Menu no.35 - America what?

The abandoned city spread before us like a forgotten memory.

Crumbling stone buildings stood in silence, their walls cracked and overgrown with moss. Broken streets stretched into darkness, lit only by faint dungeon light filtering from above. This place had once been alive—markets, homes, laughter—but now it was nothing more than a passageway for adventurers moving between floors.

And today, it had customers.

“Wait—are you the one selling coffee?”

A voice called out as we passed through the central plaza.

I turned and saw another adventuring party resting near the remains of an old fountain. Five people—dusty armor, tired eyes, but very much alive. Their gaze locked onto the bag Erina was carrying… more specifically, the bottles inside.

“…Coffee?” one of them repeated, disbelief clear in his voice.

“Yes,” another said. “I heard it too. Someone’s been selling coffee inside the Dungeon.”

I blinked.

Ah.

So it had spread already.

In the span of just a few days, the rumor had traveled from party to party, floor to floor. A wandering barista inside the Dungeon—apparently that was unusual enough to stick.

I scratched my cheek awkwardly. “Uh… yeah. That might be me.”

Their eyes lit up immediately.

“Can we buy one?”
“I’ll pay extra!”
“Anything warm would be great—!”

I instinctively reached into Erina’s bag.

Then froze.

…One bottle.

Just one.

Coldbrew. The last of our prepared supply.

“…Sorry,” I said slowly. “I only have one bottle left.”

The excitement drained from their faces.

“Only one…?”
“That’s rough.”
“Guess we’re too late…”

They sighed, clearly disappointed.

I felt bad.

Asuna leaned over and whispered, “What if we just… add water to it?”

Kazuha immediately smacked the back of her head.

“Don’t say stupid things,” he snapped. “You’ll ruin it.”

Asuna rubbed her head. “Ouch! I was just saying!”

But—

I froze mid-thought.

“…Wait.”

Both of them looked at me.

“Ide bagus, Asuna.”

Kazuha stared at me. “You’re kidding.”

Asuna’s eyes sparkled. “Oh? Really?”

I quickly pulled out an empty bottle from our supplies and poured half of the remaining coffee into it. Then, carefully, I filled both bottles with clean dungeon water until they were full.

I sealed them tightly.

Then—

Shake. Shake. Shake.

“Voilaaa,” I said proudly.

Erina tilted her head. “Amerkayaaa.”

Tiara frowned. “Ameri… what?”

I smiled. “Americano.”

I explained briefly—espresso diluted with hot water, though in this case, it was coldbrew adjusted on the fly. Simple. Practical. Efficient.

One bottle became two.

I handed them to the waiting party.

They exchanged looks, shrugged, and took cautious sips.

Then—

“…Oh.”

“…Hey.”

“…This is actually good.”

One of them laughed. “It’s lighter, but still has flavor.”

“Feels easier to drink while walking.”

They paid without hesitation.

Transaction complete.

As we continued toward the lower floors, Erina skipped happily beside me.

“Erinyan thinks Daiki is scary,” she said. “Turning one drink into two.”

“That’s business,” I replied.

“Capitalism,” Kazuha muttered.

By the time we reached the base floor of the Dungeon, the familiar noise returned.

Voices. Footsteps. Clanking armor.

The Dungeon market.

Merchants shouted prices. Adventurers argued over supplies. Smoke from food stalls curled into the cavern ceiling. Compared to the silence of the deeper floors, this place felt overwhelmingly alive.

I stopped walking.

Something clicked.

I looked around slowly.

A constant flow of people—going in, coming out. Exhausted adventurers. Nervous first-timers. Merchants. Guides.

All of them passed through here.

Every single one.

“…Hey,” I said quietly.

The others turned to me.

“You know,” I continued, “earlier… when they said someone was selling coffee inside the Dungeon.”

I looked at the stalls.

“At the market.”

At the paths leading deeper.

“At the resting zones.”

“…Why does it have to be wandering?”

Asuna blinked. “Huh?”

Kazuha frowned. “You mean…?”

“What if,” I said slowly, feeling the idea solidify in my mind, “instead of walking around and hoping to meet customers…”

I pointed to the open space near the resting area.

“…I set up a fixed spot?”

Silence.

Erina’s ears twitched. “A den?”

“A stall,” I corrected. “Or… eventually…”

I imagined it.

A small counter.
Steam rising from cups.
The smell of coffee cutting through the Dungeon air.

“…A café,” I said.

Tiara crossed her arms. “Inside the Dungeon?”

“Why not?” I replied. “This place already functions like a city. A dangerous one—but still a city.”

Asuna’s eyes widened. “That would mean adventurers could rest properly before going deeper.”

“And recover stamina,” Kazuha added. “Morale too.”

I nodded.

“And coffee,” I said quietly, “is perfect for that.”

The idea wouldn’t leave my head.

A Dungeon café.

Not just selling drinks—but creating a space. A pause between life and death. A moment of normalcy in a place meant to break people.

I clenched my fist.

“…Yeah.”

This wasn’t just about selling coffee anymore.

It was about planting something human inside a place that devoured humans.

As we stepped fully into the bustling Dungeon market, I felt it clearly.

This was the beginning of something bigger.

Much bigger.