episode_0100

“Phew, the work is done, boss. It’s securely fixed. If there are any issues with the lighting or anything seems off, just contact me at my number.”

“Oh, thank you! You’ve worked hard!”

“No, we’re thankful. Well, I’ll be going now.”

Vroom-

I turned my eyes away from the departing truck and focused on the newly hung signboard.

A small, elegant signboard in a deep gold color that suited my cafe, named ‘stay this place.’

Having a signboard on the building meant that my once meaningless establishment had gained significance.

“Phew…”

And now, with my cafe named, a new meaning was added to my life.

It wasn’t the heroic life I had envisioned, burdened with debt, but rather the life of a cafe owner.

To think that I, who had sought to live a more special life than anyone else under the influence of the epic-grade ability known as the Status Window, had ended up as a cafe owner.

“Life is ironic, isn’t it.”

But I found this place where I stood now to be so good.

It wasn’t a position obtained under the influence of the special ability of the Status Window, nor was it a position I had been forced into to pay off debts. It was solely a position I had chosen with my own will.

That was ‘stay this place.’

“Yes, finally… all debts paid off. And the cafe is open.”

My dream cafe, which I had only imagined in my dreams, had now become a reality with the hanging of the signboard today. It was a great day.

However, for some reason, rather than a sense of accomplishment, a feeling of emptiness crept into a corner of my heart first.

Though I was happy and in a good mood, the emptiness I felt seemed to overshadow the excitement of starting a new life in the present reality.

After a moment of thought, I quickly found the answer to my question.

“Well, isn’t this how it usually goes? When something you’ve only dreamed of suddenly becomes a reality, everyone feels empty and such.”

It was simply because it didn’t feel real.

Because it was something I had wished for and dreamed of so much, when it suddenly became a reality, it didn’t feel real.

But still, achieving something I had only dreamed of was a reality that would never change, and as I faced this dream-like reality for a long time, the emptiness in my heart gradually turned into motivation.

“Finally. Finally, I can do ordinary things too… sleep for eight hours a day! Take weekends off! Go on vacation once or twice a year! Living a normal life like that!”

As my enthusiasm grew, my energy rose naturally, and memories of my days working as an emergency room assistant became a source of vitality throughout my body.

For others, a normal life would be taken for granted.

That normalcy was more precious to me than anything else, and so the excitement of facing a normal life filled my heart.

“There’s no longer a stay-at-home assistant or caregiver without a routine! Now, only the owner of ‘Stay this place’ remains, enjoying the leisure of everyday life!”

When my excitement reached its peak, I couldn’t help but shout out with sincerity overflowing from my heart.

If Nir or Mary were by my side, I probably wouldn’t be able to have this kind of soliloquy, but fortunately, no one was around, and with enthusiasm, energy, and excitement overflowing, it was inevitable.

“Phew…! Well, let’s start our first day of business.”

Now, it’s the beginning of a truly ordinary life, a leisurely routine!

※

“…Hmm.”

No one’s coming.

I had expected that there wouldn’t be many customers when I dreamed of opening a cafe in a quiet countryside, but I hadn’t expected there to be this few people.

No matter how many people pass by, I would have at least expected some curiosity after opening the store, but it’s been three hours and I haven’t even seen a single shadow outside the window.

“Could it be that there weren’t many people around the building when I signed the lease, not because they were out working, but because it was just vacant…?”

Working as an emergency room assistant, I’ve been so overwhelmed by people that I longed for a quiet countryside, but I didn’t expect it to be this deserted.

There should at least be enough customers to sustain a living, but if there’s no one even during lunchtime, then this is a serious problem.

“Maybe the reason the landlord saw me as a savior when I signed the lease was because of this… because there were no customers at all, it was a dead business…”

As soon as I opened for the first time, my mind became foggy from the red pill I had to take.

Of course, it was my own fault for not properly investigating and hastily signing the contract, but I was confident in the menu I created, so feeling down in a situation where not even one person showed up was inevitable.

“Will the person who received the cake from me not come? If they ate the cake, they should come.”

Even though I distributed moving-in cakes to my neighbors, gave out business cards, and told them the opening date, I still hoped that someone would eventually come.

“Yeah, I can’t resort to soliciting customers just because there are none. Let’s just wait until someone comes.”

Hoping that someone would be drawn in by the new cafe’s allure, I finished cleaning and checking the dishes, leaving me with nothing to do, so I turned on YouTube on my phone.

“There’s nothing but YouTube for passing the time. I should watch some bakery tutorial videos… huh?”

As I was about to enter the baking YouTube channel that had been a great help since acquiring the building, a familiar name caught my eye.

“Dain Adamas, who single-handedly broke through over 100 S-class gates in a month. Reaffirming his position after the plant-human incident shook his foothold once again? What was she doing all this time?”

From the night Dain Adamas woke up after receiving treatment until this morning, she had relentlessly broken through over 100 S-class gates, even after consuming so many potions and graduating from a hero-level training camp, it was an achievement that I, an F-class, couldn’t even imagine.

“Wow… to break over 100 S-class gates in a month. She really is the strongest in the world.”

I remembered Dain Adamas from the plant-human era, she was undoubtedly the world’s strongest hero, proving her strength every day.

In the past, I might have felt inferior witnessing Dain Adamas’ feats, but now I’m just a cafe owner.

“Well, I’m glad she’s doing well.”

Since my living area has completely changed, all I could feel towards her achievements was admiration.

“Come to think of it, what happened to the other two?”

After hearing about Dain Adamas, I suddenly became curious about Mir Ryuin and Mei Luina, who were patients in similar situations.

“While Dain Adamas’ YouTube videos are flooding the popular section, there are no videos of the other two…”

However, the absence of videos about the two seemed unusual, so I searched for Mir Ryuin and Mei Luina in the search bar.

“Huh? Disappearance…?”

And when I saw the top video titled ‘Mei Luina, Mir Ryuin Disappearance. What’s the reason?’ I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.

It wouldn’t be strange for Mir Ryuin, who was always holed up in her own tower conducting research, to be labeled as disappeared, but it was different for Mei Luina.

Because Mei Luina was a saint, she led a busier life than any hero.

For the emblematic saint of the Papal Court to disappear, such a thing could happen, but it shouldn’t.

Could something have happened to Mei Luina? Was the curse not completely lifted?

At that moment, an impulse arose in me to help Mei Luina.

But that was as far as it went.

Now, as a mere civilian without even the status of an Awakened, it was impossible for me to meet Mei Luina, let alone have the ability to help her.

“Sigh, without any customers, I end up doing strange things. She’s such an amazing lady, she’ll handle it well on her own.”

Realizing this, I awkwardly sat back down in my chair and turned my attention away from the three S-rank patients I used to care for.

Those people were no longer my concern. My job now was to welcome guests at this cafe.

With that in mind, I moved my finger to watch the bakery video I had originally intended to see.

“Hello, it’s Baking Teacher. Today’s menu is~”

As I was about to learn a new menu to practice, the doorbell rang.

It was my first customer, the one who would mark the historic beginning of ‘stay this place.’

This time, I stood up eagerly, ready to do my job. I put on a warm smile and opened my mouth to greet the customer without making them feel uncomfortable.

“Ah! Welcome······.”

But as soon as our eyes met, my greeting lost its warmth, and confusion filled the air.

“Haah, haah. Finally. Finally, we meet······.”

“Dain······?”

My historic first customer was none other than Dain Adamas, the person I had just seen on YouTube moments ago.