OCOB 32

Chapter : 32

“Ahh….”

Ahh, so that’s why.

There’s no way the system would suddenly make me host a tea party for no reason.

I did wonder why it had to be a tea party—so this was the real intention? To make sure I’d end up taking charge of it no matter what….

It wasn’t simply about inviting three nobles to a tea party. It meant that the tea party Baron Viola would entrust to me was supposed to become my stage.

It did say I was the ‘host’… but it was only in name.

In other words, I had misunderstood because of that word “host.” Normally, you think of hosting as throwing an event under your own name.

And since I had just opened a café, it was even easier to get confused.

I thought I absolutely had to hold it at Yongari Café myself….

Thinking back on it, there had been no mention of the location or that it had to be under my name.

So… I just needed to be included among the hosts!

Ha, they really had to make it this complicated to explain?

Or maybe it was simple? I had to build a relationship with Baron Viola anyway.

More importantly… what exactly does this crazy game want from me? Is its real goal truly just for me to succeed with my café?

Questions kept piling up, but there was no one who could answer them.

This was something I had to figure out myself as I cleared the quests.

I pouted slightly. It never explained anything the easy way. Still, what could I do? When it tells you to do something, you do it.

So it’s employee under boss, and boss under the game? Sigh… what a life.

After shaking my head lightly, I put on a gentle smile.

Ashu’s comment had brought the conversation with the Viola family to a halt, so I moved to deliver their strawberry lattes. I had worked hard to make them—couldn’t let them get cold.

I slid the partition aside and approached their table.

“Here are your strawberry lattes!”

I set one in front of each of them. Ashu’s eyes sparkled as she immediately picked up her teacup.

Meanwhile, Baron Antonio Viola only looked at his drink before turning his gaze to Ashu.

Seeing her take a sip and leave white foam on her lips, he took out a handkerchief from his pocket.

“Drink carefully and maintain your dignity. There are many eyes watching.”

“Yes, Father.”

Ashu quickly grabbed the handkerchief and dabbed at her lips. It was a warmer father-daughter interaction than I had expected.

It was such a pleasant sight that I quietly watched them.

After confirming that Ashu was now drinking properly, Antonio turned to me.

“Miss Token, please sit for a moment. As you may have heard, I have something I’d like to discuss with you.”

“Ah… should I sit next to Miss Ashu?”

“Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”

“Yes!”

I slipped into the seat beside Ashu. I could feel her sparkling gaze on me, so I turned to her.

“Why are you looking at me like that, Miss Ashu?”

“This strawberry latte is sooo delicious! I even feel energized just drinking it. This really is a special café, isn’t it? Leila, you must be a magician—you just whip things like this up so easily!”

“Thank you for the compliment. But unfortunately, I’m not a magician.”

“Then what are you?”

“Hmm… a barista?”

I even have a Level-2 barista certificate, you know?!

The one who reacted wasn’t Ashu, but her father, Antonio.

“A barista… it’s been a long time since I’ve heard that profession. Didn’t it slowly disappear after the disaster five years ago?”

“Haha… is that so?”

“You must have learned it from another ‘Token.’”

He murmured as if recalling something. Then he finally lifted his cup and took a sip of the strawberry latte.

Savoring the drink slowly, Antonio smiled faintly, clearly pleased.

Setting the cup down, he addressed me.

“You look like you have many questions for me, Miss Token.”

“I do. It seems you had some connection with my grandmother.”

“A connection… it was one-sided. I never actually met that Token in person.”

“…Pardon?”

“I only heard many stories. Like you, she was always surrounded by rumors. She was quite popular in high society as well.”

There were even people who said they would pay several times the price just to drink a Token’s beverage.

He reminisced while sipping the latte, but soon his eyes turned cold as he looked at me.

“At some point, news about her disappeared.”

The reminiscence ended quickly.

The voice of someone recalling a brilliant past had already grown indifferent.

He had set his cup down completely.

“And now the person at the center of new rumors is also a ‘Token’… quite fascinating, isn’t it?”

“…I suppose so. Maybe I resemble my grandmother a lot—even in that way.”

“Even in how you don’t shrink back when facing nobles?”

“My grandmother always told me never to be intimidated, no matter where I went.”

Even if Grandma Vasha never said those exact words, it was still my personal creed.

I smiled gently at Antonio. He burst into loud laughter—so loud that the cups rattled.

After laughing for a while, he took an envelope from his coat. It was a clean white envelope sealed with purple thread. He placed it in front of me.

“If you truly don’t shrink back anywhere, will you accept this?”

“It looks nice from the outside… but is what’s inside good too?”

“That is for you to decide, Miss Token.”

“That’s fair.”

I shrugged lightly and picked up the envelope. The smooth texture of the paper was clear under my fingers.

Undoing the thread, I opened it and found a pale lavender letter inside.

I unfolded it and read its contents.

It’s exactly what Ashu mentioned earlier.

The message was simple:

A request for me to take full charge of the upcoming tea party at the Viola estate.

And one more thing.

To introduce me at the gathering.

In short—

I have to make the tea party a complete success, and then they’ll introduce me.

According to Ashu, my reputation in high society was split down the middle.

At least it means some people view me favorably.

But negative opinions clearly existed too.

Even nobles who liked me would hesitate to associate with me openly.

With Ashu having visited my café two days in a row and firmly tied herself to me… Baron Antonio had only one option left.

To turn my reputation in high society positive!

That was why he planned this tea party and invited me.

He’s setting the stage for me… and telling me to prove my skills, huh?

All of that intent was conveyed through the polite, elegant handwriting.

I let out a small smile.

“Do you trust me?”

“I have no choice but to.”

“My skills might not be as impressive as you think.”

“Haven’t you already proven them?”

Antonio tapped his teacup lightly as he continued.

“There are already many rumors about your coffee. Its special taste is well known. But I’ve heard nothing about your other drinks.”

“…Everyone only orders coffee.”

“True skill appears in drinks you don’t make often. Delivering consistent flavor even with sudden orders—that’s real ability, isn’t it?”

“Hmm….”

I hadn’t expected such direct praise…

Feeling oddly shy, I squinted slightly. Antonio turned to his daughter and spoke.

“More than anything, I trust my daughter. Haven’t you noticed how Ashu keeps praising you?”

“…Alright. I didn’t ask you to flatter me this much.”

“Didn’t you?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Then will you give me your answer now?”

The date on the letter was six days from today—well within the quest’s deadline.

What’s there to hesitate about?

He was offering to set the stage for me himself.

I smiled as warmly as I could. Taking a pen from my pocket, I wrote my reply on the back of the letter.

Confident words formed in neat handwriting.

[Sounds good!]

Now that it’s come to this, I’ll liven up the tea party atmosphere and clear the quest in one go!

“You won’t regret choosing me.”

You’ll be satisfied.