Chapter 188: Modest Shop
———Karra———
<1: 51 pm>
*Ring* *Ring*
The doorbell rang as Wiina pushed on the door and went inside. The place looks cozy, built up with wood and glass. There is a miniature waterfall encased in glass, plants wrapping around certain pillars. It’s all quite cozy. The wall behind the countertop is a bit strange, having a texture reminiscent of the texture on the moon.
“Cozy place.” I couldn't help but mutter as we looked around.
“Come to visit, I see. Welcome.” The sole staff member of this place said. There doesn’t seem to be anyone else here besides her. There aren’t even that many customers, I can count them on one hand.
We both walked over to the menu and stuff on display. There’s a lot of those mochi stuff around, as well as some rice-based stuff like... What’s a biko?
“Lots of rice-related stuff, also cheese, and looks like this is also a cafe.” Wiina remarked. I doubt she recognizes her in this ‘Navi’ state, but she probably doesn’t care about that. “I’ll go with something safe. A set of red bean mochi, and… matcha with honey and cheese in it, I’ll take it cold, and large.”
“I’ll go with mochi with sweet cream filling and… matcha with milk, also cold.” I just picked random fillings here, there is a lot on display, many of them are clearly not traditional.
There are also rice dishes like beef bowls and… carrot bowls? There’s a lot of carrot stuff here, I just realized. Guess it’s because of the bunny theme along with the rice theme…
Wiina paid for the two of us and she gave us the bill. The place isn’t too expensive, so even if we were on a budget it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“Alright, let’s find a place to sit.” She said as we walked away and looked for a nice spot to wait and eat. “It’s pretty rare to find any sort of business opened after the Eclipse. In general it feels like a lot of places have become stagnant, nothing new really comes around anymore.”
“Considering all the crazy things that could happen, it’s understandable why.” I said as both of us sat down. “Isn’t this still a risky period for everyone?”
“Unless a wide systemic change happens, and everyone is more united, nothing is gonna change on that front.” She replied. “Basically, nothing is gonna happen and everything is going into decline. It’s just that there’s more than a whimper, you know, more fanciful things to at least look at before it all burns down.”
The conversation is starting to turn dark quite quickly…
“So… What do you think of this place?” I asked, since I’m not really sure if we want to keep talking about that.
“It’s rather open with all the glass walls, looking quite bright and refreshing. The presence of flowing water and plant life makes it feel quite serene. I’d say it’s a good design, though aside from portions of the menu and texture on some walls it doesn’t really look moon-themed.” About the same opinion I have. Then again, you don’t really think about the moon as being comfy or serene. More like… very open without much else. I think I should at least go there once before making any more comparisons…
“Speaking of which, you think you could take me to the moon at some point?” I asked, since for her it actually should be quite easy.
“I mean… Technically, I can. It probably won’t really be anything that amazing in the end. Also, you’re not exactly safe from the difference in atmosphere and such, unlike me. You need some preparation, a suit or training for specific kinds of spells.” She said, looking a bit reluctant.
“Can’t you just… put me in a bubble or something?” I asked, since she should have plenty of spells for that case already.
“I guess I could…” She muttered, still not convinced. “It’s both quite a special occasion and also something that probably wouldn’t be as memorable as you thought it’d be.”
“Have you been there?” I asked, wondering if she even got that far yet.
“Well, I have gotten close to it, but I don’t feel like risking stepping my foot on it for now.” Huh? Why? It’s not like there’s anything on there, right?
“Risking?” I muttered, wondering why she even said that.
“There’s someone on there, you see. She can be quite territorial.” She vaguely said. Who in the world could she mean by that? In the first place, who is it that seems to make her so cautious? I know that she is like this even with people who are in the same ballpark as her, but the people on that level are scarce in the first place.
“You are always so cautious.” I pointed out. Obviously she still does some bold things still, but she can definitely do a lot more than she did and she shouldn’t get punished for it. “Are you even sure she’s gonna do anything to us? Whoever you’re talking about?”
“Well she did put a scythe to my neck once, but I guess that’s about it, and that’s not even on the moon.” She off-handedly said. That seems… a bit more than trivial. In fact, that sounds quite violent.
“...So did a fight break out or…” I asked, just to be certain about something.
“Nah, people at a certain level need to keep things civil at all times. Fighting wouldn’t solve a damn thing unfortunately.” She replied. That’s good to know, at least.
“You did talk about it before, what was it about again?” She had mentioned something about this unspoken pact they are all in, whatever that means.
“Here’s your orders, customers.” The rabbit lady walked over and gave us our order on a tray before walking away.
“By the way, are you going to go somewhere else after this? This isn’t exactly an area we come to often.” Wiina asked as we grabbed our stuff.
“I got a few places, mainly for their specialty stuff. I wanna get photos of those.” I said before I started eating.
“That is the influencer way, isn’t it?” She remarked before she started eating as well.
There is barely any noise outside of the muffled sound of the waterfall. The people here are also quiet and some are typing on their laptops.
…Actually, I should also take a photo of this place and the food as well. I think I’ll take a picture with a very tiny glimpse of Wiina in the frame. This should do. Let’s post it on… basically every social media I have on here. I should do a short video as well, only a couple of seconds.
…Alright, let’s upload them. Now back to eating.
“This is less sweet than I thought.” I muttered as I drank the matcha milk tea.
“Well, this ain’t a chain that caters to a bunch of people who can’t handle a bit of bitterness, or trying to be trendy, so that's not all too surprising.” Wiina remarked. I guess that makes sense. A lot of really popular places have stuff with absurd amounts of sugar and toppings, it tends to be way too overstimulating. Doesn’t mean I won’t try them at least once, but those are definitely not something I would drink regularly.
Hm? Wait a second, haven’t I seen that lady in green before? She sat at a table not too far from us. I swore I saw her somewhere before.
“Notice something interesting?” Wiina asked, seeing me looking at something besides the food and herself.
“Yeah. You see that one in the green sweater? Didn’t she show up at school once?” I said while pointing at the woman typing on her computer, her skin having a light shade of green to it that is hard to not recognize. She has a big cup of tea that uses an iron straw? Said cup looks like a gourd.
“...She did do that. I guess she’s a regular around here.” Wiina said after taking a glance at her. “Well, it doesn’t really matter who is here right now, we’re not here to cause trouble.”
*Ring* *Ring*
The doorbell rang as more customers came in. It’s… two people we have seen a few times by now.
“Ah, great. Are you two here for the usual?” The rabbit woman said while looking slightly annoyed while the Angel and Edea walked in.
“Yep. Give me the usual, Princess.” The Angel said before finding a seat.
“Yeah… Same on my end as well.” Edea said before following them.
“Do you know what gender-
“Male, from the looks of it.” Wiina quickly answered. I guess that’ll explain the short hair and the sleeve shirt and short pants. He seems to wear something different each time, though the color scheme stays mostly the same, some white, some blue, and some yellow. I do wonder though, how does he move around so casually when he seems to be involved in some shady business, from the looks of it?
“Fancy seeing you here.” He said, talking to us across the table. “Here I thought you’d be cooking up some other ideas to gain more attention.”
“We all need a break every now and then, especially after something ambitious like that.” I pointed out before I continued drinking. “By the way, should we really be talking like this, it’s gonna be quite a commotion, won’t it?”
“Nah. This place isn’t that popular with how whimsical the owner is. When the shop chooses to open is up to her, it’s never consistent.” He said, taking a jab at the rabbit lady.
*Throw* *Catch*
Suddenly a cup was thrown at a high speed right at him that he casually caught, then put down on the table. Looks like he ended up provoking her with that comment. If he wasn’t so quick with his reaction time that thing would’ve exploded right in his face.
“To add to that, there isn’t anyone here that isn’t already involved in some… situations, you could say.” Edea chimed in. So everyone here has been involved in some conspiracy then? I know the green-haired woman certainly is, but is it also the same about the two other people I don’t recognize? “Let’s not bring them up though, I’m sure neither of you are familiar with them. Everyone got their own little story to tell anyway, no need to fret if it’s part of a bigger conspiracy or not.”
“Here.” The rabbit lady said before giving them a tray of the stuff they said is the usual. I see a massive bowl of rice and cheese and literally nothing else. Maybe like some black pepper?
As for what Edea got, it just seems to be a bunch of mochi, and that’s it.
“Anyway, we’re not here to start discussing stuff. Don’t let us distract you now.” The Angel said before focusing on eating. I still don’t really know his name after all this time…
…What was I gonna talk about again? I guess I can try remembering it later, we still got some food to go through, along with a small trip to other stores near here with anything remotely trendy.
…The mochi filling is very liquid and is squeezed out. Maybe I shouldn’t have waited to eat them since the sweet cream isn't exactly solid… Well, I guess I have to put the whole thing in my mouth. It’s quite big, hopefully I don’t look too weird eating it.
“By the way, will you two be there on Monday?” Wiina suddenly asked.
“Huh? If you are talking about that, then no. Maybe as a spectator if we have nothing better to do, but that’s unlikely.” The Angel replied. What are they talking about now?
“I mean, it’s not like you are ever… unavailable.” Edea chimed in.
“Hush. Using that ability for something not combat-related always feels super weird. I don’t make liberal use of it.” He replied. Yeah, they’re losing me, but then again, it’s pretty clear I’m not part of this conversation at all.
It is just how it is. I get that they don’t want too many mouths that can leak any secret, no matter how minor. I’m just here to enjoy simple things.