Chapter 132 - 99 Bucks For Latte

"Good evening. Welcome to the Shifton Palace Cafe," the man greeted smoothly, his voice polite and steady. "How may I help you tonight?"

Fredrinn stared at the smiling clerk, his brows slowly rising.

’...The actual fuck?’

It wasn’t just him. Everyone in the scouting party was completely thrown off guard by the bizarre greeting.

Why the hell was this guy still acting like an obedient, minimum-wage employee in the middle of a literal zombie apocalypse?

The polished marble counter, the pristine glass display cases, the soft hum of the refrigeration units behind him—it was like stepping into an alternate dimension where the world hadn’t collapsed into ash and blood.

Even more unnerving was the clerk’s professional smile. It didn’t look forced, trembling, or manic. He wasn’t crying for help, nor was he trembling with hidden trauma.

He was genuinely, patiently waiting for their food order.

"B-Billy... Right?" Jenny stepped forward, squinting to read the brass name tag pinned neatly to his dark green sweatshirt.

"Yes, Miss." Billy’s smile broadened, warm and utterly hollow.

"Why... Are you here?" Jenny asked, her tone dripping with bewilderment as she leaned over the counter. "Where are the rest of the people? Is it just you in the hotel? And why are you acting like the receptionist in the fucking god forsaken apocalypse?"

She fired off the questions in rapid succession, her fingers hovering near the grip of her weapon.

Billy’s pleasant expression didn’t waver in the slightest. His gaze remained level, locked onto the space between her eyes.

"I am not acting, miss. Kindly tell me your order or vacate the line for the next customer," he replied, his tone smooth and eerily polite.

’Does this freak have some kind of mental condition or what...?’ Jenny thought, rendered entirely speechless.

When she didn’t step back or open her mouth to order, the pleasant warmth in Billy’s face curdled. His brow furrowed into a sharp, bitter scowl, his dark eyes narrowing into an aggressive glare. He leaned forward, visibly irritated by the customer stalling his queue.

Fredrinn’s eyes narrowed at the clerk’s unnatural shifts in temperament. Sensing an unpredictable threat, he reached out with one swift motion, grabbed Jenny by the back of her jacket, and pulled her back. In the same breath, he shoved Ash forward into the vacant spot.

The teenager stumbled, catching his balance against the marble ledge. He looked back at Fredrinn with wide, bewildered eyes before turning to face the counter.

Instantly, Billy’s sneer vanished as if wiped away with an eraser. The sunny, corporate facade snapped back into place.

"Good evening, sir. What would you like to have?" Billy asked politely, smiling once more.

"Uhh... What do you got?" Ash blinked, deciding to just play along to keep the weirdo from snapping.

"We have several dishes, sir. Coffee, mocktails, hamburgers, hot dogs."

"Alright... I will have a latte..." Ash muttered, scratching the back of his neck.

"Should I make it large?" Billy’s smile grew remarkably wide, radiating sheer delight at the fact that a customer was finally patronizing his register.

"Sure."

"Great. It will be 99$. Cash or card?"

"99???" Ash’s jaw dropped, glaring at the cashier like he had grown a second head. Ninety-nine bucks for a single cup of coffee?! "Are you out of your goddamn mind? Who the fuck would pay that much for a coffee?!"

"Indeed, sir. The prices have been raised due to the apocalypse. Cash or card?" Billy answered patiently, completely unfazed by the outburst.

"Neither, you bitch! It’s robbery! There ain’t no way in the world I would pay so much for a cup of latte!" Ash barked, his teenage temper flaring up.

He took half a step forward, fully intending to grab the idiot by his pristine apron and shake some sense into him, but a deep, primal gut instinct held him back. The clerk’s lack of blinking and unnatural, stiff posture were way too creepy.

Billy’s smile died instantly, replaced by a cold, condescending sneer.

"Sir, if you’re poor, then say that. There’s no need to mock the set prices of our distinguished establishment."

"Distinguished my ass, you punk," Ash scoffed, leaning right into the clerk’s face. "Outside, you know what your sign says? It says Shit Place, not Shifton Palace, so curb your ego a little."

Before Ash could summon his light rod to burn a hole through the register, Max stepped up, planting a heavy hand onto the teenager’s shoulder and squeezing firmly to pull him back.

"Sir..." Billy hissed, his voice dropping into a low, venomous rasp as his dark eyes locked onto Ash with naked hostility. "I won’t tolerate this blatant disrespect of my working place—"

Before Billy could finish his threat, Fredrinn yanked Ash out of the queue entirely, shoving him behind his shoulder.

Now, Max’s towering, scarred frame occupied the prime spot in front of the counter.

The effect was instantaneous.

The venom, the snarling rage, and the bulging veins on Billy’s neck vanished in the span of a single heartbeat. His spine straightened, his posture smoothed out, and his bright, synthetic smile bloomed anew.

"Welcome to the Shifton Palace Cafe, sir. What would you like to have?" he asked Max, as if the shouting match hadn’t occurred at all.

Max stood frozen, staring at the smiling clerk with his fists clenched, utterly baffled.

Taking a step back, Fredrinn’s expression hardened. He shifted his attention to the stunning crimson-haired demon standing calmly by his side.

"Rose, do you know what’s wrong with this dude?" he murmured under his breath.

Simultaneously, he called out through his internal link.

’Lust, I know you’re there. Tell me what’s happening right now... Even if I accept the possibility that this Billy guy is an actual retard or a mental patient, this is too weird.’

Beside him, Rose tilted her head, her pink, heart-shaped pupils scanning the clerk from head to toe. Her slender eyebrows drew together into a genuine, troubled frown.

"Rose has an idea, but... Rose isn’t sure," she said hesitantly.

Hearing uncertainty from her lips sent a prickle of unease straight down Fredrinn’s spine.

In normal circumstances, Rose was either bored, dismissive, or ready to decapitate the problem without giving it a second thought.

If even a high-tier demon was second-guessing what she was looking at, they weren’t dealing with a simple survivor.

Right at that moment, a playful, echoing chime vibrated directly inside his skull.

[ <LUST> smirks. So the host does remember it... It was feeling quite lonely when host wasn’t talking to it. ]