Yokai Come to the Countryside Café

Chapter 46: The Tail Was Too Long (2)

“Haah, haah, it’s all over now. It’s too late……”

Lying on the sofa with a wet tissue on her forehead, Sanyi spoke with difficulty.

“It’s not too late yet.”

“It is late! Even if Jinseong arrives and cooks, it’ll take thirty minutes. By then, I’ll have starved to death!”

“He said he’ll just buy some rice and be back soon. Let’s hold on a bit more, okay?”

“That’s exactly the problem!”

‘He said he’d buy rice, so why is that a problem?’

Ria swallowed back the question that was about to leave her lips.

It might give Sanyi, who was bedridden for some incomprehensible reason, another excuse for irrationality.

But even in Ria’s silence, Sanyi stubbornly continued her claim.

“There are sausages, dumplings, and even pizza at the mart. But Jinseong will only buy rice. It’s because Jinseong is a fool. A fool who can’t see even an inch ahead. Huuh!”

A blame devoid of logic and causality.

No one knew why a Divine Beast that didn’t even need to eat was so obsessed with Jinseong’s cooking, but seeing her sob so pitifully, Ria eventually confessed a solution.

“Then let’s call him and ask. Maybe he’ll buy it if we ask.”

“You’re right! We should order by phone!”

“No, not order!”

A careful request turned into a food delivery order in an instant.

Ria hurried to correct her, but Sanyi was already a step ahead, pressing the call button.

(Hello?)

“Jinseong! You can’t just buy rice! There are no sausages!”

(What are you talking about? You want sausages too?)

-Nod, nod.

“You can’t just nod at the phone.”

“Ah! That’s it! Jinseong, buy sausages! The kind with the savory, stretchy yellow stuff inside!”

(Cheese-filled ones?)

-Nod, nod.

(She’s just nodding again, isn’t she?)

“Yes……”

Jinseong could perfectly visualize the scene inside the café even from his seat.

(And you, Ria? Don’t you want anything?)

“I like sausages too.”

(Not what Sanyi wants. I’m asking what Ria wants.)

“Ice… cream……”

Ria answered in a barely audible whisper with her head lowered deeply.

Ever since she became inhabited by a soul, she had started to think of things she wanted to do or eat. But she rarely expressed them, so Jinseong always asked one more time.

(Alright, I’ll buy them and come back soon. So behave, okay?)

“Dumplings! I want dumplings too…”

-Click.

Sanyi’s urgent additional order didn’t make it in before the call ended.

“It’s ruined! I should’ve ordered dumplings too!”

“Don’t call again!”

But once again, Sanyi holding the phone was a bit faster.

(Hello?)

“We need dumplings too! The kind that’s rolled up in a circle!”

(Got it. I’ll buy dumplings too. I’m driving. If you call again, I won’t buy anyth—)

-Click.

This time, it was Sanyi who ended the call after completing her mission.

“Phew, I almost missed out on having crispy fried dumplings for lunch.”

‘I’m sure when Mister comes back, he’ll yank her cheeks hard.’

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Huh? It’s nothing.”

Guessing at the fate awaiting Sanyi, who sighed in relief, Ria looked at her pitifully before hastily shaking her head.

“By the way, today’s schedule is packed. I’m going to eat ten sausages, then have ice cream for dessert, and dumplings for lunch. Oh, and ten dumplings too!”

But such grand plans could only proceed once Jinseong returned from the mart.

The wait for sausages, ice cream, and dumplings—whose arrival time was unknown—was torment for both Sanyi and Ria.

“Is he not here yet?”

“It’s only been five minutes.”

“Maybe he’s already on the road out front! Huh? Where are you going?”

Worn out by the endless loop of questions and answers, Ria couldn’t take it anymore and went into the storage room to grab a broom.

“Should we clean up before Mister comes back?”

“That’s something Jinseong does, not us.”

Sanyi casually blurted out what only a morally bankrupt person would say and turned her gaze back out the window.

But this time, Ria wasn’t backing down either.

“He always starts with cleaning in the morning. If we clean first, we can eat sooner.”

“Hohoho! That’s right!”

“I’ll start from the second floor and come down.”

“Then I’ll do the first floor!”

‘Good. Maybe it’ll be quiet for a while now.’

Of course, helping Jinseong clean was natural. But more importantly, it was a calculated move to divide the cleaning zones and naturally distance herself from Sanyi.

How much time passed like that?

-Vroooom.

The sound Sanyi had been desperately waiting for came from outside.

“Jinseong’s already here! Where are the sausages? We finished cleaning, so all we need to do is cook! Huh?”

Sanyi flung the door open with vigor.

But the person standing there wasn’t Jinseong.

It was Dohyuk, around 190cm tall, huge in build, and holding Kimchi Containers in both hands.

“The raccoon talked……”

-Thud.

Facing Sanyi, who hadn’t hidden her Divine Power, Dohyuk instantly fainted and collapsed.

“This, this is big trouble!”

As expected, Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk had collapsed on the floor when he rushed back to the café after receiving a call.

Sanyi and Ria couldn’t manage to move his large frame, so they brought a pillow and blanket and laid him on the floor for now.

“It’s my fault… I was so hungry, I thought it was Jinseong……”

“It’s okay. It’s not a big deal.”

Facing Sanyi, who lowered her head and mumbled, all anger disappeared.

Honestly, he had always expected that an incident like this might happen one day.

After all, it was a café.

Though the power of the Divine Tree and the shamans’ talismans made it less noticeable, it couldn’t stop someone from deliberately finding and opening the door.

I had no intention of stopping them in the first place.

No-kids zone? No-humans zone?

If I had planned to be selective with guests, Elder Gumiho would’ve been disqualified from the start. Not to mention Sanyi.

-Ding-a-ling.

“What happened here!”

“Welcome, Elder. This guy saw Sanyi while she wasn't hiding her Divine Power.”

“Hmm.”

“Heh! That kid, even after getting hit with Divine Energy, doesn’t show any sign of pain.”

“He sure has a sturdy body.”

“Then why’s he lying there? He and I will ride the car Mahyeon sent. Wake him and come up with a quick excuse. It’s a method that’s worked for thousands of years.”

“There’s one more way.”

“Hm?”

We had two options.

First, as Elder Gumiho said, insist that he fainted from the shock of entering the café and falling, and stick to it.

Second, tell the truth about who Sanyi and the Elder are, and what this café is.

Of course, the better option was the first.

Three men make a tiger.

With just three people, you could make up a tiger that doesn’t exist. Saying he met a talking raccoon? If Ria and I matched our words, we could easily pass it off as a dream.

But I didn’t like it.

Lying, making Ria lie, and deceiving Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk.

“I’m going to wake him and tell the truth.”

“The truth?”

“About who Sanyi and Elder are, and what this café is.”

“Don’t. If he doesn’t know, nothing will go wrong. But the moment he learns, the world he’s known will change. You know better than anyone how hard that is for an ordinary person to handle, don’t you?”

“I know well. Ever since I opened the Divine Eye, I’ve lived a life far removed from normal.”

That’s why I must tell the truth.

I no longer hide the Divine Eye.

It was a path I chose fully. There’s no such thing as ‘a blindfold for your own good’ on that path.

Even the Mago Goddess didn’t give me such a blindfold, so it made no sense for me to put one on someone else.

“Seems like your mind’s made up.”

“He’s someone who brings loads of gifts to the orphanage almost every day. Even if he finds out, it probably won’t matter.”

And so I woke up Dohyuk, to calmly explain what had happened.

Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk, once conscious, surprisingly accepted my story quickly. Maybe it was because the raccoon speaking beside him helped.

Then came a barrage of questions.

“So you’re saying you really lived for thousands of years? Then you must’ve met King Sejong too?”

“Yi Do? Ha! That impudent brat? Of course, I met him.”

“Brat? Are you saying King Sejong was your friend?”

“You fool! I’m two thousand years older than Yi Do!”

“Still, he was the king! And can you do sorcery and stuff? Like throwing talismans?”

“This one can. That one can’t, though. Tsk tsk.”

“Hey! I can do it too!”

“If you could, you wouldn’t have been caught in the first place.”

“Everyone, enough chatting and help set the table. You always show up at mealtime, and I always have to ask before you lift a finger.”

While they slipped out using the conversation as an excuse, I was left to prepare the food alone and brought the tray to the table.

“Ooooh! It’s beef! So muuuuuch beef!”

“Yeah. Must’ve been expensive.”

“Expensive? It’s just meat. The kid said she’d never had steak before.”

“Yes! It’s my first time eating such a big piece of meat!”

Now I understood why all the meat in the Kimchi Container had bones—it was all T-bone steak.

He must’ve been bothered by Ria’s offhand comment that she had never had steak before.

Such delicacy didn’t match his bulky frame.

“But this is raw meat, right? Are we eating it as Yukhoe?”

“No, we’ll grill it here.”

-Clack.

I opened the lid of the wood-burning stove and pulled out some nicely burning charcoal to place on top of it.

“Wow, I thought it was just a decorative piece, but it’s actually useful.”

“That’s right! If you make Stir-fried Pork here, it’ll taste amazing!”

“This might taste ten times better. It’s straight from Majang-dong.”

-Sizzle.

With everyone watching in anticipation, the meat on the grill began to sizzle deliciously.

“By the way, the Director hasn’t been around lately? It’d be nice if he could join us.”

“Tsk tsk, and you’re worried about his meal? You should’ve told him about us first.”

“There wasn’t time. Since it came up, I’ll contact him now.”

“Leave it. He’s been on so many business trips lately, I hardly get to see him myself.”

“Then let’s send a picture! I’ll take one with my latest phone!”

“Latest?”

“Alright, let’s take it quick. Everyone gather over here. You know how to use the timer, right?”

Hearing Assistant Manager Joo Dohyuk repeat the word ‘latest’ with a tilt of his head, I quickly gathered everyone near the stove.

‘Latest’ was highly subjective. The phone I bought for Sanyi last time was definitely the latest model to me, but likely not in Joo Dohyuk’s eyes.

“Taking the photo! One, two, three!”

“……”

“It’s not working?”

“It’s the timer…”

-Click.

The photo taken on Sanyi’s ‘latest’ phone captured a slightly silly scene and was posted in the chatroom with the Director and the shamans—under the title, “New Café Member.”