I stepped out of the corridor leading to the cafe expecting to be welcomed by a half dozen happy slimes, all jumping around to show how much they missed me. Except, all I saw was the new furniture we'd set up. The mismatched lanterns shone brightly from the ceiling and the new stools made out of crates were pulled out as if somebody was about to sit in them, but there was nobody to be seen. Not a single slime. Anywhere.

How strange...

Dave stepped out of the dungeon hallway, closing the door behind him. "So this is your cafe, huh?"

"Mhm, it's the Slime Serenitea Cafe." Minus the slimes, apparently. I glanced out the window. In the corner of the property, a man was slumped against the wall, slimes plopped all over him like a squishy blanket. His long black hair was easily recognizable: Cole. What was he doing out there? "Give me a minute, Dave, I'll be right back."

The satyr nodded, glancing out the window in the direction I'd been looking as I walked outside quietly. Fire slimes were piled in Cole's lap, flames glowing brightly, nudging him. Matcha sat nearby with a cup of tea on his head, spilling drops of it every time his little slime body wiggled. He slurped them up before offering Cole the cup again. Even a few dirt slimes had joined the party, offering him their best potatoes.

With all those slimes, Cole should have been grinning and having the time of his life, but his face was empty. Dejected.

"Everything okay?" I asked. "Looks like the slimes are on cheer-up duty."

His eyes widened. "You're back!"

"Of course I'm back." I laughed softly. "This is my cafe. Did you think a little cliff was going to stop me from coming back to it?"

Those dark eyes of his stared at me, roving over my entire body. I squirmed awkwardly, leaning down to take the cup of tea from Matcha. It was empty by this point, so I should probably make some more. The little slime chirped, bumping into my hand. I picked him up too, holding him close.

"Sorry I was gone so long," I whispered to the slime, "but I'm home now. Do you want some tea?"

Matcha wiggled in my arms, making a bubbly noise only a slime could make. I smiled. This was where I wanted to be right now. Leveling up with the best companions I knew: the slimes. I turned to go warm up water, but Cole grabbed my hand. He stood up, pulling me into a fierce hug that I was entirely unprepared for. Fire slimes tumbled all over from his abrupt movement and Matcha squeaked, squishing between us.

"Hey!" I called out, but I could feel Cole trembling for some reason. I patted his back, not really sure what to do here. "Honestly, are you okay?"

"I should be asking you that." His voice was low next to my ear, raw and full of emotion. "I never should have taken you to that floor without knowing I could keep you safe. I thought I was stronger than that. Thought I could–"

"Stop." I pulled away, looking him in the eyes. "This wasn't your fault. I'm the one who agreed to go and I'm the one who tried to kidnap a baby goat. I'm also the one clumsy enough to fall off a cliff, but hey, all's well that ends well, right?"

"I guess." He sighed. "I just never want to put you in danger again."

"Well, next time I need ingredients, we'll go to a lower-level floor then." I smiled. "Or I'll level up really fast and take on that monster goat again! Yeah, we're definitely doing that one day. That baby goat wanted to come back here and I can't let her down, can I?"

"Next time?" Cole's voice was full of hope and his eyes were brighter. "Yeah, next time we'll do better."

"Exactly. That's what this dungeon is all about, right? Trying, failing, leveling up, and doing better next time?"

Or at least, that's what it seemed like. What else was the point of all the floors getting stronger as you went and us not actually dying? It had to be so we could get stronger. But why? I stroked Matcha, enjoying the warmth his new tea evolution possessed. He was like a warm water bottle, cozy and comforting. We'd figure this out, but right now I had some tea to make.

"Come inside, I'll make tea."

Cole nodded, following me into the cafe with a trail of fire slimes bouncing behind him like little ducks. I grinned. They really were attached to him, and if the slimes trusted him, then he had to be a decent guy, right? Plus, he'd waited for me here after I'd fallen. Knowing there was somebody worried about me, somebody who would keep the slimes company until I got back, felt really good. Like I had people I could rely on. First Fiona, and now him. I hadn't known them long, but it felt like we'd formed bonds already.

Bonds of friendship.

I blinked as my eyes got a bit misty. This cafe had made all of that possible, so it was about time I took it seriously. I had to open it to other adventurers and bake as many delicious things as I could. I nodded at Dave as I passed him on my way to the kitchen, filling the kettle up with water so we could have tea.

"Dave?" Cole's voice sounded strangled. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just getting a sandwich." His voice was teasing, with a hint of something...else. "The real question is what are you doing here?"

I leaned out of the kitchen to find them both staring at each other, actually glaring described it better, with Dave tapping a hoof on the floor. Cole sighed, glancing away like he'd lost some kind of silent battle.

"What's going on out here?" I asked. "You two are friends, right?"

Cole nodded. "Good friends, yes."

"Best friends," Dave said, eyebrows raised. "Right, Cole? The kind of friends who would never leave important work undone while they rushed off on their own to eat tasty food?"

Ah, so that's what this was about. I shook my head at him. "Really? You skipped out on work to come here? I thought Dave sent you here to check on me."

"Did I do that?" Dave frowned. "Sounds like me, but I don't recall..."

"Fine, I was too excited to wait," Cole said. "Her food just sounded so good! Cookies! And grilled cheese! Oh man, Dave, you should have tried the soup she made. It was glorious. The way it warmed me up was magical."

My face warmed at that, but thankfully I heard the water bubbling. Time to make that tea. I put the last of the tea leaves into the kettle, hoping the tea I'd planted had grown and matured by now. I'd never harvested it before, but maybe the dirt slimes could help. Matcha was a bottomless pit for tea, so I couldn't really go without it.

After a few minutes, the water was a nice golden-tan color. I poured two glasses and added the rest to the pot I'd dubbed Matcha's cup, carrying them all on a flattened-out shield.

"Okay, who's up for some tea?" I placed each cup carefully on the table, adding Matcha's pot to the floor. The little tea slime hopped in, barely making a splash, while the other two sat down. "Maybe we should think of this like a dry run for opening the cafe. You can be the customers and I'll try to figure out this heartfelt hospitality skill."

It said I'd get bonus XP for serving customers in a warm and friendly atmosphere, but so far it hadn't activated. Not even as Cole sipped his tea and sighed in contentment. I wanted to ask Dave about it, but he was here for lunch, not a tutorial. I should really let him relax for once.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

"What would you like to order today?" I asked with a genuine smile. "If it's another grilled cheese, I promise this one will taste delicious. Nothing like that cardboard sandwich you're used to."

Dave laughed. "Sounds great. Thank you."

Cole tilted his head. "Hmmmm, can I try one too?"

"Of course you can!" If I had enough cheese. I peeked into my menus, grateful I had one wedge left. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be out with your orders."

They sipped their tea, not speaking to each other at all. There was obviously more going on there than skipping out on a bit of work, but I wasn't about to pry. A cafe should be a warm and welcoming place, not an interrogation. I put a pan on the stove before leaning down to attempt lighting the fire underneath it, but found an adorable little fire slime already in there.

"Well hello," I said warmly, "mind helping me cook today?"

The fire slime chirped his agreement and started wiggling as his flames rose, dancing in the stove. They blazed brighter and brighter until I had to look away.

"Maybe a little less flame?" I asked with a laugh. "Don't want to melt the pan."

The slime made a noise that sounded like laughter and lowered his flames to a perfect temperature. This really was the best cafe ever. I sliced up a fresh loaf of bread, spreading beautiful golden butter evenly across it. A grilled cheese was simple, but it still deserved all the love and attention that a more complex meal required. The butter should reach the edges of the bread, leaving no part unbuttered. Mayonnaise was better, but this would do fine for now. Then the cheese. Using multiple kinds was best, but I was down to just cheddar so that would have to do. I cut it thinly, adding layers mixed in with herbs and thin slices of tomato to spice things up a bit.

I added the first slice of bread to the pan, enjoying the sizzle of the butter hitting the heat. Then I layered everything else on top so the cheese could start melting. After a few minutes, the nutty smell of cooked butter filled the room. I flipped the sandwich over and waited, pressing down slightly for even cooking. The cheese started oozing out, perfectly melty. Dave would love this, but I didn't have Cole's ready yet...

If I waited for both to be done, Dave's would cool down too much, but I didn't really want to have one guest eating while the other watched on in awkward hungry silence. That was never fun for anyone, so I added Cole's grilled cheese to the pan next and kept Dave's by the fire slime to stay warm.

[Grilled Cheese Level 5 Acquired]

[+10 XP]

The slime opened his mouth wide, about to gobble it up.

"Wait!" I pulled the sandwich back. "This is for Dave, but I promise I'll make you all the tasty food you want after we serve our guests. Does that sound good?"

The slime tilted his body back and forth, but then nodded. Excellent. I'd really need to start keeping slime treats on hand if the fire slimes were going to be helping me cook every day. It was too cruel for them not to get tasty food along with the guests. Plus, if I was going to cook for multiple people, I needed more pans and a bigger stove. I'd have to look through the cafe upgrades menu soon and pick a few goals to work towards. Maybe check in with Fiona too. She'd agreed to make a few items for me, but I had no idea how it was going with her and the blacksmith.

Once both sandwiches were ready and I'd gotten a bit more XP, I brought them out to the table. Cole's eyes lit up as he dug into it immediately, probably burning his mouth on that cheese. He just kept eating though, smiling and mumbling around the food. "It's so good!"

Dave was more cautious. "It does smell good, but does it really taste that much better than my normal grilled cheese?"

"Believe me, it'll be mind-blowing." I nudged the plate closer to him. "Just give it a try. I promise you'll enjoy it."

He took a tiny bite, chewing it thoroughly. Then he stared at me.

"Well...do you like it?" I asked slowly. I wasn't looking for praise, but I did want him to enjoy it. Maybe the tomatoes were too much. I should have kept it simple. "Sorry, I can make another if you want."

"No, no need for that."

He took another bite and another, his floppy goat ears twitching. It reminded me so much of the goats from earlier that I couldn't help but smile. I moved back into the kitchen to let them enjoy their meals, loving all the happy little noises they were making as they enjoyed their grilled cheeses. This was what I wanted to do for as long as I could. Cook food that would make people happy, because knowing they were happy made me happy too.

Now for the slimes. I made another grilled cheese with the last of my ingredients and divided it between the slimes, giving the biggest portion to the fire slime who'd helped me cook. I patted him on the head as he gobbled it up in one bite.

"Thanks for the help," I said. "I'll have to make some marshmallows for you later."

The slime wiggled happily, lighting up the stove with the warmth only a fire slime could bring. Things were going really well, but what about that Heartfelt Hospitality skill? It felt like I'd gotten the same XP as usual from those grilled cheeses. I opened my menus, searching for it.

[Heartfelt Hospitality allows you to gain bonus XP when serving customers in a warm and friendly atmosphere]

"Hmmm...did they not count as customers for some reason?" I mumbled, searching through the menus some more. My XP bar was pretty low, as if I'd started the level over from zero. "Hey, Sweet Potato?"

Something thunked in the other room and one of them started coughing like they were choking on their sandwich. I glanced into the cafe's dining area, but they were both sipping tea and smiling at me like nothing happened. Strange, but okay. Actually, I could ask Dave about this, except he was here on a break. I had to honor that.

"Did I lose XP when I fell off the cliff?" I asked the system.

[Affirmative. An adventurer's XP progress resets back to 0 for the level they're on and must be regained]

I sighed. "Is that the price of teleporting me to the starting zone? Couldn't I just pay you in cookies or something?"

[No. XP must be lost. Cookies are not a proper form of currency]

"I was kidding," I said with a frown. "Is everything okay? You seem a bit stiffer than usual."

[Running System Diagnostics]

[Trap Stability: 85%]

[Monster Stability: 71%]

[Loot Stability: 96%]

[NPC Performance: Stable]

[Adventurer Count: 7,589]

[All systems are running smoothly]

My eyebrows rose. "There are that many people here? How have I only seen a few hundred?"

[The dungeon has many floors]

Ah, that made sense. All the adventurers were probably spread out throughout the dungeon. That was really good to know, but it felt a bit odd that the system had run a diagnostic right in front of me. Usually, it would have just said it was fine and moved on. Was the dungeon glitching out? That didn't sound good...

"Hazel?" Cole asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Any chance you have some tea left?"

"Just a minute." I put some more water in the kettle and decided to focus on what was right in front of me. This cafe and my customers. When I brought the tea out to them, I carefully poured it into their glasses and joined them at the table. "So, what did you think?"

"It was amazing!" Cole grinned. "Best sandwich I've ever had."

Dave nodded. "It was pretty tasty, actually. I might need to come back for more."

"I'm happy to hear that." I smiled, sipping my own mug of tea. This was going to work. "Thank you for doing this dry run with me. I feel a lot better about opening the cafe now. I'll see if Fiona can help me hunt for more ingredients and then I should be all set."

"Then we should get going," Dave said, half getting out of his chair before Cole yanked him back down. "What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" he asked, staring at the satyr pointedly. "About that skill of hers?"

"My skill?" I shook my head. "Oh, you don't need to help with that. You're allowed to relax once in a while, you know."

"It's fine. I enjoy teaching people who actually want to learn." Dave handed me a few coins. "Thank you for the meal. It really was delicious."

[+10 XP for Heartfelt Hospitality]

My eyes widened. "That's all it needed? For you to pay me?"

"Yeah, we're not customers unless we pay," Cole said with a smile. "I can help clean up if you want?"

"Not a chance," Dave said, grabbing Cole by the collar. "You promised to catch up on all that work you left behind, remember?"

Cole's shoulders slumped. "Yeah, I remember."

"You two seem like good friends," I said with a laugh. "Come back soon, okay?"

Dave nodded, but Cole's eyes seemed to darken. Was he not intending to come back? Something about that didn't sit right with me. He was my very first paying customer. He had to come back.

"We're going to befriend those goats once I level up more, right?" I prompted, hoping he'd take the bait. "And gather more ingredients sometime?"

His lips tugged into a smile. "Of course. I'll help you however I can."

"Until next time then." I smiled back, waving at the both of them as they left the cafe. "Thanks for stopping by."

I leaned against the door as it closed behind them. There was a lot of work ahead to make up for the progress I'd lost falling off that cliff, but it felt like I could handle anything now that I was back where I belonged. I picked up Matcha and held him close.

"Let's go bake something sweet, okay?"

Matcha nodded, nuzzling closer to me as we made our way into the kitchen. This cafe was about to become my training grounds, full of amazing food and hopefully great people too. There was nothing holding me back, not as long as I had all these slimes to help me and a garden full of ingredients. Time to get to work!