The next morning, he woke up at the same time as always, and thanks to the insulation (which could be turned on or turned off per room), he did not hear the noise outside.
Apparently, there was a bit of a commotion last night, with tensions between adventurers and mercenaries in the camp. There was no room and there were only set locations where people could set up camps. It was inevitable for some people to cross paths.
Some ended up arguing for the good spots, like the areas next to trees or under the inn’s path lighting.
Some... just argued for the sake of arguing.
This morning, the topic also went to what he had been wondering the previous night: The mysterious appearances of strong monsters in areas they should not be in.
How did it start, you ask?
It was when they started yelling about their losses due to the sudden influx of monsters that took people by surprise.
When Finn heard it, he was speechless, almost thinking he was still asleep. Were they seriously trying to one-up each other in that , too?
Somehow, even the leaders of both sides who went out when there was chaos brewing in the camping grounds joined in.
"To be honest, there’s a lot of bad vibes in your guild," one of the newly arrived elders from the adventurer team snapped.
He had used his peak-fortified level strength to run here at record speeds. He had just arrived—and he had to see this face? Ptooey!
"Mercenaries have a lot of ties with nobles," he said. "How can we be sure you’re not involved as well?"
Ren’s uncle looked absolutely offended. "WATCH YOUR MOUTH!"
Finn groaned and rubbed his temple. It’s so early ...
Not to mention, what would happen if the official guilds were all here? He wouldn’t have to deal with this every day, would he?
Ugh, just when he was leaning towards allowing the three guilds to build here, he was starting to have second thoughts.
His relaxing rural life...getting so, so far away.
While he wallowed in regrets, soft hands found his temple, massaging it for him. He blinked to see it was Syl, who was looking at him in worry.
He smiled, his heart feeling like it was soaked in honey. "Thanks, Syl," he said, gently holding her hardworking hand and kissing her cheeks. "I can handle it."
Standing between the two groups who were obviously about to fight, Finn cleared his throat. "Please remember the rules and regulations of the inn. You can use the skills and target outwards to enemies, but please don’t target each other. Please behave if you don’t want to be blacklisted."
This made people purse their lips and shut up (at least for now).
By now, they had already seen much of what the Inn could offer, so they were naturally not planning on getting blacklisted—especially if the other side could still get so!
If the other side took advantage and widened the gap, who would they cry to?!
Seeing them a bit calmer, Finn finally heaved a breath of relief.
"I have a new offering, perfect for the cool morning," he said. "Would everyone like to try?"
...
The offering was none other than coffee, of course.
It was served hot along with some nice pastry. They made sure to add some creamer and sugar too. While some people might prefer it bitter, this was the first time these people had drunk it, so it was better to go on the safe side. They can finalize their coffee preferences at a later date.
They had also had their breakfasts by this time in the canteen. Not to mention, this chicory-like coffee didn’t have the amount of caffeine that real coffee had, so it really focused more on the taste and mood rather than any other effects.
Anyway, the taste was earthy, creamy, and wonderful. They had a taste of it in the bite-sized dessert before, but the flavor could not compare to the current strength. For adults, it was a sure treat.
"Delicious!"
"Whoa, what is this?"
They sipped and tasted, and sipped again. It was smooth and rich, and also very comforting. This was something they could drink at least once a day!
Finn looked at their reaction and nodded, silently adding this to the offerings. He could also set this as one of the drinks offered in the canteen, which would only need the grass itself for it to produce the coffee he wanted.
The canteen can now make an increasing proportion of Class E essence food by virtue of using excellent ingredients from the garden. Adding two drinks amongst the choices was doable.
The staff would change it per meal. In the mornings, it could be coffee or tea. In the afternoon, tea or juice. At night, it would be different flavors of tea and juice.
This way, though he doubted anyone could get tired of canteen food, people would look forward to (spend/splurge on) every meal. People here didn’t even have to eat three times a day, but because of this changing menu, most people in the vicinity of the inn ate at least three times a day anyway. It was delicious anyway, and sometimes there were buffs that would help them in their fight.
This meal was already considered a morning snack, so the pastry that was served with the coffee could stand on its own as a proper snack. For today, they chose the cinnamon roll equivalent.
Of course, there was no cinnamon here. The alternative he found was a specially processed form of the bindergrain. The bindergrain was harvested young, before the seed hardened. It was then stripped, dried, and slow toasted. During drying, it was exposed to ivara vine steam to add a bit of citrus warmth.
Then it would be stone rolled, releasing aromatic oils. This created powder that gave off warm, woody sweetness that also added mild heat at the back of the tongue.
These two combinations was guaranteed to make people’s moods.
He smiled. "Now that everyone is calmer..." he said. "Shall we discuss the construction of the guild branches now?"