After his talk with Nahida, Isaac, as promised, didn't do anything else for the day.
Though, to be honest, he did want to spend the whole day together with Furina. Unfortunately, she was busy with another matter so he had no other choice but to not be in her company.
As such, for the rest of the day, he just sat in the back and watched as his friends ran his café for him.
...it was almost satisfactory, to say the least.
Although he did promise to not do anything today, he couldn't help but shout from time to time, seeing how inexperienced some of them were.
Yae Miko was enchanting, or perhaps charming, almost every customer that laid their eyes upon her, while Xiao was doing the complete opposite, inviting only fear and apprehension to anyone who dared to get too close to him.
...although, Isaac couldn't deny that their pretty face was also doing a lot of work for them.
Lumine, meanwhile, did quite well because she had been working for a while now. Though, the influx of customers, as usual, overwhelmed her.
Paimon, surprisingly, worked the best out of all of them. She was making key calls while flying and taking the customers' orders and knew which to prioritize to the rest of the team behind the counter.
Coupled with Freminet, who was practically Isaac's greatest creation second only to his café, the workflow was strangely efficient in its own unique and chaotic way.
And for the rest of them, namely Isaac, Nahida, and Klee, the three of them spent the day together bonding and playing games together with the new gadgets Isaac was pulling out.
Overall, it had been an interesting day to say the least.
'Let's not make this an everyday occurrence, though...'
He felt like he'd actually lose his mind if another thing like this happened.
He appreciated the help, don't get him wrong, but nothing beats running your own business in your own way.
And so, the day noisily passed by.
---
"Y'all doing good here?"
Bringing a silver platter with tea in them, Isaac approached the table of the group of temporary employees he had, who all had drained expressions on their faces.
He then placed down the tea he had prepared for them on their table. "Here, have some decaf tea. It'll help."
"Ugh..."
"Mghm..."
"Uhh..."
"Hmph..."
Hearing some groans, he couldn't help but chuckle, finding it actually hilarious for this group of extraordinary people to be this tired.
"Look alive, team. Don't go sundowning on me now. Your shifts are just about to end any minute now."
He then shifted his gaze at Lumine, who was slouching down on the table with Paimon, who was floating right above her head. "How about you, our famous Traveler? You've defeated a dragon, toppeld a Fatui plot, and this is the task that drains you?"
"There's a difference..." Not lifting her head, Lumine groaned under her breath. "Unlike those two, I actually have to deal with people, not gods."
Isaac scoffed.
He then slowly turned toward the front counter, where a line of customers had formed earlier today.
Then he looked back at Lumine, the famous Traveler.
Then back at the counter that was now empty.
Then back at her again.
Then, with an amused tone, he spoke to her. "...You've been between nations and solved their problems."
"I know."
"You've spoken with Archons."
"...I have."
"You've successfully fed Paimon's appetite for your whole journey."
At that, Lumine's finger twitched weakly. "I know..."
Isaac stared at her for a moment before letting out a laugh. "You know, that's actually a pretty poor excuse."
"...?" Lumine made a low noise of protest.
"No, hear me out." Isaac leaned back against the table. "It's ironic. Out of all people, I'd expect you to be the most qualified person here."
That only earned him another exhausted groan.
"You've spent a lot of time traveling around, meeting strangers, solving their problems, listening to their life stories, running errands for them..."
Another groan escaped from the tired Traveler.
Hearing this, Isaac's couldn't help but smirk, enjoying the schadenfreude. "...Now that I think about it, most of your career is basically customer service. So, really, it's a surprise."
Lumine slowly lifted her head just enough for one eye to peek at him.
The look she gave him somehow carried the weight of every commission she had ever accepted.
Then, with all the strength she could muster, she let out one final, deeply pained groan.
"Mghhhhh..."
"Haha."
Isaac shook his head, finally letting go of the matter and letting his poor employee rest.
Even the mightiest of heroes cannot escape the dread of a nine to five job.
He then turned to Xiao, who he noticed was looking at Lumine for a while now whilst resting his face on his palm.
"And what about you, our Conqueror of Demons? How was dealing with a bunch of humans?"
"...I never want to do this again." Xiao immediately got straight to the point with a tired tone, quite unlike his usual hoarse voice.
"Not only because of the aura I gave off, but also its effects on normal humans..."
His Karmic Curse, which tainted anyone who got too close to him, was especially dangerous to normal humans. The lingering regrets and hatred of dead gods cling on him in this form.
If not for the fact that the café was able to miraculously offset the effects of his Karmic Curse, the customers that had been within his radius would have already turned insane.
Remembering this, Isaac could only quietly nod his head.
His gaze shifted once more, and this time, it was to the kitsune who had been looking at him with narrowed eyes while supporting her head with her arm.
It looked like she was just about close to dozing off. Yet, at the same time, it looked as if she was looking at a prey or something.
He decided to take advantage of this.
"I'm surprised. I don't think I've ever seen you this tired before." He sneered. "Certainly a sight to behold for the esteemed Head Shrine Maiden."
Hearing his bold taunt, Yae Miko scoffed with an amused smile as she continued to look at him with narrowed eyes.
"Did you know? If you carefully guide an electric current in the human brain, you can stimulate the feeling of intense pain while preventing the person himself from breaking by targeting this almond-shaped structure that mainly controls fear..."
"Alright, I'm sorry."
Hearing all her scary threats, Isaac stopped sneering and apologized to her earnestly.
He had faced Il Capitano before, and even faced the ancient stone dragon Azhdaha. But to Yae Miko, who he knew had a sadistic side to her, there was a limit at how much he was willing to tread.
She smugly smiled. "Good little fox."
"Aha... Yeah..."
He then decided to turn away from the tired Kitune who he had a sinister feeling coming from.
Facing his epigone, Freminet, all he was thinking upon seeing him was pride and respect.
"You did well, my boy." He said as he slid a teacup to him. Then, he patted his back. "With how far you've gone, I might just pass down the café to you at this point, haha."
"What? No..." Freminet, who was just as tired as all of them, looked up upon hearing Isaac's words. His eyes were wide as he looked at his mentor with worry. "I don't want that... I still want to learn from you, Mr. Isaac..."
"I've learned all the skills you've taught me and improved upon some of them on my own, yet..."
His voice trembled.
"I don't want you to stop teaching me, Mr. Isaac. Not yet. I'm still... not prepared..."
Noticing that he was too tired to continue, Isaac sighed and patted his head as he said to him gently, "Alright, alright, I was just kidding."
"I won't leave you, nor the café alone in the foreseeable future. So you can rest easy, Freminet."
"Some day, you might become the greatest diver in all of Fontaine. All I wish is that, if the day ever comes, you would still hold on to my teachings in your heart."
"I will. I won't forget." Holding on to Isaac's sleeve, Freminet nodded tiredly. "I will always treasure your teachings... Father..."
"..." Upon saying that last part, Freminet realized his mistake as his eyes widened. "N, no... That was..."
But to Isaac, he couldn't help but be amused.
"Father, eh?" He chuckled with a proud expression. "Why, if I wasn't a humble barista, I would have surely been a Fatui Harbinger then, hm?"
"Arlecchino already holds the title of Father in your house. It'll be odd if you refer to me as such." He said with a lighthearted tone.
Then, jokingly, he added, "But if it helps, just call me Mother then, haha!"
The moment Freminet heard that, his quivering eyes stopped aching and focused on Isaac for a moment.
It was as though he was seriously considering it.
Although he said that as a joke, Isaac did feel a bit apprehensive if Freminet does start referring to him as Mother.
But if his precious epigone does start doing it, then he really had no other choice.
Besides, with his luck, he might just even convince Arlecchino to approve it.
'But if Arlecchino is the Father, and I become the Mother, does that mean that...'
He decided to leave that thought bubble behind.
It felt like, if he continued it, Arlecchino herself would show up and kidnap him away for spewing such a thing.
Leaving his disciple to calm himself down, Isaac left the tired employees table and returned to where Nahida and Klee were.
Then, approaching Klee who was eating a grilled fish juice he had cooked for her, he bent down to speak.
"Hey, Klee. Do you have a minute?"
"Uh-huh! I dwo!"
"...finish what you're eating first."
"Nom, okway!"
Putting down her fork, Klee reached for the orange juice Isaac had also prepared for her and waited as she chewed on her fish.
Then, when she had finished chewing, she drank the orange juice to finish her meal.
"All done now, Mr. Isaac!"
"Was the fish good?" He asked.
"Yup! It was sooo tasty! Much better than just putting salt on it like usual!" Klee enthusiastically reviewed with a glow on her eyes.
"I see, I'm glad you liked it." Isaac smiled softly.
Then, he decided to shift the conversation. "Listen, Klee. I have a question."
"Sure, what is it, Mr. Isaac?"
He lingered for a moment before asking in a courteous tone, "Can I visit Mondstadt with you?"
Upon hearing that Klee's expression was, undoubtedly, that of a surprised child.
Then, her excitement grew in an instant. "Really?! You're visiting Mondstadt? Mr. Isaac is visiting Klee?"
"That's right, but not right now." He nodded. "I'm planning to go there in a few days or so. So, can Klee become my little guide there?"
"Yes!" Klee instantly answered. "Klee will be your guide, Mr. Isaac! Just like how Paimon guides the Traveler!"
"I have a lot of fun things I want to show Mr. Isaac there! Like Klee's usual fishing spot, the knights, Master Jean! Oh, and that grumpy red grown up in the tavern, the funny green bard, and..."
Seeing how excited the little kid was at his offer, Isaac felt satisfied and decided to pat her head.
"Alright, then I'm counting on you to see all of those, Klee."
And, of course...
'...and your mother too.'