Ryu winced as the Don crumpled to the floor. They made a hasty retreat, leaving Puccino’s hideout. He took one last wistful glance at the Succubus Chambers and fled the western district with Sylfie and Aurora. They would not be able to come back anytime soon.

The evening sun hung low in the distance. It wasn’t until they reached Hazel’s café that they stopped to catch their breath—at least Sylfie did. Ryu still had [Swift Foot] activated. He deactivated the skill, clicking his teeth. They had gone to Cal Puccino’s to solve matters. Instead, they ended up making things worse.

“What are we supposed to do now?! I doubt Puccino is going to let this incident slide!” Ryu exclaimed.

Sylfie didn’t answer, still doubled over. Ryu raised an eyebrow, suddenly concerned. Had she been hit? Was she injured?

“Sylfie are you—” he paused, realizing that she wasn’t doubled over in pain, but with laughter.

She could barely hold herself together, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

“I don’t think Puccino will want to mess with you anytime soon, ‘Nutcracker’,” she managed.

Ryu grimaced, he could almost feel the Don's pain. He wouldn’t wish that on his worst enemy.

“Haha, that’s very funny but I did what I had to do,” he said dryly.

Sylfie shook her head, still laughing. “No, check your [Adventurer Title].”

Ryu narrowed his eyes, casting [Insight] on himself. He scrolled down to his titles, feeling his stomach drop as he found what he was looking for.

[Title gained for first heroic feat!]

[Adventurer Title: Nutcracker]

Sylfie leaned back, holding her stomach. She was enjoying Ryu’s plight a little too much.

Ryu’s eyes twitched. “Can everybody see this?”

“Yep! Be proud, Ryu! Now everyone knows you’ve done something heroic. It even gives them a description of how you received the title, nya,” Aurora said.

Ryu looked around at the passing townsfolk. Some walked by without a second’s glance, while others stopped to point at him, laughing. Ryu tore at his hair, dragging Sylfie inside the café. Thankfully, the place was empty on account of the fire. Hazel greeted them warmly as they took a seat away from any windows.

“This can’t be my first title!” Ryu exclaimed. “I can’t be known as the Legendary Nutcracker!”

“Look on the bright side, men will think twice about crossing an adventurer with a penchant for ‘cracking nuts’,” Sylfie reassured him.

Ryu buried his face in his hands. “It’s over,” he moaned. “I didn’t even last two days without ruining my reputation.”

“Nonsense!” Hazel said, placing a fresh cup of coffee in front of them. “Your first title only lasts until your second heroic feat. Once you do something else noteworthy that title will disappear, replaced by a new one. You won’t have to worry for long, dear.”

Ryu managed a smile. “Thanks, Miss Hazel.” He paused just before taking a sip of the steaming dark brew, turning to her. “I’ve been meaning to ask, would you be willing to set us up with room and board, if only temporarily? I’d be willing to work here as payment.”

Hazel thought for a moment. “Hmm, we are short on Coffee Brewers and I’m surprised you were able to create a mocha after just one attempt, but from what I hear, you were using a contraption created by Arch Mages. We Dark Elves use slightly different methods than those of the arcane arts.”

Arcane magic? There wasn’t anything particularly strange about the machines that he had used. In fact, they seemed relatively mundane compared to the rest of the magic he had witnessed in this world. Were they really powered by magic? Perhaps. Ryu recalled that he hadn’t seen any form of electricity except for Agrius’ lightning spell. If Dark Elves didn’t use an espresso machine to make espresso, then what did they use?

Hazel seemed to have understood Ryu’s confusion. “Would you like to see how we make coffee here?”

He nodded, looking at Sylfie. She shrugged, following them to the back of the café.

Hazel led them to a simple pump attached to a clear flask filled with water. Below was a compartment stuffed with coffee grounds. “The best espresso is made by hand,” she stated.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

They watched as she lit a fire underneath the flask with her finger, waiting until the water came to a boil. Rolling up her sleeves, the elderly elf reached for the pump handle. Ryu’s eyes bulged as Hazel’s frail arms doubled in size as she flexed.

“Hot water and the pressure from the steam will extract the flavor from the coffee grounds,” she said, grunting with effort. The water was forced through the grounds, a steady stream of caramel liquid pouring from the filter into a small glass.

She handed the espresso to Ryu. He ignored Sylfie’s jealous eyes, boring holes in the back of his head, and took a sip. The espresso was strange—floral almost, and more delicious than any cup he had ever made.

“How?” he whispered, surprised at the purple color.

“The key is temperature and pressure regulation as well as picking the right type of bean to use in the espresso. Try it out,” she implored.

Ryu grinned, rolling up his own sleeves. He invoked [Combustion], the adventurer skill he had acquired, and lit a flame underneath the water flask. This is going to be easy. Once the water started to boil, he gripped the handle and tried pulling it down. It didn’t budge. He tried again, straining against the pressure of the contraption.

Hazel laughed, shaking her head. “You’ll need a lot more than brute strength to operate this.”

“Really? It looks like all you need is brute strength,” Ryu panted.

Hazel pointed to runic markings on the handle. “The grounds that I’m using require a certain combination of magic infusions to extract that peculiar flavor. The Volthalla Plant that these beans come from has certain defenses that it employs in the form of decay.”

“Decay?”

“Simply put, the plant excretes a type of temporal magic that can rapidly age a person if they’re not careful in the extraction process. This pump prevents improper extraction and will only go down if the user is following the correct steps to nullify the temporal effects. Still, I have seen machines fail from time to time and let improper brews slip through.”

Ryu shuddered, the beans he had worked with up till now had been perfectly run of the mill. Perhaps the Arch Mages were equivalent to humans in his world. Whatever the case, Dark Elf brews terrified him.

“S-so, what are the correct incantations to extract it properly?” Ryu asked.

“Oh, you’ll learn them naturally as you level up. There are a few incantations that you’ll learn and a specific set of combinations you’ll need to recite for different types of beans. You should acquire the necessary incantations for this one by [Level 5] in brewing.”

Sylfie invoked [Insight], narrowing her eyes at Ryu. “Huh? You’re still [Level 1]? Even after beating Cal Puccino in a Brew Battle?”

Ryu checked his stats stunned that they had stayed the same. “What are the requirements for [Level 2] then?”

“Make lots of coffee, nya!” Aurora exclaimed.

“She’s right, actually,” Hazel said. “You’ll need to make about one hundred cups of coffee to advance to the next level, and the requirements will only get more difficult from there.

Sylfie collapsed. “O-one hundred?! Just for a single level?!”

“That sounds reasonable,” Ryu replied, unbothered.

“What?! How can you be so nonchalant about that!” Sylfie clutched his collar.

“H-hey! Let go! My clothes are already frail as is. These weren’t made for adventuring! They’re gonna rip!” Ryu exclaimed. “At my old job, I used to make close to a hundred cups an hour.”

“You must have been world-class!” Sylfie exclaimed.

If only that were the case.

“Truly?” Hazel shifted her glasses, suddenly intrigued. “Yet, the system says you’ve only made two cups?”

“Ah,” Sylfie pulled her grandmother to the side, explaining the events of their journey so far.

***

“Another world!” Hazel chuckled. “Well, that explains it. I'll gladly hire you. I'd like to see how you work.”

“To be completely honest, in my world, we have machines like the Arch Mages built. It might be a bit of a learning curve understanding how to brew with a new set of tools and recipes,” Ryu replied.

“Even better! We'll get to see how you adapt!” Hazel's eyes sparkled like her granddaughter's. “Come! I'll show you to your room.”

Hazel led them back to the main floor and up a winding staircase. When they reached the upper floor, Ryu was surprised to see rows of rooms for lodging. This was a café, right? They must have a lot of family.

“Ryu, this way,” Sylfie beckoned.

They were trailing behind Hazel. By the time they had caught up with her, she had opened the door to Ryu’s room, keys in hand. She handed him his room key explaining how the amenities worked. Mercifully, there was plumbing.

“Breakfast is at [05:00] in the morning. Work starts at [06:30]. You can set an alarm through your skill card,” she said. “There’s also the matter of sourcing ingredients but we'll discuss that once you get adjusted.” She turned to Sylfie. “I expect you to watch him closely and learn, young lady.”

“Yes, ma'am!” Sylfie saluted.

Ryu was dead tired. Even the sip of espresso wasn't enough to keep him awake. As he got ready to turn in for the night, the doors to the café burst open unceremoniously.

“Where is he?! I heard he was here!” a voice boomed from the lower floor.

Hazel pinched the bridge of her nose. Ryu shot Sylfie an inquisitive glance, the latter grinning at him.

“We are back with our packs full and our bellies empty!” a few voices joined in, calling Hazel.

“Food and drink! We want food and drink!” even more voices resounded until the entire café was filled with noise.

“Bring him out!" The first booming voice called. "Bring out our newest hero, Sir Nutcracker! Let him regale us with his tale!”

Huh? Why were those rowdy voices calling for him?

Hazel sighed, wiping her glasses with a cloth. “I apologize. I was hoping to get you to your room before the adventurers arrived.”

“Adventurers?”

“Didn't you know?” Sylfie smiled mischievously. “This café is also a guild.”