Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Suspicious Neighbors Have Appeared
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“Warning! Don't litter again!”
The couple who had been about to dump their trash bowed their heads apologetically before fleeing the cafe like they were escaping.
'We worked so hard to clean this place up...'
I grumbled there for a while before turning to pick up the empty teacups.
And then.
“...Huh?”
I spotted that spirit I'd briefly encountered before flitting among the customers.
Clutching a teacup tightly, it was lifting and moving the empty ones from the tables one by one, almost like it was trying to help me out.
I approached the spirit and spoke to it.
“What, are you helping me out?”
The spirit's cheeks flushed a little pink as it shyly nodded.
Just moments ago, I'd been overwhelmed by the rush of customers, brewing flower tea, serving, and handling greetings all at once—hands weren't enough...
Had it been watching me the whole time?
Either way, no reason to turn down the help!
“Thanks! I'll take you up on that!”
And so, the spirit and I cleared teacups together, washed dishes, and bustled about to greet the next customers.
In the midst of all the frantic activity, I suddenly noticed how eerily quiet the customers had become.
“......”
“......”
The customers had frozen mid-sip, staring blankly at the sight of the spirit and me working side by side.
It reminded me of the looks we'd gotten the first time I encountered the spirit alongside White Night Guild's ranker, the bob-cut woman, and Song Yu-rang.
'Those people called the spirit a monster.'
But.
This little guy who tried to give acorns and pinecones as gifts and lit up with joy over a single cream bun... no matter how I looked at it, it was far from monstrous...
So, to clear up misunderstandings about spirits, I figured asking it for some simple serving duties would be a good idea.
To make 'secret deals,' I needed to turn these early visitors into regulars first.
And for that, basic service and small talk were essential.
I needed a natural excuse to chat with the customers.
I placed a small, round cookie in the spirit's hand.
“Could you take this to that table over there?”
At the same time, I pointed to the table where the Gate Management Bureau staff were gathered.
Pip... The spirit glanced back and forth between me and the women's table, hesitating anxiously.
“I'll give you all of these too.”
Piii... Even after I offered the entire bag stuffed with cookies, the spirit hesitated for a long while.
Pip. Finally making up its mind, it hugged a cookie as big as itself and flew toward the women's table.
I quickly ducked behind the counter to secretly watch their reaction.
“Wh-whoa? It's coming this way!”
The female staffer, who had started to stand up in terror, froze in a daze upon seeing the spirit offering her a cookie.
“...Is this for me?”
*Nod.*
“Thanks. I'll enjoy it...”
The staffer chosen by the spirit stood there with her mouth agape for a moment before excitedly slapping her colleague's shoulder next to her.
“Did you see that? The spirit gave me a cookie! You all saw it, right!?”
Exclamations mixed with surprise and envy erupted from around the table.
“No way... Is this even real...”
“Lucky. I wanna get a cookie from the spirit too...”
The spirit watching the scene with me had its eyes sparkling brightly.
“They're all so jealous, huh? Must be because you're too cute in their eyes.”
Startled by my casual remark, the spirit trembled before hurriedly gathering several cookies and flying back to the tables.
“It's coming again!”
“...This time, it's mine.”
“Huh!? But Section Chief, you always said you hated spirits! No way, I want it!”
The table, which had been trembling in fear moments ago, was now scrambling over who would get the spirit's cookies.
The spirit, its cheeks dyed pink, shyly and carefully handed out the cookies.
The youngest staffer, who got the first cookie, didn't miss the moment and snapped a quick photo.
“Sunnies, I got it all on camera! You have to post this on your feeds!”
“Whoa... Our maknae really has the best sense.”
I handed another bag of cookies to the returning spirit and roughly ruffled its small head.
Piiiing... Looking utterly pleased, the spirit wore an expression like its whole body was melting away.
“Aww! Such a good kid!”
All I'd wanted was to show that spirits weren't just scary creatures, but I hadn't expected such a great response.
This...
Maybe I should pivot to a spirit cafe?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The Gate Management Bureau staffer rushed home and immediately posted on her Instagram account.
📰 Instagram Post [Anyone gotten a cookie from a spirit? It's me^^] - Photo 0.0x132x1 and others liked this. #Gate #Spirit #HotSpotCafe #Healing #HarunellaFlowerTeaSpot #LocationInDM Starting with that post, rumors spread like wildfire among awakeners about a cafe where a spirit worked as part-time help.
💬 Awakener Community — Anon123 [...? A cafe where a spirit works part-time?] — GateHunter [What's this weird bait lololol] — PicTaker [Photos circulating don't look faked...] — OldGateVet [Isn't that gate the one that was all over the news a while back?] — SpiritFan [Saw the real spirit yesterday. Insanely cute, unbelievable] It first caught fire in the awakener community—
“Guild Master! Let's check out that spirit cafe too!”
“Let's invite unnie Chrog along!”
“Hmm... Chrog's probably busy.”
“Still, let's at least message her!”
Passing through Sprout Guild, which was steadily gaining prestige by distributing genuine Lumina Bells at low prices—
“House head. There's a cafe where a cute spirit works part-time. Shall we go?”
“I'm busy. Gotta prep for the move.”
“Pardon...? What do you mean all of a sudden?”
The rumors reached even Full Moon Guild, current ranking number one—
“What...? A spirit cafe...?”
Finally.
They reached the ears of White Night Guild's guild master, Han Ji-ye, who had devoted her life to spirit research.
Without hesitation, she headed straight for the rumored cafe.
The overwhelming natural scenery invisible in the city, the sparkling lake, the lush ancient trees—none of it caught her eye.
“Spirit!!!!!!”
Her interest was solely the spirit.
Screaming in excitement, Han Ji-ye dashed to the cafe and plopped down at a corner table without catching her breath.
Menu didn't matter.
Whatever they recommended, anything.
“Spirit... spirit... spirit...”
After a long wait, a spirit trailed by scattering frost crystals flew toward her, hugging a large teapot.
Pip. The spirit set the teapot on the table and politely lifted the hem of its petal skirt to bow.
Its exquisitely sculpted, statue-like form.
The elegant poise and grace naturally infused in its movements.
“Hyaahhh...!”
Han Ji-ye clasped her hands tightly, overcome with emotion as she exhaled shakily.
*Pour.*
The spirit carefully filled the teacup with hot water before once more lifting its skirt hem and bowing.
Then, without hesitation, it left.
“No... don't go...”
As Han Ji-ye reached out in despair,
She suddenly realized the spirit she'd just seen looked subtly different from the one in the photos.
'No way... There are more spirits!?'
Her eyes wild with mania, she scanned the cafe everywhere.
And soon discovered there were a total of three spirits here.
The dignified queenly spirit that had just served her table.
The white spirit monopolizing the affection of customers at other tables.
The cute spirit standing tall on the counter, proudly flashing five fingers at the owner...
'How the hell did she tame them?'
The spirit locked in the guild basement hung limp like it was just waiting to die.
Yet these spirits brimmed with vitality and leisure.
What karma had this cafe owner accumulated in a past life to receive such blessings?
'Awakened a unique ability as a spirit tamer?'
Or druid? Beast trainer...?
Jealousy burning in her gaze, Han Ji-ye slowly shifted her eyes toward the counter.
At the end of her stare was a surprisingly ordinary person.
“What? She's just normal?”
No extraordinary aura, no special vibe.
Literally.
The kind of utterly ordinary person you could see anywhere.
'Then there must be some secret in what she does.'
Ignoring the flower tea on her table, she began observing the cafe owner's actions.
Unlike expectations, the owner mostly just yelled “Hey!” at customers trying to litter—nothing special.
She did occasionally hand something to the spirits at regular intervals, but... she couldn't make out exactly what it was.
“I can't just sit here like this.”
Han Ji-ye took a quiet breath.
“Better to ask her directly. Clear things up.”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 'What a weird person...'
I watched the woman slink out with slumped shoulders, slowly shaking my head.
Honestly, she'd seemed suspicious from the start.
Scanning the shop with a strange look right upon entering,
Grinning oddly at Pristine...
No matter how I looked, she didn't seem normal.
Worried she might do something weird to the spirits, I'd kept a wary eye on her.
Then suddenly, she strode right up to me and unleashed a torrent of words without even catching her breath.
- How did you tame the spirits!?
- Please tell me the secret!!
Her eyes gleaming with excitement honestly sent chills down my spine.
I chased her out before I had to report her for disrupting business, but...
For some reason, an uneasy feeling lingered.
'Anyway, all the Harunella petals are gone.'
Had rumors spread somewhere?
A sudden influx of customers depleted all the flower tea ingredients I'd prepared generously.
Time to head back into the forest to gather more Harunella flowers.
And test the 'Rare Gatherable Detection' on my new weapon.
Best to wrap up business here.
I saw off the last customer with a smile and a wave all the way to the gate entrance.
Today's business done!
'Whew... What a hectic day.'
If Pristine and the Lumina Spirit hadn't volunteered to help, I couldn't have handled all those customers alone.
'Maybe I should hire some part-time help...'
As I strolled leisurely home,
A light flicked on in the neighboring house, where no one had lived.
'No way! Did I get a neighbor!?'
My new house was in an area clustered with similar standalone homes, but I was the only actual resident.
Living alone in such a vast space without neighbors felt a bit lonely... so that single light felt oddly welcoming.
*Knock knock knock.*
I lightly knocked to greet the new neighbor.
The door opened, revealing a familiar face.
“Oh! Healer! Fancy seeing you here...!?”
It was Bloom Guild's guild master, Song Yu-hwa.
“N-no way, Healer lives around here too!? I just moved in today... hehe.”
That awkward tone and acting...
...Maybe.
She knew I'd moved here and deliberately followed me nearby— that's what crossed my mind.
“Ah... The house right next door is mine.”
“Whoa! Then we're neighbors!? I'll visit often, neighbor Healer!”
“Haha... Sure...”
Before the conversation dragged on, I quickly turned and headed inside.
'Don't top rankers all live in apartments?'
I'd chosen a house on the city outskirts to avoid that, but for her to move right next door...
As chaotic thoughts swirled in my head,
*Ding dong.*
The bell rang.
First doorbell since moving in.
Definitely Bloom Guild's master, unable to wait, coming over.
I'd noticed before, but...
She sure was impatient.
*Creak.*
I opened the door with a weary face.
But standing outside was someone completely unexpected.
“Long time no see.”
“...Eh?”
“Long time no see.”
A chillingly beautiful face.
A voice devoid of emotion.
A gaze fixed on my cheek as if it were the most natural thing.
It was that strange woman from Full Moon Guild headquarters.
The woman brushed past my stunned self and strode inside as if it were her house.
Then plopped on the sofa, crossing her legs.
...Without even being invited!
“Moved next door.”
Her brazen attitude left me too stunned to speak.
Who the hell was this woman to act so casually, like we were old pals?
The woman, inspecting her nails on the sofa, nodded toward the door.
“Someone's outside. Get the door.”
No sooner had she spoken,
*Ding dong.*
The bell rang again.
“Neighbor Healer! Open up! Brought rice cakes!”
I squeezed my eyes shut at the cheerful voice from outside.
'Picked a standalone house to avoid exhaustion...'
A premonition that an even more tiring life was about to begin.