OCOB 23

Chapter : 23

The incident came unexpectedly.

And it was completely by chance.

I blinked. I couldn’t even begin to guess what was happening.

But one thing was certain: a quest window had appeared before my eyes.

??’s Assignment

• Pray.

Reward: Coffee Machine

Failure: ^%$#

About two hours earlier.

The central square of the capital was still crowded. No, there were even more people than usual.

They were all lined up, endlessly, waiting their turn toward the temple.

Every face held reverence and anticipation.

The reason they were queuing was simple.

It was this:

“Ah, the Dael Temple is finally opening today.

So that’s why the café only had that many customers.”

It was the day the long-closed doors of Dael Temple would finally open.

Thanks to that, only 21 customers came to the café. Not one of them stayed to enjoy the sunset over the reeds.

At first, I thought it was because my coffee tasted strange and they left early.

‘Yeah, it probably was weird.’

From the moment I returned from Freesia’s furniture shop to the café, I had been practicing relentlessly until morning, finally managing to brew a “simple yet memorable coffee.”

The universal kettle was surprisingly simple to use. This was a method I had figured out on my own.

You shouldn’t get trapped by the prejudice that just because it’s called a kettle and looks like one, it must be ordinary.

It was a moka pot in the shape of a kettle!

‘Good thing I know how to use a moka pot.’

I had learned the technique from the owner while working part-time at a private café.

Whether it’s a coffee machine or a moka pot, the taste of the coffee should be the same… yet they acted like it was something special.

I never imagined I’d end up using it this way. Using the universal kettle, I silently praised that café owner from back then.

‘Thanks to you, it works perfectly!’

Using the technique I had learned, I experimented with the right amounts of water and coffee beans. Gradually, I finally reached the taste of a “simple yet memorable coffee.”

If I did a little more research, I could even aim for the previous “coffee made with full devotion.”

I felt quite confident about it.

Millan even praised me that it was drinkable!

Yet, seeing everyone gulp down the coffee and leave so quickly left me a bit disappointed.

What could they possibly be in such a hurry to get back to the capital for?

So I cleaned up the café and came to the capital myself!

Curious about what was happening in the capital!

‘Hmm, in about a week, the café will open. I need to be alert about the capital’s situation. I’ve thought of everything!’

I also wanted to check out competing cafés I hadn’t gotten a chance to see before.

Naturally, I brought Millan and Hue along.

I had planned to enjoy some alone time while exploring the capital… but Millan stopped me.

“Trying very hard to turn into a corpse, aren’t you?”

He said it firmly but still explained about the capital, Noren.

The capital of the Zenan Kingdom, Noren, was quite large.

Bigger than Seoul but smaller than Tokyo. This implied the kingdom was prosperous—but the current situation was different.

Millan explained that only certain areas of the capital—where Dael Temple and the royal palace were—still had active human traffic.

He also mentioned that the kingdom had been gradually declining due to climate changes that began five years ago.

So while the capital should be relatively safe, venturing into back alleys or less populated areas could be dangerous, he warned more than once.

Since we planned to explore the capital thoroughly this time, Millan’s guidance was essential.

The catch was that Millan was not exactly thrilled to be the guide.

“Using a high-class asset like me just to show you around the capital… Vasha would faint if she knew.”

“You said you wouldn’t let me go alone, Millan.”

“I’m afraid you’ll meet a grim fate on the streets. Then I wouldn’t be able to face Vasha. Right, Hue?”

“Oh! Of course! If something happened to Master, I’d be very upset and sad too!”

Hue flailed his short arms, sitting on Millan’s shoulder. When he nearly toppled forward, Millan caught him.

“Hehe, thank you, Millan. Hue almost got in trouble before Master did!”

“…Quite a handful, both the person and the hamster.”

For a moment, fatigue flickered across Millan’s face. A person who had lived solely on their own pride suddenly became a caretaker for an adult and a hamster… I understood.

But one thing puzzled me.

“Millan, but… are there no cafés or public houses here? I see regular restaurants, but nowhere selling alcohol or coffee.”

“Ah, I didn’t explain that. After the incident five years ago, all cafés and public houses closed. The only one that survived for a while was Vasha’s café.”

He said it so casually that I was taken aback.

For all cafés and public houses in the capital to shut down… the natural disaster five years ago must have been catastrophic.

Naturally, a question arose.

“Why did they all close? Coffee beans and alcohol ingredients can still be obtained. Even if not that, there should have been other kinds of tea.”

“That is…”

Millan looked at me, started to explain, then stopped abruptly.

“You will experience for yourself why all cafés and taverns closed. Layla, when you open your café, you will understand.”

A chill ran down my spine.

‘That’s a curse, right? It has to be a curse. It’s like he’s cursing me to fail even before opening!’

I narrowed my eyes at Millan.

Yet he didn’t react at all. Instead, he smirked.

“Just wait. I will never fail.”

“Well, we’ll see. Only then will we know if you truly are… Vasha’s successor.”

“I am her successor. I’m her granddaughter, and I inherited the café.”

“…Sigh. Never mind.”

Millan shook his head and completely averted his gaze. I felt indignant.

‘This is life-or-death! If this fails, I’ll die too!’

My fighting spirit flared. Millan had a natural talent for provoking people.

My lips puckered. Surrounded by so many people, my irritation grew. I was about to snap.

“Phew.”

I exhaled and looked around. Somehow, we had arrived at the central square of the capital.

‘Ah, that’s why my irritation was rising.’

There were just too many people.

The square was packed, leaving no space to step. One wrong move, and I could easily be swept away like a wave of humans.

“Hmm…”

Realizing this, I then thought,

“…Where is Millan?”

I only turned my eyes briefly, and he was gone.

From head to toe, he was tall and flamboyantly dressed, so he should have stood out in the crowd—but he was nowhere to be seen.

Was I caught in the crowd, or was Millan?

I shook my head and walked straight toward Dael Temple.

The temple was the one place I knew fairly well. I even knew the cult leader, Parhan.

So if Millan realized I was missing, this would be the easiest place for him to find me.

But I had overlooked one thing.

“…How do I get into the temple?”

There were so many people trying to enter that even with my connection to Parhan, I might not get in.

I stopped as close to the temple as I could.

‘If I stay here, I’ll run into someone for sure.’

I stood there for about twenty minutes.

“…Are you Layla Token?”

A young man in white priest robes spoke to me. Instinctively, I nodded.

I knew I should ignore strangers… but my body moved on its own.

The strange phenomenon didn’t stop there.

The priest guided me into the temple. And once again, I followed as if mesmerized.

Then…

“…Huh?”

When I came to my senses, I was standing before a gigantic statue, as if a miracle had occurred.