Chapter 19
“No one has an easy life, do they?”
The bartender replied without showing any displeasure.
“So, was it difficult? If you achieved what you wanted at that age, that’s enough. My life has never gone the way I wanted!”
Ephesus spoke with a grumbling tone, wrinkling his nose.
He liked animals but was afraid of blood, so he didn’t want to be a hunter. In fact, he liked baking bread, but he couldn’t bring himself to pursue his dream.
It was hard for him to go against his parents’ expectations, and above all, his mediocre skills prevented him from opening a bakery.
So he became a hunter. With an excellent teacher and decent talent, he lived a fairly prosperous life.
But looking back now, his life was left with only regrets.
Would he have had no regrets if he had done everything he wanted without caring about others’ opinions?
“Why me? Why only me……”
All his previous bravado disappeared, and Ephesus spoke in a voice that was almost a sigh.
“I feel the same way.”
“You’re still young. Your future is wide open. You live doing what you want, and now you talk about hardship?”
Ephesus sneered openly at the bartender’s attempt to empathise. The bartender played with the bottle on the counter with her fingers before she spoke.
“Want to hear my story? My first big challenge came when I was only seven years old.”
“What kind of challenge could a seven-year-old have?”
“My little brother was born.”
“A spoiled kid who lost their parents’ love.”
“I found out I was adopted.”
Ephesus, who had been repeatedly mocking the bartender, could only open and close his mouth, unable to retort this time.
“My parents were good people. They didn’t discriminate against me or anything. It was just that I couldn’t open my heart.”
The bartender lowered her gaze as if lost in thought, then slowly opened her mouth.
“I ended up being distant from my family. Maybe things would have been different if I had been more proactive in approaching them, but what can you do? I have to believe that my judgment at the time was the best and accept it.”
“You don’t have any regrets?”
“Oh, come on. Of course, I do. But my life isn’t just filled with regrets. Life seems to be like that. It gets cloudy, then clear again. It’s hard now, but the rain will definitely stop, and a rainbow will appear for you.”
Ephesus was inwardly shocked. He had thought the bartender was an ignorant fool, but those words comforted him.
“…One more.”
“Shall I give you the cocktail you had earlier? Or would you like a different cocktail?”
“I feel like getting drunk. Something strong.”
“Oh? Are you sure to end this order with only something strong?”
The bartender tilted her head with a surprised look. She seemed disappointed that Ephesus didn’t tease her and placed a straightforward order.
“Anything is fine. I might make a very bizarre order, you know?”
“I’ll accept that challenge.”
She shrugged her shoulders as if she expected it.
“Then give me a drink that’s good to chew on.”
It was an odd order. Ephesus thought this would finally wipe the confident look off the bartender’s face.
“Coincidentally, I have something prepared.”
“What is it?”
“This.”
The bartender took out a watermelon that had been chilled and cut it into large pieces. Ephesus looked at the watermelon in front of him with a puzzled expression.
“This drink is called ‘Watermelon Vodka.'”
“That’s not a drink!”
“This watermelon rind is the glass.”
“This is… This is, how do I drink it?”
“Just take a big bite. Like this.”
The bartender took a piece of watermelon and bit into it.
Crunch—
The sound of the crisp watermelon bite made Ephesus’s mouth water. Deciding to give it a try, he bit into the watermelon. At that moment, his hazel eyes widened.
“This, this taste!”
The bartender straightened her shoulders and smiled contentedly.
“Heheh. It’s my masterpiece.”
“But how can this taste come from a watermelon?”
“It’s not just a regular watermelon. It’s a ‘Watermelon Vodka’ where I inserted an entire bottle of vodka and let it marinate all day long.”
The crisp watermelon flesh was perfectly infused with the taste of alcohol.
As if entranced, Ephesus hugged the half watermelon and devoured it greedily.
He ate it so deliciously that the customers who had just walked in glanced over and all shouted, “Me too!” causing the Watermelon Vodka to be wiped out instantly.
“Ah, my late-night snack…..”
The bartender muttered to herself in disappointment.
Ephesus, who had finished off half a watermelon in an instant, saw people following his lead and eating the watermelon as well.
Although they were eating the same Watermelon Vodka at the same place, their situations were different from his.
The anxiety that he had momentarily forgotten began to creep back into Ephesus’s mind.
Would there be a tomorrow for him, who was backed into a dead end? Maybe the Queen’s henchmen were waiting for him outside the bar.
‘I may not even get to see the rain stop, let alone a rainbow.’
Just as his churning feelings wouldn’t subside, and he clenched his fist, the bartender spoke up.
“Excuse me, sir.”
“…What is it?”
“You’re really enjoying the drink. Thanks to you, we ran out of two whole watermelons in no time.”
The bartender’s violet eyes sparkled as she spoke.
“So I’d like to offer you one more drink on the house. But you seem a bit intoxicated, so……”
“I’m drunk?”
“Yes. Next time you come, I’ll buy you a drink. Please visit us again.”
“I may not be able to come back. I’m a fugitive, you see.”
“Huh?”
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but he didn’t think about minding his words, and they just flowed out.
“I’m a hunter. A very cruel one. I’ve never failed to catch my target prey.”
“Ah, so that’s why you’re carrying a bow and arrow.”
“Exactly! That’s why the Queen ordered me to kill the princess. I lured her into the forest. Killing a terrified princess would have been so easy for me.”
Despite the gruesome words, the bartender remained calm.
“So, did you kill her?”
“…If I had, I wouldn’t be here drinking right now. I couldn’t bring myself to kill the princess begging for her life……”
Ephesus continued, burying his face in his hands.
“Hah, the truth is, I never wanted to be a hunter. I can’t stand getting blood on my hands. I hate killing animals, let alone people.”
“The fault lies with the person who gave such an order in the first place. Who would want to hurt others?”
“So I just let her go. Told her to run away.”
“You did the right thing.”
Yes. That was the right action. But……
“In exchange, my life’s been thrown into the mud. The Queen wants to kill me for defying her order. Damn it, if only I had just killed the princess….”
“If you had done that.”
A refreshing voice cut through his rising regrets and sighs.
“Would the current you be here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Between the current you, whose life is threatened and has to run away but didn’t kill anyone, and the you who lived a comfortable life by killing someone—to me, you seem like completely different people.”
That’s right. They were definitely different. If he had killed the princess as the Queen ordered, his current self would have died as well.
Realizing that, his lukewarm heart suddenly started boiling again.
“…Something got in my eye.”
Ephesus wiped his reddened eyes, pretending nothing was wrong.
“Was the princess, by any chance, Snow White?”
“Obviously. What other princess could it be?”
“There are many others.”
“What do you mean?”
Ephesus opened his eyes wide at the absurd statement.
“You came from another dimension, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you notice anything strange when you came here?”
Now that he thought about it, that door did appear out of nowhere.
But he was so desperate from being chased that he entered without thinking, his mind half gone.
An entirely different dimension?
“Hard to believe, but our bar is connected to other dimensions, you see.”
“Other dimensions……”
Disbelieving, Ephesus mumbled the bartender’s words with a dumbfounded expression.
“In my opinion, why don’t you just cross over to another dimension since it has come to this?”
“Check, please.”
Then a hand reached out next to Ephesus and placed two silver coins on the bar counter.
“Thank you. How was your experience today?”
“That watermelon drink was amazing. Can other fruits be mixed into alcohol too?”
“How about a peach wine marinade? It’s delicious if you let it soak in sugar and tea leaves.”
“Oh! Sounds good!”
“But that’s when the peach season comes around.”
“Aw shucks. I’ll come back another time then.”
“It’s a promise.”
The bartender smiled and saw the customer off. Ephesus glanced back to check beyond the door.
“It really is… an unfamiliar street out there.”
“See? Why don’t you take this opportunity to get a fresh start?”
“…..?”
“It will be scary and difficult to start over in a strange place, but if you’re okay with it.”
Ephesus didn’t answer and took out two silver coins from his pocket. They looked different from the ones the man had put down earlier.
“If you open the door yourself, you’ll go back to your original dimension. But if you leave when another customer exits, a different dimension will open up.”
“I see……”
Ephesus stood up and pushed in the chair he had been sitting on. Slowly, he took a step forward.
Thump.
“Welcome!”
Then a customer came in, and an unfamiliar street appeared in Ephesus’s view.
Would he have had no regrets if he had done everything he wanted without caring about others’ opinions?
He had no choice but to take the plunge to answer that question.
“At least once in your life.”
It wouldn’t hurt to try taking on the challenge.
Before the door closed, Ephesus quickly stepped outside.
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
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