Ch.27Chapter 27 – This Situation Is Getting Way Out of Hand? (2)

“Anyway, through the reinvestigation, it has been determined that Mr. Pathos did not commit any illegal acts. The mayor has asked me to convey his official apology.”

“Ah, yes… I understand.”

Lately, it seemed like a lot of strange things were happening.

Not only had I become famous for my repair skills, but my shop had suddenly gained popularity because of bread made using my abilities.

Then people presumed to be from bakeries filed complaints, causing the Food Hygiene Department to come inspect and confiscate all my bread.

Yet just two days later, all correction orders were canceled, and the mayor even sent an official apology.

Would you believe all this happened in just one week?

“Even trashy dramas would get criticized for such ridiculous writing.”

If a writer of trashy dramas heard my story, they’d probably slap me for lying.

Sigh, but I don’t plan to give out bread as service anymore.

If I’m not careful, I might end up running a bakery instead of a repair shop.

I want to be famous for my repair abilities, not for making good bread.

Besides, I don’t even know how to make bread.

Bread ingredients? I just recalled what I’d seen on the internet.

If I had bread-making skills, I would have gotten a job at a bakery or bread factory.

‘Epitrina is probably watching this from heaven and laughing her head off.’

She would find my situation absolutely hilarious.

After all, I’m using my ability in a completely different way than it was intended.

Anyway, as I was cleaning the shop and finishing up business for the day, I heard the door open.

“We’re closed for today.”

“Excuse me, are you Mr. Pathos, the ‘Ability User’ who owns Pathos Repair Shop?”

The person visiting the shop now gave off a different impression from other customers.

A middle-aged man in a neatly arranged butler’s uniform with an impressive mustache stood at the door.

Who could have sent him? Judging by his butler attire, he must work for someone important.

By the way, I could tell he was a butler because of his monocle, slightly shorter formal jacket, and gray vest underneath.

Characters with “butler” attributes in subculture often wore such outfits, and heroines with butler costumes in Erasto Chronicle typically wore clothes of this style.

“Who sent you here?”

“Allow me to introduce myself first. I am Heron, the head butler serving the Chancellor, the most powerful man under one and above ten thousand in the Celebrio Empire.”

The man who identified himself as Heron was a butler serving the Chancellor of the Celebrio Empire, the country where I was staying.

And not just any butler, but the head butler who oversees all other butlers.

I wondered why someone as important as the Chancellor’s head butler would visit my shop.

“May I ask why you’ve come to my shop?”

I responded politely since he had shown such courtesy.

“You’re quite well-mannered for someone from the Eastern Continent. Ah, the Chancellor sent me here because he wishes to meet you, Mr. Pathos.”

The head butler made this unbelievable statement and then pulled out a rolled piece of paper from his breast pocket and handed it to me.

Taking the paper, I could see it was sealed with wax bearing what appeared to be a family crest, keeping the paper tightly rolled.

The wax seal came off surprisingly easily. After removing it, the paper unfolded, and its contents began to reveal themselves to me.

[To the unfamiliar guest from the Eastern Continent, I, Bergen Steyler, Chancellor of the Celebrio Empire, send my greetings. I’ve heard that people from the Eastern Continent dislike complicated words and flowery language that beat around the bush, so I’ll state my purpose directly.]

The content was a letter. Moreover, it appeared to be handwritten by Bergen Steyler, the Chancellor of the Celebrio Empire.

Good heavens. To think that someone as important as the Chancellor would write a personal letter to a mere repair shop owner.

Though I had just started reading the letter, I was already apprehensive about what he might say.

However, having opened the letter, I needed to read it in its entirety.

[Recently, regarding the bread commotion at Arkenium, it seems our civil servants handled the matter poorly. If they had known you were an Ability User, you should have received treatment befitting a noble, but they failed to do so. This indicates a lack of communication between departments. As Chancellor representing all civil servants of the Empire, I apologize for this.]

What? An apology? But I was actually glad that unnecessary trouble was reduced!

Couldn’t you just use your authority as Chancellor to prevent me from giving out bread?

[However, I feel uneasy leaving things as they are, so I’d like to invite you to my home. I hear your ability allows you to fix anything? I would love to see this ability with my own eyes, though I won’t force you. I would be grateful if you would allow me to witness your ability firsthand.]

[P.S.: I’m not one to give something for nothing. If you grant my request, I will also grant one request of yours, within my capabilities.]

After reading the letter, I spent about 0.1 seconds contemplating whether to respond to the Chancellor’s summons.

But what was there to think about? The Chancellor of this vast empire had apologized to me.

Usually, high-ranking officials have such stiff necks they can’t bow their heads, but the Chancellor seems to have strong neck bones and muscles.

I looked at the head butler who had brought the letter.

“Should I call you Head Butler Heron?”

“Please call me whatever you feel comfortable with.”

“Then I’ll call you Head Butler.”

“As you wish. So, have you made your decision?”

I nodded at the head butler’s question.

“Can I meet the Chancellor right away?”

“Yes, of course. He is probably waiting for you right now.”

“Very well. Let’s depart immediately.”

I told the head butler we should go right away, and he guided me outside to a waiting four-horse carriage.

With the head butler’s assistance, I boarded the carriage, and I noticed knights standing at attention next to my shop door.

“Ah, those men? They are the Chancellor’s personal guard knights.”

When I asked the head butler about them, he explained they would be guarding my shop while I visited the Chancellor’s residence.

Though there wasn’t much worth stealing in my shop, it was reassuring to know someone would be watching over it.

At the same time, I felt a bit nervous about meeting someone powerful enough to assign knights to guard my shop.

“Let us depart.”

“Yes, sir. Hiyah!”

Once the head butler and I boarded the carriage, the knight sitting in the driver’s seat began to drive.

The carriage left the bustling area and started moving along the road that encircled the entire city.

“Before you meet him, let me inform you of some precautions.”

During our journey, the head butler told me many things.

When addressing the Chancellor, use “Chancellor Elder” rather than just “Chancellor.”

In the Chancellor’s presence, always maintain proper etiquette, appear confident but never arrogant.

From the moment you enter to meet the Chancellor until the moment you leave, you are being tested, so never let your guard down.

I wondered if it was really necessary to go through all this to meet the Chancellor, but thanks to the head butler’s advice, I felt prepared.

“The Chancellor only invites those who interest him. In other words, if you heed my advice, you can certainly pass his test.”

I asked how I would know if I had passed the Chancellor’s test.

“It’s simple. If he mentions ‘next time’ when you’re leaving, you’ve passed. If he merely says it was nice meeting you, you’ve failed.”

As I listened to various other precautions, the carriage arrived at the Chancellor’s mansion.

“Let’s get out. The Chancellor is waiting.”

I disembarked from the carriage with the head butler and entered the mansion.

As the doors opened, the person who greeted us was…

“Welcome. I am Bergen Steyler, the owner of this mansion and Chancellor of the Celebrio Empire.”

The person who had invited me.

Bergen Steyler, the second-in-command and Chancellor of the Celebrio Empire.