Chapter 28

It looked quite old, but it was fine.

I planned to feed it all to Tam when I got home.

"Thank you!"

After the purchase, transporting it was a task.

I went up and down several times to move them.

"Ugh!"

And finally, holding three fans in both hands, I carefully placed them in the back seat of the car.

"Wow, even scrapyards close their Porsches these days."

"Well, it's an era where there's no hierarchy in jobs."

I heard the voices of passing college students.

I understand.

Probably, I'm the only one in the world who would ride a Panamera in such a state.

But what can I do?

"Students, study hard, fighting!"

I threw out a word of encouragement and stepped on the gas.

Vroom──

The pitch-black Panamera sped through the university district of Sinchon, scattering dark matter.

*

"Ah, it looks delicious."

The ramen was boiling.

"The temperature is just right."

As soon as I got home, I cleaned the dusty air conditioner and fed Tam eight fans.

Swoosh──

The latest premium silent fan I obtained this way quietly dispelled the early summer heat.

"The air is so fresh."

The mini air purifier from the manga cafe had been "quality-converted" into the latest model that looked like a Star Wars robot.

Now everything was ready.

"Tam, please do it at an accelerated speed!"

I fed Tam the three volumes and 72 issues of "Alley Dunk."

──The power of "Quantity to Quality Conversion" is being activated.

I checked the "Preview" while expecting brand new items.

However, the result was unexpected.

──The "Preview" skill has been activated!

──Please select the result.

──A. Complete set of "Alley Dunk" collector's edition (brand new)

──B. Compilation of famous scenes from "Alley Dunk" characters

──C. Unpublished sequel episodes of "Alley Dunk" (3 volumes)

What, there's a sequel?

There's a story about the main team's crushing defeat after defeating the ultra-high school-level national strongest villain team?

And I can see it?

"......Am I crazy, really."

There was no need to think about it.

"C! C! C! Please! Hurry!"

I could buy the brand new complete set online, but the sequel episodes were something only I could see besides the author.

And a little later.

──"Quantity to Quality Conversion" is complete.

──Please "consume" the converted item.

With a well-cooked bowl of ramen, ripe kimchi, and a refreshing zero cola right next to me.

"......Phew!"

I started a marathon viewing.

Appreciation? That was unnecessary.

'Wow...... The perfect ending continues with such a story......'

Alley Dunk is invincible.

This author is a god.

Until all the food next to me disappeared.

Until the sun set and night fell.

I marathoned the sequel episodes of "Alley Dunk" several times, enjoying the aftertaste endlessly.

Only I know the ending of the red-haired rookie.

*

The next day.

The cafe <Seito Coffee> located on the main street was smoothly handed over.

I completed the business transfer contract with the owner and signed the lease agreement with the landlord under the same conditions.

After all, it was a store designated by franchise companies.

There was no need to check the details, and I only got the real estate documents to be safe, but there were no issues.

"Please take good care of it."

"Yeah, it was a good place to begin with. Just do what you've been doing and you'll be fine. Good luck."

We agreed to transfer the business in two weeks and pay the final amount then.

By that time, I could withdraw money from my cryptocurrency account.

'I might check the market a bit before then?'

For a few days, I had to visit the district office, tax office, and telephone office to receive hygiene education and handle administrative matters.

'It's going to get a bit busy.'

Of course, inspecting the store was the priority.

After signing the lease, I met the owner again to hear about the minor details of the transfer.

"This is the bathroom; the building takes care of major maintenance, but we do the cleaning."

"Understood."

"And the current contracted power is 10kw. Summer is coming, so if you find it insufficient after opening, you can apply for a change. It was fine for me."

"Got it."

The owner hurriedly informed me that he was busy and wouldn't be back in Seoul unless today.

I wanted to operate it as it was and asked about the part-time workers.

"They're all quite diligent. There's a girl who comes in on Saturday mornings, and the sales are good because she's cute."

......It seemed there was no need for major changes.

After completing all the transfer procedures, I asked the owner one more favor before parting ways.

"Can I come in when the shop is closed at night or when there are few customers during the day to use the kitchen? I'll pay for the facility usage."

The owner kindly allowed it and disappeared gracefully, looking forward to the official transfer day.

"Phew."

Stepping outside the store and looking around the area near Heungjeong Station, I felt a strange sensation.

Now, it was really the beginning.

*

That night.

I returned to <Seito Coffee> just before closing time.

"Our business is over."

"Ahaha, nice to see you."

I explained the situation to the part-time worker who was mopping the floor and closing up, and gave her an early dismissal.

"Thanks to you, I can go home early! Please take good care of it!"

"Sure, go ahead!"

I placed the coffee bean packs I had brought in the kitchen.

I had sourced these beans from nearby roasteries right after signing the contract.

While the margin was higher for desserts and more expensive coffee and beverage items, the basic menu was still Americano.

Naturally, the first menu development would start with the 1,500 won coffee.

'Shall I start?'

In the empty store.

I changed the sign at the entrance and hung it.

[ CLOSED ]

I also pulled down the blinds so that the inside couldn't be seen from outside.

I smeared some cream on the CCTV to block it.

'I'll clean it later!'

Then I put on some music.

My favorite song.

'Hehehe.'

How long had I been waiting for this moment?

Whistling, I took out the cups and placed them on the shelf.

I ground the beans I had bought today and placed them in separate cups.

The weight was 8.25g for each.

I poured boiling water into the cups and waited for 4 minutes.

Then, like cereal that has absorbed water, the coffee grounds and foam would rise to the surface.

I gently scooped them out with a spoon, smelled the aroma, and tasted it.

"Mmm, not bad."

After confirming the taste of each type of bean, I moved on to blending.

"One spoon of Ethiopian, one spoon of Colombian."

This was the most efficient way for tasting and blending, known as cupping.

There were many trials and errors in the blending process.

It would be time-consuming and tedious to adjust the bean ratios and re-grind and extract them each time.

Therefore, if possible, testing in liquid form was much more efficient.

"This is good?"

I narrowed down the candidates with a few combinations.

'Okay, that's enough for today.'

I didn't plan to finalize the recipe today.

A better recipe might come up after a few days of research.

I also needed to ask for opinions from Jeong Jung-hyun and other members, as well as regular customers.

The main goal of today's experiment was to calculate the cost.

'This shouldn't be much different.'

I applied the cost structure ratio to a 1,500 won coffee and made minor adjustments.

'If I use 400 won beans, the margin is 350 won.'

100 cups a day would yield 35,000 won.

It was really a thin margin.

'But this place sells about 1,000 cups a day, right? It's fortunate that it's doing well.'

However, the beans I bought couldn't be matched to 400 won per cup even at wholesale prices.

'They cost about 800 won?'

They were specialty coffee beans, more expensive than those used in large franchise cafes.

In other words, a 50 won loss per cup.

But I had a plan.

'Hehehe......'

The secret weapon I had been thinking about since I first considered opening a cafe.

Project name: <Coffee Copy>.

If this worked as I planned, I wouldn't just sit on a pile of money; I'd be sitting on a carpet of money.

'Let's do it!'

I carefully poured out the water from the cupping cups and collected the used coffee grounds separately.

Useless coffee grounds?

The grounds that are given to customers as deodorizers?

To me, each of these grounds looked like money.

Why?

Because of you.

"Tam!"

Tam flew to me, emitting a much more vibrant array of colors than before.

──Pew Pew Pew Pew

"It's a gift!"

I poured the coffee grounds into Tam's mouth.

──The power of "Quantity to Quality Conversion" is being activated.

──Item: 8.25g of ground Colombian Paraíso92 beans

──Quantity: 0.76

──Do you want to start the conversion process?

The paradigm of coffee cost was about to be completely overturned.

In one place, and only one place in the nation, or even the world.

My cafe.

'Hehehe! The beans are being copied!'

I started to create a cost calculation formula that didn't exist in this world.

──The "Preview" skill has been activated!

──Please select the result.

──A. 5.49g of Colombian Paraíso92 beans

──B. 10.70g of Colombian Paraíso92 green beans with defects removed

──C. 11.77g of Colombian Paraíso92 green beans

What, there's a sequel?

There's a story about the main team's crushing defeat after defeating the ultra-high school-level national strongest villain team?

And I can see it?

"......Am I crazy, really."

There was no need to think about it.

"C! C! C! Please! Hurry!"

I could buy the brand new complete set online, but the sequel episodes were something only I could see besides the author.

And a little later.

──"Quantity to Quality Conversion" is complete.

──Please "consume" the converted item.

──Time limit: 5 minutes

The "consumption" time limit was too short.

If I ground the beans immediately after receiving them, the "consumption" condition would be met.

But ground beans degrade faster, affecting the taste.

'Hmm.'

Still, this was something I could solve quickly.

Crunch──

I chewed on a single bean.

'Mmm.'

I remembered the barista class where we were forced to chew beans to taste their natural flavor.

It was nutty and slightly bitter, quite edible.

The caffeine rush was also immediate.

......Still, better to be cautious.

I rinsed my mouth with water to get rid of the beans stuck between my teeth.

"Kwee── Kyah!"

I should collect a few days' worth of grounds and convert them all at once.

That way, I wouldn't have to chew beans repeatedly.

"Alright."

Let's start the cost calculation.

I brewed coffee with the beans Tam had created.

Then I converted the grounds from that coffee back into beans.

"Wow, bean copying! Coffee copying!"

Of course, it wasn't infinite.

Tam recognized the used grounds as second-hand beans, and the conversion efficiency was in the high 80s.

There was a loss each time, so the amount of beans produced decreased with each conversion.

Still, a detailed calculation showed it was profitable.

800 won beans per cup.

If I converted the grounds, the cost would be about 671 won.

After two conversions, 569 won.

After three, 489 won.

After four, 424 won.

After five, 373 won.

"Wow......"

The beans originally used in this cafe cost 400 won.

They were a common variety with poor quality control.

'Just a bit better than convenience store coffee.'

The beans I brought were a high-quality variety in comparison.

Twice the cost.

But if I reused the grounds five times, I could produce specialty coffee at a cost of about 370 won, lower than before.

"Insane......"

Naturally, the margin would be higher than the existing coffee.

'Maybe I should charge more? About 2,500 won?'

If I sold coffee made from these beans at <Blue Place>?