-Japan - Tokyo -
Naofumi was in his room finishing an assignment he got for biology class that was due to next week, since his brother and parents went out shopping for the afternoon, he took this as a chance to get ahead in his homework and then took the rest of the week to play games
Ding
"Huh? What is this now?" Naofumi said as he went to the door to answer, he opened it and looked around to see no one there, he looked down and saw a package, he crouched down and looked to see for who it was addressed for
"Oh, a package for me" Naofumi said moderately surprised since he did not remember ordering anything, he took the package and put it on the kitchen table, he opened it and a small smile surged on his face when he saw what was inside
"Ah man, it's the light novels I ordered a month ago, I thought they had been lost in the mail" he excitedly said as he picked them out of the box
"What the?" he let out as he saw an extra thing at the bottom of the box
"Huh? I don't remember ordering this one..." Naofumi analyzed the book, it had a red cover with gold details around while the back of the book seemed to have a crown emblem also in gold
"Cookie run kingdom: the ancient heroes?" he read the title that was in English for some reason, he was pretty confused about why he had received some weird book he hadn't ordered and that was of no franchise he knew about
"Is this a bonus for getting my order late?" Naofumi questioned as he opened up the book to see what was about
"In the distant past once stood four great kingdoms led by legendary heroes each with a powerful soul jam in their possession, with their great power they were able to create everlasting prosperity and peace among the realms"
"Until an evil sorcerer came from unknown darkness and began to create an army of cake monsters and similar sweet and twisted creatures"
"The five legendary heroes united to fight against her but despite their great strength, the sorcerer was able to defeat them with her many monsters and her immense power, she took their gemstones to use their power to take over the world with unravel power and start an age of eternal darkness"
"To stop this one of them used all of his strength in a spell powerful enough to dispel the gemstones and seal the dark sorcerer, causing a magical explosion in the process, the heroes seemed to have died along with this effort, until..." suddenly the pages began to turn and Naofumi found himself inside a pillar of light
"Ahhhhh!" He screamed out as he started to fall with the book following him before he lost conscience
Somewhere else, Earthbread
"Ugh..." Naofumi groaned as he felt his face touching the cold floor, his mind spinning and his body aching in a weird way
"Wow! Wizard cookie, that spell summoned four cookies! And they look so cool!" A voice called out as it looked at the newly arrived people
"Uh... yes! Proof of my magical expertise!" Another voice responded
"I thought it was supposed to summon the cake hound with the crown to us..." a feminine voice then said in a shy tone, as it seemed to have struggled to speak her mind up
"Well yes, but now we have four more people to help us with that so it's still a victory" the voice of the spellcaster responded trying to justify its mistake
"What the..."Naofumi let out as he looked up at the voices speaking in front of him, just to have his eyes widen in surprise, the three voices were what seemed to be... cookies, a fact hammered home by the fact one of the speakers was a plain gingerbread man, living and sentient cookies were speaking to him, he got up and jumped back before he saw his arms, what once was a human hand now stood a little flat stump in a white glove
"What is going on?!" Naofumi and three other voices screamed out in panic, this caught his attention and he looked to his sides to see three other "cookies" in lavish outfits that all seemed as confused and scared as him, which served to put him back in his state of confusion
"What is this place?!" A cookie with black hair with a white line, wearing grey battle armor with large rectangular shoulder pads screamed out
"What's wrong with my voice?!" A cookie in a white robe that seemed to have an overcoat made of what seemed to be made of waffle batter, with an ice cream cone on his smooth vanilla-colored hair said as he touched his throat before letting out a tiny scream as he saw that his hands were stumps
"Why do I have wings?!" A cookie with large golden wings asked herself, she wore an extravagant crown on her head that was a lifeless grey and held a golden spear in her hand, she was dressed in just a skirt and a sort of poncho but that seemed to glimmer like gold, aside from her skin, all of her appeared to be either be made of gold or covered in gold dust
"Why I'm a cookie?!" They all screamed out except for the dark cookie who was analyzing his hands as well as his surroundings
"..." Naofumi stopped as he heard his voice more clearly, realizing how feminine it sounded, he looked down and noticed that he was wearing a pink dress with a vague heart motif
"Wait, I'm a girl?!" Naofumi screamed out in panic as he realized his change of gender, which caused everyone there to look at him weirdly for a bit
"What in the sugary carnation is going on!?" He screamed out wanting some answers before realizing what he just said 'Wait... Why did I say that?! I meant to say fuck! not that!' Naofumi mentally said as he was now confused about his vocabulary change, could he not swear anymore?
"Hey, are you guys all right? You seem confused" The gingerbread man known as GingerBrave asked concerned about them as he went to place a hand on the shoulder of the Golden cookie but had his hand slapped away by the winged cookie
"Of course we are confused! I'm a cookie and I am in a weird place I don't recognize and talking to living cookies!" The golden one with wings shouts in a fit of confused rage
"Why do you keep saying that? You're a cookie too ever since you were baked, weren't you?" Wizard Cookie asked as he found this weird, how can a cookie not know they are a cookie? Did the heat of the oven cook their heads beyond the point?
"Do you guys have amnesia? What do you guys remember?" GingerBrave asked trying to help them as best he could
"We-" The cookie with the ice cream cone on his head was about to say something before the cookie in grey armor put a hand on his shoulder and walked forward to the group
"Please forgive my colleagues and me, I'm afraid that our memories of our past and what we were have been lost under mysterious circumstances of supernatural origins no doubt," the cookie in grey said in a powerful voice, respectful and commanding in tone as Naofumi and the others could only keep silent at the Cookie's presence
"Why tho?" GingerBrave asked as he did not seem affected by the power of the dark Cookie's voice
"... You said that you used a spell to summon us here, but the spell was for... A cake hound correct? Perhaps the spell took our memories away as a consequence of it not being properly executed" the cookie in dark armor said as he looked at Wizard Cookie, although confused he had paid attention to everything that had been said
"But I don't know how it could have gone wrong! I followed every instruction to a tea!" Wizard Cookie said as he tried to recall every step he had taken in making the spell, seeing no way how it could have failed
"Didn't you use blue jelly mixed with red jelly to make it "purple" jelly instead of using actual purple jelly beans? Could that be it?" The Cookie wearing a strawberry hoodie pointed out, an awkward silence came as Wizard Cookie's eyes widen and then he looked down at the floor saddened
"... I am sorry, so very sorry, please forgive me for my mistake" Wizard Cookie apologized with tears in his eyes as he felt immense guilt for having made four people lose their memories and identities just because he didn't use the right ingredient
"It is alright young wizard, you didn't know better, for now, could any of you guide us to a room so we can recollect ourselves and try to remember anything about our past?" The Cookie in dark armor asked the group as Gingerbrave raised his hand
"Ah sure! There are plenty of rooms in the castle, just follow me" GingerBrave said as he offered to guide them, before they left the chamber, Naofumi saw that the same book that had brought him here was on the floor, since nobody had seemed to notice it, he took it and hid it on his dress before joining back with the others
After being taken on a small walk around the castle, GingerBrave showed them a room, it seemed good enough to accommodate them, he asked if they needed anything but they declined, after GingerBrave left and they closed the door, they stood quiet for a moment as they looked at the cookie in grey armor who left out a heavy sigh as he laid his back against the door and his expression changed from a serious one to a terrified one
"Oh thank god! I don't know how long I could have kept acting calm like that! I'm losing my mind!" The Cookie in dark armor said as he leaned back against the door and slowly slid down to the ground as he took in multiple gasps of air in rapid succession, after a bit of recomposing himself while slowly his breath, he coughed in his hand and reasumed a more serious expression as he stared back at Naofumi and the others
"So, judging from your reactions, you guys were humans as well?" He asked, with Naofumi and the others nodding in a response
"Maybe we should introduce ourselves and try to understand what is going on" the cookie with the ice cream cone on his head suggested
"I will go first, I'm Ren Amaki age 16, a high schooler, I lived in Tokyo Japan" Ren introduced himself, it was quite surprising for the other that he was just a teenager, the guy acted way more mature than he should be considering their situation
"I'm Motoyasu Kitamura, 21 years old, college student also Japan," the winged cookie said, The trio was surprised that she was a he, but it was a trope in Isekai's, Naofumi was relieved that he wasn't the only one who got summoned with their gender inverted
"I am Itsuki Kawasume, 17, a highschooler, same about the place of origin," Itsuki said as he waved his hand briefly closing his eyes which caused the flower he was holding as a staff to open its eye, which made Naofumi and the others get startled, while Itsuki was confused on how was he seeing even after closing his eyes
"Naofumi Itawani, 21, and also in college, Japan as well" Naofumi introduced himself last, while Ren and Itsuki were surprised by the fact that all of them were Japanese and got transported to another world just like every isekai, Motoyasu focused on another thing
"Naofumi? That's a guy's name" Motoyasu said as if he was still thinking that Naofumi was a woman, which caused the latter to get very annoyed at the winged cookie
"That's because I'm a man," Naofumi said annoyed, Motoyasu got a few weird looks from Ren and Itsuki, since Naofumi had screamed out confused about his gender a few minutes prior
"Oh..." Motoyasu let out as he realized he was talking to a dude and not a chick as he thought, he didn't expect to get cat-fished like that
"We are all Japanese? Good, that means you guys have heard about Isekai before?" Itsuki asked and every one of them nodded, at least they had a general area to work of
"Yes, I assume that's what is going on here," Naofumi said as he was trying to use all the knowledge he had about the isekai genre, he read tons of light novels about it so he expected that some of it might be useful for once
"I wish I was in Brave Star Online instead of this... much rather be stuck in a game world than... this" Ren said as he lamented the fact he was stuck in this place, he hoped that if he ever got isekai'ded, that it would be the usual thing not whatever this was
"Man, I thought that when I died and got transported to another world, I would be at least human, not a sugary treat," Motoyasu said as this was not what he was led to believe by anime, he died and instead of going to a world of adventures with a videogame system, an op skill or companion, and attractive woman based on fantasy monsters, he got summoned to Candyland as a cheese angel...
"Same" Itsuki and Ren said before sighing, both unhappy with how this turned out, they weren't dead which was good, but it was just lack lusterer
"Wait you guys died?" Naofumi asked confused, he knew that was the clichê for this stuff but considering that he didn't die to get here, why were the other three summoned through death?
"Yeah that's how you get isekai dude," Motoyasu said as he was laying himself on the only couch in the room taking all the space in there and covering it in cheese powder
"I was reading a book detailing what I assume now to be this place before getting here" Naofumi stated, causing the other three to look at him surprised
"Why do you get to not die? I died by stabbing..." Motoyasu said not even trying to hide his jealousy
"Got hit by a truck, so you know, the usual thing for this story" Itsuki commented, he was at least happy that his death was quick and painless but he would much rather not have died at all, especially such a common and uninteresting death
"... What did the book have written in it?" Ren asked instead of saying how he died as if this was a contest, since Naofumi's summoning was different it might have a reason
"I still have the book here, seems to have come with me," Naofumi said as he took the book out of his dress and placed it on a coffee table
"Let's look inside! Maybe there is a hint to how to get out of here!" Motoyasu exclaimed as he opened the book, he didn't want to stay in this whacky cookie place, if he could find a way to go back to his world and not be dead then he would happily take that option
They began to read the book, and Naofumi noticed that the book had changed somehow, as instead of starting with the description of the world and detailing a battle against a sorceress, it now seemed like it was dedicating the first few pages with the introduction of the heroes
"This one looks like me!" Itsuki said as he pointed at a page with an illustration of his new appearance along with a wall of text on the following page
'There are not many Cookies on Earthbread that could inspire hope as Pure Vanilla Cookie did. Born from nature-blessed cream and a fragrant vanilla bean, he was the epitome of Cookie kindness and faithfulness. Pure Vanilla Cookie strived to forgive the wrongdoer and heal the wounds of Cookies and animals alike. Though a powerful wielder of magic, he would use his spells not for his good, but for the good of everyone. The Cookie took an arduous pilgrimage down the Sugar-Free Road. What Pure Vanilla Cookie learned through the Trials is unknown, but crowned with a bright halo of light he returned to found the Vanilla Kingdom, a land of freedom and learning, and a beacon for those seeking love and peace. Pure Vanilla Cookie stood by his friends until the very end, warding off the Darkness with a heartfelt smile.'
Itsuki would be smuggling smiling but it seemed that the body he was in couldn't be smug in any physical sense, he was more than happy to know who he was now, seemed like he was a beloved hero and exactly what he wanted to be as a kid who got bullied and looked up to heroic characters like this one, thinking about all the praise and compliments not even mentioning the fact he was king! That was all making him so happy, this was everything he wanted and then some... Yet, it seemed like a part of him felt that it was wrong for him to feel and think that way when he didn't do anything to earn that respect, but he ignored it for now
"Pure Vanilla Cookie? What sort of name is that?" Motoyasu questioned that name, he expected some fantasy sounding name like Xarghot or something along those lines
"Considering we are in a world of cookies, the naming scheme must be just to put cookie after some sort of ingredient that was involved in the baking process or profession" Naofumi responded as that was the simplest explanation, although he questioned how naming worked if two Cookies were made of the same ingredient or had the same profession
'What else could result in such an overwhelming passion if not the reddest hollyberries, ripened under the hottest summer sunlight? Hollyberry Cookie believes that every friendship, like every victory, should be triumphant. After all, there is nothing in the world as hard as trust! Not even the all-enduring Hollyberry Shield with which she swore to protect her beloved ones. It is said that Hollyberry Cookie leading a charge onto the battlefield is the most inspiring view. A view that inspires to repay with trust to those who put trust in you. Hollyberry Cookie always makes sure to commemorate with everyone she can as to spread cheerfulness and make new friends wherever she goes.'
Naofumi sighed at what he just read, he was apparently in the body of some party-loving extroverted woman, he was not going to enjoy this, he was a cookie, he was the opposite gender he is used to being his whole life, and he had to be constantly happy and wanting to socialize with everyone he encounters which for an otaku like himself was already bad enough, and he had to wear a pink dress with a bunch of hearts plastered around it. All of this was a pain in his mind, he just wanted to go home or just drop dead... But he felt fairly excited about it as well, being in a new world full of magic, going on adventures, meeting new and exciting people, and sharing feasts with them, this was all stuff he didn't think or care about back home but now he just felt the desire to explore the world and tell great tales over a mug of sweet beverages 'maybe it won't be so bad...' Naofumi thought as a soft smile formed on his face
"Aren't Hollyberries super toxic? I remember a cat was found dead in my neighborhood because it ate some of those berries that were being used as decoration for the holidays" Itsuki whispered as he did not want Naofumi to hear him
"This is a fantasy world, they probably aren't deadly poison here" Ren whispered back since Naofumi didn't seem poisonous... At least visually
'The last bean, devoid of any sweetness, fell from a withered branch of a lonely cacao tree growing above the edge of a cliff. Lying there in frozen soil, enduring snow and wind, this bean wasn't aware of its destiny to become the main ingredient for the cold and reclusive Dark Cacao Cookie. A warrior of unheard strength, Dark Cacao Cookie wielded the Grapejam Chocoblade. This sword was so heavy it required three average Cookies to even budge it. With each swing, the skies erupted into thunder and lightning, avalanches tumbled down countless mountains. Dark Cacao Cookie was known as a Cookie of few words but with great principle. Ruling over the frozen lands, he was said to be a powerful king that was able to guide his people even in the harsher of situations or against the most dangerous of threats'
Ren was slightly relieved at the reveal of the personality of the person he currently was, he had many experiences acting as a cold, serious, and solitary individual from his Chunibyo phase and his roleplaying in games, but he never had thought of playing king, what if people came asking him for help? What if he commits a mistake because he doesn't know how politics works? He was horrible at interacting and understanding people, he was antisocial for a reason! He wanted to scream and cry when thinking of all the weight that was sure to be on his shoulder... But he couldn't, he felt that he had to do his best for his own sake, he just had to hit the library and study politics, economy, and all the other things need to run a kingdom, plus, this was a world of talking sweets, it couldn't be as hard as ruling a kingdom in his world
'With an enormous amount of golden cheese in the dough, this Cookie gleams as if fashioned of pure gold. Golden Cheese Cookie dwells in a gilded palace atop the highest mountain of the Golden Cheese Valley. Everything that surrounds her shines with opulence—so bright, it is hard to look up at her. The godlike queen rules over theCheesebirdsof the Valley with a golden fist, dictating everything from hairstyles to diet. And the queen's mercy on someone who sneezes around her: a single speck of the precious cheese powder blown off might have dire consequences!'
"Ah, man! I'm a girl? How I'm going to pick up chicks now?" Motoyasu asked himself as he tried to think if it was even possible for him to find any women interested in dating him now that he was a girl and also smelled like cheese, his response made the three other heroes look at him with their jaws dropped
"That's what you're worried about? You're supposed to be a dictator of some sort, and you're worried about getting a girlfriend?" Itsuki asked flabbergasted that this guy was thinking about girls instead of the much more important matters at hand
"Hey relax, plus it's not like I am going to act like that, I'm never going to be a tyrannical ruler" Motoyasu affirmed, as much as it seemed like a swell deal, he just didn't want to be an evil ruler, especially for a bunch of little Cheesebirds that were as cute as buttons, if it ever came down to it he could be a benevolent ruler instead
"Yes, although we should be very careful with our identities" Ren said with a serious tone, which confused the other three as they looked at him
"We are not just some ordinary citizens of this world or a completely new group of people summoned here like typical isekai, we are rulers of mighty kingdoms and heroes of legends that have a deep and rich story in this world. So far it seems that our true identity is unknown by these people but if someone recognizes us, they would certainly ask why we are acting differently and going by different names, using amnesia as an excuse can only help us so much in the beginning. We have to not gather attention until we find our way home" Ren said after understanding who they were now and what their history was, the amnesia idea should work but their could be problems, this world had magic and possibly alchemy, it was sure to have a potion or spell to recover memories, what if they use it on them and nothing happens? What would they say as an explanation? And they couldn't just keep talking and using terms and names of their world or else people would think they are insane or that they are being possessed by wicked spirits. It was best to try and learn everything about who these people were and at least try to live out of the spotlight as just average citizens
"I see where you're coming from, I don't think none of us know how to rule a kingdom and the complicated politics behind it" Naofumi said as he agreed with what Ren said, as he didn't want to have the responsibility of managing a nation, he never had interest in politics when it was just as a civilian and even less as a career, as the other three nodded along in agreement, with this issue resolved, they went back to reading the book for answers
They flipped the pages and now they got to the part were Naofumi had already read, it had some changes in vocabulary and was a bit more detailed but it was pretty much the same, they flipped the page and now it showed an image of the four of them in the floor and with those three other cookies standing there, they flipped again and were met with completely blank pages
"It's all blank!" Motoyasu exclaimed as he took the book and began to rapidly flip through the pages
"Considering that this a magic book that seems to be recording our lives, the pages will probably fill up as we live and adventure in this world," Itsuki said, wondering what higher purpose this thing had since it was what got one of them here and followed him here
"So the book is of no use then," Motoyasu said as he threw the book without care, not interested in it anymore, Ren went and grabbed the thing off the ground, looking at it for a moment
"... Keep it with you, it might prove important in the future," Ren said as he turned to Naofumi and handed him the book, who picked it up a bit reluctantly
"Fine, but keeping this thing in my dress is kind of a nuisance," Naofumi said as he placed the book back into his dress, suddenly they heard a knock on the door, Itsuki went and opened being met with Strawberry Cookie and GingerBrave holding a plater with jelly beans
"H-hello, we came to see if guys were better," Strawberry Cookie said as she stutter from talking to so many strangers in a day
"We brought some jellies for you guys to munch on!" GingerBrave said as he went to each of them and offered a jelly bean, most declined except for Motoyasu, who was curious if they would taste like actual jelly beans or if they would have a more... natural taste instead of a manufactured one
"Thank you, we are much better, we have already remembered some stuff, but it is still almost a complete blank," Itsuki said, it was a half lie because although they had learned much more about what was happening, they still had many questions about the past of these heroes they were currently possessing? Reincarnated as? It was still a mystery
"Don't worry! Wizard Cookie felt so bad for what happened to you all, that he is working on a spell to help you guys out!" GingerBrave said in his apparent natural cheery way
"Oh, that's nice..." Motoyasu said as he and the other three were not sure if that was a good thing or not, the four of them all wonder what this spell would be, something to recover memories that they did not possess or something to send them home. They hoped for the latter
"Yeah, and until he is done, you guys can stay in our kingdom," GingerBrave said, Naofumi was wondering if he had any other personality trait other than being an optimist
"We appreciate that," Itsuki said, he was glad that this place was so hospital for strangers like them
"Cool! You guys want a tour around the place?" GingerBrave suggested as he lifted his candy cane up
"Sure, if we are going to stay here we should get to know the place," Naofumi said as he was interested in what this place looked like
"Great! Just follow me," GingerBrave said as he went out and the four followed him, Strawberry Cookie stayed behind. The group followed GingerBrave outside the castle and were moderately surprised that this place looked very much normal environmentally speaking, with bushes and trees being green and clouds that weren't pink cotton candy
"That's where we plant jelly beanstalks, there is where we turn jelly beans into jam, that's a house, that's the place we lumber wood, that's another house, and..." GingerBrave continues to point and tell everything in the kingdom, although Naofumi and the others thought unnecessary to say what was a house every time they passed one, the tour was stopped as a short cookie wearing a little crown and with an attire that somewhat resembled that of royalty came running to their direction, once he got to them he took a few breathes before looking at them
"Halt GingerBrave! What are doing and who are your new friends?" the young and short cookie asked as he looks at the group for a moment before doing a little pose, Naofumi and the others just observed, trying not to judge him since he seemed to be just a child
"Oh hey Custard Cookie, I'm just showing these guys around since they are planning to stay," GingerBrave said as he pointed to the group
"It's King Custard Cookie the Third, and I want to know who are these new citizens of my kingdom, no tour is complete without meeting with the king," Custard Cookie proudly proclaimed, as he reached his hand out to greet them, Naofumi shook it just to not leave the kid hanging
"You're the king? Seriously?" Motoyasu questioned, this Cookie was a kid and he was the one ruling over these lands? The group of otherworlders was all thinking how irresponsible it was to leave a child to rule, although they consider that either he was just playing pretend or that his parents were dead or missing and he was put in charge by proxy, they hoped it was the first one
"Yes, and I welcome you all to my domain! Now would you all introduce yourselves, a king should always know the name of his people," Custard Cookie remarked as he put on a very confident smile on his face, interpreting Motoyasu's question as if it was out of amazement and not confusion
'not really' They all thought the same thing as they looked at the little king
"Oh, actually these guys don't remember who they were, they have amnesia" Gingerbrave said as he motioned to them with a sympathetic face
"What?! Oh no, I'm so sorry for you guys, do you remember anything? Anything at all?" Custard Cookie asked with worry as he looked at them with his eyes big and wide, it was incredibly endearing since the little king was so cute, everything kinda of was in this place
"Well... I think my name had something to do with berries" Naofumi said while scratching the back of his head, he knew the name of this body he was possessing but he couldn't reveal that or risk being find out, but he could at the very give a hint, it wasn't a great hint since there were tons of berries in his world and he assumed this one as well. Custard Cookie nodded as he looked at the rest of the "amnesiac" group, who all sighed and decided to give their own answers
"Mine involved chocolate"
"Cheese"
"A Cream derived from a flower, vanilla I think"
"Ah, okay! Well... As king it is my duty to help anyone in my kingdom, and I shall help you all be giving you great new names to use until you remember your old ones!" Custard Cookie said as he lifted up his scepter to show his resolve with a pose
"Huh... That's... Fine" the four otherworldly summoned all responded in unison, as they didn't know how to feel about being named by a kid that was at best nine years old
"You are now to be called Vanilla extract cookie, Shiny cheese cookie, Bitter chocolate cookie and... Huh..." Custard Cookie stopped as he looked at Naofumi, as he was struggling the most with coming up with a name for him, there was just so many red berries to choose from! He even wondered if he should call her something like madame red berry or something
"How about... Sweet Pinkyberry cookie?" Naofumi suggested, as for some reason that name came to his mind the moment the idea of a fake name for this body was suggested, it also felt familiar in a weird way, like he used it before
"Yeah! that sounds good!" Custard Cookie said as he approved of the name with a hop
"I guess those should work for now, at least until we come up with better ones..." Motoyasu exclaimed as he thought the names were fine but he was definitely going to have to get used to be called such thing
"Well then, nice to make acquaintances with you young lad!" Naofumi says as he offered a hand shake with the little king, doing his best to sound like an enthusiastic and polite woman should, like those aunts and grandmas from Christmas specials he was forced to watch as a kid
"That's great! You're more than welcome to stay, although..." Custard Cookie said as he approached Itsuki and began to look at him more inquisitively
"Your face is familiar, and your clothes as well... are you famous?" He asked as he held a hand to his chin trying to remember where he saw this person before, he could swear that he had at least heard of this guy before
"Uh... Well I think I was," Itsuki said half worried, all of them were worried, thinking that already the whole thing was about to be revealed and that they would have to assume royal responsibility without the slightest knowledge of how to
"Wow! There's a celebrity in my kingdom!" Custard Cookie said as he happily jumped in place, Itsuki and the others sighed in relief "Oh! Are you guys a band or something?" Custard Cookie asked, his eyes practically sparkling with joy
"No," they all responded the same, none of them didn't even know each other for a day so there was no way they would form a band, much less when they didn't know how to play an instrument or sing
"Oh, shame, I wanted someone to play the kingdom's anthem... Once Clover Cookie is finished writing it, he is a good musician but he only plays one instrument, and for the anthem, we need trumpets! Violins! And all other instruments that other anthems have! It needs to be grand!" Custard Cookie said, he loved Clover Cookie's songs but he wanted his kingdom to have the best anthem of them and for that, he needed a variety of instruments because in his childish mind, the more the merrier
"I'm sure it will be a nice anthem for your... Little kingdom," Motoyasu said as he couldn't help but emphasize how small this place was, it had buildings and stuff but overall the place was quite empty and from how many citizens they saw around the place, the total population was more or less 15 to 30 people, that was more like a village than an actual kingdom
"Aww, thanks!" Custard Cookie said, having innocently taken that as a compliment
"Is there more for us to see on this tour?" Ren asked, wanting to get alone to himself or find something useful for finding a way home
"Ahh, not really, unless you guys want a better look into the castle," GingerBrave said as he had pretty much shown them everything in the kingdom
"Oh! I can show them! Who better than a king to show his castle!" Custard Cookie offered, wanting to impress these celebrities in his kingdom by showing how cool his throne room was
"Alright then let's get going before-"
"Gyahh!" A cookie with red hair covering her mouth with a bandana with a skull drawn on it screamed out as she grabbed Motoyasu's wings and tried to run away before realizing that the wings hadn't come off and trying to pull them with a bit more force
"Ahhhhh!" Motoyasu screamed out as he felt something pulling his wings while using his back as support to use one of their legs to pull
"Hey, what's the deal?! Let go of me!" He tried to poke her away with his weapon but was finding it hard to see her from behind his wings
"Huh? These things don't come off? Guess I will have to cut-" Before she could attempt an escape, Naofumi grabbed her and held her in the air by her shoulders
"Hey unhand me!" Chilli pepper cookie said as she tried to escape the grasp of the pink-dressed cookie
"What do you think you're doing young lady?" Naofumi asked as he made sure to hold her with force, but avoiding putting too much strength because he feared cracking her, she was a cookie after all
"Oh! Well I was just uhh well you see," Chilli pepper cookie tried coming up with a good excuse that would get her out of this situation
"Were you trying to steal my wings you spice fiend?! I will cut down your greedy little hands for such an attempt!" Motoyasu screamed out from the top of his lungs, surprising everyone there including himself, he didn't know why he said that and with such conviction but it scared him as he didn't even realize that he had slightly ascended into the air, his wings seemingly working subconsciously with his brain and flapping to take his body out of the ground, although when he realized he was flying he was caught so off guard that his wings stopped flapping and he fell to the ground on his feet
"What!?" both Chilli pepper cookie and Custard Cookie screamed out in panic, Naofumi and the others didn't care that much since they just thought Motoyasu was making a false threat
"Please no violence! Chili pepper cookie apologize right now to miss Shiny Cheese cookie right now!" Custard Cookie demanded, not wanting his subjects to start violently ripping each other
"Okay fine fine, I'm sorry, I am very sorry see?" Chilli Pepper gave a half-felt apology, she wasn't the type to apologize but she didn't want to lose her hands or else she couldn't steal things anymore
"... I accept your apologies," Motoyasu said as he turned his head to the side while pointing his chin up with his eyes close
"Phew," Custard Cookie sighed, happy for solving this situation in a way that made both parties satisfied as a king should
"But I still wish for you to be punished for assaulting me physically," Motoyasu said as he wasn't going to allow some dude to attack him without consequences(he has yet to learn how to differentiate male cookies from female ones)
"It's true, robbery and assault are still a crime no matter how you slice it," Itsuki said as he was an advocate for justice, so he couldn't allow someone, cookie or not, to escape scot-free from breaking the law
"Hey! It was not my fault she was wearing all gold and had those big golden wings! She was practically asking to be robbed!" Chilli Pepper argued trying to justify herself but it didn't convince anyone present there
"Do you guys have a jail cell?" Ren asked as it was best for the community of this place that a thief like this would be placed behind bars
"We don't have use for such a thing in my kingdom since no one commits crimes... Except for Chili Pepper, but she helps fight off monsters and she is a friend so it's all good," Custard Cookie explained, Naofumi and the others all just could stare in surprise at how childish and innocently his decision and mind were, this only showed to them why children shouldn't be put to rule, allow a thief to go around and steal things just because they were friends? He was so pure that it just made the four otherworlders cringe
"Yeah! Plus I have not done anything else wrong today so get lost!" Chilli Pepper screamed out as she just wanted to get away, not liking being restraint for any amount of time
"Really? Let me just check then," Naofumi said smilling as he turned Chilli pepper upside down, as he could feel a strange weight shift as the cookie tried to break free from his hands
"Hey! What are you doing-" Chilli Pepper did not have much time to question, as Naofumi began to rapidly shake her causing an assortment of things to fall from her, from various coins, to a sort of tamagotchi with a strawberry theme, a magical book, one of GingerBrave's candy canes and much more, it was honestly surprising how many things she was able to put in her pocket
"..." Everyone just stared silently at the pile of most certainly stolen stuff before looking back at the thief
"I borrowed all of that legitimately," Chilli Pepper said but it was clear that she didn't, Custard Cookie gave a heavy sigh as it seemed he had to do something bad to punish one of his friends
"Uhh well, Chilli pepper! As the king, I punish you to... Run laps around the fountain!" Custard Cookie declared as his duties as ruler demanded that he had to take action over the sentencing of any criminal in his kingdom
"Just that? Easy," Chilli Pepper said as she could run two or four laps and go back to her crime spree, the four otherworlders all thought that this was an underwhelming punishment for a convicted criminal
"100 laps!" Custard Cookie added, having waited a little bit just to add dramatic emphasis
"What?! no way!" Chilli Pepper screamed out, she tried once again to escape from the clutches of the pink cookie but it was in vain
"Or we can build you a nice little cage for you to stay in for the next couple of days, how does that sound?" Naofumi added as he still held the spicy cookie within his grasp, giving her a somewhat smug look
"... Fine! I can run past the cops in a blitz! A hundred laps are just exercising to me anyways!" Chilli Pepper said as she preferred running in circles for a day than staying in prison for any amount of time
"I will take her there, and make sure she runs the laps," Naofumi said as he carried Chilli pepper cookie there, he knew where it was since it was in front of the castle and it was a recognizable landmark
"Is a hundred a lot?" Custard Cookie asked Itsuki, this question only made the three others look at him surprised by his innocence
"... Depends on the context of the situation," Itsuki responded very vaguely, that just made Custard Cookie tilt his head
"That doesn't answer my question..." Custard Cookie said as his slightly saddened tone was enough to break Itsuki with his adorableness
"... Yes, a hundred laps is a lot," Itsuki gave in and gave the proper answer to the little cookie question
"Gosh, I better give her some jellies and milk after she's done," Custard Cookie responded as he looked at the distance chilli Pepper Cookie and Naofumi went with worry
"Why do that to a criminal?" Motoyasu asked, even if Custard was a child, he should surely understand that criminals are punished because they deserve to, going and bringing them snacks and drinks as if they are the football team training up for a game seemed counterintuitive
"She might be a bit problematic, but she is a friend! And friends always deserve a chance!" Custard Cookie responded, cheery as always, though the three otherworlders were all used to hearing stuff like this from anime and manga, it did hit differently this time as they found the little Cookie's belief in this a bit inspiring
"... You're too pure to be king..." Itsuki whispered with a small smile on his face, this kid was unfitted to rule because of how innocent he saw the world but he did have charisma
"What did you say?" Custard Cookie asked after hearing the adult cookie say something
"Nothing, let's continue the tour," Itsuki said and Custard Cookie put a proud smile on his face as he said for them to follow him as he began to talk about the amazing features his castle had
While Chilli Pepper run around the fountain, Naofumi took his time to look at his hands, it felt bizarre how the two of them felt like two giant thumbs and yet it felt so natural as if he was used to it his whole life, he was also baffled by the way he seemed able to hold things when he theoretically couldn't, looking at his arms, he noticed that they were flat, all of him was, of course, his cookie body was not as flat as paper but for a human being like him that was still a bit disturbing, he felt so fragile and delicate as he thought how easily he could break, he took a deep breath and tried to keep calm, he would need a lot of getting used to this bizarre conundrum he found himself, but there was another sensation running on his mind, one of lose
"*Huff* there *huff* a 100!" Chilli Pepper said as she stopped and kneeled a bit as she grasped for air
"That was just 46, keep going," Naofumi said as he did keep count of how many times Chilli Pepper passed across him, Chilli pepper looked at him annoyed before noticing his saddened expression
"Why the sad look? You're not the one running laps!" Chilli Pepper complained as she cleaned some sweat out of her head
"Is just... I don't know... Feels like I should be doing something about myself... I feel that something is missing," Naofumi said as he felt an emptiness inside of him like something really important to him was lost but he didn't know what it was 'Is it my family? My home? My humanity? Heck, my world?' Naofumi mentally asked himself
"I much rather you keep shut while I do this, it is already punishing enough without your sad sobbing," Chilli Pepper said as she stretched out a bit her aching dough muscles
"You keep this attitude young lady and you will run another 50 laps," Naofumi said as he looked at the criminal cookie with annoyance, as he rested his face on his left hand
"Alright alright! Jeez," Chilli Pepper said as she came and sat close to where Naofumi was
"But you know... If you want to go and do something exciting with your life, I could use someone as buff and tuff as you, we can do some jobs and split it 90 to 10, how does that sound?" Chilli Pepper said as she put her arm around the broad shoulders of the pink cookie
"... First off, that is a deal only an idiot would take, second off, I'm not interested in the crime life," Naofumi responded as he tapped Chilli Pepper Cookie's hand away from his shoulder, that was the worst attempt at negotiation he had ever seen
"Well can't blame me for trying," Chilli Pepper said as she slid away a bit as she just shrugged it off with her shoulders
"Yes I can, especially when you're trying to pickpocket me as we speak," Naofumi said as he grabbed and raised Chilli Pepper's left hand that was now holding the book Naofumi had hidden in the dress
"A-aha, you noticed?" Chilli Pepper said as she stutter a bit from embarrassment from being so easily caught in the act
"... You should look for some professional help, that is starting to look like an addiction to me, now go back to running," Naofumi said as he started to think that this Cookie had some sort of psychological obsession with stealing things
After a few more extra laps because of her second attempted theft, Naofumi, and Chilli Pepper were greeted by Custard Cookie who came to give them some refreshments, which Chilli Pepper was more than glad to receive, meanwhile, Naofumi asked Custard where were the other three summoned individuals and he told him that they were currently in the castle and said that he should meet them there and so he did, it was easy to find them because Motoyasu was with them, and it was just a question of feeling the cheesy scent
"So? How was the tour of the castle?" Naofumi said as he entered the room, seeing Motoyasu and Itsuki where there
"Mostly fine, Ren was very interested in the library, and said he wanted to do research," Itsuki responded, he saw it as kind of pointless since this was a different world so it might have a different written language, but considering how they were able to talk with the citizens just fine, it might be worth it to try
"I might do that as well, reading was my hobby before getting here," Naofumi said as he was curious about this place's literature, although he did expect that it would probably be not what he was used to reading back home
"... anyways, Custard Cookie has allowed us to stay in "his" castle until we can get our own houses done, you and Motoyasu can share the room next to this one," Itsuki explained, but that just caused Naofumi to get slightly confused
"Why don't we have an entire room to each of ourselves, no offense, but I don't want to sleep with a guy that has possibly the strongest smell of cheese I felt in my life," Naofumi said, Motoyasu went to form a complaint before thinking about for a bit then smelling his hair and hands before agreeing that he did have the strongest smell of cheese he had ever gotten the chance to smell
"Oh I thought the same thing, but even though this place is a castle, it is ridiculously small for one, there are only three sleeping quarters, one of them is Custard's bedroom, they said that they have plans to expand the castle but they have other things to do in the kingdom first," Itsuki explained, he understood that this place was a small village more than a kingdom and as such he shouldn't have expected the castle to be like the one's in his old world but he did want to know why this place had two 'play rooms' instead of an extra bathroom or bedroom
"Okay... but we can just sleep in different beds," Naofumi said as he was not particularly thrilled about possibly sleeping together with Motoyasu, he sorta knew why they were paired together since they were technically speaking the two girls of the group and that might be weird for one of them to sleep together with Ren or Itsuki since it could give the wrong idea, but it didn't mean he was okay with sleeping with a guy that has giant golden wings
"That's the problem..." Itsuki said as he looked to the sides as did Motoyasu since they knew the issue
"Huh?" Naofumi let out as he was confused by the behavior of the two, and it was slightly worrying
"There is only either one king-size bed or coaches in each room... trust me I triple-checked," Itsuki said as he looked at Naofumi, seeing his expression change slowly into a shock and then frustration
"Burned Crust!" Naofumi screamed out in annoyance, Itsuki and Motoyasu were confused why he said that, and not a common swear
Naofumi and Motoyasu got to the room where they would be spending the night and to the dismay of the both of them, it had only one bed, they sighed as they prepared to sleep, unfortunately, there was no sort of nightwear provided, which wouldn't be a problem if they were wearing normal clothes, but Motoyasu was wearing a gold suit, he considers taking it off but feared that he was going to be robbed by Chilli pepper cookie while he slept. And so, after a bit of a struggle for the both of them to find a comfortable sleeping position because of golden cheese wings, they tried their best to sleep away the night
[Authors notes]
This fanfic was just an idea I had that simply did not want to stay as an idea, and so I did this little raft, I guess part of the appeal of this idea is that the four heroes of ROTSH are for once in the same situation, as this place doesn't resemble any of their games or has a videogame system and they aren't even human now, and thus they are not antagonistic to each other and can more easily relate
GingerBrave was the hardest character for me to write weirdly enough