The next day...
Aside from his usual job of minding the shop, Kageyama Ren had a new responsibility, taking care of baby Erza.
Using the Kilo Kilo no Mi's power to reduce gravity, he cradled the slightly smaller Erza gently in his arms, rocking her without using much strength at all.
"Good morning, Ren~"
"Morning!"
As the bakery opened, a steady stream of customers arrived to buy fresh bread for their children's breakfast.
Ren, however, didn't even bother to look up. His eyes remained fixed solely on the baby in his arms.
"Oh my, what an adorable child!"
The moment the customers spotted Ren behind the counter holding Erza, they all crowded around, gazing at the two with amazement and affection.
"She really is adorable!"
Ren nodded, clearly in full agreement with them.
"Whose child is she? Wait, don't tell me... is she Irene's daughter?"
One of the customers glanced at Erza's crimson hair and seemed struck by realization.
"Yes. Her name is Erza. She's my little sister."
Ren nodded. In his mind, there was no need to hide it. Sooner or later, as Erza grew, the townspeople would notice anyway, her features were nearly identical to Irene's.
"Erza, huh? That's a lovely name..."
"But if she really is Irene's daughter, then a few people in town are going to be heartbroken."
The women, most of them in their thirties or forties, shared sly looks and exchanged gossipy grins as they glanced between Ren and Erza.
Ren, however, paid them no mind. He continued rocking Erza with one hand while managing the shop with the other.
"Ren, I'll take two carrot breakfast rolls. I left the money here!"
"Alright."
Ren glanced over and gave a short nod. For regulars who already knew the prices, it was normal practice for them to help themselves, pick up a basket, grab what they wanted, leave the payment on the counter, and return the basket later.
It was a small town, after all.
As more customers came and went, the news that Irene had given birth to a daughter named Erza quickly spread across town.
Around ten in the morning, when the shop had quieted down a little, a tall, dark-skinned man slipped quietly through the front door.
"Tch... damn it. So it's true."
The man's eyes immediately locked onto Ren and the baby in his arms.
As soon as he saw Erza's crimson hair, his eyes turned red, tears welling up uncontrollably.
"I really was too late, wasn't I...?"
"Ren, has your mother... already been taken?"
It was, of course, Uncle John from next door. His voice trembled as he addressed Ren.
"Do you even hear yourself right now?"
If Ren wasn't worried about destroying the bakery, he'd have launched this guy out the door with a gravity blade already.
"You better be here to buy bread."
Ren stared at the tearful John for a long moment before speaking flatly.
"Ren... I'm not giving up. I still-"
John grabbed a few random pastries, trying to say more, but before the words left his mouth, an invisible force surged and pushed him out of the bakery.
"Thanks for your purchase."
Ren used his gravity ability to collect the money and tuck it into the drawer, speaking calmly to the man outside.
Inside the shop, the few remaining customers who had witnessed the entire scene burst into laughter.
"Hahaha..."
Clearly, they had been waiting for this moment.
"Sigh..."
Ren let out a long sigh and went back to nursing the baby.
In the days that followed, Ren's system added two new daily quests to his usual trio of shopkeeping tasks.
New Tasks:
Task 4: Change Erza's diaper before she cries – Reward: 2,000 funds
Task 5: Prepare Erza's formula on time – Reward: 2,000 funds
If he completed everything on schedule, Ren could now earn up to 7,000 a day.
To him, Erza was like a living lucky charm. He was honestly thrilled.
Of course, Erza was still a baby. Her eating and bathroom habits were completely unpredictable. More than once, she had burst into tears while Ren was attending to customers, throwing his routine into chaos.
But Irene saw everything.
And soon, she came up with an idea.
"Ren, I thought of a perfect way to solve our manpower issue!"
Irene stood in front of him, smiling brightly.
"What kind of idea?"
Ren was hovering in front of the crib, wiping sweat from his forehead. He had just spent all his energy putting Erza back to sleep.
"We could hire someone to help us with the store!"
Irene beamed as she revealed her plan.
"Hire someone...?"
Ren narrowed his eyes slightly. Truthfully, he had considered that too.
But the truth was, both he and Irene had too many secrets. Bringing in outsiders always felt a little risky.
If they spent enough time together, what if someone figured something out?
Sure, with Irene's magic, not even a Wizard Saint could detect anything suspicious. But Ren preferred to play it safe. No point in taking unnecessary risks.
"I just don't really want to talk to anyone other than you…"
While Ren was still thinking, Irene added that softly.
"How do you plan to hire someone if you won't even talk to them?" Ren chuckled. Her idea was honestly kind of adorable. After a short laugh, he said, "It's fine. It's a little tiring, but I can manage. Once Erza grows a bit, it'll get easier."
"That's why I came up with something brilliant!"
Irene leaned in close, eyes gleaming with mischief.
"Hm?"
Ren blinked, confused.
"Look here"
With a wave of her hand, three objects appeared in midair: a maid uniform, a rolling pin, and a black katana.
"I thought about this all night," Irene said seriously, staring at the items floating before them. "If we can't hire someone, why not create one? All I have to do is imbue these tools with artificial personalities! That way, we won't need to rely on outsiders at all!"
The moment she finished speaking, a brilliant flash of light illuminated the room.
When the glow faded, the maid uniform, rolling pin, and katana had all vanished.
In their place stood three girls, each one adorably human in appearance.
*********
Hey everyone! I'll be dropping an extra 1 chapter once we hit 200, 400 power stones! If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to spend some power stones. I'd really appreciate the support. Thanks a bunch!