Chapter 1180: Rose Café
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
The test lasted for several days. Apart from testing on the Magic Power Unit, Roland also found another way to combat stress, which was to take the witches to the Dream World. Nothing would be more relaxing than being surrounded by a group of witches who seemed to always have an insatiable curiosity about everything they saw.
In the meantime, Roland was also busy with his coffee shop business.
A month and a half later, Rose Café officially greeted its grand opening.
To keep a low profile, Roland decided to hold the opening ceremony and start the fireworks display at around 10:00 after breakfast hours. By that time, students and young professionals would have left for school and work, and elders should have gone grocery shopping. It would be the quietest hour of the day in the neighborhood.
The two-storey coffee shop was right next to the warehouse, with a rent of $3,500 per month. He knew this number was a little higher than the average rent around this area.
However, it was not Roland's intention to make profits anyway, so he signed the paper without much negotiation with the landlord. His only request was to connect the warehouse and the coffee shop together so that he could more easily manage his inventory. Roland also promised to rebuild the wall before he surrendered the tenancy.
As Roland agreed to pay a full-year rent in advance, the landlord immediately gave his consent.
Nevertheless, this was not the real reason Roland conducted his business in this way.
He was not planning to become an entrepreneur by any means, and the Taquila witches were obviously not interested in serving customers either. In fact, the coffee shop was set up solely for their own entertainment rather than attracting businesses.
If truth be told, Roland rather hoped that nobody would visit his store.
To attain his end, Roland specially put up a sign outside the shop, listing the prices of all the drinks offered in the cafe. All of them were ridiculously expensive, around ten times the normal prices. For example, he put a regular latte ￥260 and ￥300 for a small caramel macchiato.
It should be noted that the soy milk next door only cost ￥1.5.
Roland did not think that any sensible person would choose to order here.
If someone knowingly visited the shop regardless of the daunting prices, then he must be the person who had left the note in the book.
But Roland was not quite sure whether this "Rose Cafe" was the same one the messenger was looking for.
"Your Majesty, is that OK now?" Phyllis asked as she put down the ribbon.
"Yes, once the ribbon is cut, Rose Café is officially open," Roland replied while nodding. "Let's have a celebration."
There was a bar and a few round tables in the coffee shop, each table decorated with a lit candle and a bouquet of roses. Soft music murmured quietly. However, when Phyllis and Roland went upstairs, the romantic atmosphere downstairs instantly gave way to raucous noises that typically existed in a restaurant.
Roland had bought a complete set of cooking utensils and a barbeque rack for the ancient witches. As KFC and the McDonald's could no longer satisfy the witches' unquenchable hunger for food that had not been fulfilled for hundreds of years, they started to cook themselves. The experience at that buffet enlightened them as to the science behind cuisines, so they became extremely excited to try out on their own. It took them a while to learn how to use stoves and microwaves. However, they soon got the hang of cooking and started to follow the steps on recipes.
Many of them, for example, Phyllis, were surprisingly talented. The food they made was indeed very professional. They not only had excellent cutting skills but seemed to just know the secret of brewing and simmering as well.
"Your Majesty, I just learned how to make braised eels. Would you like to try it?"
"This is roasted pork loin I just made!"
"Your Majesty, could you help me find some recipes for cold dishes?"
From their exhilarated looks, Roland judged the witches enjoyed cooking as much as they watched a movie or took a tour.
Roland felt a little sorry that they could not live in this world forever. After Elena died, Roland had made several attempts to look for her in his dream but to no avail. Nothing had changed in either the warehouse or the apartment.
This meant that they would eventually leave him one day.
Death, whether a natural death or being killed in action, would transform everything into a thin thread of memory.
Probably that was why the witches treasured every single trip to the Dream World.
Perhaps, he should sleep more at night, just to let them stay here a little longer if not for himself.
Ding.
Just at that moment, the bell downstairs rang.
The witches instantly fell silent.
"Your Majesty, there's a customer coming," Phyllis reminded Roland.
Roland did not expect to see the messenger come that fast right after his opening. He cast a glance at everyone and said in a hushed voice, "Do what I planned." With these words, Roland and Phyllis went downstairs. Among all the ancient witches, only Phyllis, who had once disguised as a maid in "Black Money", had customer service experience.
"Not a single person at the bar. Are you really planning to provide job opportunities to your relatives?"
The customer who stepped into the store gazed at Roland suspiciously, her arms folded and her brows knitted. Her eyes lingered on Roland's cheeks and collar for a few seconds.
This customer was Garcia.
Roland was hugely relieved. Garcia knew about his business and she had actually helped him a lot with the moving. He beckoned Phyllis to bring two coffees and then gestured Garcia to sit down. "Of course. I always want them to get out of their village."
"Hang on, I'm not going to — "
"My treat. It's free."
Garcia took a seat and said, "Anyway, the prices you list out there are just highly unrealistic. It really makes people doubt your true intention to open this store."
"You're wrong," Roland said truthfully. "The most important thing for them now is adapting to the new environment. They just moved here from the countryside. If tons of customers swarm in at a time, do you think they'll feel at ease? They'll probably freak out. I don't care about profits but more about them getting used to the city life. That's the reason I opened this Rose Café."
"R-really?" Garcia asked skeptically.
"Of course. Also, I have to thank you for the invitation card last time. It helped me a lot," Roland steered away the subject.
"So, all settled?"
"Not only did he fix their status but he also sent them to school. It's the same school as Zero, but they're in high school," Roland explained smilingly. "The three girls wanted to thank you for your help."
"I'm glad to hear that..." Garcia said, her expression softened. "They don't have to thank me. You did all the work. After all, I didn't come forward to confront my father and media."
Roland shook his head and said, "You did all that you could."
There was a mute interval.
"Coffee. Enjoy," Phyllis broke the silence.
Garcia came out of her reveries and picked up the cup. After a moment of hesitation, she said, "I need to tell you something."
"Regarding the Martialist Association?" Roland asked. He knew Garcia must have some important business to share.
Garcia nodded and said, "Yes, there's a task, and the Association wants you to deal with it."
"I hope it's not a show or anything like that. I've heard the Martial Arts Contest this year is drawing close."
"No... it's a joint mission to annihilate Fallen Evils," Garcia corrected him gravely.