Our Cafe is Open as Usual - Chapter 71

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 71

 

The conversation flowed smoothly after that.

 

Mrs. Manfredi mainly asked me questions, and I answered them.

 

In between, Mrs. Grimani would interject to keep the conversation from becoming too heavy.

 

Thanks to Mrs. Grimani’s appropriate interruptions, I was able to maintain my pace.

 

Perhaps because she liked me, Mrs. Manfredi threw all sorts of questions at me.

 

There was something peculiar about it though.

 

‘She’s not asking about my parents.

 

Usually people ask about that first, don’t they…?’

 

I thought the usual “What do your parents do?” would apply here too, but she didn’t ask me any questions of that sort at all.

 

Instead, she persistently asked why I started this cafe, how I learned to make these drinks, and how I came up with such beverages.

 

She seemed particularly fond of the corn tea, as she asked the most questions about it.

 

‘Thank goodness corn is a common ingredient here too!’

 

How I thought of it, how I came to serve it to her, and so on.

 

I answered her questions with sincere dedication.

 

Naturally, I cleverly concealed the truth.

 

Actually, I had planned to serve Mrs. Manfredi something other than corn tea.

 

‘Among the ingredients Eldora showed me, there was quince.’

 

Quince – a fruit that looked like a pear but was bumpy and ugly.

 

However, its fragrance was very aromatic, making it perfect for tea.

 

‘…My grandmother used to make it for me often when I was young.’

 

Until my grandmother passed away, it was tea I drank every year.

 

For me, it was a tea of memories, and since adults always loved it, I had planned to prepare quince tea.

 

However, Milena’s advice changed my mind.

 

“Mrs. Manfredi will probably come to see Lailah earlier than the scheduled time. It would be good to prepare tea and dessert to serve her then as well… Could I ask you to handle this too?”

 

Without this advice, I would have made the unprecedented mistake of serving Mrs. Manfredi quince tea twice.

 

Having duplicate menu items was absolutely unacceptable.

 

I absolutely couldn’t make such a mistake with someone whose heart I needed to win over by showcasing my abilities!

 

So I postponed the quince tea as the main tea for the gathering and pondered hard.

 

I needed to prepare tea with completely different characteristics from quince tea!

 

That’s when I thought of corn tea.

 

Since I didn’t have tea leaves readily available, I focused on fruits and grains.

 

Fruit teas were in the same category as quince, so I passed on those.

 

After filtering through options, only grains remained.

 

The grains I knew were rice, barley, wheat, and such, so I was pondering briefly when something came to mind.

 

It was corn.

 

Corn was easily obtainable here too, and it was even convenient to make into tea.

 

Corn silk tea required quite a bit of work, so I decided on the simpler corn tea instead.

 

It was very simple – just roast the corn kernels well and boil them.

 

‘This has no polarizing taste either.’

 

Some people even drink it instead of water.

 

I considered barley tea too, but obtaining barley was more difficult than expected. And drying and roasting it wouldn’t be enough in two days.

 

‘I had often seen dried corn kernels being sold at the capital city grocery store.’

 

Of course, I got mine from Eldora. All the ingredients he sold were top quality.

 

Once the tea was decided, choosing a matching dessert was easy. Since the tea was light, the dessert should be light too.

 

I toned it down considering the gathering that would follow.

 

‘With just almond slices, starch, and sugar, I could make it quickly.’

 

My experience making it as a complimentary service for customers at the cafe where I used to work… saved me.

 

Back then I thought they were making me do all sorts of things…

 

‘Who would have known I’d put it to use like this now.’

 

Anyway.

 

As I diligently answered Mrs. Manfredi’s questions, it was gradually time to prepare for the gathering.

 

Just as I was subtly checking the time and reading the mood, Milena appeared with perfect timing.

 

She spotted Mrs. Manfredi and Mrs. Grimani who were already there and smiled brightly. Then she immediately got to the point along with her greeting.

 

“How was it?”

 

“Excellent.”

 

Mrs. Manfredi gave high praise. Thanks to that, smiles spread across both mine and Milena’s faces.

 

If the most particular person in the ‘Red Tulip’ gave such high praise, everything after this would be easy.

 

‘Thank goodness. I was most worried about Mrs. Manfredi…’

 

I had heard she was an incredibly meticulous person, so I was quite nervous too.

 

I inwardly sighed with relief and left my seat, telling the ladies I was going in to prepare.

 

As soon as I left, the three ladies continued their conversation. The main content was praise for Milena.

 

Mrs. Manfredi was the first to speak, saying her eye for quality was excellent. Mrs. Grimani followed, busy praising her as well.

 

Between the two of them, Milena began to glow softly.

 

I caught a glimpse of that scene and smiled. Even the prim lady seemed to become a young girl among the older ladies.

 

‘Ah, this isn’t the time for this.’

 

Let me hurry.

 

Since the conversation had gone on quite long, I was a bit short on preparation time. I hurriedly put the kettle on the fire.

 

After that, I took out the croissants I had bought in advance.

 

“…This isn’t France, so it should be fine.”

 

Right, this is the Jenen Kingdom after all.

 

Still, I felt self-conscious for no reason, so I glanced outside before moving.

 

The kitchen was full of tools that Millen had prepared for making meals.

 

I picked up one of the cast iron pans that resembled a frying pan and immediately put it on the fire to heat it.

 

I placed the prepared butter on the cast iron pan, waited for it to melt, then put the croissants on top.

 

The butter and croissants met, releasing a savory aroma.

 

I quickly removed the heated cast iron pan from the burner, then pressed the croissants firmly with the flat bottom of a prepared pot.

 

‘This makes it into croque right away.’

 

Well, it would be perfect with sugar coating, but…

 

‘Both Mrs. Viola and Mrs. Manfredi really don’t like sweet things.’

 

There didn’t seem to be any need to go against both their tastes.

 

I was planning to top it with homemade ice cream anyway.

 

“This completes a decent dessert!”

 

Now I just needed to prepare the coffee and quince tea I had served at the gathering.

 

Oh, and the cake too.

 

Since my baking skills weren’t excellent enough to make a cake, I had asked Milena to handle the cake.

 

Milena said it wasn’t really necessary, but.

 

‘Since this is a gathering to celebrate Mrs. Manfredi’s birthday… there should be a cake.’

 

The basic element of birthdays is cake, isn’t it!

 

I don’t know how it is in this world, but at least for me it was.

 

Birthdays were no different from any other day, but still, it was the only day I could eat at least one cake… for myself.

 

Perhaps that’s why I felt so disappointed when cake was missing from birthdays.

 

I gradually finished what I was doing, then went out to the hall alone to arrange the tables.

 

I reassigned the seating and set up the bowls and teacups.

 

On the side table, I placed the almond cookies along with the baked goods Milena had prepared.

 

Next to that, I set up the prepared tea and coffee.

 

‘Now I just need to welcome the ladies attending the gathering, guide them to their seats, then serve the cake and the croque I made.

 

And then I’ll distribute drinks from this dessert bar and that’s it!’

 

Unlike before, this wasn’t a situation I could participate in.

 

Unless they asked me to join first, I was nothing more than the venue provider.

 

‘Well, this is still profitable for me.’

 

Just this alone would be enough to leave an impression of my existence.

 

‘In that regard, I’ve already achieved my goal.’

 

The great Countess Manfredi herself took a liking to me!

 

I told you I was popular with adults, didn’t I? I smiled proudly and worked diligently.

 

When the time came, the ladies began arriving one by one.

 

The total number of attendees for the gathering was 7.

 

Since 3 of them were already at the cafe, only 4 more needed to arrive.

 

Fortunately, they all arrived before the appointed time.

 

And so, the Red Tulip gathering began.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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