SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon-SSS-Grade Cafe in Front of The Dungeon — Side Story 1

Translated by cabinfourtranslations.

To summarise, Ash has left our store, Cafe Rieul.

It’s only natural, given the circumstances. He’s no longer a Demon King who looked like he had a bit of an eight-grader syndrome, but an actual normal eight grader human boy.

“Whoo .. I can feel the power of darkness.”

There was no difference in his words and actions, but his essence was completely different. The residual magical power in his body caused him to awaken as a Hunter, so he registered as a Hunter at the same time as he registered as a citizen, but otherwise he became a normal human. A Korean boy, Kim Ash.

So when he accepted Lona’s invitation to go to the Hunter School, I happily supported him. Up until now, he’s been eating, sleeping, and working part-time at my store, but he couldn’t stay like that forever.

His world needed to be broader. As an ordinary Korean boy, he should have a normal school life and diverse friendships.

“Isn’t it strange to have a normal school life at a special school for Hunters, waeolgh!”

“Kkyuuu!”

That’s how the animals in my house disrupted my thoughts.

The school pamphlet said this: It’s aimed at underage hunters, and it doesn’t just focus on education as a hunter, but also includes regular classes and various learning activities. There are even field trips and excursions. So, I thought it would be perfect for Ash, but……

I was shocked when I found out Ash was moving into the dormitory.

“Why? The school is just a 20-minutes bus ride from here. Not to mention, now there’s a public bus that stops right in front our store? The bus comes every 10 minutes!”

“I’ve already applied for admission.”

“But you can’t just suddenly…….”

“I’ll still continue my part-time work, so I’ll see you tomorrow. Then, I’m leaving.”

“Uh, Ash, wait!”

With that, Ash quickly packed his bags and left for the student dorm.

It was so sudden that I panicked for a moment, but …. well, it’s not like he’s quitting his part-time job at the cafe. Now that he’s in school, his working hours had been reduced to three days a week. However, since I had spent all my rubies to buy a fully automatic pulper, a dishwasher that washes anything, and a blender that automatically cleans itself, I figured I would manage just fine even with his three-days-a-week working schedule.

Maybe he could make friends faster by living in the dormitory. Okay, let’s send him off like an adult. It’s okay. Yeah, I’m fine.

“Oh, you’re here! Ash, how was school?”

“Haaa…..”

A face shrouded in darkness, a pale complexion, a deep sigh……

It wasn’t okay at all.

***

A few days later, Ki Yoohyun visited the cafe.

For the record, Ki Yoohyun and I were still on good terms. He was a sweet boyfriend, and even though we were both busy, we never forgot about each other and would spend time together on holidays.

I set down the coffee I had prepared for him on the table and sat down across from him. When I raised my head to look at him, he immediately tilted his head towards me. Even this small gesture felt adorable.

But I didn’t meet him today to have some quality time together, I had another important purpose.

“Waeolgh, your eyes are too hard to look at!”

“Kkyuuu!”

After lightly ignoring Mieum and Lime’s grumbling, I got down to business. The main point, of course, was the school Ash went to. Ki Yoohyun smiled and turned to me, “Ah, that special Hunter School. Has Ash decided to enroll there too? The twins would be thrilled.”

“Speaking of that school, Yoohyun-ssi, have you heard anything?”

“Heard what?”

“Ash has been acting strange since he started going to school. There must be something going on at the school!”

“Hmmm…..”

Ki Yoohyun pondered thoughtfully. After a moment, though, he shook his head, not being able to think of anything unusual.

Hmmm, if he didn’t find anything out, everything’s fine, right?

Bam! Suddenly, the door of the store opened. I turned my head toward the door and there stood Ash.

“Eh! Ash, today isn’t your part-time day, is it?”

Ash barged into the store and said in a blunt voice, ““I left something behind. I just came to pick it up.”

“Have a snack while you’re here. I’ll make it for you in a minute.”

“….Never mind. I need to go right away.”

What a cold response!

Ash packed up a huge stack of miniature building sets from his old room and left quickly, without stopping for a snack

Could it be that our part-timer is going through a rebellious phase?

I turned to Ki Yoohyun as I watched the frantic exit, “Look. It’s weird.”

“From what I see … He looks the same as usual.”

“No! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him refuse a snack. There must be something going on at school, for sure! Mieum, don’t you think so too?”

“Waeoolgh … there’s something different about him than usual.”

“My cat says he’s been acting different too. It’s weird.”

“But I don’t think it’s what you think, meow! I think that guy…..”

“What can we do?”

“Kyakyakyaogh! Are you not listening to me till the end!” Mieum stood up on her front legs and leaped forward, attempting to pounce and strike me in the chest. I leisurely dodged out of the way.

Ki Yoohyun didn’t seem to agree with me, but he thought for a moment and came up with a suggestion, “If you’re so inclined, why don’t you visit the school? I believe you are allowed to observe as a guardian.”

“I’ve looked into that as well.”

“I see, you already did…….”

When I mentioned that I’d like to visit his school once, Ash jumped up and said, “What? What am I, a child? Forget it, don’t come!“

Yeah, he’s definitely in his rebellious phase.

He hated it so much, I tried to figure out how to sneak in a visit without him finding out, but it wasn’t easy.

“Visitor access for guardians can only be granted after making a prior application, and it only allows observing the protected individual’s classes. If that’s the case, Ash will find out. Is there any way to secretly visit the school without Ash finding out?”

“…..Rieul-ssi, I have something to tell you.”

“Yes.”

After taking a moment to quench his thirst with coffee, Ki Yoohyun looked at me with a serious expression. His finely shaped black eyes reflected my dazed face. There wasn’t a hint of humor in his calm eyes. I could sense that he was about to say something very important.

Suddenly this kind of atmosphere … could it be that? The secret of the Special Hunter School?

Schools have always been a great place to hide conspiracies. Was he investigating a devious scheme set in the school, but keeping it from me out of concern for me? Or did he know something important about Ash’s circumstances?

Ki Yoohyun continued in a loving, yet stern and firm voice, “That’s overprotective.”

“Huh?”

I was shocked. I was being overprotective of Ash?

“That’s ridiculous! Yoohyun-ssi, you know that Ash has severe eight-grader syndrome. It took a while for him to register as a citizen, so he started school late. It’s natural to be worried.”

“Ash is old enough to take care of himself. He didn’t ask for help, so there was no need to step in like that. There wasn’t anything particularly strange about him either.”

“This man is right, waeooong!”

“Kkyuuuu!”

“I thought Yoohyun-ssi would be on my side……”

All of a sudden, he grabbed my hand tightly and said in a tone that was full of sincerity, Besides your family, if you had to pick someone who would always be on your side, it would be me, Rieul-ssi.”

“Yoohyun-ssi…..”

“You two are such an eyesore, kyakyaogh!”

“Kkyuu, kkyuuuu!”

Beside us, Mieum and Lime complained about something, but I couldn’t hear them. I was too busy focusing on the affectionate look in his eyes and the warmth of our intertwined hands. He’s truly a good lover.

And this sweet lover who promised to always be on my side, spoke in a sweet but firm voice, “Still, overprotective is overprotective.”

“……..”

Cold! He’s so sweet and affectionate, but he’s cold.

As I continued to deny reality, Ki Yoohyun kept holding my hand and whispered over and over again that I was being overprotective.

As I half-listened to his words, I suddenly had an idea. In the past, I had infiltrated Super Buff Coffee with Oh Seoho’s help. With his illusionary skills, I might be able to get into the school without being seen by Ash.

“Yoohyun-ssi, if we ask Hunter Oh Seoho to use his illusion skill…..”

“No.”

Before I could finish my sentence, I heard the answer.

“Are you jealous?”

“The Special Hunter School has a barrier that blocks illusions. Illusions skill would not work.”

“You’re not denying that it’s jealousy……”

Ki Yoohyun coughed lightly and changed the subject, “Speaking of Hunter Oh Seoho, he said he’s getting married early next year.”

“Waeoolgh?!” Mieum’s fur stood up in surprise.

Ah, I wish he hadn’t said that…….

“Waeong, waeoooong……”

“Kkyuuuu…….”

Mieum was in shock. Lime tried to comfort her by bumping her with her body, but it didn’t work. Mieum walked weakly to the fan and stretched out in front of it. I poured a bunch of cereal into her bowl. I hoped that she would at least eat something to soothe her pain. For a moment, the only sound in the silent store was the mournful slurping.

Ki Yoohyun, who ruthlessly exposed the cruel truth to our cat, made one last request.

“Anyway, Rieul-ssi, stop thinking about sneaking into the school.”

“……….”

I dutifully followed his advice. At first.

Yeah, I hate to admit it, but he’s right. I do have the tendency to be overprotective. So I’ll just watch over him like a good adult.

That’s what I thought, but…….

“Ash, would you like a cafe mocha? I’ll make it for you right away.”

“No thanks. I don’t want any.”

“How’s school? Are you enjoying your classes?”

“Haa….”

“If you have any problems, you can tell me. I might be able to help.”

“I don’t have any problems. Haa……”

It was weird to say the least.

I glanced over at Mieum and Lime. The animals looked at Ash with a serious expression, as if they agreed with me. I couldn’t leave it like this.

But I couldn’t think of a way to get into the school without being caught by him. What should I do?

After a long thought, I opened the drawer under the counter. The drawer was filled with various documents. Somewhere in there, there should be the thing I was looking for.

If you enjoy this translation, you can treat me a cup of coffee through Buy Me a Coffee!

Translator’s Corner:

I’M BAAAACK, YOU’RE NOT FREE OF ME YET!

I haven’t been able to read the comments (actually my personality is too dramatic I know I would cry) since a lot happened lately. WELL, I FINISHED MY THESIS, HOORAY! I filled the graduation form already so I will only need to wait the end of year for the graduation ceremony to get my degree T_T It’s lowkey feel not real, thank you so much for allowing me to go rant about my university life here T_T

There’s so many comments in the last chapter, I’m so glad you enjoyed the story enough to reach the last chapter T_T hope you come back someday to read the side stories too! But tbh Rieul, personally as someone who took campus bus to go to class, entering the dorm is the reasonable choice … going back and forth everyday is tiring … you can’t believe that “the bus comes every 10 minutes” thing …. sometimes I need to wait for more than half an hour……

Thank you so much Desiree, Insideofadog, and Anonymous for the coffees!

Thank you so much! I’m well thanks to you … and I also had some coffees … it’s bitter no matter what type I tried sajdjsdkjsdhsdl I even tried the one from an automatic vending machine thing (?), it’s a cappucino I believe, I already chose level 2 for the sugar option, BUT IT’S STILL SO BITTER???????????? SUGAR WHERE???? I will go back to matcha ….