After chatting casually with Mason and the others for a while, Ron returned to the first floor.
Behind the bar, Yuna was busy clanking bottles and glasses together, tinkering with a few cups of some unknown, highly suspicious liquids.
Clack.
A transparent glass was set down in front of Ron.
Inside, a pale yellow liquid gently rippled, with snow-white foam rising and falling along the rim.
Just from the color alone, it looked disturbingly similar to a certain kind of bodily fluid.
Ron picked up the glass, hesitated for a moment, then glanced at Yuna.
"You tried this yourself?"
"Of course I did."
"How does it taste?"
"Why don't you try it and find out?" Yuna replied impatiently. "Drink it or don't."
Ron suspiciously took a small sip. The pale yellow, foamy liquid touched his tongue.
The original sweetness of the ale instantly turned into a mildly astringent bitterness, mixed with a strange sourness that made him stick out his tongue and spit—ptui ptui ptui!
"What the hell is this!?"
"Hahaha!" Yuna laughed gleefully. "Why didn't you drink a little more? It's full of your dear aunt's overflowing love~."
"Then I'll have to thank you—but you can keep it all to yourself."
Ron set the glass back on the counter and rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright, this one is definitely good. Try this."
Yuna pushed a second suspicious-looking drink in front of him.
This one… well, let's generously call it a drink.
It was an intense, dark green—so dark that Ron felt like he was staring at a cup of ink.
Unknown bits of residue floated on the surface, while thumb-sized bubbles continuously rose from the bottom.
Ron's eye twitched as he stared at the glass, which seemed to radiate a clear message: I'm poisonous.
"You expect me to drink this?"
"I tried it myself—this one's amazing!" Yuna swore confidently.
"Seriously?" Ron leaned closer, still doubtful, and sniffed it lightly.
A bubble popped at the surface, releasing a refreshing fragrance that shot straight into his nose, instantly clearing his head.
…It actually smelled pretty good?
Half-convinced, Ron picked up the glass, casting one last suspicious look at Yuna before drinking.
"Go on, go on—I'm not lying~" Yuna urged.
He took a light sip of the dark green liquid. A gentle sweet-and-sour flavor spread across his tongue, accompanied by a fresh, distinctive aroma that lingered pleasantly in his mouth.
Ron raised an eyebrow.
He'd fully prepared himself to be pranked again, yet the taste was unexpectedly good.
He took another sip. Sweet and tangy, very refreshing—if anything, it tasted more like fruit juice than alcohol.
Appearances really could be deceiving.
Clack.
Just as Ron was savoring it, Yuna eagerly set down yet another drink in front of him—a… a… well… a glass of milk?
"Come on, try this one too! This one's even better~" Yuna enthusiastically recommended.
Ron lowered his gaze to the third glass and hesitated.
The white liquid was thick like yogurt, triggering his instincts to go on high alert.
"Is this even alcohol?" Ron asked suspiciously.
"I never said it was alcohol," Yuna replied, blinking innocently. "It's milk mixed with some fruits. It tastes really good!"
Ron hesitated, leaned in to sniff—it didn't smell like anything.
Rolling her eyes, Yuna grabbed the glass and took a sip herself.
A ring of white liquid clung to her small, rosy lips, making her chibi form look even cuter.
She handed the glass back to Ron.
"I drank it. See~"
She even opened her mouth to show she'd swallowed it.
Ron felt his face twitch violently. Seeing that Yuna really had drunk it, he finally stopped doubting and took a small sip himself.
The thick liquid slid across his tongue, faintly sweet.
Mm… not great…
The sweetness was… strange.
It tasted like milk that had been soaked in a cloth just used to wipe sour water.
Ron quickly grabbed the earlier green drink and took several gulps to rinse his mouth.
"Is it not good?" Yuna asked curiously.
She lifted the strange milk again and drank a few more mouthfuls, looking quite pleased.
Ron fell silent.
…Was it possible that beastfolk taste buds worked differently from human ones?
He had his doubts.
"You can keep this milk for yourself," Ron said helplessly. "But the green one's pretty good. Send a glass to Nora and Sylvie later and let them try it. If they like it too, we'll add it to the menu."
"Alright." Yuna nodded casually, then pushed forward several more bizarre drinks—some glowing purple, others shining yellow—grinning as she asked, "Shall we continue?"
"Cough, cough… let's stop here for today." Ron couldn't take any more and hurriedly backed off.
"Ehh—?" Yuna cried in disappointment. "I made so many kinds today! Aren't you going to try them all?"
"There's plenty of time. Save them for next time." Ron wiped sweat from his forehead and changed the subject. "Give that drink a name. Something nice."
"A name?" Yuna said excitedly. "How about Swamp? Or Green Sky? I think both sound great."
"..."
Ron opened his mouth, then didn't know what to say.
Judging by the appearance, Swamp was admittedly accurate… but would anyone actually order a drink with that name?
As for Green Sky… it somehow felt malicious.
If this were his old world, Ron figured a shop might name it something like Inky Passion or the like.
But now? Whatever.
"As long as you're happy. Name it whatever you want." Ron climbed down from the barstool, waving as he headed out of the bar.
He hadn't expected the place to make much money anyway.
Even if Mason and the others came every day, that was still only a handful of customers.
So he might as well let her mess around.
That said… he was starting to regret it.
Maybe he really shouldn't have put Yuna in charge of the bar.
And he definitely shouldn't have let her start mixing cocktails.
It felt like he'd awakened some strange hidden trait of hers…
Originally, he'd assumed the drinks would at least fall within the realm of normally bad, even if they didn't taste good.
But Yuna's creations were clearly beyond normal—especially in appearance.
Ron rubbed his temples, shook his head, and walked back to the flower shop.
This time, Nora reacted quickly and silently covered the forbidden book underneath with Essential Knowledge for Running a Shop, then stood up sweetly.
"Boss~"
Like a teacher who already knew the student's tricks but couldn't be bothered to expose them, Ron gently pinched Nora's cheek.
"Study hard. Later, have Yuna bring you something to drink. Try it and give me your opinion."
"Mm-hm."
Believing she'd never been found out, little Nora obediently nodded. After seeing her boss head upstairs, she sat back down behind the counter.
What she didn't know was that the doll resting in her lap was emitting a strangely ominous glow from its eyes.