Quite some time had passed since the successful surgery on Deboa.
During that time, Elise had perfectly adapted to her role as queen. She could handle most matters with her eyes closed, so to speak.
Then she started wanting to do something new.
It was because of a conversation she overheard by chance in downtown Tetris at the beginning of winter.
“It’s a shame Tetris doesn’t have a proper tea culture.”
It was a conversation between merchants from Magnus.
From then on, Elise began to look into traveler amenities in Tetris.
Inns, restaurants, practical goods stores, and so on.
The quantity and quality weren’t bad, but not enough to leave a deep impression.
Realizing that Tetris lacked something special, Elise suddenly thought of Deboa.
Deboa’s coffee.
Coffee was still a culture enjoyed by only a select few.
But in Elise’s view, good-tasting coffee had enough charm to rival the popularity of tea.
‘In the past, Deboa made a lot of money by opening a cafe.’
Now that she seemed to have no interest in it, focusing entirely on her newspaper company, it was perfect timing.
‘We’ll start in Tetris.’
Before that, she needed to check on Deboa’s health status. And there was one more problem to solve.
Elise, deciding to meet and solve the problem in person, immediately packed her bags and headed to Bedrokka.
It was an open secret that she had to be held captive in bed by Karan for two full days to make time for this trip.
“A coffee business?”
Elise took a sip of the coffee Deboa offered and smiled.
“Yes, a coffee business. Deboa, you just need to teach how to choose good coffee beans, how to roast them deliciously, and the technique of brewing. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“I’m not professionally trained either. I just learned from a guest who stayed at our house in the past.”
Deboa recalled the blonde, curly-haired, blue-eyed guest who had come from a country famous for coffee.
“No, Deboa’s level is enough. Even I, who doesn’t particularly like coffee, sometimes crave it.”
“But Bedrokka already has a firmly established tea culture, so there might not be much business potential.”
“Who said we’re doing it in Bedrokka? We’ll start in Tetris.”
Deboa was right. Bedrokka already had a developed tea culture.
That’s why in the past, Deboa’s cafe only catered to a small number of enthusiasts.
It took quite a long time for word of mouth to spread and for it to grow.
But if they start in Tetris, where there’s no tea culture, they could establish themselves in no time.
“Elise is right. But it will take a lot of time to buy beans in bulk and bring in roasting machines. We’d have to go through a merchant guild, but they’re already overwhelmed with orders exceeding production capacity, so they won’t be willing to deal with us who are just starting from scratch with coffee farms.”
“We just need a very capable merchant guild.”
“Is there such a guild? There’s no guild with spare capacity among those in Bedrokka.”
“Deboa, you keep talking about Bedrokka, but I’m from Tetris.”
Deboa frowned as if smiling.
“That’s even more of a problem. Doesn’t Tetris lack large merchant guilds? As far as I know… there’s no one dealing with coffee bean production areas.”
“There’s a place called Pawnshop K.”
“What? A pawnshop? Not a merchant guild?”
Pawnshop K.
Elise intends to do this coffee business with them.
As Deboa said, they’re not a merchant guild, but according to her research, there was nothing they couldn’t do.
And their biggest advantage was their branches spread across the continent.
‘There’s no place without a Pawnshop K.’
Although the names were slightly different.
Pawnshop A, Pawnshop B, Pawnshop C… whoever named them had terrible naming sense.
“Okay, let’s say those people have already paved the way and have good relationships with local influential figures, so they can import the beans. They could probably bring in the machines too. Then where do you plan to open the first store?”
“In Tetris, of course. You should have asked that first. Deboa, are you willing to move to Tetris?”
“What?”
Deboa’s eyes widened.
“Elise, I’m from Bedrokka…”
“Deboa, you’ve been saying the same thing. Don’t I know? That you’re from Bedrokka.”
Elise wore a faint smile on her lips.
“I understand that to do business in Tetris, one needs to be from Tetris. You’re saying I’m not qualified.”
“That’s right. But who am I, Deboa?”
“Elise… you’re the Queen, Your Majesty?”
“Exactly. I can make you a person of Tetris. Of course, if you want.”
Elise hadn’t come just to propose a business. She was suggesting that Deboa move her life to Tetris.
“In Bedrokka, you have your family and newspaper company. In Tetris, Leber and a new business are waiting for you. The newspaper company can be moved to Tetris. So think about it carefully. The path to your happiness.”
Elise could have offered more to persuade Deboa.
Enormous amounts of money, a sturdy castle in Tetris, dozens of servants, and a title with a small territory attached, and so on.
But Elise knows that’s not what Deboa wants.
Since unwanted gifts tend to cause resentment, Elise only threw out just enough bait to shake Deboa.
The biggest bait was Leber.
“I’ll get up first. I plan to stay in Bedrokka for just two days. After that, I’ll be going back to Tetris.”
Deboa only had two days to consider.
“Take care, Elise. By the way, how did you get here?”
Elise smiled brightly.
“Didn’t you know? I can warp.”
The formidable magic circle book had made Elise comfortable in many ways.
The answer Elise was waiting for arrived exactly three days later.
[I’ll go under Elise’s wing.]
Though it was a short note, it contained Deboa’s momentous decision to become a citizen of the Tetris Kingdom.
From then on, Elise looked for a house for Deboa to live in, sought someone to help her adapt to Tetris, and shared specific business plans with Karan.
Naturally, Deboa’s house was next to Leber’s, and Leber was the one to help her.
When Karan heard the story, he actively supported Elise. However, he raised a question about one aspect.
“Well done. But Elise, who did you say you’re going to do business with?”
“With the owner of Pawnshop K. This time, I’m determined to meet them.”
“You can do business without meeting the owner, can’t you?”
“No, this is a completely new type of business, so I must meet them.”
“Coffee culture already exists in other countries. If you think of it as importing culture, it’s not entirely new.”
Elise’s eyes narrowed. It was puzzling why Karan suddenly became passive when he had been so supportive of the new business venture earlier.
“Karan, are you worried that I’ll get too busy?”
Karan flinched. He had overlooked what should have been the main reason for objection.
Mesmerized by Elise’s excited face as she talked about the coffee business.
“Of course,” he replied belatedly, but Elise’s eyes didn’t return to their normal size.
“There must be another reason you’re against it?”
“No, it’s just importing an existing business, so I wonder if it’s necessary to meet the owner of Pawnshop K…”
“Are you jealous, Karan?”
Karan’s eyebrows raised.
“What did you say?”
He tilted his head as if he had misheard.
“I asked if you’re jealous.”
That couldn’t be.
What reason would he have to be jealous of himself? He was just frustrated that he couldn’t reveal the truth.
But since he couldn’t speak plainly in this situation, Karan let out an awkward laugh.
“Don’t be jealous. The owner of Pawnshop K is… just a merchant. They won’t be interested in me, and even if they were…”
Elise stood up and approached Karan. Her hand gently rested on Karan’s shoulder, then lightly brushed down to his chest.
Elise’s palm stopped near Karan’s heart, feeling his heartbeat. It was a rough heartbeat, as if he had just exercised intensely.
“They would know I have a wonderful husband.”
This time, Elise took Karan’s hand. She placed it near her own heart and pressed firmly on the back of his hand.
“You’re the only one who makes my heart beat like this.”
Although he wasn’t actually jealous of the Pawnshop K owner, Karan enjoyed Elise’s attempt to soothe his supposed jealousy.
So he deliberately kept a stern expression, as if he were jealous.
He decided not to think about how Elise would react when she eventually learned the truth.
“I’m still uneasy,” Karan said in a whining tone, resting his forehead on Elise’s shoulder.
“Karan…” Elise called his name soothingly, as if comforting a child.
“I’m anxious.”
“What would you like me to do?”
“Hold me.”
“I’m already holding you.”
Karan whispered in Elise’s ear.
“Not here, in bed.”
Elise’s temperature rose at his low, heated voice that suggested an intimate continuation.
“You do everything. Starting with a kiss…”
Elise couldn’t refuse his passionate request.
She began to undo Karan’s buttons.
