Cafe Serer
A few days after Saeteo ended, I received a call from Park Nayoung saying she had signed the lease for the cafe.
“This is the place?”
“How is it? The shop looks nice, right?” Park Nayoung, wearing a cafe apron, spoke with obvious pride.
Since we didn’t have much spare cash, we had originally planned to rent a small takeout-only spot. Instead, we ended up with a proper small cafe that had five tables inside.
“They said there wasn’t another cafe listing this good at this price, so I added a bit of a loan and signed the contract right away. It’s right near the front gate of Gukhan University, too. I did pretty well, huh?”
I looked around the cafe. The interior was clean and charming enough that we wouldn’t even need renovation work. From the espresso machine to most of the other cafe equipment, everything was already in place. It was as if we had taken over an entire existing cafe that could open immediately. The rent was cheap, and the location was near the front gate of Gukhan University. On paper, it sounded like an excellent deal.
On paper.
While Park Nayoung beamed at finally having her own cafe, my expression slowly hardened.
“Want to step outside for a second?”
“Outside? Why?”
We went out together and looked around. The shopping area that should have been bustling with people was deathly quiet. Several shops had “For Lease” signs or were under renovation. No matter where I looked, there wasn’t a single customer in sight.
“There isn’t a single shop that’s actually open, is there?”
“M-maybe it’s because it’s still break?”
It was true that foot traffic dropped during university breaks. But this was far too empty. Normally, the area right in front of a university gate would be prime real estate with heavy student traffic. Gukhan University’s front gate was different.
The subway station is at the back gate.
Because of that, most students used the back gate. The front gate was mostly used by cars, so naturally, people rarely walked by. In short, the commercial district was dead.
I can’t believe a guy who lived here for four years wouldn’t know that.
In business classes, professors always stressed the importance of location and market research. Every single time, they used the commercial area near Gukhan University’s front gate as an example. The lesson was simple: never judge a property before seeing it in person. I still remembered what the professor had said.
I had wondered who would be stupid enough to pay money to enter a commercial district that even people were paid to avoid. The answer was standing right in front of me.
“S-still, if the food is good, people will come looking for it, right?” Park Nayoung carefully tried to argue after hearing my explanation.
“Do you know why people go to famous dessert cafes?”
“Because they’re delicious?”
“No. Because they’re famous.”
It wasn’t that they became famous because they were delicious. They were considered delicious because they were famous. For dessert cafes like this—not regular restaurants—taste alone rarely leads to success. These places sell fame, not flavor. If a shop was famous enough, it could even sell factory-made cheap desserts as handmade premium ones at high prices. Conversely, no matter how delicious something was, if the shop had no name value, customers wouldn’t come.
That’s why I planned to do high-volume takeout sales to get as many people to try it as possible and build regulars…
The very first step had already gone wrong.
Park Nayoung’s eyes, which had been clouded by her dream of opening her own cafe, slowly cleared. She faced reality.
“Then what do we do?”
“We just have to work hard.”
When she said she would find the shop herself, I had assumed she was more of an expert than me and left everything to her. Turned out she was a complete airhead. The contract was already signed, so there was no backing out. We would probably be lucky if we didn’t lose money for the first three months, let alone cover labor costs.
Still, at least the taste is guaranteed.
The food was made with Power Infusion. If we kept operating steadily for a few months, regulars would eventually appear.
Park Nayoung clutched her head for a moment before speaking.
“What if we hire an influencer for advertising?”
“Not a bad idea, but to see real results we’d have to spend at least a few hundred thousand won. You said we don’t have money after the loan.”
It was too expensive for a small cafe like this. Besides, there were so many unknown influencers these days that it was questionable whether hiring one would even work unless we got the right person.
Wait, influencer?
One person came to mind. The YouTuber Han Gaeul.
Her viewer demographic doesn’t perfectly match cafe customers, but… should I ask her?
After the arm-wrestling competition, her subscriber count had grown significantly. She would probably be more effective than most influencers.
“Ugh, just watch. I’m definitely going to make this a success!”
Since I kept giving negative opinions, Park Nayoung whined beside me. I had been planning to call Han Gaeul right when the cafe opened, but I decided to wait until after the opening—just to knock her down a peg.
She needs to experience running a customer-less cafe at least once so she’ll come to her senses.
Once she realized she was wrong, she wouldn’t act so recklessly again. I changed the subject for now.
“Are we keeping the cafe name as is?”
“I was thinking about it. Do you have any good suggestions?”
Cafe Afternoon Coffee. It might work for a neighborhood cafe, but it felt a bit old-fashioned for a university-area shop. Maybe the reason this place failed wasn’t just the location. After thinking for a moment, a good name came to me.
“How about Cafe Serer?”
“Serer? It sounds nice, but what does it mean?”
“The name of the goddess who gave me strength.”
On a whim, I quickly drew the seal of the Serer Order and showed it to her. It gave off a gentle yet clear impression—neither excessive nor lacking. Park Nayoung’s previously furrowed brow relaxed into a bright smile, clearly pleased.
“But is it okay to use the goddess’s name like this? Isn’t it unauthorized use?”
Technically, it was unauthorized use.
But what can you do about it, Goddess? You’re in another world. What can you do besides get angry?
The connection had already been severed anyway. She had used me as a hero to her heart’s content, so this much should be fine.
“I am aware that Lord Hyunjin does not fully trust Lady Serer, but rather than displeasure, she would likely welcome this as a form of missionary work.”
“Is that so?”
I nodded at Seria’s words. Encouraged that the goddess herself wouldn’t mind, I decided to go one step further. There happened to be a suitable item.
“Wow, it’s pretty. What’s this?”
“The Statue of Serer.”
It was the item I had drawn with the points I earned from Lee Yujin during Saeteo.
Skill: Ice Storm
Item: Elixir of Growth ×2
Item: Statue of Serer
The Statue of Serer was a near-divine item I had taken from the grand temple to use as a totem during the Demon King subjugation.
A statue imbued with Serer’s blessing. It purifies all that is unclean. Only those who possess Sex Power can move it, and its size can be adjusted.
I had been wondering where to use it, and this seemed like the perfect place. Since it purified unclean things, it should at least get rid of cockroaches.
“Using a sacred statue just to exterminate bugs… If the Saintess saw this, she would have a fit.”
“Then that’s even better.”
It would take care of both bugs and the Saintess—an efficient two birds with one stone. I shrank the adjustable statue to about one meter and placed it in a suitable spot. Just having it installed made the air feel fresher.
“But what if someone steals it? It looks like a really high-end sculpture.”
“It’s fine. Without Sex Power, they won’t even be able to lift it.”
Just like Thor’s hammer, only those who were worthy could lift it. At least, that was supposed to be the case.
“I can lift it just fine, though?”
Park Nayoung easily picked up the statue with one hand. Since she wasn’t a follower of the Serer Order, there was only one possible explanation.
“Is it because we had sex?”
“What kind of reasoning is that?”
She gave me an incredulous look. She wasn’t just anyone—she had taken the former hero’s Sex Power deep inside her body. It seemed my mark had remained within her. Since she now carried a faint trace of Sex Power, she probably wouldn’t even catch minor illnesses.
“Sit down. I’ll make you some coffee.”
We had talked about a lot of things, but the real reason I came here today was to taste the coffee she made. Before Saeteo, I had given her beans and milk infused with Sex Power. She had experimented with everything from low-grade to premium beans, creating coffee with various Sex Power-infused beans. She handed me a cup made from the beans she liked best.
“How is it?”
“Hmm, it’s pretty good?”
“I tried making it with several different beans, and this one had the best value.”
She had chosen a mid-to-low-grade bean rather than a premium one. Thanks to the Sex Power infusion, even the cheaper beans produced a deep, rich flavor similar to high-grade coffee. Still, it felt a little lacking compared to what full Sex Power infusion could achieve. She noticed my expression and this time made a latte with milk mixed in, handing it to me.
I took a sip of the smooth coffee-colored drink.
“How is it?”
“Oh, this is delicious?”
It had a much richer taste and aroma than lattes from major coffee chains. It was so good that after tasting it once, other cafe coffee would feel unappealing. Seeing my satisfied reaction, she brought over cream made from milk. She poured the latte and topped it with cream before handing it to me.
The smooth cream and rich coffee blended together in perfect harmony. It was the most delicious coffee I had ever tasted. Park Nayoung took a sip as well and smiled in satisfaction. She was so absorbed in the taste that she didn’t even notice the cream on her lips.
“You’ve got cream on your mouth.”
“Huh? Where?”
A dollop of white cream clung to the side of her red lips. Even the cream on her mouth looked appetizing. Instead of telling her where, I leaned in and licked the cream off her lips with my own mouth.
Slurp—
Startled by the sudden skinship, Park Nayoung froze. Then she quietly closed her eyes and accepted my lips. The cream on her mouth had already disappeared, replaced by the mingling of our saliva. Our lips slowly parted.
With flushed cheeks, Park Nayoung spoke.
“Does the coffee I made taste good?”
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
“Then… would you like to try what my mom made too?”
“What your mother made?”
“I mean me.”
After drinking the bitter coffee, it was time for something sweet.