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3. The Game to Kill the Coffee Novice

Sayaka explained the rules of the game to kill the coffee novice.

In short, it’s a game where you prepare coffee cups A and B and guess which coffee was brewed by the Master and which by Sayaka.

“I see… so, to summarize, it’s a game to kill the coffee novice.”

“Is that phrase trending? You’re the first person I’ve heard getting excited about it besides Sayaka…”

“I do like Hideyoshi’s enthusiasm.”

“Ah, yes.”

Sakuya had been hurling insults, calling me a brat and a kid, but suddenly she started praising me, so I just responded for the sake of it.

“Then I’ll prepare the coffee with the Master, so you, Hideyori, stay outside.”

“What a drag…”

I’m made to wait outside the shop for a few minutes.

It’s painful to be made to wait doing nothing.

I don’t even have a smartphone since I’m still a kid, so I can’t kill time.

As I’m staring at the sky, Sakuya bursts out, “Preparations are ready!”

She then leads me to my seat.

“What’s the success rate for this game?”

“One percent.”

“Hmm…”

I can’t help but smirk, recalling a doujin game from my past life with the tagline “Face the tragedy. Success rate: 1%.”

It’s just a simple ranking check, though.

“Ha ha, well, do your best, Hideyori-kun.”

Even caught up by his daughter, the Master seriously plays along. He’s got the air of a pro.

I reach for coffee B first.

“You contrarian!”

“Got it, got it, keep it down…”

I put down coffee B and take coffee A.

“Huh, how predictable of you.”

“Am I going to get scolded no matter which one I pick!? Is that kind of harsh treatment even allowed!?”

Despite the unsettling feeling, I look forward to the aroma and take a sip of coffee A.

“I see, it has quite a profound scent, doesn’t it?”

“You! That’s just a pretentious comment, isn’t it!”

“Um… why am I being treated with such disdain by Sakuya…?”

“I’m not looking down on you. It’s just my personal opinion.”

“Don’t think everything’s excused just because you say it’s a personal opinion.”

The Master looks on with a warm smile, “You two get along well.”

But really, Sakuya’s character is so intense!

Even though I’m not even a mob character in the game, it’s so intense. The world of games is scary.

“Here, drink B next.”

Prompted by her, I sip the B coffee as well.

“…………”

“You! Say something, will you?”

“Do I get scolded even if I don’t comment!?”

It’s a game that kills novices with coffee that has various thoughts behind it.

It seems like something that would happen…

“How about it, Hideyori-kun, are you confident?”

“I wonder… just a little bit…”

“A little?”

“I think it’s a bit too much.”

“Heh.”

The master grins with a smirk.

Sakuya, not understanding the meaning, has a question mark floating above her head.

“So, can a kid like you guess the difference in coffee?”

“This is both the master’s coffee, right?”

“Huh…?”

“It must be Sakuya’s doing.”

Influenced by my coffee-loving mother from a previous life, I was taught various differences.

I can somewhat tell whether a pro or an amateur brewed it.

That both were delicious coffees was the deciding point of this game.

“In my life so far, I’ve drunk a lot of coffee. As a coffee aficionado, I can tell whether it was made by a kid or not.”

“I see. For someone your age to be a coffee aficionado, you might end up with caffeine addiction in the future.”

“Caffeine addiction is fine by me.”

“This is the first time I’ve seen an elementary schooler abbreviate caffeine addiction to ‘caffeine fine’…”

The master, saying such things, seemed happy with his eyes, perhaps because he guessed correctly.

But the reaction of his daughter…

“It’s cheating!”

She was indignant.

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