SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon
chapter-161

First, our guest, James….

“Wow, how can such pure ether ore be so cheap, I’ll buy it all!”

“Thank you berry much~”

James spoke Korean, but the merchant spoke English.

“What is this? Is it a bonus? What a wonderful market!”

He’s already adapting to the environment perfectly.

And Ki Yoohyun….

“…Yoohyun-ssi.”

He turned his head at my call. The moment his piercing black eyes met mine, I felt a stabbing pain in my chest.

“You don’t look so well. Is something wrong?”

“What? No. I think it’s because I’ve been in too many camera flashes this morning.”

The corners of his mouth tugged at my joking comment, but he still studied my expression. Our distance was close.

It wasn’t a good time to bring this up, but the image from my grandmother’s notebook kept flashing in my mind. A man from the past, a man I didn’t know, a man who had been through so much. As my lips pursed in silence, Ki Yoohyun took a step closer.

“Rieul-ssi, if you’re not feeling well, don’t overdo it…….”

Then,

“Noona, let’s go over there.”

Ash suddenly inserted himself between Ki Yoohyun and me. He grabbed my hand and pointed to one side of the market.

“Eh, huh?”

“There might be something over there.”

He was eagerly trying to get between Ki Yoohyun and me, but let’s keep it a secret that I wasn’t blocked at all by his small … stature.

Well, let’s take a stroll around the market with my part-timer, it’s not like we can bring up the subject of regression with cameras rolling nearby anyway.

And as Ash said, there were things that I was looking for in the market.

I pulled Lime out of the slime carrier I’d brought with me. Its bouncy red body popped out of the bag.

The camera snapped away at Lime’s squishy body.

“Kkyuuuuu!”

As adorable as Lime’s energetic cries are, don’t be fooled by the cuteness. Lime’s still screaming “What does slime live on?”.

“Kkyuuuu!”

“It’s so cute!”

“Look, there’s a super cute slime!”

Passersby stared at Lime as it bounced around. Thank goodness. No one here understands the language of slime.

Despite all the food I’d tested, I hadn’t yet solved Lime’s food quest. In desperation, I suddenly realised a new possibility.

Maybe our Lime is a carnivore. Perhaps it’s a carnivore and because we keep giving it fruit, it’s undergoing a hunger strike.

This was the only answer I was left with.

A market is a market, albeit a slightly different one than the one I was originally going to. The Monster Farmer’s Market, where all manner of monster by-products are sold, should have something to satisfy Lime’s tastes.

“Come on, Lime, you can go wherever you want!”

“Kkyuu!” Lime seemed intrigued by the bustling market and bounced inside.

It would have been fun if Meum had come along, but she declined, saying she preferred to stay home and laze around.

‘She’s such a homebody cat.’

One camera focused on Lime. Another camera was pointed at me, and from the angle, it looked like it was meant to capture Ki Yoohyun and me in the same frame.

Wouldn’t you normally film the market when it comes to market visit content? However, I decided not to interfere as the photographer seemed to be on a very determined mission.

I walked about three paces behind Lime, and Ki Yoohyun walked slowly alongside me. Ash stood close beside me, keeping a wary eye on Ki Yoohyun.

I thought they might have gotten closer to each other after the monster branch incident, but apparently that didn’t happen……

Just then, Lime rushed towards one of the shops in the market.

“Welcome! These are high-purity, top-grade, non-attribute etheric ore.”

Do you want to eat ether ore instead of meat? Those expectations are short-lived.

“Kkyuuu….”

Lime quickly lost interest and turned away.

It’s okay. It’s still early into our market exploration. The next shop will be different.

But…….

“Here, here. Skeleton bones are on sale. Please take a look~”

“Kkyuuu…..”

“Limited sale of 100 fresh Cave Black Bear seonji¹!”

“Kkyuu…..”

Every time Lime turned around in front of a shop without any reaction, my heart gradually darkened.

Huhuhuhu. I completely understand the frustration of a pet owner whose pet isn’t eating. In today’s world where all kinds of information is overflowing on the Internet, why? Why can’t I find out what this bright red slime eats?

Raising animals is really hard…..

The market was also slowly coming to an end. I sighed at the thought of returning home without any success.

“Haa….”

“Rieul-ssi, are you okay? You still don’t look well.”

Ki Yoohyun looked at me with a deep frown. He reached out his hand to support me out of concern.

It might sound strange, but this was still a market. Although there was a certain amount of crowd control due to the filming, it wasn’t completely deserted. I could feel the gazes of passersby sticking to the back of my head as they recognised Ki Yoohyun and me and watched us from afar.

And just a few days ago, a paparazzi article surfaced. Of course, it was fiction from the beginning to the end, and we immediately denied it … standing this close to him, I couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed at the memory of it.

“……I’m okay, I’m really okay, don’t worry.”

Step. This time, Ash pulled back before he could intervene. For some reason, my part-timer looked proud.

It was just then.

“Kkyuuu!”

Lime suddenly let out a cheerful cry and headed off somewhere. I quickly followed after my slime.

“Lime! Where are you going?”

Lime ran to a shop at the far end of the market and ate some green grass from a stall.

That’s it! After so many days, Lime has finally eaten something. The moment had come.This time it was……!

Pooh!

Ah. With that sound, my heart was shattered into pieces. But it wasn’t time to wallow in despair. What was this kid doing to someone else’s perfectly good product?

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. Lime, you also need to apologize.”

“Kkyuu….”

“Don’t be shy, apologize!”

I hurried to the front of the shop, grabbed Lime’s chubby body, and bowed to the shop owner.

“I’m so sorry. Let me pay for this. I’m sorry.”

However, the shop owner looked at me like nothing unusual had happened and said nonchalantly, “Eh? That’s not a problem. I’m going to throw this away anyway.”

“You’re going to … throw it away?”

I raised my head and looked closely at the stall. The shop was selling shells from the dungeon. The products were displayed on a patch of green grass on the floor.

“Yeah. They’re just weeds from the dungeon, and they’re just there to keep the items from getting damaged. No worries, no worries.”

I turned to glance at Ki Yoohyun next to me. Judging by the way he nodded slightly, it seemed like he wasn’t lying. Phew. I felt a little better.

“Still, you must have been surprised. I’m really sorry.”

“Never mind. More than anything, I’m a fan, so your autograph…….”

Tiling! Just then, a system notification suddenly sounded. It was the moment my hand touched the green grass that they call weed.

[Skill: The Barista’s Eyes (D) is activated.]

[Item: Information on Medusa Mugwort² (★☆☆☆☆) has been obtained.]

[Item: Medusa Mugwort (★☆☆☆☆)

Type: Plant

The grass you know and I know. Despite its sinister name, it’s just mugwort.

It grows abundantly even in the harshest dungeons.]

Huh, what? Is this the same mugwort that we boil in soup and eat with rice cake³? I sniffed it carefully, and indeed … it smelled like mugwort…..

Tiling! I got another notification right away.

[You have acquired a new recipe ‘Mugwort Latte’.]

“….Ma’am, can I buy this grass?”

***

I explained to the shop owner that this grass was not a weed, but a mugwort, and asked her to sell it to me. The owner was happy to sell me the medusa mugwort for a reasonable price.

But she had one condition.

“I knew it was just a weed anyway, so I don’t need the money. In exchange, please give me your autograph.”

“What? My autograph?”

That thing you only do when you pay by credit card?

I was embarrassed, but the shop owner was genuine. Eventually I signed a large piece of paper, took a picture with the shop owner, and bought a bag of medusa mugwort.

“What is that grass? It smells amazing!” In the meantime, James with a paper cup of coffee mix in one hand, asked me after a fruitful shopping experience.

I smirked and replied, “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

And the next morning.

“Waeooong (Come)!”

Almost immediately after Mieum spoke, the cafe door opened and customers appeared.

Today was the day that the event organisers, including James and Ki Yoohyun, and some Hunters who were selected by lottery, were scheduled to visit Cafe Rieul. The purpose was to explore the cafe and sample the menu.

“My niece, how have you been!”

My uncle was in charge of the filming. He was an active YouTuber these days. However, the topic had changed from vlogs about mountain life to talk about the Hunters. Judging by the way his face has improved in the meantime, he must be enjoying his current lifestyle.

“Wow, this place became a really cool cafe!”

James exclaimed, looking around the cafe with amazement. Of course, he was here before I started the business, back in the days when I made a hundred coffee mixes, so the current appearance might not be familiar to him. At the time, the store was attacked by monsters and turned into a mess.

It was only a few months ago, but so much has happened since then that it felt like a distant memory.

‘Well, at least it won’t happen again, and the shop will never be destroyed…….’

A lot has already changed in the past few months compared to before the regression.

Ki Yoohyun alone….

I glanced in Ki Yoohyun’s direction. In the middle of a conversation with the person in charge of the event, he greeted me with a faint smile.

I heard that the entity called Aeon has not yet been eradicated, so I don’t know what else might happen. But at least, I believe that this life will not end as lonely as the one I saw in my grandmother’s notebook.

Just then, James, who had just finished looking around the cafe, looked at the menu.

“Is there anything you’d like to drink?”

“I’ll have a coffee mix, please.”

“Since it’s been a while since your last visit, how about trying the other menu?”

“I like coffee mix.”

I was confused: why did this person like coffee so much?

I like it too, it’s delicious. The sweet and smooth flavour that’s different from the regular coffee beans is addictive. Especially when it’s a cup of coffee mix that was made with “Cafe in My Hand” skill.

However, after returning to the United States, James also enjoyed regular coffee mix that was not brewed with skill. When he returned to Korea, I caught up with him on Instagram, and his most viewed photo was of a coffee mix.

Ah, is this that kind of thing? Sometimes, once you eat something and get an upset stomach, you might not like it afterwards. Conversely, do you subconsciously love it because you drank it that day and it saved your life?

Hmmm, I don’t know the truth, but ….. anyway, I poured James a cup of coffee. He sipped it with genuine delight.

“Here, I’ve got what you asked for.”

Ash returned to the counter with the items I had asked for. I looked at the group in front of me and said,

“Then shall we begin?”

I was going to give these guests a taste of the new menu I was about to make.

However, today, I added one more step to the process. Like a cooking show, I would show them the process of making the drinks. I’d demonstrate, and then Ash would copy after me.

Of course, today’s new menu item is a Mugwort Latte using the Medusa mugwort.

Translator’s Corner:

1. Seonji (선지): animals’ blood, used as an ingredient in food when chilled and solidified. In Korea, the word seonji usually refers to something that is hardened like jelly. You know how there’s people selling “blood” as food right, like the blood (in liquid) is hardened so you can eat them in solid form. (Eating blood is taboo in Abrahamic religion so if you’re from those religion please don’t be curious) ↩︎
2. 쑥: Artemisia vulgaris (common Mugwort) is an Asian plant species in the sunflower family, native to China, Japan and Korea. ↩︎
3. In korea, Mugwort is widely used in Korean cuisine as well as in traditional medicine. In spring, which is the harvesting season, the young leaves of mugwort are used to prepare savory dishes such as jeon (Korean-style pancakes), kimchi, soup. Fresh mugwort as well as dried leaves ground into powder are a characteristic ingredient in various types of rice cakes). [I copied this all from Wikipedia btw thats my favorite site on internet] ↩︎

I found Lime finding new material is really cute because Rieul also first discovered the Barista’s Eyes skill when she first met Lime … our OG material finder.