Chapter 86
“Yes.”
“But why have you become so twisted now?”
“This damned world made me like this.”
Chris slowly raised his head.
Suddenly, he recalled his time at the Milky Way Lounge. He had helped the bartender who dealt with strange customers.
Usually, he did odd jobs like preparing snacks or washing dishes, but occasionally he would cross over to other dimensions.
Chris remembered everything from that time clearly.
The most vivid memory was…
‘Sena… that was her name.’
A woman with pink hair, whose outside didn’t match her inside.
The time he thought he had wasted turned out to be not so bad.
It was enjoyable. Looking back, it made him smile involuntarily. It was strange.
‘I thought I had completely forgotten these emotions…’
It was such a dreamlike time that he could believe it was an illusion shown by a demon.
Just then…
“Ahhh! Help, help me…!”
A scream was heard not far away.
‘This is my reality.’
The harsh reality was right in front of him, too close to indulge in sweet dreams.
The dimension Chris lived in wasn’t a peaceful cocktail bar, but a brutal world where you had to kill to survive.
Chris moved again. He desperately needed a place to rest his injured body.
π«§
“W-What’s going on…”
As I looked around in surprise, Sylvie quickly stepped in front of me.
“That woman did something.”
Sylvie cautiously eyed the newly arrived customer, speaking coldly. I peeked at the problematic customer from behind Sylvie. The customer had their head bowed, covered in a robe.
But…
‘Gasp! Did her hair just move?’
Something was off. The hair under the robe was writhing.
“What is that woman? Her hair is snakes.”
Sylvie turned to me in shock.
“Should we chase her out?”
“Wait a moment.”
Hair of snakes. People suddenly turned to stone.
With such distinct characteristics, the identity of this customer was clearly…
“Medusa?”
The mythical monster whose gaze turns people to stone.
Ding!
| <Notice> Forced Quest Generated! |
|
Emergency! Customers have been afflicted with the ‘Petrification’ status. |
| β£ Success Reward: 1,000 coins, rumors spread of a brave bartender who saved customers. |
A rumor about a brave bartender spreading because of this?
A wry smile crossed my face as I read the notification.
But the next moment, my expression froze.
| β£ Failure Penalty: 50,000 coin compensation payment, dimension with petrified customers closes |
Are they telling me to cough up 50,000 coins? I haven’t even earned that much! Is there no insurance here?
Ah, of course not.
It seemed I had to take full responsibility for what happened in my bar.
‘Even so, this is too much! Why am I being blamed for something that’s not my fault? 50,000 coins aren’t pocket change!’
I won’t give it! I don’t have it anyway! If they demand it, I’ll just lie down flat!
I glared at the ceiling, thinking of Shu, who must be watching this scene. But there was no response.
‘Damn you, Shu. You won’t get away with this next time.’
Whew. I took a deep breath and barely composed myself. Apart from the failure penalty, I couldn’t abandon the customers who came to the Milky Way Lounge.
‘How did they save petrified people in myths?’
I couldn’t remember anything about saving petrified people. I only remembered that some hero came and cut off Medusa’s head…
“You, what did you just say?”
A sinister voice made me shudder for a moment.
Still, I gathered my courage and answered.
“I said ‘Medusa’. I thought that might be your name?”
“So you recognize me. Are you going to try to kill me too?”
Medusa’s aggressive tone made me tense, but something about what she just said bothered me.
The word ‘too’ implied that Medusa was already being chased by someone?
‘Could it be a situation similar to the Hunter’s?’
Just as the Hunter fled to the Milky Way Lounge to escape the Queen’s henchmen, Medusa might be on the run too.
After all, in myths, Medusa is targeted by numerous heroes, right?
‘There’s no need to cut off her head. I don’t have that ability anyway.’
Shu wouldn’t have sent this quest expecting me to confront Medusa with a kitchen knife.
‘There might be room for negotiation.’
I decided to bet on that possibility.
“No, I won’t. Ah, sorry, but… customer, could you please keep your head down? It would be troublesome if our eyes met.”
“Customer?”
“Yes. This is a cocktail bar, you see.”
It would backfire to abruptly ask someone who’s on the run and on edge to turn people back to normal.
‘Let’s approach this calmly.’
If I turned to stone too, who would resolve this situation?
“Sena. Will you be alright?”
“Yes. We just need to avoid eye contact. If our eyes meet, we’ll turn to stone.”
“Is that so? I’ve already made eye contact though.”
“…! Sylvie Unnie, are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine.”
That’s a relief. If Sylvie is immune to petrification, I won’t have to handle this situation alone.
“Sylvie Unnie. Is there no way to save someone who’s turned to stone?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure. Should we try this and that?”
Sylvie said, tapping the petrified Little Red Riding Hood.
“What do you mean by ‘this and that’?”
“Exactly what I said, this and that. Should we try smashing it first? Maybe they’ll come back that way.”
I thought she would use some special witch powers, but she came up with a physical method. And an incredibly crude one at that.
“What if… what if they just break and that’s the end?”
“Can’t be helped. Humans are short-lived creatures anyway, right? Well then, let’s…”
“Stop! Don’t do it!”
I frantically stopped Sylvie. So much for that. Once again, I was left to clean up the mess on my own.
Ahem. I cleared my throat and looked at the wall.
“Excuse me, customer. Please have a seat.”
“Am I… allowed to sit?”
“Yes. However, instead of money, I’ll accept information as payment for your cocktail.”
“Information?”
“I’ll serve you the best cocktail. In return, please tell me how to reverse the petrification.”
Calmly and coolly. So as not to provoke Medusa.
Silence followed. I got nervous when no answer came.
Surely, there must be a way to reverse it, right?
As anxiety rose to my throat and I clenched my fists…
“…Alright.”
Medusa agreed to my proposal. I barely held back a sigh of relief. Still looking at the wall, I opened my lips.
“What kind of alcohol do you like, customer?”
What cocktail should I give Medusa? Nothing came to mind immediately.
The image of a snake is strong, but serving snake alcohol to someone with snakes for hair would be rude.
I once made a snake shape with caterpillar jelly for Halloween, but I don’t have such jelly now.
She must have been treated like a monster because of ‘snakes’ and ‘stone’ to begin with, so wouldn’t it be better to prepare a cocktail that suits her taste?
“Alcohol…”
Medusa muttered as if pondering.
“This is my first time in such a situation since I became a monster. I haven’t had the luxury to comfortably eat food, let alone drink alcohol.”
“I can imagine. People turning to stone wherever you go.”
Normal daily life must have been impossible. Thinking about it that way, I felt sorry for Medusa.
“I’ve decided. Give me a green-colored drink.”
“Green?”
“When I was an ordinary human, I had elegant green hair.”
Suddenly, I remembered. The Medusa I saw in cartoons as a child was beautiful but cursed to become a monster overnight.
And then she’s left as someone’s achievement, beheaded by a hero.
‘It’s not like she wanted to turn others to stone.’
How did Medusa feel before she died? She must have felt wronged and miserable.
She couldn’t have pleaded with anyone. They would have turned to stone at that moment.
“Green… what exact shade would that be?”
“Green is green. What else is there?”
“Well, there’s refreshing mint green, yellowish green like grass, deep green like mountains, and blue-green…”
As I listed various colors, Medusa muttered “Hmm” as if considering, then spoke again.
“…It’s close to mint.”
Mint, huh. As I took out the mint liqueur, I asked again.
“Is it a vibrant mint?”
“Why are you asking so specifically? What’s the reason?”
“To recreate that color. The range of colors is wider than you might think.”
“Why go to such lengths…”
Medusa snorted as if finding it ridiculous, but I retorted confidently without being intimidated.
“I promised to make you the best cocktail, didn’t I?”
π₯
Thank you for reading! β‘
