Chapter 34: The Tea Without a Name

Let’s put off naming the tea for now.

I couldn’t think of anything at the moment, and the effects of the tea were shimmering right before my eyes.

“There’s an energy swirling around my hand.”

On the hands of the two girls who’d just finished their tea, a green aura flickered.

It looked just like the Spirit Energy that Naru always summoned, and also like the energy that had settled in my hand earlier.

Simply put, it meant success.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Did something good happen?”

“It’s something like that.”

I could explain, but the chances were high I’d just come off as a weirdo, so I let it slide with a vague answer.

I handed out the cookies I’d brought to the girls.

“You finished your tea, right? Time to get back to work.”

Not that I needed to say it. There was still a mountain of things left to do.

“Changseong, if you’re not working today, at least give us a hand. I’ll pay you double the usual rate.”

“Mm, no thanks. I’ll head out soon—I need to open up.”

Trying to get off easy, huh.

Hyeonseo must have realized she couldn’t win this one, because she didn’t press further and just stepped back.

Either that, or she was genuinely too busy to waste time chatting.

“Well, hang around for a bit before you go.”

“Don’t bother the people working up front, they’re busy. Instead, grab one of those watermelons over there and split it open to eat.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go now.”

The Hyeon siblings, who’d briefly paused to check on me despite their busy day, said no more and returned to their work.

Hyeon-ung was with the other laborers, hauling watermelons, while Hyeonseo gathered and sorted them.

“Both of them are working so hard. I hope the tea helps.”

The tea I brewed today had the additional function of Steamina Enhancement.

Red Peppermint Tea boosts work efficiency, but this tea would improve the quality of the crops just by touching them.

In other words, they’d have a bumper crop while working less.

“You better be grateful, you rascals.”

I watched the Hyeon siblings at work for a while, then turned my gaze to the children playing in the Watermelon Field.

No-Rani was just happily running around, and Naru was gently touching each of the watermelons.

“What’s she doing?”

Getting closer, I saw green powder flowing from Naru’s hand and settling onto the watermelons.

It was just like the golden powder that always fluttered from No-Rani.

“Naru, are you taking care of the watermelons?”

“Oh, mister. Yes. These watermelons seemed really tired, so I wanted to help them a bit.”

“Is that so?”

“I thought you’d be happy, too.”

At Naru’s words, I closed my eyes for a moment.

Naru smiled sheepishly.

“I wanted to be even a little bit helpful to you, mister. If you’re happy, we’re happy too.”

“Thank you for saying that.”

I gently stroked Naru’s head.

That kindness and sincerity warmed my heart.

Meeting children like these truly is luck and happiness, I felt again.

“But don’t overdo it, okay? I don’t want you to collapse again.”

“I won’t.”

With that promise, let’s eat first. No-Rani, come have dinner.

“Dinner.”

“What’s for lunch today?”

“Sandwiches. I didn’t have much time today, so I just made a small amount.”

Even if it was a small amount, it was still enough to fill the stomachs of three grown men.

To be honest, no matter how much I made, it probably wouldn’t be enough to fill up these two kids.

“Let’s eat, and play just a little more before we go.”

“Food!”

I stretched my legs out and sat down to share the sandwiches with the two kids.

The sunlight was warm, and the scent of nature filled the air.

A peaceful day.

“That’s not normal.”

“Eating your meal while watching other people work, what a lunatic.”

“Get to work already.”

Except for the Hyeon siblings’ complaints, anyway.

***

After returning to the tea house, I went right back to the afternoon business hours.

Because we hadn’t opened in the morning, even more elders visited in the afternoon.

But it seemed like even more people showed up than yesterday.

I thought maybe I was imagining it, but the sales record on the POS system confirmed it wasn’t just my imagination.

Thinking about the reason, I realized there was only one thing it could be.

“Is it thanks to Grandma Soomyeong?”

The teas and desserts I’ve been making lately—Grandma Soomyeong always tries them first.

Naturally, the new recipes all have various beneficial effects.

Some are for skin whitening, others reduce wrinkles, others strengthen muscle cells.

Having taken in these good things every day, Grandma Soomyeong now looked twenty years younger.

And this is a small countryside town.

There’s no way rumors wouldn’t spread.

“The elders started to notice, huh.”

They must have been curious what to drink to end up like Grandma Soomyeong.

Now that I think about it, maybe I should make tea names more straightforward from now on.

Like “Tea that’s good for skin whitening,” or “Tea that’s good for wrinkles,” something like that.

If I know which teas are most popular among the elders, I could develop custom-specialized teas.

“At this rate, we might end up on the news.”

It’s actually kind of amusing, now that I think about it.

With such thoughts, I finished the dishes and put everything away.

Siwoo wasn’t here today, so I had to do everything myself.

The other two kids had gone to the Spirit Realm for a bit, so all the chores were left to me.

“I wish Siwoo would come back soon.”

Ding.

While I was wiping the dishes, the door to the house opened.

“Who could that be?”

<ㅎ [056> had already ended, and all the elders who were going to come had already visited today.

There shouldn’t be any latecomers to the tea house.

I put down the plate and looked over toward the door.

There stood a small child, dressed in a white coat with the hood pulled up.

Everything about her was white—even her pupils.

I knew right away.

This child is a Spirit.

I took off my rubber gloves and went back to the bar table.

“Welcome. You’re a Spirit, aren’t you?”

“You’re the new owner, right?”

The child didn’t even blink as she asked me.

She had a charm different from the other children.

“That’s right. My name’s Chanseong. I’ve taken over the Yangjibareun Tea House from my Grandfather.”

“I’ve heard. Naru went around telling all the Spirits.”

“Is that so?”

“Not just Naru. Siwoo kept talking about the new owner Chanseong in the Spirit Realm, too. Saying you brew special tea.”

“Rather than special, I’d say I make tea that suits each person.”

She nodded and lowered her hood.

She quietly walked over to the bar and sat down on a chair.

“That special tea. Could I have a cup, too?”

“Hmm, could you tell me what kind of Spirit you are? If I know, I can match—”

“Grandfather never asked those things.”

With just one corner of her mouth curled up, she spoke.

“Guess you’re not as good as Grandfather, huh?”

Her mocking words made me smile faintly.

‘If this was my past life, I’d have snapped at a brat like this.’

Of course, I’m not the same person now.

She’s just a child. I shouldn’t get riled up over things like that.

“I can’t deny it.”

“…No pride, huh?”

“Grandfather was special. No matter how hard I try, it’ll be tough to follow the path he walked.”

That ‘Grandfather.’

How could I possibly follow in those footsteps?

But, actually, the premise itself is wrong.

“And to begin with, I’m not Grandfather. There’s no need for me to follow exactly in his footsteps.”

Trying so hard to be like Grandfather is basically repeating the same mistakes as my previous life.

Setting a destination and running desperately to reach it.

“Grandfather’s Ability was amazing, and I do envy it. But I’m going to use my own strengths and abilities to walk my own path.”

“…Even if you’re not as good as Grandfather?”

“What’s good or bad can’t really be compared.”

Grandfather is Grandfather, and I’m me.

With that, I brought over a piece of today’s dessert—Apple Pie—for her.

It had cooled a bit and wasn’t in top condition, but it was still decent.

“Would you like some? It’s the last slice of today’s Apple Pie.”

She looked over the pie carefully, then picked up the fork.

She cut off a small piece and took a bite.

She covered her mouth, chewed a few times, and her eyes went round.

“It’s delicious.”

“Is that so? Personally, pies are a bit tricky to make, and apples aren’t in season, so it’s not quite perfect. But I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“I’ll improve the taste next time and add some special effects, too.”

She ate a little more and nodded.

“So, that’s what you mean by ‘different.’”

“Yes.”

“I think I understand now. Grandfather could never make something like this.”

“He really didn’t have any knack for cooking or baking.”

She thought for a moment, then smiled.

“I heard from the other Spirits. They said not to eat Grandfather’s food.”

“…Was it really that bad?”

“It really was.”

She lightly wiped her mouth with a tissue and stood up.

Then, bowing politely, she apologized.

“Sorry for the harsh words just now. Since you’re the owner following Grandfather, I wanted to see for myself what kind of human you are, and whether it’s okay for us Spirits to get involved with you.”

“I completely understand. For Spirits, humans are basically evil demons, right?”

“Not exactly, but it does feel a bit like that.”

She sat back down and spoke.

“My name is Yuaena, Spirit of the Moon. Please just call me Yuae. And you can speak comfortably to me.”

Yuaena.

I’d seen that name in the Recipe Book.

“Then, may I call you Yuae?”

“Of course. You’re allowed, Chanseong. Oh, and if my tone bothers you, I apologize. Once I start talking like this, it’s hard to stop.”

“It’s fine. I understand.”

“Thank you.”

Yuae took another bite of the Apple Pie and nodded.

“It’s really delicious. Do No-Rani and Naru eat like this every day?”

“They do.”

“Lucky them.”

Yuae set her fork down and wiped her mouth.

The way she tapped her lips reminded me of a child from a noble family.

“If you want, I can give you more. I’d have to make it again, though.”

“It’s all right. More importantly, could you make me a cup of tea?”

“That’s no trouble at all.”

The moment I heard Yuae’s name, the recipe had already lined up in my mind.

So I went to the storeroom without hesitation and gathered the ingredients.

The tea for Yuae didn’t require many materials.

“I’ll have it ready in no time.”

“No need to rush. The taste is what’s most important.”

“Don’t worry. I always guarantee the taste.”

I measured out the ingredients carefully and put them in a tea bag.

Even the evening primrose was finely ground in a mortar, then I poured hot water set to 92 degrees.

Now I just had to let it steep.

Compared to the teas I brewed for Naru and Siwoo, this was simple.

“Woody.”

Clack.

As soon as I called Woody, he flew from the dish bin into my hand.

He must have shaken himself dry, because there wasn’t a single drop on the cup.

Self-drying—how handy.

Pour.

After the tea had steeped long enough, I poured it into Woody.

Once his energy had fully mixed with the tea, I poured it into a cup and set it in front of Yuae.

“Here you go, one Night-Blooming Moon.”

“That’s a nostalgic name.”

Yuae picked up the cup and gazed at the tea.

She really did seem to miss it. With deep, shadowed eyes, she looked at the tea, then took a careful sip.

And as she slowly exhaled, she gave a small nod.

“It tastes just like I remember.”

“Does it suit your taste?”

“Yes. It’s just like the one Grandfather made.”

“I’m glad. Next time you come, I’ll make it even better.”

I didn’t have much time today, so I couldn’t adjust the recipe.

I did have some new ideas, but I haven’t tried them out yet.

“Next time, I’ll prepare a dessert to match the Night-Blooming Moon, too.”

“I’m looking forward to it already.”

“Right? So you’ll have to come back again, won’t you?”

“That’s true. Clever salesmanship.”

“Haha. Salesmanship? I’m not even charging you.”

All the ingredients are supplied by the tea house.

If I tried to charge for this, Grandfather would scold me later.

“Still, I can’t just drink for free. You’ve helped me recall such deep memories.”

“It’s fine. This is my Grandfather’s legacy.”

“You’re stubborn, aren’t you?”

“Not easy to change.”

“Then I’ll do as I please.”

Yuae took another sip of tea and pulled something from her coat.

It looked like a small jewelry box, but until I opened it, I couldn’t tell what was inside.

“What’s this?”

“It’s not for the tea. It’s a gift to celebrate your opening.”

“…I really can’t refuse that, can I?”

“If you do, I won’t ever come back.”

She’s sharp, this one.

Yuae smiled slightly and stood up.

“Thank you for the tea.”

“You’re leaving already? Why not stay a bit longer? No-Rani will be coming, too.”

“That’s why I’m leaving.”

As Yuae pulled her hood up again, she said,

“I can’t let No-Rani see me.”