When I opened my eyes, I found myself sprawled out on the softest grass I had ever felt. The grass blades were delicate and when I ran my fingers through them, it felt like I ran my fingers on a delicate silk cloth.
It was so different from the grass back home. Thick sharp and itchy often nearer to yellowish, dark green, and sometimes brown due to the relentless heat of the sun.
Home.
Yes, I remembered it. One minute I was in my home, getting ready to open up my bar when suddenly a voice spoke up out of nowhere.
"Asher Marie Johnson, you are hired"
And then, I suddenly passed out, dropping dead on the floor of my house.
I know I died, but what the hell am I doing here? There was the grassy glade, green as an emerald, a multitude of trees with different shades of green and brown surrounded it, lofty hills that rose far off in the distance, and the bright blue sky filled with great white clouds.
This beautiful, wondrous place but this is not my home.
"Hello, Asher," a voice spoke behind me and I turned around to see a woman drunk and carrying a wine glass. She has golden hair and a white long dress. The only thing odd about her was the stain of obvious red wine on her white satin goddess-like dress.
"W-who are you?" I freaked out. This woman was obviously drunk. Her eyes were droopy and her cheeks were pinkish, a sign that someone was drunk.
"I'm Peony, I'm the goddess of alcohol."
"G-Goddess? Oh please stop playing around, Miss."
"Ah… rude," the self-proclaimed Goddess said and then sipped some wine in her glass. "Technically, you died. The cause was a heart attack. Then the Goddess of Merchant asked me for another otherworlder that was good in alcohol. You can say someone like you, a bartender."
"I'm a mixologist," I replied. "I don't do bartending."
"Ah, but that's the same, isn't it? You went to the bar and knew a lot about alcohol?"
"Yes so? What?"
"I chose you and sent your resume to the Goddess of Merchant."
"What resume are you talking about? I never made a resume and I-"
"I made it for you," she said, giggling. "Since you'll die eventually, I made it advance so when you die, you're already hired."
"You should have let me die in peace!"
The self-proclaimed Goddess chuckled.
"But your talent will be a waste. Don't you want to have a new adventure with your talent? I mean restarting life with your beloved work?"
I frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"Second chance life. A chance to enjoy doing what you love."
I glanced at her.
"Really?"
"Yes," she replied and sipped her glass again. "Plus, you'll have all the access to my private Alcohol Cellar," she added.
"A-alcohol cellar?"
"Yes," she replied. "My personal collection."
I heard about Alcohol Cellar. It's like a wine cellar but the difference was Alcohol raging to rum, bourbon and everything was all in there. It was the Mixologist paradise and the only one I knew who had those collections was a billionaire living in Italy.
Peony snapped her finger and a two-door appeared before us. She opened it and I was blasted by a light coming from the inside.
When the light faded out, I was greeted by rows of words on shelves containing bottles of alcohol that were rare and expensive. Some were limited edition and some were made to order. If I were to estimate, this cellar probably cost two hundred billion or even more.
"This is my holy grail, Asher," she said. "And you'll gain access to this once you accept the job."
Eh? That's suspicious. You can't just handle a fortune-worth cellar without any bribe.
"So what's the catch?"
Peony smiled.
"Of course, you're going to serve me a glass of cocktail every time I come down and visit," she replied.
"Uh? Just a cocktail?" I asked, making sure I'm hearing her right.
"Yes," she replied and chuckled.
"That's suspicious."
Peony looked at me after sipping wine on her glass again.
"You know, Asher. This world used to be run by a demon lord. And when the demon lord was defeated by heroes, they trashed everything, especially the alcohol, booze, or whatever you called it. They announced that these were the Demon Lord's blood and shouldn't be consumed otherwise people would turn into the demon lord's pawns but that was a false accusation. The heroes wanted the alcohol to themselves and people started hating it. It made me sad. They turn their back on me."
"Oh, that's sad…"
"I know. So the last bar owner prayed to the Goddess of Merchant to send someone who will awaken the interest of people to alcohol again and like I said, the Goddess asked me a favor."
"So, you decided to employ me?"
"Yes," she replied, though I could see those shining tears in her eyes.
Who wouldn't love alcohol? People here were stupid.
"Okay. I'll take the job."
"That's great, otherworlder," another voice came in and this time it was a woman with a sweet voice. She was wearing the same outfit as Peony but her long hair was blue. "I'll bestow you with a skill."
"Skill?"
"Yes. A skill. A summoning bar tool," she said. "You can't be a mixologist without them, are you not?"
"Uhh, yes," I replied thinking how foolish I was agreeing to Peony without tools.
"And since you are employed, I want a full makeover to the said bar. You'll have the privilege to walk into my inventory store. You can pick everything you need and also for the bar renovation. This old man was mine and Peony's patron and we wanted the best for him," She said, snapping her fingers, and then everything went from a green environment to a bustly mall. The green fluffy grass was changed to a gold color floor and some red lining. And dwarves selling anything.
"Oh, welcome Goddess, what are you looking for today?" said a small dwarf wearing a suit and a red tie.
"Ah, Jefferson, the person I wanted to see. Business is bustling today I see," she said.
"Thanks to your management, Goddess," he replied and bowed.
"Oh it's because all of you work hard," the Goddess tapped his shoulder. But it's not me you'll assist today but this little miss for her purchases?"
"Sure, Goddess. And what does she want to purchase?" This Jefferson dwarf looked at me with a business-like smile.
"Carpentry. We need your best set up for a bar," the Goddess of Merchant replied.
"A bar?"
"Yes."
"Ah, perfect. I think Kael just finished displaying his masterpiece and I'm sure she'll like it. Please follow me."
It took us half an hour walking until we reached the carpentry section. It was an enjoyable walk since I watched stalls selling anything from weaponry to what I called household items. I even saw another goddess and gods making purchases.
"Here we are," Jefferson announced. "Please let's go inside so you can see some displays and set ups. I'm sure you'll like all of them. One hundred percent guaranteed."
Display? There's no display, it's just an empty street. Jefferson entered the stall and suddenly he disappeared.
"Come on, Asher. We need to enter the stall to see what Jefferson was saying," the Goddess said and urged me to follow him.
As the Goddess and I entered the stall, I was greeted by an art. No, a breathtaking art that even humans couldn't make. Carpentry.
I heard dwarves are skilled builders of weaponry but their carpentry was truly astonishing, so breathtaking.
Before me were a couple of houses with different designs, in different colors, and with amazing and meticulous lawn style. There were also wood carvings and products from furniture to cabinets.
"Hello, Mister Jefferson, Goddess, and Miss. How may I help you?" A female dwarf wearing a white blouse a pencil-cut skirt and flat black shoes stepped out of nowhere greeted us and smiled.
"Ah, Clarice. Thank you, is Kael there?" Jefferson asked. "This little miss wanted to see his Bar set up. Will it be okay?'
"Oh, he's in his shop right now but I'm sorry Mister Jefferson, this bar set up he put on display yesterday was sold already but we do a custom-made order. All I need to do is to collect the client's idea and request" she replied and took out a notebook and a pen. "What are you looking for?"
She then looked at me with a plastered pleasant smile. Business-like smile, actually.
"Uhmm, I'm planning on a night bar. So I think lights are important."
"Do you want them colorful or do you have a specific color in mind?"
"White and warm light."
The woman scratched her notepad.
"How about the bar counter? Back wall? Chairs? Tables?"
"I'd like them a brown color. Should be in the same brown shade color."
"Noted. Any decor that you wanted to add?"
"Yeah, actually I want a nature-themed decor. The rustic one."
"Very well. We'll do our best to meet your request, Miss. Meanwhile, our craft comes to a one-in-a-lifetime offer, Miss," she said smiling.
Furrowing, I asked.
"What is it?"
"We enhance our craft. Anti-magic and physical resistance, all the stuff. It'll last forever or until the bar is still operating. It's a limited offer and we-"
"Oh this one on me," the Goddess said out of nowhere. "Just make sure everything will be followed just like this miss wanted."
"Of course, Goddess. Our service and product are top-notch, Goddess," the female dwarf smiled.
"Perfect!" The Goddess clapped her hands. "Shall we proceed with paying and the arrangements?"
"Ah, yes, please. Follow me."
I watched how the Goddess of the Merchant negotiated with the female Dwarf. There has been a request for a discount but the female dwarfs reason why the price was expensive. She said their team, the builder, the interior designers, and even the landscapers would cost more than the Goddess's original discount price. She also told the goddess how expensive the materials that were going to be used.
"Okay. Just this one, I'm going to let this go and set your price without discount. But next time I purchase here, I'll demand a discount," she said.
"It's settled, Goddess. You'll have a 50% off of everything you purchase in the future," the dwarf said.
"Alright, make sure you'll finish the bar tomorrow night at exactly six in the evening," she said and then turned on me. "You need to go, Asher. Make sure to go to work tomorrow night," she said and touched my forehead.
Before I could even say anything, darkness took me in.