Chapter 31
I accepted the quest first, then entered the kitchen area.
“Excuse me.”
“Sorry, the drinks will be out soon… Huh? Who are you?”
A man with a deer’s head adjusted his glasses as he looked at me.
He probably realized right away that I wasn’t one of their customers. Unlike the patrons here, I’m just an ordinary human.
“I’m a bartender passing by. How about I make cocktails in place of your missing drink server?”
“Cocktails? What are those? Some kind of beverage?”
“Simply put, they’re alcoholic drinks. Visually appealing and unique beverages. Non-alcoholic versions are also possible.”
“Hmm, pretty and unique drinks, you say… But can you handle it? The orders are massively backed up.”
“This is precisely my specialty.”
The deer-headed man looked me over before finally nodding his head.
I suppose they’re in no position to be picky right now.
“Before that, how much would my partner and I be compensated?”
I asked with a smile. Had to be thorough about the money matter.
A quest is a quest, but compensation is compensation.
“Our regular drink server gets 300 geln. You’ll get the same rate.”
“How about 350 geln since it’s an emergency situation?”
It was an unfamiliar currency, so I didn’t know how many coins it converted to, but I tried negotiating anyway.
“Fine. 350 geln!”
“You’re aware there’s two of us, right?”
“What? … Ugh, yeah I know! Just hurry up before our customers angry!”
The deer-headed man stamped his hooves impatiently.
Having negotiated satisfactorily, I summoned my cocktail making kit in front of the kitchen counter.
“Chris, sort the orders by type for me.”
“What’s in it for me?”
Despite his words, Chris proceeded to organize the order slips neatly. I glared sharply at his provocation.
Seriously? You’re going to haggle now?
“Are you aware my entire fortune went into healing you?”
“Didn’t I already make you work enough to cover that?”
“Not nearly enough.”
“Tch, I don’t want to work.”
Was he mocking me now?
Exasperated, I folded my arms and let out a chuckle.
“Are you going to be like that?”
“What’s wrong with it? Humans are inherently complex creatures, you said.”
Annoyingly good memory too.
“So what do you want?”
“One day’s bed rights.”
“Fine, fine, you win.”
As I raised both hands in surrender, Chris curved his lips into a smirk.
“Alright, let’s start by separating the alcoholic from non-alcoholic orders.”
There were a staggering 200 pending orders. Of those, 70 were for fruit juices, which I passed to Chris. That was simple labor.
“Five ice cubes. Squeeze fresh fruit into the glass. Slice the fruit and garnish.”
“Leave it to me.”
Then came the remaining 130 proper orders.
‘A fruit mix juice that bursts with freshness in your mouth.’
I had the perfect cocktail for that.
First, fill the shaker and glass with ice.
‘Orange juice, lemon juice, and pineapple juice in a 1:1:1 ratio.’
I carefully put the ingredients into the shaker and shook it vigorously. The sound of clinking ice rang merrily.
After emptying the ice from the glass, I carefully poured the contents of the shaker into it. The round glass was filled with a golden liquid.
The classic non-alcoholic cocktail, ‘Cinderella’.
I made a large batch and put it on a tray for the staff to serve.
‘Next order… Apple soju? I don’t have the ingredients for that.’
In that case, I’ll just make something with a similar flavor.
I mixed vodka, known for its clean taste, with apple juice. The so-called ‘Big Apple’ or ‘Vodka Apple Juice’.
‘If it’s an orange liquor that blooms in the mouth……’
Luckily, the order was straightforward. I filled a shaker with ice, added dry gin and orange juice, and shook it hard.
“Here’s the ‘Orange Blossom’. Please serve.”
It felt like clearing orders in a tycoon game. One after another.
Even as I was working through the backlog, new orders kept coming in.
“We have a guest looking for a coffee cocktail!”
“Then a ‘Kahlua Milk’ it is!”
With its rich vanilla aroma and sweet taste, it was immensely popular. It was the main source of income at the cocktail bar I used to work at.
It’s just coffee liqueur mixed with milk—a simple recipe that I was glad to make.
How much time had passed? As I worked quickly, the backlog gradually cleared.
“You’re amazing! You knocked out 200 drinks in no time.”
“Haha.”
The deer-headed man who had been watching me exclaimed in admiration.
‘I single-handedly covered a huge bar. That bastard manager never lifted a finger when orders piled up.’
That bastard. I hope he’s having a miserable time.
“Phew.”
After that battle, I felt relieved.
Still, it had been a while since I worked that hard, so it was kind of enjoyable too.
As I took a deep breath, I caught an unfamiliar ocean breeze. Is that a salty smell?
“This place must be a seaside resort.”
I felt a little envious. It would be great to open a cocktail bar here. A beachside bar, how romantic!
‘The system should have picked a place like this, not some remote forest.’
With that thought, I filled a shaker with ice, vodka, cranberry juice, and grapefruit juice, and shook it up.
‘Sea Breeze’, named for the ocean wind, combines cranberry and grapefruit for a subtly delightful flavor, with a smooth alcoholic base that allows you to sip it lightly without feeling weighed down.
As I tilted the glass, I recalled a movie scene where the protagonist drank a Sea Breeze while facing the sea breeze.
Ah, I’d love to live peacefully at a place like this, sipping cocktails…
“Oh my.”
“Did you see that just now?”
“Of course. I never thought I’d see a human with my own eyes!”
Things had calmed down, so Chris went out to serve directly, but there seemed to be some commotion.
What happened? I peeked my head out to check the situation outside. The eyes of the beastmens were focused on Chris moving between the tables.
“Looks like everyone’s interested in Chris……”
“Well, a human straight out of a fairy tale just showed up.”
The deer-headed man responded to my mumbled words.
“When they glanced earlier, they probably thought it was a mask. But now, they realize it’s a real human.”
“Ahh, I see.”
It was amazing to me that humans were so rare in this dimension.
The place I lived had a teeming population of 8 billion.
“Anyway, the cocktails were a success. For a moment there I was worried how it would turn out. If my popularity dropped, it would’ve been over for me.”
The deer-headed man spoke with relief, patting his chest.
‘Popularity,’ huh. Seems this place operated on a similar system to where I was from.
“When I had just one person handling drinks, they collapsed from exhaustion and couldn’t get back up.”
“…Excuse me?”
What did he just say? This huge resort only had one drink staff member?
What’s going on with labor rights around here?
“Have a conscience, will you? Rotate your staff properly. Don’t you know how valuable employees are?”
My trauma of being exploited for labor by that bar manager was triggered. You have to treat people like people while working them.
“But I have to make a living too. No boss, no employees, right?”
That familiar excuse! It was exactly what that dreadful bar manager used to say.
“The one who needs to get a grip is that boss! He’s going to lose all his good staff and get what he deserves.”
I glared with fierce eyes, making the deer-headed man retreat to the corner.
“Humans sure are intense. All my staff loves me though…..”
But the other staff didn’t look too pleased either, from what I could see.
I had a feeling this resort was on the brink of a revolution.
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It had been busy for a while, but as the performance neared its end, orders gradually dwindled.
“This should be enough, you two take a break.”
The deer-headed man approached kindly. Since I had snapped at him earlier, he seemed to be treading carefully.
Not refusing, Chris and I stepped out to the hall. We quickly sat at an empty table, while Chris crossed his arms and scanned the area cautiously beside me.
The elaborate dance was entertaining to watch.
We clapped and cheered with the other guests after each performance. Just as I was getting immersed in the unique dances.
The flamingo-headed dancer, who had been dancing energetically, grabbed a microphone and shouted.
“Thank you all for enjoying the show! For our final act today……”
The final one already? I felt a tinge of disappointment, having missed most of the dances while making cocktails. The moves were completely new to me.
“A dance battle with you, the audience!”
Ah, so the guests get to participate? While polished professional dances are great, there’s also an endearing charm to the rough yet individualistic styles of amateurs. I joined the crowd going “Woohoo!” in anticipation of seeing some entertainingly quirky performances.
But then, in the next moment, the flamingo-headed dancer locked eyes with me.
At first, I thought it was just my imagination playing tricks.
But he abruptly hopped off the stage and came running straight at me.
“Let’s dance together, human!”
“Huh? But I can’t dance……”
“It’s alright!”
“No, really, it’s not alright!”
Ignoring my refusal, the flamingo-headed dancer’s eyes sparkled as he gently tugged my hand.
His grip was surprisingly strong, pulling me up effortlessly.
“Uhh……”
Instinctively, I grabbed onto Chris’ hand. Before I knew it, we were pulled up onto the stage together.
“What’s this? Didn’t want to dance alone?”
“I asked for your help, not for you to follow me up here?”
Luckily, after us, other animal heads started joining the stage one by one. The spacious stage soon felt cramped with how many had gathered.
Befitting a dance battle, everyone took turns showing off fancy moves. When the lead dancer performed in the center, everyone else followed along.
I was trying to just sway casually and blend in, thinking it would draw more attention if I tried to leave the stage, when—
“Human! It’s your turn to show us some moves!”
“We’re curious!”
The flamingo-headed and dog-headed ones insisted, and soon the crowd was chanting, “Human! Human!”
How often does an ordinary person get a chance to dance in life? I had lived a dance-free existence for the most part.
The closest thing was a fan dance I did in preschool. I was so uncoordinated that I never had any interest in dancing.
“Why don’t you start…”
Just as I was about to recommend the duck head next to me instead,
Chris grabbed my hand and led me to the center.
“It’s rude to try to avoid the spotlight like this.”
“Chris?”
“Dancing a little is just basic social etiquette.”
This was an unexpected reaction. Not only dancing, but calling it basic social etiquette seemed out of character for Chris.
“Put your hand on my waist. I’ll lead, so just follow.”
Hesitating, I placed my hand on Chris’ waist. Chris smoothly guided me into not an upbeat routine, but rather an elegant dance.
“Oooh!”
The animal heads surrounding us cheered. The music also transitioned to match our slow movements.
‘Is this like a waltz?’
It gave me the feeling of those classic scenes in romance novels where the lead dances with the male protagonist.
“You really can’t dance, can you? Just stand on my feet. It’ll probably be easier that way.”
“But I’ll be too heavy.”
“I can handle it.”
“In that case, you’re supposed to tell me I’m light as a feather.”
Grumbling, I stepped onto Chris’ feet nonetheless.
This was the cliche of the reincarnated heroine who can’t dance, so she stands on the male lead’s feet. And now I was doing it myself.
“Wow, you are heavy.”
“I should have worn pointy heels today, huh?”
Chris let out a chuckle and smoothly twirled me around, the movement ending with me lightly cradled in his arms.
<Notice> Falling…
A notification window had flashed before my eyes, but disappeared before I could fully read it.
What was that just now?
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⋆｡‧˚ʚ Translator Note ɞ˚‧｡⋆
The Cinderella cocktail is a non-alcoholic, or “mocktail,” that is both fruity and refreshing. It is often enjoyed by those who prefer a non-alcoholic option or by designated drivers.
The Cinderella mocktail is known for its bright, citrusy flavor, and its beautiful layered appearance, thanks to the grenadine. It’s a perfect drink for parties, brunches, or any occasion where you want a festive, alcohol-free option.
“Big Apple” or “Vodka Apple Juice” is a cocktail made with vodka and apple juice. It’s a simple and refreshing drink that highlights the crisp and sweet flavors of apple juice combined with the smoothness of vodka. Some variations may include additional ingredients such as lemon juice or simple syrup for added complexity or sweetness. Overall, it’s a popular choice for those who enjoy fruity and easy-to-make cocktails.
The Orange Blossom is a classic cocktail that dates back to the Prohibition era. It’s a simple and refreshing drink that highlights the flavors of orange and gin.
Kahlúa Milk, also known as a Kahlúa and Milk or Kahlúa Milkshake, is a simple and popular cocktail made with Kahlúa coffee liqueur and milk. It’s a creamy and indulgent drink with the rich flavors of coffee and chocolate from the Kahlúa complementing the smoothness of the milk. Overall, it’s a delicious and easy-to-make cocktail that’s perfect for coffee lovers.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
