SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon
chapter-6

As a desperate measure, I installed a vending machine in front of the store.

To be precise, it is a vending machine that operates manually. The plastic box has a single button on it, but nothing inside.

On the front, a large sign was written with “Free coffee” and “Enjoy your meal“. When a customer pressed the button, I was going to quickly make a coffee mix and put it on the table.

But so far, not a single person has pressed the button.

Not a single person!

Yesterday, only some Hunter Guild employees passed by this place. I watched nervously as they found the (manual) coffee vending machine.

“Oh, free coffee! Do you want to try it?

“Never mind. All of those things are given by phone pal as bait.”

“Oh really?”

“They’re trying to convince you to buy a 2 million won phone on a 36-month installment plan for a cup of coffee mix.”

“Hul.”

No, it’s not an action done by phone pal. My phone is 3 years old, and I feel like it’s 6 years old already because of the regression.

I don’t sell phones, so can you just have a cup of coffee?

‘If I said that, would it be suspicious?’

“Meooooong. What kind of words are that!”

Instead, after they left, I posted a large sign in front of the (manual) coffee vending machine that read “Not a phone pal.”

However, there was no one passing by in front of the store again.

It was one day when I was doing the quest sluggishly.

In the meantime, the store has become quite plausible. The cleaning was finished, and the coffee machine worked without any problems. The old but cozy interior reminded me of my grandmother’s old days.

At least I won’t be misunderstood as a phone pal anymore.

But the only recipes I have is Coffee Mix….

… Gulp.

I drank the last coffee mix of the day. When I poured everything into my mouth, a quest notification popped up.

[Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 25/100]

There is still a long way to go until 100 cups.

The coffee mix is very delicious, this fantastic sweet and soft taste is fantastic, but …. now I want to drink another menu.

“You don’t have to be in such a hurry.”

said Mieum, who sprawled over a fluffy cushion. Maybe she liked the cushion because I heard a loud groan.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to rest? Sometimes it’s important to relax. Meow.”

I heard another sermon from the cat.

Surely I want a life where I work less and rest a lot. That’s the reason why I want to open a cafe here. There is no such thing as a desire to work hard.

But….

[Brew 100 cups of Coffee Mix: 25/100]

The quest window flickered in front of me.

I can’t even complete the tutorial quest at once. This soul of the impatient K-gamer cried. How dare I fall asleep leaving behind a quest that I haven’t finished yet?!

No, of course I don’t. Even if I close my eyes and lie down, it’s normal for me to think, ‘Oh, I need to level up at a time like this!’.

I was in the middle of thinking that.

Bang! Dang! Tangtang!

“Myaaoo. What’s going on?”

Suddenly a loud noise came from outside. Surprised Mieum jumped up from the cushion and raised her fur. What the hell is going on?

It was already time when darkness fell all around. There was only one cat next to me that was busy licking cereal crumbs a moment ago.

I was scared, but I looked outside carefully.

Someone was lying in front of the store.

“Ugh … Heuk, Ugh….”

I also heard this mysterious groan. Should I ignore it and report it to the police?

No, wait … is it a person?

A person who also looks very tired and exhausted.

As soon as I saw that tired figure, a certain thought ran through my head.

It’s a perfect subject tto test my coffee.

Moreover, the clothes she was wearing were familiar to my eyes. It is the uniform of the Dungeon Management Official for general public officials. What is this, a government employee who’s tired of working overtime?

It was worth knowing the situation. Before returning to the past, after suffering from overtime work, I saw that outfit the most on my way home on the last train.

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Ugh….”

“Come inside for a second.”

“It’s fine … I just fell down because I was exhausted. I’m going to…..”

“No, take a break for a minute. Okay?”

She refused and I almost half-forced the person who was about to go into the chair.

“Thank you….”

As I expected, she was a general public official of the Dungeon Management. In other words, among civil servants working in dungeon management, she’s an ordinary people, not Hunters.

Dungeon management sounds good, but the reality is that it is a tough position to clean up the mess of civil servant hunters. To put it in another way, it’s the civil servants’ hell and civil servants’ graves. What was the retirement rate within a year….

The public official, who introduced herself as Kim Jina, widened her eyes at how hard she had suffered. I used to be like that. I felt pity because it reminded me of myself before the regression.

‘Cafe in My Hand.’

I made a cup of coffee mix. It has the effect of speeding up the recovery, so I hoped this poor official would drink and feel refreshed.

“Have a drink.”

“Oh, you even gave me coffee. Thank you.”

Jina took the paper cup and gulped it down. The tired expression became a little more relaxed. At that moment, I naturally smiled when I saw the number in the quest windows go up.

“Would you like another cup?”

“No, I can’t be so much trouble.….”

“It’s just a coffee mix, huh. Here, have some more.”

Another cup, one more….

When I made her drink three cups in a row, Jina’s face seemed to have been relieved of fatigue.

I bowed my head and looked at the back that was leaving.

“Meooong, why do you look like that?”

“There is such a thing.”

“What is that!”

“It’s something that only humans can understand.”

“Waeeong!”

I had a thought while avoiding Mieum’s front paws.

‘I wish she would come again.’

Of course, it’s important to fill in the number of quests. Before that, I was worried when I saw that staggering step….

Umh, is this what you call a bonding between a public servant and a (former) corporate slave?

***

“As expected, I knew my daughter could do it.”

It was good when she passed the civil service exam after a year.

Her mother was thrilled as if Jina had become a genius. She had a hard time trying to stop her mother from hanging a placard in the neighborhood. If she didn’t do it, placards saying ‘Kim Jina passed the civil service exam‘ would have been hung all over the neighborhood.

Kim Jina has been interested in dungeon since she was young. An unknown treasure trove, this mysterious space given by the ‘system‘. There was no better place than this to ignite her enthusiasm for learning.

Because of this, she applied for the Dungeon Management Office, that everyone else said was difficult. Although the interview pass rate was low, Jina memorized the Dungeon Management Regulations and the ecological survey report of the great dungeon Abyss. She passed right away.

Finally, she achieved her dream to work at Dungeon Management Office.

However, what unfolded before Jina’s eyes was hell. She realized with her own body why the Dungeon Management Office is called the hell and grave of civil servants.

It wasn’t just a matter of having a lot of workload. If she had been busy with dungeon management and research, Jina would have been happy. The joy of doing what she loves must have been greater than the hardship felt by her body.

But Jina’s main job is to assist the Hunter belonging to the Dungeon Management Office.

The word “assist” sounds good to hear, but what it actually meant was to please and serve.

All of the Hunters were overbearing and arbitrary, but the civil servant Hunters were even worse.

Although they received a high salary that could not be compared with Jina, they were often annoyed when they were told what they were supposed to do.

It was normal that they couldn’t be contacted during working hours since ignoring ordinary people like her is their daily routine. They even made her do small errands.

When she coordinated those hunters to plan a dungeon attack, it was also common for a fight to happen.

How can I work with someone who hasn’t awakened…..!

The fantasy of the Dungeon Management Office was thrown into the trash can on the third day of work, and within a week of work, Jina became a Hunter hater.

She only wanted to resign, but when she remembered her mother’s happy face when she passed her exam, she couldn’t help it.

“As expected, my daughter, your mother knew you’d make it.”

‘Mom, if your daughter stays like this … I think she’s going to break that Hunter’s head.’

Even that day, Jina was trudging toward her house late at night.

This is because the Hunter in charge handed over the preparation of the tutorial dungeon to Jina. He said simple management tasks are not his business or something like that. Of course, it was nonsense, but Jina had no power.

‘What’s the big deal about a civil servant who can’t get into the Hunter Guild because his grade isn’t good enough? If you were a capable hunter, no, even if you were a D-class, you can go to the Hunter Guild, yet you’re here and asked me to do what you called a simple management task? You’re just trying to eat it raw!’

She wanted to shoot him like this, but she couldn’t even say a word in front of him. She had a timid personality, and even though he was an E-class Hunter, he was strong and scary.

Finally, she was on the way home after finishing all the work that was delayed until late. Suddenly, her body staggered as she stepped on the stone that was rolling on the road.

“Ugh….”

She really want to quit. She wish she could hit that hunter before resigning.

She didn’t have the strength to get up, so she slumped down on the road and a yellow light flashed in front of her.

At first, Jina thought she was dreaming. Finally, after being overworked, did she start to hallucinate?

Perhaps she died from overwork, and this is the entrance to the underworld.

First of all, even though it’s a downtown in Seoul, there can’t be a store with such a warm atmosphere on Dungeon Gate 3rd Street.

However, a calm voice called out to Jina, who had fallen.

“Hey, are you okay?”

A woman with a brooding atmosphere was looking worriedly at Jina. She said she was the owner of the cafe in this corner.

Somehow, she went inside as the cafe owner led her and received a cup of coffee to drink.

The coffee mix, which she doesn’t usually drink, was surprisingly delicious. The sweet taste and soft scent seemed to melt her heart, so she ended up drinking three cups.

After drinking coffee and complaining for a while, the stress was relieved a little.

‘Yeah, it’ll be fine tomorrow. No matter what happens, it’s not my fault!’

Thinking so, Jina returned home with a lighter step.

Even so, in the next morning.

Uh … ? I woke up?

Normally, it would take five alarms to wake her up, but she woke up at once. Moreover, what is this power that springs up naturally?

The chronic fatigue that had always bothered Jina was completely gone.

She had no headache, and her body was as light as flying. It’s been a long time since she has felt this sense.

“How did this happen?”

Suddenly, Jina thought of the coffee mix she drank yesterday.

It’s a ridiculous idea, but … perhaps it’s the power of the coffee.