Chapter 47
“Huh? The desert? How did this happen?”
“Well…haha, it turned out like this.”
The customers were initially flustered by the overnight transformation of the Milky Way Lounge, but quickly adapted.
“The atmosphere is nice, though? When it was in the forest, I thought it could collapse anytime.”
“You must have had a booming business to relocate!”
Far from complaints, the desert cocktail bar received an unexpectedly positive response.
The cream-colored stone building constructed on relatively sturdy ground made for an appealing spectacle.
While the indoor seating wasn’t special, the outdoor seats surrounding the oasis were quite charming, with tables in various shapes gathered around it.
Looking up, a signboard reading ‘Milky Way Lounge’ was visible atop a sand dune.
‘That signboard will light up when the surroundings get dark.’
The sight was rather scenic. Did the hardship of relocating pay off?
Just a short walk from the tables led to a soft sandy beach where one’s feet could sink in.
“Oh, someone left a shovel again.”
I picked up the shovel half-buried in the sand. I’ll have to put it in the ‘Lost and Found’ when I go back inside.
This was evidence of the recent surge of child customers.
The child customers not only played in the sand, but also enjoyed sledding down the dunes.
I don’t know where they came tumbling from, but they also rode the camels lounging around.
‘Half the customers are kids. But this is still a bar after all……’
That’s what I initially thought, but family customers meant money.
Surrendering to money, I prepared plenty of menu items for the kid customers.
‘Sadly, I can’t sell cotton candy cocktails because I don’t have them.’
The drinks made by dissolving cotton candy balls in strawberry syrup and soda were a huge hit with the kids.
Thanks to word spreading from Rubiana’s birthday party, most of the kid customers were from the ‘The Iron-Blooded Regent’ dimension.
‘Rubiana and the Regent have become total regulars now.’
Recalling the heart-warming sight of the father and daughter brought a smile to my face.
His subordinates even visited occasionally to fetch the regent.
‘They come a bit too often. Could it be his daughter is just an excuse, and he’s finally getting to rest properly?’
Regardless, seeing Rubiana’s happiness, I decided to leave the truth unquestioned.
Moreover, many came to stargaze too. Apparently, the desert has no clouds, making it ideal for stargazing? It has become a modest attraction.
Of course, adapting to the new desert environment didn’t make me forget the past. How could I?
‘I still need to catch the scammer who paid with counterfeit money.’
Having settled into the desert, I launched a full-fledged pursuit of the criminal.
The first step was showing various customers the composite sketch I drew of the culprit.
“I’m looking for someone. Have you seen this person by any chance?”
“Hmm? Let me see…oh! Well drawn. Did a kid customer draw this for you?”
“No, I drew it myself. I’m searching for a customer who paid with counterfeit money.”
After hearing the situation, the customers stared intently at the sketch but ultimately shook their heads.
“I don’t know. But bartender, how do you expect to find someone with just this drawing?”
“You know, they might have distinct features—big or small eyes, a protruding or sharp nose, things like that!”
Realizing my composite lacked distinguishing features, I tried to supplement it diligently.
That guy had thick eyebrows and a gaunt face. And also…..
Despite my best efforts to revise the composite, the responses remained lukewarm.
“Excuse me, have you seen someone like this?”
“Huh? Doesn’t this look like that guy? Ha!”
“Hey! It doesn’t look like me at all!”
Some customers mocked their friends, claiming it resembled them, prompting raucous laughter.
Strange. I thought I drew it well enough?
In the end, the sketches were set aside, and the explanations became lengthy.
“I’m looking for a man wearing a dazzling jeweled ring on his finger. He paid with counterfeit money….”
Unsurprisingly, most customers shook their heads, as they would have no way of knowing someone from another dimension.
“Counterfeit money? Did he pay with those tasteless chocolate coins?”
And today, finally someone who recognized the culprit appeared!
“Yes! Yes, those chocolate coins!”
When I took out the chocolate coins from my pocket, the customer’s face flushed red.
“That scoundrel! The one who paid with counterfeit money and took a pendant from our shop!”
The customer shouted, veins bulging in their neck, saying the pendant was inlaid with precious jewels and the loss was significant.
“He even calculated the jewels of other customers using those chocolate coins!”
“Gasp! He did the same thing here, saying he was treating everyone!”
“That rotten scoundrel! Bartender, another drink!”
“I’ll prepare a refreshing cocktail to ease your frustration.”
As the customer vented their frustrations, the atmosphere naturally shifted to exchanging drinks.
‘I finally caught the culprit’s trail.’
Yet I didn’t feel purely joyful. The more I heard, the angrier I grew towards the criminal.
“That incident eventually led to my shop closing down. If only it weren’t for that scoundrel……”
Seeing the customer wiping away tears fueled my determination.
‘I will catch him no matter what.’
I secretly followed the customer when they left, needing to at least identify which dimension first, even if I couldn’t capture the culprit immediately.
‘What’s with this heavy air…?’
But as soon as I stepped through the door, I felt suffocated. It was like the air itself was dense.
“Ah, did I overwork myself today?”
Muttering nonsense, I checked the dimension information.
<Dimension Information>
Title: The Rose Mansion Murder Case
Genre: Game/Mystery/Detective
Synopsis: The opulent Rose Mansion was the talk of the town throughout its construction. Yet the owner’s identity remained a mystery, with only rumors circulating.
Upon the mansion’s completion, a few people received exclusive invitations to a party.
Those who accepted the party invitation at the Rose Mansion were met with a mysterious murder.
As the only journalist granted access, you must uncover the secrets of the Rose Mansion!
Do you want to play?
[Y] [N]
“A murderous game world, and he’s running scams there……”
I gulped hard. At this point, it might be a relief that a mere scammer visited Milky Way Lounge instead of an actual murderer.
Just as I was about to execute the game to gather information,
Ding!
<Notice> Three customers are approaching the ‘Milky Way Lounge’ cocktail bar.
The system urgently notified me to return.
“Oops! It’s still business hours?”
Though I needed to investigate further, I hesitated to leave right away. As I wavered, a new notification window popped up.
<Notice> Would you like to download the ‘Rose Mansion Murder Case’ game?
[Y] [N]
“Did this feature exist before?”
I’ve never seen it before. Is the system prompting me to hurry back to work by creating this on the fly?
Well, I have nothing to lose, so I might as well download it for now. I hurried back to Milky Way Lounge.
“Welcome!”
“Oh, bartender, you’re coming from over there today?”
“Haha, I just went for a little walk. Were you waiting long?”
“No, we just arrived!”
🫧
After carefully preparing cocktails and listening to various stories, it was already night.
“Whew, it was quite busy today.”
After quickly tidying up, I headed to bed with a solemn feeling. Normally, I don’t lie down this early.
“Start game.”
You have to play games while lying on the bed for the best experience!
A rectangular window larger than a notification appeared before my eyes. Above the elegant Gothic mansion overgrown with roses was the title ‘Rose Mansion Murder Case’.
“Let’s see. ‘Start New Game’……”
When I started the game, thunder clapped on the screen as rain poured down. The blooming roses instantly wilted and the mansion scenery turned ominously eerie.
‘As expected of a murderous detective game.’
After the opening sequence of character portraits flashed by, a peaceful melody began playing.
An ordinary cafe backdrop appeared, followed by a black silhouette illustration.
『Alright. You’re hired. You’ll be covering the grand party at the Rose Mansion. By the way, what was your name again?』
Seriously, this guy hired me but can’t remember my name?
I clicked my tongue in disbelief.
<Notice> Please enter the player’s name.
I can’t just use my real name in a murder mystery setting.
“HangoverTomato.”
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
