Adventurer's Guild Café: I Was Wrongfully Exiled by the Saint, So I Will Enjoy My Second Life with My Fluffy Friends-Chapter 2.1 - Preparing for Opening and the S-Rank Swordsman

“Lemon honey preserves are so versatile—honey lemon, hot lemonade, all kinds of uses. It’s really a lifesaver.”

Setting her teacup down on its saucer with a light clink, Ruri let out a contented sigh.

We were in the café Silver Ribbon, located inside the Adventurers’ Guild. Though it wasn’t open for business yet, the empty interior was filled with our trial menu items as we held a taste-testing session.

“Ru-ruu~!”

Lulu was happily munching on a raspberry pie from the first level of the labyrinth, thoroughly enjoying herself.

...I wonder if carbuncles are okay eating sweets with so much sugar?

I had asked Simon, the Guild Master, about it recently. He told me carbuncles are similar to fairies, so they don’t actually need to eat. They absorb magic particles floating in the air, so they don’t produce any waste.

“Lulu, are you sure you can eat that much?”

“Ru?”

“You’ll get a tummy ache.”

“Ruu~n.”

I’m fine! Lulu wagged her tail as if to say that, her mouth covered in jam.

Laughing, Dan wiped Lulu’s mouth with a handkerchief. Lulu, who was very fond of Dan, chirped happily and scurried up onto his shoulder. Dan scratched her fluffy chest fur with his thick fingers, and Lulu squinted with delight, letting out a pleased chirp.

“Cakes and certain sweets will mostly be sourced from other shops, but we’ll be making our own drinks and light snacks, so we’ll need to keep ingredient costs as low as possible...”

Today is the final day for menu adjustments.

They plan to do a pre-opening to gauge reactions and gradually adjust the menu over time.

Most of the cakes and bread will be sourced from other shops, but Dan will be making the pies from scratch every day. He’ll use whatever fruit is available that day, so the pies will have a “daily special” feel to them. There will also be light snacks and soups.

If they’re ever short-staffed, they’ll call for help from Dan’s brother at the tavern next door, so they should be able to manage. The café itself is pretty small, after all.

There’s also a nice variety of drinks.

There’s coffee and tea. For cocoa, we add marshmallows and a small square of chocolate. Hot apple cider comes with a cinnamon stick. There’s chai, a tea mixed with milk, and mixed fruit juices with real fruit pieces.

(No alcohol, of course!)

I helped Ruri make the lemon honey preserves for the honey lemon and hot lemonade. Though honestly, all I did was cut the lemons, put them in jars, and pour honey over them...

“Kuu-chan, this honey lemon is so delicious! One more cup, please!”

“Coming right up.”

I scooped a few lemon slices and honey from the glass jar into a teacup, poured hot water from a clear glass pot, and stirred it gently. A hint of ginger can be added, if needed.

That’s all it takes, but it warms you up and tastes wonderful.

“Mmm...so good... It feels like it’s melting away all my fatigue,” Ruri said, her eyes softening into a smile.

Both Ruri and Dan said they’d like me to help with simple tasks to start, so I decided to begin with washing dishes.

Right now, I feel calm like this, but when customers come, I’d probably end up spilling tea or something... Just in case, though, I’m working hard to memorize the menu.

As I was jotting down the names and prices of the drinks on my notepad, Ruri lightly poked my cheek.

“Hm?”

“Kuu-chan, you should eat plenty too.”

“Huh?”

“It’s our little way of celebrating your recovery.”

She said this with a big smile.

“It might seem like we’re making you practice the menu, but it’s our way of welcoming you.”

“Ruri...”

“Kuu-chan, here’s to a great start together!”

Dan smiled a bit, too.

“Looking forward to it.”

I felt a warm, gentle feeling in my chest. My eyes started to get teary. When was the last time someone was this kind to me?

Since coming to this guild, my heart has been filling up with all these wonderful feelings.

“...Thank you, both of you.”

“Kyuuun!”

Lulu gave a high-pitched chirp.

“Alright, let’s eat while it’s still warm! ...Wait, Lulu, did you eat all the raspberry pie?!”

“Ru...”

Lulu pulled her head back, and somehow, that made us all burst into laughter.

♦

“Hey, are you guys already open?”

While we were laughing and enjoying our taste-testing, an unexpected voice called out from behind. I jumped, turning around on reflex.

Standing there was a man who looked to be in his thirties, carrying a sword at his hip. He had sleek platinum-blond hair and sun-tanned, golden skin. Tall and lean, he seemed to be in great shape. His eyes had a slight droop to them, giving his handsome face a softer look.

“Hey, Kiril! We’re not open yet, so don’t just barge in here. The sign clearly says ‘Closed,’ doesn’t it?” Ruri scolded him with an exasperated look.

Apparently, this Kiril guy had ignored the sign and strolled right in.

“Come on, don’t be like that. It smells so good in here,” he said, pulling a chair over and, for some reason, sitting right next to me.

“I’ve been curious about this girl for a while now,” he said with a grin.

“Heh?!”

Me?! I was shocked, and he laughed.

“The whole guild’s talking about you now. There’s a cute beastkin girl here,” he said with a smile.

“W-what...?”

This was the first time anyone had ever called me cute. I guess beastkin must be pretty rare here in Grantania.

“My name’s Kiril. I’m an S-rank, top-notch swordsman. Nice to meet you,” he said.

“Oh, please,” Ruri shot back, “you probably just came in here for Kuu-chan, didn’t you?”

“Kuu-chan, huh?” Kiril asked with a grin, looking amused. I quickly blurted out my name, flustered.

“It’s... Kuna.”

I almost added my family name, Leiria, but managed to hold back at the last second.

“Kuna-chan, huh? Cute name,” he said, smiling.

“You’re such a flirt,” Ruri muttered.

“Nah, for Kuna-chan, I’d be happy to be serious,” Kiril said, with a playful wink.

“Yeah, sure,” Ruri scoffed. “He says that to everyone, Kuna-chan.”

Kiril just grinned. “No, I mean it this time.”

Just then, Dan, who had been watching us, thwacked Kiril on the head with a serving tray.

“Ow!” Kiril yelped.

“Hands off my employee,” Dan said firmly.

“That’s my husband! So reliable!” Ruri laughed as Kiril winced and rubbed his head, muttering complaints.

“Tch. You know, the only people who’d ever treat the great Kiril like this are from this guild!”

S-rank adventurer… which means he’s the highest rank.

Adventurers are ranked from S to E, and the difficulty of requests is assigned accordingly.

Adventurers can only accept requests that are one rank above their own or of the same rank or lower. This system is designed to increase their survival rate.

Thanks to this system, the adventurer mortality rate has dropped significantly.

Kiril must be an amazing person.

“Hey, Kuna-chan,” he called out.

“Y-Yes?” I responded, startled.

“Are you going to serve me? If so, I might come every day,” he grinned.

“Eh, n-no! That’s… that’s not it!” I hurriedly shook my head.

“I’m in charge of washing the dishes!”

“Washing dishes!? Why?”

“Well, because… I…”

I was about to say “because I’m a beastkin,” but stopped myself.

I had been taught that in this place, speaking like that, as though putting myself down, would be seen as implying that other demi-humans should be put down too, so I refrained from saying it.

As I was nervously fumbling, this time it was Ruri who smacked Kiril’s head.

“Ouch!”

“Kuna-chan will first do the simple tasks! We decided that, so no complaints!” Ruri said firmly.

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“Ehh… I wanted Kuna-chan to serve me…” Kiril pouted.

“Stop saying creepy things and go accept a request already! You’re S-rank, yet you’re just wandering around like this! Simon’s going to get another complaint from the Central Guild because of you!”

“Okay, okay. But let me have just this one drink.”

Saying he was thirsty, Kiril snatched Ruri’s cup and gulped down its contents.

“Ah! Kiril, you idiot! I went through the trouble of having Kuna-chan make that for me!” Ruri exclaimed.

“Mm~”

Kiril, licking his lips, suddenly turned serious.

“…Hmm?”

I instinctively braced myself.

W-Was it bad…?

Kiril suddenly turned serious.

“Kuna-chan, did you do something to this?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm…”

Kiril seemed to be pondering for a moment, but quickly returned to his smile.

“…Nah, it’s nothing. Just my imagination. It was really good, though.”

After saying that, Kiril stood up.

“Kuna-chan.”

“Y-Yes?”

“Next time, let’s go on a date, alright?”

With that, Kiril winked at me.

Wow… I’ve never seen someone wink so beautifully like that before!

“Yeah, yeah, there’s no need!”

Ruri pushed Kiril out the door, effectively chasing him away.