Chapter 13
I tore off a small piece of the sandwich I had brought and took a bite, so that Gretel could feel reassured to eat it as well.
“Here.”
“…I’ll eat it.”
Though still wary of me, Gretel nibbled on the sandwich.
“You eat too, Oppa.”
“I already ate.”
“Really? You’re not just pretending to have eaten when you really didn’t?”
Her tone was brusque, but laced with clear concern for Hansel.
“Really. He practically cleaned out my house’s food supplies.”
“Ugh!”
Gretel smacked Hansel’s back.
I smiled watching the close siblings.
‘It must be reassuring to have a sister like her.’
In a way, I felt envious. My relationship with my own family was not good.
‘It wasn’t bad, but…’
Recalling our once seemingly harmonious household made me melancholic. My memory of being unable to fit into that atmosphere and always feeling like an outsider was vivid.
Because…
“I’m sorry. My oppa is clueless.”
“…Ah.”
Lost in thought, my view was filled with Gretel’s apologetic downcast face.
I felt pity for the circumstances in Hansel and Gretel’s world that forced such kind children to starve.
And resentment towards the world, which made this child mature too soon.
If only I could help them in some way.
“It’s okay. Eat this if you get hungry later.”
I filled the siblings’ pockets with chocolates and candies until they were bulging. The children’s eyes widened.
“Such precious food supplies, this much…”
I didn’t bother mentioning that I had simply picked them up from somewhere.
But I could at least offer some advice to help the extraordinary children brave this harsh world.
“You two may one day have to stand up and fight against someone. You must trust and combine your strengths like now when that time comes. Then you’ll definitely win. Understand?”
What was the reason Hansel and Gretel were wandering this forest?
‘To return home.’
The two children abandoned by their parents get captured by a witch. But they defeat the witch and instead seize her treasure to return home and live happily ever after.
If I were to take pity on Hansel and Gretel now and bring them with me, they would miss out on the happy ending destined for them.
So, even if they are captured by the witch, I should give light advice to keep them from becoming discouraged…
‘Wait a minute. If I leave it at that, won’t their parents seem too despicable?’
Hansel and Gretel do all the suffering, but get to live it up thanks to the treasure?
“Kids. If you happen to obtain a precious treasure, be sure to hide it well.”
“Huh?”
“Bad people may try to take it. So you two must hide it somewhere only you know about. Only show the adults just enough.”
The adorable siblings tilted their heads in confusion, but nodded when I firmly reiterated.
“Yes, we will.”
“And even if you make it home, don’t just forgive your parents. Make sure to get a sincere apology from them. Understand?”
As a third-party bartender, this is about the extent of what I can do.
“Yes? Yes.”
Hansel nodded with a puzzled look on his face.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay really sharp and alert.”
Gretel said confidently.
“Next time there’s a chance, you should come visit too, Gretel.”
“This Noona made rainbow milk for me!”
“Rainbow milk?”
“Yup. It’s colorful milk…”
Hansel exaggeratingly described the rainbow milk he had drunk.
“Please give me rainbow milk again next time!”
“Next time I’ll give you something even tastier than rainbow milk.”
I smiled and replied.
‘By then the crystal ice cream should be available too. I need to further research visuals to gift these little guests dazzling cocktails.’
Waving goodbye to the children, I silently wished the siblings success in their journey.
Hopefully they can defeat the wicked witch and secure their happy ending.
Left alone, I returned to the shop. Night had already fallen.
After roughly tidying up the disheveled store, I flopped onto the bed.
“This really is a dimensional rift.”
I had already encountered characters from many different dimensions—from Captain Hook to the lord from another world, the Regressor Eve, and Hansel and Gretel.
What dimension’s guest would I meet tomorrow?
“Serving fruit as a basic snack received positive feedback. Expanding the variety of snacks has increased choices, which has led to higher sales.”
The diversity in snacks naturally led to more cocktails being ordered, resulting in a substantial increase in revenue per table. Now, I just need more customers.
‘How can I attract more customers? Should I make promotional posters?’
It may be difficult to hand out flyers, but posting them around popular areas could be effective, right?
‘But that alone won’t be enough.’
What’s truly needed is to travel across dimensions welcoming special guests.
Special guests—protagonists that hold significance in their world, final bosses, major roles—won’t simply come find me if I stay put.
“And since the quest rewards are pretty substantial…”
I was so tired, my eyes kept drooping shut.
Through my blurring vision, the now familiar notification window seemed to appear.
<Notice> Repeatable Quest Available!
The cocktail bar ‘I don’t know. Stuff like that bar’ has become a target for nuisances. Defeat these troublesome guests who will relentlessly harass you with their charms!
Reward: Differential based on difficulty
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Swoosh!
A massive blade tore through the monster. The monster toppled over shrieking, its body split in half yet still thrashing.
“Tenacious one.”
Johannes roughly pulled out his sword and smashed the monster’s skull. The knight watching the battle gaped in astonishment.
“Is…is that even possible? He merely swung your sword once…”
“What’s with that reaction? You a fresh recruit?”
“Yes. It’s my first time venturing beyond the Ice Wall.”
Even as the knights conversed, Johannes’s sword never stopped. Thrusting, slashing, smashing—inflicting the maximum violence a sword could unleash.
Johannes la Deffe Acher.
A noble yet unfortunate man. Having attained the level of a sword master at a mere ten years old, he led the ‘Black Lion Knights’ from a young age, fighting formidable monsters in the harsh northern regions to protect the empire.
Too busy with the endless battles to make an appearance in high society, people gossiped about him being the ugliest man of the age, or a beast trapped in the Winter Fortress.
Well, the ‘beast’ assessment wasn’t entirely inaccurate. With Johannes’s massive, towering physique, he could pass for a beast.
Separate from high society’s mockery, disdain and unrelenting rumors, the commoners praised Johan. Monster invasions had dwindled since he had inherited the lordship.
Johannes himself didn’t pay attention to these evaluations. He simply exterminated monsters to the best of his ability.
At that moment, Johan’s right-hand man Soulik returned from his mission.
“Reporting in! The monster we just defeated was the last one. Mission complete!”
“I see.”
Johannes lightly swung his sword to flick off the blood before sheathing it.
“Let’s head back then.”
At Johannes’s order, a subordinate brought his horse. He mounted and rode off.
A vacation was scheduled after this two-week expedition.
There were no casualties on this expedition, as the dungeon they were scheduled to raid was a special case.
Johannes recalled the door he had discovered. This phenomenon was unprecedented. The rarely-occurring ‘dungeon’ tried to lure in humans with gaudy displays of glittering gold and jewels.
But that door looked exactly like any ordinary household door found in the northern regions.
‘I thought it was some special type of dungeon.’
Entering dungeons risked one’s life.
With utmost preparation, Johannes opened the door with only his finest elite troops.
Sensing movement, they fired arrows first, but the person there was a petite woman with a childlike face.
“I got hit by an arrow while just passing by, is that not a problem? It was even a poisoned arrow. I almost died, you know.”
Her trembling yet composed demeanor as she got those words out was memorable.
“A mere apology won’t suffice. Please accept this modest compensation.”
That woman had beamed the moment she received the gold coins, as if transforming into someone else entirely.
He found her swift change of expression amusing.
The woman’s attitude towards Johannes changed on a dime. Just moments ago she had glared at him warily like a thug, but now she seemed to regard him as a customer.
‘Not as a lord, but a customer.’
If he had given gold coins to a passing commoner, they would have probably groveled in gratitude, but this woman was different.
Neither excessive nor crossing the line, she emanated an easy atmosphere.
“What kind of drinks do you normally enjoy, sir?”
“Beer and whiskey, mostly.”
“I see. Do you prefer your whiskey straight or on the rocks?”
“Straight. In fact, the idea of mixing it is a bit hard to imagine.”
The back-and-forth conversation to find the right answer was also enjoyable.
A tavern that serves unspecified drinks was a novelty.
‘The resulting drink was absolutely delicious.’
Johannes, who had only consumed champagne and stout beer separately, was struck by the intense flavor when he first tasted the mixed cocktail.
‘She called it a cocktail, I believe. I have an ardent craving for another sip of that special beverage.’
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Thank you for reading! ♡
