SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon

As the weather has started to get warmer, many people have been looking for a cool drink. I just bought a new blender that blends well. And mocha frappe is sweet and delicious.

So I thought I’d make one before I opened the cafe. I stood at the counter and took out the ingredients and glasses. First, I put the espresso, chocolate sauce, milk, and ice into the blender. Then, after grinding it finely, I poured in the frappe until there was a little space left in the glass. Finally, I squeezed a generous amount of whipped cream on top.

This completed the mocha frappe, but this time there was an extra step.

“Hohoho…..” I took a large box off the shelf. The box was filled with cookies. I had made a bunch of them yesterday with Ash.

There was one difference between these cookies and the butter cookies I had made before. Each cookie had a picture of Mieum, Lime, and Corong on it. Underneath the picture, there was a text that said, ‘Commemorating the Reopening of Cafe Rieul‘. After being advised to add decorations, I ordered special cookie cutters to make them.

“Nyaaaaah, these are going to be so popular now that my cute face is on them!”

“Kkyuuu, kkyuuuu!”

Mieum and Lime beamed as they looked at the cookies.

The commemorative cookie was put on the top of the whipped cream. The name was Commemorative Mocha Frappe.

[Item: Commemorative Mocha Frappe (★★★★★)

Status: Perfect (Time Remaining: 02:00:00)

Effect: Congratulations!]

However, the effect description only said ‘Congratulations!’ and nothing else. I tried it out, but it didn’t give me any buffs or healing. Well, that’s fine, but…….

Feeling motivated, I decided to create a food menu to sell alongside these commemorative mocha frappes.

At first, I thought I’d make a carrot cake using the toothed carrots growing in the space. But when I went into the space to pull out the toothed carrots……

‘Shooosh, shooosh …… shuuuush, shooosh…….’

I gave up.

It seemed that I had grown attached to the toothed carrots. I couldn’t bring myself to pull the carrot out as it cried softly as if it had accepted its fate.

Well, it’s not like keeping the carrots would cause any harm…….

So I opted for egg bread instead. It’s easy to make in advance because it only required adding an egg to the dough and baking it. Most importantly, they’re filling and delicious.

Ash and I cracked a bunch of eggs and baked the bread, and the time flew by. As I scrambled to move the mountain of egg bread onto a plate, Mieum gave me a disapproving look.

“That’s a disaster you brought upon yourself, waeolgh!”

Uhm, I have nothing to say. At the very least, it’s better to make a bunch of food for everyone to enjoy.

As a side note, a combo bonus popped up when I made the commemorative mocha frappe with the egg bread.

[The condition has been met.

Combo bonus will be generated.

Combo: Celebrating the Reopening of Cafe Rieul (Commemorative Mocha Frappe, Commemorative Egg Bread)

Effect: You are guaranteed to get the best result once in your next draw.]

Wha … what?! ou are guaranteed to get the best result in the draw? How in the world could a single cup of coffee have such a massive effect?

My joy was short-lived, and I soon realised that there was a major problem.

Wait, wouldn’t the lottery also be considered a draw? So if everyone who ate this commemorative combo at my cafe bought a lottery ticket, would they all win? Would I be arrested for causing social chaos by selling this menu?

With tears in my eyes, I wondered if I should cancel the sale of the new menu, but thankfully, there was a clause.

[※ This does not apply to lotteries and other draws involving cash, securities, or high value items.

If the draw is not performed within 24 hours, it will become invalid.

Limited to once per person.]

Phew, with these terms, I shouldn’t have too much trouble. The one-time use was a fitting effect for a commemorative menu.

So what should I draw? Perhaps it’s time to use my stash of golden draw tickets.

Just then, I heard a rumbling outside my door. I peeked out the window and was surprised to see a long queue of people outside the door.

“……Already that much?”

Due to various reasons, I had closed the cafe for over a month. I was worried that it had been too long, that people might have forgotten about the cafe, but I was wrong.

Since it’s been so long, I’ve decided to take on as many customers as I can handle today. It’s going to be a busy day.

I hastily tidied up and opened the door, flipping the sign next to the door so that the ‘Open’ side was facing forward.

Ahead of me was a line of customers looking at me with anticipation. I greeted them with a smile and said,

“Welcome. Cafe Rieul is now open for business.”

***

I knew it was going to be a busy day, but the first day was really, really, really insanely busy.

“Owner-nim, I’ve just realised something. I’m a slave to coffee!”

“Ah, what should I do? I’m curious about the commemorative set, but I also want an Americano … eh, just give me both!”

“The store looks so pretty. I’ve been waiting for the cafe to reopen!”

“Haa, it’s fantastic to be able to see cute animals while drinking coffee.”

The customers were pleased with their coffee. Some customers were familiar faces, while others came for their first time. When a new customer who had won a coffee ticket came in and liked the coffee, I felt really proud.

“It’s here, it’s here! SSR character! Gold City!”1

“It’s a shame that such a great effect is limited to one time use only … Still, I picked my favourite, so it’s okay…….”

There were also customers who had fun with the commemorative combo effect.

One of the customers who came right after the opening was Lee Chorok, who gave me a potted plant as a gift to commemorate the opening.

“You could have just come empty-handed … Thank you so much. But it doesn’t seem like flowers, what kind of plant is it?”

“It’s a tea tree! I finally managed to grow the Dungeon Green Tea Tree to a size that can be grown in a pot. If you grow it well, you’ll be able to harvest tea leaves.”

“Woow, thank you.”

If I have tea leaves, I might be able to add a tea menu next time. I happily accepted the pot and decorated it.

“I’m done with the dishes, can I take these egg breads out to the customers?”

“Uh, sure!”

Ash was still incredibly good at his job. He washed the used blender in a flash, and then got the rest of the work done in a blink of an eye. He’s truly a genius part-timer! Without him, it would have been impossible to keep up with this many orders.

I quickly finished the commemorative mocha frappe and handed it to the customer, then said cheerfully, “Next customer, please let me know when you’ve decided on your order.”

It’s been a whirlwind of activities. It’s exhausting physically, but my mind couldn’t be happier.

At one point, I used to wish I could have a five-days weekend (*means five days of rest). I still like resting. Lounging around lazily and idly, it’s really still the best.

But there’s also a certain satisfaction that could only be achieved from such a busy and hectic time.

The strong scent of freshly brewed espresso wafted in the air. It’s my favourite smell.

I guess there’s no choice. In this life, I’ll have to live diligently.

The time flew by as I took orders, made coffee, and brought snacks for Mieum and Lime, who occasionally interrupted me. I counted the stack of coffee tickets. More than 90% of the initial reservations had been claimed. There were only a few customers left.

‘But I haven’t seen Yoohyun-ssi….’

This time, I took reservations in advance through online ticketing. It was 50% on the first-come, first-served basis and 50% by lottery. So maybe he failed to get a reservation.

Or maybe he knew I’d be busy today and was being considerate.

Even though we knew each other, he’s not the kind of person who would just ask me to make an exception for him when he failed to make a reservation.

‘Hmm, but still…….’

It’s a bit disappointing. I thought he would definitely come. Didn’t we still have something to talk about?

I was going to tell him when I met him today. There’s no need to wait any longer. No, I was planning to tell him that I had something I wanted to say first.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen any of my other acquaintances today either. The only person who came to visit me was Lee Chorok, who gave me the pot earlier. I haven’t heard from Ju Noeul, who used to come to the store regularly, and Uncle and Kwon Jiwoon also didn’t mention anything to me.

“…….”

Let’s not overthink it. I could always make space for them later.

The cafe had been closed for over a month, so maybe they’ve lost interest in it. It’s not healthy to have high expectations and then be disappointed.

The constant stream of customers has stopped. Perhaps it’s time to take a break. Ash must be tired after working so hard for quite some time.

I quickly made a cup of caffe mocha and put it on a tray with some egg bread, “Ash, go inside and get some rest. Here’s some snacks for you to eat.”

But I didn’t hear a reply. When I looked back in the direction where Ash was standing, I was taken aback.

“Huh? Ash, where are you?”

Surely he was over there clearing the table? Had he gone to the bathroom? Mieum and Lime, who were lying on the floor a moment ago, were also nowhere to be seen.

Something’s wrong.

“Mieum, Lime! What are you doing?”

I bent my head down to the floor and listened, but there was no sound of bouncing, nor the sound of Mieum’s stomping feet.

“Uh…..?”

All of a sudden, there wasn’t a single customer left in the store.

I went to the window and checked the outside. There were no people outside either.

What happened? In an instant, I was the only one left in this place.

Translator’s Corner:

RIEUL, I NEED THAT EFFECT FOR MY GAME TOO T_T I also have rotten luck in game fr …