Chapter 34
The next morning, instead of lying in the hammock, I sat at the table, twirling a pen.
It wasn’t just the coins, but it was the threat to burn down the cocktail bar that really motivated me.
‘He was serious about that.’
From reading through “The Iron-Blooded Regent’s First Time as a Father”, I realized the regent truly shed neither blood nor tears.
To what extent? When his daughter was kidnapped, he annihilated the culprit’s entire clan, in just one day.
Claiming he would give his daughter a special birthday gift, he did not hesitate to wage wars of conquest.
‘A doting father? More like a madman.’
Given his nature, if anything went wrong at the birthday party, my neck would be on the line.
“Hmm. What kind of event should I prepare…?”
How could I create a birthday party that would delight the little guests and keep me safe?
“Forget the fire show. Too dangerous.”
Moreover, I had to decide what cocktails to showcase.
‘Honestly, non-alcoholic cocktails aren’t really my specialty.’
Just removing the alcohol doesn’t automatically make it a non-alcoholic cocktail. It throws off the balance of flavors.
So first, I need to create non-alcoholic cocktail recipes that suit children’s tastes.
“…..How much do I have to drink?”
“Why am I being so weak? This is just the beginning.”
I was putting Chris to work for this.
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“How’s this cocktail?”
“Well, it’s not bad.”
“Not bad?”
“We need to match the kids’ tastes, right? It needs to be more than just fancy, it needs to pop.”
That was an insightful observation from Chris. To captivate children, a flashy visual is essential before even the taste.
“Ah, then what if I add some pop rocks ice cream on top…”
The colorful pop rocks ice cream added extra flair.
“Not bad. And then?”
“For visuals, how about a ‘rainbow’ theme!”
“Oh. Are you going to give seven-year-olds alcohol? Bold move. Sounds fun. The client will love it.”
“Eek. If I accidentally give them alcohol, he’ll kill me.”
I shook my head vigorously.
“Why are you so worried? If things go wrong, just take the daughter hostage.”
“I already have enough headaches without you doubling my worries, thank you.”
Right. The madman wasn’t just over there.
I slammed my head on the table. Not only alcohol, but my ingredients were limited. All the glasses prepared here were plain too.
“I’ll go do some dishes.”
Chris took the stack of glasses and headed to the kitchen.
“I need tools.”
The moment I muttered those words with a sigh,
Ding!
<Notice> New items have arrived at the ‘Item Shop.’
The timing was impeccable, as if it had been waiting for this moment. Without hesitation, I responded.
“Open Item Shop.”
<Notice> Cocktail Tool Voucher: You can craft any tool you want. 1,000 coins (free shipping)
Why can’t it be like usual quests! Don’t just covet my already limited coins!
“Hah, this is too much… System. Is this how close we are? Subscription service and cash items too. Isn’t this excessively commercial?”
But even as I grumbled, my hand selected ‘Purchase’. There was no better option after all.
<Notice> Please specify the tool you want.
“Bubble gun.”
<Notice>1,000 coins will be deducted.
How much time could have passed after I answered?
Chris had just finished the dishes and returned, so at most 5 minutes must have gone by.
There was a knock at the door—knock knock.
‘A customer?’
When I didn’t react immediately, there were rapid knocks—knock knock knock knock knock knock.
“Yes, who is it?”
With no response, I hesitantly opened the door, and well…
“This is…”
There was a box sitting in front of the door, like a delivery.
‘Ah, that’s right, snacks were also left here when I was gone.’
I thought the system was some formless entity, but the fact that it knocked… Does it have a ‘physical form’?
“If you came, at least greet me before leaving. I’ll give you one good punch.”
Maybe it realized that and ran off.
‘Huh?’
But then I heard a rattling noise coming from inside the box. What could it be? As I stood by the door straining my ears toward the box, Chris approached.
“Hey. Hand that over.”
“Why?”
I casually responded, but for some reason, Chris’ expression looked unsettling.
Why is he acting like that? Is this the first time he’s seen a delivery box?
Ah, it really could be the first time…
“Now!”
Chris rushed over in one stride, snatched the box, and flung it away without hesitation.
Swoosh!
The box flew in an arc and landed in the far corner.
“What the…?”
“Do you have a brain or not? Carelessly picking up a suspicious box? Who knows what could be inside!”
Chris grabbed my collar and raised his voice.
“If it was an ordinary bomb strong enough to kill instantly, that’d be one thing. But a low-quality dirty bomb means you don’t even get to die. Get it?”
Thick, ominous veins bulged on the back of Chris’ hand. His eyes burned with a piercing ferocity directed at me.
“Could it be that you…”
But rather than anger, his expression seemed more desperate. Was I imagining it?
“Is that from personal experience?”
“What do you know?”
Chris gritted his teeth as if chewing the words before releasing me. The front of my shirt was a mess from being grabbed.
Bang!
At that moment, a loud explosion went off. Chris roughly pulled me, causing my body to sway.
What was that just now? Could it have really been a bomb?
“What is that?”
A mocking voice came from right above my head.
As soon as I registered how close that voice was, I realized my head was pressed against Chris’s chest.
“…What is it?”
I slowly extricated myself from his embrace and looked in the direction of the explosion.
<Dear valued customer Lee Sena, thank you for your first purchase!>
A cheap-looking placard was fluttering about.
Damn system. Is this what you call service? If I had been holding it when it exploded, how startled would I have been?
“…..”
For a moment, we silently stared at the placard in a daze.
“We really must be living in a world where common sense has collapsed. As expected of this strange place.”
“A place where bomb deliveries are common sense is even stranger.”
Chris dashed over to inspect the box’s contents.
“What is this? A gun?”
“It’s a bubble gun that shoots pretty bubbles.”
“But it doesn’t have any bullets.”
“Why would it need those? It just needs bubble solution.”
I took the bubble gun from Chris. I hope it’s not broken. It made a loud thud when it was thrown earlier.
<Notice> New items have been restocked in the ‘Item Shop.’
I checked, just in case.
<Notice> Cocktail Tool Repair Voucher: Repair any tool you want. 500 coins (free shipping).
“You opportunistic…”
If it’s broken, I’ll fix it myself. You jerk!
Anyway, the main cocktail for the birthday party was now decided.
I settled on you.
The Fluffy Bubble Cocktail!
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Time passed, and it was the day of the birthday party.
I pushed the tables together to make a space for everyone to sit. For decorations, I simply prepared some garlands.
“Will this be enough?”
“Yes.”
I shrugged. Having read through “The Iron-Blooded Tyrant’s First Time as a Father”, I had a keen understanding of the tastes of today’s star, Rubiana.
Rubiana, who dreamed of becoming an adult right away, found excessive decorations childish.
‘It feels like carrying around a cheat sheet.’
I didn’t inform Chris, who journeys through different dimensions with me, about the ‘Dimension View’ ability either.
‘How would I even explain this?’
Not only is it hard to explain, but the fact that I read their dimensions would feel unsettling.
Even for me, when I read them as ‘stories’, the people in front of me felt more like characters from a story rather than actual existing people.
To avoid that dissonance, I decided not to read the dimensions of those I was close to.
‘I’ll just use it as a guidebook. After all, it’s a subscription benefit.’
Not crossing the line, only going that far.
With those thoughts, I did a final check on the desserts. These were from Eve of ‘The Regressor Lady Protects Her Family’.
When I left a note asking for some desserts for the kids in the fruit basket, Eve generously prepared them.
‘I also heard the contract marriage is going smoothly.’
Unni, if you need me to sing at your wedding, I’ll give proper service.
The basket was filled to the brim with adorably shaped cookies, fruit tarts generously topped with fruits, and colorful macarons.
Right at the scheduled 2 PM, the door opened.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
