Chapter 40
“Since we can’t exactly sell treasure ourselves. Everyone thinks it’s fake if a child is carrying it. So we picked up a good man, started a bakery for him, and made him our father.”
Indeed, Gretel was trustworthy.
He must really be a decent guy. Gretel’s hair was also neatly braided.
“That’s good.”
I patted Hansel and Gretel’s heads.
“So, we brought bread.”
“It’s a gift!”
The children handed me a bunch of bread loaves and promised to come again, saying they were working part-time at the bakery.
Left alone, I checked the bread loaves, and well.
“Bread Uncle?”
Never mind the store’s name, but the face drawn on the bag looked oddly familiar.
“He resembles that hunter.”
There’s no way the hunter I sent to another dimension met Hansel and Gretel.
‘But he really does look alike.’
Next time I see them, I should ask about the kind man’s identity.
“By the way, there’s too much bread here.”
But it wasn’t a problem to get rid of. I had a way to take care of it.
So, I ended up making menbosha as a snack.
I placed chopped shrimp on small pieces of bread, then covered them with another slice like a sandwich.
Sizzle.
And deep-fried them!
Crunching like chips the moment I put them in my mouth, the menbosha made the best beer snack.
I swallowed my lonely feelings while eating the greasy, nutty menbosha.
‘If fate allows, we’ll meet again.’
Just like how Hansel and Gretel found me again.
Even if a part-timer I’d grown fond of left without a word.
A bartender can only wait at the bar.
Keeping the bar ready for whenever the customers return.
Even if Chris disappeared, time flowed on without fail, and business hours arrived.
“The bread is crispy, and the shrimp is juicy and tender. So delicious. It makes me want to drink more.”
“The shrimp is so chewy. Dip it in this sweet and spicy sauce. This place has great drinks, but the side dishes are sincerely good too.”
Listening to the customers’ conversations, I diligently made highballs. Highballs paired perfectly with fried food.
That’s how I steadily stacked up coins.
🫧
The day to pay the subscription fee was approaching.
Since I didn’t have escorts anymore, it was safer to revisit familiar dimensions instead of recklessly opening new dangerous ones.
So I crossed over to the ‘Knights of the Round Table’ dimension. I could make decent money selling ‘Excalibur Cocktails’ to tourists.
“Of course! You have to drink this when you come here.”
As a regular visitor, it was gradually becoming a local specialty.
“Chris. How much ice cream do we have left…… Oh.”
Though we didn’t spend much time together, Chris left a significant impact on me.
With the part-timer who used to take care of cleaning and dishwashing gone, I couldn’t afford to slack off lazily anymore.
I brushed off the emptiness in my chest as simply missing having an assistant around to help. That’s all it was, I thought.
‘I just need to focus on paying the subscription fee.’
So I moved mechanically, making cocktails and serving customers.
“Hey you.”
“Ah, please wait a moment? I’m backed up with orders…..”
“Did you just tell me to wait?”
The man kept calling me impatiently, urging me on.
Why the rush? If I dawdle, the ice cream I prepared will all melt…
“That person is……”
“Oh my, I’ve never seen that person before.”
The whispers around me were unusual.
What’s going on? Eventually, I stopped what I was doing and looked up.
Three men armed in armor were staring at me.
Dumbfounded, a useful voice happened to reach my ear at that moment.
“Who is he?”
“Fool! Don’t you know the famous Knights of the Round Table?”
The Knights of the Round Table…the main male leads of this dimension?
‘Right. They do have quite the looks.’
As expected from a reverse harem, there was a big, muscular knight, a long-haired beauty, and a cute-looking knight, covering all the bases.
In any case, after grasping the situation, I hurriedly bowed my waist.
“My apologies. Am I not allowed to do business here?”
No one had pointed it out until now, but just in case.
‘I should have kept a low profile and left quickly.’
I discreetly backed away, ready to shout ‘Return’ at any moment. If they grabbed me, I wouldn’t be able to return.
“It’s fine. I’ll place an order.”
“Really, Hyung-nim? What makes you trust this strange beverage without even knowing what’s in it?”
“Then Tristan is out. But I’ll have one! I want to pull out Excalibur too!”
Ah, so they were ordering, not arguing?
“Ah, yes. Please wait a moment.”
Relieved, I hurrily prepared the cocktails.
“Thank you for waiting. Here are the ‘Excalibur Cocktails’ you ordered.”
“Ah…..”
I handed a glass to the customer who ordered first. But for some reason, the customer glanced around instead of taking it.
“…Are you serving him first?”
The moment I did that, the burly knight was openly staring at me.
“There is an order, you see. This customer ordered before you.”
Was he being impatient and unable to wait his turn? I put on my business smile to hide my thoughts.
“Oh, of course, we must serve the knight first!”
“Huh? Really?”
The customer quickly waved both hands. I looked back and forth between the customer and the burly knight.
“No, no. Wait your turn.”
“If that’s what you say. Here, take it quickly before it melts.”
I calmly handed the cocktail to the original customer in line.
Only after clearing the seven backed-up orders did I make cocktails for the knights.
“Indeed, it tastes as good as the rumors say. Refreshing and unique.”
It seemed I had become more famous in this dimension than I expected.
“By any chance, do you have any other drinks?”
“If you’d like…would you care to come to my bar?”
I had only brought the ingredients for the Excalibur Cocktail, so I didn’t have any other drinks.
I could just shout ‘Return’, go back, and personally open the gate to this dimension again, right?
As I had that thought, the long-haired knight spoke gruffly.
“Hey, suspicious woman. I absolutely hate noise, but aren’t taverns always noisy places?”
“Then shall I reserve it for you all? So you can drink cocktails quietly.”
This was a chance to earn big money with little work. I smiled and continued speaking.
“Of course, there will be a reservation fee…but that should be pocket change for knights like yourselves?”
“I agree!”
The cute-looking knight exclaimed. They exchanged glances, and the burly one who seemed to be the leader made the decision.
“Let’s do that then.”
They were the Knights of the Round Table after all, so surely they had money?
Feeling triumphant, I led the knights back to the cocktail bar.
🫧
The big knight, who seemed to have the highest rank among the three, introduced himself as Gawain.
I negotiated with him about reserving the cocktail bar and unlimited cocktail refills.
“300 gold.”
“Is that all you’ve got? Have some more generosity.”
“How dare you, just a merchant, argue with Hyung-nim, who is praised as a model of chivalry…”
“Yes, I’m just a lowly merchant. Please, noble knights, show mercy to this poor merchant.”
“Hey, if you put it that way, we sound like the bad guys!”
I haggled with the three knights, but we ultimately settled on 500 gold.
I don’t know how much that would convert to in coins, but if the knights haggled that much, it must be a decent amount, right?
‘I have to make it worth their money.’
From selecting the glasses to the garnishes, I meticulously prepared everything.
But these knight customers were incredibly heavy drinkers!
“Another round.”
“Bring one for me too.”
“Me too!”
I had let my guard down since there were only three of them, but it was endless.
‘No breaks at all.’
I made cocktails, and made them, and made them again.
They were excessively demanding customers for my lazy self to handle.
If it were the lower amount they initially offered, I would have lost motivation and given up long ago.
“Hyung-nim. That Mordred fellow has been acting suspicious lately.”
“Yes. The way he looks at Lady Guinevere is unsettling.”
“If that’s the problem, Lancelot is no better!”
My ears perked up at the conversation I overheard.
While I didn’t know the ‘Knights of the Round Table’ legend, I knew Guinevere was King Arthur’s wife, the queen.
Wasn’t the dimension’s name, ‘The Knights of the Round Table Are Obsessed With Me’?
Could Guinevere be the main female lead?
‘A married female lead reverse harem story?’
The premise for this dimension is quite bold.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
