Chapter 73
I thoroughly enjoyed the bread to live up to Johan’s expectations. It was so delicious that I regretted seeing the bread dwindle.
However…
‘Has he been watching me this whole time?’
Johan’s gaze was persistent and intense.
‘At this point, my mukbang talent is almost scary.’
Should I suggest to Shu that I switch genres from a cocktail bar to mukbang?
Ding ding.
As I finished the bread, the door opened and Hansel and Gretel came running in.
“We’re back from delivery!”
“We’re back!”
Ephesus stopped what he was doing and scooped the children up in a big hug.
Then he neatly retied Gretel’s hair and dusted off the dirt on Hansel’s clothes. It was a heartwarming sight.
“Good work. By the way, we have guests here to see you two today.”
“Guests?”
“Yes, they’re waiting over there. You know them.”
Hansel and Gretel, who had been tilting their heads, spotted me and exclaimed, “Ah!”
“Noona!”
“Unnie!”
Their figures running towards me melted my heart. I stood up and spread my arms wide as Hansel leaped into my embrace.
“Hello.”
Gretel stepped back and bowed politely.
‘They may look identical, but their personalities differ.’
We gathered around the table, exchanging greetings.
“We go to school in the mornings. Today, the teacher read us a book…”
“I made lots of friends. Rosha, Tirsch, and Veron…”
Fortunately, it seemed they had been doing well without any issues.
‘I worried my advice might have negatively impacted them.’
Once the atmosphere warmed up, I asked about the witch, just as I had with the dwarves and Rapunzel.
“The witch made us lift heavy things.”
“Yes! We had to lift a lot. It was so tough!”
Since Hansel and Gretel agreed, it seemed credible.
Making them lift heavy objects… It seems like Sylvie might have been in the wrong here.
“What did she make you carry?”
I asked seriously, and Hansel and Gretel readily answered as if they’d been waiting.
“Things with metal weights on both ends.”
“They were super heavy!”
“Aren’t those dumbbells?”
For exercise.
“Huh? We don’t know the name! But besides that, she always made us climb stairs!”
“And then she told us to go back down. We sweated buckets!”
No matter how I think about it, that’s just exercise, isn’t it?
“From what you’re saying, it seems the witch made you exercise? What do you think?”
When I asked outright, Hansel and Gretel scratched their heads hesitantly.
“Well, yeah. Come to think of it, it does seem like exercise. Back then, I had eaten so many sweets that my tummy stuck out this much.”
“Actually, all we thought about was escaping from the scary witch.”
Sylvie does give a frightening first impression. Even I inwardly cowered until she cried from being drunk.
‘Though I did act forcefully with the intention of capturing my muse.’
If not for that special circumstance, I would never have approached Sylvie. Never.
“The saintess even blessed us, saying there might be evil energy left in us.”
“She told us that witches eat kids like us. So, we just thought we were lucky to escape… But it was exercise.”
Hansel and Gretel nodded in realization.
While clearing the misunderstanding was fortunate, an unexpected figure’s mention made my eyes widen.
‘Why is the Saint mentioned here?’
For the Saint to consecutively approach those known as the witch’s typical victims, could there be an ulterior motive?
“But, Noona!”
Hansel tugged at Johan and continued speaking.
“Who is this Hyung? Did you get yourself an adult companion because you were lonely living alone?”
“What are you…”
“Yes.”
Johan, who had been silently listening, answered.
I blinked at him in disbelief, and he just nonchalantly shrugged.
Not the type I expected to joke around in front of children.
“Then big sister has to do the father ceremony too! We did a father ceremony when we picked up Ephesus Ahjussi.”
“Ugh, you don’t even know that, don’t you know? When an adult picks up another adult, it’s a wedding ceremony, a wedding!”
“Really? Then isn’t Nuna getting married? She should!”
Hansel and Gretel looked at me with sparkling eyes, awaiting my answer.
A w-wedding ceremony! My face flushed at the children’s innocent misunderstanding.
“No way!”
“Why not? Why not? This Hyung will be sad!”
“We’re not like that. Johan, say something. Hey, Johan?”
As I was flustered, Johan found it so amusing that he covered his mouth and laughed.
Oh, really. I can’t take this anymore!
🫧
Hansel and Gretel confidently declared that they would testify.
“I’ll say the witch isn’t a monster that eats people! That Nuna must feel really wronged right now!”
“We did steal the witch’s treasure and run away. We’ll apologize and testify, so please arrange a meeting.”
Having secured sufficient witnesses, it was time to move on to the next step.
“Actually, I’ve been concerned about the Saint often mentioned alongside the witch.”
“It does seem suspicious.”
Johan agreed with me.
Now, it was time to look into the Saint. I changed into my work attire and set up at a park reasonably distanced from this realm’s only temple.
“It’s common to gossip somewhere away from work after clocking out.”
My plan was an outdoor cocktail bar.
“Summon cocktail-making kit.”
I laid a tablecloth on the park table and arranged the liquor bottles in a row.
“How can I assist you?”
“Draw in customers.”
“Draw in customers?”
Johan, who was also lining up the bottles, gave me a puzzled look.
“Smile at passersby.”
“Smile?”
“Yes. Then they’ll be drawn in.”
All the priestesses serving the saintess in this dimension were women. Only women could handle sacred power here.
‘Johan is handsome.’
I could admire his looks for so long that time would fly by unnoticed.
Anyone with eyes wouldn’t be able to just walk past Johan.
In other words, the beauty trap strategy!
‘It’d be great if even one priestess takes the bait.’
Thinking that, I finished setting up the glasses when Johan leaned towards me, his shadow falling over my face.
“If I smile.”
Johan tilted his head towards me.
“Can I draw you in too?”
My face heated up as I stared blankly at Johan.
“N-No, not me! Draw in the customers!”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Next time, I’ll…”
Trying to dodge the situation, I saw a sunshine-like smile bloom on Johan’s face.
I stared at him, entranced, swallowing dryly before squeezing my eyes shut to blatantly avoid his gaze. A chuckle escaped him.
“Yes, drawing you in will have to wait until after the job is done.”
Johan turned his back to me and waved at passing women.
‘Not everyone will get drawn in, but…’
I glanced at the women.
“Wow, he’s handsome… Was he waving at me just now? Was that for me?”
“No, he waved at me, right?”
Without hesitation, the women sat at the table.
This was just the beginning. Johan suspiciously kept attracting customers.
Of course, most weren’t the priestesses I was aiming for, just passersby.
“Haah…”
Befitting a street cocktail bar, the cocktail prices were low—a mere 2 or 3 coins at most.
‘I didn’t want to work this hard.’
I’ll just endure until I earn 3,500 coins. Once it’s resolved, I’ll take a week’s vacation. After laboring this much, a reward vacation is a must, right?
‘Should I go to a resort? Not the one where they bossed employees around, though!’
Searching through the dimensions, there’s bound to be a fantastic resort spot somewhere. The dazzling white foam of crashing waves and the reddening horizon…
Just imagining it made me happy.
“Senior! Let’s have another drink!”
“Yeah! Today we need to get drunk and forget everything!”
The surroundings grew noisy as two new customers took their seats, already flushed from drinking elsewhere.
“Any drink will do. Get us two glasses.”
“Yes.”
After ordering, one customer flopped face-down on the table.
“Ugh, I really can’t take it anymore… Why are humans so vicious? I got slapped again today. My face is still swollen.”
“Should we quit? Yesterday, she suddenly felt anxious and broke a perfectly good jar.”
“And then demanded I clean it up with my bare hands. Sally’s hand got cut. Seriously, she’s out of their mind.”
“She’ll probably make us work overtime all week…”
People often don’t pay attention to the bartender, treating them like NPCs.
This position was convenient for gathering information. People would reveal their true feelings when drunk.
While shaking the shaker, I’d overhear all sorts of stories. From the most crude and dramatic to the most heartwarming and beautiful.
This time, the customers seemed like worn-out, tired office workers suffering under an abusive boss.
‘Ah, I can relate.’
🥂
Thank you for reading! ♡
