The light felt a bit blinding.
Slowly opening his eyes, he shut them again almost immediately as tears welled up due to the direct sunlight hitting his eyeballs.
Using his hand to block the light, he drowsily opened his eyes again. Sitting up, he looked around—there were probably over a hundred potion bottles scattered around. He randomly picked up one of the cool bottles, struggled to remove the stopper, and poured the blue liquid into his mouth.
A few gulps later, it was empty.
He smacked his lips a couple of times.
"Tastes pretty good~"
That was his evaluation. Moreover, he felt much less drowsy now, and his mind was significantly sharper, as if he had just downed a strong cup of coffee but with a much faster effect.
After downing a few more bottles, he felt completely refreshed. This was the peak of his mental clarity for the day. However, after a certain point, drinking more had no additional effect.
In the end, he realized that these top-tier MP potions, which were invaluable in another world, could only serve as a high-powered energy booster in this mundane reality—just a more potent version of coffee.
Looking at the Demon King's Ring, he confirmed that if he focused all of his mental energy into it, he could open that tiny passageway again. The problem was that it would completely drain him, causing him to collapse into another deep sleep.
And considering how little control he had over the connection, the small portal always opened to the same area—the potion storage. He had long since lost track of how many potions were piled in there, but he was sure it was a massive amount.
"Hm? What's this egg?"
Amidst the pile of crystal-blue bottles, he spotted an egg about twice the size of his fist, pure white in color.
Picking it up, he examined it, knocked on it lightly, but couldn't recall where it came from. Given that it had ended up mixed with the potions, it probably wasn't anything too special. The most likely scenario was that it was just some edible egg he had collected at some point.
Now that he thought about it, some of the eggs he had gathered before could provide minor enhancements to a human's body when consumed.
Of course, due to the rigid physical laws of this world, any potential benefits would likely be significantly weakened. He wasn't expecting to suddenly gain superhuman abilities, but at the very least, it should have some nourishing effects.
Might as well fry it up!
However, he was out of cooking ingredients at home. He'd deal with it later in the evening.
"Is it already the afternoon?"
Judging by the intensity and angle of the sunlight through the floor-to-ceiling windows, he made an approximate guess of the time.
First, he needed to tend to his body, clean himself up. Damn, he was sore all over!
After that, he packed up his essentials: laptop, tablet, sketchbook, and gaming console. Then, he left home before someone came knocking and disturbed him.
Destination: the usual spot—Angel Café.
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Angel Café
Pushing open the door, he stepped inside.
"Welcome~"
A gentle male voice greeted him. He looked up to see a middle-aged man in a black Western-style waiter's uniform. He was slender, had neatly parted hair, and wore a warm smile that made it impossible to be annoyed with him. Below his nose was a well-groomed mustache.
"Hm? Oh my, long time no see, Yazuki-kun~"
The café owner blinked in surprise. Yazuki used to be a regular customer, but he hadn't visited in quite a while.
"Long time no see, boss. Though, I'm surprised this place is still open. I thought for sure you'd have shut down by now."
Yazuki greeted him while throwing out a teasing remark that made the owner sigh.
The location of this café was mediocre at best, and there were barely any customers. Normally, a shop like this wouldn't last more than a few months before closing down. But this owner wasn't your typical businessman, he ran the café purely out of passion for coffee, not for profit.
"Oh, by the way, I recently got a new batch of beans from—"
The owner started enthusiastically introducing his latest coffee selection.
"Same as always—a cappucci—nah, never mind. I'll try whatever blend you're most confident in today~"
Normally, he stuck with cappuccinos, but since he hadn't been here in a while, he decided to give the owner's blended coffee a shot.
The owner had been trying to get him to try his special blend for ages, so Yazuki figured he might as well indulge him this time. The man was not just a café owner but also a friend and an elder figure to him. After all, Yazuki had once worked part-time here.
"A blended coffee, huh? Alright, alright, please wait a moment~"
The owner's face lit up with joy, like a child receiving a new toy. He cheerfully hummed a tune as he began preparing the coffee.
"Here you go, please enjoy~"
He brought the coffee over to Yazuki's table, only to notice that Yazuki was sketching something. He had initially wanted to hear Yazuki's reaction to the coffee, but seeing him so focused, the owner decided to step away for now.
But then—
"Boss, do you think this pose is seductive enough?"
Yazuki suddenly called out to him while holding up a sketch.
Cold sweat broke out on the owner's forehead.
"Uh… well…"
He was at a loss. Yazuki was casually drawing lewd doujin art right in the middle of the café—and he frequently asked the owner for artistic critique.
The owner was too old for this. Could Yazuki stop tormenting his aging heart?
"Woo~ Woo~ Woo~"
The sound of boiling water whistled in the background. Nice! Perfect timing!
"Ah, so sorry, I have to take care of this right away~"
With an apologetic expression and beads of sweat rolling down his face, the owner mechanically turned and hurried away.
"Hm? The taste..."
Back at the counter, the owner perked up as he heard Yazuki's voice.
Looking over, he saw Yazuki taking a sip of the blended coffee, his eyebrows slightly furrowed. Was he dissatisfied?
"Mmm~~~ It's pretty good. Kinda has a cappuccino-like feel to it."
Hearing that, the owner sighed in relief.
Yazuki's relaxed eyebrows, slightly nostalgic expression, and satisfied words made the store manager reveal a delighted expression as well.
"Since Yazuki-kun likes cappuccino, I specially selected beans from..."
It looked like the manager was about to start rambling again.
"Speaking of which, Manager, your shop is called Angel Café, so why haven't you hired a cute little angel to work here? That would attract more customers."
While carefully revising his draft, Yazuki felt that the manager should hire a cute JK (high school girl) as the shop's face. Otherwise, having just an old man running a café sounded way too boring.
Especially with a name like Angel Café, most people would expect adorable maid-dressed girls inside, only to step in and be utterly disappointed.
"Actually, I have. Not long ago, I hired a girl who's just like an angel. However—"
However what? It seemed like this little angel had some issues, judging by the troubled look on the manager's face.
"Oh~~~ What's she like?"
Hearing this, Yazuki was quite curious. He didn't expect the manager to actually hire a beautiful girl.
"Well, she has big eyes, golden hair, and very fair skin."
The way the manager described her left Yazuki speechless. Even the manager himself seemed unsure how to give a proper description, looking somewhat awkward.
"Actually, today happens to be her shift. If we check the time, she should already be here by now."
The manager glanced at the clock—she was actually late.
"By the way, her name is Gabriel White. A really cute name, right? I think she's an international student, studying hard here~"
"Gabriel White?"
Yazuki muttered the name. Why did it sound so familiar? And why did he feel a bit annoyed upon hearing it?
He didn't dwell on it too much and continued focusing on his drawing. At some point, he heard the cheerful laughter of girls from outside, gradually approaching Angel Café.