Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 75

Chapter 75: A Certain Person’s Epilogue

 

When we entered the café, we were guided to the table at the very end.

 

The floor was covered with what seemed like a luxurious red carpet, and the interior was simple yet calming.

 

There were a maximum of eight tables.

 

About half of them were occupied by noble-looking dragonkin women, all chatting and sipping the liquid in their cups.

 

Judging by the color, it looked like coffee, but I wondered what it really was.

 

Sora, who had settled into the comfortable chair, let out a sigh of relief.

 

“This is my first time here, but it really seems like an expensive place.”

 

Muttering this, Sora opened the menu and couldn’t help but twitch the corners of his mouth at the prices listed.

 

?Dragon Coffee Unsweetened: 50,000 El?
?Dragon Coffee Lightly Sweetened: 50,000 El?
?Dragon Coffee Low Sugar: 50,000 El?

 

The names gave off the impression of supermarket coffee.

 

But even more surprising were the dishes, each costing over 100,000 El. I was convinced that spending El in a skill shop would be a much better investment than spending it here.

 

Shin and Rou also exchanged glances and gave each other a wry smile after looking at the menu.

 

“This place is crazy expensive!”

 

“Glen, are you really okay with treating us? Just for the four of us, the drinks alone will cost over 200,000 El.”

 

“Yes, it’s no problem. Besides, I caused you trouble with the Gald incident. Consider this my apology.”

 

When Glen said that, both Shin and Rou fell silent, looking rather conflicted. Then they looked at me with a somewhat sympathetic expression.

 

“Ah, that guy…”

 

“We never expected that something like that would happen to him after he lost to Sora.”

 

“Huh?”

 

Sora, the only one not understanding, tilted his head in confusion.

 

Glen, knowing the answer, explained Gald’s current activities to me.

 

“He deeply regretted his actions and left our clan. He’s now part of a clan called the ?Sword Princess Support Group?.”

 

“…Huh?”

 

My mind went blank for a moment.

 

I understood that he left the clan, but I couldn’t quite grasp what Glen said after that.

 

I asked Glen again, “So, what did that guy do after he left?”

 

Glen gave a clear answer.

 

“After leaving our clan, he joined a clan that supports you, Sora.”

 

“How did that even happen…?”

 

Even after hearing it again, it made no sense to me.

 

I knew from an article by Rinne, the self-proclaimed VR journalist who still hasn’t been caught, that there’s a clan out there supporting me. But I wasn’t interested, so I hadn’t read it in detail. So, that clan is called the ?Sword Princess Support Group??

 

Glen then explained to me what kind of activities that clan was involved in.

 

The group’s primary activity is supporting beginners.

 

They operate out of the capital city, Yggdrasil, and kindly guide those who are completely lost until they can stand on their own in this game. At the end, when they part ways, they spread the word about the “Silver Sword Princess.”

 

While their actions are commendable and praiseworthy, that last bit kind of ruins everything.

 

It’s like enjoying a perfect gourmet meal, only to be served a terrible dessert at the end.

 

Thanks to this proselytizing strategy, Sora’s fanbase has been steadily growing, now numbering in the hundreds.

 

It’s hard to believe that Gald, who once accused me of cheating, would end up joining such a group. Life is truly unpredictable.

 

Hearing this, Shin looked at Sora with a serious expression.

 

“Could it be that they’re pretending to be fans but are actually haters?”

 

“I don’t think so. He doesn’t strike me as the type who could pull off something that clever.”

 

“—What!?”

 

Sora almost burst out laughing at Rou’s casual, yet sharp comment, delivered with a cheerful smile.

 

Shin, however, didn’t seem to mind. He nodded in agreement, saying, “You’re probably right.” Glen chuckled at the exchange, and the three of us finalized our orders.

 

After a while, drinks called “coffee” were brought to our table, served in what looked like large mugs.

 

The aroma was unmistakably that of coffee, and the taste confirmed it as well.

 

It had a deep, rich flavor that immediately struck me as delicious the moment I tasted it.

 

I had chosen the lightly sweetened option, and the subtle sweetness was perfectly balanced.

 

My impression was, “I see, this is worth the price.”

 

Shin and Rou also relaxed, enjoying their high-end coffee.

 

Then, as if recalling something, Glen turned his gaze toward me.

 

“By the way, Sora, you’re the disciple of the guild leader… Shino, right?”

 

“Yeah, that’s right.”

 

“If you don’t mind, could you tell me about Shino from the past?”

 

“A story about my master from the past? There’s nothing cute about it, just pure terror.”

 

“Even so, I’d like to hear it.”

 

…Oh?

 

This reaction… could it be?

 

Sora thought of one possibility, looking at Glen’s serious expression.

 

When he glanced over at Shin and Rou, it seemed they had reached the same conclusion, as they both gave a wry smile.

 

As a preemptive strike, Sora decided to ask directly.

 

“Glen, do you have feelings for my master?”

 

“—Gah!”

 

It seemed he hit the mark.

 

Glen, who had been sipping his coffee, was so startled by Sora’s question that he nearly choked, coming dangerously close to suffering damage from choking.

 

Glen slowly placed his coffee back on the table, held his mouth, shook his head, and, while coughing, denied it.

 

“Cough, cough! N-no, that’s not it. What I feel for her isn’t love!”

 

“Really? It’s not?”

 

I gave him a doubtful look, and Glen’s cheeks turned slightly red.

 

“N-no! What I feel for her isn’t love, but pure respect for her strength. I mean, she won the world championship in VR combat games five years in a row at that age!”

 

“Respect, huh? That’s one way to put it.”

 

“Emotions like that can easily turn into romantic feelings, you know. Maybe he’s just not aware of it yet.”

 

Seizing the opportunity, Shin and Rou delivered some well-placed verbal jabs at Glen.

 

This was the classic case of “strength in numbers.”

 

With their coordinated attacks leaving him no room to argue, Glen eventually fell silent and became a coffee-drinking machine.

 

Feeling a bit guilty for teasing him, Sora apologized and began recounting how they met and how the hellish training began.

 

“Well, it was about five years ago. My cousin, who’s four years older than me, brought a game over during New Year’s, and we played it together.”

 

The game they played was a VR combat game called “Duel Arms”.

 

It was a simple game where characters using melee weapons fought until one’s HP dropped to zero.

 

At first, she said she was just playing to unwind.

 

But when I managed not only to evade her serious moves but also to counter them, Shino’s attitude changed completely.

 

She told me that with my talent, I could reach the same level that no one else could follow her to.

 

And so began our long, grueling battles. After we hit 10,000 matches, we stopped counting and let a machine do it.

 

“My master’s most impressive trait is that she doesn’t have a single weakness when it comes to combat games.”

 

Even though she said it was just for fun, we ended up teaming up and dominating the rankings of every popular game at the time—tank battles, fighter jet battles, battleships, and robot battles—defeating all the top players.

 

Thanks to that, I remember social media was buzzing because of us.

 

“Well, when I think of my master from back then, I mostly just remember her constantly fighting.”

 

“Thank you for sharing such a valuable story.”

 

As the conversation ended, I finished my coffee and suddenly noticed something peculiar.

 

In the top-right corner, next to the player’s green HP and MP gauges, there was a strange mug-shaped buff icon.

 

The number under it read 1800 seconds, or 30 minutes.

 

I wondered what kind of buff it was.

 

Just then, the support AI ?Lucifel? explained to Sora.

 

?You have been granted a Luck Boost buff. It’s a hidden effect given when you finish drinking the coffee at this cafe.?

 

So, it affects drops and encounters, huh?

 

I stood up and told Shin and Rou.

 

“Finishing the coffee gave us a Luck Boost buff. There’s a time limit, so let’s hurry and take on a quest!”

 

“You’re kidding me.”

 

“Ah, I see. So, this place wasn’t just expensive for no reason.”

 

As I watched my friends hurriedly get up, I turned to Glen to thank him.

 

“Thanks for the coffee. By the way, my master, despite how she appears, actually likes cute things, so stuffed animals would make a great gift.”

 

“B-but I already told you—”

 

“Hahaha, there are plenty of people trying to win her favor, so good luck!”

 

With that, Sora led Shin and Rou out of the cafe.

 

“Sora, where are we going?!”

 

“Well, since it’s a Luck Boost buff, I’m guessing…”

 

“Ah, if it’s a 30-minute Luck Boost, there’s only one thing it could be!”

 

We were heading to a mining quest.

 

In this quest, you descend into a dungeon beneath the country and swing your pickaxe to gather as many ores as possible.