Chapter : 4
“Why not just put it straight into my inventory? So troublesome.”
It didn’t seem like this reward was being granted automatically like the first one.
Without much thought, I pressed the [Accept] button.
Clink!
With a clear sound, a small pouch appeared on top of my hand.
“They actually give it to you properly, huh……”
The window that had been making such a fuss about accepting the reward vanished just like that.
I immediately opened the pouch to check its contents.
Inside were transparent gems emitting a soft, radiant glow, filling the pouch to the brim.
“So this is diamond.”
Where would I have to use this for people to say I spent it well?
As I carefully picked up one of the diamonds and muttered to myself, Hyu—who had been sitting quietly on my shoulder—jumped in shock and cried out.
“H-Huh!? P-Please be careful, Master! That’s incredibly valuable! With that, you could buy tools from the Tool Master! He only accepts diamonds……!”
“The Tool Master? You mean… the one who made the hammer?”
“Yes! He’s an amazing person. He even ran this café together with Bashar-nim. He’s away right now to gather tool materials, but…… he’ll be back soon!”
Hyu clenched his tiny fists and nodded earnestly. His restless expression, as if urging me to put the diamond away quickly, was rather cute.
‘Ah, I see.’
So the diamonds are meant to be used on the Tool Master?
I nodded slowly.
That was when—
Energy remaining: 15%.
Please recover energy through sleep.
A system window suddenly appeared in front of my eyes.
There were no flashy light effects or ringing sounds echoing in my head.
Tilting my head slightly, I slowly read through the status message.
“……Energy?”
Come to think of it, I’d seen something like this written in the [TIP!] section during the game’s loading screen……
In games like this, “energy” usually refers to the total amount of activity a player can perform in-game. In other words, it’s the “stamina” forcibly imposed on the player by the system.
Once you use it all up, you can no longer act.
That’s why, in games like these, the quality of gameplay depends entirely on how efficiently you use your energy.
‘Not a single bit can go to waste.’
That’s just how Koreans are.
I slightly curled one corner of my mouth and rolled my eyes.
“Since I have 15% left… hmm. I should move only until it drops to 5%.”
Honestly, I wanted to keep going until it hit exactly 1%. Like using your phone battery until it reaches 1% before finally plugging it in……
But today was my first day possessing this body.
‘I still need to figure out how the system works.’
I brushed the status window aside with my hand and picked up the hammer again.
“I should at least set up a decent place to rest.”
But at that moment—
“Oh! Are you open for business here?”
A voice sent chills running down my spine.
It was even more horrifying than a ghost’s wail.
“……I must’ve misheard, right?”
No way.
I shuddered all over and tried to ignore the voice.
‘I didn’t even see a single person pass by while repairing the building. There’s no way I’d suddenly hear people talking.’
Hyu was sitting on the stairway to the second floor with a bright, clueless expression, just as unaware as ever. I was just about to sigh in relief—
But then.
“Excuse me? I’m pretty sure I heard someone inside.”
“Right? You said they’re open, didn’t you?”
The voices came again—and this time, there were two of them!
“……Ah.”
I suddenly understood why those people had come to this freshly restored building.
‘I shouldn’t have fixed the sign!’
Covering my face with my hand, I squeezed my eyes shut.
It was my fault for casually repairing the sign that had been hanging there split in half at the entrance. Even if the inside was a complete mess, the exterior clearly looked like a café……
“Haa……”
I dragged my hand down my face and put on a resolute expression.
I really wanted to pretend I didn’t notice the customers. But I couldn’t just turn away customers who had come on their own, even before opening.
Wasn’t this a perfect chance to turn them into regulars? At the very least, since we weren’t officially open yet, I should tell them to come back later when we were.
I took a long breath and turned around.
In the yard, I saw a man and a woman peeking around in front of the building. They were wearing silver armor, as if they’d just come back from training nearby.
‘……Armor?’
In a peaceful game where you’re supposed to work yourself to death running a café, armored customers?
‘Well… it’s a romance fantasy world. Knights probably exist. That’s not impossible.’
I nodded lightly to myself and walked over to the arched window they were peering into.
Then I raised my voice.
“We’re not open yet— mmph, mmmph!!”
Suddenly, it felt as though someone had forcibly covered my mouth, and my words wouldn’t come out properly.
At the same time—
Ding!
<Welcome, Customer!>
Your first customer has arrived.
You can’t send a customer away empty-handed!
- Receive your first customer
- Serve your first drink to your first customer
Reward: 100 Gold
Failure will return you to the beginning.
A system window appeared in front of my eyes, as usual.
“……Ha.”
A hollow laugh escaped me at the absurd quest description.
‘You want me to receive customers in a construction site like this?’
There weren’t even chairs or tables for customers to use, let alone ingredients to make drinks!
Gritting my teeth, I glared at the system window.
Sure, starting a business means building from nothing—but this was more like asking me to create something out of literal nothing.
And then……
‘……Return to the beginning if I fail?’
You’ve got to be kidding me.
Skipping it wasn’t an option either. I absolutely had to serve the first customer. It was enough to drive anyone insane.
I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath. At that, Hyu—who had rushed over after hearing the customers’ voices—started watching me nervously.
“M-Master……! What should we do? Should I bring whatever tools are left in the café?”
“……Are there even any?”
Everything inside the building was completely wrecked.
When I muttered weakly, Hyu suddenly jumped to his feet.
“Hyu saw earlier—there are still things we can use! Bashar-nim’s original tools were all sent to the Tool Master for repairs, but…… still! I’ll go get them right away!”
P-Please wait just a moment!
With that, Hyu dashed off toward what used to be the kitchen. I watched him disappear, then turned my head back.
‘Stay calm.’
Hyu said he’d bring usable tools. All that’s left is handling the customers.
‘Let’s just take the order first and figure out the ingredients later.’
They wouldn’t have forced me to take customers if there were no way to obtain ingredients.
I couldn’t keep the customers waiting outside any longer. I put on the friendliest smile I could manage.
I thought it would feel awkward since this wasn’t my original face, but controlling my smile was surprisingly easy. I also refined my voice as neatly as possible.
After muttering a few practice lines under my breath, I saw Hyu come running out of the kitchen.
Everything was ready.
I opened the mini-bar window, smiled as brightly and kindly as I could, and called out.
“Welcome, dear customers!”
It was time to greet my first guests.
* * *
In front of a red-roofed building with dim lights leaking out.
Two people paced restlessly.
“At this point, it’s obvious they’re not open, Lev.”
“No way…… My instincts are telling me they are open, Walter.”
“You’re really going to be stubborn all the way out here?”
“This isn’t stubbornness.”
Lev narrowed his eyes and glared at Walter.
‘Do you even know whose fault it is that we’re stuck here like this?’
Wasn’t it because Walter suddenly complained about being unbearably thirsty that they’d stopped their return to the capital?
Still, unlike their expectation that there’d be nothing to find—
“Oh! Look over there. There’s a café.”
“……Here? This area should still be dangerous.”
There was a café.
Almost as if it were inviting them inside.
Feeling like travelers who had found an oasis in the desert, they headed toward it. The faint light leaking out made it seem like it was open for business.
But when they arrived, the café was eerily quiet.
The exterior looked perfectly fine, but the interior…… didn’t feel like a place that should be operating at all. And yet, for some reason, Lev felt certain that this café was open.
His instincts were usually right, so Lev ignored Walter’s suggestion—his insistence that they should just leave—and waited.
“Welcome, dear customers.”
The mini-bar window opened, and a gentle, kind greeting came from inside. Through the open window, they could clearly see the café interior—along with a woman who appeared to be the owner.
Lev was more than a little taken aback.
‘They’re open for business even though the inside is that much of a mess?’
So he asked.
“Did we perhaps come here even though you’re not actually open?”
The café owner answered brightly.
“Nope! Our café is operating normally. So please feel free to order, dear customers.”
The reply was cheerful—but somehow, it felt like she was gritting her teeth as she said it.
