Finally, I placed the gas burner and pot on the table. I intended to make a lot of dalgona and store it since we were making it anyway.
“Miao, miao miao (You always say you don’t want to work, but you’re the one who keeps increasing your workload! You say you want to play, but your actions are different, aren’t they)?”
“Miao miao!”
Hmm. I’ve started to think the same way recently.
Could it be that I’m the problem…?
Maybe it’s the laborer DNA from my past life kicking in. Even though I think I want to play, I unconsciously find work to do.
Ugh, let’s stop with the scary thoughts.
‘No, no. Once the opening rush calms down, the café will definitely become more relaxed. It’s just busy now because it’s the peak level-up period.’
“Miao miao (Hmm, I hope it goes as you wish)…”
I rubbed Mimi’s belly, which was sticking out, and then returned to the table.
Anyway, it’s time to make dalgona.
First, I put a little water and plenty of magic sugar into the pot and ladle, then turned on the gas.
Following my lead, Joo Shin-woo lit the alcohol lamp and placed the ladle on it, asking with a curious voice,
“Do it like this?”
“Yeah, you can’t stir it.”
At that, the twins and As corrected their posture and held the ladles.
It was important not to stir the sugar but to let it melt as is. After heating it for a while, the sugar melted and turned transparent, and bubbles started to rise.
“It’s not ready yet. We need to wait more.”
The sweet, sticky smell that wafted out excited the children. Some had bright eyes and flushed cheeks, while others, like our part-time worker, tried to act nonchalant.
As the sugar syrup reduced, more bubbles rose, and it gradually turned brown.
“…Now.”
At my words, the children started to stir in the baking soda they had set aside earlier.
I also added two teaspoons of baking soda to the pot and turned off the heat. Stirring it while on the heat would make the temperature too high and cause it to burn.
Stirring quickly with a whisk, the dalgona turned a bright brown and started to puff up.
Once it puffed up enough and the pot became thick, I poured it onto the sheet I had laid out. It needed to be done quickly before it hardened.
“Wow…”
Joo Shin-hee exclaimed in amazement at the golden lumps pouring out.
Looking around, I saw the children pouring the dalgona onto the sheets in front of them. It had puffed up without burning.
“It’s done! It’s soft.”
“I did better, sister.”
“…Tch.”
When I was young, I couldn’t resist tasting the sticky dalgona before it hardened, and I often burned my tongue. In the process, I burned the ladle black…
“…Why?!”
I knew you would.
I held Mimi, who was trying to eat the still hot dalgona, by the waist and moved her away. No matter how pitifully she looked at me, it wouldn’t work. I saved her, after all.
This dalgona is for putting in drinks, so I decided to let it harden without flattening it. After leaving it to puff up for a while, it became just the right hardness.
Breaking the dalgona, which I had wrapped in paper, into appropriate sizes with my hands and a spoon and putting it in a container completed the process.
The remaining steps were simple.
I filled a transparent glass cup with ice and milk. I then generously topped it with the dalgona pieces we had just made and poured espresso over it.
The children didn’t forget to decorate it with the dalgona pieces they had made themselves.
Ding.
[Item: Dalgona Coffee (★★★★☆)
Condition: Good (Remaining Time: 01:00:00)
Effect: All statuses increase by 100% for 10 minutes.]
After completing the drinks for the number of people, the system window popped up.
The dalgona coffee had a pretty good effect. A 100% increase in all statuses. If your strength is 100, it becomes 200, so it’s more efficient than most buff potions.
Another notable point is the grade.
Unlike before, it started at 4 stars. The duration and effect were also more outstanding.
This was the effect of leveling up “Café in My Hands.” The meaning of “completeness is higher when making drinks inside the shop” was exactly this. All recipes were upgraded to 4 stars, and their effects were enhanced.
Moreover, it was good that you could drink up to five cups a day without the status ailment “Caffeine Overdose.” When dealing with a flood of customers, you could easily become groggy.
‘It’s really a fortunate thing.’
But why do my eyes feel moist…?
Now it’s time to taste it. We each took a cup of the completed dalgona coffee and sat down.
“Let’s enjoy.”
“Wow, it smells like sugar!”
“…Hmm.”
First, I picked up the dalgona topping with my hand and put it in my mouth.
Crunch!
The dalgona, full of bubbles, broke lightly in my mouth. The sweetness of the sugar mixed with a slightly bitter, burnt taste, creating a flavor that never got old.
I also shared dalgona pieces with Mimi and Lime, who were pestering me. They were quiet for a moment, busy eating and gnawing on the dalgona.
“Miao miao (I want more)!”
“Miao miao, miao!”
It would have been nice if Choi E-chan was here too. I felt a bit disappointed. This sweetness is exactly what Choi E-chan would like.
I don’t know what he’s doing to get stronger, but I hope he comes back soon. I’ll have to feed him a lot of dalgona.
After stirring the dalgona powder, which was starting to melt, into the drink, I tasted it with a straw. The dalgona pieces entered my mouth with the sweet drink, creating a satisfying crunch.
“…!”
“It’s delicious…”
“Sister, you’re definitely a genius!”
The children who drank the dalgona coffee poured out their impressions. Their reactions were different, but it was clear they found it delicious without needing to see the bars above their heads.
I glanced at Ki Yoo-hyun beside me. He was also drinking the dalgona coffee with a gentle expression.
Thinking about it, I still don’t know much about this man despite meeting him several times. According to Mimi, his sense of taste has weakened significantly, which might be a concerning point.
Usually, he doesn’t taste things well, so drinking a sweet drink must be quite stimulating. It might be similar to the joy of eating a snack after a week of only eating plain porridge to rest the liver.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Oops. I must have been staring too intently, feeling a sudden sense of pity.
“Here, have more.”
I added another spoonful of dalgona to his cup, hoping he would eat more.
“…?”
Noticing the sudden silence, I turned my head to see the children staring at me.
As had a frown on his face, and the twins had bright eyes. They turned their heads when they met my gaze.
Kids, whatever you’re thinking, it’s obvious.
Trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, Joo Shin-hee suddenly brought up a new topic.
“We went to a B-rank dungeon yesterday.”
“We defeated the boss. A B-rank Venomous Kraken!”
“I was the one who dealt the final blow!”
“You idiot! My curse weakened the octopus, so you could hit it.”
“If I hadn’t hit the headshot, you would have missed, idiot!”
Oh…
I was trying to detox from dungeon talk, but the topic drifted to dungeons.
Surprisingly, As showed interest in this story.
“Wow, that’s quite impressive. A Kraken is a tough, resilient creature that I can’t defeat in one go.”
“…! Are you a hunter too?”
“No, I’m not.”
Surprised by Joo Shin-woo’s question, As shook his head. The twins exchanged glances and then looked at As again.
“You seem pretty strong, though?”
“Yeah, you seem strong?”
“…Heh, you’re quite strong for humans.”
“I’m Joo Shin-hee. This is Joo Shin-woo. I’m an archer, and he’s a mage who casts curses sneakily.”
“Nice skills. Call me As.”
Suddenly, they got along well?!
The twins and As chattered on about various monsters. The dungeon talk continued enthusiastically.
Dungeon detox, huh…
Although the planned dungeon detox completely failed, it’s fine as long as everyone is having fun.
As time passed, it was time for the customers to leave.
“I almost forgot this.”
Ki Yoo-hyun, who had stood up from his chair, took something out of his pocket and handed it to me. It was a small object with a round button.
“What is this?”
“Hmm… It’s like a security bell. Since you seem to encounter dangerous situations often…”
“I don’t really…”
Although I was surprised when the monster hell swallowed me at the farm last time, it all worked out in the end.
“Press it if something dangerous happens. I’ll come to help.”
“Can I press it once to see?”
“Sure.”
Click.
I pressed the button, but it didn’t make a loud noise or flash like a regular security bell. However, Ki Yoo-hyun smiled, saying it was working properly.
Is it like a phone app notification?
I decided to keep it gratefully. Although nothing has happened so far, the number of customers has increased. If any trouble arises, I might need Ki Yoo-hyun’s help.
It would be best if there’s no need to use it, though…
* * *
“Hehe, was it fun today?”
“…Not really.”
“Should I invite you to play again next time?”
“Sure, whatever.”
“As, you did a good job today. Good night.”
The woman with a dazed face said this and closed the door and left. I felt unpleasant every time she smiled at me.
Still, I successfully infiltrated as a part-time worker here.
The coffee she made was very delicious and quickly restored my magic power.
Especially, As liked the café mocha. The harmony of the bitter coffee and the chocolate sauce from hell was fantastic.
Thanks to consistently drinking the coffee she made, my magic power has been restored to some extent.
[Using Magic Power Saving Mode.]
[Magic Power Recovery: 20%]
[Some spells may be unusable due to insufficient magic power.]
Now, I could easily kill that woman. I could also control her mind to make her follow my orders.
But why…
I unconsciously placed my hand on my forehead. It was the spot where Lee had just stroked. The warmth still lingered faintly.