Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 29: Ascension (1)

It was a bit early, but by the time the promised hour of 1 o’clock arrived, the place had already become boisterous with people arriving one by one.

If someone asked whether I expected this to happen, I would’ve answered that I thought it would turn out more or less like this.

I had attended gatherings like this a few times before.

No, rather than calling them gatherings, it was more like a forced game meet-up made by our overly enthusiastic manager under the excuse of gaming.

I think the logic behind it was something like, “You have to try out the games young people play these days to keep up with trends.”

Of course, since the purpose was the company’s club activity budget, we only actually played for about two hours before it turned into a free drinking session.

But even from that short time spent gaming together, there was plenty to talk about at the drinking table.

My worries that there’d be nothing to say between awkward strangers from different departments and ranks turned out to be unfounded.

Games had that kind of power.

The strange power that brought together two groups with no intersection—NIS agents and shamans—into a sparsely populated countryside café for passionate debate.

“No, I’m telling you, it’s better to just do party hunting than to gear up your dealer with defensive items.”

“Ay, this young lady doesn’t know a thing. Party bonuses only give you a slight XP boost. It’s best to just go solo and use potions.”

“You do know a thing or two, huh. This lady’s never played these kinds of games before.”

“I’m also from the original WoW generation, okay? That 10% party bonus is huge! Isn’t that right, President?”

Huh? Me?

“Right on! Let the president speak. He’s ranked second right now, just below our guild master.”

“The café president is a top ranker?”

“You didn’t know? He’s almost level 70.”

“Level 70? I’ve done nothing but eat and game, and I’m still stuck at level 40!”

“How is that level-up even possible?”

“Ha ha……”

Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Naturally, the topic shifted to my level.

“There’s no special trick. Just wear items with reflect damage and stand in areas with aggressive monsters.”

“You’ll die then.”

“That’s why……”

“You gotta stack damage reduction skills and protection skills.”

Just as I was hesitating, a savior appeared and answered for me.

That savior was none other than Yongman.

Dressed like he had stepped out of a time machine from Dongdaemun 25 years ago……

“I’ve been waiting for you. Some of you are meeting for the first time, right? Say hello to each other. I’ve still got a lot to clean up in the kitchen.”

“Oh! This is our guild master! I’m Park—no, I should say my ID, right? I’m Cheonryangmuje. Heh heh.”

“I’m Yesung’s dad.”

Taking advantage of the crowd gathering around Yongman, I slipped away naturally into the kitchen.

The kitchen was so clean that the excuse of needing to tidy up didn’t even match.

There were a lot of people, but since ramen and coffee were distributed in bulk and many hands helped, everything was wrapped up quickly.

After I quickly cooked a bowl of ramen for Yongman, not much time passed before he came in holding the empty bowl.

“Where’s the Gumiho?”

“She left early. She’s not one to enjoy gatherings like this. Are you hungry? Want another bowl?”

“No.”

An awkward silence followed his short reply. Then Yongman glanced at the game on my phone and opened his mouth.

“If you keep raising it like that, your character’s gonna be useless later. You won’t have any skill proficiency, and even if you hit max level, you’ll be weaker than Ria.”

“I know. I read it in a guide.”

“You read a guide?”

“It was on the forums. It was called ‘Vending Machine Training’.”

“You mean you knew what that meant and still raised your character like that?”

The so-called Vending Machine build was simple but very purposeful.

You raise only defensive skills to level up quickly, and then distribute the consumables dropped by monsters to your guildmates—literally becoming a vending machine.

Since you could only create one character per account, you basically become a giving tree.

“So all those herbs and bandages scattered around town were from you. You really weren’t having any fun?”

“No. I actually enjoyed it. It’s been a while since I played a game like this.”

“What enjoyment? You just left it running the whole time.”

“But thanks to the items I shared, others got to enjoy hunting, right?”

“Why go that far?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re suffering because of a guy like me! And Ria too……!”

Yongman trailed off just as he was about to bring up Ria.

He must’ve realized by now that Ria’s body didn’t have a soul in it. And that I was trying to obtain the Dragon Pearl for that reason.

“Well. I’ve been asked that question a lot, but honestly, I don’t know. People’s hearts aren’t something you can easily pin down. I guess it’s just that I’m a bit nosy.”

“If only I could be like you……”

“Our guild master’s here! We’ve gotta take a picture since we all gathered!”

“Go on. You’re the star of the day, after all.”

“Oh? Uh, okay.”

A surprise visitor who came into the kitchen whisked away Yongman, who was about to say something while hesitating.

“Alright, since our guild master’s here too, let’s all gather in front of the banner! Ria and the President too!”

“No, I’m not a guild member, so I’m fine.”

“You’re the one who hosted today, President! You can’t skip the photo! Come on, stand with Ria.”

I really don’t need to…

But is it even okay for NIS agents to be taking pictures like this?

People grouped up and ran dungeons, and even Ria’s makeshift paper-chain crafting class(?) was a big hit.

That’s how the meetup wrapped up as the sun began to set.

“Thanks for the fun.”

“Man, I talked so much today, my mouth is dry. Thanks for the good time.”

“Let’s get together again if we get the chance.”

“Sounds great!”

“I’m glad you had fun. Get home safe. Ria, say goodbye too.”

“Goodbye!”

“Bye, Ria. Oh right, almost forgot. Here’s some allowance from uncle.”

A shiny bald middle-aged man handed Ria a 10,000 won bill.

“You don’t have to.”

“Nah, come on. The kid worked so hard today. It’s fine to accept a grown-up’s gift. Come on, take it!”

He wasn’t going to back down even if she refused. I gave Ria a small nod.

Only then did Ria accept the bill with her tiny hands.

“Thank you!”

“Ha ha ha! Kids like you make giving allowance worth it! My son’s too old now and barely reacts.”

“Oh, right. I owe Ria some class fees too.”

“Oh dear, I only have 5,000-won bills… Ria, do you happen to have a bank account number?”

“That’s too much money for a child. You don’t have to give it.”

“Here, take this!”

Once one person opened the floodgates, it was hard to refuse.

Eventually, everyone ended up handing Ria a bill each before getting into their cars.

The only ones left were Ria, Yongman, and me—since Yongman didn’t have a car.

“I’ll head out too.”

“I’ll give you a ride to the bus stop.”

“Didn’t you see me just refusing? I’ll just walk.”

The nearest bus stop was about a 10-minute walk, and even then, the bus only came about once an hour.

But Yongman always insisted on walking alone like today, waving us off, saying don’t bother seeing him out.

“Then shall we go inside too?”

“Yes!”

I planned to close up early today. After all, everyone who was coming had already come and gone.

“Is it okay if we eat dinner a bit late?”

“Yes! I’m full.”

Same here.

The only snacks we had prepared separately were sweet potatoes and potatoes grown with divine power in our garden.

Their humble appearance was compensated by their undeniable taste, so I didn’t prepare anything else.

It’s the kind of food you’d think you’d get tired of eating often, but every now and then, I’d grab one or two when feeling peckish, and I felt full enough to skip dinner.

With that, there was only one thing to do in the now quiet café—

Lounge around.

After taking a shower and changing into comfortable sweats, Ria and I gathered again with our own things.

In my hands were a blanket and laptop, and in Ria’s hands—piles of bills.

“Oh, right. You got allowance money, didn’t you?”

“Hehe.”

It looked to be easily over 100,000 won at a glance.

That’s quite a large amount for a child.

It made me recall a faint memory from my distant childhood.

Just like other kids my age, any income that came outside the allowed range went straight to the adults.

“I’ll give it back when you’re older.”

“It’s in your bank account now, so you can buy something you want later.”

These were the convincing lines they’d always use to persuade children, but the outcome was always the same.

Once the allowance left my hands, it never came back—no matter how precisely I remembered the amount and date I gave it up.

Right now, I was determined to break that awful cycle.

Because I knew better than anyone that cheap tricks like teaching financial awareness or encouraging saving just didn’t work.

“If there’s something you want to buy with that money, just say so. Got it?”

“Really? I can buy anything?”

“It’s your money, Ria.”

That’s what I said, but Ria didn’t really have any big desires.

When I’d take her to the mart and let her pick out any toy, she’d always choose a cheap little trinket under 20,000 won.

Even if I entrusted her with a large amount, she didn’t seem the type to waste it.

“First, we should get you a wallet.”

“I can make one!”

“Huh?”

As Ria carefully laid out the bills one by one, her unexpected reply came.

“With this!”

“Ah.”

What she brought was an origami book.

The paper wallet section included a model that could even hold cards—it looked pretty decent, though not for long-term use.

“Do you think you can make it yourself?”

“I want to try!”

“Alright. If it gets hard, let me know. I’ll help.”

That’s what I said, but even at a glance, the difficulty looked a bit high for a child.

“Hmmm.”

As expected.

Ria’s brows furrowed as she fiddled with colored paper and A4 sheets.

“Is it not working?”

“The money doesn’t fit.”

“Let me see. It looks like it should fit?”

“I need bigger paper.”

It’s called a wallet, so of course it should fit money.

The size specified in the instructions looked more than sufficient for bills. So why would she need larger paper?

“Paper money fits, but the one the Imoogi Ajusshi gave me doesn’t.”

What Ria held in her hands wasn’t money.

It was the iridescent, shimmering Dragon Pearl.

I had to abandon my vow not to touch the child’s money.

“Ria, let’s return this. This isn’t money. Understand?”

“If it’s not money, what is it?”

“It’s more important than money.”

“It’s love, right? The Haedong Sinyuh unnie said love is more important than money!”

“Yeah, something like that.”

It had been cherished for a thousand years, so I suppose it was something close to love.

But seriously, why do these yokai keep leaving me things other than money for coffee?