Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Home Sweet Home
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The night in Labyrinth City Astraea, known as the second heart of the Pallan Empire, was rowdy.
Adventurers who had spent the day exploring the labyrinth celebrated their survival and haul with booze and food, shouting noisily, while others prepared for nighttime expeditions to hunt nocturnal monsters and claim their rewards. The two groups coexisted amid the clamor.
In a spot slightly removed from that boisterous atmosphere sat my cafe, quietly enjoying a relaxed and peaceful vibe with just a handful of regulars, as always.
Thanks to the soundproofing I'd put so much effort into, the outside heat only filtered in as flickering light through the windows and the shadows of passing people.
There weren't many eccentrics who came for coffee after the sun had dipped below the western sky, but tonight, just one of them remained as my customer.
"Manager. One more, please."
The beautiful redhead with deep dark circles under her eyes—Leimi Kaisra Big Sister, the alchemist who ran her workshop two blocks from my cafe—nudged her still-warm cup forward as she spoke.
She never ordered by name. Unless it was something special, she always drank the diluted extract made from City Roast beans from the southwest imperial city of Bin, brewed ristretto-style—a blend prized for its almond aroma and chocolate notes.
I pulled a warmed mug from atop the espresso machine I'd wheedled from the empire's top dwarf craftsman after much pleading, extracted the shot in 15 seconds, transferred it to the mug, and topped it off with water from the magical purifier kept at 85 degrees.
"Coffee's ready."
"Thanks, thanks. Finally got a breather at the workshop, and now this. Part of me wants to rest since it's quiet, but another part says if not now, when? So here I am."
"Glad you're enjoying your visits."
"It's my one joy in life these days."
I responded to her glowing praise with a smile, then handed a small blanket to the sleepy-looking woman who was starting to nod off from exhaustion. She draped it over her shoulders and sipped her coffee contentedly.
Hmm. Peaceful. Pure peace.
When there weren't many customers—which was honestly most of the time—I filled the hours with my routine: pulling out a glass cup and polishing it with a clean cloth.
Truth be told, glass didn't hold heat as well as ceramic, so I rarely used it unless it was for iced drinks. And with our regulars hardly ever ordering cold coffee, it didn't see much action.
But polishing it spotless and watching the light from the magical bulbs or sunlight scatter through it? That satisfaction and beauty were unmatched.
I glanced at Leimi Big Sister, who had settled back into the plush sofa, eyes closed, breathing softly and steadily, and chuckled quietly. Then I took a cloth from the water basin, disinfected it in hot water, placed it over the dripper, and hand-brewed my own cup.
A clean Americano had that soul-stirring appeal for modern folks, but there was something nice about hand drip too—taking it slow, savoring the aroma wafting through the air, watching the coffee trickle down.
"...Has it really been just over a year already?"
Until a year ago, I'd been a student at the Royal Academy in the neighboring Imir Kingdom. And before reincarnating into this body, I'd been a college student in a completely different world—Earth's South Korea—working part-time as a barista for fun.
In the end, after going full circle, reincarnating into a romance-fantasy game world only to end up as a cafe manager? Pretty ridiculous.
After ditching the main story and getting expelled from the academy, I'd cut ties with my past and come to the empire to sell coffee. As if scolding me for it, a glaring red alert would pop up in the corner of my vision now and then.
🚨 MAIN QUEST STALLED 🚨 Main Quest progression is impossible. Return to the Academy. Main Story Progress: 23%
I couldn't just turn off the annoying status window even if I wanted to, so I quietly sipped my coffee to pass the time. Whether it gave up or that was how it worked, ignoring it for a while made it vanish on its own.
For a moment, only Leimi Big Sister's breathing and my occasional sips echoed in the cafe. The red status window that had been needling me faded away.
Hmm. Peaceful.
It felt like I'd regained a sense of mental ease that I could never find amid the academy life or family pressures, which had been like a daily war.
Cradling my own coffee mug, I tapped the bar counter—remnant of the tavern this place used to be—with my fingers and gazed out the window.
The adventurers' feverish energy, trading life, fortune, and glory on a tightrope. Their triumphant laughter upon return. It all felt worlds away, separated by a single pane of glass from the cafe's silence.
Could I ever burn that bright again? Not an easy question.
Even reborn as the scion of a high noble—a capture target for the romance-fantasy heroine—with exceptional talent in sword and magic, my core was that of a common everyman.
"Happiness is doing what I enjoy and living modestly."
Dating the protagonist and saving the world? That was beyond a joke—it was insane.
Another sip of coffee. I let the aroma linger before swallowing. True to beans from the empire's southwest, a nutty almond scent mingled with subtle floral notes, tickling my nose.
Even without capturing a single target, time marched on, and the romance-fantasy story spun forward.
That was the world.