NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 17 - Episode 017: Headhunter, Unconsciously Captivating Hearts
Episode 017: Headhunter, Unconsciously Captivating Hearts
“This should do.”
Turning the signboard hanging on the entrance door from “CLOSE” to “OPEN” and placing a cute illustration and menu on the menu board outside, all preparations were now complete.
It’s time to open the shop!!
With Ack and Tina wearing aprons, Snow and the other familiars eagerly awaited the arrival of customers.
“No one’s coming…”
However, several hours had passed since the opening. Despite waiting patiently, not a single customer had shown up.
But that was to be expected.
Ack’s shop was located in the outskirts, and the people of the Farmrest town not only couldn’t see the shop but also weren’t aware of its existence.
With no advertising done, it was natural that no one would come even after opening.
“We didn’t advertise.”
Realizing this fact, Ack closed the shop once and began preparing for advertising.
All he needed were flyers and posters.
“Wooooah!!”
With Ack’s strong arms, he swiftly drew several posters with cute illustrations and hundreds of flyers.
“I’ll help too.”
While mimicking what Ack drew, Tina also drew several flyers.
It was to assist Ack.
Ack, who made her a part of the family, despite being useless. If Ack hadn’t rescued her from the orc, she would have suffered a gruesome fate in the orc’s nest by now. If Ack hadn’t taken her in, she would have been lonely in the orphanage.
Tina wanted to be of help to Ack, even if just a little.
The sight of little Tina earnestly drawing flyers bit by bit was precious.
The familiars, understanding that this wasn’t playtime, endured the urge to draw and instead picked up and neatly organized the flyers that Ack was distributing.
After finishing their drawings, Ack and the others headed first to the Adventurers Guild.
“I apologize.”
“Welcome――”
The receptionist lost her words the moment she saw Ack.
Because Ack came wearing an apron.
It was only natural for people to be surprised when a big, stern-faced young man showed up wearing a fluttery, cute apron.
Indeed, people on the street had stopped in amazement until he arrived here.
Just that effect alone was a perfect advertisement.
“Are you listening?”
“Yes, I’m fine. What can I do for you?”
The receptionist regained her composure upon hearing Ack’s voice.
“I’m opening a café, but is it possible to put up posters on the bulletin board?”
“Um, yes. There will be a posting fee, but it’s possible.”
The receptionist was once again momentarily perplexed upon hearing about the café.
However, she managed to hold herself together somehow.
“Then, I’ll leave it to you.”
“This is a very cute poster. Did your daughter draw it?”
Handed a poster with illustrations that looked like they were drawn by a girl, the receptionist glanced at Tina sitting on Ack’s shoulder.
But she froze upon hearing the next words.
“I drew it.”
“Huh?”
The receptionist’s face was dumbfounded beyond comprehension.
“So, I drew it.”
“Haha. It’s a very good poster!!”
The receptionist, once again taken aback, praised the poster in an effort to cover up her surprise.
Even if it was just polite words or flattery, the fact that it wasn’t denied was very important to Ack.
“Thank you.”
“!?”
Ack blushed shyly and looked away slightly, expressing his gratitude while feeling embarrassed.
The rarely seen bashfulness of the usually expressionless, stern-faced young man.
――Heart throb.
The receptionist’s heart was pierced by the wide swing of emotions.
“Um, then, about the detailed conditions…”
Suppressing her racing heartbeat, the receptionist proceeded with the procedure for posting the posters.
After completing the procedure, Ack and the others headed to the Commercial Guild.
The receptionist couldn’t calm her fluttering heart. She sent heated glances at Ack’s back.
And then, a similar scene unfolded at the Commercial Guild, with Ack attracting attention wherever he went, leading to the same thing happening repeatedly.
Ack’s hidden fans were increasing.
“Am I in the way?”
“Ack?”
Visiting the former stern-faced craftsman Clauf, Ack received a cold response. However, Clauf had actually been eagerly awaiting this moment.
“I’ve opened a shop. Please come by sometime.”
“Hmph. Maybe someday. If you don’t have any business, leave.”
“I see. Sorry for bothering you.”
Accepting the flyers offered roughly, Clauf waved his hand to shoo away Ack.
But his face couldn’t hide the softening expression.
To avoid being noticed, Clauf chased Ack out of the shop.
Alone, Clauf imagined the opportunity to interact with fluffiness to his heart’s content, and his face broke into a wide grin.
“I’ve opened a café. If you’d like, please come by.”
“Ah, yeah.”
And finally, they distributed flyers together in crowded places.
Ack stood out head and shoulders above the rest, and Tina was also adorable. Moreover, with Snow and Chiffon accompanying them, they were impossible to miss.
Furthermore, when people saw the stern-faced young man wearing a fluttery apron, most of them stopped in their tracks.
Seizing this opportunity, Tina and the others rushed over to hand out flyers.
“New café in the outskirts, now open.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Kyuunn”
“W-What’s this, a flyer?”
With this, many people accepted them.
The flyers made by Ack and the others quickly disappeared.
“I hope customers will come.”
“Yeah.”
After handing out all the flyers, Ack lifted Tina and headed home.
Seeing the stern-faced young man smiling kindly at the young girl, the women present were knocked out.
Unbeknownst to him, Ack had secretly gained many fans.