Olivier turned left and right, lazily stretching his body. He let out a yawn before reluctantly getting out of bed. He didn't care enough to throw a look at the mirror. His lifespan was constantly rising but Olivier hadn't felt any big changes to his body.
It had to be said that facilitating the contract between Marcus and Exaner brought him a reward of 0,2 years of lifespan per year. It wasn't much but if he could facilitate more and more contracts it would swiftly accumulate. However, Olivier wasn't proactive about it. So far, he had not discovered any way to proactively attract clients. And even if he found one, he probably wouldn't care.
However, there was one point about the contract between Marcus and Exaner which continued to bother Olivier. As, unbeknownst to them, both young men saw an increase in their lifespan. Although Marcus had to bear the cost of 0,5 years per year, his lifespan increased by 2 years, which even earned him a profit.
And Exaner was even more exaggerated, directly having his lifespan increased by 20 years. Olivier didn't understand. All the transactions he witnessed so far have been logical. His customers paid for their coffee and his own lifespan would increase. But this time the lifespan came out of nowhere as if there was an infinite supply.
Olivier had already thought about it. Perhaps this was a hint? Was it the black cat's way of urging him to facilitate more contracts? Someone who was more obsessed with their lifespan would surely work hard in that direction from now on. But Olivier didn't feel such a strong urge. He would play his role and take things as they came.
Olivier's thoughts settled as he entered the café clad in his usual black and white tailcoat. A brief look around revealed two guests today. They were Old Demon and Marcus.
Over the last few days Benjamin and Valentino had made themselves sparse. From their brief interactions Olivier learned that Benjamin was swamped with work while Valentino was enjoying life. It was quite interesting to see that despite this disparity both appeared similarly joyful.
Although they were not his only customers, they were the most memorable ones. From time to time someone new would find their way to the café but they didn't interact with Olivier. One person saw Old Demon after arriving and immediately turned around in fright. Two others entered carefully, scrutinized the café and left again without talking to anyone.
Olivier might have been able to retain some of those guests, but he decided not to force it. According to the lifespan gleamed through his eyes of truth he had more than 400 years to live. He didn't even know what to do with so much time, so why be eager for more?
Furthermore, during those long years new customers would surely appear even without Olivier coercing them. And even if they didn't, just Old Demon alone drinking a single cup each day was enough to basically grant eternal life. Just the concept was enough to shatter Olivier's imagination.
Olivier could only try not to overthink it, peacefully grind his coffee, grab a filter, pour some scalding hot water, and take a deep whiff of the mellifluous smell. Since learning how to produce the beans, Olivier hadn't drunk another cup, but the smell was still enticing as ever.
Pouring two cups Olivier left the counter, placing the cups in front of his customers.
"Good morning, Barista!"
While Old Demon remained stoic as ever, Marcus was just the opposite. The young man always began a conversation, even if Olivier only listened without talking.
Marcus was quite decisive. Although the Café of Dreams was a strange place of witchcraft in his mind, now that he had accepted its help, he mustn't remain wary of it. Instead, he had to integrate himself with the Barista, gaining his favor. This was preparation for the future. If he ever needed help or more information, it was easier to ask if their relationship was already blooming beforehand.
Thus, Marcus would always strike up a conversation when Olivier approached. Olivier learned a lot about the young man. After understanding that Marcus initially aimed for a career in administration by leveraging relationships, Olivier could only think that this was indeed the most suitable for him.
By now it has been ten days since Marcus and Exaner formed their contract. During that time Marcus brought Exaner out to covertly test the abilities of both the ring and the key, and also to allow Exaner to familiarize himself with his new life. This was also how they learned that the key allowed them to return to the café from everywhere, which delighted Marcus a lot after finding out.
Things became much easier after that. One of the two young man would live their life while the other would hide in the café. While Marcus was responsible for interacting with others, Exaner was set to shine in the army. Marcus always wore a grin just thinking about the amazed faces of the other soldiers when they realized how much power such a scrawny body could hold.
"By now they should have already reached the training camp. I hope Exaner won't be too flustered. Others are alright but if he behaves strangely in front of Remus he might arouse suspicion. After all, only having my memories is not enough. He also has to behave like me."
Olivier listened to Marcus talking, occasionally nodding. He thought Marcus had a point. After all, there was too much of a difference whether Marcus or Exaner were waiting in the café. While the latter would quietly sit in a corner, the former always sought conversation. He wasn't even afraid of talking to Old Demon although he soon had to stop as he realized they weren't sharing a language.
However, Olivier didn't know if it was his misconception, but he felt that in the short span of a week Exaner already showed signs of a rising self-esteem. Perhaps feeling he was one of the strongest people in Marcus's world had already affected him.
Just as Olivier had such a thought, a ring came from the door. A boom followed as someone barged through the door. Olivier and Marcus turned their heads over, both frowning as they spotted a flustered Exaner rushing towards Marcus's table.
"Marcus! Quick, we need to swap! A centurion is conducting lessons, and I don't understand anything!"
"Exaner! Calm down! Share your memory with me!"
"Oh, oh right!"
Exaner was too confused, even momentarily forgetting about the memory share. Thanks to Marcus's experiments the two young men already had a good grasp of the ring's abilities. They were able to control the shared memories to a high degree and even block out the ring's effects. Now Exaner opened up and a burst of memories entered Marcus's mind.
Marcus endured the dizziness, sorting out the new memories in his mind. He saw 'himself' following a group of newly enlisted recruits out of the city. They went on a long march through fields and forests until finally arriving at the training camp. While everyone was exhausted, 'he' was only breathing deeply, still with some energy left. Thus, he already caught the attention of some instructors.
The next day during training 'he' didn't even use his full strength but still wrecked a training dummy, sticking out even more.
Today arrived. As everyone gathered for training in the morning, a centurion arrived, announcing the formation of an elite division. 'He' was chosen without surprise. Alongside a few other outstanding recruits 'he' would receive focused training. But this didn't only include combat training but also strategic lessons. At first 'he' didn't think much about it, but after the lesson began 'he' realized 'he' didn't understand anything.
This led to the present situation. Exaner had hastily excused himself in order to swap places with Marcus.
After understanding anything Marcus knew there was no time to waste. He instantly stood up, swapped clothes with Exaner on the spot, and rushed out of the café. Exaner watched Marcus with a struggling expression. He slumped into a chair.
Seeing him like this, Olivier sighed lightly. He prepared another cup of coffee, placed it in front of Exaner, saying:
"No need to feel down. We all have our own strengths."
Although Olivier didn't know what happened, he could read from Exaner's expression that something must have dealt a blow to him.
The young man nodded lightly, not feeling much better after the consolation. He sipped on his coffee while Olivier went back behind the counter, silently waiting for more customers.
This day was destined to be quite busy as about an hour later another ring came from the door. Olivier glanced over and couldn't help but be surprised about seeing the newcomer.