As always Olivier stood behind his counter, leisurely grinding some coffee beans. Only Old Demon and Marcus were in the café. At this point even the talkative Marcus was running out of topics. Things at home were going great but he couldn't just talk about that all the time. What if the barista thought he was bragging and got annoyed?
Thus, Olivier's days were back to their usual calm. Yesterday Valentino showed briefly, informing Olivier that Angel seemed to have become careful and cancelled their meeting. After a brief discussion Olivier decided to leave the monocle with Valentino for now, taking it back should the need arise. Valentino thanked him, downed a single cup of coffee and left to continue painting. He didn't want to let his masterpiece wait for too long.
Suddenly the familiar sound could be heard from the door. Olivier looked over and involuntarily raised his brows. The person who entered was a young man not more than thirty years old with glossy black hair. However, it was not a new costumer. Although he got magically rejuvenated Olivier could still recognize Benjamin's face.
Stunned, Olivier instinctively used his eyes of truth.
[Benjamin Bender
Lifespan: 59,2/207,1
Origin: Umbran, Levus]
It turned out the newcomer was indeed Benjamin Bender. However, he had somehow received more than eighty years of lifespan, returning to a much younger appearance. What happened? How did he do it? Were there such magical methods in Benjamin's world?
Olivier was confused as according to prior conversations Benjamin's world didn't seem to have such magical methods.
Benjamin swaggered into the café with his head held high. He noticed the barista's momentary change in expression and his vanity was greatly satisfied. He approached the counter and spoke with a grin:
"Barista! Great to see you! Please give me ten packs of red beans!"
"Ten?! My apologies, but I don't have that much on stock. If you want to, I can give you three packs right now and produce the rest within three days."
"Well, then let's do it this way. However, I don't know for sure if I can come to the café at that time. In case I am delayed…"
"Don't worry, customer. I will naturally reserve them for you."
"Great!"
A bright grin formed on Benjamin's face. He imagined what to do with ten packs of red beans. So many doors will be opened. Perhaps even his most daring plan could be set into motion. However, for that he still needed to figure something out. He didn't dare to set his expectations too high.
Studying Benjamin's face Olivier felt curious but his relationship with the man wasn't as close as that between Olivier and Valentino. Thus, Olivier didn't ask what had happened. And this was exactly what Benjamin hoped for as he didn't know how he would answer the question.
Right now, he felt caught between Liberation and the Café of Dreams. Both have shown extraordinary means. In his mind the café appeared more mysterious, but Liberation seemed to be more active, posing a more immediate threat. If there was friction between the two organizations, he wouldn't know whom to side with.
As Benjamin thought about these things he didn't feel like talking much more or he might not be able to stop himself from saying something wrong. Thus, he ordered his usual coffee from the barista and sat down to enjoy it quietly.
Benjamin wasn't in a hurry. He slowly drank his three cups before leaving the cafe with three packs of beans in hand. He was contemplating which business partner to invite for coffee next. Hm, he had always felt that the contract for the maintenance of Aquoria's security was rather unfavourable. Surely as a long-time costumer they should be elidable to a discount.
Olivier watched Benjamin leaving with mixed feelings. He had a premonition that selling so many beans to Benjamin wouldn't lead to anything good. However, if he deliberately refused costumers the black cat would definitely get angered. Olivier didn't think he was irreplaceable. He didn't even know why the black cat chose him in the first place. Perhaps it was simply a matter of chance.
Benjamin had left and the café quieted down. A while later Olivier went to the storage room. He owed Benjamin seven packs of red beans. And since the man might buy more later on, and to have some stock, Olivier decided to produce fifteen packs directly. His farming skills hadn't improved much during the time here. Ten packs of seeds could roughly produce three packs of beans. Thus, Olivier gathered fifty packs of seeds. He felt a pain in his heart as five years of his life were gone just like that. He still couldn't bring himself to see this as investment. Trading lifespan was too absurd.
Taking a deep breath Olivier grabbed his tools and went outside. His action arose Marcus's curiosity. It was the first time the young man saw the barista carrying farming tools.
When Olivier returned a while later Marcus immediately voiced his curiosity. Olivier pondered for a moment but felt there was nothing wrong with letting Marcus know.
"I grow coffee beans outside the café."
Marcus perked up. He had wanted to ask before but didn't find the right moment. Now it was the perfect opportunity to ask about the beans Benjamin bought from the café. Olivier gestured Marcus to follow him. They arrived at the counter where Olivier brought out the red, blue, and green beans, explaining their effects to Marcus. The latter was instantly amazed. He stared at the red and blue beans with desire in his eyes. However, he held himself back. He knew not to succumb to greed. It was alright to know about the beans should he ever need them.
Marcus switched the topic, doing his best to keep the conversation alive. He talked about the usual topic of the empire's army and Olivier listened with great interest. He was amazed to hear about the kind of formations which allowed the army do dominate in all directions.
Another day passed slowly. Early the next morning Olivier had just taken position behind the counter when a familiar ring startled him. He glanced towards the door and found no movement.
"Another contract?"
Olivier murmured to himself as he turned around and walked down the stairs. He entered the part of the café resembling a vintage hotel lobby, which Olivier had simply coined 'the lobby'. His eyes immediately feel on the person standing close to the door.
Surprisingly she was not human, although it wasn't far off. Her humanoid body was covered in grey skin giving it a rough but not unhealthy appearance. She was taller than Olivier, wearing multi-layered black clothes, a hood covering her head leaving only her face visible. Thin, green eyes stared at Olivier as he entered the room.
The newcomer didn't look around. Olivier got the feeling that it wasn't her first time at the lobby. Yet she didn't approach immediately, staring intently at the barista.
Olivier wasn't intimidated. He was pretty confident that nothing could harm him inside the café. He looked back at the alien woman and her information appeared in his vision.
[Mau Ephrou
Lifespan: 162,5/743,9
Origin: Boneplains, Black Galaxy]
Olivier involuntarily raised his brows. He wasn't surprised by the alien's long lifespan, but by the words 'Black Galaxy'. Why did his eyes of truth not show a more accurate location? From talking to his customers, he had already confirmed that what he saw was usually the name of their home planet. So why was it an entire galaxy here?
Truthfully, without reading the book about Kerv, Sam's home world, where he received a brief introduction, Olivier wouldn't even understand the concept of a galaxy. Perhaps he was too ignorant and there were really people who called a galaxy their home?
While Olivier was pondering, Mau finally approached him. She looked deeply at Olivier as she spoke with a freezing cold voice:
"Are you the boss?"
"Yes. Welcome. You can call me the barista.", replied Olivier with an equally detached tone.
"Mhm. I need a contract. Bring me Ray de Sano."
Oliver was taken aback. It took him a few seconds to understand. Mau was asking for a specific person. It most likely wasn't her first time here. She was similar to Valentino, a former customer of the café. It was unfortunate that she seemed too unapproachable. Olivier only nodded at her request and approached the mysterious crystal ball.
Placing his hand on the magical object Olivier once again found himself pulled into a majestic universe. The scene of twinkling stars was awe inspiring to behold.
Suddenly Olivier sped up and crossed vast distances at a speed faster than light. He arrived in front of the first planet, observing a civilization of aliens with similar looks to Mau. This civilization appeared extremely advanced. Olivier felt even Benjamin's world couldn't compare. After all, here, vehicles were leaving the planet regularly, able to travers space.
Olivier would have loved to watch for a while longer, but he wasn't allowed to. A force pulled him close to the planet's surface where he saw a person resembling Mau sleeping soundly in some special, tube-like bed. Olivier checked her with his eyes of truth and found out that her name was Orayel. He dismissed the following notion, shook his head, and left the planet.