HOFRS 25

Chapter 25

“Hey! You didn’t cover the freckles enough here.”

“If I change it more, the image will look different.”

“That’s exactly what I want!”

“……”

Young artist Vincent had a lot to say—but he held his tongue.

He had never seen this kind of work before.

Touching up a developed photograph with colored pencils and brushes?

Still, he followed Dia’s instructions faithfully, mixing skin tones to match the subject’s natural color as closely as possible. Then, he painted over the blemishes in the photo, creating skin as flawless as porcelain.

Any parts that needed to be erased were naturally blended out by painting over them with the background color he had mixed.

Afterward, a magical heat tool was used to dry and set the painted areas, leaving no trace.

The customers were thrilled with the photos—even if they didn’t look exactly like real life.

Yes, Bendia hadn’t just given the café an “Insta aesthetic”—she had gone a step further and started retouching her guests’ portraits. In short, she introduced Photoshop.

And the results? Explosive success. The café was packed.

Most people were drawn in by the promise of capturing their “life photo.”

“I feel like I’m doing something dishonest.”

“What’s dishonest about it? Wanting to preserve the beauty you see in yourself?”

Bendia’s expression turned serious at Vincent’s mutterings.

Even though they were retouching, it wasn’t extreme. Overdoing it would make the edits obvious, and there were limits to what they could change.

But the customers were more than satisfied with even the subtle enhancements.

Most importantly, the number of young noblewomen attempting reckless beauty treatments based on unfounded advice had dropped dramatically.

In many ways, it was a win-win.

“People want to hold onto their own beauty—even if it’s just for a fleeting moment.”

“I didn’t mean to sound—”

“We’re helping them access that beauty more easily.”

“…I apologize. That was out of line.”

Vincent bowed his head in apology.

Now that he heard it explained, it made sense. The desire to be beautiful was one of the most natural human instincts. And the customers weren’t hurting anyone—they just wanted to capture a special moment for themselves.

“Be proud, Vincent. The smiles of the young ladies who receive your retouched photos are even more beautiful than the pictures themselves.”

Vincent looked deeply moved and gave a big nod.

“For the background colors, let’s stick to the current palette for now. But soon I plan to change the backdrop. I’ve found a new setting.”

“But it’s already so popular…”

“Would you want the same photo background as everyone else? A little rarity keeps value and interest high. Good work.”

Encouraging him with a smile, Bendia stepped out of the small studio behind the café.

As she exited, passed the storage area, and neared the café interior, she began to hear the noise of a lively crowd.

Opening the back door, she entered the café—already completely full.

The café resembled a picturesque winter wonderland, something unheard of in the southern region.

Since the south was warm and near the sea, Bendia had designed it to give off an Alpine atmosphere.

She had scoured books from the library about different parts of the world to find a country that matched the Alps’ feeling as closely as possible.

Using the photo references she gathered, she had Vincent paint entire wall murals of breathtaking landscapes.

He was hired precisely because of his ability to paint with photo-realistic quality.

And the result was a smashing success.

It felt like stepping into a whole new country.

“There’s already a 40-person waitlist.”

A staff member approached Dia with a report.

Customers were coming to the café only to leave again with numbered wait tickets due to the lack of seats.

Inside, the young ladies were busy striking poses at the photo spots, where staff with magical cameras were stationed.

Every photographer was giving their best effort.

Each one had been personally trained by Bendia in the “Spartan method” of capturing the perfect life photo.

“All the drinks and food are selling really well, too.”

Bendia nodded at the staff member’s continued report.

On each table were drinks—one for every person. Even though the menu was pricier than at other cafés, all customers respected the one-drink-per-person policy.

Bendia had predicted this concept would be popular with young noblewomen, and her bet had paid off.

Even more surprising, the age range of customers was broader than expected.

There were older women as well as many men.

As it turned out, the desire for a perfect life photo knew no age or gender.

“This is good. If the guest wants a full-body shot, the camera should be tilted slightly upward at a diagonal angle, not straight on. That way, their legs look naturally longer.”

“Got it. I’ll remind the team.”

“And let’s improve the food, too. No matter how great the photos are, the basics still matter—the food has to taste good.”

Even an Instagram-worthy café wouldn’t get return customers if the food was bad.

“Of course. We’ll make sure.”

After exchanging a few more words with the staff, Bendia stepped outside.

‘The next theme will be the jungle,’ she thought.

As she looked around, she was stunned.

Only a few weeks ago, Second had been a ghost town with a few coconut buyers wandering around.

Now, just three weeks later, the entire area had transformed.

Not just the café, but the whole street was bustling with people.

“We’re so sorry! We’re overloaded with orders! If you’re placing a new one now, please return in an hour and a half!”

The staff at the coconut chip store were shouting to customers waiting with coconuts in hand.

Even with the extra 30-minute delay added to the already hour-long wait, the line didn’t shrink. In fact, it kept growing.

Why?

Because they were offering to crack open those impossible-to-open coconuts for free.

It was a godsend for commoners and even for the servants running errands for nobles.

“Please send 20 gift sets to Count Selshin’s estate.”

“We’ll take 30 sets. Deliver them to the Gallory Count family.”

On top of that, the luxurious coconut gift boxes—a high-end strategy—were selling like wildfire among the nobles.

“Everything’s going according to plan.”

Bendia watched it all unfold with deep satisfaction.

Cracking coconuts for free wasn’t a high-margin business. But the gift sets brought in plenty of revenue to balance it out.

More importantly, she wasn’t doing the coconut service for profit.

It was to keep people in the area.

Her plan? The so-called “fish trap strategy.”

They’d crack coconuts for free—but only after a one-hour wait.

An hour was too short to go home and come back, so people would stick around.

While waiting, they’d shop nearby, eat, or head to the café.

And if she could trap customers in Second during that time, profits would naturally follow.

Where people linger, money flows.

So really, she was buying people’s time by offering free services.

The long waits at both the coconut stand and the Life Café left people with nowhere else to go—and they began trickling into other cafés and shops in the area.

It created a ripple effect that revitalized the entire commercial district.

Having once worked in marketing, Bendia knew exactly how to apply the trickle-down effect—and it was working.

And most importantly:

“Hey, look! They opened a tart shop here.”

“Really?”

“Wanna go? I heard the one in First went downhill—both taste and presentation.”

“This one’s packed! Let’s check it out!”

Drawn by curiosity, a group of passersby naturally joined the tart shop’s growing line.

Seeing the number of customers steadily increase at the tart shop that had opened just a few days ago, Bendia grinned from ear to ear.

She knew it would only get busier.

Why?

Because that tart shop… was the very same one from First.