Chapter 26 – The Café

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As we stepped outside, greeted by Miao’s farewell, I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

It felt like I had done nothing but get measured, yet I was utterly exhausted.

Of course, standing around in just my underwear had drained me mentally, so it wasn’t surprising that I felt tired.

I just wanted to go home and collapse into bed. Half-closing my eyes, I was lost in that thought when Yuika leaned in and asked,

“Are you tired?”

“Ah, no, not really…”

“Don’t lie. Your face is screaming, ‘I’m exhausted.’”

I quickly denied it, but it seemed my expression had given me away.

Feeling awkward, I rubbed my cheeks, and Yuika laughed.

“Then let’s do something to lighten the mood.”

“Lighten… the mood?”

“Yeah. Don’t you feel like having something sweet?”

“Something sweet…”

I hadn’t thought about it until Yuika mentioned it, but now I was craving it. As I swallowed and nodded, Yuika, as if she had expected this, took my hand and led me away.

But for some reason, instead of heading toward the central area where U.P. was located, we were going deeper into the northern area.

Confused, I opened my mouth to ask,

“Um, where are we going?”

“To the café, of course.”

“The café…”

Now that I thought about it, when we talked about the northern area at home, Yuika had mentioned a clothing store, a bar, and a café.

As I recalled this, Yuika added,

“Oh, right. The café owner looks a bit intimidating, but don’t be too scared. Despite their appearance, they’re actually quite kind.”

“Intimidating…?”

What kind of person could make Yuika describe them as intimidating?

Though she probably meant to reassure me, her words only made me more nervous.

After walking for a while, I spotted a sign with a coffee illustration advertising the café.

That sign must’ve been hand-painted, right? There aren’t any construction workers on the floating island, after all.

Like Miao, I wondered how people even thought of opening shops in a place like this.

As Yuika and I entered the café, the familiar aroma of coffee hit me.

Small tables for two were scattered around, with customers enjoying coffee and desserts. I pulled my hood lower and followed Yuika to the counter.

No one was at the counter. However, from behind the curtain, I could hear various sounds, suggesting someone was busy making something.

Instead of calling out to the owner, Yuika handed me a piece of paper on the counter and said,

“This is the menu the owner made. Want to take a look?”

“Ah, sure. Huh, this…”

“Cute, right?”

“Yeah…”

The menu, clearly handwritten with round, bubbly letters and adorable illustrations, was as cute as Yuika had said.

The owner must be a woman. A man would’ve made the menu more rugged and straightforward.

But Yuika’s comment about the owner being intimidating made me hesitate. Maybe the owner was like Miao, with a fierce appearance.

Though Yuika hadn’t called Miao intimidating. If even Yuika, who didn’t find Miao intimidating, thought the café owner was scary…

As I was lost in thought, the curtain rustled, and someone stepped behind the counter.

Without thinking, I turned toward the sound and saw a burly octopus.

…An octopus? Was I seeing things? I rubbed my eyes, and Yuika spoke.

“Busy as always, Master.”

“Everyone’s got time to spare. You’re no different, Aoki.”

“Hey, no one can work every day. I’m just taking a break by stopping by the café.”

“Enough small talk. Just order.”

While Yuika’s tone was friendly, the response was blunt. I stared up at the large man with a shiny head under the light.

Is that what they call a skinhead? His smooth scalp, devoid of any hair, made me briefly mistake him for an octopus.

But unlike that ridiculous misconception, the man’s appearance was anything but comical.

If Miao had a delinquent vibe, this man looked like a murderer from a horror movie. The shadows cast by his deep-set eyes only added to the eerie atmosphere.

I couldn’t tell his age, but the faint wrinkles suggested he might be the oldest person I’d seen so far.

He was incredibly tall. Though I couldn’t tell exactly, he seemed much taller than Miao, who was at least 170 cm. This man was probably over 180 cm.

And it wasn’t just his height—his build was massive. Even in his dark suit, his muscles bulged, demanding attention.

Why is someone who looks like a hitman running a café?

As I stared at him, forgetting to breathe, his shadowed eyes slowly turned toward me.

“Hic.”

When our eyes met, I hiccuped involuntarily. The man, ignoring my frightened expression, greeted me in his gruff voice.

“Haven’t seen you before.”

“H-Hello…”

“Right. What’s your name?”

“I’m Mari…”

“Then I’ll call you Miss Mari.”

“Please do as you like…”

I replied in a voice that sounded like I was squeezing air from my lungs, then immediately clung to Yuika’s waist.

Despite his blunt tone, he seemed to be treating me politely, but his intimidating face and voice made it impossible to relax.

At least Miao’s lively personality made her easier to deal with, even if it was still awkward. This “Master” was the complete opposite.

He’s creepy and so uncomfortable…!

Having used up all my mental energy from the brief conversation, I slumped against Yuika as the Master turned his attention back to her.

“So, what’s the order?”

“Hmm… I’ll have a cappuccino, and for Mari, a café mocha, extra sweet! Load it with chocolate!”

“At that point, it’s not even a café mocha anymore. What about pancakes?”

“Drench them in syrup.”

“A combination that would make any doctor faint.”

The Master muttered but silently wrote down the order before continuing.

“It’ll take about 10 minutes. As you can see, we’re not exactly swamped.”

“That’s fine. Let’s go, Mari.”

“Ah, okay…”

As Yuika led me to a table, I glanced back at the Master returning to the kitchen.

At the same time, I thought of the cute, bubbly menu and let out a hollow laugh.

Isn’t the gap a bit too extreme? Compared to Miao, this was on another level.

–

The café wasn’t very large. It seemed like a repurposed house, so there weren’t many tables. Still, it could seat over ten customers, so we found a spot.

Yuika and I headed to a corner table. Of course, it was Yuika’s way of being considerate.

As I sat down and let out a small sigh, Yuika smiled and said,

“The Master’s a bit intimidating, huh?”

“A bit is an understatement…”

“Haha, but he’s a good person. He used to work with U.P., you know.”

If he worked with U.P., he must’ve been helping people. But I doubted it was all smooth sailing.

If the Master had been the one to accompany Yuika instead of Ulrika, I probably would’ve fainted on the spot.

Still, working with U.P. meant he was as kind and nosy as Yuika, right?

As I thought this, Yuika asked,

“By the way, aren’t you going to take off your hood? It must be hot inside.”

“It is, but I feel safer with it on…”

Of course, if there were no other people in the café, I would’ve taken it off immediately. The leather robe was surprisingly warm, and I was already sweating.

But with other people around, and some glancing our way, I didn’t want to take it off.

Yuika gave me a pitying smile but didn’t push further.

Naturally, silence settled over the table.

With nothing to say, I fidgeted with my fingers under the table, while Yuika rested her chin on her hand.

I wanted to say something. When I was alone, silence was fine, but with someone else, it made me uneasy.

But what could I talk about? If the food had arrived, I could’ve commented on the taste, but for now, I had nothing.

Relying on Yuika to start the conversation felt wrong, since she’d been the one initiating everything so far.

So, this time, it was my turn to speak. I racked my brain and brought up a safe topic.

“Oh, by the way!”

“Huh? What?”

“H-How do you take care of your hair…?”

“My hair? Oh, because of the leaves?”

“Yeah… You can’t wash it normally like I can, right?”

Yuika’s light green hair was interspersed with leaves and stems.

Unlike me, who could wash my hair normally, Yuika’s hair seemed well-maintained, with a glossy sheen.

Honestly, I hadn’t brought it up out of genuine curiosity, but now I was really interested.

Seeing my curious expression, Yuika laughed.

“Hmm, I don’t really do anything special. Like you said, I can’t wash it normally.”

“Huh? Then how…”

“Water and sunlight.”

“Water and sunlight…?”

“Dryads are tree spirits. Just like trees only need those two things to thrive, I don’t need to wash or anything to stay in optimal condition.”

I blinked at her answer.

“So, you’ve never showered—Ow!”

“It’s not that I don’t shower; I just don’t need to!”

Yuika smacked my head with her hand, sounding exasperated.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I really like Chocolate Frappé.

It’s really sweet.

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
I’m lazy today so I don’t know what to say. Instead, take this picture of Gyeoul being roasted because I can. (Don’t mind the garbage quality.)