Crackers took a seat across from Kit and pushed a parchment across the table towards him. “This be the sales from today, as ya can see the shop in the shop is where we be makin the most sales. The light step cookies be ya best seller.”

Kit’s gaze dropped to the parchment in front of him.

Daily sales

Entrée: 6 silver, 500 bronze crowns

Mains: 94 silver, 500 bronze crowns

Deserts: 47 silver, 70 bronze crowns

Drinks: 7 silver, 665 bronze crowns

Shop in a shop: 308 silver, 753 bronze crowns.

Animal café: 0

Fairweather town market stall total sales: 693 silver, 532 bronze crowns

Restaurant total sales: 1 gold, 158 silver and 20 bronze crowns.

Total restaurant funds: 53 gold, 668 silver and 521 bronze crowns.

Kit wasn't too surprised by the overall sales of his restaurant. With the removal of his most popular item, the Lucky sticky candy apples, from the menu, he knew it wouldn't look great. Those apples had been his biggest money-maker, selling for 1 silver crown each.

The most expensive item now was the Shining razor bear sticky BBQ ribs, priced at 110 bronze crowns. However, they weren’t selling nearly as well as the Lucky sticky candy apples had been.

As Kit rubbed his temples in frustration, he realised he needed to come up with a new item that would be just as popular as the candy apples or find more swamp dweller apple trees. He also thought about the potential to draw in more customers due to the popularity of the nearby dungeon.

If he could attract those players, they might spread word about his restaurant while interacting with others in the game. Lost in thought, Kit tapped his fingers on the table trying to come up with a solution.

“Kit.” Crackers tentatively spoke. “I know the sales don’t be as good as they used ta be, but it has slowly been getting better.” Crackers comforted.

Kit abruptly halted his tapping, suddenly aware that his constant movement might be misinterpreted as agitation. "No need to worry, I anticipated the sales to be lower than before." A slight smile appeared on Kit's face as he looked at Crackers. "As long as we're not losing money, we have time to make changes and bring our restaurant back to its former success."

As Kit uttered those words, he realised they held truth. He had exchanged all of his virtual game currency for real money, leaving him with little funds on hand. If the restaurant began to struggle financially, he would have no way to pay his employees.

However, this fact didn't bother Kit. He was confident that his restaurant would continue to thrive. The sales numbers showed a small profit, and Kit already had some plans in mind. First, he would focus on introducing new menu items; it had been a while since his restaurant offered anything new. Then, he would turn his attention to obtaining swamp dweller apples - he was determined to bring back his famous lucky sticky candy apples. And finally, he would work on getting his restaurant reviewed once again.

There was much work ahead of him, but Kit felt excited at the possibility of his restaurant's success. He couldn't wait to see every seat filled with customers, unlike the current state where there were always empty chairs whenever he walked through the dining area.

Earlier in the day, Crackers had informed him that they had to close the animal café due to a lack of animals available for customer interaction. One of the main rules of the café was to have at least one animal present at all times. Thankfully, this problem would be solved once Snowball and the others returned.

"Starting tomorrow, nobody is allowed to interrupt me in the kitchen!" Kit declared firmly.

"Aye, Boss." Crackers stood up straight. "I'll be makin’ sure no one gets past me."

Kit chuckled at Crackers' determined expression. "Good, I'll be counting on you. Now let's go home, I'm exhausted."

The following morning, Kit woke up early and surveyed his room. He couldn't help but feel a slight uneasiness as he realised what was missing. "Oh! Right! Snowball!" he thought to himself. He wondered how much longer it would be until his little companion returned - hopefully not too long.

Pushing aside thoughts of his missing friend, Kit quickly got dressed and headed to the dining room for breakfast. But when he opened the door, he was taken aback by what he saw.

It seemed like every single staff member from his restaurant was gathered in the room. All heads turned towards him as he entered. Awkwardly, Kit raised a hand in greeting and said, "Morning everyone." After exchanging greetings, the staff members returned to their breakfasts, leaving Kit feeling uncomfortable with all the attention.

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Mars caught his attention and waved him over to sit next to him at an empty chair. "Morning Mars," greeted Kit.

"Morning Kit," replied Mars with a smile. Leaning closer, he whispered in Kit's ear, "Before you go to the restaurant, stop by at the training grounds."

"Why?" asked Kit curiously.

"It'll be interesting," whispered Mars mysteriously.

Kit raised an eyebrow at Mars, but knew better than to expect any further information from the man. He shrugged and started eating his breakfast, but noticed that someone was missing. "Hey Mars, where's Twix?"

"At the training grounds," smirked Mars.

Kit made a mental note to stop by there later; he hadn't seen his friend since returning from his adventure. But before he could dwell on it, his staff bombarded him with questions about his trip and updates on the restaurant.

Kit had already shared the news of the dungeon with them, now that it was public knowledge. He saw no need to keep it a secret from them anymore, but had reminded them not to share the fact he knew it’s location with others.

Finally escaping their inquiries, Kit left the boarding house with Mars by his side. His gaze fell upon the nearby training grounds and he felt compelled to go inside. As he approached, he was surprised to see not only a few of his employees working out, but also others dressed in uniform, clothing scattered throughout the area.

Kit recognised the clothing; it was the same outfit Apple had worn the day before. Before Kit could ask Mars for an explanation, a loud shout interrupted them. "KIT!!!" Twix came sprinting towards him from the obstacle course.

Kit returned his friend's enthusiastic greeting. "Twix!!!"

As Twix reached him, he lifted Kit off his feet and gave him a big bear hug. "Finally, you guys are back! It hasn't been as fun without you."

After setting Kit down, Twix excitedly pulled him towards the obstacle course. "Come meet our new friends. They've been helping us train for the next competition."

Kit was confused. "What competition?"

"Kit, you always crack me up. Of course it's for the contest to see who gets to go with you on your exploration of the ruins," laughed Twix. "I won't miss out this time! I'll make Grandpa stay behind."

It took a moment for Kit to realise what Twix was talking about, but then he remembered the letter from Iris and the friendship quest he had accepted. It was to go to the Amaranthus ruins so Iris could put her regrets to rest about not being able to go herself.

Although he wanted to do this quest for Iris, it was not a priority right now. Kit was sure Iris would understand if she knew the state of his restaurant. "Oh, I completely forgot about that. But Twix, I wasn't planning on going to the ruins for a while."

Twix suddenly stopped in their tracks. "Kit, you can't say that," she said urgently. "Your promise to take us to the ruins is what has been motivating your employees to train so hard. They're getting up at dawn and staying up late at night, all for the chance to join you on this adventure. If you back out now, it will disappoint everyone."

Kit felt a wave of helplessness wash over him. He had already disappointed his employees too many times; he couldn't do it again. "Fine," he reluctantly agreed. "I'll think about setting a date. But I really can't go anytime soon. There's too much I need to do at the restaurant first."

"We understand," Twix reassured him. "You just got back from your last adventure; we don't expect you to go right away. Besides, we still haven't located the exact spot where the ruins are located. How about Mars and I go scout it out, and when we come back, you can decide on a date?"

Mars eagerly chimed in, "That sounds like a great idea! And we can bring Peaches along too; I'm sure he'll want to join in." Kit wasn't surprised by Mars' enthusiasm for exploration.

He looked at his two friends' eager expressions and chuckled. "Alright then, it's settled." Kit handed the map over to Mars and added, "If there's nothing else, I should probably head to the restaurant."

But Twix had one more thing in store for him. "Wait, you can't leave yet. I want to introduce you to some people." He grabbed his arm and led him towards a group of people gathered around an obstacle course.

After Twix finally came to a halt, Kit found himself facing three individuals. Twix began introducing them: “This is Pumpkin, who has been organising combat training for those brave enough to face monsters.” Kit nodded at the dignified woman with straight brown hair tied in a high ponytail.

“And this is Pie, who has helped improve our training grounds.” Twix gestured towards a middle-aged man with a strong jawline and impressive height. Kit quickly surveyed the area, noting significant changes since his last visit.

"Lastly, we have Pear. His brother Apple will join us later at the restaurant." Pear had long blue hair tied back with a leather strap. "They are members of the guild Fruit Bowl." Twix paused briefly before smacking his forehead. "Oh, I almost forgot! Everyone, meet Kit – owner of the boarding house and Spartan Fire restaurant."

Kit received warm greetings from the group. He smiled politely at each person, but couldn't help wondering why they were helping his employees train.

As if reading his thoughts, Twix offered an explanation: "Spartan Fire doesn't have its own training ground yet. So while you were away, I let them use ours. In return, they've been lending a hand with various tasks."

Kit saw no issue with the arrangement Twix had made. "That was a good idea, Twix."

"In that case," Pear spoke up, "would it be okay if our guild continued this arrangement?"

Now Kit understood the reason why Twix had dragged him over - they needed his consent as the owner now that he had returned. "That would be great," Kit smiled, happy to help his friends. "Oh, and Twix, don't worry about bringing Apple over to meet me. I already met him yesterday."

"Really? Oh no, was there trouble at the restaurant yesterday?" Twix started to become flustered.

Kit waved his hand dismissively. "It was fine. Apple took care of it. But has this been happening a lot?"

Twix shook his head. "No, it's just one guild causing trouble. Everyone else who has come to Spartan Fire recently has followed the rules."

Kit let out a sigh of relief, then turned to Mars. "I won't have time to deal with this troublesome guild. Could you handle it with Curt?" Of everyone Kit knew, Mars had a slightly scary side, so he hoped he would have an idea on how to handle the situation.

A creepy grin was the answer to Kit's question. "Mmm, I've got it."

Kit shuddered, wondering if asking Mars was a good idea after all. But then again, who else could he turn to? He pushed the thought aside and focused on getting back to his kitchen as soon as possible. With that in mind, Kit said his goodbyes and hurried over to the restaurant.