23: Minccino’s Cafe (I)

Ichi – Pikachu

 

“Uh, no thanks, kid.” 

 

My ears flattened as the door slammed shut right in my face. Fifth time so far.

As soon as I got outta the restaurant, I had immediately gotten to work trying to find that aspiring businessmon in Post Town that I needed to win Mr. Gurdurr over. Yes, I know I should’ve consulted Rei before going door to door, but I was in a rush! Or at least it felt like a rush! 

No dice. I just… don’t get it. Gurdurr said I couldn’t simply bribe a ‘mon, so I had to resort to all my other tactics. But I can only get so far with pure charm alone. Not even when I pulled the “desperate kid” card, nobody was interested.

I’ve just been repeating the same spiel I told Gurdurr’s crew for the past hour or two. I don’t get it, isn’t my plan good? I thought it was! I just wanna help people succeed as businessmon… 

I trudged down the street, scratching the back of my head. “I… I just don’t get it,” I repeated, aloud this time. “M-maybe I just… haven’t been looking hard enough. I gotta try every single house in town.” Pulling out a coin from my sack, I stared at it. “Or- or maybe I need to improve my sales pitch. But my plan is as simple as it gets, is it that hard for them to understand?” 

I could see my tiny, golden reflection in the coin. My paw was shaky as I could see myself: ears drooped, mouth wobbling, small sparks flying from my cheeks.

I was nervous. Nervous that this is where my plan crumbles. 

I clenched my paw, stuffing the coin back into the bag. “It’s fine it’s fine everything’s just fiiiiiine Ich’.”

Nervous? I thought. Me? No way! This- this is just part of the challenge I gotta overcome if I wanna be the best businessmon! I’ll… I’ll find a way. I’ll say it again—Ichi Pikachu always finds a way.

Straightening my posture, I sucked up my anxiety as I marched all the way back to my house.

 

After speedwalking all the way back to my home in Paradise, I swiftly shut the door behind me, sighing with my back stiffly pressed against it.  

“Welcome back, Ichi.” Aiden gave me a quick glance, waving with a smile before he turned back to the stove. Smelled like grilled cheese—the Audino was preparing lunch. “It’s funny—I was just wondering what you were up to, ehe… You talked with Mr. Gurdurr, right? How was it?”

“Could’ve gone better,” I muttered, before quickly exclaiming, “E-everything’s good though, not to worry! I’ll win him over~”

Aiden was humming a tune to himself as he stepped over to the pantry to grab some Orans and Leppas. 

Loosening up, I dragged myself over to the couch, flopping on it with another huff. “Rei and Stella not back yet?” I asked, trying to distract myself.

“Nope, you’re the first one back,” Aiden answered, turning on the tap to rinse the berries.

“Where’d they even go?”

“Not sure. I know Stella wanted to take a request today, and I’m assuming she made Rei tag along.”

“Ah. Hopefully, it went well for ‘em! Though I… kinda doubt it.” I could hear the crisp sound of berries being chopped. “What’s on the menu today?”

“Cheese and Tamato sandwiches, with a side of berry salad~ Decided on something simple today. Mind helping set the table?”

“Ah, yeah, sure.” I hopped back down and walked over to the kitchen, leaving my Poke sack on the couch. I let out another quiet huff as I opened the cupboard and pulled out some plates. Despite my shaky paws, I managed to swiftly set down four plates on the table with ease.

“So Mr. Gurdurr isn’t on board with your plan?”

“N-not yet, yeah. Don’t worry about it! J-just a minor setback, that’s all~” I faked a smile as I sat down at the table.

 

“…you seem worried, Ichi.”

“Nope! Not at all! I never get worried, nuh uh!”

“Really now?” The Audino tilted his head.

“Of course! Stuff like this doesn’t faze me! It- it can’t be, anyway!” I sputtered, nearly raising my voice.

Suddenly, the door swung open again. “Guess who just got paiiiid~!” Stella loudly announced as she strode her way into the house, doing a little jiggle. 

“GAH CRAP–” I jolted out of my seat, caught off guard by the Rockruff’s arrival. Hastily, I stiffened up, putting back on my grin. “Uh- hey! Guessing it went well?”

Stella stopped and shot me a weird look. “Er, yeah. You good, boss-mon?” she asked with a bit of a laugh. “You’re looking kinda jumpy there.”

Behind her was Rei, who shut the door behind him. “…Yo.” Surprisingly, he… didn’t look quite as annoyed as I expected. Still looked kinda tired, though.

I looked back at the Rockruff. “I’m good, hehe… You two came just in time, though! Aiden’s just about done making lunch, I think.”

Shrugging it off, Stella eagerly hopped onto the chair across from me. “Ooh, smells good…” Rei followed suit, quietly wandering over to the seat next to me. He glanced at me with a concerned frown, though he quickly turned his attention over to the Audino. 

 

“Alright, lunch is ready~” Aiden presented a big platter of golden, crispy grilled cheese sandwiches to the table, alongside a bowl of freshly cut mixed Berries. “Dig in, everybody!” He sat in the last remaining seat, beside Stella. 

The Rockruff eagerly snagged a sandwich and scarfed it down. “..Mmm! Spicy! You added Tamato berries?”

“Wait, it’s spicy?” Rei grimaced. “Ehh… I’ll just have some fruit or something then.” The Snivy put a nice helping of Orans and Leppas on his plate instead. He chewed on a piece of Leppa, and his eyes widened just a little bit. “…tastes sweeter than the Oran Berries. A little mushy though,” he mumbled.

“What, you never had Leppas either, Rei?” Stella smirked.

“Shut it.”

Aiden looked at me. “You should try my sandwiches, Ichi. They’re very good!” He smiled as he nibbled on his.

“I’m good. Already ate, hehe… Sorry.” I then glanced back at the Rockruff. “So how did the request go?”

“You already asked that, an’ I already told you, it went well,” Stella promptly answered before grabbing another sandwich.

“But what was the mission, though?” 

“Picking berries. Imma be real, it was hella boring, but had to start somewhere small ‘cause Rei was tagging along.” 

“…You say that like I wanted to join you.” Rei gave the canine another side-eye.

“Well, I didn’t say ya had to, did I?”

“No, but… I dunno, felt like I had to, like it’s an obligation.” The Snivy looked back down at his plate.

“Well, yeah, it is an obligation now. That’s the rescuer life for ya.” Stella nodded.

“Really? Just picking berries? You could just pick those up at Keck’s…” Aiden thought aloud. 

“Chesto Berries specifically. He let us keep some as part of the reward.” Rei added, before pulling out a pouch from his satchel and plopping it on the table. “…the Minccino that hired us was really into coffee. Weird question, but… are Chestos rare berries?”

“Hm, not really… though they can get a little pricey,” Aiden answered. “And I’m not entirely sure where Keck’s gets their berries from… maybe your client prefers fresher produce?”

“Well, the guy called himself a ‘coffee connoisseur’ and rambled on about different blends of coffee when we brought back the goods. So probably, I guess.” Stella chomped down on the rest of her spicy grilled cheese, then turned to Aiden. “Yo, can you get me some milk, please?”

“Sure.” Aiden got out of his seat.

“You gotta hand it to him though, the coffee he brewed for us was good. What did he call the blend, it was some kinda latte, uhh…”

“Bruh, you think I remember?” Stella scoffed. “Coffee’s coffee to me.” A bowl of milk was promptly set down in front of the Rockruff. “Thanks!”

Aiden nodded, having gotten his own glass of milk, too. “I feel like I know who you’re talking about… Lowell Minccino?” He took a sip.

“Yeah, that was his name. Are you friends with him?” Rei asked as he poked around at his berries with a fork.

“Well, more like acquaintances, ehe… My neighbors and I like to show up at his house some mornings to sample his coffee. I’d bring over some Cheri pie, Mrs. Leavanny would bring her Pecha muffins… it’d feel like a nice cafe run in Mr. Minccino’s kitchen,” Aiden reminisced, sighing. “He says he dreams of opening one, if it weren’t so hard to. I’m sure it’d kick off if he did, though.”

 

My eyes widened, and I nearly fell out of my seat as I shot up. “What if it weren’t hard? I- I could help him!” I exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for somebody all day, this Lowell guy sounds perfect!!”

“Jesus, Ichi-” Rei jolted back a little, surprised. “Uh, what’re you talking about?”

“No time to explain I gotta find this Minccino right now—“ I headed straight for the door, about to bolt out.

Suddenly I felt somebody push me down, and I was brought to the floor. “H-hey!”

“Hold it right there.” Stella had leaped after me straight from her chair, tackling me and pinning me down. “Oi, the hell’s up with you, boss-mon? What’s with the rush?”

“S-Stella!” Aiden exclaimed.

“What? It wasn’t that hard of a Tackle, was it? Dunno how else you want me to stop him.” She hopped off of me.

“I’m fine, guys…” Pushing myself up, I stretched my back, which ached a little. “Yeesh, you really pack a punch, Stella… Look, it’s just some stuff involving Paradise, okay? I got it covered~” 

I tried to leave, but a Snivy stood in my way. Rei had slithered his way off of his seat and between me and the door. “…something went wrong, didn’t it? This ain’t the first time you’ve freaked out, Ich’.” 

I stared back at Rei, feeling guilty. My ears flattened again. “…it did go wrong, yeah.” Even though Rei hasn’t always been truthful with me, I couldn’t bring myself to lie to my business partner. “B-but I’m going to fix things!” I reassured him. “And to do that I need somebody, anybody looking to start a business! And this coffee-loving Minccino is my golden ticket!”

“…the hell are you on about?” Stella raised an eyebrow.

“Ichi… do you need a moment to calm down?” Aiden asked.

“I’m good, I’m good, I’m good!” I put up both of my paws, shaking my head. Sparks started to form around my cheeks.

“I think he needs to chill,” Rei sighed.

“Ooh, I know just the thing!” Aiden grinned as he hopped over to the corner of the room. He eagerly picked up a big cardboard box and put it down in front of me. “The box!”

“…uh, are you sure that’s gonna help?” Rei frowned. “Seems kinda… childish.”

“Well, that old Liepard seemed to enjoy sitting in ‘em,” Stella scoffed. “I don’t see much of a problem.”

 

“Okay, okay, fine, I’ll get in the box…” I grumbled as I jumped inside. The box was spacious, a perfect fit for me. “… woah .” 

The cardboard hugged me, rubbing against my fur. Its texture was… almost indescribable. Soft, yet tough. Coarse, yet comfortable. As if on instinct, I found myself curling up inside the box. I felt like a little Pichu again… 

Aiden peered in from above—he was practically towering over me. “Are you feeling better, Ichi? Take a nice deep breath in… and a nice deep breath out.”

Inhale. Exhale. The cardboard smelled like… well, cardboard. It smelled kinda old—it was nowhere near as pleasant as how it felt. But I didn’t care. The box was too damn comfy for me to care.

“…it’s almost kinda cute,” I thought I could hear Rei murmur.

“Hm?” My head peeked out of the box, looking at the Snivy.

“Wh-what?” he stammered, looking away. “What’re you looking at me for?”

I gave the Snivy a knowing grin, before finally hopping out of the box. “Alright. Wow. That was… eye-opening.”

“Mhm! Now, are you ready to tell us what’s going on, Ichi?” the Audino asked.

 

---

 

We all made our way back to the table. Leaning forward, I pressed my paws against the table. “I should get straight to the point. I need an aspiring businessmon on my side because it’s the only way I can convince Mr. Gurdurr to join me too.” I gulped. “He told me that… if I really did have the passion he’s looking for, if I truly wasn’t just in this for the money, then I’d be able to find somebody willing and able, no problem at all.”

I hung my head. “…he didn’t take my plan seriously.”

“Woah woah woah, I’m still outta the loop here, who’s this Mr. Gurdurr guy again?” Stella blurted, giving me a confused stare.

“He runs a carpentry business. He built our house for us.”

Rei scowled, his voice rising a little. “…he tried to scam us though. He tried to con us for money, it’s real hypocritical of him to call Ich’ out for being greedy.”

“But he did say he’d make an earnest attempt to go back to his old ways as a carpenter,” Aiden added. “Perhaps he saw your plan as nothing but a get-rich-quick scheme… and he wanted to stay as far away from it as possible, Ichi.”

My eyes darted to the Audino. “That- that’s exactly it, yeah Aiden! But… but I never meant for it to be ‘just some get-rich-quick scheme.’” I exhaled. 

 

“Hold on.” Rei looked at Aiden. “How… did you know that? You weren’t there when his crew apologized to us.”

“Hm? Oh, I’ve simply met Mr. Gurdurr once before. I had fallen for his scam too, ehe… But then I hired the Aces, and they escorted me to Hazy Pass, and they beat the fluff out of Mr. Gurdurr, but then he started complaining about his back, and then—”

“Aiden, get to the point already,” Stella interrupted.

“Ah! Sorry… I must’ve sounded like Mr. Keck there… erm, to put it simply, I used my healing moves to fix Gurdurr’s back, and he was so grateful that he decided to turn a new leaf.”

The three of us stared at the Audino, silence echoing through the house thanks to the absurd bombshell he just dropped.

“…and you’re just casually telling us this now? ” the Snivy finally asked.

“Why would I need to bring it up? Nobody ever asked, and it wasn’t very important…”

“GUYS WE’RE GETTING SIDETRACKED, I REALLY NEED A PROPER GAME PLAN NOW! ” I exclaimed, fists clenching. “How am I gonna convince that Minccino??”

“Gah, no need to yell…” Rei winced. “…aight. What was your first plan, then? What did you pitch to Gurdurr that got him pissed off at you?”

I thumped my foot as I leaned back in my chair. “It was simple—well, at least I thought it was. Since it’s way too hard for anybody to start a business in Post Town, I wanted to use this land to give people that opportunity… They’d rent out a plot of land here, Gurdurr’s crew would build ‘em a shop, and… yeah. It’d work out like that.” I cringed, already knowing just how badly I fumbled with my half-baked explanation.

“It’d just… ‘work out like that?’” Stella’s eyes narrowed. “Why would someone even wanna rent out land in this place? It’s kinda… sad.”

“Desolate, yes,” Aiden added. “Perhaps even decrepit.”

“Yeeeah, big words like that.”

“W-well… for one, it’s right next to Post Town. It’d look a lot nicer if Gurdurr would actually help us pretty the place up…” I pouted.

“Well, right now it doesn’t look eye-catching. So why else would somebody wanna set up shop here?” Rei asked.

I gulped—I was being interrogated again, this time by my own group… “I mean, is there any other option?”

“…starting to see the problem with your sales pitch,” Rei deduced. “You don’t have straight answers for any of the holes in your plan. And there’s a lot of holes.”

“I…” My words died off. I didn’t wanna admit that I didn’t know how to patch any of these holes.

 

Stella clicked her tongue. “Oh come on, boss-mon. You were confidently boastin’ your dream to us yesterday, and now you’re all antsy just because of a lil criticism?”

“L-look, I just get anxious when things don’t go my way, okay?!” My foot thumped faster.

“Then make ‘em go your way! I don’t know shit about business, but these two seem smart enough. You got your teammates backing you up now, we can help ya figure shit out, or something.”

“Not just teammates,” Aiden interjected. “We’re your friends.” He gave me a soft smile.

“…wouldn’t go that far—I just met you guys—but for the sake of getting this guy hyped up, yeah sure,” Stella muttered under her breath before lapping up more of her milk.

I took another breath. “Okay. You’re right, I need your help perfecting this plan,” I admitted. “All I really have in mind is… well, what I just said. They’d rent out the land, Mr. Gurdurr will build them a store, and…y-yeah.”

“Are you gonna make them pay for construction, too?” Rei asked.

“No, I was thinking I’d cover that with my funds. That’s what I worked my ass off for!”

“You’re probably gonna have to charge a lot for rent if you wanna turn a profit, though…”

“Agh, I know, that’s exactly what Mr. Gurdurr said…”

“Hm… Why not forgo the profit and simply let him start for free?” Aiden suggested. “You should be assuming most of the risk, since you want this to be for ‘aspiring businessmon,’ Pokemon that are simply starting out with little Poke to their name… correct?”

Rei shook his head. “That’s a surefire way to get ripped off, Aiden. I doubt that Minccino would think about it, but other guys you’d be recruiting might take advantage of some kinda loophole.”

“Would Pokemon really do that?” the Audino tilted his head again.

“Wh– of course they would.” Rei then looked at me. “Hey, remember that Machoke? Scammed us outta 15 grand while we were looking for somebody to build our house.”

“Did I hear you right? 15 grand? ” Stella nearly spat out her drink.

“Y-yeah,” I nodded shamefully. “And I never got it back… but h-hey, at least we got our house built in the end!” I didn’t want to think about it.

“I still don’t think we should be taking any more risks with this,” Rei said. “At the very least you should cut your losses and charge a little for rent at the start. Besides, wouldn’t it look sketchy if we offered this all for free? It’d sound too good to be true for him.”

“Bruh, have you forgotten that this guy here is practically swimming in cash? You won’t be gettin’ anywhere if you keep worrying about risks,” Stella laughed.

“You want to prove to Mr. Gurdurr that it’s more than a cash-grab, right Ichi? Then this plan should be more in Mr. Minccino’s favor.” Aiden nodded.

“Yeah… I wanted to start this because I wanted to help other people turn their passions into profit,” I said, continuing to tap-tap-tap my foot. “I worked my ass off to scrounge up enough funds, and it’d be a waste to just be cautious with how I spend it! But other than letting him start for free… what else am I supposed to do?” Tap-tap-tap. I put a paw to my forehead. “I’m not good with planning stuff… I usually like to just wing it.”

 

“…Rei, hand me a pen and paper, please,” Aiden asked the Snivy.

“Uh, sure.” He opened up his bag and handed the Audino the two items.

“Let’s come up with a plan together.’ He started to delicately write on the piece of paper.

“What’s that for?” Stella asked.

“Drafting up a contract. Not only to put down our plan on paper so it’s properly organized, but to also make it a little more… official. I’ve practiced my cursive for years~”

“Aw, more paperwork?” I pouted.

“It’s more for Mr. Minccino than it is for us. He needs to know exactly what he’s getting into if he agrees to our plan, Ichi.” 

Our plan, I thought. I’d… always been thinking of it as just my plan. It always was just my plan, until Rei and the others showed up. Our plan. It… sounds nicer, thinking of it as a group effort…

“Okay… so not only is the installation fully covered by us, but the rental fee will also be free for… let’s go with eight months.” 

“Installation?” Stella asked.

“Building the store, setting everything up for them,” Aiden elaborated.

“Oh shit, this is, like, an actual contract. Where’d you learn how to just write one up like that?” Rei stared at the paper—even he looked a little intimidated.

“My family runs a healing business in Noe Town… let’s just say there are other matters to worry about in running it than simply pumping out Heal Pulses for money, ehe~”

The Snivy frowned. “…right. Healthcare is a business.”

“Were they training you to take it over or something?” I asked.

“Ah, um, let’s get back on topic,” Aiden chuckled. For once, his smile looked… forced. 

“So Ichi won’t be making any profit for the first eight months? What about in the meantime?” Rei asked. 

“I was planning on taking a small cut of their earnings,” I answered. “Not too much, of course!”

“Alright… five percent of all earnings made by the business will be taken by the landlord.” The Audino continued to write. “And after the eight months is up, the tenant will have to pay a flat rental fee.”

“Still feel like this is gonna end up being a net loss for Ichi,” Rei sighed. “He’s still losing money with the whole installation thing.”

“…sadly I can’t think of anything else that wouldn’t risk this becoming too unfavorable for Mr. Minccino…” Aiden frowned. “And I’d rather not try to exploit him…”

 

Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap. I was trying my hardest to think of something. 

Not only did I need to prove to Mr. Gurdurr that this wasn’t all about the money, but I also need to prove that this was still a profitable venture. Sounds almost contradictory—I can’t be dead-set on making dough, yet I still need to make enough dough to make it worthwhile.

But I need to also keep the Minccino in mind—I have to find the right balance so that he’d be comfortable getting my—no, our—help in order to launch his dream of running a cafe!

 

“Oh come on, I thought we were gettin’ somewhere!” Stella whined as all of our enthusiasm died down.

“What, do you got any bright ideas, Stella?” Rei huffed.

“Uhhhh… fuck if I know, make him pay you back for building the place at some point? Like, he’d be indebted to you or something.”

“That- that still feels like taking advantage of him! I don’t want to do that…” Aiden cringed.

 

Stella’s words hit me like a lightning strike.

Sparks crackled around my cheeks again as I slammed down on the table, hopping up from my seat. “Stella, that’s perfect!”

The canine yelped. “Eh?! I just pulled that one outta my ass though??”

“We can do this in a way that isn’t predatory! We can make him pay us back for installation unless he made enough money within that year so that we earned that money back! Otherwise he just needs to pay the difference as a fee!”

“Ohh, you mean like a quota!” Aiden realized. “Hm, as long as we give the tenants ample time to make it back, it could work!”

“A year sounds like a long enough time, doesn’t it?” Rei suggested.

“Depending on how much construction will cost, perhaps two years might be best. Ooh, we’ll also have to worry about how long the contract will last, as well as renewing the contract should they wish to continue running their business here.”

“We can just use the same system! Have them meet a quota by the end of the contract period, and if they don’t reach it, they have to pay a fee! And—oh, I just thought of this—they can keep any extra cash they made that went towards the quota as, like, a nice bonus!” My paws weren’t quivering with nervousness anymore—they were shaking with excitement!

The Rockruff puffed up her chest. “I dunno what the fuck you’re all on about, this shit’s hurting my head, but guess that means I’m smart too! Just spouted random shit, and suddenly y’all are fired up.”

Aiden started to write even faster, motivation coming back to him. “Rei, hand me more paper—it’d be best if we had multiple copies for reference.”

“This shit must be tough without printers, heh.” Rei opened his bag again. “…do you guys even have printers?”

“Nearest printing press is several towns over,” Aiden sighed.

 

 

I grinned, clapping my paws. “Okay. Okay! This is great! I’ve—sorry, we’ve actually got a proper plan!”

The Snivy sighed with a smile. “Now there’s the Ichi I know.”

“Yeah, finally,” Stella scoffed.

 

---

 

I stood outside Lowell Minccino’s house, contract in hand, mentally psyching myself up to try and pitch my plan once again. It’s time. Time to see if our gamble will finally net us a win.

“Remember, I’ll be right by your side. I’ll try our best to help.” Aiden shot me a smile.

This time, I had Aiden backing me up. Aiden insisted that he come with me to meet the Minccino. He reasoned that not only would it boost my credibility if he vouched for me, but having him by my side could make me feel less nervous.

I think he also just wanted more of his coffee.

 

The fragrance of rich Chestos floated through the door as the Minccino opened it. “Hm? Oh, Aiden! And I see you’ve brought a friend~ What brings you here?” He rubbed the bags under his eyes before taking a swig of coffee.

I stepped forward. However, I decided not to get into business mode like usual. “Hey there! My friends have been telling me all about your famous coffee… do you mind if we come in for a little chat?”

Lowell chuckled. “Well, lucky for you, I just brewed a fresh pot~ Everybody’s always welcome to try my coffee! Come on in.” He held the door open, and the two of us walked inside.

 

Lowell’s kitchen was clearly the biggest and most lived-in part of his home. With an extended counter and stools lined up in front of it, it almost looked like a bar. Cookbooks were piled up at the end of the counter. A long shelf with many labeled jars of ground Chestos was above the stove. The source of the strong coffee smell was on said stove—an old coffee pot that had seen years of use.

Aiden and I watched Lowell pour coffee into a pair of mugs for us. He had to stand on top of a wooden crate in front of the stove, thanks to how small the Minccino was. Oddly enough, Lowell grabbed some fresh Pecha berries from a cabinet, cut them in half, and then squeezed the juices into the coffee. He then sprinkled in a pinch of both sugar and salt, before stirring it together.

I grimaced. I already wasn’t that big a fan of coffee, and seeing the Minccino put in things I’ve never seen anybody put into the drink before made me a little skeptical.

He hopped down gently with both mugs in hand, managing not to spill anything. He stepped up onto another crate across the counter, presenting our drinks to us. “Two fresh Pecha coffees~”

“Thanks, Mr. Minccino!” Aiden smiled before taking a sip. “…mmm! Very sweet…”

“You know, you don’t have to call me Mr. Minccino, I’m only like two or three years older than you, Aiden,” Lowell laughed.

“Hm…” I huffed—I had to drink it, it’d have been rude not to. If everybody sings high praise for his coffee… then it’s gotta be good, no?  

I took a sip… and I was blown away by how good it was. Even though he added salt, I could barely taste it—both the salt and the sugar worked to mask the bitterness of the coffee. But more importantly—the sweet flavor of Pecha juice and the rich flavor of the Chesto blend worked together to make a strangely satisfying combination that made me question what kind of coffee I grew up with.

“…holy crap this is good. I- I don’t even like coffee all that much and this is good.”

“Ehe~ I told you, everybody in town loves his brews,” Aiden grinned.

“Where’d you even learn how to make coffee like this?”

“Well, there was an old Tranquill that I used to know in my hometown. People used to call him the Brewster. He taught me everything about coffee—how to get the maximum flavor out of Chesto berries, what to mix with coffee, different ways of brewing coffee… Needless to say, he got me hooked~”

“Honestly, you could open a cafe with skill like that!”

“I’ve always wished to… but it’s hard, especially in a town like this, sadly,” he lamented.

 

I winked. “What if I could help you?”