Zero’s Reign: Reincarnated with a Gacha Clone System

Zero sat cross-legged on the living floor upstairs, his eyes closed in deep concentration. At first, he had wanted to try making another clone. But something stopped him. What if summoning a new clone caused Soma to disappear? The thought unsettled him.

He had no idea how many clones he could maintain at once, nor what the consequences would be if he pushed his ability too far.

He wasn't about to take that risk—not while Soma was out there attracting customers. So instead, he turned his focus to something less risky, but just as important—

Coffee.

Zero descended to the café floor, rolling up his sleeves. Since he had unlimited ingredients, there was no reason to hold back.

"Alright. Let's go wild."

He tried everything—from traditional macchiatos to affogatos. Some turned out rich and flavorful—others? Well… some tasted like garbage.

"Ugh. Nope. That was disgusting." He grimaced, dumping the failed experiment into the sink.

Other brews, however, intrigued him. The balance of bitterness and sweetness, the impact of grind size, water temperature, and brewing time—it was all more complex than he had expected.

He experimented for hours, perfecting what he could, discarding what didn't work. By the end of it, Zero felt different. Not just more knowledgeable—but more confident.

Even so…

Something nagged at him. A weight settled in his chest as he stared at the latest cup of coffee he had made. His hands tightened slightly around the ceramic mug.

"Why do I feel… so useless?" he muttered to himself.

Soma had been out there engaging with people, cooking with ease, pulling in more customers—and what had he been doing? Struggling to make a decent cup of coffee. He let out a breath.

"Why don't I have the skills that my clone does?" he wondered aloud. "I'm the original. Shouldn't I be the more talented one?" As he sat there, lost in thought—

The café door swung open.

Soma stepped inside, carrying a large empty materials crate with all his cooking tools stacked neatly inside. Zero quickly composed himself, pushing his thoughts aside. He turned with a smile.

"So. How was your day?"

Soma let out a dramatic sigh, setting the crate down with a small thud. "Exhausting. But great." He stretched his arms. "A little bit of help would've been nice, though." Zero chuckled. "Oh, of course. My apologies, my dear clone." Soma smirked. "Damn right."

Zero picked up the crate and helped move it to the storage area near the kitchen. As he stacked the tools properly, he glanced over.

"So, how was the live cooking?" he asked. "Judging by the empty materials, I'm guessing it was a success?"

At that, Soma's eyes lit up.

"You would NOT believe it!" he said excitedly. "At first, it was just a handful of people watching me chop ingredients—then BOOM! By the time the first dish hit the pan, the entire square was packed."

Zero chuckled. "Sounds about right."

Soma grinned. "The smell alone was enough to hook them. I had people leaning over just to get a closer look! Then, when I started flipping the food in the wok—oh man, you should've seen their faces. They lost their minds."

Zero smirked. "So, in other words, you were just showing off."

Soma shrugged. "Hey, showmanship is part of the experience. And besides—" he paused, his grin widening, "you'll never guess how much I made just from people buying my samples."

Zero tilted his head. "Oh? You charge them for a sample, how noble."

Soma placed a hand on his hip and held up a pouch. With a satisfying jingle, he dropped it onto the counter. "Several hundred silver."

Zero blinked.

"…What."

Soma crossed his arms, looking smug. "Yup. Turns out, when you make good food, people just throw money at you." Zero laughed. "Well then. How exciting! Let's put it away first." Soma frowned. "Why?" Zero smirked. "Are you hungry?" Soma's stomach growled in response. He sighed dramatically. "Starved." Zero rolled up his sleeves. "Then let's cook together."

Zero and Soma moved in sync—at least, they tried to. They bumped into each other.

Twice.

Zero reached for a pan at the same time Soma did, their hands colliding.

"Dude. Move."

"You move."

They both reached for the salt—only for Zero to accidentally knock over the pepper shaker instead. Soma groaned. "Man, we suck at this." Zero laughed. "We'll get it." Despite their awkward teamwork, they had fun.

They chatted, teased, and adjusted to each other's rhythm as they cooked, the sounds of sizzling food filling the air. Then, as Zero reached for the frying pan, his forehead bumped against Soma's.

The moment their foreheads made contact—

Something clicked.

A rush of memories flooded between them—not just thoughts, but experiences.

Zero suddenly saw everything from Soma's day. The faces of the people in the square, the energy of the crowd, the weight of the wok in his hands.

And Soma? He saw Zero's frustrations, his doubts, his struggles with coffee. They both staggered back, gripping their heads.

"Whoa."

Zero inhaled sharply. "What the hell was that?"

Soma blinked rapidly, then pointed at Zero accusingly. "You—" he took a breath, "You think I had it easy today?!"

Zero scoffed, still recovering. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you made a deal to split the earnings 35-65?!"

Soma threw his hands up. "Hey! That dwarf drove a hard bargain!" Zero exhaled, rubbing his temples. Whatever just happened, it wasn't a simple exchange of thoughts—it was a complete memory transfer. They had seen, felt, and experienced each other's day.

Soma smirked. "So. Wanna trade places tomorrow?"

Zero grinned. "Hell no."

And with that, they dug into their meal together—both laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of their bond. The warm glow of the lanterns flickered softly as Zero and Soma sat across from each other, enjoying their meal. The smell of their freshly cooked food still lingered in the air, mixing with the faint aroma of coffee that had seeped into the café's wooden walls.

For a while, they simply ate in silence, enjoying the flavors.

Then, Soma glanced up. "Hey, I think you can do it, y'know."

Zero looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Do what?"

Soma gestured with his chopsticks. "Get better. I mean, I've got all these cooking skills, but let's be real—they're not mine. They came from the Soma Yukihira card."

Zero poked at his food, mulling over Soma's words. "I know. But that's exactly why it feels... hollow."

Soma smirked, resting his chin in his hand. "That's why it's even cooler if you improve your skills from scratch. It'll be yours."

Zero glanced at him, surprised for a moment. Then, slowly, he smiled.

"…Thanks," he said, voice quieter than before. "And... I'm sorry for thinking you had it easy."

Soma let out a short laugh. "Hey, I kinda do—I like cooking."

Zero rolled his eyes but grinned. "Good thing we have this clone ability now."

Soma leaned back, smirking. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Zero chuckled. "Can you imagine if we had this back in our past life? Our food expenses would've been a nightmare."

They both burst into laughter, picturing themselves in their old world, ordering double portions for every meal just to keep up with their clones.

Soma shook his head. "Good thing it's unlimited now."

Zero raised his cup. "To unlimited food."

Soma smirked and clinked his glass against Zero's. "To unlimited food."

…

After they finished eating, Soma gathered the dishes, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll handle this. You did most of the work earlier."

Zero waved a hand. "Appreciate it."

While Soma washed the plates, Zero grabbed the pouch of silver coins Soma had earned from the live cooking demo. He walked over to the cash register, lifting the lid before pouring the money inside.

He waited for the usual conversion message.

Nothing happened.

Zero frowned. He tapped the counter, peering into the register. The money was still there. It hadn't been converted into points like before.

"…Weird."

Soma finished up, wiping his hands with a cloth. "Something wrong?" Zero glanced at him. "It's not converting."

Soma froze.

A beat of silence.

Then, as if something clicked in their minds at the same time, they both spoke in perfect unison.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Another pause. Then, again, perfectly synchronized—

"Yes."

Zero exhaled, leaning on the counter. "The register only converts money from transactions inside the café."

Soma whistled. "So anything we earn outside the café stays as real money?"

Zero nodded. "Looks like it."

Soma ran a hand through his red hair, thinking. "Well… that's actually not a bad thing. We can use this for real expenses if we ever need money."

Zero leaned back, letting out a small chuckle. "True. Can't exactly go shopping with Gacha Points."

Soma grinned. "Hey, who knows? Maybe one day we'll find a way." They laughed, the tension lifting from the room. Even though the money hadn't converted, they had still made a solid profit. And more importantly—they were learning. Little by little, Café Leblanc was growing.

And Zero had one goal in mind. He would improve. Not as a clone, not with borrowed skills—

But as himself.