Chapter 60
I carefully peeled the lemon rind in one long spiral strip.
‘As long as possible.’
I placed this long rind as a garnish in a tall glass and added a scoop of ice cubes.
‘Then add the brandy and ginger ale.’
Give it a light stir!
“For you, I present the Horse’s Neck cocktail.”
“Woah.”
The customer’s face lit up as I set the glass down before her. She was the type whose thoughts showed clearly on her face.
‘How adorable. Seems she likes it.’
Horse’s Neck is named for the lemon peel draped over the rim of the glass, resembling a horse’s neck. However, when I saw the long lemon peel, it reminded me more of Rapunzel’s long hair.
This customer’s hair is just as lushly long as Rapunzel’s…
‘Wait a minute.’
I urgently lifted my head to look at the customer.
Could she be Rapunzel?
It didn’t seem likely there would be anyone else with hair like that besides the fairy tale character.
“Delicious! Clean and goes down smoothly!”
As I pondered her identity, Rapunzel happily gulped down the Horse’s Neck, evidently finding it to her taste.
I was furtively observing her when she suddenly looked straight at me, startling me.
But I wasn’t too shaken.
“By the way, do you eat the lemon rind too?”
Before I could even answer, Rapunzel had already popped the long lemon rind into her mouth.
Trying not to show my surprise, I calmly responded.
“That’s just for garnish.”
“I see!”
Rapunzel spat out the lemon peel she had been chewing and laughed merrily.
‘Rapunzel is quite eccentric.’
The story of ‘Rapunzel’ is about her being trapped in a tall tower by a wicked witch before eventually escaping. Given her current isolated lifestyle cut off from the outside world, it’s only natural she would be a bit odd.
‘Since you’ve gotten out, wouldn’t it be better to run away? Go to another dimension like the huntsman did.’
Perhaps Hansel and Gretel would welcome Rapunzel? Having suffered at the hands of a witch as well, they may feel a sense of kinship.
‘Ah, but were they victimized by the same witch…? Probably not.’
I was newly struck by just how many ‘witches’ populate fairy tales.
‘Witches are the villains in about half of them.’
They were practically the root of all evil.
“Hic, good stuff!”
The slightly tipsy Rapunzel swayed excitedly, causing her mane of hair to flutter.
‘That hair is no joke.’
Looking at the tangled mess scattered across the floor, I couldn’t help but click my tongue.
What if another customer steps on her hair and trips?
‘That would be troublesome.’
After a moment’s thought, I made a suggestion to Rapunzel.
“If you don’t mind, shall I tie up your hair for you?”
“Yeah! Please do!”
“I happen to have a pretty ribbon.”
I brought up the ribbon just in case she might take offense. But she didn’t seem to mind at all.
‘Alright, let’s get started!’
I rolled up my sleeves, stood behind her, and sprayed some water on her hair.
I gently brushed and sorted out her exceedingly long locks…and already felt half my energy drained.
‘Did I bite off more than I could chew?’
I hadn’t been at it for long, but I was already tired. It wasn’t my fault; it was this massive amount of hair.
“Doesn’t having such long hair make it difficult to maintain?”
“I’ve got plenty of free time cooped up in that tower anyway!”
“I see, you live in a tower.”
I replied as if I didn’t know, though I did, and continued braiding her soft, golden hair.
‘No matter how much I braid, it doesn’t seem to end.’
Naturally, since her hair was longer than my height, or even taller than the door!
‘I didn’t realize it would take this long….’
My arms were getting sore. Having kept my hair short all my life, I never realized just how time-consuming maintaining long hair could be.
“Yup! The witch locked me up at the very top. But she went out far away today, so I snuck out.”
“Locked up?”
“Oops! That’s a secret. Pretend you didn’t hear that. Ah, this is tasty.”
Rapunzel clapped both hands over her mouth, having gotten a bit too excited while speaking. Then she drained the last drop of her cocktail, licking her lips clean.
“Are you sure you’re okay being confined like that? That can’t be a good way to live…”
As I tied off the braid with a ribbon, I couldn’t help but ask. It really was excessively long. Shouldn’t I get at least 1,000 coins for a hidden quest of this difficulty?
‘You seeing this, System?’
But the rude ding didn’t sound. Ah, my arms.
“It’s okay! The witch is a good person.”
A good person?
I was taken aback by her unexpected words, my eyes going wide. How could she call the person who imprisoned her a good person?
Did the witch gaslight the naive Rapunzel? No, she definitely did.
“If anything happens, wave a carrot. I’ll try to report it somewhere.”
My conscience pricked me to say that much, unable to completely turn a blind eye. Her bright demeanor didn’t seem indicative of any immediate serious situation, but still.
“Okay! But why a carrot?”
“Um, it’s a tradition.”
I gave a vague excuse.
“All done with the hair? Let me see… Wow! So pretty!”
Rapunzel sprang up from her seat in delight, running her hands along the long braid and twirling around.
“Thank you for today!”
She flashed me a vibrant smile before leaving.
<Notice> The reputation of the ‘Mirabelle Lounge’ cocktail bar has increased by 500. (Total: 6,350)
It is currently at the level of ‘A place you recommend to others and get praised for it.’
Until recently it was just at the level of ‘not embarrassing to recommend’, but now earning actual praise? I chuckled as I read the notification about this modest progress.
“But is it really okay? Shouldn’t I have tried harder to keep her here?”
I muttered while looking at the spot where Rapunzel had been sitting. Maybe I should have been more insistent.
As I pondered with a nagging feeling, the door burst open and a flood of customers came streaming in.
“I brought my friends!”
Someone called out, revealing it was Rubiana and her crew. I recognized several familiar faces.
“Wow! Here! Is this a desert?”
“Let’s play in the sand! I’m going to build a castle!”
“I want a cool drink!”
In an instant, fifteen kids took over the Milky Way Lounge.
This isn’t a kids’ café, you know!
🫧
“Unnie, play with us! I’ll draw you in the sand!”
“I wanna ride the camel! Give me a ride!”
“Hey, that kid’s eating sand….”
The kids were absolutely brimming with energy. I frantically ran around dealing with their demands and mishaps whenever they called out or caused an accident.
After an hour, the adults who had noticed their children’s absence came rushing in, but by then my stamina was already depleted.
“H-Help me…”
“Sorry about this. The kids snuck away during their nap time…”
I received a small consolation payment, but having been tormented by those little customers, I collapsed and didn’t get up for the rest of the day.
And it’s continued until now, a day later.
“I’m so tired…”
I had become one with the bed. It felt like I had partially come down with something from tending to those little customers yesterday.
‘I’m not slacking off.’
I was exhausted…
As expected, time passed and business hours approached.
Utterly drained of energy to work, I hung a ‘Closed due to circumstances’ sign on the door. That should send people on their way, but just in case, I decided to take refuge in another dimension.
“Random relocation.”
I mumbled, hoping to end up somewhere I could rest.
Before me unfolded a landscape with cartoonish, fluffy clouds and colorful flowers and mushrooms everywhere.
“Where is this…”
I looked around, unsure of where I was, and saw boys digging the ground with pickaxes in the distance.
‘Kids doing hard labor. Is there no child rights here?’
It tugged at my heart, especially after seeing the kids playing in the desert yesterday.
They looked so pitiful toiling away, maybe I should offer them non-alcoholic cocktails. I came to rest, but I may as well ask for directions too.
“Hey, kids.”
When I called out, their gazes turned toward me. Their heights barely reached my waist, so I assumed children, but their facial features aged them at least twice my own years.
“Yikes!”
Startled by their unexpectedly mature appearances, they eyed me warily.
“Who’s that?”
“Never seen her face before.”
“Her clothes look strange too.”
They murmured among themselves, leaving me standing there, until one of them stepped forward as their representative.
“Hey, you! You’re not a servant of the witch, are you?”
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
