Chapter : 5
Night had fallen, and with only faint lights glowing, the Yonggari Café looked strangely desolate.
Grind. Crunch. Grrrk.
Hiss—!
The sound of something being ground, followed by water boiling and steam escaping, filled the air.
Lev, who had been startled at first, now wore an expression full of anticipation.
“Mmm, a caramel aroma? You must be using excellent beans. I’ve never smelled anything this good, not even when drinking coffee at the royal palace.”
“Ah, they are fine beans. Beans you can only enjoy at our café, sir.”
“Oh!”
The nutty, bitter scent carried a sweetness that delighted the nose. Lev’s expectations rose even higher.
Walter, who had been standing stiffly beside him like a stone statue, felt the same way. Because of orders to return to the capital as quickly as possible, he had given up sleep and kept moving.
And now, in this situation, the aroma of coffee!
His mind was already screaming for coffee.
Walter’s gaze fixed on the café owner’s hands—and that was when he noticed something odd.
What is that?
What on earth was she using to grind the beans?
She was grinding them with a tool made of two large, flat stones stacked together. It was something he had never seen in his life.
Normally, coffee beans were ground into powder using a grinder with small blades.
But this—was it crushing them, or grinding them? He couldn’t even tell.
Even so, the aroma of the beans spreading through the air was superb, and Walter found himself sniffing unconsciously.
That wasn’t the only strange thing. The tool used to boil water was unfamiliar as well.
…Is that a small pot?
But it was nothing like the pots Walter knew.
The pots familiar to a royal knight were usually made of cast iron—black, deep, and heavy.
But the café owner’s pot shone golden and looked extremely light. It even had a long handle, making it seem easy to use.
Unlike cast-iron pots, which took ages just to heat up, this one brought water to a boil quickly.
Is it a magical tool?
But he had never heard of or seen a magical tool shaped like that. If such a revolutionary item existed, there would have been rumors everywhere.
So that meant it was an ordinary tool.
Walter stared intently at the small golden pot.
The café owner noticed and smiled gently, sliding the pot deeper inside so it was no longer visible.
He let out a disappointed sigh.
Then, with a refreshing smile, she placed a teacup in front of each of them.
The cups had an antique design that carried the weight of time.
Their elegant shape, reminiscent of lily-of-the-valley flowers, and the delicately carved leaf patterns on the handles were especially eye-catching.
Even the tools she owned were extraordinary—yet the cups themselves were dignified as well.
They had never seen cups like these, not even in the royal palace.
Lev seemed to feel the same, gazing at his cup in admiration.
“These cups are beautiful.”
“They are, aren’t they? They were passed down from my grandmother. They hold the years within them, which makes the coffee taste even better.”
“Oh? That’s a wonderful cup indeed. Do you have more like these?”
“Of course. If you have time later, please visit the café again. By then, the inside of the café will be properly organized.”
With that, the café owner picked up a transparent glass server filled with dark coffee and poured it into the cups before them.
The caramel aroma unique to the beans felt stronger than ever.
“Here is the coffee you ordered. I put a lot of care into it.”
She emphasized the words “a lot.”
Just how much care had gone into it?
Walter chuckled softly and took a sip.
The aroma he had been smelling reached him first, followed immediately by the taste.
Smooth, sweet, and clean.
At first, there was a fruity sweetness. The acidity was mild, leaving a lingering sweetness on the tip of his tongue.
He had never tasted coffee this good.
Only then did Walter understand what the café owner had meant.
This was a flavor that could only be created with genuine care.
Perhaps because of that, vitality surged through his exhausted body.
In awe, he asked her,
“It’s too dark to read the sign outside. What is the name of this café?”
“Ah.”
“I’m not interrogating you, um… I’ve never had coffee like this in my life. I’d like to visit again, so I had to ask.”
“I see.”
The café owner let out a sigh of relief and smiled brightly.
“Yonggari.”
“Pardon?”
“This is the Yonggari Café, sir.”
“I—I see! I’ll be sure to remember it.”
Walter nodded lightly and took another sip of coffee.
After finishing their cups, the two placed the payment on the table. After a brief exchange of greetings with the café owner, they hurried toward the capital.
The sun would rise soon.
They had to reach the knight order before it fully appeared. There was still a fair distance to go, yet their bodies felt strangely light.
When the café lights disappeared from view, Lev spoke.
“That’s a really unique café name. No way I’ll forget it.”
“Yeah.”
The coffee—and the café owner—both.
After the customers left.
“…So this actually worked.”
I muttered weakly. I had moved so frantically that I could barely remember how I’d served the customers.
Which was only natural.
The tools I had been given were… that kind of thing.
Even now, thinking back on it felt ridiculous.
No—ridiculous was an understatement.
I turned my head to look at the tools I had just used to make the coffee.
“Heh… why on earth is there a millstone here?”
And why was there a brass pot, of all things?
It was honestly laughable.
When Hugh brought those things out, my temples had throbbed so badly that I still remembered it.
I wanted to yell at him—but he looked so proud, as if he were waiting for praise, that I couldn’t say anything.
All I could do was accept the situation and somehow make coffee.
There was one saving grace, at least.
“Thank goodness Hugh even found coffee beans.”
Thanks to that, I didn’t have to ransack shops.
And also—
“If it weren’t for the skill correction, I would’ve been in serious trouble.”
I almost would’ve served poison to the customers.
Perhaps the game had a conscience.
The moment I put the beans into the millstone, a window popped up before my eyes.
Brew Drip Coffee!
Follow these steps and you, too, can become a coffee expert!
- Place a filter in the dripper set on top of the server.
- After boiling water, let it cool to an appropriate temperature and rinse the filter.
- Add the coffee grounds to the wet filter.
- Bloom the grounds, then pour an appropriate amount of water.
Drip Coffee Complete!
The dripper, server, and filters required for the tutorial are provided.
They will disappear once the tutorial ends.
During the tutorial, the taste is fixed at “Best.”
It was a simple explanation of how to brew drip coffee.
But the most important part was written at the bottom.
The provision of essential tools—and guaranteed flavor.
That meant two things.
First, I didn’t have to just dump grounds and water into the brass pot and boil them.
Second, I could serve coffee of a guaranteed minimum quality to customers.
And on top of that, both the tools and the taste were guaranteed during the tutorial!
For someone like me, who had only ever used machines, this was an absolute godsend.
Thanks to it, I managed to brew drip coffee safely.
Though I did have to use a ladle to pour hot water since I didn’t have a kettle…!
Still, the coffee itself was perfect.
And the game system agreed.
I looked again at the status window still floating messily in front of me.
Carefully Brewed Drip Coffee!
- Coffee made with top-grade beans and sincere care.
- A taste you will never forget.
Effect:
- Restores 10% Energy.
“If I’d known, I should’ve left myself a little…”
It had told me to recover energy, after all.
But even so, I couldn’t have held back earlier. There was barely enough coffee to fill two cups—and there were two customers.
“Well, it can’t be helped.”
Better to give generously than to leave some and get cursed at by customers.
Still, it wasn’t like I gained nothing.
You have crafted ‘Carefully Brewed Drip Coffee.’
- You receive 100 gold for minimum production.
- ‘Carefully Brewed Drip Coffee’ has been registered in the encyclopedia.
You can review the recipe through the encyclopedia.
“Making money is what matters.”
Yeah. Money is everything.
I grinned as I received the 100 gold.
Adding that to the coffee payment from earlier, I had a total of 230 gold!
It wasn’t much, but it was the first money I’d earned since entering this game.
Money that was completely mine.
Not money the bank would take.
Not money lost to rent.
My money.
“I’ll probably spend it right away since it’s early game, but still…”
Nice.
Smiling broadly, I shoved the gold into my pocket. Feeling its weight instantly lifted my mood.
Just as I was about to hum to myself—
Beep—!
WARNING!
Energy remaining: 5%!
- Debuff activated.
- Please sleep immediately (07:59:99).
The system window flashed chaotically before my eyes.
