With Yulia’s draw, her moonlit blade flashed through the air. The sword traced a beautiful arc as it smoothly cut down two men, then another curve followed, dropping three more in an instant.
Her trait known as ‘Moon-Cleaving Sword’ was unfolding before my eyes in reality rather than through a cinematic, and just as I had back then, I found myself staring at the sight in a daze.
‘Seeing it in person really is on another level!’
I had watched it countless times through a screen, yet now I almost felt as though the screen had never been capable of capturing Yulia’s swordsmanship in its entirety.
It was truly dazzling swordsmanship, almost supernatural in its execution.
“Young Master. Does coffee truly help with swordsmanship training?”
“Probably. Why?”
“If so, please provide me with coffee as well, Young Master. I will drink it, sharpen my senses, and strive to develop even greater swordsmanship than I have now. For the sake of protecting the family and the shop.”
“As much as you want. That’s a good attitude, Isaac.”
Unlike me, who was simply enjoying the spectacle, Isaac watched Yulia with a competitive gleam in his eyes.
It seemed her swordsmanship had given him some healthy motivation.
‘I suppose this is what you call a virtuous cycle.’
If Isaac, my escort knight, became stronger, there could hardly be anything better.
Furthermore, if I made use of Isaac’s strength during the various episodes that would occur later, I might be able to gain even more from them.
“...Ghk!”
While Isaac and I were talking, the man who appeared to be their leader collapsed with a strangled cry beneath Yulia’s sword.
With that, all seventeen thugs had fallen.
They probably were not dead.
If I remembered correctly, those men were poachers. By tomorrow, the scenario should progress with them being found lying there and hauled away by the territory’s soldiers.
‘Exactly four minutes and thirty seconds to take them all down. Almost identical to the cinematic.’
I was marveling at that all over again when Yulia sheathed her sword and walked back toward me with the same aloof composure as before.
Then, as though nothing whatsoever had happened, she asked in an indifferent tone.
“My coffee hasn’t gone cold yet, has it?”
For the record, that line had not been in the cinematic.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Unfortunately, the coffee had cooled a little.
I offered to make her another cup, but Yulia shook her head and instead began tasting the coffee I had already brewed for her.
“...Ugh!”
“Why? Does it taste bad?”
“I-I’ve never been good at drinking coffee. It’s too bitter.”
Her reaction came immediately after the first sip.
Considering she was the daughter of a great merchant, I had assumed she would have drunk coffee fairly often, so her response was unexpected.
What was truly amusing was that even so, she stubbornly forced herself to finish the entire cup.
Gone was the Yulia who had calmly swung her sword and cut down grown men.
Right now, she looked more like a daughter forcing herself to drink some bitter medicinal tonic her mother had prepared for her.
‘She’d probably drink poison if someone told her it helped with swordsmanship training.’
If Howard was obsessed with money, Yulia was obsessed with the sword.
I had already known that, of course, but watching her drink coffee while grimacing as though she were about to die made it feel much more tangible.
“I finished it!”
Yulia finally set down her cup with an expression of triumph.
Then, as though her business here was done, she paid for the coffee and abruptly rose from her seat.
“...Oh, right. I’m the one who broke those.”
I followed Yulia’s gaze and saw a broken chair and table.
They had been part of the outdoor seating in front of our shop, but they had been accidentally damaged during her fight with the thugs.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to break them.”
“It’s fine. I think they can be repaired.”
I still had no idea what I had done to Yulia at the end-of-term party.
For the time being, I intended to consider the repair costs part of my apology for whatever offense I had committed back then.
“Here. The repair costs. Take it. My mother told me never to live while owing anyone a debt.”
Perhaps it was because she was a merchant’s daughter, but she was meticulous when it came to money.
Even from a rough count of the gold coins, she had given me more than enough to cover the repairs.
I was about to return the excess when an idea occurred to me.
There was a way I could use this money to strengthen my connection with Yulia.
“I did something wrong to you at the end-of-term party, so I can’t just take the repair money like this. Instead, I’ll put it on the ledger.”
“The ledger?”
“Our shop has a prepaid ledger. I’ll put this money down under your name, Yulia. That means you can come by for coffee whenever you want.”
She had probably handed me the money simply because she felt obligated to, but as far as I knew, Yulia was likely short on funds at the moment.
Her mother should have cut off her financial support because Yulia had refused to inherit the family business.
If coffee helped with her swordsmanship training, she would probably want to keep coming here, but she might hesitate because she could not afford it.
So I decided it would be best to use the prepaid ledger as an excuse to leave room for our relationship to improve.
‘She’s the daughter of the Aberen Merchant Company, after all. I can’t afford to stay on bad terms with her.’
I saw Yulia’s eyes waver faintly.
Perhaps she was uncomfortable with the fact that coming here for coffee would mean having to see me often....
And since she was hesitating right now, it seemed like the perfect moment to seal the deal.
“If you come back to our shop again, I promise I’ll make you coffee that isn’t bitter next time, Yulia.”
***
Thanks to Isaac, the interior work had been completed neatly, the tasting events had concluded to favorable reviews, and all the supplies and ingredients needed to begin business in earnest had been prepared perfectly.
‘Tomorrow is finally the academy’s opening day.’
Today was a day off.
Once we officially opened for business, we probably would not have another day to rest for quite some time, so I wanted to spend at least one day conserving my strength beforehand.
I brewed myself a cup of coffee and looked out the window when I spotted Howard approaching the shop.
The thought, ‘He really is working hard to keep an eye on me,’ crossed my mind, but at the same time, I felt a little envious.
Howard had come to Fence to manage House Edwell’s merchant company and conduct business.
Yet the fact that he could leisurely wander around like this meant his business continued operating smoothly even when he was away.
In simple terms, his store practically ran itself.
Of course, building a business capable of functioning without him was also a testament to Howard’s ability.
Either way, whenever I saw him like this, I could not help feeling envious.
“You came at the perfect time, Lord Howard. There was actually something I wanted to ask you about.”
“Me? Don’t tell me you need more money.”
“Oh, nothing like that. I do have some shame, you know. I’ll make you a cup of coffee, so let’s talk while you enjoy it.”
Howard sat down and inspected the interior of the shop.
Perhaps he was examining it from an investor’s perspective, because his characteristically meticulous gaze swept across every corner.
Eventually, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
“What did you wish to discuss, Third Young Master?”
“It’s about hazelnuts. I’d like to get some, but I visited every grocery store I could find this morning, and none of them had any for sale.”
“Ah, hazelnuts....”
“According to the grocery store owners, the delivery date has already passed, but no shipment has arrived yet. I was wondering whether you might know anything about it.”
Hazelnuts were a commonly used ingredient here as well, especially in cooking and baking.
That made it strange that no one had any for sale.
I handed Howard his coffee and waited for his answer.
He had spent years working in the merchant business, so he was an expert in his own right.
I expected him to provide the answer I wanted.
“Hazelnuts are a specialty of the Genova Territory in the southern part of the empire. Under normal circumstances, a merchant caravan from Genova should have arrived by now to deliver them, but apparently there has been a problem, causing delays in distribution.”
“A problem?”
“Do you know an area south of the Duchy of Arnia called Aranta?”
The moment I heard the name Aranta, something flashed through my mind.
My memories of the name Genova might have been vague, but I remembered the region called Aranta perfectly.
There was no way I could have forgotten it even if I tried.
“I heard that Werewolves recently attacked Aranta. Anyone entering the Duchy of Arnia from the southern empire has to pass through that region, so the monster attack has probably disrupted the route.”
“Ah, iiis that so?”
“There is another route that bypasses the region, but the terrain is far too difficult for a merchant caravan. Even if they forced their way through, it would take at least five times longer, and there would be a risk of the goods spoiling before they reached their destination.”
“Whew. What a relief. I was nervous because I thought something truly serious had happened. So it’ll be resolved easily enough once the Werewolves are subjugated.”
“What? Third Young Master, you seem to think this is a trivial problem. Werewolves may be low-ranking monsters, but I doubt the subjugation will happen quickly. Most of the Duchy of Arnia’s military forces have been mobilized for the war, after all.”
Well.
Would that really be the case?
Now that my curiosity had been satisfied, I leisurely took another sip of coffee.
“By the way, what did you need the hazelnuts for?”
“I’m thinking of developing a new coffee menu.”
Coffee culture here consisted entirely of a single kind of drip coffee, so there was no need to rush into developing new menu items.
Trying to move too quickly could easily do more harm than good.
Instead, I had focused on the tasting events, gathering people’s opinions and using them to improve the weaknesses of the Edwell Blend.
But now that it had reached a reasonable level of refinement, I thought it would be fine to start introducing new menu items one at a time.
‘I also made a promise to Yulia.’
I had no intention of creating anything radically different right from the beginning.
If I changed too much at once, it might stray too far from the coffee people here were accustomed to and end up having the opposite effect.
For people like Yulia who found coffee too bitter to drink, simply reducing the bitterness and adding sweetness seemed like the most appropriate approach.
It was hardly enough of a change to call it an entirely new menu item, but in a place with such conservative coffee culture, that alone should feel sufficiently novel.
“When you say a new menu item...?”
“I’m going to make syrup with hazelnuts. Then I’ll add it to the coffee to alter the flavor. It’ll be much sweeter, so it may end up closer to a beverage than traditional coffee, but it should offer an alternative for people who find coffee too bitter to drink.”
“Then don’t you desperately need hazelnuts right now, Third Young Master?”
“You could say that.”
I answered as I emptied my coffee cup.
The Edwell Blend had definitely improved after all the refinement it had undergone during the tasting events.
Maybe I should have another cup.
“I don’t understand how you can be so relaxed, Third Young Master. From my perspective, this hardly seems like the time for that.”
“Do I look like the idle wastrel I used to be?”
“You are unable to obtain an ingredient you need for your business. If I were in your position, I would already be searching for a solution. Even if nothing immediately came to mind, I would be running around everywhere until I found one....”
“Lord Howard. How exactly am I supposed to solve a problem that requires a monster subjugation?”
“Even so, you cannot simply sit here leisurely drinking coffee and doing nothing.”
“It’ll work itself out just fine.”
“You are so carefree that I genuinely cannot understand it. Meanwhile, as the man who invested in you, I feel as though I’m about to burst from frustration.”
“I think I’ll have another cup of coffee. Would you like one too, Lord Howard?”
“No, thank you. I’m so frustrated I doubt I could even swallow it.”
I brewed myself another cup while watching Howard pound his chest in frustration.
I nearly burst out laughing, but managed to suppress it before speaking.
“I once heard a saying. A born merchant is blessed by fortune itself.”
“Are you suggesting that you are a born merchant, Third Young Master? Is that why you’re sitting here so leisurely, relying on luck...?”
“That too, perhaps. But I also mean that sometimes the solution is simply to relax and wait. You can be far too impatient at times, Lord Howard. That’s why you keep falling into my traps.”
“......”
Once the coffee was ready, I sat across from Howard again.
Looking out the window, I saw academy students walking around in their uniforms.
Until last year, I had probably attended school dressed just like them....
“The coffee tastes especially good today.”
“...Ha ha. You’re truly going to drive me insane.”
Once the academy opened tomorrow, the first main episode would begin.
And fortunately for me, the students right outside would take care of the monster subjugation needed to restore the hazelnut supply all on their own.