OCOB 34

Chapter : 34

There was already far too much to do, and the truth that had just come to light felt a little overwhelming.

She had thought that now, finally, things could start moving forward. If she got involved with the nobles and spread the name of the Yonggari Café far and wide, she believed she would eventually reach the end she was aiming for.

“I thought it was good that things were going the way I wanted…”

“This… this isn’t right…”

“Ha… should I start offering prayers to a god or something?
Or maybe I should’ve held a ritual when I opened the café? Should I have splashed liquor around and prayed, ‘Please don’t let this place fail’?”

“Should I at least fetch some water and pray…?”

I muttered while biting my lip. It felt like I’d been shoved to the edge of a cliff in an instant.

I irritably gulped down the remaining coffee. What I really wanted right now wasn’t coffee—it was alcohol. I wondered if getting completely drunk might ease this heavy, tangled feeling.

Maybe he saw how suddenly my face had darkened, because Hu hesitantly approached me.

“Master! Hu is here! Can’t we get through this together…?”

His cheerful voice trembled with moisture. Kneading my hands, Hu watched my reaction carefully as he spoke.

“Hu believes in you, Master! And Sir Millon definitely believes in you too! And… Lady Basha must’ve prepared something for you!
A-and… the coffee beans she left are perfectly fine! And we haven’t had any problems making drinks so far!”

“I’m sure everything will pass without any trouble! Hu guarantees it!”

Hu chattered away enthusiastically. If something bad were going to happen, it should have happened already. Even if it was only the soft-opening period, it had been well over ten days since we started selling coffee.

So it would be okay—Hu kept insisting.

“And the divine statue has been restored too! That only happened because it got cracked in the first place…”

Ah.

Now that I thought about it, the statue had been restored through a miracle. And the disasters had only started after it was damaged.

“Then… maybe things really could be okay?”

My eyes widened as I looked at Hu. He beamed and bounced up and down on the spot.

“Right? Hu was right, wasn’t he? But if Master is still anxious, I’ll let you rub my belly! Even Lady Basha doesn’t get to do that often—but I’ll make a special exception for you!”

“…Really?”

“Yes! If Hu can help, Hu will do anything!”

“How can a hamster the size of my hand look this dependable?”

Standing proudly on his two feet, Hu looked incredibly reliable. If he were just a little bigger, I would’ve grabbed him tightly and showered him with kisses.

Instead, I slowly stroked his head.

“Thank you, Hu. I feel a bit calmer now.”

“Hehe, Hu didn’t do anything though.”

Embarrassed, Hu scratched his head and laughed foolishly. Then, when Illiana called for him, he scampered off toward her.

Left alone in an instant, I stood up. I stretched my stiff back, twisting side to side.

Then I opened my eyes with determination.

“But I can’t let my guard down.”

I needed to face the statue again.

“If the disasters are connected to the statue… maybe the Dael Church’s statue will reveal something again?”

Just like how it had given me exactly the coffee machine I wanted last time.

“I guess I’ll have to meet High Priest Farhan again…”

Since I had promised to offer coffee once a week as a tribute, it was about time to bring a fresh offering anyway.

Both Farhan and I were busy, so deliveries had been handled by someone from the Dael Temple.

“I have a reason to see him—so I just need to make the time…
Still, I need to hire someone.
Someone who can make drinks.”

Only then could I leave the café during the day. I’d be away often because of Antonio’s matter too, so I had to hire someone as quickly as possible.

Of course, as Illiana had said, finding someone would be extremely difficult.

“Hmm…”

Did this world have anything like part-time job hell or monstrous applicants? If there was a place where job searching was active, I could just leave it to them.

“There has to be something like a staffing agency…”

How else would people here earn money and survive?

“Hmm…”

For now, I should finish today’s business and think more about it.

Closing time was approaching, so I went back into the kitchen. I kept thinking the whole time while preparing to close.

After a long period of 고민, I unexpectedly found an answer.

“If you need someone to work, I’ll find one for you.”

It was Millon.

He had come downstairs to prepare dinner and overheard my muttering. While serving me a plate of juicy meatball pasta, he spoke casually.

“Why didn’t you ask me first? Because of that, you ended up learning the ‘truth,’ didn’t you?”

“…Why were you hiding that in the first place?”

“Because it’s not fun if you know the future in advance.”

“…Millon!”

He smiled, lifting only one corner of his mouth—a rather mischievous grin. After finishing preparing Hu’s meal, he finally sat down.

“But does it absolutely have to be a human?”

“…If not human, then w-what is it?”

“If there’s Hu, why wouldn’t there be other species?”

“…Ah. But when you say it like that, why does it sound… not like a person at all?”

“It feels like he’s not going to bring something with a heartbeat and blood…”

The nuance felt strange. When I looked at him suspiciously, he shrugged.

“You’ll understand when you see it.”

“It’s not a ghost or anything, right?”

“Just in case—are you easily scared?”

“I’m… normally fine. But things that aren’t human are a little scary.”

“Ah.”

His smile deepened. A wave of unease swept through my body.

“I’ll just find someone myself, Millon.”

“No. I already have a method in mind. Basha worked alone using this method too. So trust me, Leila.”

His smile was still too deep.

How could anyone trust him with that expression…? I made a miserable face, and Millon snorted with laughter.

“That expression is pretty funny.”

After saying that, he focused entirely on his meal, looking completely unyielding—as if he wouldn’t give me even the slightest hint.

With a sigh, I took a bite of the meatball pasta he made.

Juice bursting from the meatballs, slightly tangy tomato sauce, and perfectly cooked short pasta—it all paired beautifully together.

Annoyingly delicious.

Only after I finished the entire plate did he wipe his mouth with a napkin.

“Wait here. I’ll show you the ‘substance’ soon.”

“Right now?”

“Yes, right now.”

With that, he went upstairs to the second floor. I blinked blankly as I watched him disappear.

Then Hu suddenly cried out, “Ah!” and looked up at me.

“I think Hu knows what it is!”

“What Millon is going to introduce?”

“Yes! Hu worked with it before!”

“R-really? What does it look like? Is it alive?”

Hu tilted his head, looking deep in thought. Then, as if he had found the answer, he spoke.

“Hmm… when Hu saw it, it was alive! It’s soft and squishy and… transparent!”

“…Transparent?”

“Yes!”

Hu tried to show the shape with his hands, but the best he could manage with his tiny paws was a rough circle.

That only made my fear of the unknown creep in.

“I have such poor imagination for this stuff that I keep picturing ghosts…”

My eyes darted around. Just when I gave up trying to imagine anything plausible, Millon appeared again.

But he was alone.

No—his hands were completely empty.

“You said you’d show me the ‘substance.’”

“Yes. It’s right behind me.”

“…Behind you?”

Millon casually nodded and walked toward me. But contrary to his words, I couldn’t see anything.

“…I don’t see anything.”

“Ah, I forgot to set it to visible.”

He replied lightly and tapped the air.

Then—

Vwoong—!

With the sound of something activating…

“…A mannequin?”

A rag-clothed mannequin appeared.