FFF-Tier System, SSS-Rank Wife

Greg, with his hand already reaching for the cup Selia just put down, froze.

He slowly turned his head, his face a mix of surprise, curiosity… and disbelief.

"Wait…" he ignored the cup and raised both of his hands slightly above his chest with their palms out, as if to stop me from speaking any further. "Is that all you were looking for when sneaking peeks into my smithy?"

Greg raised his right eyebrow and pulled his hands back, only to then reach out and take the middle cup, holding it in his hand like a hostage.

He didn't need to spell it out, but he clearly wasn't going to let go of it until he heard my answer.

Thankfully, this topic was exactly what I wanted to talk about rather than some secret I was trying to take advantage of.

Of course, I was going to take advantage of it. But to do that, I needed to learn more about the situation first. After all, what would be the use of trying to come up with a solution to a problem that only existed in my head?

"That was the biggest thing I've noticed, yes," I admitted openly and without even a bit of hesitation. "For a smithy of this size, one located in a frontier town full of people eager to put both their skills and their weapons to the test… Could it be," I paused for dramatic effect, "you guys have graduated from using coal?"

This time, it was my turn to raise my eyebrow while locking my arms over my chest.

"Is that why it was so easy for me to get into the zone when inhaling that smoke of yours? Could it be…" I glanced over at the Saintess, fully aware I could be stepping into rather unpleasant ground, "you guys are using a coal equivalent that comes with some sort of drug-like additives?"

I wasn't naive enough to believe I could enter into the zone twice while just brewing some coffee.

Enter a focused state? Put all the distractions aside?

Sure, that could happen.

Enter a zone once?

That much was already a stretch, but still a believable one.

But for it to happen twice?

Now, that was the limit of how lucky I could be without any sort of external support.

"Hmm…" Greg raised his hand and massaged his chin. "I'm afraid that those two are two separate matters," he muttered, only to shake his head and then dismissively wave his hand, "and neither of them are a secret or something we are actively trying to hide, so you don't need to tense so much."

Even with Greg saying that, I couldn't just relax.

How could I know if he was telling the truth?

Contrary to me, however, and on the other side of the counter, Selia visibly relaxed, happily reaching out for the last of the cups and taking a whiff of its aroma first, before repeating the process of wetting her lips, taking a small sip and then a proper gulp.

Each of those steps served to deliver a different strata of the drink's taste to her receptors, allowing her to fully experience the entire flavor bouquet. And for each step she took, her face sank into a deeper and deeper level of bliss, all the way to the point where her eyelids moved low over her eyes, her chin moved up and her lips parted slightly, giving her this dreamy, almost trippy look.

"Let's start with the last part," Greg continued, proving that he really didn't mind talking about the topics he claimed not to be a secret. "While not for the sake of saving up on the coal, we do drop certain herb into our fires. Just like that drink of yours, it helps us to focus on the job. But contrary to your product, it makes us sleepy when used for a long stretch of time, rather than helping us stay awake. Which is why…"

Greg glanced over to the remaining two cups on the counter before raising his eyes and looking at the Saintess.

By now, Selia had finished up her moment of taste-born enlightenment and was now eyeing the two remaining cups, quite openly eager to have the conversation move on so that she could pick her poison.

Seeing all of that, Greg breathed out a sigh and shook his head a bit before taking a quick sip of the average brew, then hurriedly putting the cup back down on the counter.

Taking it for a sign, Selia happily reached out not for the mildest of the cups as I expected, but for the strongest of them all instead. She then cradled it in her hands like it was some sort of precious treasure before slowly bringing it up to her lips, cautiously taking a sip before stretching the experience of its taste for as long as she could.

'Hmm?'

It was only after a while that I realized that my conversation with Greg had ground to a halt with how neither of us could give up on just watching Selia drink, entranced by her natural beauty elevating even further through those adorable expressions she showed.

"As for the coals, just look around the city, kid," Greg finally snapped out of it, grabbed the same cup he just left on the counter before taking a much heartier sip of it and then indicating with his hand towards the last of the cups.

'Finally…'

I reached out and grabbed the last of the three cups, perfectly content with drinking the mildest of the three.

After all the coffee I drank in my life, the caffeine barely had any effect on me, pushing me to enjoy the drink's taste more than its biological effects.

And there was no argument to be made to disprove the superiority of this sweet, milky taste over those cruder, simpler, and much more robust forms of the drink.

'To each their own, I guess?' I thought while taking a sip of the drink myself, only to then enjoy the moment when the warm brew slid down my throat, warming my chest from within while the trace amounts of caffeine rushed to do their magic.

"There are no mountains anywhere near the town. In other words," Greg shrugged his shoulders, "there's nowhere for us to mine the coal from. And when you have to import every last rock that you want to use, the transportation costs quickly add up to some insane sums."

The dwarf followed the statement with a deep sigh, one that would perfectly fit a father complaining about the kids raising the temperature of the thermostat, given how he would be the one paying for the increased heating costs.

"So, now that you know what you wanted to know, mind sharing why you took an interest in the topic?" Greg asked as he pulled the cup up and swallowed the last few remaining drops of his drink only to then lick his lips clean of the coffee residue, clearly enjoying the taste.

"I would," I smiled in return before taking a sip myself and then initially reaching out to offer the rest of my cup to the dwarf… Only to then swing my hand and change its direction, offering the cup over to Saintess instead.

'Thank God I felt that piercing stare of hers,' I thought, trying not to show I felt as if my heart stopped the moment she glared at me with daggers for her eyes.

"But I'm not sure if my solution will work. If it will, though?" I shook my head and smiled. "Let's say I might make you, Saintess, and myself filthy rich overnight."