Chapter : 12
I leapt up from my seat and dashed out of the café.
It hadn’t even been ten minutes since I woke up, and I already looked a mess—but I didn’t stop.
There was only one destination in mind.
Right here.
“Here it is!”
A vast field of reeds spread out behind the café building.
Waves of brown swayed with every gust of wind.
Being a building on the outskirts of the capital, the area around it was quite empty, but the reeds were the one thing that drew the eye.
Hu had mentioned this place before.
“Master! You haven’t seen it yet, right? When the sun hits the reeds, it’s really beautiful! Let’s go see it together with me!”
I had casually mentioned this when I set up the stall.
At that time, my mind had been entirely focused on the scheme to get Millen… so I never went to see the reeds with Hu.
Still, I remembered Hu’s words clearly.
“If the sunrise and sunset are really that beautiful…”
It could easily become a place that draws people in.
The overwhelming beauty of nature—people come to see it regardless of the era if it’s universally acknowledged as beautiful.
So if I leveraged it properly and promoted it, attracting visitors would be no problem. Of course, I hadn’t seen the view for myself yet…
“Hm, maybe I could make it a photo spot.”
For example… placing chairs in the reed field and putting up a heart-shaped statue with “Beautiful You~!” engraved on it.
Or if not a photo spot, I could make postcards with the reed field as the background and use them for promotion.
I tapped my lips with my index finger, thinking further. The earlier ideas just didn’t feel impactful enough.
There was one thing.
Something impactful enough to get people talking.
It was clearly a small detail—but I just couldn’t think of it.
“Haaa… this is tough.”
If ideas like this came to me instantly, I’d be running a YouTube channel. That’s how well it would grab people’s attention.
I stared at the reeds, pondering, but no answer came. I had to start selling twenty cups of coffee from the café today, after all.
Of course.
“I could ignore the quest, but…”
The 50% energy reduction debuff was… too big a hit to ignore. Especially at a time when I needed more than two bodies to prepare for a café opening.
Then suddenly.
“It would be nice if just one famous person came.”
A good idea popped into my head.
It’s a common promotional tactic even in restaurants.
Pay a certain amount to a famous person and ask them to introduce your shop.
If they’re influential enough, just their visit could make people follow the trend instantly.
There are countless restaurants that became famous this way. Even if not a celebrity, appearing in a drama, show, or even a small YouTube segment is enough.
For example, some cafés are remembered forever just from a line appearing in the ending credits of a sitcom.
“Since there’s no broadcast or drama here… hm.”
I need to bring someone with real influence to this place.
At the very least, a noble or royalty.
If not that, then someone who commands the most attention from people.
But.
“…I don’t know anyone.”
The biggest problem was that it had been less than a week since I got stuck in this game. I didn’t have time to build connections.
This is why family, regional, and school connections matter. With none of that, I was at a loss.
Of course, there were a few possible leads—but whether they’d listen to a café owner who hasn’t even opened yet was another matter entirely.
“Haa… one mountain after another.”
Still, maybe I could try.
They might be swayed by my sincerity.
I steeled myself and headed toward the café’s front entrance.
Two people were standing in front, like the customers who had asked if I sold coffee when I first repaired the building.
A gentle smile spread across their faces.
And their eyes sparkled.
I walked briskly toward them.
It seemed like the one thing I was missing had come walking right to me.
The fountain in the central plaza in front of the Dael Temple was bustling with people today as well.
The miracle had played a large part, but today, there seemed to be another reason.
Everyone gathered at the fountain was talking about the same thing.
“So, you mean… we can have ice cream? Cold cream?”
“Yeah, that’s right! You seriously didn’t believe me until now?”
“No… it’s hard to believe something like that is ‘free.’”
“True. I didn’t believe it at first either, but they really do give it for free!”
Each person had a cold cream in hand that was given away for free.
Some even paid more attention to the free treat than the miracle. Gods may be distant yet near, but free food is something tangible they can grasp.
Because of this, even more people gathered at the fountain than yesterday.
A small line had even formed near the stall she had set up the day before.
Although the main person hadn’t arrived yet, people waited in anticipation.
Just as murmurs like “Will she not come today?” began to spread—
“…What’s all this?”
The stall owner had arrived.
The woman with light pink hair blinked at the line she saw already formed. Her expression was a mixture of surprise, then quickly changed to a very warm smile.
“Were you already waiting? Then I’ll put all my effort into preparing for you! Please wait just a little longer!”
Her gentle voice matched her smile as she soothed those in line. While preparing, she said several things:
That the reed field behind the café was incredibly beautiful and worth seeing.
That there would be special perks for those who visited the reed field before the café opened.
Those captivated by curiosity and the promise of free food gave only minimal responses.
She seemed to have missed something important, but it didn’t matter.
The café’s location was on the outskirts of the capital, hard to reach without a carriage.
The carriage fare alone would buy a loaf of bread with a little exaggeration.
So the young man in line responded casually.
Soon after, the woman finished all preparations and, like the day before, handed out bite-sized ice cream.
Postcards with little hamster footprints came along as well.
Some people found the hamster prints cute, some marveled at the unfamiliar texture of “ice cream.”
The men felt the same. Cool, smooth, and sweet.
“Giving this away for free! She must be a rich heiress!”
A man finished his ice cream and licked his lips with regret. A café worth visiting even if it meant skipping a large loaf of bread.
So he discreetly checked the postcard with the café’s address.
“It hasn’t opened yet… can I even go?”
“…Huh? It’s the High Priest!”
At that moment, someone’s voice rang out across the plaza.
Immediately, the plaza erupted in commotion.
Naturally. The Dael Temple’s High Priest, Parhan, had finally appeared!
Since the miracle, he had been busy with temple matters and had rarely appeared.
Though he had received offerings, this was the first time he appeared in person. All eyes in the plaza focused on him.
A young High Priest with immaculate black hair under pristine white robes, Parhan faithfully guarding the Dael Temple to the end.
He surveyed the gathered crowd and then began walking toward a certain point.
People murmured even more when he moved silently.
Everyone was curious to see where the High Priest had headed.
Finally, Parhan came to a stop.
The place was familiar to the man.
“Miss Leila, it’s a pleasure to meet you like this.”
It was right in front of the stall she had been waiting in line at earlier—the very stall where she was
