Somnium Online

Coffee and Revenge

The following day, Eric met Anne by the clocktower to begin their house buying excursion.

The day was warm, and the birds were singing cheerfully. Anne led him around to view various properties.

The first house was located in the warehouse district. It was spacious, but on closer inspection, it wasn't really fit for living in due to the lack of different rooms.

The next property they looked at was a rooftop penthouse near the city center. It was nice enough, but Anne decided that glass walls offered too little privacy.

After that came the oddest one yet. An old coffee shop that was up for sale. The shop was on the first floor, and while it was small, the building had been well maintained. The shop still had all the old equipment from when it sold coffee, and behind the bar, they found a fully operational kitchen.

Behind the kitchen was a back room with some worn but comfortable couches and stairs leading to the upper floors.

The second floor had four bedrooms and a storage room. The third floor had the same layout but with stairs that led to the roof. The rooms, upon closer inspection, were surprisingly large, and each contained a kitchenette and a bathroom of its own.

It was perfect. There was tons of space, plenty of storage, and the best part was the roof.

The roof had a stunning view of the city. There was a dining space on one end, and the other end was set up for... sparring!

There was an outdoor sparring ring on the roof.

"Sold!" Anne shouted, and Eric had to agree. It was exactly what they needed. The asking price was a little over their budget, but they got it for 800 gold pieces, in the end, thanks to Eric's negotiation skills.

They started moving in immediately. Anne went furniture shopping with the remaining funds from the dungeon clearing reward.

She was like a general, ordering furniture around like troops on a battlefield with Eric's wind doing all the lifting.

Eric cleaned the coffee shop floor and swept off the rooftop. By the end of the day, it was a whole new house.

The coffee shop was neat and tidy, it's tables sparkled, and mugs were lined up neatly behind the counter. The kitchen was organized, and ready for work. The whole floor was filled with the aromatic scent of newly roasted coffee beans.

On the second floor, each room was furnished, and on the roof, the sparring ring was clear and the dining space even had candles on the table.

It was home.

But, one thing was missing. The whole building was a bit... empty. Anne and Eric were enjoying dinner at a table in the coffee shop, trying to figure out what to do with all the extra space when two familiar people burst through the front door.

"Wow, it's really clean in here!" Abby said cheerfully.

"This is really nice." Reagan agreed.

Anne just about choked on her coffee. "What are you doing here?!" She demanded.

Abby ran her hands along the counter as she surveyed the room. "Sylvia sent us. She said you had a coffee shop and were hiring."

"When did she-" Anne couldn't form a complete sentence. She finally managed. "Actually, we're not planning on actually opening the shop, we just live here."

"We aren't?" Eric asked, puzzled.

Anne gave him a look that said play along or else. "No" she repeated. "We aren't, nor are we hiring," Anne said.