"What would you like to take with you, dear customer?"
"Let's see… ah, I'll take some of that apple pie and a cream pan."
"Right away."
Hideo accepted the order with a cheerful smile. He carefully wrapped the pastries before handing them to the woman.
"Thank you very much. Please come again."
After receiving the payment, he waved as she left.
He had been helping the couple who owned the local bakery, a place well loved by the people in the area. Their usual helpers, and even the husband, were unable to come due to illness or other important matters. With Mato and the Thunder Gods being unusually quiet, Hideo and Isadora had taken it upon themselves to step in as substitutes for the day.
As the stream of customers gradually dwindled, Hideo glanced at the clock on the wall. The hands pointed close to six thirty in the evening. It was nearly time for his shift that day to end.
"Good work today, Hideo-kun. I'm sorry if we bothered you and Isadora-chan."
"Nah, it's fine. I didn't have anything planned today anyway."
Banjo Chika, the owner of the bakery and Ryuga's aunt, was an attractive middle aged woman of average height. Her black hair, cut to her upper back, was parted asymmetrically to the left, framing a face that carried a youthful charm despite her age. Her brown eyes held a warmth that made customers feel at ease.
"I couldn't have survived today without you and Isadora-chan helping us."
"I'm glad we could at least ease the burden, Chika-san."
Hideo had been in charge of attending to customers, while Isadora worked in the back, handling the baking. She made full use of her skills, proving herself exceptional not only in cooking but in baking as well.
In fact, she was so skilled that a certain peculiar sibling of Chika had already taken an interest in recruiting her to join them permanently.
The door to the back opened, and Isadora stepped out still wearing her apron. She untied the bandana from her hair and loosely wrapped it around her hand with practiced ease.
"Good work, everyone," she said as she approached the counter.
"Good work to you too. You should rest for now, Isadora-chan. I know you must be exhausted after a long day."
Chika gently tapped her on the shoulder, offering a warm, reassuring smile.
"Please, I was even waiting for things to get even more challenging than that."
Isadora boasted smugly, flipping her hair.
From the same door she had exited, a figure followed, spinning like a ballerina before coming to a graceful stop.
"Merci! Merci to you, sister, and merci especially to you, my dear Isadora-chan and Hideo-kun!"
The man winked zestfully, kissed his index finger, and sent a flying kiss toward Hideo.
A chill ran down Hideo's spine as he imagined an invisible heart soaring toward him. Instinctively, he shifted slightly to the side.
The flamboyant individual was Ayase Jun, Chika's sibling. He was openly gay and had spent some time living in France before returning to Japan. Now, he worked alongside his sister to maintain the bakery their late grandmother had once owned.
"Magnifique! You were such a reliable and wonderful partner in the kitchen, my dear!"
Jun clapped his hands as he praised Isadora.
"Was this bum really that good, Jun-san?"
"You have something to say to me, bastard?"
Hideo grinned as he teased his partner, but Isadora immediately grabbed his ear and pulled.
"Ow, ow, ow!"
Hideo complained in pain, though the smile never left his face.
"It's nice to be young. Too bad I am past my prime."
Chika rested her palm against her cheek and regretfully sighed.
Subjectively, and even arguably objectively, Isadora and Hideo both disagreed. Even now, Chika's voice remained gentle and soothing, putting them at ease whenever she spoke. Her beauty paired with that calming aura was a combination strong enough to captivate almost anyone.
"Call me a good girl, please," Isadora thought to herself.
Amused by their interaction, Jun chuckled. He placed one hand on his hip while resting the other against his chin.
"I am being sincere, my dear. I was truly blown away. She moved like a flash as if her body was on autopilot that is guided by her own skillful hands."
Despite being entirely self-taught, Isadora was, in a sense, a one-woman army. Not on a battlefield, but in the kitchen.
That said, in the culinary world, the kitchen itself could be considered a battlefield. It constantly tested a person's mental stamina and composure.
Even though the sign on the door read Closed, it suddenly opened, drawing everyone's attention to the person who stepped in.
"Ara, Ryu-chan."
"Like a rabbit riding a tank, I am here, Auntie."
Chika had not expected a sudden visit from her nephew-in-law. Ryuga simply smiled, then struck a pose while wearing sunglasses.
"What kind of sentence is that?"
Hideo, caught off guard by the randomness, could only respond with a wry smile.
"Oh, it's Hideo-nii."
Ryuga approached the counter and gave Hideo a fist bump.
"What are you doing here?"
"I'm helping your aunt at the bakery."
"Huh? Don't tell me you're going to work here from now on?"
"Nah, it's just for one day. Your Uncle Nao will be back tomorrow, so I'll stop then."
While Hideo and Ryuga talked among themselves, Chika gave a small, exaggerated cough to get their attention.
"Ryu-chan."
"Ah, sorry. I got distracted. It's Hideo-nii's fault."
"You're the one who started it, kid."
"Look, you're already acting like an old man."
"…All right. Spit out all the food I bought for you and Sento."
Ryuga pulled down his eyelid at him and stuck out his tongue.
"Oh, the witch is here too. I didn't even notice you."
Ryuga cut in to immediately take a jab at Isadora. She caught on right away. Turning her head toward him, she simply smirked, unfazed, and decided to play along.
"Oh, look. It's Mr. Cross-Z. What? Are you going to defeat me, the greatest witch in Japan? Hahaha."
Ryuga's teasing expression instantly shifted into horror the moment she said the name.
"I told you to forget that!"
"My name is Banjo Ryuga. That is the identity those foolish humans know. In truth, I am Cross-Z, the hero of the cosmos who will slay the demon god hiding among society. Mato is only the prelude to a far greater threat that is named the Wicked Forest of Helheim. Do not worry. My super gigantic meteor genocidal magma destruction star fist of fury, blessed by the ancient mechanical gods and carrying the purifying wrath of the seven deadly titans of—"
"LALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"
Isadora shot up, loudly reciting every word without a hint of shame. She exaggerated his gestures and tone, perfectly mimicking what she had seen when she once caught him role-playing with Sento in the woods.
Ryuga was already crouching on the ground, clutching his ears as if that could block out the humiliation. The memory alone was enough to make the embarrassment surge through him all over again.
Hideo, Jun, and Chika could only watch in amusement as Isadora relentlessly roasted Ryuga, dragging his past antics into the light without mercy.
"All right, that's enough, Isadora."
Hideo gestured for her to stop.
"Not my fault. This kid started it."
Isadora offered a teasing smile and shrugged before walking to a nearby wooden chair.
"You really are a witch."
Ryuga sniffed and got to his feet.
Finally addressing it, Chika asked why he was there in the first place.
Apparently, he was too embarrassed to ask his parents about it and didn't want just anyone overhearing, so he decided to approach Chika and, somewhat reluctantly, Jun about the matter.
Uncharacteristically serious, Ryuga took a deep breath.
"So, there's this guy friend of mine. He has a… peculiar relationship with a certain girl in his class."
As soon as he said that, Jun's eyes widened with excitement.
"Oh là là, is our boy finally feeling love bloom in his heart? C'est incroyable!"
Ryuga flushed a deep, unmistakable red as Jun continued in a gentle, teasing tone, even moving to sit beside Isadora, who, for her part, was equally intrigued.
"I told you, it's for a friend. And I don't even know if they have that kind of relationship!"
Ryuga defended himself, clearly flustered.
Chika and Jun exchanged knowing glances, a quiet chuckle passing between them at the boy's obvious lie. Still, they played along, more curious about the girl in question than anything else.
Hideo leaned in as well, already preparing a list of questions he planned to ask Sento later about this mysterious person.
"Continuing with my friend's story," Ryuga said, trying to steady himself, "the girl he was talking to was quite a looker, but also a loner. Since elementary school, they'd always been in the same class. She was always at her desk during breaks, writing in her notebook, never minding anyone else."
She had amber eyes, with soft brown hair that framed her face in neat bangs.
"One day, late in the afternoon, he accidentally came across a notebook in the classroom. Curious, he opened it to see who it belonged to, but ended up getting so absorbed in what was written that he didn't notice someone standing behind him."
Before he knew it, the notebook was snatched from his hands. He turned to see her, eyes teary and burning with embarrassment.
"Did you read it?"
"Uh…"
"Go on, laugh. I know it sucks!"
The boy was stunned. The quiet girl he had always known was now lashing out at him, and for once, he found himself completely speechless.
"No, no, no. Why would I laugh? In fact, I loved it."
"Eh?"
Caught off guard by his genuine compliment, she froze. Heat crept up her face, her composure slowly unraveling as he began recounting the characters and events of her story with surprising enthusiasm. When she reached her limit, she quickly raised the notebook and smacked it lightly against his face, trying to silence him.
Instead of laughing, as she had expected—like the other children used to when she shared her passion—the boy only grew more curious. He started asking what would happen next.
From that afternoon on, they didn't speak much during class, keeping up the usual distance. But whenever they found themselves alone—on the playground or in quiet corners—they began to talk. Slowly, a friendship formed, one neither of them had expected.
With time, she gathered the courage to confess her dream. She wanted to become an author, a desire that had taken root the moment she read her very first fantasy book.
The reason she kept to herself was simple.
Others had always treated her like a weirdo.
Seeing someone take interest in her story, her very first truly invested reader, filled her with a quiet, unfamiliar happiness. The boy wasn't just reading; he was enjoying it, seeing her as a creator. For the first time, she felt she had a real friend, someone she didn't have to pretend around.
Her parents were not strict, and her grandmother held a high-ranking position in the Anti-Demon Force, one of its chiefs, no less. Her struggles had never been about restriction, but about confidence. Even that, little by little, had begun to fade with time.
One day, she decided to write something different. It was a story that carried all the emotions she had kept bottled up, something far more personal than anything she had written before. When she handed it to the boy, it felt less like sharing a story and more like a confession.
When he finished reading, he praised her as he always did, telling her how much she had improved and how good she was becoming.
But instead of relief, her chest tightened. It felt like needles pressing into her heart. To her, it was proof that she had failed to convey what she truly wanted to say.
"So… that wasn't enough."
"Hm? Is something wrong?"
"I really hate myself for not being able to say it."
"Hey, Kiriha—"
Before he could finish, the girl turned and ran, tears welling in her eyes as she disappeared from his sight.
"And that's the gist of it. That happened to my friend earlier. What do you think?"
Ryuga looked around, only to find everyone staring at him with flat, unamused expressions. Confusion spread across his face.
"IDIOT! THAT GIRL IS SMITTEN WITH YOUR DUMBASS!"
Isadora clutched her head as she shouted, nearly lunging at him like a Pitbull before Hideo grabbed her by the shoulders to stop her from tackling him to the ground.
"Oh dear. So that kind of density runs in the family, huh?" Chika sighed, recalling how she had once been the one making all the moves while her now-husband remained completely oblivious.
"C'est décevant, boy. It's not entirely your fault for not noticing," Jun said with a thoughtful nod, placing a hand on Ryuga's shoulder. "But a girl's heart is delicate. Whether she has eaten a peach or not, she may change physically, but her heart… that is another story."
Jun could only shake his head at the people around him. Rising from his chair, he stepped forward and stood directly in front of Ryuga.
"Ryu-chan, look at me."
"What is it?"
"This Kiriha girl you're talking about… what are your feelings for her?"
"I already told you, it's a friend who knows her."
"Answer me truthfully."
"…"
Ryuga clenched his fists, unable to meet Jun's gaze under the weight of that firm tone.
What did he feel about her?
She was a close friend, like Sento. Whenever he needed help, she was there without hesitation. She was beautiful and smart in a quiet way.
But beyond that–
"I… don't know myself."