The World Only The Girls Knows: Side Collection
Short One – Chapter 1
Note: Characters from the Light Novel will be Included as well.
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Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ
Original Concept by Tamiki Wakaki
Written by: wrathie
Author's Notes: This particular story is on a similar timeline as BRP/MW.
Author's Notes: No beta for this one. But I'll get one for it soon.
Anyway, a collection of short stories, my definition of short definitely needs defining... Either way, enjoy this particular short till the next update!
Lastly, before someone calls me out on the entire concept, the entire concept is inspired and driven from: "ToHeart 2: Multiple Choices"
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Cafe Grandpa, a small shop-house cafe that was being run by Katsuragi Mari was quite famous within Maijima for having a wide collection of tea, good handmade cakes. It was one of the few shop-houses that continued to thrive within Maijima due to their regular customers, being popular with students as well as with families that liked to patronize the shop.
The prices were reasonable too, the service was average and the food menu a little limited, but the food was spectacular.
In one way or another, Katsuragi Mari was able to keep the cafe running by herself without help, opening for 10 hours a day, half days during weekends and yet still be in the black for several years now.
Perhaps the secret comes from how there wasn't a need for rental fees, the low cost of maintenance for her shop as well as how she manages to make her own cakes, prepare her own pre-prepared brew of tea and coffee like a professional.
Of course, rumours from her competitors point out that many of her regulars were 'associated' with her.
Despite what Katsuragi Mari looked like now, the very image of a dedicated working housewife with an every ready smile, she was well known, famous and even terrorized the biking community in her youth.
Most of her former associates had, like her, shed that part of their lives and went on to become respectable members of society. At least, some of them did. There were a few more noticeable members who popped in from time to time to have a chat with Mari about old times, to seek advise on their machines as well as to just general be in the midst of someone great.
So one could reasonably tell that Katsuragi Mari was someone that was both respected as well as feared within the community by different groups of people.
Respected by the community as she had been successful in raising a child by herself in the absence of her husband and feared for her past exploits and stories that had managed to travel even up to this quiet time.
But more often than not, when one talked about Cafe Grandpa, one's first impression would be the cheerful and smiling beauty that would hurry to greet and usher them into a seat.
This was Cafe Grandpa, the scene and the stage for this particular story.
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'Hmm~ Mm~'
Katsuragi Mari hummed to herself as she finished wiping the last of the washed coffee cups while keeping an eye on the patrons of Cafe Grandpa. It had been quite a busy afternoon, the rush hour for Cafe Grandpa was typically after middle school ended due to the students dropping by to partake in a few cakes or to just hang around the cosy atmosphere.
Mari didn't have any problems with that, but she was a little strict on the couples that did drop by once in a while. She believed that they were too young to really appreciate or to really form real emotional bonds with each other.
At least, that's what Mari thought. There were a few kids who she knew that were together for a very long time. Some of them Mari knew were childhood friends, neighbours or perhaps those who they met in school that had stayed in contact for a very long time.
Those individuals, Mari gave her sincere blessings to as she felt that they would have a better chance in knowing what they were going into.
Going into a relationship changes things, and it's not always for the better. The world was a harsh place and even if Mari knew that she was one of the few who actually married for love, she did love her husband, her husbands actions were unforgivable in the end.
He insisted his innocence but Mari felt that the trust between them had dissipated quite a bit. But even if he was saying the truth and Elsi was actually being misled by her true parents, Mari was glad that she had gotten a daughter like Elsi.
They were not related by blood, but she was still her daughter.
The person and relationship that she was worried about was Elsi with her brother, perhaps foster brother, and her son, Katsuragi Keima.
'Could we have the chocolate meringue please, Mari-san?'
Mari was pulled from her thoughts as she heard a familiar voice, a very frequent visitor to her shop asking for help and she spun around to smile at the two dears who was pointing at her cakes.
'Of course dear, but why not try this one instead? The lemon meringue is better, I assure you!'
'But I don't like my food sour, Mari-san.'
'Nonsense, a mixture of sweet and sour makes it even better. But if you insist, I'll serve you the chocolate meringue. Are you having it here today?'
'Mm... I am going out to play later on, so I think I'll have it take-away please!'
'Of course, now give me a minute, dear~'
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'I'm home, Oka-sama!'
Mari smiled as she heard her daughter calling out to her as she entered through the front door of their home. Her daughter was really a gift from the heavens while her son though...
'…'
There's lots of work to be done for that one as compared to his younger sister.
'Kami-Onii-sama is back home too!'
Elsi added as an afterthought even as she hurried into the preparation area for the cafe as she beamed at her mother. Mari for her part gave her daughter a hug to welcome her back but as she was still serving her customers, she had to cut the greetings short as she hurried over to clear a few plates and to serve up some cake to the paying customers.
'I'll help out too!'
Mari smiled again as she Elsi quickly donned an apron before heading out to the dining area to clear the plates. Her daughter was a little clumsy, she had broken a few plates in her first day here but the regulars all loved her.
She was earnest, cute, hard-working and very optimistic. Unlike some of the stories she head from her neighbours, Elsi loved doing housework and she was the one who made the place spick and span at the end of every work day. Compared to her son... Elsi really worked hard in the household, not that Mari was pointing fingers or anything.
'Ah, good afternoon, Tsukiyo-chan!'
Mari turned to the door when she heard Elsi call out a familiar name. One of her most frequent visitors, Kujyo Tsukiyo, had dropped by again. She was a very adorable blonde girl that was the same age as her son but with the body of a middle-school girl, but most importantly to Mari, looked like a porcelain doll that was frankly too adorable for words.
Tsukiyo gave her customary survey of the entire place with her eyes before turning to flash a very brief and fast smile at Mari.
'I'm here to visit again, Mari-san.'
She spoke softly, too softly to be heard by any of the other patrons but Elsi and Mari knew that she was just too shy to actually voice her own true thoughts out to the world.
Tsukiyo had been visiting them regularly for a few months now and Mari had grown to love that young girl just as much as she liked Elsi. The fact that Tsukiyo had been very welcoming to her, even having asked her to take the place of her guardian for one of those parent-teacher conferences made Mari very happy indeed.
That being said, Mari did know why Tsukiyo was visiting regularly as well. It was due to her son, Katsuragi Keima that Tsukiyo came by everyday for her afternoon tea and cakes.
Unlike the rest of her regulars, who she won over with her charm as well as products, Mari had to admit that Tsukiyo first came to the cafe was because she was smitten with her son.
Not that it was a bad thing actually, if there was one thing that Mari was unsure of, it was Keima's future. She had believed that she did a good job raising Keima, he was doing very well in the studies front and he seemed to know what he was going to do in the future and most importantly, he was actually supplementing her income by quite an amount every month through his activities.
All the while indulging in his hobby of his. Mari knew that her son was no ordinary person if he could manage all of that without a hitch. That was why Mari was very happy to see that in the social front, where Keima had been horrible bad, her son was indeed still seeing other people.
What Mari hadn't quite been prepared to understand and acknowledge was how Keima didn't simply strike it lucky with Tsukiyo, she had to come to grips with knowing that Keima had earned his way into Tsukiyo's heart.
The details were hazy at best, but Mari knew that Keima had truly and definitely done something very important for Tsukiyo for the girl to actually tolerate and to accept that she was not the only girl that was after her son.
Yes, she was just one of many girls that Mari knew or were introduced to during the course of the few months since Tsukiyo's appearance.
It was just Tsukiyo at first but then there were more of them that popped up from nowhere. Individuals like Yoshino Asami-chan, a quiet girl that made it a habit to walk to school with him everyday.
Fuse Aoba-chan, who was a female version of her son and like Elsi, held him in very high regards. Haqua De Lut Herminium-chan, a friend of Elsi who has became good friends with Keima as well.
Shiomiya Shiori-chan, who she had never met at their place but who had confessed that she liked her son at school during their first and only meeting. Others like Kasuga Kusonoki, Kosaka Chihiro, Takahara Ayumi and even the Nakagawa Kanon were interested in her son as well.
If Mari didn't love her son as much as she did, she would have no choice but to admit that her son was a playboy that was cheating on all of them. It was entirely possible for Keima to take after his father, Mari knew and acknowledged that he was very popular with many women. Keima's grandparents weren't that happy that their son married Mari, a by-product of her unsavory past no doubt and so it wasn't a stretch to say that it might run in the Katsuragi blood.
However, that wasn't the case as Mari knew that all the girls knew about each other. That and Keima had been stubbornly or perhaps, unsure which girl he would want to go out with. Mari does sympathized with him, she had difficulty choosing between Tsukiyo and Shiori too! But even if she had her favorite candidate, she would never pile pressure on Keima to make a decision for it was his mess to clean up.
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'What would it be today, Tsukiyo-chan? The usual?'
'The usual please, Mari-san.'
'One usual, coming right up~'
Mari ruffled Tsukiyo's affectionately like she would to Elsi as she knew that it embarrassed the younger girl whenever she did that. It also made Mari a little sad as well to see Tsukiyo react so obviously and shyly to such an obvious show of affection from her part.
It proves and shows that Tsukiyo either really liked her or just had not been shown that affection for a very long time.
Mari was still a little lost in her thoughts when she felt someone cling on to one of her legs, causing her to stumble a little in surprise.
'Ara!'
Mari blinked when she saw the young child that had clung on to her legs and she struggled a little before bending down to smile at the young girl there. The young girl was in a white dress, carrying a small bagpack at the back and had her dark brown hair tied up in twin-tails like most adorable kids.
The child released her leg the moment she saw Mari's attention was on her and she waited for Mari to speak first, her small but wide eyes looking up at her adorably as Mari asked her.
'Ara, ara, do you need someone, little girl? Did your parents want to speak to me?'
Mari petted her hair just like how she did with Elsi at times but despite her perhaps childish handling of the child's hair, she didn't protest like how children of her age might to do a stranger.
She smiled happily instead before clutching Mari's hand and shaking her head.
'Grandmother!'
She declared happily while Mari simply stared at her in shock. Wait, did this child call her 'grandmother'? She wasn't that old! She definitely didn't look that old anyway!
'E-Excuse me...? But did you say, Grandmother...?'
Mari asked again while taking deep breaths. This was her restaurant and so her image was at stake her. As much as it might make her mad, this was a child here. Someone who doesn't know what she was doing and most importantly, was quite innocent and naïve.
It could be a prank being played on her by Keima, for all she knew and she reached for the child's hand to hold it gently.
'Mm! Mari-san is my grandmother!'
'… I'm your... grandmother?'
Mari gave a very blank look at the younger girl, she couldn't possibly be older than six but was definitely younger than ten. That much she could deduce and she had to force herself to remember if any of her old friends had gotten a son or a daughter that was around her age.
It wouldn't be that odd for them to get their daughter to call her as a foster mother or... god forbid, grandmother.
'Hai~~~ Mari-san is my grandmother~~ I've came to play!'
The younger girl smiled as she gave Mari as big a hug that she could manage even as Mari felt her head spin a little.
However that bombshell was nothing compared to what happened next.
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'Ara, Mari-san. Who is this?'
Tsukiyo was covering her mouth, probably to veil her amusement as she walked over to the two of them. She did a picture perfect curtsey to the younger girl when she noticed her looking back up at her curiously.
'Good afternoon, I am Kujyo Tsukiyo and this is Luna.'
Tsukiyo gave a small haughty smile to the child while waving the arm of her doll and it seemed to have made the girl happy as she released Mari before doing a clumsy curtsey back as well.
Tsukiyo and Mari both smiled at that, only for their smiles to be wiped away when the young girl clung on to Tsukiyo's arm and delivered yet another statement that made the entire cafe really quiet.
'Mother!'
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It wasn't the first time that Cafe Grandpa had closed shop earlier than normal, there were circumstances that caused inconveniences to their paying customers. However this was the first time that Mari was not able to apologize in person to all the customers that she had to ask to leave the cafe. Elsi had to do that as Mari and Tsukiyo had quickly whisked the young girl to the living quarters of the Katsuragi Household.
Somehow, Elsi knew this was just the beginning. It was a feeling that she had developed after spending a lot of time with her big brother, Katsuragi Keima. She knew this was especially when the younger girl had told them that Katsuragi Keima was her father. Elsi already had a few theories on what might have happened here, each one as implausible as the next... but one in particular stood out. All she needed now was to have a discussion with her Kami-Onii-sama a little later in the day.
If he even survived till the end of the day that was.
'I'm sorry, but Cafe Grandpa is closed today due to extraordinary circumstances... we do hope that you'll visit us tomorrow!'
Elsi repeated the same lines in apology as she had to ask another guest to leave the cafe after finishing their meal. Thankfully for the younger demon, many of them were quite understanding of the situation. What made it difficult however was the regulars, some of them who were in earshot of what had happened earlier. This led to many awkward questions about Mari and her brother, questions that Elsi couldn't and wouldn't answer.
It was going to get even more difficult if they didn't get to the bottom of this... but honestly, Elsi knew she had the answer to this puzzle all figured out.
The problem right now however was to contain the possible damage that would happen from this problem they had.
'… … Who knew it would be so hard... how are we going to explain this?'
Elsi asked herself even as she turned the Open/Close sign in front of the cafe's front door. Time to check on her Kami-Onii-sama and see how he was doing then!
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Katsuragi Keima, the Capturing God, and the eldest son of the Katsuragi household was currently besieged by two females as he tried his best to ignore them and to continue his conquest of the ideal.
No, that wasn't right, he was maintaining his status in the ideal... No, that was wrong as well. He owned the ideal...
'…'
Fine, Katsuragi Keima admitted that he had difficulty maintaining his train of thought with the two women that were staring at him, waiting for answers.
No, that wasn't right again... to be specific, it was the young girl that was currently beside him in the family couch, her eyes staring attentively to his PFP that was unnerving him.
He had blocked out all of Mari's questions, demands and furious screeches by focusing on his games but as he was god, he had a firm grasp of what was going on by now.
'So she claims to be your grand daughter, mine as well as Tsukiyo's daughter?'
Keima summarized everything up easily before sighing and asking them why they had bought it so easily.
'For all we know, she could just be a lost child who has mistaken us for their family.'
Keima replied reasonably even as Tsukiyo flushed and said that was indeed possible. Then again, it was quite like Tsukiyo, who Keima knew to be very irrational when she gets very flustered to jump to conclusions like that.
If she hadn't been swept up by Mari, who Keima remembered had immediately gone off to accuse her husband, his father, of infidelity just from a single letter produced by Elsi.
As saddening as it might be to admit, Keima knew her mother liked to jump to conclusions when they shattered the border of belief for her.
Suddenly having a granddaughter, her son having a daughter in secret and not even marrying the girl would surely blow a fuse or two.
'Besides, if the mother isn't even aware of the daughter's existence... how do you expect me to believe it?'
Keima hammered the last nail into the coffin even as Tsukiyo blinked and then flushed again, fidgeting as she stared at Keima with blushing cheeks.
'T-That's... true...'
Mari finally relented, her anger and disappointment driven away by Keima's calm analysis of the situation. At the back of her head however, Mari was furious at how Keima, like his father, was able to go through everything with a fine combed brush to pick out the flaws in the situation.
It was something she disliked, for it made her look like an idiot. At least her son wasn't really making her sound like an idiot.
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'Could we have a moment alone, Ka-san?'
Keima asked suddenly as the room was deep in silence for a few moments and the request made Mari's eyes narrowed again as she shot suspicious looks at Keima and Tsukiyo. The blonde girl simply squeaked while Keima remained focused on his games. The young child on the other hand, was still staring at the PFP in Keima's eyes without even moving.
That alone made it possible for her to be Keima's child but she might just be projecting the image onto others. So Mari simply nodded and said that she's going to need some time to cool down.
'Ah, grandmother, could I have some cake please!'
With Mari always a sucker for young and adorable girls, Keima hid a small smile as Mari smiled and nodded at her before leaving the two of them just as Elsi returned from the cafe proper.
'Now then.'
Keima narrowed his eyes briefly as the child looked disappointed as he placed his PFP down. Tsukiyo noticed the resigned look on Elsi's face and her expression changed slightly as well. Tsukiyo was one of the 'captured' girls that had been present for one particular 'mission' that Keima and Elsi had undertaken.
To be exact, the capture of Konoe Rea, and, now it seems that she had been wrapped up into another one.
'It's Mari, isn't it?'
'Hai, Oka-sama has a weiss inside her.'
Elsi's answer was accompanied by Elsi removing the Weiss detector from her head and showing it to Keima.
'… So, this is the Weiss?'
Keima pointed to the child who was playing around with his PFP but his eyes widened when she turned it on and resumed the game itself as well.
'… Well, at least she did get the basics right.'
Keima muttered to himself as he knew that there were others who did not even know how to turn on a game console, Nagase Jun was one of them after all. The child made it looked easy and she held the PFP comfortable without any problems at all.
'… Katsuragi, I would like you to explain what is going on this time.'
Tsukiyo's soft voice rang out again and Keima gave a small sigh when beside her, the doll named Luna was floating beside her threatening as well.
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Author's Notes: No promises about what would happen in the future of MWs, but I'll definitely tackle the events of the Goddess eventually.
A disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any hopes that might be dashed from reading this story.
It is within the same timeline, but who knows when this particular story appears on the timeline.