She Rules the Dungeon

Two months into early retirement, Otta was now an owner of a chicken farm. They didn't know what happened to Brandon and FLS ever since Richard was removed from the Clarkson family registers and added to Otta's. The red-head suggested that Richard cancelled his apartment lease and move into hers permanently after a week of living separately.

Neither of them did well after the separation. Otta often found herself cooking for two or more and barging into the empty guest room to ask a question only to find that it was empty. On the other hand, Richard was unable to function as a human being. His apartment quickly became a dump and the programmer was unable to tell night from day. He often forgot meals and the trash in his room piled up. Meals consisted of frozen food all over again, much to Raymond's chagrin. The grocer pleaded with Otta to help Richard as he watched the young programmer fall apart once more.

In the end, they decided to move into Otta's apartment and took on that familiar pattern that they've gotten so accustomed to. Richard continued to pay for the groceries and helped with the rent. Otta was exploring chicken dishes now that she had the luxury of time and ingredients. Initially, it was great. However, after two weeks of eating chicken dishes, Richard wanted out. Otta agreed and they ended up at Mcsmeldy's once more for coffee and tuna melt sandwiches.

"Otta! Richard! Welcome," Jillian greeted. It was a long time since she last saw this adorable couple.

"Hi Jillian! It's good to be back," Otta gave her a smile. Richard nodded politely behind her as they took their usual seats.

"The usual?" she asked.

Otta and Richard nodded as she left.

"Richard... do you think Raymond would be interested in selling poultry?"

The programmer thanked Killian as she placed his cup of espresso down. "I think he'd be over the moon to know that you decided to grant him such an honour. Many supermarket owners are eyeing at the opportunity of working with the new chicken farm owner for an opportunity to collaborate. In case you haven't noticed, eggs and chicken are only available on special order by the privileged."

Otta grinned. "And when has that stopped me?"

Richard returned with a grin of his own. "Well, why ask me then? I'm sure John and Jillian would be thrilled to create new items for the menu if they had chicken and eggs too."

Otta raised her brow. She knew what he was hinting at and honestly, she considered it. However, she was reluctant because their favourite cafe would be crowded with customers and they would lose a very good place for chilling out.

"What's wrong? Don't you want to?"

"I would love to! But it would be sad if we weren't able to simply walk in and find our favourite spot by the window in future if I did that..."

Richard frowned. That was true. He loved the cafe a lot. However, he wanted John and Jillian to succeed too. Otta felt the same.

"If only there was a way to keep the cafe the same while adding a new item..."

Richard sighed. "Why is there only one John Mcsmeldy's cafe? If there were more, other people can go there while this becomes ours exclusively..."

"What are you two talking about?" Jillian blinked. "We have three John Mcsmeldy's cafe. This just happened to be the first cafe my father set up so I'm managing it on his behalf. We have employees managing the other two. They are fairly new so there are some teething problems but it's functional."

Otta and Richard blinked as Jillian set the sandwiches down. As the waitress left, they exchanged looks and grinned. Perhaps there was a way around this after all.

***

Raymond was dumbfounded. Otta and Richard were grinning before him and his daughter had to help him close his mouth. The grocer couldn't believe his ears. Did Otta just say that she was going to deal with him exclusively for chicken and eggs?

"Richard... this isn't a joke right?"

Otta sighed and the programmer rolled his eyes. Convincing Raymond was harder than selling FLS. "Yes, Raymond. Just sign the contract already. Also, you might want to look into recruiting more helpers. I still expect our weekly grocery delivery once business takes off for you."

Raymond teared up and gave both Otta and Richard a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you..." he whispered and Otta smiled.

"Also, if it's not too much trouble... could you arrange for supply to John Mcsmeldy's Cafe? We have yet to discuss this with them but I'm hoping that they would agree."

Raymond nodded. That could easily be arranged. On the other hand, his daughter Rose watched them with sparkling eyes. The girl had been quiet for a while but when the adults finished their talk, she jumped on the opportunity to get Otta's autograph.

Otta was flattered that she still had fans even after selling FLS away. She vaguely wondered how everyone else was coping. It had been two months so she knew that not everyone has left FLS according to their plan. The informants were the first people who handed in their resignation the very next day. As far as she knew, Grace and Michelle didn't renew their freelance contract with the new management so that was six out of twenty-one people.

"What are you going to do now? I heard that FLS is now owned by Clarkson Inc?" Rose asked worriedly.

Otta smiled and patted the girl on her head. Rose was a sweet child of around fourteen and a promising adventurer. According to Raymond, Rose was a smart child who had a flair with words and numbers. It was with Rose's help that the grocery store didn't enter the red.

"I'm not too sure myself," Otta admitted. "I might visit my parents for a while and introduce them to Richard. As you've heard, he's now officially my brother."

Raymond made a face. He'd known Richard for a fair bit of time and there were times that the man did queer things. This simply took the cake. Why on earth would he agree to the adoption into the Olley family when he liked Otta in a romantic way?

Rose made a face but nodded anyway. "Congratulations I guess? Although I thought Richard would approach us about the adoption before it happened."

Richard grimaced. He did think about it but didn't want to burden them. Brandon could be a merciless person and he simply didn't want them to suffer. It was reluctantly that he agreed with Otta's decision. Not known to many, Otta's parents were some rather influential people. Her mother was a normal housewife and Otta didn't see her father often because he was a prominent figure in the military. With the influence of Olley senior, Richard decided to come under the protection of the Olleys.

Otta grimaced. She'd discussed this with Richard before. "I'm sorry Rose. It's a little complicated but if you like, Richard can become your official big brother after things settle down a little."

Raymond understood at once and decided to switch the subject. "Does anyone want tea?"

Richard smiled and pushed his empty cup forward. "Yes, please."

***

John was a man in his fifties. He had grey hair and thick glasses perched across his nose. The man was currently sitting beside his daughter Jillian with Otta and Richard opposite them. Although he recognised them as regular customers, he didn't see them as customers although they contributed significantly to their store's sales. Otta and Richard had a soft spot in his heart as he watched them grow. He knew Otta longer than he knew Richard. The girl first started visiting his cafe about five years back and has become good friends with Jillian. He always knew that she was destined to do great things. Richard was a customer he often worried about. The young man didn't seem to have his life together and John was glad when Jillian told him they were living together.

Now, John didn't know how to treat them. They weren't customers and they weren't friends of Jillian. They came in as usual on a day with little customers and he'd expected to prepare them their usual when Otta requested for a little chat by their usual table. John didn't suspect a thing and thought that he would indulge them with nothing much to do today. He wasn't expecting a business negotiation.

"I'm sorry, Otta. This is simply too sudden, I don't know what to say."

Otta smiled at John with understanding. "Take your time. You can call or text me when you're ready, the farm isn't going anywhere."

With that, Otta and Richard left the cafe. John looked at his daughter, unsure of what to do. One thing they knew, the sales would rocket if they accepted Otta's proposal.

"Do you know how to manage logistics?" John asked.

Jillian shook her head. "We left it all to the accountant remember? I only oversee the staff schedules and order ingredients when the kitchen reports low stock. We're not exactly business people dad."

John sighed. He might have to approach Otta for help with that if they agreed.

***

"How long do you think it will take for John to agree?" Otta asked Richard.

The programmer smirked. "I don't think it will take very long. By the end of the week, I presume. However, you should prepare to call over someone to help them with the business expansion. Do you think Michelle is up to the task?"

Otta groaned. "It hasn't even been six months, Richard. Are we progressing a little too fast?"

He shrugged. "That's what boredom does to people like us. I'm sure you're thinking about having someone run the farm on your behalf too. Don't pretend, I know you."

Otta grimaced. "I'm sure mom can take care of that. I've talked to her about this over the phone. Although she is a housewife, she used to be a business owner. She sold it when she married my dad to raise me."

Richard found it intriguing. Was this how Otta ended up being so good at running a business? He couldn't wait to meet his adoptive family now.

"What are your plans next?"

Otta hummed, not answering the programmer. Her days of living as a NEET were long gone but she might just return to it. Neru-Neru was having another concert next month and she wanted to attend that. After all, what good was money if it wasn't used? As for Richard, she had a few things in mind that they could tinker with and experiment on now that they have all the time in the world. Who needs Roomscape when you had a programmer who could make just about anything happen?

She smiled and skipped along the pavement, leaving Richard to guess.

The programmer narrowed his eyes. Otta was definitely up to something and he didn't know how to feel about that.

***

With nothing much to pass the time with, Richard decided to go back to working on Jenny's AI. Otta was mostly busy catching up on Neru-Neru's updates, songs and concert schedule. He shook his head when he heard Otta's humming from his room. The red-head showed no signs of enthusiasm about building another dungeon so Richard was slightly worried. They didn't need money any longer and Otta could have all the fried chicken she wanted. Was this the end of their partnership?

Thankfully, Richard didn't have to deal with these thoughts for long. Otta's mother had texted her, telling her to visit the following week. Richard had butterflies in his stomach simply thinking about it.

"Relax! My parents are nice people..."

Richard couldn't help but wonder if it was really alright to dress down like they did when going to Mcsmeldy's. Speaking of the cafe, they agreed to their terms and requested for someone else to manage their cafe operations should the business grow beyond their capabilities to manage. Michelle was glad to offer her assistance and Venus demanded to be the taste tester for their new dishes. Raymond helped to arrange for deliveries and left store promotion efforts to Rose. Otta wondered if she could've employed Rose if FLS was still around.

"It wouldn't work. Without Rose, Raymond's business would collapse and we'll die because we don't have groceries delivered."

"That's right. It's a shame, really."

The duo were watching a movie while eating lunch. They didn't have much to do now that they were officially retired. Richard wondered if all retired people felt equally bored. He certainly did and as much as Otta pretended to be happy about returning to her NEET life, he knew she was restless as well. Perhaps she was waiting for the six months to be over before she assembled the team again.

"Do you miss it?"

Otta paused. She swallowed and turned to look at Richard. He looked very serious and she didn't feel right brushing his concern aside.

"Of course. However, now is not the time. Cameron texted me a few days back. He is setting up a business of his own and is doing rather well. Not everyone will come back even if I started another dungeon business. Besides, the chicken farm is doing well. I don't really have a need to continue it."

Richard didn't feel the same. He'd worked on many projects in his life but Five Lives Saga was special. He was sad when it ended but he knew it had to be done. Brandon would stop at nothing until he found a way to regain his legs.

They remained silent for a long time after that, watching the movie but not quite paying attention to it. The thoughts on their minds continued to burden them, distracting them from the entertainment before them.

For Otta, she wanted very much to go back to creating worlds and stories that everyone could enjoy. It didn't have to be dungeons. She was considering books as well. However, her thoughts went back to the rejected project. She still wanted to find a way for the disabled to experience a normal life. Perhaps if there was a way to legalise working for the mentally fit in dungeons, they could lead a normal life. If bringing the horse to the water wasn't possible, Otta was considering bringing the water to the horse. It was slightly more challenging but worth a shot.

Beside her, Richard could hear Otta think. The programmer had to hide a small smile and turn his eyes back to the screen. He was just glad that she was still the same person he became interested in.