Chapter 41
“Those scoundrels have lost their discipline, daring to covet the queen.”
“We must rein in the others as well.”
Ah, it’s just a love and war story, I see.
I was in a trance, making cocktails, half-listening to the scandalous romances of another dimension.
Well, you do tend to hear all kinds of stories when working here.
‘What matters to me are the coins.’
<Notice> You have obtained 700 coins.
<Notice> The reputation of the cocktail bar ‘Milky Way Lounge’ has increased by 750. (Total: 5,300)
Yes, that’s it, that’s it.
My lips naturally curled up at my plumper pouch.
🫧
Time passed, and the subscription fee payment deadline arrived.
‘Already a month? Time really flies.’
I currently have 9,432 coins. If I stay focused today, I can make up the remaining 368 coins to reach 9,800.
It’ll be close, but I’ll manage somehow.
‘But…..’
After paying the subscription fee, I’ll have to collect 9,800 coins again.
Not an impossibly daunting amount, but the thought of working this much every month made me dizzy.
“It’d be nice if money grew on trees just by breathing.”
But that’s impossible, so I bought a lottery ticket from another dimension for the first time in a while. Unsurprisingly, a bust again today.
“Lotteries are all rigged, right? Otherwise, you’d win at least once in a while.”
I sighed and hurried to prepare for business.
“Bartender, I brought my wife today.”
I was starting to recognize some regular customers. Building a customer base, one of my goals, was going smoothly.
‘With people like them around, I can’t rest as I please.’
The regulars also brought in new customers from their circles, like right now.
“This is my first time at a place like this…..”
A middle-aged woman hunched her shoulders and warily looked around.
“Don’t worry. The bartender will kindly explain everything, right?”
“Of course. What flavors do you like? I’ll make a drink tailored to your taste. Feel free to tell me anything.”
I calmly served customers and made cocktails as usual today.
As the unchanging routine flowed on, a noticeable customer appeared.
‘Wow, so flashy.’
A man draped in luxurious fur, with large jeweled rings covering both hands.
The arrogant man sat at the bar, beckoned me with his chin, and flicked over five gold coins.
“I’m paying five gold coins here.”
“Pardon?”
“Just serve up something worthy.”
“Yes! I’ll prepare it right away.”
I set to work energetically.
Five gold coins would let me make up the remaining coins, right? That thought suddenly filled me with energy.
‘First some fruit appetizers.’
I neatly cut and arranged various fruits so one could sample a bite of each type.
‘For the first glass, a crisp Gin Fizz.’
I cut lemons to extract juice and combined it with gin in a shaker.
Clink!
Shaking the shaker produced a refreshing sound.
I poured the shaken liquid into a glass and topped it off with soda water to complete it.
“Pardon me. Here is the ‘Gin Fizz’.”
“Oh? Let me take a look. Hmm… Ah, nice! The tart, zesty lemon flavor is so invigorating? It goes down so smoothly!”
The man almost shouted. The people quietly drinking glanced at him.
Their gazes then turned to me. Their intention was obvious.
‘They want me to quiet him down.’
I smiled brightly and spoke to the man.
“Excuse me sir, could you please lower your voice a bit?”
“Ah, sorry sorry! My bad. I was being a total nuisance, wasn’t I? As an apology, drinks are on me for everyone here! How’s that?”
The man looked around. Everyone readily gave a thumbs up without hesitation.
‘Well, who can resist free drinks?’
The man took out five more gold coins from his pocket, flicking them over to me with a wink.
“Don’t worry. I’m loaded.”
“Ah, yes.”
Is this what it’s like when someone walks into a high-end boutique and says, ‘I’ll take everything from here to there’?
“Bartender, another order here!”
“Yes!”
Everyone had taken the bait, ordering one more cocktail each.
My hands were just as busy in response.
But something felt off.
‘I usually enjoy being showered with money, so why am I feeling weird?’
Whenever Johan offered gold, it calmed me right down.
“Another round!”
“Yes!”
Was it the relentless stream of additional orders making me feel this way?
Rationalizing it, I busily made cocktails.
The man drank eight cocktails solo and devoured five kinds of side dishes.
Not to mention the other customers—over forty glasses in total.
By the time he was completely wasted, the man staggered up from his seat.
“Ah sir, have a tomato juice before you go. It’s good for hangovers.”
“Service here is top-notch.”
The man chugged the tomato juice and waved widely at me.
“Damn, that was really delicious. I drank so much but each one tasted unique. Especially the one with, what was it… an olive in it. That was the best.”
“Ah, martinis were to your taste.”
“Absolutely. It’s a pity I can’t drink them again…..”
The man muttered wistfully. It was a strangely meaningful statement.
“You can come back anytime for martinis. There are many variations to enjoy differently.”
“Haha. Right, right. Well, goodbye.”
The man swiftly disappeared as if fleeing. I had served him stews and fruit juices in between, but he ended up drunk regardless.
‘Well, he did drink eight glasses.’
Even though I had adjusted the alcohol content, drinking that much would have made anyone drunk, even me.
Meanwhile, the night deepened, and the remaining customers also left.
‘Ah, the business hours are over.’
When Chris was around, I’d flop down and declare I was off the clock, but now that I was alone I couldn’t do that.
“Time to clean up. I’ve been so busy that there’s a pile of dishes to wash.”
I hated bugs, especially since this building was old and required constant attention.
Forcing myself to move, I finished tidying up and then slumped over the bar counter.
‘I’m exhausted…’
At that moment, I heard a rustling sound. It was the sound of the gold coins in my pocket clinking together.
“Oh, right.”
I took the coins out and placed them on the bar counter. There were a total of ten shiny gold coins.
“The texture of these gold coins feels different.”
They weren’t hard but somewhat soft.
Whatever. As I fiddled with the gold coins, I called out to the air.
“Hey System, don’t be lazy and convert these into coins for me. Announce how many I got with that ‘ding’ sound.”
How many coins would ten gold coins be worth? I’m not sure since currency values differ per dimension, but it should be way over enough to pay the fee, right?
“Hurry up and do it. It’s not safe for me to stay here any longer in this low-rated area.”
But the System, which usually made that “ding” sound, remained silent.
“Hey, System?”
An unsettling feeling washed over me. Until now, notifications came right after receiving money, but the System made no sound this time.
‘Thinking about it, that flashy spender was likely a major figure here, yet the fame score was unchanged.’
Could the system be on strike?
“Does that mean I don’t have to pay the subscription fee?”
Just the thought of it made all my accumulated fatigue disappear.
But I still needed to check, just in case.
“Status window.”
<Status>
Name: Lee Sena
Store Name: Milky Way Lounge
Fame: 5,300
Coin: 9,432
0 days remaining until next payment due
“But this is working?”
A chilling sense that something was wrong crept over me.
My gaze fixed on the “0 days remaining until next payment” part.
So I had to pay the subscription fee today?
I hurriedly checked the gold coins scattered on the bar counter. They were coins I had never seen before.
‘Of course. The currency is different in each dimension.’
Gold coins. This was the most common form of currency.
Besides coins, there were also paper bills, gemstones, dried flowers occasionally. I had seen accessories like seashells and teeth many times too.
So naturally, I thought these were also money…….
As I clutched the gold coins tightly in my hand, their shape became dented and deformed.
Wait a minute. Did they get dented?
“These are just gold-wrapped chocolates!”
Yes, I finally realized it.
I had been scammed with counterfeit money.
“Damn it. He scams me!”
There was a reason he lamented not being able to drink martinis again.
A person who pays with counterfeit money wouldn’t have the audacity to come back.
Not that I could go hunt him down either.
‘Since I don’t know which dimension he’s from.’
I worked myself to the bone just believing those were real gold coins.
Moreover, that conman caused such a ruckus about paying for everyone’s drinks that I didn’t earn a single coin from the other customers. Not one coin!
Like a deflated balloon, all my motivation vanished.
“I quit.”
The subscription fee, all of it—I don’t need any of that anymore.
I just lay there on the floor.
🥂
⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊ Translator Note ₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆
The Gin Fizz is light, refreshing, and perfect for a warm day, known for its balance of tartness from the lemon and sweetness from the simple syrup, complemented by the botanicals in the gin. The egg white adds a creamy, frothy texture but can be omitted if preferred.
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
