Illegal means of survival

So, here I am, in a Strange world, with no idea of how I got here.

I've been here for close to a month, and I've still not been able to discover a way home.

This world isn't like mine.

Most times I feel I have been trapped in one of those fantasy books I detest.

"Dynma, the customers are here. Come on, man, show them your magic." Yuli patted my back.

And this has been my life since I was somehow transmigrated into this world.

It seems as if the words I said to the child back in the cafeteria have come to bite me on my butt.

I was somehow thrust into a world where I possessed the body of a panhandler.

A vagabond with no history at all.

According to Yuli, I just woke up, and found myself in the streets, as a beggar.

And to make the matter worse, the beggar shared the same name, physique, and face as me.

"I will be out there," I grinned at him.

Being a bartender in the world I came from saved me from a beggar's life.

It only took me a week to get back on track with my magic hands.

I glanced at myself in the mirror before I left the inner room I was sitting in and headed out to the bar.

Just like the nights ago, the underground tavern I illegally opened in Yuli's house was filled to the brim with those who wanted to taste the 'magic liquors' as they tagged my liquors.

I only need to add five liquors to get the desired taste, which is like that of cocktails.

And boom!

Everyone wants to have a taste of the mysterious drink.

To avoid the eyes of those who were eagerly waiting for me at the bar, I sneaked in through the secret path Yuli made, just for me.

"You have over fifty orders tonight. Are you sure you can keep up with it?" Yuli sounded concerned, and happy about it.

"I can. Just send the cans I asked you to get, here."

"Do you need help? I can—"

"No, I don't need your help. Just go." I pushed him, with a smile on my face.

I can't have him stay back here and learn my magic recipe.

"Okay." He smiled at me before he left, to get the things I ordered him to.

I immediately went to work, mixing and turning until I got what I wanted.

I poured little contents of it into the bottles I have and shook them until they formed well before I poured them into the fifty cups he got.

"You are fast." Yuli breathed when he saw the drinks, filled and ready to be taken out.

"How many jars were you able to get?"

"Ten." He answered as he continued to stare at the cups in awe.

"Okay, it will be enough for tonight. Take this out to the men." I motioned to the filled cups. "I will fill the jars before you return."

"Roger that, master." Yuli chuckled as he carried a tray that contained five cups and exited the secret bar.

With him gone, I continued with my mixing, shaking, and turning.

And that's how our night goes.

Yuli and I work from 8 to 11 O'clock. That's when we chase the men away, back to their various houses, to avoid getting detected by the law enforcers.

Our bar, as I said earlier, is illegal. I have not registered it with the authorities. And if they seize us, we will be sentenced to twenty years serving time in the mountains of the dark.

The mountain is rumoured to have demons, witches, and the ills of society in them.

However, no one has ever gone there, so there was no way we can know whether what they say is true or not.

"Today was the best." Yuli plopped down on the cushion with a sigh, after the thorough house cleaning we did. "We made more than we have ever made since we started this business."

"Our customers are advertising for us, I think." I shrugged as I went through the cash.

I divided the money into three and gave him one part.

"Can I get more tonight?" He asked with a pout.

"Why do you want more?" I furrowed a brow at him.

"Look, my mother—"

"That's what you say every night. I always end up giving you more than mine."

Every night, he's consistently claiming one thing or the other.

It's either his mom fell down a flight of stairs while going up to the ladies' fashion house, or a dog bit her.

Each day to him has a different tale. And they all revolved around his mom.

"You don't understand! My mother—"

"I'm not giving you more than this, Yuli. I'm tired of all this. How can I keep giving you more than I take when I'm the one who does the job?" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"What of the house the bar is in? Was I not the one who donated a location for the tavern? And the alcohol? Aren't I the supplier?"

"And I pay for the alcohol and lodge. It hasn't been up to two days since I paid the rent for the month.

What else do you want?"

"Extra cash. You are not taking care of anyone, and yet, you are receiving more than me!" Yuli fumed.

"Don't I have plans for the future, Yuli? That's all I will give to you. I'm not giving you more than I've given you previously!" I angrily rose from the chair I was sitting on and collected my money.

"Do you feel you have grown enough wings now you have your cash?" He narrowed his eyes at me, "Do you think I will let—"

"Go to hell, Yuli! Without me, you won't be earning this much in a night. Just go to hell already. You disgust me." I strode into my room and banged the door behind me.