#568 Otherworldly Café Project, Start!

Mr. Shax is here again.

He’s a demon merchant who trades extensively in the Demon Kingdom, even leading a large organization called the Pandemonium Trading Company.

He visits us often after receiving permission from the government.

While I don’t have any specific goal, I sometimes feel like showing off to him.

“Mr. Shax, would you like to have a drink?”

“Oh, is it alcohol? Has the god Bacchus created a new brew?”

In this world, the first and foremost thing that comes to mind when one says “a drink” is alcohol. This isn’t surprising since there is no other beverage other than that here.

That’s why I’ll surprise him with coffee and bridge this cultural gap!

I start by roasting the coffee beans. 

Once roasted enough, I grind them with the coffee grinder (made by the dwarves). Then, I put the powder on the filter and poured hot water.

By the way, convenient paper coffee filters don’t exist here, so I’m doing it the old-fashioned way with adamantine silk. I think it adds a nice taste to the coffee.

Lastly, I pour the coffee into the copper mug made by the dwarves.

Have a taste of this otherworldly coffee!

“Ohh, yet another unique item you’re introducing to me, Lord Saint...!”

As I thought, this was Mr. Shax’s first time seeing coffee.

Having lived long enough in this world, I know that there’s no other luxury drink except alcohol!

Therefore, there are no coffee breaks or tea time!

“It’s pitch black...! Not even muddy water would be this black. Is this really safe for people to consume?”

Mr. Shax warily draws the cup near his mouth and takes a sip, his face wrinkled.

“My... This is... Quite the drink...!”

“You don’t have to force yourself, Mr. Shax.”

Black coffee is super bitter, right?

I even deeply roasted and finely ground the beans this time.

“I’m sure I’ll get used to its bitter taste over time... But I’ll add sugar and milk to it. That way, it’ll be less bitter.”

“Oh?”

The milk Mr. Shax poured forms black-and-white swirls in the coffee, making a vivid pattern.

Then he adds a spoonful of sugar, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another...

“...Um, isn’t that a little too much?”

“Mm! Now this is good! No wonder you recommended this to me, Lord Saint!”

Aren’t you just tasting sugar at that point?

I can see a thick layer of undissolved sugar at the bottom of the mug after he finished drinking the coffee...

“But I feel...more energized now! I actually went to bed quite late last night due to a prolonged negotiation with a client. I was going about my day sleep-deprived, but I feel wide awake!” 

“That means the coffee’s doing its work.”

We all know what happens when the caffeine kicks in.

Some people drink coffee in anticipation of its stimulating effects, but drinking one cup too many can also be unhealthy.

“Marvelous! It’s like an elixir, taking away drowsiness all at once! I know for a fact that busy bees who work for days on end in the Demon Kingdom would want to get their hands on this!”

That’s the first thing that came to his mind, huh.

Apparently, back in my world, coffee and tea were first popularized as medicines too.

“Lord Saint! I would very much like to obtain distribution rights for this coffee! I’m sure it will be a hotcake item as a wake-up medicine!”

Well, they do say good medicine is bitter.

But that’s not how coffee works.

If it’s only ingested to wake people up when they’re tired, that’s no different from how sweatshops function.

Coffee is supposed to give people a pleasant time.

One cup is a moment’s breather between the busyness of daily life. Its distinct bitterness awakens one’s consciousness during idle times.

The bitterness will give you a sense of calmness as you get used to it.

Coffee is supposed to be that kind of dandy drink.

“I want to promote coffee as a luxury beverage!”

“I-Is that so...!”

“Would you like another cup?”

“Yes, please.”

Mr. Shax is puzzled by my enthusiasm.

He’s a dandy man himself, so I’m sure he’ll understand the goodness of coffee if I make him keep drinking it!

“Very well, our company shall distribute coffee as a luxury good.”

“Thank you very much!”

He understood me!

As I thought, Mr. Shax, president of Pandemonium, is a sensible person!

“But if we don’t market it as medicine, how do we sell it? I don’t intend to be rude by saying this, but it’s just hard for me to visualize.”

“That’s all right.”

I have an idea.

“We’ll open a café!”

“Cafey?”

Yes, a café.

“A cafe is a place where people go to drink tea! And ‘tea’ here includes coffee!”

“I-I see!”

“If you’re tired, want to take a breather or chit-chat, a café offers a comfortable space to its customers. And let’s not forget the coffee! Cafés are the new culture we should offer to this world!”

As I passionately discuss my plan with Mr. Shax, two people observe me from afar—Platy and Veil.

“......What’s gotten into Master?”

“I bet it’s the caffeine. Dear always has this look in his eyes when it comes to that bitter black drink. Normally, he wouldn’t take the initiative to propagate what he made.”

“Just like that winged woman and the princess, huh? Beans sure have a magical power to make people go nuts.”

Don’t lump me with those two bean maniacs. 

Sure, coffee is made from beans, but I am not as crazy about them as Letasreit and Horkosfon.

I just want more people worldwide to know how great coffee is!

...

By the way, for some reason, Letasreit, who loves getting involved in anything beans, wants nothing to do with coffee. 

I can still understand the natto-specialist Horkosfon, but I wonder if coffee, which does not retain its original bean form, is outside Letasreit’s field of interest.

For some reason, soy milk is fine with her, though...

“So, Mr. Shax? Will you help me open a café?”

“Well, um...!”

“I bet coffee has the potential to dominate the people of this world! I want to see how far coffee can go!”

That’s what cafes are for!

Okay, some of you may be wondering, “Isn’t it unfair to focus on coffee only and not consider tea?”

I don’t blame you for thinking that since I introduced tea and coffee around the same time.

However, I have a good reason for advocating only coffee—I’m entrusting the tea propagation to someone else.

Putting the coffee and café idea aside... 

I showed Mr. Shax a certain place.

“This is the tearoom.”

“Ohhhhhhhh! What is this place?!”

As expected, Mr. Shax was beyond surprised.

“Welcome.”

Aileron, dressed in kimono, opens the door to the tearoom and comes out.

“Today, I would like to show you a new world. The chawan is a bowl for drinking tea. Since discovering tea and having reached a new level, my skills have overflowed!”

That’s right.

Aileron, originally passionate about making ceramics, got into tea even more than I did and has become more or less a genuine tea representative.

I’m sure I can leave the rest of the presentation to Aileron just fine. If anything, interrupting her would probably make her angry.

At the end of Mr. Shax’s visit, he felt overwhelmed by the two intense presentations.

I will serve him another cup of strong coffee to relieve his fatigue.

Might as well put to immediate use the espresso machine I commissioned from the dwarves.