"Whoa! This place is packed!" I shouted as the three of us (four, if you count Baldanders inside the backpack) walked inside this pancake restaurant Lidelle suggested.
"No surprise there. I've heard this place makes the best pancakes this world's ever seen." Lidelle said.
"My, my. If it really is true, then I hope we can get some ourselves before they run out." Lemres said.
"Yeah, me too. I'm starving." I said while holding my stomach.
"Hello there." A light-brown haired girl greeted us. "Sorry for the wait. It's really busy today. Table for 3?"
"Uh…" Lidelle and I were too nervous to say anything.
"Yes, please. That would be fine." Luckily, Lemres confirmed it for us.
"Very well. Please follow me. There's an open table nearby."
"Thank you very much."
After the girl walked us to our table and gave us each a menu, we looked around this place some more. It was rather small. Maybe as big as a regular diner. But there was still a bunch of people here. So the girl wasn't kidding when she said this place was super busy.
"Woah. They got so much stuff here. It's actually insane." I said.
"Donuts, kolaches, cakes, pastries, multiple ice cream flavors, and a super-duper bunch of candy. I think I'm in sweets heaven." Lemres said as he looked over the menu.
"Please do control yourself, Lemres." Lidelle said. "We don't have much money to be spending on a bunch of food."
"Oh really, Lidelle? Cause I think I remember telling you the exact same thing back at the supermarket."
"Th-That was different! W-We're eating now, not later!"
"Right."
Geez. One with a sweet tooth and one with a black hole for a stomach. At this rate, we'll be broke before getting to the entrées. I better step in when the time comes.
"Hello there. Thank you for visiting today. May I take your order?" A long black-haired girl wearing a light-red maid outfit with a bunch of pink frills came up and asked us. It struck me as odd that she was wearing such a thing. The other girl wore normal clothes. And this one's wearing a maid outfit?
Well…she does look pretty cute in it.
"Let's see…" Lemres said.
"There's so much to chose." Lidelle said. "I think I might just…"
"3 stacks of pancakes, please." I interrupted both of them.
"H-Hey!"
"H-Hey!"
*SOUND OF BAG SHUFFLING*
"Sorry. Make that 4 stacks."
"Four?" The maid girl was confused based on the fact that there were only three of us sitting at the table.
"We've got an extra person coming." I made up a lie.
"Okay, then. 4 stack of pancakes coming right up." The maid girl then took our menus and went off to deliver our order. Skipping all the way to the kitchen for…some odd reason.
"Not cool, Amitie." Lidelle said.
"Are you serious? You and Lemres would've made us and this restaurant bankrupted if I didn't step in. And besides, you wanted pancakes, right?"
"Yeah, but not one stack."
"She does have a point, Lidelle." Lemres said. "We are starting to run low on funds. Hopefully, we get this mission done soon."
"Oh, yeah. About that. what made you want to do this, Lemres?" I asked.
Lemres went dead silent as he tipped his hat forward in shame and regret.
"Wait. I know. You knew, huh?"
"Yeah. I'm afraid so. That stepmother of hers is a real…y-you get the idea."
"Yeah."
"Big time." Lidelle added.
*SOUND OF BAG SHUFFLING*
"I think Bal agrees, too." I said.
"I bet he does. I mean, he did live with her too."
"Yeah, true."
"Anyway…" Lemres continued. "Reasoning with that woman has been proven time and time again…impossible. So, with our options running out, I decided to do this special mission to hopefully give Feli some peace of mind for once in her life."
"By finding "them" right?" Lidelle asked.
"Yeah. Although to be honest, I'm not having much luck so far. I just can't seem to find anyone with Kuromi for a last name. I mean, I know this world is big and all. But I should've at least found something by now."
"I see." I said. "I didn't think it would be that hard for you. Which probably explains why you've been here a while."
"Yeah, it's been grueling. But if it's to make Feli happy, then I can't give up."
Wow. What a friend Lemres is. Sure, he had to lie to Feli (and pretty much everyone expect Lidelle) in order to do this. But he's willing to do this for her. No wonder she has a huge crush on him.
…
You know. Now that I think about it…
"Hey, Lemres. You know how Feli has a crush on you? Do you feel the same way towards her?" I asked.
Once again, Lemres went dead silent. But this time it wasn't shame. He was actually thinking about what to say. I wonder…
"Well…"
"Here you go. 4 stacks of pancakes. Hot n' ready." The maid girl said as she came back with 4 plates of pancakes.
Fiddlesticks! What bad timing!
"Thank you kindly. But can I get mine to-go?" Lemres asked.
"Sure. Let me get a to-go box."
"Thank you again."
"Huh? Where are you going?" I asked.
"I'm going to continue looking. There has to be some clues out there. Oh, and use this to cover the bill." Lemres pulled out a nice shiny credit card out of his pocket and placed it on the table.
"I thought you said we were running low on funds." Lidelle said.
"We are. This is just my back-up money. Just in case something like this happened."
"You really came prepared for this, did you?"
"I've learned a few from being sent to the other two worlds."
"Which reminds me, why was I the only person to not go to Ringo's world?"
"Uh…" Neither me or Lemres had a good answer for that.
"Here's your to-go box, sir." The maid girl came back.
"Oh. Thank you so much. Well, see you girls later." Lemres packed up his pancake stack and soon left the restaurant to continue his search.
"Geez. He's really serious about it all. Which reminds me, I better get back to searching, too. I really want to tell her that I'm sorry. I feel awful that it's taken this long."
"Yeah, me too." Lidelle said. "Though you really are a good friend, Amitie. Coming all the way out here when no one else would. Feli could really use a friend like that. Wherever she is."
"*sigh* Yeah."
"W-Wait! A-Are you…Amitie?!" The maid girl asked in shock.
Huh. I didn't even know she was still here…
"Uh…yeah. Why?" I sounded confused.
"W-Well…d-do you mind staying here until the restaurant closes?"
"Huh?" Me and Lidelle were highly confused at this point.
"I-It's for a good reason. Trust me."
"Okay, then. What's this good reason?" Lidelle asked.
The girl looked rather panicked about it all. But at some point, she calmed down with a huge sigh and finally decided to tell us more info.
"W-Well, you see…F-Feli's here."
"WHAT?!" We both shouted. Gaining the attention of other customers.
"Shh! Please keep it down. This shouldn't really make a huge scene." The maid girl whispered.
"Wow! To think we were near Feli this whole time! What luck!" Lidelle cheered.
"I know, right?!" I then turned to face the maid girl. "So we just have to stay here until closing, right?"
"Yes. I-If you don't mind."
"No, no, no. We really don't mind at all. In fact, we're grateful that you told us this. Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, Amitie. I can already tell Feli would be super happy to see you again. Well, gotta go. See you girls later."
"Thank you." We both said once more.
"Wow. In just mere hours, we get to see Feli again. This past month has really paid off."
"Yep. Sure has." Lidelle agreed.
"ARF! ARF!" Baldanders moved from inside the bag.
"But for now, let's eat. I'm so hungry."
"Me too. And this one stack won't fill me up, either. If only someone didn't order for me like I'm a child…" Lidelle said in a snarky tone.
"*sigh* Let it go, Lidelle." I said with a huge facepalm.
Act 4-3 – Cultural Festival γ
"*sigh* It's over! It's finally over!" I yelled as I flopped onto a chair back in the break room.
"I've never done so much cooking before. I have to be as good as Mom at this point." Futaba said as she did the same thing and sat next to me.
"And you say it's always this busy around this time?"
"Well…Sunday is usually our busiest day, right?"
"Right…"
"The fact that Cultural Festival planning always starts on Monday…"
"Okay. I get it. I'm just glad it's over."
"Yeah, me too."
"Look on the bright side, you two. At least now all five of us will be focused on planning for the festival." Naoko said.
"Yeah!" Rin cheered. "And despite Hinata giving the idea, we could suggest to the rest of the class about a café!"
"Where is Hinata, anyway? She just disappeared once the store closed."
"She said she had to do a quick errand." Yuuta said. "My guess is that errand is to change out of that maid outfit."
"Probably." Naoko said with a shrug.
"Oh, hey. You guys are still here." Hinata said as she came in the room. And like we all thought, she had changed out of the maid outfit into a cherry-printed t-shirt and some black shorts.
"Yeah, we are. Why you ask?" Futaba asked.
"Well…during the day earlier, I met two people that I really think you guys should see. You especially, Feli."
"Huh?" I was completely confused.
Hinata let out a sigh before looking out the door.
"She's in here."
"Really? Is she really in there?" Asked a new voice. Well…it was new to the others. Me, on the other hand…I've heard this voice before.
Th-That voice! I-It can't be!
But it was. The person who owned that voice walked into the room and I nearly went insane with shock.
"A-Amitie?!" I shouted.
"What?!" The others shouted after me.
"Feli! It really is you!" Amitie shouted with glee as she rushed over to hug me. And with a little hesitation, I hugged her back. Still rather confused about all this.
"A-Amitie! Wh-What are you doing here?! HOW did you get here?!" I asked.
"Y-Yeah. Funny thing about that…" Said a new voice as she walked into the room with us. Now I was even more shocked.
"L-Lidelle?! You're here, too?!"
"Good to see you again, Feli." Lidelle said with a smile.
"Unbelievable. I can't believe I'm actually seeing you two again. It's been so long." I then began to cry a little while still hugging Amitie.
"Guys…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never told you about my problems. I'm sorry that I ran away without telling you. It's just what happened during that day…"
"Feli. You know damn well I never meant what I said. It was the others who influenced me. But then again, I can't blame them completely. I should've noticed how unhappy you were a long time ago. But instead, *sniff* I let it go to a point where it can't be forgiven. I feel so horrible and…"
"Amitie…I've heard your message."
"Wh…What?"
"That message you left on my phone. It took me a while to read it, but what you said on it…that last bit isn't true. You're a great friend. Or else you wouldn't have come to a completely different world just to find me. I'm truly grateful for that."
Amitie looked at me while wiping away her tears and calming down a bit.
"W-Wow. Thanks, Feli. You're a great friend, too. But um…about that message. I-I don't remember sending it."
"Huh?"
"In fact, I have no idea what you were talking about."
"What?"
"Amitie…I think you pocket-dialed Feli by mistake." Lidelle said.
"Huh?" Amitie pulled out her phone and checked her call history. She then started blushing a bit while rubbing the back of her head. "O-Oh. I-I guess I did. I didn't even notice. Hehhehheh…"
I didn't say anything for a while. I was trying to process everything that was just told to me. But once I did figure it out, I did have one thing to say:
"Amitie…you dunce."
"H-Hey!" And of course, Amitie felt insulted.
"Woah! So many people from a different world! This is so freaking exciting! I might just lose it big!" Rin yelled.
"Rin. Calm down." Naoko said to her.
"Hey, Feli. So who are your friends?" Amitie asked.
"I'll take it from here, Feli." Futaba said as she stood up from her chair. "My name's Futaba Okazaki. I was the one who found Feli and took her home with me. And now she lives with us. "Us" meaning me, my mom, my dad, and my little brother Yuuta over there."
"Yo." Yuuta said.
"I'm Naoko Araki. And the hyper girl next to me is Rin Sugihara."
"Did you really have to say "hyper girl"?" Rin asked.
"Yes. It fits you well."
"*whine*"
"I'm Hinata Moriyama. I was…the girl you saw in the maid outfit." Hinata started to blush a little.
"Back to being ashamed of it?" I asked.
"Of course, I'm ashamed! I can't believe you guys tricked me into wearing that! I was so embarrassed!"
"We didn't trick you. You're just extremely gullible." Naoko said with a smile and a few snickers.
"Screw you!"
"Well, it's nice to meet you all." Amitie said.
*SHUFFLE*
*SHUFFLE SHUFFLE*
"Hey, Amitie." Hinata said. "You're backpack's been moving on its own for a while now. What's up with that?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! I forgot! We actually brought a present for you, Feli!"
"A-A present? F-For me?" I was shocked to hear such a thing.
"Trust us, you'll love it." Lidelle said.
"Um…okay."
Amitie placed her backpack down onto the floor and I (for some odd reason) slowly opened the flap to have something jump up onto me. Whatever it was, it sure was heavy. But I recognized this weight on top of me. And I opened my eyes to see…
"ARF! ARF!"
"BAL!"
I jumped up and started hugging my dog after not doing such a thing for nearly over a month. He really hasn't changed. Then again, I don't think he can change.
"Oh my God! I missed you SOOO much, Bal! I'm so happy to see you again!"
"ARF!"
"W-Woah…" Futaba said.
"H-He's huge…" Hinata said.
"H-He doesn't bite, does he?" Yuuta asked.
"No, he doesn't bite. And as for his size…well, let's just say he's not a normal dog."
"Uh…" The three didn't know what to say to that.
"Hey, Feli! Can I…"
"No, Rin. You can't ride him." I said.
"Aw!" Rin whined.
"So, just one more question. How did you two find out about my family's restaurant?" Futaba asked.
"We actually came here by chance. We were just leaving the store together and we got hungry. So Lidelle suggested this place."
"Actually…" Lidelle joined in. "I was leaving the store when I found Amitie watching something on those TV's called anime. And I had to carry the stuff by myself."
"W-Well, it was a good show. I didn't want to miss it."
"Really? You like anime, Amitie? Which one was it?" Futaba asked.
"Uh…not sure. It was a long one. I think it was…Mahō Shōjo something."
"Oh! You mean Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica's Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure?!"
"Yeah! That's it!"
"Rin and I LOVE that anime!"
"Really?!"
"Finally! Another Cutie Pie fan! It's been really hard to find one for a long time!" Rin cheered.
"Well, you got one now!"
"Cutie!" All three girls shouted with glee as they each held up a peace sign in the air.
…
…
"Wh…What the hell is with that name?" I asked. Now extremely confused on what just happened. And possibly more confused than when Amitie and Lidelle first came through the door.
"I feel you, Feli." Lidelle said as she stood next to me.
"We all do." Hinata, Naoko, and Yuuta agreed to the statement as we continued to listen to the three girls talk about the one thing they have in common.
A show with a really weird title.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, it's official. Magical Girl Cutie Pie Erica's Heart-throbbing Miracle Cure is by far the stupidest thing I've ever come up with. I just can't say that and NOT laugh. What was I thinking? Lmao.
Anyway, Feli has finally reunited with Amitie, Lidelle, and Baldanders. Now she can live a happy normal life, right? Well, you would think. But there's still more. Find out next time. Thanks for reading. Later.