"The heart's desire, stuck in a mire. Following your brain, just nothing to gain. Tell me, child, do you resent this world?"
A gentle female voice sung to the melody coming out from an old gramophone. Olivier stood behind the counter, lazily grinding some coffee. He only raised his brow slightly. The melody had changed again, and he was unable to make out a pattern.
It was a slow day. Over the last few days both Valentino and Benjamin had made themselves rare. Surprisingly he had had three new customers.
One of the new customers was shocked after seeing Old Demon, turning around on the spot and escaping even before the door closed behind his back. The others sat on the table for a while, observing the café but ultimately left without talking to anyone.
Olivier didn't care. He had already figured it out. He had more than 400 years of lifespan, and the black cat showed no indication of letting him go anytime soon. With so much time on his hands he would surely meet all kinds of customers. There was no need to tend to them all. Just let the customers themselves decide.
Furthermore… Olivier thoughtfully looked at the storage area below his counter. The red, green, and blue beans only occupied little space. Most of the area was taken up by small, brown packages which were the regular coffee he could offer for free to all his customers. However, what were once dozens of packs had now shrunk to only two.
Olivier glanced at the black cat. After his trip to Sam's world where he banished the strange hunter his relationship with the black cat has soured a little. He tried to rely less on her. He didn't ask her but instead went to the storage room. There was the shelf where the red, green, and blue bean seeds were provided without end. Even if Olivier took a few seeds, new packs would appear within seconds.
However, this was all there was to it. There was no sign of the beans he needed for his regular coffee. Olivier frowned as he looked around. Other than the farming tools there was only the strange device looking like a hydraulic press which Olivier had never used until now.
"Is it you?"
Olivier pondered to himself as he approached the strange device. Even with an intense stare his eyes of truth didn't show any information. However, he was still doubtful. This device didn't look like something used to produce food.
While Olivier was confused, he heard a rustling sound from behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the black cat striding in. With a few graceful hops she arrived on top of a low cabinet next to the device. She opened her mouth and spat lightly. A small orb fell on the platform in the centre of the hydraulic press, quickly growing in the air. It turned out to be one of the strange meatballs growing on the trees outside.
Olivier looked at the black cat in surprise. Not because of the magical sight but because the black cat was voluntarily helping him this time. Out of her own accord. What a rare occurrence.
Since the black cat was unusually accommodating Olivier didn't dawdle much longer. He pressed the only button on the device in front of him. Immediately the press began to rattle. Black air engulfed the meat ball. What looked like the foot of a demonic elephant, black and heavy, came from the upper part and pressed down on the black air. An uncomfortable pressure spread. But it only lasted for a second before everything returned to calm. And where the meatball used to be there was now a small pack of beans, probably enough for two cans or six cups of coffee.
Considering that Olivier had to harvest ten meatballs daily only to increase his lifespan by 0,1 years, turning them into coffee was way more efficient.
Yet Olivier's face didn't look good. Now that he knew where the beans came from, he could never look at them the same way again. Those meatballs looked disgusting. Just imagining that he drank them before…
Olivier shivered. He feared even his loyal customers would be disgusted if they knew. He glanced to the side at his farming utensils where a brown sack was hanging. Perhaps he finally understood its purpose.
Not expecting any new customers Olivier had a lot of free time. Like always. He grabbed his farming tools and went outside. First, he harvested the meatballs which were within the safe range of the café. Although his physical strength had increased after his trip to Sam's world, Kerv, Olivier didn't leave the safe range. There was no need to take risks. There were enough trees to quickly fill his bag with meatballs.
Next, he walked towards his little garden. At the moment he had nothing planted except for two trees as there was not enough demand for the coffee beans. He chose some suitable spots, dug a few holes, dropped the meatballs in, and closed the holes again. It wouldn't take long for a few more trees to grow.
With his bag still half-full Olivier went back inside and towards the storage. Old Demon had his eyes closed, showing no curiosity for the barista's actions. After a few minutes Olivier returned from the storage, stocking up the beans below his counter. Now there was more than enough for the next few weeks, especially since Valentino and Benjamin didn't appear much these days.
"Time to read…"
Olivier picked up the book about Kerv and let out a light sigh. This would be the fifth or sixth time he started the book from the beginning. But what could he do? It was his best method to pass time. At least he still felt some interest towards the book even after finishing it multiple times. Simply the concept of reading about other worlds was quite amazing, something Olivier could have never imagined in the past.
Time in the café passed slowly. Soon, a new day had arrived. Olivier had just placed a cup of coffee in front of Old Demon when a light ring reached his ears. He looked towards the door but to his surprise it didn't open. As he was in doubt, he saw a movement from the black cat. Sprawled on her favourite place on the counter she stretched her body and stood up slowly. She glanced at Olivier before jumping down from the counter.
Olivier was puzzled as he followed her. They passed through the door behind the counter and Olivier froze in place. The stairway had changed. Out of nowhere an additional set of stairs had appeared leading downwards. There was no doubt. Those stairs hadn't been there before.
The stairs were well lit and Olivier could see another door downstairs. As he was still delaying, the black cat walked ahead of him. Olivier snapped out of his stupor and followed.
The duo appeared in a new room. It somewhat resembled the lobby of an old hotel. With a wooden floor and ceiling, some paintings, and a few plants in the corners the room looked quite comfortable. A few couches stood around, waiting for visitors.
Olivier appeared behind a wooden reception. Behind his back was a shelf with many small compartments, each containing a heavy, black key and a piece of folded, yellowed paper. There was a crystal ball on the counter displaying swirling galaxies and colourful nebulae. But Olivier's eyes fell on the person standing by the door. It was a young man, perhaps not even eighteen years old. He had short black hair, wearing a strange white robe. Olivier had never seen similar clothes. But even the wide robes couldn't hide his skinny figure.
As Olivier's gaze lingered the eyes of truth quickly presented some information.
[Marcus Millius
Lifespan: 16,1/75,4
Origin: Veron, Ophra]
The young man was also observing his surroundings when he suddenly heard a noise. He abruptly focused his eyes on Olivier. Two pairs of eyes met. Olivier could see the uncertainty in the customer's gaze, but he was amazed how the young man managed to reign in his emotions. Compared to some of the recent customers this man called Marcus was incredibly composed.
After gauging each other for a while Marcus was the first to speak, his voice heavy:
"What is this place? Are you a witch?"
"This is the Café of Dreams. And I am the barista.", replied Olivier indifferently.
"Barista? Is that a title or a name?"
"It can be both."
Marcus fell silent for a moment. Although he tried to keep his emotions in check this extremely unfamiliar environment still affected him.
"So, Barista, why did you lead me here?"
"I didn't."
"Are you toying with me?!", questioned Marcus through gritted teeth.
"No. Tell me what you want, and I see if I can offer you assistance."
"Oh really? So generous? Well then. Tell me how I can best protect those I wish to protect!"