Chapter 1: Coffee Shop

“Mr. Store Manager, I’m really sorry, please forgive me.”

Wei Bai rushed into the café with his work uniform in hand, drawing quite a few eyes.

The old man behind the counter saw Wei Bai, and his beard curled up as if it were about to fly away.

“So you still remember to come to work, kid? I thought you died outside today.”

The old man glanced disapprovingly at the crow on Wei Bai’s shoulder.

“Hey, why did you bring this bird again? Didn’t I tell you not to bring it?”

“It just came along, hehe. Store Manager, look at your majestic presence, you’re surely not the kind of elder who fusses over such things.”

Wei Bai grinned, putting his years of survival skills to use—begging for mercy.

“Hmph. Change your clothes and get to work. I won’t give you a single coin of your wage for being late!”

The Store Manager said coldly, tossing down his words before turning to attend to customers.

Count Arni’s Domain wasn’t exactly poor, but it wasn’t wealthy either.

Most who came to the café for coffee were rich merchants and noble youths with spare change.

As the largest café in Karven City within the count’s domain, it was naturally the most popular.

After putting on his uniform and tossing Anthony onto the stand behind the counter to act as the greeter, Wei Bai dove into his day’s work.

Of course, making and serving coffee were jobs for baristas and maids.

Wei Bai’s job in the café was only to wipe tables.

Watching Wei Bai diligently wipe tables, the Store Manager’s mood improved slightly.

To be honest, Wei Bai’s lateness and mistakes weren’t a one-time thing—he was late every few days.

The only reason he hadn’t been fired yet was because of his Gold-Ranked Adventurer résumé.

That added a layer of insurance for the café.

Even among the wealthy, there was no guarantee a few troublesome punks wouldn’t come in to make trouble.

Having such a bigshot around gave him some peace of mind.

Considering the kid seemed honest enough, he decided to pay him a bit more, since he’d heard that Wei Bai was alone in this city with no family or connections.

He must have it tough.

Who would have thought that a former Gold-Ranked Hero of the Adventurers’ Guild would end up doing odd jobs in a café?

Wei Bai didn’t think much about it.

He’d grown tired of living on edge every day, tired of killing and fighting.

Besides, elves didn’t particularly like bloodshed.

This peaceful and fulfilling life was exactly what he wanted.

For all these reasons, he submitted a Retirement Contract a year ago.

The receptionist at the Adventurers’ Guild had looked shocked at the time.

Logically, seventeen or eighteen was an age full of passion.

Young people his age would do anything to work twenty-four hours a day, some even paying just to squeeze into the guild.

Moreover, this was a Gold-Ranked Hero.

Such a young Gold-Ranked Hero—it was no exaggeration to call him a genius.

And yet he retired so easily?!

It was common knowledge that Gold-Ranked Adventurers were considered elite within the guild.

Many longed for the status, whether Gold-Ranked Hero, Gold-Ranked Mage, or even Gold-Ranked Support—they’d take any.

What a joke.

That was a gold rank!

A single mission’s pay was nearly equal to what a silver rank could make in half a year.

Not to mention the privileges and resource allocations within the guild.

There was a reason the Adventurers’ Guild had grown so powerful.

First and foremost, it had a deep foundation of resources.

It could stockpile dozens of bottles of Epic-Grade Magic Potion—something even kingdoms treasured.

But Wei Bai had made up his mind.

He pressed his hand to the Retirement Contract and left without hesitation.

In his eyes, money was only valuable if you were alive to spend it.

Having weathered countless storms, Wei Bai knew he was no fool, so after one last big payout, he wisely chose to retire.

“Hey! Kid! Are you trying to polish that table to a mirror?!”

A loud yet energetic elderly voice startled Wei Bai out of his idling.

“Ah…hahaha, this table had something sticky on it, so I needed to scrub harder.”

Wei Bai glanced at the gleaming table surface before him, let out an awkward laugh, and made up an excuse.

Hmm, the water was dirty.

Time to change it—and maybe sneak in a bit more slacking.

Under the Store Manager’s sharp gaze, Wei Bai casually carried the bucket to the cleaning room.

Just as he bent down to pour out the water, everything went dark as a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind.

He didn’t need to think to know who was playing a prank.

“Mida, stop it.”

Wei Bai sighed helplessly, prying the hands away and turning to look at the girl behind him.

She had deep brown hair, a lovely face tinged with youth, and a thin, fragile figure.

Her brown eyes were smiling at Wei Bai.

Mida, also a server at the café, usually delivered coffee and desserts.

She always seemed a bit childish, like a kid who hadn’t grown up.

“I bet you overslept again this morning. I didn’t even see you.”

“Uh, just a little.”

“You call that just a little?”

Mida rolled her eyes, exasperated by the boy in front of her.

He was older than her, but acted so carefree.

“Come on, it’s already noon. In a bit, it’ll be time for lunch break.”

“No big deal. The Store Manager didn’t scold me anyway.”

Wei Bai replied.

To be honest, as long as the Store Manager didn’t fire him, what was there to worry about?

“Hehe, do you remember what the Store Manager said yesterday?”

Mida’s smile grew brighter.

Wei Bai looked puzzled.

What did the Store Manager say yesterday?

Crap, he’d been too absorbed last night and forgot everything…

“What did the old man say?”

Wei Bai asked, blankly.

“Tonight we have to go buy Parani Wine at the tavern. The shop is launching a new coffee tomorrow.”

Mida glared at him and walked out of the cleaning room.

“Idiot…”

A grumble drifted from outside, leaving Wei Bai alone.

He hadn’t done anything, so why was he being scolded again?

Wei Bai couldn’t figure it out, nor did he care.

To him, that was just how Mida was.

It didn’t bother him.

If someone who didn’t know better saw them, they might think they were flirting like a couple.

So tonight they had to buy Parani Wine at the tavern?

What kind of wine was Parani?

Wait!

Which tavern was it?

Realizing the problem, Wei Bai was about to chase after her to ask, but as he poked his head out, he saw the Store Manager’s figure pass by and thought better of it.

He pulled his head back, fetched a bucket of hot water, and returned to his post.

“Caw!”

A sudden crow’s call echoed, drawing several people’s attention.

Wei Bai’s gaze was naturally drawn over, and in an instant, his pupils widened as he saw two pairs of pointed ears.

Elves?

How could there be elves here?!

He was done for.

If his identity was discovered, he’d be finished.

Those elves already disliked him, and now that he’d been exiled from the Elven Kingdom, being found would be a disaster.

Even with his pendant, Wei Bai felt uneasy.

Elves hadn’t left him with good memories.

Most of all, he was afraid of being exposed.

“Welcome, gentlemen. What can I get for you?”

The Store Manager stepped forward smoothly to greet the two guests, his eyes unconsciously flicking to their pointed ears.

“Two iced Labunas, please.”

After ordering, one of the customers noticed the Store Manager’s gaze.

“Store Manager, are you curious about our outfits?”

“Not at all, please, have a seat. Your Labunas will be out shortly.”

The Store Manager replied respectfully.

He didn’t dare judge the two well-dressed young men in front of him.

Ordinary people had never seen long-lived races and naturally didn’t know what they looked like, but hearing the rumors, he had some guesses.

Were these two the rumored foreigners?

“Hahaha, it’s fine. These are just props for a party. They can come off. No need to be formal, Store Manager.”

The other youth smiled, unconcerned, and removed the fake pointed ears.

Seeing this, the Store Manager relaxed, and any suspicion vanished.

The tricks nobles played were beyond common folk.

Their quirks were equally mysterious.

At the same time, Wei Bai, who had been holding his breath since they entered, felt his tension melt away as he saw their actions.

As long as they weren’t real elves, it was fine.

He’d developed a fear of elves.

Those beautiful, pure-looking beings wanted nothing more than to skin him alive.

Besides, how could there be elves in such a remote place?

Even if there were, walking openly down the street would get them turned into magic potion in no time.

Those distinctive pointed ears would make them stand out, even without someone pointing it out.

The two sat not far from Wei Bai, and their conversation drifted over at just the right volume for him to catch most of it.

“I heard that Arni family brat came to Karven City recently.”

“So what? Just another spoiled noble.”

The youth across from him replied indifferently.

“Hey, don’t say that. At least try to make friends. He’s a noble, after all.”

“Do what you want. I’m not interested in men.”

“You…”

As their idle chatter continued, Wei Bai listened with one ear and let it out the other.

Never mind why the son of Count Arni came to Karven City—he didn’t know him, didn’t even know what he looked like.

What did it have to do with him?

He just needed to do his job.

With that thought, Wei Bai quickened his pace.