Chương 22: Chapter 14 : Coffee

They left the little square as the sun began to sink behind the buildings. Long shadows stretched across the sidewalks, and the afternoon heat gradually gave way to a gentler, more pleasant evening. Emma walked with her hands tucked into the pockets of her jacket, her eyes fixed straight ahead. The exhaustion of the entire day seemed to crash down on her all at once. Since morning, she had spent hours showing apartments, giving explanations, dealing with rejections, and walking all over Paris.

Her phone had been ringing nonstop, several clients were still waiting for her to call them back, and she knew a stack of files was still waiting on her desk. She checked the time on her phone before letting out a long sigh.

"I need a coffee."

"Does this drink have medicinal properties?"

"Not exactly."

"Then why drink it?"

"Because without coffee, it feels like my day never really ends."

"So this drink marks the end of your daily obligations."

"Not exactly... but in a way, yes."

"I understand." In truth, he only understood part of it. In his old world, warriors sometimes celebrated the end of a campaign with a feast or a grand festival, but it seemed strange to him that a simple drink could play such an important role in the daily lives of this kingdom's people. Still, since arriving in this world, he had already learned that the customs of this age often followed a different logic from the one he knew. He decided not to question the tradition until he had observed it more closely.

The streets grew livelier as offices emptied for the day. Groups of friends gathered along the sidewalks, cyclists weaved between the cars, and café terraces gradually filled with customers. Emma eventually slowed in front of a brasserie on the corner of an avenue. A row of small round tables occupied almost the entire sidewalk beneath a wide red awning. Conversations blended with the clink of cups, bursts of laughter, and the soft tapping of spoons against porcelain.

The rich aroma of coffee drifted through the air, mingling with the scent of fresh pastries still on display behind the window. A waiter wearing a white shirt approached them immediately.

"Good afternoon. Table for two?"

"Yes, please." The waiter led them to a table beside the railing that separated the terrace from the street. From there, they had a clear view of the steady stream of pedestrians passing by. Emma sat down with a sigh of relief while Aldric took the chair opposite her. At first, he seemed mildly surprised that the furniture supported the weight of his armor without any trouble. Then he rested both hands on the table and began observing his surroundings. His gaze moved from one table to the next.

This time, however, he wasn't searching for entrances or defensive positions. What caught his attention were the people themselves. An elderly man quietly read a newspaper. Two college students chatted animatedly over large steaming mugs. A couple shared a dessert while absentmindedly watching the people passing by. Farther away, several coworkers seemed to be simply enjoying the end of their workday, laughing over a story only they could hear. No one looked worried.

No one appeared to be waiting for orders or keeping watch over their surroundings. That shared sense of peace felt almost unreal to him.

"Is this your first time sitting at a café terrace?" Aldric looked away.

"Yes."

"I figured."

"Is it an important custom?"

"Not really. People mostly come to chat, read a book, meet up with friends, or just enjoy the weather." Aldric turned his attention back to the nearby tables. He noticed that none of the conversations seemed urgent. People laughed, occasionally paused their discussions to watch the passing traffic, or simply sat together in comfortable silence for a few moments.

In his old world, the rare moments of peace were usually spent preparing for the next military campaign, organizing the harvest, or repairing the damage left by war. Here, these men and women seemed to be enjoying the simple act of being together. A few moments later, the waiter returned with his order pad.

"Have you decided?"

"A coffee, please." The waiter jotted it down before turning to Aldric.

"And for you, sir?" The knight studied the different drinks on the surrounding tables. Several cups gave off thin curls of steam. Other customers were drinking a darker liquid served in tall glasses. Some held clear drinks filled with ice. At last, he turned to Emma.

"What do the people of this city usually drink?"

"Mostly coffee. Some prefer tea. Others order hot chocolate or soda. It really just depends on personal taste." Since arriving in this world, every new choice seemed to conceal a rule he had yet to learn. He had no idea what coffee tasted like, nor tea. He didn't know which drink was most appropriate for this time of day. In the end, the answer seemed obvious.

"The same thing you're having."

"Coffee?"

"If this drink marks the end of your day, perhaps it will help me understand the custom."

"Two coffees," the waiter said. This novel's true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. He walked away between the tables, his tray tucked beneath his arm. Emma instinctively took out her phone, then slipped it back into her pocket almost immediately without even unlocking the screen. For reasons she couldn't quite explain, she suddenly had no desire to check her work messages.

Instead, she simply folded her arms on the table and watched the people passing by, while Aldric continued observing the terrace. His eyes followed every detail, every conversation, every burst of laughter. A few moments later, the waiter returned with two small porcelain cups, setting them gently on the table before wishing them an enjoyable drink. Thin wisps of steam still rose from the coffee, filling the air with a rich, slightly bitter aroma unlike anything Aldric had ever encountered.

The knight studied the drink with curiosity before lifting his gaze to the rest of the terrace. He watched the surrounding tables for another few moments before calmly turning back to Emma.

"Why is no one working?"

"They're just enjoying their day."

"All of them?

"No, of course not. Some of them are probably on vacation."

"And the others?"

"They've finished work for the day."

"And they spend their time talking afterward?"

"Yes."

"Simply because they enjoy it?"

"Yes."

"In my world," he said at last, "that rarely happened." Emma set down her cup.

"Because of the war?" Aldric slowly nodded.

"The victory over the Demon King didn't mean the work was over. It only marked the end of a threat. After every military campaign, the villages had to be rebuilt. The fields had often been abandoned during the fighting. The roads were damaged. Bridges had to be repaired before winter. The walls were inspected stone by stone to replace those weakened during the sieges. After that, the harvest occupied much of the population. If even a single season was lost, some villages risked running short of food for months.

The craftsmen's guilds received more orders to replace the tools destroyed during the war. Blacksmiths went from forging weapons for years to making new plows. Carpenters rebuilt burned homes. Masons repaired the city walls."

"And the soldiers?" she asked.

"The patrols continued."

"Even after the victory?"

"Always." He slowly raised the cup to his lips, took a very small sip of coffee, then set the porcelain cup back on the table.

"You don't like it?"

"The taste is... unexpected."

"That's normal. The first cup is rarely the best one." Aldric nodded before continuing.

"The young recruits also continued their training. A lasting peace must never erase the memory of past wars. The veterans taught what they had learned so the next generation would be ready if another threat ever appeared."

"And the heroes?" she finally asked, genuinely curious.

"You said earlier that even heroes kept working. What did you do when you weren't fighting?"

"Many things. We were regularly sent to villages to settle disputes between lords. We escorted caravans whenever the roads became dangerous. We attended ceremonies held in the provincial capitals. Some heroes trained the next generation of knights. Others helped rebuild the regions that had suffered the most under the demon armies. A hero who made himself useless did not remain a hero for very long." Emma remained silent as he spoke. The details kept piling up with almost unsettling ease.

He talked about the farming seasons, religious ceremonies, guild traditions, the way villages celebrated the end of winter, and how new recruits swore their oaths before joining the royal armies. Everything was connected. Everything seemed to have its own history. He never paused to think, as though he were simply describing perfectly ordinary memories. When she was younger, she had read countless fantasy novels. Even the best authors eventually forgot details or contradicted themselves after a few hundred pages.

Aldric, on the other hand, answered every question immediately, never hesitating, never contradicting something he had said moments earlier. He didn't sound like someone inventing a world. He spoke like someone describing the place where he had grown up. The thought crossed her mind for only a moment. Then she pushed it aside almost immediately. Impossible. He was simply an incredibly good improviser.

"And your capital..." she asked softly.

"What was it like?" Aldric looked up at her. The faintest smile appeared at the corner of his lips. For the first time since arriving on Earth, someone wasn't asking him to prove that his world had existed. Someone simply wanted to listen. A comfortable silence settled between them after Aldric finished describing his kingdom. Life on the terrace continued all around them.

Conversations blended with the clatter of cups as the waiters cleared tables, a bicycle rolled past the café, and somewhere behind them, someone burst into laughter. Emma slowly stirred her coffee before looking back up at him.

"Were you really happy there?" The question seemed to catch Aldric off guard. Until now, Emma had mostly asked how things worked in his world. No one had yet asked him how he had felt living there. His gaze drifted beyond the terrace, as though he were looking at something she couldn't see. When he finally answered, his voice remained calm.

"I was useful." Emma said nothing. It wasn't the answer she had expected. She had been prepared for him to say yes. Or no. Instead, he had chosen a word she hadn't even considered. Useful.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I believe I did."

"Then it's my turn."

"I don't come from a magical kingdom."

"I figured. I grew up in the suburbs of Paris. When I was in high school, I wanted to become an architect. I loved drawing buildings and designing houses. I thought that one day I'd build apartment buildings, museums... something that would outlive me." She gave a small shrug, a faintly self-deprecating smile on her face.

"Things didn't turn out the way I expected. My studies changed. I found an internship at a real estate agency. Then they offered me a full-time job. And I stayed. It wasn't exactly the dream I'd had for my life," she finished with a small smile.

"Do you regret it?"

"Some days, yes. Other days, no. I like helping people find a place to live. It's just not what I imagined for myself when I was eighteen."

"Sometimes quests choose their hero before the hero chooses them."

"You always find a way to turn everything back into quests."

"It's how I learned to understand the world." The waiter eventually returned carrying a small tray with the bill on it. He quietly placed the receipt on the table before wishing them a pleasant rest of the day. Aldric slipped a hand beneath his tunic and reached for the small leather pouch he always carried at his belt. Emma was already watching him with an amused smile, as though she could guess exactly what was about to happen.

The knight opened the pouch, thought for a few seconds, then took out a single gold coin and placed it carefully in the very center of the table. The metal rang softly against the wood, and Emma burst into laughter at once.

"No!"

"So this currency still isn't accepted?" She shook her head with an amused smile.

"Still not."

"That certainly makes things rather complicated." Before another customer could notice the gold coin, Emma picked it up and handed it back to Aldric. She then opened her wallet, took out a ten-euro bill, placed it on the small saucer that had come with the check, and added a few coins for the tip. A few moments later, the waiter returned, thanked them, and collected the money. As soon as he walked away, the knight slipped a hand beneath his tunic and pulled out his small notebook.

After writing a new heading, Quest Log, he left a few blank lines before carefully writing: Debt to Emma. Directly beneath it, he added: One Coffee. When he had finished, he closed the notebook. An amused smile spread across Emma's face.

"What did you just write?"

"A debt."

"It was just a coffee."

"A debt remains a debt." Emma gently shook her head.

"You know... between friends, we don't really keep track of things like that."

"Then I must first learn how to become your friend." The answer caught Emma completely off guard. She remained silent for several seconds before turning her gaze slightly toward the street, trying to hide the faint blush that had crossed her face.

"Let's see if you survive your job hunt first." The sun was beginning to disappear behind the buildings as they left the terrace. The Parisian façades gradually took on golden hues while the warmth of the day gave way to a cool, pleasant evening.