They followed Giuseppe into the café; the atmosphere was warm and inviting just like Hazel’s. Light notes from a piano in the corner could be heard, played by a hired musician. The patrons enjoyed their coffees, chatting away with company or savoring the drink quietly by themselves. The air was filled with the rich aroma of espresso and steamed milk; Ryu took a deep breath, the scent filling him with a sense of calm and familiarity.

Giuseppe took them behind the bar, directing Ryu to a variety of tools and ingredients located in the cabinets and the pantry, respectively. He provided him with a list to make sure he could find what he needed easily and showed him where the refrigerator was as well.

Ryu appreciated the gesture and the accommodations Giuseppe had made for him. He felt at ease, spending time combing through the pantry to find anything that interested him, trying to formulate the recipe for a unique latte in his head. He watched Giuseppe carefully, attempting to glean any sort of information from his process as to the origin of the sensation he had felt earlier while sipping his latte.

The café owner was aware of this, however, grinning as he shook his head. “There’s no way I would show you my signature recipe in this Brew Battle. That’s what you’re trying to win! There’d be no point in this competition otherwise.”

“That may be true, but I can still stand to learn a thing or two about brewing. There’s always something new or unusual to try out in this world,” Ryu replied.

“Ha! You’re right about that!” Giuseppe chuckled.

They finished gathering their ingredients; Ryu had chosen to work with items he had some knowledge of or experience with, grabbing Pyre grounds, Taurus Milk, a jar of honey, and rhododendron extract.

Giuseppe’s workstation looked similar to Ryu’s including the tools he had decided to use: a pot for steaming milk, a milk frother, and an espresso machine. His ingredients, however, were another matter altogether.

A minuscule container of coffee grounds, about the height of his pinky, sat on the table alongside a bag of red granules, a bottle of ‘Goatelope’ Milk, and what looked to be a perfume bottle filled with red liquid.

The patrons of the café turned their heads, excited to bear witness to yet another Brew Battle in the span of just a few days. Lo and behold it was the foreigner once again, challenging their favorite Coffee Brewer this time!

A gorgeous woman walked out of the storage room to see what the commotion was about, her initial concern turning to a wistful sigh as she shook her head. She was tall and slender, with long dark hair that flowed past her shoulders, and olive skin like Giuseppe’s.

“Giuseppe, baby, how many times do I have to tell you? Don’t disturb the customers!” she scolded him, though she didn’t hide her smile very well.

“My wife, Gia,” Giuseppe whispered to Ryu. “The love of my life. She tries to be more assertive, but you see, she is unable to resist my charms.”

Ryu chuckled at the remark.

“Want me to officiate?” Gia asked Giuseppe.

“That would be wonderful, darling,” he answered.

Gia appraised Ryu with a raised eyebrow. “Ah, I knew you looked familiar. My husband is a big fan. Try to keep your hands to yourself here, however.”

Ryu was confused, but he nodded in agreement, not wanting to cause any trouble.

“Okay, gentlemen, for this Brew Battle you will create a soothing latte for the judge to enjoy. You may use your skills, only the ingredients you have chosen, and only the tools you picked out to create a drink that meets the criteria for a latte. The judge will be evaluating you for flavor, texture, aromatics, and presentation. Capisci?” Gia announced.

The brewers nodded, confirming that they understood the rules.

“Good. You have ten minutes to make me a superb latte. Begin!”

Did she just say ‘me’?

It seemed that Gia would be the sole judge of the latte battle, much to Sylfie’s dismay. Aurora and Wisteria attempted to cheer her up as she sank to the floor. Ryu wasn’t worried about Gia’s impartiality as the [Truth] skill had proven more than reliable in making the judging of competitions fair. However, she was still Giuseppe’s wife; he had to have known she would be judging, and the man most likely knew her tastes better than anyone. Ryu had to hope he could match Gia’s preferences as well as Giuseppe could.

Ryu didn’t have time to waste thinking about anything other than his latte. He immediately infused the Pyre grounds with [Nitrogen] to remove their defenses, remembering his battle from earlier. The System had mentioned the infusion of nutrients from the soil of Delfos as a viable method of quenching the heat. Nitrogen was a nutrient present in the soil on Earth, so making the connection, Ryu sprung into action, more comfortable working with the ingredient now.

He heated up his Taurus Milk in a pot, setting aside a large portion of it for use with the espresso and the rest to be frothed into milk foam. He poured the scalding milk into a tall container and tilted it at an angle, using the motorized frother to create small air bubbles in the milk.

The Archmage espresso machine was easy enough to operate. Ryu poured a shot of Pyre to mix with the steamed Taurus Milk he had prepared. Before he added the milk foam, he incorporated a sparing amount of rhododendron extract with the honey, mixing it in with his coffee before topping it with the milk foam. Hopefully, this’ll give it the soothing effect it needs.

“Time’s up! Please bring your lattes to me!” Gia ordered.

Ten minutes had flown by.

Ryu glanced at Giuseppe’s latte as they brought their drinks for Gia to taste. It had a slightly red hue, its aroma fruity and robust. Wisteria and Aurora struggled to hold back Sylfie as she clawed at the café’s floorboards, trying to get a taste.

“Hurry up!” Wisteria exclaimed.

“O-of course,” Gia said, unnerved by the feral elf.

She sampled her husband’s latte first, taking in the aroma before sipping. She wiped the foam from her lips, a satisfied smile on her face. She did the same for Ryu’s, her eyes widening momentarily before she set the cup down. Gia glanced back at Sylfie apprehensively.

“I’ll keep this short, before the elf attacks. Giuseppe, dearest, your brew was sweet, refreshing, and fruity. I perceived notes of cherry and hibiscus, I think. The latte was smooth and the presentation was elegant.”

Giuseppe grinned. “I used Goatelope Milk because it’s higher in fat content, making the latte much creamier and richer. For sweetening I used sugar extracted from coffee berries to give it that fruity sweetness and I used a spritz of edible coffee berry parfum to activate the olfactory senses.”

“Yes, but the bean you used—it was Kopi Luwak, wasn’t it?” Gia asked, exasperatedly.

Kopi Luwak? Ryu recognized the name. It was a type of bean processed by the digestive enzymes of an animal known as a civet. The coffee was pricey and difficult to come by on account of its unorthodox production method. He could only imagine how rare it must’ve been in Cerulia.

“The quality is apparent with this brew,” Gia continued. “Still, I asked for a soothing coffee. This blend, in particular, is an aphrodisiac. Do you understand what I’m getting at?”

“I do,” Giuseppe stated proudly.

Ryu felt a certain kinship with this man, despite knowing he would be missing the competition's criteria, Giuseppe still did what his heart told him to do. He had earned Ryu’s respect, regardless of the outcome.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Gia replied, rolling her eyes.

Giuseppe seemed happy with the outcome.

Gia turned to Ryu now, delivering the verdict on his coffee. “Your latte was smooth, rich, and the use of the Pyre blend brought me back to my hometown in Delfos. It was very nostalgic for me to taste your brew. The sweetness was just right, but what was it you added to this latte to give it that, eh, slow effect?”

“The rhododendron extract,” Ryu answered. “There are mountains in a country located far south of mine, where people harvest honey from beehives in the cliffs. Atop these cliffs are rhododendrons which are routinely pollinated by the bees. These flowers possess properties that, when consumed, have hallucinogenic effects. I mixed a small amount of extract with honey to mimic the effect without the bitter taste of the real thing to give the latte a relaxing note while keeping it sweet.”

“Well, I have to say the results are wonderful. Your presentation was just as elegant as Giuseppe’s,” Gia complimented. “Now all that remains is deciding the winner. In essence, both of you delivered delicious lattes, texturewise, tastewise, aromatics, and presentation. Ryu, I felt that your rendition of a latte met the criteria better than Giuseppe’s, although his texturing was better on account of the type of milk he used and his aromatics were better due to the coffee berry parfum. The honey’s flavoring provided a milder sweetness than the fruitiness of the coffee berry sugar, and overall, I think it fits better in the context of lattes.”

“So, the answer?” Ryu asked.

Gia frowned, mulling over the decision for a moment. “This wasn’t an easy choice to make. Both of you had strong points and weak points, though one of you had an ulterior motive in mind,” —she shot a peeved look Giuseppe’s way— “my decision for this Brew Battle is—”

Sylfie interrupted the announcement, breaking free of Wisteria and Aurora’s grip, and sending the café into chaos.