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Chapter 49




Chapter 49
“

!”
The customer momentarily wore a surprised expression, then answered cautiously.
“That’s not the case.”
However, the iced Americano in the cup was still nearly half full, and the bar above his head had not filled up completely.
“If you don’t like it, would you like to try a different menu item?”
When asked again, the customer added an explanation.
“This menu item is very delicious. It’s just that I can’t drink coffee well.”
...Ah. A slow realization dawned on me.
He can’t drink coffee.
It made sense that this customer ordered the same menu item every day. After all, the only items on the menu were coffee.
No matter how special the coffee I made with the ‘Cafe in My Hands’ skill, there are some things that can’t be changed, like one’s taste and constitution.
Some might say,
‘He just hasn’t tasted real good coffee!’
No, the taste of that ‘real good coffee’ just isn’t to his liking.
A cafe should have non-coffee menu items for customers who can’t drink coffee. I hadn’t thought of it because I was busy with the quest menu items.
Anyway, this customer placed an order without complaint, but the partially filled light bar was bothersome.
So, I decided. I would create a non-coffee menu item.
“Next time... I plan to create a new menu item that isn’t coffee. If you come again, you’ll be able to try it.”
“...!”
Perhaps because I suddenly brought up a new menu item, the customer looked startled.
“When can I come?”
Uh, when? I hadn’t thought about the date...
A few days from now should be fine. When I pointed to a suitable date in the coming week, the customer nodded carefully.
The moment the customer left the shop, a system notification appeared before my eyes.
[A quest has been triggered.]
[Quest: Complete a Non-Coffee Menu Item (0/1)]
* * *
“Haha... Hahaha...!”
As soon as Kim Taeun stepped out of the door of <Cafe Lee>, he couldn’t contain his joy and burst into laughter.
It was worth it. The effort of pretending to be a regular customer and visiting the cafe for several days paid off.
Ordering the same menu item at the same time multiple times, he finally caught a clue about the illegal monster secret trade.
A major transaction would take place at their hideout in a few days.
It was the secret trade of a rare monster, the Long-Tailed Phoenix.
This information came from Kim Taeun’s secret informant, who had been fed a fair amount of money, drinks, and meals.
However, that was all he knew. He couldn’t figure out exactly how the transaction would take place.
The only clue was this place, <Cafe Lee>. There must be a clue to the transaction here.
Despite no progress after several days of observation, Kim Taeun didn’t give up. A true journalist must have a sharp intuition and perseverance.
So, he trusted his intuition and ate butter cookies and iced Americano every day.
And finally, today.
When S-rank Hunter Choi Ichan was away, the cafe owner subtly asked if the menu item suited his taste.
Kim Taeun was surprised but quickly regained his composure.
This question was definitely a test for the transaction. Otherwise, why would she suddenly ask about the menu item? He didn’t like coffee but had been drinking it all along to avoid suspicion.
He carefully chose his words and calmly answered.
“That’s not the case.”
“...!”
The cafe owner, looking startled, asked him to come back on a specific date.
The date she set was the same as the one his secret informant had mentioned.
It was done. He finally found the clue. If he could properly investigate this, he could break a major story.
Thus, Kim Taeun left <Cafe Lee> with a light step, completely unaware that he had misunderstood the situation.
* * *
[Side Quest: Satisfy the Customer
People have different tastes.
Complete a special non-coffee menu item that will satisfy a customer who doesn’t like coffee.
Deliver the non-coffee menu item to the customer: 0/1
Reward: Experience (100exp), Gold Ticket 1, Reputation (5), Popularity (10)]
The new quest didn’t seem particularly difficult.
Hot chocolate, tea, fruit juice, etc.
There are many types of non-coffee beverages in a cafe. Completing one of them should be enough.
However, a small 3pt text at the bottom of the quest window caught my eye.
“Hmm...”
[※ Note: Ordinary beverages won’t do. Complete a special beverage according to the recipe.]
...
Of course.
This system clearly doesn’t let me do anything easily. Nothing is simple.
The problem was that all the recipes I currently had were for coffee. There were no quests to obtain new recipes, and I checked the recipe window to see if there was any new information.
Then,
[High curiosity has led to the acquisition of information about a new recipe.]
[New recipe: Lemonade acquired.]
“Huh?”
I got a recipe without doing anything?!
What kind of system is this...
I felt a bit uneasy about suddenly getting a recipe.
But if the system is showing this notification, it must mean that I need to make lemonade to complete the quest.
However, the recipe details contained words I couldn’t understand.
[Recipe: Lemonade
Ingredients: Purifying Tree Fruit, Magic Sugar, Carbonated Water]
“...?”
Can you call a drink lemonade if it doesn’t contain lemons...?
Putting aside the question of the essence of lemonade, what is a Purifying Tree? It seems to be a tree from its name.
“A tree with the power to purify the impure, meow! Its fruit is very fresh.”
“Is that so? Then where can I get this Purifying Tree?”
“That, meow...”
I shouldn’t have asked. Mieum seemed to sense my sympathetic gaze and puffed up her tail fur, flapping her front paws wildly. I calmly dodged.
“Do you think I’m an encyclopedia! Look it up in the encyclopedia! Why!”
“Encyclopedia?”
Is there such a thing?
“Don’t tell me you forgot! Why!”
Right. I remember the system had an encyclopedia function. I had completely forgotten about it because it seemed useless.
I dodged Mieum’s flying nyanyang punch and accessed the Ether-Wiki.
[Verifying qualifications... Complete.]
[Eligible: Lee Eul confirmed...]
‘Skip.’
I skipped the scrolling text and searched for the ‘Purifying Tree Fruit’ entry.
《Purifying Tree Fruit》
Type: Plant > Fruit
Description: A fruit that grows on the branches of the Purifying Tree, which has the power to purify the impure. It has a sweet and fresh taste.
How to Obtain:
■■■ ■■■■ ■■ ■...
Fortunately, the entry was open, but the part about how to obtain it was blacked out and unreadable. Where should I get the information? Should I ask people around me one by one?
What a troublesome quest. Maybe I should just give up.
As I was pondering, Choi Ichan returned.
“Ichan, you’re a bit late. ...Oh, what’s that?”
Choi Ichan, who was supposed to come back after a run, was holding a large plastic bag.
“Haha... I bought it on the way.”
I opened the bag to find fruit inside. It was full of apples, pears, and bananas, a considerable amount.
“On the way? Where from?”
There’s no way there’s a fruit shop near this dungeon gate.
“That, haha... It just happened.”
I hope he wasn’t forced to buy them...
Anyway, with a lot of fresh fruit, I decided to put aside my quest worries and eat them right away. I was hungry, and thinking about it wouldn’t solve anything.
“I’ll peel them.”
Choi Ichan took out a plate and a fruit knife and started peeling an apple. However, his attempt soon failed.
“...Ah.”
The apple crumbled in Choi Ichan’s grip. I took the knife from him.
“I’ll do it. Cheer up.”
“I’m sorry, I...”
“I was just thinking I wanted to drink some apple juice. It’s perfect.”
Choi Ichan still had trouble controlling his strength. He had improved, but he still broke a coffee cup once in five tries. Even S-rank Hunters have their inconveniences.
He said that finding a new place to live was slow because he needed a secure location.
I was happy to meet a friend every day, unlike before the regression when I lived alone.
I cut the apple and placed it on the plate. A piece tasted sweet and fresh. I shared it with Mieum and Lime, and we all sat together to eat the apple.
Sitting and eating the apple made me think of the past.
Before the regression, before I started living alone, I lived with Kwon Jiwoon. Kwon Jiwoon hadn’t awakened yet, and we got along well.
Back then, I couldn’t peel apples, so Kwon Jiwoon did it for me. The apple I peeled, which had shrunk to half its size, was Kwon Jiwoon’s.
‘That used to happen...’
Before Kwon Jiwoon awakened.
After awakening, many things changed. I couldn’t adapt to the changed environment, and Kwon Jiwoon, who suddenly became the guild leader, must have gone through a lot.
As Kwon Jiwoon got busier, the time I spent alone at home increased. Being alone in an empty house, all sorts of negative emotions would come to me. Is my brother bothered by me? Why aren’t my parents and grandmother here? Such unanswered questions.
I thought living alone might be better, so I started living alone when I went to college. But I couldn’t meet Kwon Jiwoon on the moving day.
“Is Kwon Jiwoon not here? I’m moving today.”
“He’s busy now. I’ll pass the message.”
“Still, if I could just talk for a bit...”
“Lee Eul, do you not understand what I’m saying? The deputy guild leader is busy.”
“...”
Time passed with a few things out of place... and it ended in a ridiculous death.
But this time, with the regression, the future changed in many ways. Choi Ichan, who was already dead in the past, was now eating an apple in front of me.
Then, could I change my relationship with Kwon Jiwoon?
No, let it go. What’s the point of thinking about it? It’s not rare for cousins to be distant. It just made me feel gloomy.
Maybe I should peel a pear too.
“Ichan, do you want to eat a pear?”
“Huh? Sure.”
As I rummaged through the plastic bag to pick a ripe pear, a leaf fluttered out.
“...? What’s this?”
It looked like a regular green leaf.
Did a leaf get mixed in with the plastic bag? I flicked the leaf with my hand, and a system window suddenly appeared.
[Skill: Barista’s Eye (D) used.]
[Item: Purifying Tree Leaf (★☆☆☆☆)
Type: Leaf
A leaf from the Purifying Tree. It has a good fragrance but cannot be eaten as is.]
Huh...? Suddenly?
“Ichan.”
“Huh, what’s up?”
“Where did you buy this fruit?”