Dravin's unserious facade suddenly gave way to panic. He hurried over to Freya.
"Are you saying I need to fight demons? Isn't that your job?" he asked anxiously.
"Yes, it is my job, but it doesn't mean something won't attack you. You need to master some self-defense skills," she replied.
Dravin looked at Freya's sly, shifty eyes with a serious gaze. Maybe she's just trying to scare me, or perhaps she'll trick me if I agree. Compared to a demon, Freya seemed much more terrifying.
"I'll take care of that later myself. And I know what I want from you." Dravin smirked, returning her sly gaze.
"What?"
"Work here. I still need to find a Floor Manager. And you are suitable for that."
Freya frowned. "What's the job description?"
"Something you're really good at: staring sharply at every customer's movement. And if they need something, you will notif—"
Thud!
"Arghh…" Dravin groaned, stumbling back a few steps until his back hit the wall because Freya had just punched him in the stomach.
"Do you want to die by my hand? Are you saying you want me to be a waiter?"
Dravin winced, rubbing his throbbing abdomen.
"What's wrong with a waiter? A server is a noble job! And I wasn't finished talking. You would be—"
Freya walked past, bumping his shoulder hard, not letting him finish the discussion before the elevator whisked her down.
He wanted to tell her that her sharpness and attention to detail were perfectly suited for supervising the waiters.
Didn't she even know the term Floor Manager? Ugh, if only she could stop flying off the handle before hearing the full story.
Rubby, does the shop sell a potion to change someone's personality?
[It's possible, Chef. But the shop usually forbids you from buying anything that could be used for evil. It will assign a prohibitive cost you cannot pay to prevent you from buying it.]
Dravin clicked his tongue, knowing that already.
He'd once tried to prompt for a nuclear-armed submarine to destroy the world; the shop had it.
However, the cost wasn't just trillions of coins or stats; he was required to pay with the head of the dragon guardian of Mount Arbisat—something that only existed in children's fairy tales.
[How about the mission? Will you accept it?] Rubby reminded him.
Is there a time limit to accept or reject it?
[As long as the problem is unresolved, the mission will remain on your list, Chef. You can view your past, ongoing, or stacked missions in the inventory.]
The elevator door opened as Dravin decided to go down to the first floor to find Freya. He looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.
Not long after, Freya suddenly appeared from the entrance, carrying a shopping bag that looked full. From the clinking sound, anyone could tell it was packed with glass bottles or cans.
The angel then set the plastic bag down on the cashier's counter. She glared and approached Dravin, the distance between them just inches.
"I don't look down on the position of a waiter. But it's an insult if you give me a job I didn't sign into," she stated firmly, making Dravin shiver.
Freya then turned to her bag and pulled out the contents one by one. She opened a bottle of mineral water and dumped the contents into the sink near the pillar that connected the main seating area to the bar.
Next, Freya deftly opened a bottle of light beer and a bottle of rice milk beer. Dravin frowned as Freya poured a rough measurement of each into the empty bottle.
"What are you doing?"
"Shut up and watch."
Afterward, Freya added a mix of thick passion fruit syrup and guava juice concentrate into the bottle containing the beers, then shook it vigorously.
"Are you playing barista now?" he asked, his tone laced with mockery. "A barista's job isn't guesswork. It's a science and an art. Not everyone could—"
"Drink!" Freya shoved the bottle, which contained a mixture that Dravin thought might send him to the gates of death.
"You want me to drink this? Are you sure it's drinkable and not poisonous?" He was skeptical and refused.
But Freya grabbed his hand and guided it onto the bottle, forcing him to hold it himself.
"It's easier to kill with a sword or a knife." Her glare carried the weight of a direct order, letting Dravin know that refusal was a death wish.
Dravin raised the bottle to his nose and took a deep breath.
Surprisingly, it had a scent of heady sweetness cut by a fresh, clean tang—completely unlike what he expected.
He'd have been easily convinced if Freya had told him it was a raw perfume scent. Wasn't that reason enough not to drink it?
But somehow, Dravin felt hypnotized and took a sip.
His eyes went wide as the strange liquid touched his tongue.
It tasted like a velvet fist. It was smooth and sweet, then delivered a clean, sharp hook to the back of his throat.
He took another sip. Another.
Until he'd nearly finished the bottle, the taste instantly reminded him of a Piña Colada cocktail.
It was just missing a hint of coconut, and it would have been perfect.
"I'm sure that sexy place still doesn't have a bartender," Freya said, gesturing toward the bar area.
"You… how could this…" Dravin struggled for words.
"I'm an angel from the heavenly realm. And my job before this was serving celestial liquor to the Gods and Goddesses," Freya exclaimed proudly.
By Freya's possessive smile, Dravin knew exactly which position she already had her eyes set on, and he realized there would be no negotiation on that front.
.
.
Dravin settled the deal with Freya, accepted the mission, and the two immediately rushed to the site.
Cheetoo Lake, spread before Dravin, was so vast he almost mistook it for the ocean.
Its water was murky, thick with what looked like industrial waste.
"If I don't catch this demon tonight, the water here will turn poisonous by tomorrow. Soon after, the habitat inside will die and float to the surface.
And a few days after that, the water in the nearby blocks and populated areas will be contaminated. You can imagine the end result," Freya explained.
Dravin swallowed the lump in his throat repeatedly.
"Wait, let's find the lure tools." The chef immediately opened his ShopaLyfe and typed the system-directed prompt:
C-Rank Demon Lure Tools
He entered that, then frowned.
He quickly typed: Cheetoo Lake
But confusion was still clear in his gaze.
===
Ripple Quake Lotus
Effect: Will violently shake the lake's entire contents, disorienting the Demon and forcing it to breach the surface to recover.
Usage: Place the lotus in the center of the lake, and pluck a single petal to activate.
Side Effect: The Demon will hold a grudge against you and pursue you. If it touches you, you will be trapped in an illusion of your biggest fear for 5 minutes.
Price: 4588 coins, 2500 aura points
===
The Happy Fish Rod
Effect: Once the demon catches the bait, it will die directly and vanish instantly.
Usage: Hook the 'happy fish' bait onto the iron-laced fishing line. Then, fish.
Side Effect: It will make you sleepy all day the next morning for 24 hours. Furthermore, whenever you fall into a deep sleep, you will be paralyzed and need someone to wake you up.
Price: 5488 coins, 2500 aura points
===
Dravin turned to Freya with a furrowed brow and asked, "Do you want the demon dead or not?"