human Restoration Spell will be needed to cast. How long the spell lasts depends on the skill level of the caster.
However, according to Ravenclaw's design, theoretically, since the curse within the werewolf's body diminishes each time, the duration of the spell should gradually increase, eventually potentially reaching a point where the spell might not need to be "reapplied" for over a decade.
As for why it's only theoretical, Gryffindor and Slytherin preferred using a quicker method to cure werewolves. The Human Restoration Spell has a significant flaw: not every werewolf can find someone who knows this spell to cast it on them before its effects wear off.
Wouldn't that just lead to them transforming into wolves again and harming other humans?
However, Lupet's situation is slightly different. She is settled and can see Rhys every summer vacation, making it much more convenient to reapply the spell.
*Gurgle—~*
As Rhys and Lupet were talking, Valentina's stomach suddenly growled.
Facing their gazes, Valentina remained unfazed. "Um, Sister.. I'm a bit hungry. Can I have a couple of unsold cakes?"
Of course, she could. Rhys promptly stuffed the packaged desserts into her hands.
And just like that, Lupet hired her second employee.
She took Valentina directly to the Leaky Cauldron, rented a room, helped her take a bath, and even gave her a set of her own clothes to wear.
When she returned to Lupet's dessert shop, Rhys had already gone back to the bedroom on the second floor.
She went upstairs and found Rhys sitting at the desk, intently focused on something.
"Sorry, I came back a bit late because—"
"They finally contacted us." Rhys looked up and picked up a small booklet from the desk, waving it slightly. A smile that resembled catching a big fish flashed across his face.
"Who—The Secret Order?!" Lupet almost didn't react in time.
Rhys closed the booklet and tossed it towards Lupet.
"The guy from Knockturn Alley, was it Sergi or Serge, had really low clearance. The people from The Secret Order actually made him do a year's worth of odd jobs before giving him a new assignment," Rhys couldn't help but grumble.
Does The Secret Order have a generous budget? They actually kept purchasing the bulletins for such a long time.
But Rhys misunderstood them. Lupet and the previous owner of the alumni network, Sergi or Serge, made quite decent bulletins, which is why The Secret Order was willing to keep paying. They even assigned higher-level tasks after conducting assessments. It's not easy for ordinary people to crazily milk funding from The Secret Order like this.
Lupet opened the booklet and saw that a previously blank title page now had a sentence appear on it:
"[Investigate the death of a Gringotts curse breaker in northern Scotland, gather relevant information, and send the information to the usual address.]"
When Rhys saw this sentence, he immediately realized that the incident was not straightforward. The identities of those curse breakers likely warranted further investigation.
They were probably connected to The Secret Order, and investigating them might just be a "stepping stone" to prove one's capabilities.
"So, are you planning to go to Scotland to investigate the truth of the matter?" Lupet asked. If her master was going to the Scottish Highlands, she would need to make some arrangements.
"Heh~ Not at all," Rhys shook his head, unexpectedly. "I think there's someone who wants to know more about The Secret Order than I do. Let him handle the intelligence gathering—Lupet, write an anonymous letter to Albus Dumbledore. Make sure to give him a thorough introduction to The Secret Order and how to use this little booklet."
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