The Way Back Home's
Tea Rooms
“What is this place?”
“Bliss and Tea Room. A kind of tea shop. This is their side door.” Christo opened the door. The metal door was heavier than it looked. Farrell could see Christo was a bit troubled as he pushed her.
The scenery inside the place was no different from a tea room in general. Farrell saw the chairs and tables arranged close to each other. Near the front door, there is a complete counter with a display of various cakes, muffins, soes, pastry, and other interesting snacks. Lots of pretty things there. Flower pots decorate each table, teapots and cups with painted flowers, and cushions.
“Welcome, table for how many people?” a servant lady came to them with a long leather-bound menu in her hands.
Christo shakes. “I want to order a special herb.”
“Then, please wait a moment. Please sit there first.” The waiter pointed at the side of the counter that had a high chair.
The two went there and sat in a high chair. Farrell began to observe around. All the visitors inside were mostly women. They could accommodate forties of people on the first floor. There was a staircase at the end there leading to the second floor but it lay a ribbon in the middle, tied to the first rung. It seems like the second floor is only open for special events.
At the table where he was currently at, Farrell could see two maids making orders. One was pouring hot water in a teapot and another was serving paying customers. Behind the counter, there was a row of tall and long shelves. There are also various boxes of tea cans. There is also a glass jar containing cookies, flower petals, and floating light grains.
Farrell squinted at the light. Christo nudged his hand. “It's just a firefly. Not something special.”
“Magic fireflies?”
“So far they are smeared to shine all the time.”
Before long, the waitress returned with the shopkeeper. She was wearing a long Victorian dress. The color pink is the same as the wide hat full of flowers that he is wearing. Under the hat, her large wavy curly hair was arranged too neatly. Farrell would bet that the woman had also smashed her hair. His face was also so, dirahas well, disguise the age.
“Welcome kids, introduce, my name is Bliss. I'm the owner of this place. Can I help you?” Bliss reached out, Christo kissing his hand like a noble. While Farrell was feeling awkward, so he shook that hand instead. “Oh... Hohoho..” Bliss seems to enjoy Christo's treatment of her but not Farrell's. But he forgot about it. “So, what special herbs do you need?”
“My name is Christo and she is Farrell, we are from Eden’s Lodge.”
“Eden’s Lodge? Waw! You guys work there? Eden’s Lodge does have an amazing taste for finding employees. Hohoho. What if you just moved to work here? We can talk about the facilities and the wages later.”
“Ehem!” Farrell hurriedly interrupted.
“I'm honored, but it's a pity that we're still under contract. Today we are here to carry out the duties of the manager. Yesterday, we had a hotel guest who was under the influence of magic. He asked for an antidote so that he did not continue to obey the potion maker.” Christo spoke without the slightest hesitation in his sentence, as if he was used to fabricating all sorts of excuses.
“Oh, what a pity. But, think about my offer again after your contract expires. Okay?” Bliss is still interested in attracting both of them to be his employees. “Well, about the magic potion.So, your guest is under the influence of a magic potion that forces him to obey the potion maker. Was he also forced to drink the potion continuously?”
Bliss stroked his round beard and chose to sit beside Christo. “Make us tea, Supermoon,” he said to the waiter at the counter. Then he turned back to Christo. “We just got this tea leaf last night. It tastes delicious and is of course rare. Don't worry, I'll deal. Hohoho..” As if awakened, Bliss also cleared his throat. “Ehem... Oops, let's go back to the main topic. Let's take a look... You know what that potion of influence looks like?”
“Powder, purple, shiny like glitter.”
Farrell flinched upon hearing Christo's reply. He remembers seeing Remy sprinkling such powder over their food. No wonder Remy was more nervous than usual when he caught her. He must have thought Farrell knew what the potion was, but he didn't. At least, Farrell had to justify something from Christo's remarks. “The color is magenta not purple.”
Christo has no intention of protesting. Bliss commented. “Wait, magenta? I imagined it to be purple like eggplant. So, the color is magenta and sparkling? Ah, that's terrible! When concocting potions to influence the mind, they were black in color. But, after you cast the spell, the color will turn close to red. The closer to the red color, the stronger the herb.”
Farrell raises shoulders, “So?”
“I don't think I can help you. Excuse me. I'm just an expert at making simple potions. For example, herbs make cats talk or change the color of flowers, the color of clothing, the color of paper. That kind of magic is not my part. Too bad.”
Farrell sighed and let his shoulders slump.
The waiter came and poured one by one their tea complete with cookies on a small plate.
Bliss smiled at them, “Don't worry, kids. I know a shop that can help you, even though I don't know how much they cost for such a complicated potion. Just tell me if you're my friends, they'll give you fifteen percent off.”
Christo smiled. “It sounds pretty promising.”
“Oh, of course! I don't want to disappoint handsome young men like you. You know what's even better? I can take you there. I have a portal that can take you straight to the store. Owner's name is Hendrik. Hohoho..”.
“Thank you very much, Miss Bliss,” Farrell smiled.
Bliss waved his hand. The counter waiter carried several small tea boxes inside the paper bag. “Well, instead I want you to help me too. Recommend this tea to your manager. We have many varieties of tea for the hotel and various cakes as well. I think Eden’s Lodge needs a better serving for their restaurant.”
Farrell remembered Volcano pie and eyeball soup. He strongly agreed that their inn served more normal food like the one in this place.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Bliss said again. “No one has arachnophobia ‘kan? Old Hendrick still likes to keep spiders. Hohoho.. If you get bitten, you can come to me.”.
Christo exchanged glances with Farrell. “We will try not to disturb them.”
