Chapter 11 Section VI

Forgive me.I certainly have an impression of the name. He is the talented barista who won the first KBC championship five years ago and has a reputation all over Kansai.I heard that as I speculated yesterday, he continued to participate in KBC after winning the championship, and set a record of three consecutive championships in the third competition. "However, I didn't expect Miss Meixing to know Barista Qianjia." On the way home, I said to Miss Mihoi who was sitting with me in the back of Mr. Mosakawa's car. Through the phone call she made just now, Qianjia told us in detail what we wanted to know, that is, what happened two years ago... At that time, there was a commotion about adding foreign objects.Ms. Meixing turned her mobile phone to speakerphone mode while listening to Qianjia’s narration, and I heard everything Qianjia said verbatim.

"The so-called acquaintance is actually just a little conversation before. However, we met once recently." Miss Meixing seemed a little embarrassed.Since she said that she yearns for KBC, does it mean the same as she admires Qian Jiarong?This shyness seemed to show itself in her manner. "Do you remember? The 'not fun thing' I told you the day I told you I was sure I could make it to the KBC finals." "Is it a matter of using the sugar bowl to find trouble?" "Didn't I say that before the customer came to the store that day, someone I knew was sitting in the same seat? That person was Mr. Qianjia."

Oh, that's why she said that man would never keep quiet about adding salt to the sugar bowl.Since you are an expert in the same industry, it is impossible to be polite when you encounter this kind of problem. "I was shocked at the time. We haven't seen each other for several years, and that person closed his shop immediately after the last KBC ended, and his whereabouts are unknown." "Senka-san himself mentioned that incident. I had no idea that someone who received such a high evaluation would end up like this." "After I also learned about that incident, I have been curious about what happened in the 4th KBC. But when I met again a while ago, because it was so sudden, I was taken aback. In the end, I only had time to ask him It’s just the contact information. At that time, Mr. Senjia said that he came to encourage me after he knew that I was going to participate in KBC, which had not been for two years.”

Miss Meixing said that she doesn't know what kind of life Qianjia lives now.When Qianjia came to Talleyrand, she tried to ask him about it, but she didn't seem to want to talk about it, so she didn't ask more.However, it is incredible that although Senjia's whereabouts are unknown, he is said to have been living in Kyoto after the end of the fourth KBC, and no one in the coffee-related industry has encountered him once.It seems that this circle may be much more closed than those of us involved thought. "The reason why he doesn't want to talk about his current life, as he said on the phone just now, is because he no longer works as a barista. However, this is something he can't help. What happened two years ago seems to bring him a lot of pain. It was such a big blow that he couldn't drink espresso anymore because of the trauma."

"But he was still drinking espresso normally when he came to our store... All in all, let's focus on this game now. We can't let the prisoner continue to do whatever he wants. If Mr. Qianjia really goes to the game tomorrow At the scene, it should be able to provide very reliable help in finding the prisoner." At the end of the phone call just now, Miss Meixing asked Qianjia to come to the competition venue on the second day of the competition, that is, tomorrow.Qian Jia seemed to be stunned when he heard it, but he still said that if he could help, he would be happy to accept the request.And we haven't told anyone about it yet.

Ueioka and the contestants, who have been keeping silent about what happened in the 4th KBC, how will they react when they see Senka?If the prisoner this time was among these people, he would definitely panic because of Qianjia's appearance.In terms of being able to spot their anomalies, Senka's assistance was indispensable. But... Even so, it still makes me a little concerned. "If you keep paying attention to the incident of adding foreign objects, you won't be able to concentrate on the competition, won't you? Miss Meixing, don't you mind? It's hard for you to participate in the competition you've always been longing for."

The reason why I put it in a more euphemistic way is that I don't want her to feel that she owes me favors.In fact, I originally wanted to say this: If you want to clear me of the suspicion caused by you, it is useless to worry about it. You should relax and play well. She is so smart, she should be able to understand what I really mean.After Mr. Mochuan drove his car into the intersection and turned right when there was no car on the opposite side, Miss Meixing answered. "Because KBC is my dream." I peered into her profile.She lowered her eyes slightly, with a lonely smile on her face.

"If the accident that happened in this competition is left alone and does not try to solve it, the organizer of KBC will be held accountable, and it may really lead to the fact that the competition will never be held again. As long as the competition continues, there will definitely be opportunities Participate. That being the case, for me now, instead of watching Mr. Ishii being hindered by the incident of adding foreign objects, it is more important to clarify the truth of the incident and prevent it from happening again, right?" Even if what she said was very reasonable, it probably wasn't her sincere words.Over the past month, I have seen her work hard to prepare for the competition.Add to that the years it took her to fail the preliminaries.

Even so, she still thought that she could do something for the game she yearned for, and came to the above conclusion.So I also respect her idea. "Hey, it's here." The car arrived at my apartment just at this time.Because the distance is not very far, so I made a detour to send me home. "Thank you, Mr. Sagawa. Ms. Meixing has worked hard today, and I must make the competition come to a successful conclusion tomorrow." After I got out of the car, I said this to the gap in the open car door, and Miss Meixing said "OK" and nodded vigorously.I stood on the slope and watched them go, the taillights of the receding cars looked like shooting stars.

Hopefully tomorrow will pass without incident... I can't help but pray so. ...I can still clearly recall what happened that day. Actually, I didn't intend to participate in the 4th KBC.After achieving the three consecutive championships, I feel that the task I should do has come to an end, and it will not be good for the game if I keep occupying the championship position.At the end of the third competition, I already told Ms. Ueoka that I would no longer participate in the competition. The reason why I changed my mind was when I received the finished 4th KBC brochure about a month before the final.I was taken aback because the page introducing the contestants actually had a column for former champions with my bio.

Miss Ueoka did not accept my request in the end.When I told her that I would not participate in the next competition, she expressed the hope that I would reconsider in the next year, and even put my profile with other contestants in the brochure, so that I could always Change your mind. She has shown such sincerity, and I can only accept it with a smile.I thought, since she is so eager for me to compete, let's do it one last time.When I called Miss Ueoka and told her I wanted to compete, she was really happy.I'm glad I changed my mind... but I didn't know that this decision would lead to things becoming irrevocable. The day of the 4th KBC finals began under such circumstances. Because of the sudden change of my decision, I didn’t have enough time to prepare for the competition, so I either made a drink with a recipe that I was not satisfied with, or made the usual absolute mistake. The mistakes that will not be made, did not show the same level of stability as in previous years.With just the last race project left, I barely took the lead, but Asuka Yamamura was a little behind in second, with Dai Saeko just behind her.It can be said that the three of us are actually competing for the championship. The last competition item was espresso and I was last on stage.I was so nervous that my fingertips were shaking.This has never happened before in a game.However, if you pay too much attention, you will get more nervous, so I try to focus on explaining to the audience as much as possible, and don't pay much attention to my hands when operating.I put the beans in the grinder, put the ground coffee into the filter handle, and start tamping.Next, I set the filter handle on the machine and brew my first shot of espresso.Everything is going well, but... When I look at espresso served in an espresso cup, I think the foam on top of the coffee... aka Crema looks a little weird. I don't think I need to specify, the perfect crema texture will be very detailed, showing a color like hazelnut.But the crema of the espresso I brewed at that time was unnatural and the foam was rough.Although this is a drink with a strong aroma, I can't be 100% sure, but I seem to smell a medicine. Thinking about it now, I really did something stupid at the time.At that time, I was extremely nervous and not calm enough.Impulsively thinking I had to know why the coffee was acting weird, I just downed the espresso.I drank the amount that would take two or three sips in one gulp, the way I normally drink espresso. As soon as I drank the coffee, there was a pungent bitter taste and burning pain in my mouth, followed by a strong sense of vomiting. I knew immediately that I had drunk something bad.I tried to spit it out, but it didn't work because I swallowed it.I soon felt my whole body go weak, I couldn't stand firmly, my body lost my balance, and I accidentally bumped my head hard against the leg of the bar table.Then passed out directly. When I woke up, I was already lying on the bed in the infirmary in Artery Square. Miss Ueoka was next to me, and as soon as I met her eyes, she asked me what happened.I told her with a non-flexible tongue that something harmful to the human body seemed to be added to the coffee, and I asked her to call the police immediately.But Miss Ueoka's answer made me unable to believe my ears. She said she had checked the coffee beans, water, cups and other items and found nothing that looked like a foreign object. I told her that it was impossible, and that it would not be possible to find out if a layman with no knowledge of chemistry checked it a little.Come to think of it, I'm only leading by a small margin, and it's normal for people to try to get in my way, right?However, Ms. Ueoka used the same thing to extract espresso and tried it, but there was no abnormality. Hearing what she said, I don't know how to refute it. Miss Ueoka gave me a sympathetic look and left the infirmary.When I was alone, all kinds of doubts flashed through my mind.Someone has added foreign matter to my stuff, and I know that better than anyone.However, if it is known to the world that such an incident occurred in the final, it may damage the image of KBC and lead to the cancellation of the competition.So is it necessary to collude with all relevant responsible persons to conceal this matter?Ah, so I was abandoned by KBC.Abandoned by KBC who has been contributing his heart and soul since the beginning! In order to change the situation at that time, the only way is to find the prisoner who added the foreign body and let him tell all the truth.I forced myself to prop up my body, which was as heavy as lead, and rushed to the waiting room.The contestants are still gathered there.I yelled at them: who the hell put weird stuff in my espresso!As a result, they either teased me or couldn't help laughing, or showed fear, and all of them stood in the distance and looked at me coldly.Even Asuka Yamamura, who was my personal friend, avoided my gaze and refused to answer my questions.Not long after, a barista who did not participate in the fifth competition stood up and said as if representing everyone present: ... I heard Ms. Kamioka say that Mr. Senka is directing and acting himself, right? I didn't realize the seriousness of the matter at the time. KBC didn't just abandon me, but in the end, it made me contribute something unexpected even though I didn't realize it myself. Even if the whole incident is to be concealed, there are witnesses at the venue, and there is no way to completely prevent the leak of news.To make them think that the incident of adding foreign objects never happened, an acceptable script must be written: in this case, there is only one answer. This commotion was all directed and acted by Qian Jiarong.In the situation where it is at stake whether he can win the fourth consecutive championship, and the contestants after the second place are still chasing after him, Qian Jiarong, who was forced into a desperate situation, was too afraid of losing and tried to cause a commotion, trying to make the last one Competition projects are not included in the scoring criteria.This is the script they made up. That’s right, in order for KBC to continue to be held, not only my own body was injured, but also the evaluation and achievements I have accumulated step by step, as well as the evaluation of the coffee shop I run and my life as a barista are all regarded as The sacrifice was sacrificed.Everything I had was taken from me when I lost consciousness. I was speechless, and could only leave the venue bearing the name of an ugly loser.Can you imagine my despair at that time?In the midst of my down and out days, I found myself no longer able to drink espresso.As soon as I drink it, I think back to what happened that day, and I start to feel nauseous.This way, I can no longer continue to be a barista.Moreover, the number of customers in my store seems to have decreased significantly because of my notoriety. I can't take it any longer.I put the store away and no longer communicate with anyone.This state continued until I told Miss Kirima how to contact me a while ago. ...The reason why I went to Miss Kirima this time was not to encourage her.When I knew that KBC would be held again after two years, I looked at the brochure curiously, and found a face that I missed very much.I'm not at all interested in anyone who raced two years ago.But Miss Chirma has nothing to do with the last competition, right? That's why I want to remind you to be careful when you compete.However, I couldn't say it even if I wanted to see Kirima-san who was so happy for getting the chance to participate in the finals. Having said that, after I took this call, it became more and more apparent that the meddling things I was about to tell you were not superfluous.Although Ms. Kirima has not been harmed yet, there was also a malicious incident of adding foreign objects in this competition. This can only be described as tragedy.It's funny, what I sacrificed two years ago ended up being nothing, and KBC is once again facing the crisis of disappearing.After realizing this, they should feel a little heartache because of me today, right?