I was tired.
Not emotionally. Not spiritually. Just… coffee tired.
See, balancing two worlds is hard work. On Earth, I have school, homework, and the constant fear of gym class. In Atheria, I'm accidentally running a beauty empire, a frozen dessert cult, a bicycle courier service, and a weather-adjacent sunscreen distribution network.
So yes. I was tired.
What I wanted was simple: coffee. Maybe pancakes. Possibly whipped cream.
And that's how the café started.
I didn't mean to start a café. I just wanted to sit in a nice little courtyard, sip some instant hazelnut latte, eat pancakes while still warm, and stare off into the distance pretending to be a tragic heroine.
So, I went to Earth, stopped time (as usual), and raided a café supply store. I got a folding table, a French press, powdered creamer, disposable cups, a mini griddle, pancake mix, chocolate syrup, and two whipped cream canisters.
Back in Atheria, I set up my little "break corner" behind the bathhouse. Just one table, two chairs, a lace cloth, and a small sign I scribbled out of laziness:
"Reika's Rest: For Energy and Sweetness."
I wasn't even open for business. That's the worst part.
I was just sitting there, flipping pancakes in peace, when Marius showed up.
"Lady Rika! Are you… cooking a holy feast?"
"It's breakfast," I said, eyes still half-closed. "Want one?"
He sat. I handed him a pancake topped with honey and a dollop of whipped cream. Then, because I had pity on his perpetually exhausted expression, I poured him a hot cup of instant coffee.
He took a sip.
Then immediately straightened like someone had cast a resurrection spell on him.
"What is this?" he gasped.
"Coffee."
"...Is it a potion?"
"Sort of."
He downed the rest in two gulps and looked like he could run a marathon.
Unfortunately, knights talk.
By noon, six of them had shown up, begging for "the dark energy drink that makes your limbs feel like lightning." I gave them some black coffee and added a little milk foam swirl for style. One guy cried. Another bowed to the cup before drinking.
Within days, Reika's Rest became a full café.
I tried to limit the menu: pancakes, waffles, hot drinks, and one rotating dessert. But people brought friends, relatives, even chickens.
"The sacred foam awakens the mind!" claimed one overly poetic scribe.
"The blessed stack of fluffy circles has given me visions!" shouted a merchant after eating five pancakes too fast.
And then came the big one:
The captain of the town's knights personally requested a batch of "battle lattes" for his squad before they left to patrol the mountains.
"They fight better when they've been blessed," he said, nodding seriously at the coffee cup.
I may have snorted.
"I'm not blessing the coffee. It's just... espresso."
"We shall chant your name during our charge."
Oh no.
So now I'm running a full café with:
A counter made from a repurposed magic scroll rack
A tip jar labeled "For Rika's Divine Bean Fund"
A menu that includes things like "Cloud Milk" (foam latte) and "Chocolate Thunder Rounds" (double-chocolate pancakes)
People started leaving tiny flowers on the chairs as offerings.
Lila even created a punch card system where every fifth coffee came with a "blessing scroll" (it's just an encouraging Earth fortune cookie slip I printed and rolled up).
And me?
I just wanted to eat pancakes in peace.
But I can't deny it. Business is booming. I have a new excuse to stock up on caramel syrup and marshmallows, and more importantly—I drink all the leftover whipped cream.
That's the real victory.
Still, I know what you're thinking.
"Reika, aren't you worried someone will find out your secret? That you're from another world and your so-called 'divine powers' are just regular Earth stuff?"
…Yes.
But not today.
Because today I'm sipping a cinnamon mocha in the sunshine, with the breeze in my hair and no homework in sight.
And if that makes me a café goddess?
Then so be it.