Chapter 31: A Peculiar Guest

The long-awaited moment sent me rushing to the door.
“Welcome!”
I greeted the new guest brightly, but something felt off.

As I approached, a stench hit me, like a garbage truck passing by. I held my breath instinctively.
The guest’s appearance was bizarre—layered in grimy rags from head to toe, the likely source of the odor. Withered flowers and plants clung to them, as if they’d been pulled from a trash heap.

Unlike other deities, I couldn’t welcome them blindly. The smell and appearance raised suspicions—was this an evil god?
My mind raced with doubts.
Is this really a guest? Or an intruder posing as one?

I had to decide quickly: let them in or refuse.
“This way, please.”
Refusal wasn’t really an option. If they were a deity, rejecting them could be disastrous.

I had Bernell as backup, and the idols might help if things went south.
The dreamcatcher’s not reacting.

I guided them inside, but the guest didn’t move, standing statue-still at the door.
Hadn’t I just greeted them?
“Uh… are you alright?”

“If you stare, I can’t move,” came a beautiful, genderless voice, resonating like it spoke directly in my mind.
They were alive, but… I make them unable to move?

“You can’t move if I look? Then…”
I turned away, facing the interior.

“Done.”
No sound of movement, yet their voice now came from the bar area, as if they’d crossed the room in a second.
Startled, I turned to see them seated on a stool, perfectly still, waiting.

As I approached, they froze again, like a mannequin.
Bernell, wrinkling his nose at the stench, got a quick elbow from me to fix his expression.
Smile.
He read my lips, grudgingly softening his scowl.

I slipped behind the bar.
“Welcome to Baby Bird Café. I’m the manager. We serve various drinks—any specific one you’re after? Maybe a scent drew you here?”

No response, no movement—like talking to a doll.
“I was drawn by dazzling light,” they said.
“Light?”

That narrowed it down. Only two drinks had sparkling effects: the new jewel berry juice and smoothie.
“We’ve got two new drinks that might suit you. Same ingredients, but one’s juice, the other’s a smoothie…”

Unlike Yakumyodosa or Catsy, who made me guess their preferences, this guest seemed easy to talk to.
As I explained the menu, the stench filled the café. Thank goodness no other guests were here.

Since they were drawn by the recipe, I summoned all my patience, channeling years of service job experience to act unfazed.
“I’d like to try the smoothie first.”
“Right away.”

I blended frozen jewel berries with cloud milk fruit, inhaling the sweet aroma to mask the guest’s odor.
What kind of deity were they? A garbage dimension god?
Their identity would likely appear on the recipe card once they drank.

“Aileen,” Bernell whispered, clearly struggling with the smell. Instead of retreating to the garden or upstairs, he came behind the bar.
“Bernell, I told you not to come back here during prep. Do you want me to be disappointed?”

Nothing worked better on him than that word. He wanted to be the perfect brother.
“Focus on your role. If you’re free, clean upstairs.”
“…Fine.”

I reminded him the guest was a deity, stench or not, in case he said something rude.
Grumbling, he left.

“Your jewel berry smoothie.”
I served the pale pink smoothie in a tall glass with a long spoon. Sparkles burst from it, the special effect dazzling.
Still, the guest didn’t move.

“Oh, if my looking bothers you, I’ll turn away while you drink.”
Since staring stopped them at the door, it might apply to drinking too. What an odd guest.

Why only me? Bernell and the pig-bird were here, but they didn’t ask them to look away.
The difference: they’re demigods, I’m human. Was that it?

I turned, staring at the blender, deciding to clean it.
Clink, clatter.
A strange sound, like glass hitting stone, came from behind.

After a while, the guest spoke.
“I can’t taste, but this offering is surely filled with love.”
Offering? Can’t taste? Did I mishear?

“The light that drew me was this light. Its vibrant glow clears my vision.”
Pop!
A transparent recipe card appeared, updating with new details.

Menu: Jewel Berry Smoothie (COOL)
Completion: A (A)
Effect: Insight
Rating: (+1)
[Wishstone – A heartfelt offering that opens the eyes ★★★★★]
Preferred Guest Type: Object-Type / Idol-Type

Wishstone? The name was straightforward, but their nature grew vaguer.
Object and idol…
I pictured stone Buddha statues in temples or sacred rocks people prayed to. Were they a deity born from such things?
A moving rock?

“So you’re Wishstone.”
Not an evil god—thank goodness I didn’t turn them away.
Why someone with such a noble name smelled so bad was beyond me.

“You’re right. I’m Wishstone, a humble deity managing a modest dimension.”
Unlike the proud deities I’d met, their self-deprecation felt refreshing.

“Can you tell me about this ‘offering’? It’s new to me.”
“The offering… well, this drink uses jewel berries…”

Like the thunderbird’s interest in silver vine, Wishstone was curious about ingredients.
Explaining the smoothie’s recipe sparked a long conversation, much like my talks with the thunderbird over tea.

Wishstone felt like the kindest deity I’d met—the ideal image of a god.
My mother, a Buddhist, took me to temples monthly. Wishstone’s aura resembled the monks I’d met there.

“You must’ve been lonely,” they said.
Somehow, I ended up sharing why I opened the café.

The bar setup, with its close guest-staff proximity, was perfect for serving drinks and building rapport.
Usually, I’d listen to guests, but I’d spilled too much about myself.
A boss would scold me; a complaining guest would demand an apology.

“So you opened this café to host deities,” Wishstone said.
Their presence made me open up, like a spell.
Was it their stillness, like a statue?

“I pray you return to your dimension soon.”
Their simple words carried a healing warmth, deeply comforting.

“If you go, take me too,” Bernell cut in.
“Are you crazy?”
His interruption shattered the moment. He pouted, feigning hurt, but I ignored him.

“Sorry for talking about myself, Wishstone. If it’s not rude, could you share about your dimension? I’m still learning about them.”
“My dimension’s nothing special compared to others.”

Their description felt oddly like my world, sparking hope.
But the thunderbird said my dimension’s god would recognize me instantly. Sadly, Wishstone wasn’t them.

“So you were originally just a rock?”
“Yes, in an immature dimension without a deity, barely worth calling one. I was a mere rock, broken off a mountain by a storm.”

I listened, back turned, so they could drink comfortably.
“Without a deity, chaos reigned—endless storms and rain. Over time, they shaped me, a once-massive rock, into a certain form.”

Clatter.
The sound of their cup hitting stone punctuated their words.
“That form seemed sacred to the dimension’s weary creatures. Desperate for a transcendent being, they prayed to me—a mere rock—and offered tributes.”

I could picture it.
“Countless beings united in prayer, gathering Causality… and I was born.”
“Amazing! That’s why you’re Wishstone.”

Hearing a deity’s origin story was surprisingly fascinating.