Chapter 4
But letting him just repeat his assigned role even while knowing everything felt wrong somehow.
“How long have you been sailing?”
“It’s been three years now.”
3 whole years?
“Don’t you feel a bit drained?”
“Drained? Me?”
“Originally, sailing is tough work. You left behind your family and friends to venture out on this long journey.”
I, too, looked up at the stars densely filling the night sky. It’s a beautiful and moving sight, but to see such a starry night, one has to be isolated from society.
Only complete seclusion can provide such a perfect night sky.
Thinking that way, this starlight somehow felt coldly distant.
“How about going back and taking some time to reorganize? You can meet your family and indulge in activities you enjoy.”
I don’t know much about Captain Hook. In the musical I saw, he was just a comical villain.
But wouldn’t anyone get drained wandering these vast seas for years on end in pursuit of revenge?
‘Just like how I want to go home right now.’
If I just go home, soak in hot water, lie down comfortably and peel some tangerines, most worries would be solved.
“Taking a breather will broaden your perspective.”
“Do you know how many months it takes to get back? A whole five months……”
“But in five months, you can reunite with your family.”
“……”
Captain Hook seemed at a loss for words. This strange atmosphere even seeped into the sailors sipping their drinks.
“Perhaps I… actually wanted that deep down. But I blindly clung on, thinking that giving up would make all that time meaningless.”
“It takes more courage to give up than to challenge. It’s even harder the more you grow up.”
At my words, Captain Hook lightly swirled the glass with only ice remaining.
“What are you again?”
“Just a passing bartender.”
“Right, a bartender. Got to pay for the drinks.”
My mind snapped alert. Finally, I can score some coins?
“Navigator, pay up.”
“Yes! Give me your hand.”
“Here.”
The bearded navigator approached me and dropped some coins onto my palm with a clink.
Since it was an unfamiliar coin, I picked one up and saw ‘1’ written on it.
<Notice> You gained 46 coins!
Wait, if I made 23 cocktails……
‘So it’s 2 coins per glass.’
Hang on, then to collect 9,800 coins I’d need to make thousands of cocktails?
The enthusiasm that had soared from the successful drink party rapidly deflated.
But still…
“That really hit the spot.”
“It’s been so long since I enjoyed myself like this!”
Seeing everyone’s delighted reactions gave me a sense of pride.
“Hey, you.”
As I gradually exchanged farewells with the sailors, Captain Hook called out to me.
“Yes?”
“This is one of my treasured loot. A pearl necklace with large pearls.”
He then swiftly threw the pearl necklace at me, and I barely managed to catch it.
“Hey, a… loot…”
“Good advice is hard to value in money.”
<Notice> Hidden Quest Complete!
You calmed the enraged Captain Hook.
Reward: Pearl necklace lost by the Little Mermaid.
A necklace from the Little Mermaid? Unbelievable.
‘Are other fairy tales mixed in here? This is really strange.’
Anyway, I had received it, but the absurdity made me burst into laughter.
“So where should I drop you off?”
“Huh? Wait a minute. How do I get back?”
<Notice> Try shouting the command ‘Return’.
“I think I can get back on my own. Have a good night.”
“Go back on my own? This is the sea……”
Before he could finish, I muttered, “Return.”
The surroundings faded to darkness like a fade-out.
“But really, how did she even get here?”
“Strange things tend to stow away in the cargo hold sometimes….”
“Judging by her clothes, she might be a foreigner.”
The sailors’ voices gradually grew distant, and soon the surroundings brightened again. I had left Peter Pan’s dimension and returned to the forest where my bar was located.
“They could have at least transported me directly to the bar.”
Grumbling on my way back, I recalled something a college friend I had run into by chance on the street once said.
“These days, instead of going to college, you’re just selling booze? Have you lost your mind?”
“Being a bartender isn’t just about selling drinks! It’s about communicating with a heartfelt drink!”
Back then, I was so passionate that I snapped back in the middle of the street.
‘What did I say again? That a special drink can make people forget their harsh reality and give them drive to live for tomorrow?’
Now, I’m not so sure. To be honest, right now I just wanted to quickly flop into bed, customer or not.
“I’m tired……”
I worked a bit and got drained. A cocktail after work was my only hope.
“By the way, System, is there no way to dismiss this cocktail crafting kit?”
The load on my shoulders felt heavy, making the way back seem long.
<Notice> That functionality is restricted in the free trial.
“Damn system……”
It was a harsh one.
🥂
I don’t want to do anything.
I’m already not doing anything, but I want not to do anything more intensely and actively.
A phrase I had once seen online perfectly captured my current mood.
“Haaah……”
I finally got up and stretched in the afternoon. As I rubbed my eyes and got off the bed, I stepped on the packaging from the dried snacks I ate last night.
“How many of those are left? Was it three……”
Was it yesterday? The day before? Or even earlier? Anyway, after parting with Captain Hook, the ‘Dry Snack Set’ reward was placed on the bar counter when I returned to the shop.
‘I ripped it open and ate them right away.’
The contents were filling and delicious. Good enough to make me want to ask the System where it got them from.
I made highballs and gin tonics to drink, but later got lazy and just had them with beer.
“Alright, let’s start the day energetically.”
I went downstairs and took a big bite of a tomato for a hangover cure.
“And boil an egg too.”
After a simple meal, I went outside. It was a nice day, so I couldn’t just stay indoors.
“On a day like this, I should lie down on the hammock for a nap. Oh well.”
<Notice> 5 days remain in the free trial.
What does it want me to do?
I waved away the notification that kept popping up and settled into the hammock.
<Notice> 5 days remain in the free trial.
<Notice> 5 days remain in the free trial.
•
•
<Notice> 5 days remain in the free trial.
Now it’s spamming me?
“Persistent.”
It’s annoying, but I’m still going to nap. If I just close my eyes, the notification is gone…
“Notice, 5 days remain in the free trial.”
“Now it’s reading them out loud too.”
But I expected this much. I put on my headphones and played my favorite playlist.
It was a perfect day.
I ended up showcasing cocktails on a pirate ship by chance, but anything more would have been too much.
‘Thousands of cocktails……’
What an insane world. How much did it plan to work me?
At this point, my strike was a justified choice.
After a short nap, it had gotten dark around me. As it was getting chilly, I returned to the bar, where the liquor display caught my eye.
‘It was my dream—my own bar with a fully stocked display.’
Having provided this rundown building, the System seemed to have high expectations for the cocktails and generously stocked all kinds of liquors.
There was also plenty of tonic water and soda water.
“But it lacks sense. How can there be no cola? My daily finisher is the ‘Jack Coke’.”
I muttered while gazing wistfully at the whiskey bottle with a honeybee drawing.
<Notice> Quest Issued!
There’s trash everywhere! The environment will make customers frown. Please do a major cleaning for guest preparations.
Reward: Carbonated Drinks x100
Will you accept the quest?
[Y] [N]
I looked indifferently at the notification that appeared before me.
Isn’t this stalking? Watching my every move and then offering a reward like cola when the moment seems right?
“Forget it.”
I turned away, munching on dried squid.
Like cocktails are only Jack and Coke. I had plenty to drink anyway.
Too lazy to shake a shaker, I mixed Campari and soda water over a glass full of ice.
“Even heavily diluted, it maintains such an intense red color.”
I was immersed in the rich herbal aroma and Campari’s signature bitterness.
“One more.”
As I poured more Campari generously, I took out my phone.
‘Right, I had some manga I bought before. Let me read that.’
But then my phone blinked a few times and powered off completely.
What’s this? Did the battery run out?
Even after plugging in the charger, it wouldn’t charge.
“Huh.”
I tried turning on the lights properly since I usually kept them off to save energy, but no matter how many times I pressed the switch, the surroundings remained dark.
“What’s going on. A power outage?”
<Notice> Forced Quest Issued!
Oh no! Since no customers were coming, we assumed this world was being abandoned and cut off the power supply.
Bring in customers as soon as possible.
Reward: Carbonated Drinks x100, Restore Power Supply
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Thank you for reading! ♡
<3