novelraw Chapter 69 : Fare for the Afterlife (1)
Chapter 69 : Fare for the Afterlife (1)
Chapter 69: Fare for the Afterlife (1)
“Are you sure it’s there?”
“Yes, I’m sure!”
“Did you even know where you were going?”
“Pardon? What do you mean where? It’s just an abandoned house, isn’t it?”
“No. I'd rather die than suffer.”
A trace of pity flickered in Yeomra’s eyes as he looked at Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik.
If crafting a tragic fate was a talent, then this man surely had it.
Despite being assigned to a relatively decent department in charge of accidental deaths, he’d been demoted to the Troubleshooting Team after repeatedly dealing with frustrating cases where souls listed in the Registry were still very much alive. That had only been ten years ago.
And now, in this brief flicker of a century, he had summoned Yeomra himself, claiming an evil spirit resided in an abandoned house.
It was, in fact, where the Divine Tree was hidden.
‘A work of Mago Goddess? She really did tuck the Divine Tree away in a place like that. I almost overlooked it myself.’
The talisman that erased traces went without saying, but the Divine Tree itself, despite holding immense power, had cleverly blended into the surroundings.
To the eyes of mere employees serving as Soul Escorts, it would’ve seemed like nothing more than an old building and an ordinary tree.
‘The problem is that so-called evil spirit he said he saw...’
Judging by the situation, it was clearly a human guarding the Divine Tree.
There were even rumors that he came and went from the Heavenly Realm without ever severing his fate.
They said it would take two of the Underworld’s gatekeepers to even stand a chance against him—wasn’t that more than enough qualification to protect the Divine Tree?
‘But there’s no way he’s an evil spirit. Mago Goddess isn’t as senile as I am. She wouldn’t have left the Divine Tree in the hands of an evil spirit. Well, I’ll know more once I go in.’
“Let’s go in.”
“Yes!”
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon? I thought you said to go in...”
In the hands of Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik and Employee Shin Ji-hye, clad in thick armor, were a finely forged spear and axe. They were already poised, prepared to strike at any moment.
“Put away those dreadful things. We’re not here to fight.”
Only after dispersing their auras and returning to plain clothes did Yeomra finally open the door to the café.
–Ding.
“Welcome. Please feel free to sit wherever you like and order at your convenience.”
The owner of the teahouse looked momentarily startled upon seeing them but soon offered a courteous, natural greeting.
‘Seems ordinary. Aside from having a handsome face, there’s nothing especially unusual.’
There wasn’t even a need to consult the Karma Mirror.
He didn’t look a day over thirty. With his handsome appearance and the faint divine power that lingered around his soul, he was the epitome of goodness.
He was the very opposite of an evil spirit.
(Is that really him?)
(No, sir. The one I saw had limbs growing in strange places and was covered in hair.)
(What are you saying? Stop it!)
Trying to describe it, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik foolishly claimed limbs sprouted from his sides, rear, and chest. At this, Yeomra cringed and hissed at him to stop.
“Excuse me… customer?”
“Ahem, sorry. Can I sit here?”
Thus, the three awkwardly took seats at the table by the window.
“The menu’s up there. Take your time and let me know when you’re ready.”
Having said that, Jinseong placed water cups in front of each seat and went back.
Only then did Yeomra realize where he had come.
‘Wait a second. This is a teahouse, isn’t it?!’
There was no mistake.
It was the very place he’d longed to visit after watching countless souls arrive in the Afterlife and singing about wanting to go there once.
‘It’s slightly different from what I saw, but this is definitely the teahouse!’
Though revered as Yeomra the Great and ruler of the Afterlife, at heart, he was a woman.
Whenever women dressed in stylish clothes sipped black liquid in a teahouse within the Karma Mirror, she’d often replay the scene over and over again.
And that led to the current state of things.
Riding the wave of Earthly Bodhisattvas who aimed for a modernized Afterlife, she’d managed to abandon her bulky hanbok and instead wear what she’d seen in the Karma Mirror.
However, the café and the unidentified black liquid the women drank were another story.
Modernized or not, the Afterlife was still the Afterlife.
There was no way to procure that black liquid.
Curious about the taste, she had considered asking Soul Escorts who came and went from the Living Realm, but relinquishing Yeomra’s dignity like that was unthinkable.
Especially since she had a particularly hard time remembering the names of objects from the Living Realm, explaining what the black liquid was would have required no small amount of determination.
And now, not only had she arrived at her dream teahouse, but she had the chance to taste the black liquid—Yeomra was about to burst with joy.
But unaware of Yeomra’s inner turmoil, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik cautiously opened his mouth.
(My Lord, it seems there’s no sign of an evil spirit. Perhaps we should leave for now? We’ll gather more information on our own.)
(Huh?)
‘This useless brat!’
It was infuriating, yet logical.
They had come to the Living Realm to find the evil spirit who had opened the gate to the Afterlife and sent souls at will.
There was no evil spirit in sight, and the human guarding the Divine Tree had been confirmed—there was no real reason to linger. They were in no position to idly spend time in the Living Realm.
Just as I was about to quietly rise from my seat, the savior who happened to catch the moment came over and asked,
“Have you decided on your order?”
“Th-that black liquid!”
“Pardon?”
“The black liquid in that cup! Three of those!”
“Ssanghwa Tea?”
“Yes! That!”
“Alright, I’ll bring it right away.”
‘Got it!’
Fortunately, it seemed the owner of the Divine Tree understood my vague, twenty-questions-like order.
(Um, my Lord?)
The joy of finally ordering the black liquid didn’t last long, as the two subordinate employees immediately questioned me with a short word, seeking an explanation.
Yeomra’s mind turned quickly, needing to concoct a plausible reason.
(You—you’ve been doing this for centuries and still don’t have a feel for the job? What are you going to do if something happens while you’re watching? You want me to come all the way back to the Living Realm when I’m already swamped?)
(No, my apologies. I wasn’t thinking.)
(Let’s wait a bit. Just in case.)
And that wait became a rare moment of leisure for Yeomra to enjoy the black liquid at the teahouse.
They say bad timing is the rule of life, don’t they? Of all times, why did customers have to come now?
By sheer coincidence, there was no one else in the café at the moment besides me.
Ria had gone to Saerin’s house, Sanyi was at Mount Gyeryong, and Elder had said he wouldn’t be back until late evening due to something with the Director.
It was the weekend, yes, but it wasn’t business hours, so there were naturally no other customers.
In this tough situation, I had to handle the customers—ones I was sure weren’t ordinary.
And their order was peculiar too. They asked for black liquid.
Thankfully, there was only one black liquid in our café.
Thus, three cups of Ssanghwa Tea, topped with pine nuts, peanut powder, and egg yolk, were quickly prepared and brought to their table.
‘Is... is this really it?’
It was black.
There were small bits floating on top and an egg yolk as well, but despite the minor distractions, it was unmistakably a cup of black liquid.
The rich Ssanghwa Tea, served from Jinseong’s café which didn’t even carry black coffee, let alone Americano, was no different than freshly brewed espresso from a café machine to Yeomra, already enchanted by the atmosphere.
“Hmm, the scent is lovely.”
–Slurp.
‘What? It tastes this good?’
Worried that drinking too much in one sip would deplete it too quickly, Yeomra took a small sip. The black liquid made the back of her head tingle.
That’s how potent the sugar-heavy powdered Ssanghwa Tea was.
And the MSG handed down in the Dangsan-ri Café’s secret recipe was a shock to Yeomra’s tongue, who had never known what food even was.
Like a bird pecking at feed, she continued to savor it slowly for a long time.
If she drank recklessly like an untamed foal, the cup would soon be empty, so Yeomra set it down for a moment.
There were still so many things she wanted to try in the teahouse.
‘That’s right! They read books too! Could I just grab one here?’
Books and cafés were inseparable.
Even in the Karma Mirror, many women were seen reading in teahouses.
Right beneath the counter was a small bookshelf packed with books.
With a gesture, Yeomra ordered Employee Shin Ji-hye to bring one.
At the command of a far superior rank, Shin Ji-hye sprang from her seat like a spring and fetched a book.
[Toots and Splats: Explosive Diarrhea]
“……”
The rookie’s taste was superb. The book she swiftly picked was the bestseller of the Dangsan-ri Café.
“Thank you. Please come again.”
–Ding.
The peculiar trio of customers left after about two hours.
They were probably the first to enjoy our menu as much as Elder Gumiho did.
Especially the woman who appeared to be their boss—she drank the Ssanghwa Tea so eagerly, I wondered if I should offer a refill.
She pretended nothing was amiss, but her eyes grew wide with every sip, making her rather entertaining to watch.
The problem was the money the three of them left behind after fiddling with their empty cups.
『Ten Thousand Gwan (Afterlife Bank)』
Fare for the Afterlife.
The same kind they sell online, a hundred sheets for six thousand won.
I was so dumbfounded, I even looked up the price.
Basically, I served free drinks and even got two thousand won short in change.
In all my time running this café, it was the first time I’d done business at a loss.
And this story became Elder’s favorite when he returned to the café late that evening.
“Heh heh heh, so your day has finally come.”
“Are you really that pleased?”
“Oh, I’m thrilled! The one who used to collect all kinds of rare Divine Objects for a single cup of coffee got scammed like this. Heh heh. And yet you let them go so nicely. Why didn’t you try showing them that framed thing again?”
“They seemed clueless about worldly matters. I didn’t dislike them either.”
When one of the employees tried to pull out their wallet, the woman insisted that these things were always paid by a superior and pushed them out the door before settling the bill herself.
Perhaps wanting to conceal just how much she had enjoyed the Ssanghwa Tea, she paid with a somewhat aloof expression. I couldn’t bring myself to say, “This isn’t real money. Could you please call that man back?”
“You did well, regardless. If you treat a Soul Escort kindly, they’ll surely repay you one day. Those folks hate being indebted just as much as you do. I’m sure when your time is up and you arrive in the Afterlife, you’ll be treated with honor.”
“I’m not so sure. I’ve done many things that inconvenienced Soul Escorts.”
“Heh, I suppose you have. The accidents blocked by the Divine Eye must have seemed like natural disasters to them.”
It wasn’t just once or twice that I interfered with their work.
Whenever traffic accidents or fires showed up in the Divine Eye, I’d stop them in my own way.
And when that happened, without fail, a Soul Escort would appear at the scene looking like a grieving patriot.
I had unwittingly disrupted their duties.
And among the Soul Escorts who came today, one of them was someone I knew.
“There really must be such a thing as fate. I never thought I’d see him again like this.”
“Hm? You knew one of them?”
“Yes, though I doubt he remembers. He was very young back then.”