Chapter 156

Chapter 156

I Became the Academy Mafia Chapter 156“I'm sorry, customer! We haven't finished organizing the café yet── huh? Young Master?”

Apparently thinking we were customers who had come to the café, she hurriedly started bowing before freezing.

“Looks like you're working hard?”

When I asked with a playful smile, Ratte quickly nodded.

“Ah, yes! I've memorized everything I learned yesterday, including how to operate the machines and all the recipes.”

Judging by her confident expression, she really must have studied hard all night.

“Really? Then could I ask you to make us some coffee?”

“Yes! Of course! What would you like? The menu is behind you!”

As she said, when I looked behind me, I saw a menu written in pretty handwriting on a large black board.

“Hm?”

The handwriting on the board looked familiar.

Apparently Alessia had written it.

“I'll have an Americano with an extra shot. What about you guys?”

I turned around and asked the others for their orders.

“I'll have a café latte with two pumps of syrup!”

“President. I'll have an Einspänner.”

The kids answered as though ordering at a café was already second nature.

At that moment, Jin-woo strode past me, stopped in front of Ratte, and spoke in a low voice.

“I'll have... an espresso, please. Lady.”...

That crazy bastard.

Is his illness acting up again?

I'd heard that he'd caused trouble at the Recipe Development Club before while trying to act cool, but seeing it happen in front of me made my stomach turn...

I seriously want to hit him.

“...

An espresso? It'll be a little bitter. Are you sure?”

But as she'd been instructed beforehand, Ratte replied with a business smile.

At that, Jin-woo nodded as though there was no problem at all.

“If it's an espresso brewed by you personally, Lady, it will be sweeter than any honey in the world.”

“──That crazy bastard. Has his brain short-circuited again?”

“...

I feel sick.”

Se-ah's and Young-je's cold voices came from behind me.

So it wasn't just me.

If I were a café employee, that line would've been enough to make me tell him to get out immediately, but Ratte merely nodded and smiled as though determined to overcome even this.

“Yes. Understood. Then I'll prepare it right away?”

Then Ratte clapped her hands.

“Everyone. Shall we work?”

-Squeak squeak!

-Squeaksqueaksqueak!

At the same time, something came darting out from all over the shop.

“Eek!”

Startled, Se-ah backed away and screamed.

“W-what is this! Rats? N-no. H-hamsters?”

“Yes! They're our café's pride, the hamster employees.”

-Squeak squeak?

The hamsters tilted their heads at Se-ah's reaction.

That's right.

This was the ultimate business item and operation I'd devised.

A hamster café.

“All right. Begin!”

At Ratte's command, several hamsters began moving diligently.

They hung from the machine's levers to operate it, pushed cups with their bodies, and performed their assigned roles in perfect order.

It looked almost like watching an orchestra.

In fact, they were even moving rhythmically as though tap dancing.

It was truly an unreal sight.

At that, Se-ah's cheeks, which had been pale from screaming moments ago, flushed pink.

“Cute...”

“Right? They're my pride and joy.”

Ratte smiled at Se-ah's favorable reaction.

“Would you mind taking a seat for a moment? I'll bring everything over shortly.”

There happened to be a spot near the first-floor terrace where just the right amount of sunlight was coming in, so I headed there with the others.

“President. What exactly is going on with that? Hamsters working? No matter how I look at it, this doesn't seem like a normal café...?”

One of the questions I'd expected came from Young-je.

Hamsters making coffee in a café.

Perhaps it was only natural for that question to come up.

But.

“Does that matter? They're cute, and that's enough.”

Seeing one of the reactions I'd expected, a smile naturally formed on my lips.

As expected, the combination of cute animals and a café is devastating.

In fact, wasn't Se-ah smiling happily while staring at the hardworking hamsters?

“I think... I'm going to become a regular here.”...

Maybe it was a little too effective.

“Boss. I'm curious too. That beautiful lady called you Young Master. What's your relationship with her?”

Unlike Se-ah, Jin-woo asked while staring at Ratte, who was diligently supervising and managing the hamsters.

“Ratte? Well, she's an employee dispatched from Hanwol Group for this job.”

“An employee?”

Seriously.

Jin-woo probably couldn't even imagine how many people had moved yesterday just to get Ratte into the Academy.

From lifting the wanted notice on her, who had once disguised herself as a runaway villain, to laundering her past and creating a new identity, the secretarial office had gone through hell.

I wouldn't have known either if Alessia hadn't told me this morning.

“And... she's an Awakened who can control rats. Her ability was unusual, so she ended up working with me.”

It wasn't a lie.

From now on, Ratte would use the hamsters as her ears to collect all kinds of rumors and information circulating around the Academy and report them to me.

And that was the key.

Ratte's informants were cute on top of everything else.

Humans were creatures who couldn't help lowering their guard around cute things.

Before long, every student in the Academy would surely gather at this café.

The only café in the Academy?

And hamsters even serve you?

I guarantee this plan cannot possibly fail.

“Oh my? Kyaa!”

At that moment, Se-ah suddenly looked down at the floor, let out a delighted cry, then pulled out her phone and pointed it downward.

“Oh my gosh! It's so cute!”

Where her phone camera was aimed, there was a hamster lifting a tray carrying coffee with both paws as though it were nothing.

“Hey. Isn't that heavy?”

After taking a picture, Se-ah transferred the coffees from the tray onto the table.

Ratte, who had followed the hamster, smiled reassuringly.

“My ability can strengthen rats as well. This much is easy for these little ones.”

“Aah~ that's a relief. Ah! It came out so pretty. Mr. Eugene, can I post this on the school community?”

“On the community?”

“Yes! If I say there's a café with kids this cute, it'll definitely sweep up the likes! Getting today's top post will be no problem!”

I'd originally planned to put up a separate advertisement later... but just as Se-ah said, it probably would be better if it spread naturally like this.

At the very least, it would count as viral marketing.

I nodded and said.

“Well, the more people come to the café, the better. I don't mind.”

“Yes! I'll upload it right now!”

With my permission, Se-ah immediately lowered her head and began rapidly moving her thumbs.

Could I have imagined it at the time?

What a single post like this would cause at the Academy.

______________

The next morning.

I arrived at the Academy by car as usual, but upon reaching the front gate, I could only stand there blankly at the strange sight before me.

“...

What is that?”

A massive line stretched so far I couldn't even see where it began.

Since it was a little away from the road leading toward the main building, I didn't bother joining the line, but as I walked along beside it, I eventually learned where everyone was heading.[Cielo notturno]

It was my café, which was officially opening this morning.

“...

What the hell is going on.”

I'd expected people to show some interest and visit, but were all these people seriously lining up to enter the café?

On the very first day?

At that moment, I spotted someone familiar among the people waiting in line.

“Senior?”

“Who else... huh? Junior?”

Yuli Rodman.

The vice president of Seoul Hero Academy's student council.

“What are you doing here, Senior?”

“What do you think? I'm waiting in line to get coffee.”

“...

Doesn't the student council room have a state-of-the-art coffee machine?”

Even our class had a coffee machine because we took first place in the Class Ranking Match, so the student council obviously had one.

“You can't seriously compare something like that to the coffee here. Junior, do you not look at the community or something?”

“Pardon?”

When I genuinely looked confused, she sighed and showed me the phone screen she'd already opened.

What appeared there was a video of hamsters scurrying around the café, serving coffee to other customers.

And beneath it were the post and countless comments.[Title: ★Anyone Been to the New Academy Café That Opened Today?][This is a video I took at the new café inside the Academy. Isn't it seriously amazing? Apparently it's run by an Awakened related to animals, and those cute little rice cakes actually make coffee and serve it too?

And I don't know what beans they use, but it's seriously the best coffee I've ever had! The owner is cute and pretty too, so everyone should definitely go. Seriously.][Anon: Huh? A café opened at the Academy?][└Poster: Seniors have apparently been petitioning for years to get a café built. Maybe it's because of that?][Anon: Doesn't seem like a franchise either. Maybe the owner really just runs it as a hobby. The hamsters were seriously cute.]

Most of the other comments said things like ‘The drinks are good’ and ‘The hamsters are cute.’

“...

It definitely looks like it's a hit. But won't you be late if you stand in this line?”

“It'll probably be a little close... but it'll work out somehow, won't it?”...

Good grief.

“Follow me.”

“Hm? Where are we going?”

“Coffee. Aren't you buying it?”

As I passed the long lines and went inside, countless gazes landed on me.

Apparently they thought I was cutting in line.

“Welco── ah, Boss!”

But at the word Boss, the people turned their eyes away or went back to fiddling with their phones.

“Aren't you busy?”

“Well, it's not really me doing the hard work. The others are handling it.”

The hamsters' movements certainly looked even more practiced than yesterday.

“Senior. What are you having?”

“Hm? Huh? Me? A hot Americano. That's what I was going to get.”

“Ratte, you heard her. One Americano.”

“Yes! Understood!”

With that, Ratte disappeared deeper into the building after receiving my order.

“Hey, Junior. What's going on here?”

“It's nothing. I can do this because I'm the owner.”

“What? This place belongs to you, Junior?”

“I'm just doing it on the side.”

At that moment, Ratte came back out carrying a hot Americano.

“Your Americano is ready! Enjoy!”

I'd definitely ordered only one Americano, yet she was holding both a hot one and a cold one.

“Two?”

“Yes! One is for the Young── Boss!”

Judging by the color of the iced Americano, she'd made it exactly according to the recipe I'd ordered yesterday.

“Right. Thanks.”

I accepted both coffees from Ratte and handed the hot one to Yuli.

“Here. Your Americano.”

Yuli stared blankly at me and obediently accepted the coffee.

“...

I was looking forward to being served by a hamster, but being served by my junior might not be bad either.”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. But why are you personally bringing me all the way into the café and giving me coffee? Do you have something you want to ask me?”

I'd thought she was simply someone who wanted to go to the café, but Yuli immediately pointed out something sharp.

As expected of the student council vice president.

At her question, having instantly seen through my intentions, I answered as though it were nothing.

“Could you arrange a meeting for me?”

“...

A meeting? Like a group date?”

“Not that kind. I have something to discuss with the Student Council Head of Club Affairs. I'd appreciate it if you could arrange a meeting.”

“With Yeon-su? I don't know what it's about... but all right. I'll ask.”

Good.

It's going exactly as planned.

This was the official route toward Stage 2 of taking control of the Academy.

This meeting was extremely important for the business I intended to conduct in the future.

“Well, I even bought her coffee before sending her off. She'll handle it properly.”...

She'll handle it properly, right?