Welcome back to the stage of history! So, didn't expect Akira to have a shovel weapon did you? Now, Akira shall begin putting his survival skills to good use with this weapon. So let's dig in!

Chapter 11: Lily Pad Thai

Another day in Murkwell in the world of Amphibia. Today, Akira was examining the Shovel Glaive and his newly formed whip and boomerang. As he was examining them, Akira noticed what appeared to be text in another language on the shovel. He wondered what it meant.

I wonder if this shovel has any mystical enchantments on it than just being a shovel, Akira thought. Something that not even Polli Ana couldn't decipher.

He then began putting on his gear. First, he put on his arm guard. Then he put on his chest plate over his shirt.

A knock was heard as a voice came through, "Young Akira, Owen is expecting you," it said. Akira recognized the voice. It was Jansen. Due to what he mentioned to him after his adventure yesterday, he requested that he'd be trained.

"Just a moment, Jansen," Akira responded. He finished by taking his caped tunic and tying the sleeves around his waist and then putting on his faulds around it, "There...that's better," he said.

He took his whip, boomerang, and shovel and exited. Jansen was waiting by the doorway, "Now this is more like it," Akira beamed.

Akira then headed to a field and saw many training dummies of toads. Owen was there. He tipped his hat to Akira, "Long time no see, partner," he greeted. Almost instantly he saw the gear he had on, "And with unexpected new wear and gear on too."

"Same...so is this area like a training area?" Akira asked.

"Indeed it is. We've had some criminal varmints try to run rampant of Amphibia. So, I train to catch them," Owen told him.

This made Akira raise his eyebrow, "Wait a minute, you're the sheriff of this town? I thought you were a strider wrangler," he quizzed.

Owen chuckled, "Well I have two occupations, boy. It pays fine coppers. Besides, we all gotta eat."

Akira chuckled.

"Well anyways, this will be your training arena. If helping both the world you come from and Amphibia is what you desire, then you must train like I have," Owen instructed.

"So, sheriff…what is scheduled today?" Akira asked.

"First of all, you have three weapons to ensure your survival. But first, your boomerang comes first," Owen said, "A boomerang is often used for hunting, digging, and warfare. When it comes to hunting, you need to excel in stealth."

Akira listened. Owen makes a strong point, he thought. Considering the fauna and whoever else could be a threat, stealth is an important tactic.

"So, for the time being, your boomerang will be your subject," Owen announced.

"Got it," Akira answered, "But uh, I have a question."

"Ask away, partner," Owen said.

"I didn't know boomerangs can be used for digging. I always thought they were known for, you know, throwing," Akira asked.

"Ah, well considering this a lesson fact for you. Boomerangs can be used for digging to forage for roots. They can also be used to make a fire. And judging by the design, it seems to have the capacity to be able to perform such a task," Owen explained.

"Well then, let me try it. Though I never thought that boomerangs can do this," Akira shrugged.

First, he began to try to dig. First, he used the flat side to scoop up the dirt, but had no such luck, "Oh, nice lesson, Owen," he said sarcastically, "You do realize I have a shovel, right? Can't I just dig with it?"

"Yeah, but what happens if you lose the shovel?" Owen asked, raising his eyebrow.

That struck a nerve so much that Akira realized Owen made a good argument. Nothing is worse than losing a part of your equipment.

"Touche," Akira muttered.

So, with that, he kept trying to use his boomerang to dig for the roots. It took hours in between breaks, but after awhile, he managed to go for the roots.

Akira could see numerous worms underneath. He smiled, believing he found free food to fry up.

"Now you're getting it," Owen praised, "But don't always think there's gonna be worms all the time. And not all bugs are consumable. I suggest you find a book of all the consumable bugs."

"Noted," Akira said, laying on the ground exhausted.

"We'll begin stealth training another time. I suggest taking your Four Cae-Sillies and maybe hanging out with that human friend of yours." Owen suggested tipping his hat.

Now that he mentioned it, Akira wondered what Anne and the Plantars were up to when all the training was happening.

He rounded up the Four Cae-Sillies and headed to Wartwood. The were cordially invited in upon arrival. Anne was in the process of coaching Sprig on making…pizza?

"No way! You're teaching them how to make pizza? I miss eating pizza!" Akira exclaimed.

Anne smiled and focused on Sprig. He was tossing what looked like pizza dough and Polly was rolling a small ball of it. Hop Pop is stirring a pot on the stove. Akira believed it was ingredients for pizza.

"I'm sorry, but can you explain to me what pizza is?" Zeppy asked.

Once again, Akira is reminded that they are not from Earth, "Pizza is like…the best thing you'd ever eat in life. Dough baked and then topped with all kinds of ingredients. My favorite toppings are cheese and pepperoni. And maybe a bit of sausage too."

Skittles was intrigued.

Sprig seemed to be getting the hang of dough tossing.

"There you go. Now you're getting it," Anne said.

But the dough landed on Sprig's face. Anne frowned at this.

"Anne, wanna chop us some veggies for me?" Hop Pop asked.

"You got it, HP," Anne said. She grabbed a vegetable, bounced it with her shoeless foot, and then bounced it onto the table before she cut the veggie with fast speed. She then placed it in the bowl. Hop Pop was impressed.

"Wow, where'd you learn to cut like that?" the old frog queried.

"You know, my parents actually owned a Thai restaurant back home," Anne answered, pulling out her phone. It mistakenly showed a picture of Domino, her cat back home, "Ah, whoops. Hold on," she said quickly. Anne shuffled through her photos until she got to the one she showed. A restaurant by the name of Thai Go, which was a Thai restaurant that she works at with her parents that own the eatery, "I used to work there all the time and help out," Anne explained, "I hope they're doing okay without me," she noted frowning.

It was clear to both Anne and Akira that they were missing their family from home. And Akira was even wondering if his brother was okay.

"Well, how about that. A restaurant," Hop Pop complimented.

"Pretty impressive, Anne," Polly agreed.

Zeppy could tell that Akira missed his family, "Hang in there, buddy. We'll get you home," he promised.

An explosion went off, interrupting the moment. Sprig was seen lying on the floor, all covered in soot. Dough and other ingredients were splattered on the floor also, "Yep, I blew up the pizza," Sprig admitted.

"Oh, that little!" Zeppy snapped attempting to go at Sprig, but his friends held him back. Even Berry's mechanical arms held him in place.

"Aw, darn it," Akira said, disappointed.

"Oh, dang it, Sprig," Hop Pop scolded the boy frog, "Well, looks like this meal's a bust. Who wants to eat out?"

"Well, it can't be all that bad, right?" Skittles said.

But it seems Skittles spoke too soon. The group went to a restaurant called Stumpy's Diner. When they got inside, Anne and Akira saw that the diner was not up to snuff. Like as if it was run down with moss, all things considered due to the world both humans were in.

"Oh, wow. This place is not to code," she commented.

Akira saw one customer stirring some broth and an opposum took scoops with it's mouth before spitting it out. There was even a skeleton with a spoon before the object dropped.

Anne's group and Akira's group got their own booths. Anne was the first to notice something was off about the menu, "Oh, man. The font on these menus is way too small. Rookie mistake," she said.

"You're telling me. I can't even read it," Akira agreed.

The diner's cook and owner, Stumpy, appeared, carrying bowls of goop for each booth. He had a spatula and a pot for hands, "Here you are. Four bowls of slop. Enjoy. Or don't. Makes no difference to me," he said to them.

"Thanks, Stumpy," Sprig thanked.

Akira saw what he was served and nearly felt like he was gonna vomit, "I'd rather be fried worms right now," he cringed.

Stumpy then served a bowl to another customer. But he wasn't satisfied, "Excuse me, hello. Over here. Yoo hoo!" he called out.

"There be a problem, sir?" he asked.

"Um, yes, there's only one fly in my soup. There should be dozens. I mean, how hard is it to run a restaurant, anyway? You just put food on tables. A tadpole can do it," the customer complained.

Akira and Anne saw him, "Who's that jerk? And why won't he shut up?" Anne groaned.

Sprig looked at the critic, "That is Albus Duckweed. He writes reviews for the paper. They have comic strips sometimes," Sprig answered.

"Blah! He thinks he's better than everyone else just 'cause he talks good," Polly jeered. Both her and Hop Pop were already digging in their food.

"It's true," Hop Pop affirmed.

Anne groaned in disgust, "A foodie. Say no more. We dealt with snobs like him all the time back home. Just listening to him is driving me crazy. I can't take this anymore."

"Anne, just ignore it and enjoy your slug gruel," Hop Pop recommended. His eyes looked up to see Anne no longer seated, "Anne?

Akira was banging his head on the table, completely hating hearing Duckweed complaining, "I swear, this is giving me a headache," he said.

"I mean, seriously, look at this place," Duckweed continued complaining.

"Hey. Lay off, buddy. Running a restaurant is hard," Anne defended.

"Anne?" Akira said, bewildered.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Stumpy protested.

"Ha! Well, what does a creature like you know about running a restaurant?" Albus challenged.

"Well, what does a little lizard like you know about anything? Besides, my parents ran a restaurant back home, so I know what I'm talking about," Anne said pridefully.

"Well, if your parents are anything like you, I'm sure their restaurant was terrible," the critic gibed. Akira's group had their eyes widened in surprise

"Uh oh, that sounds like fighting words," Zeppy commented.

"Oh, yeah? Well, tell you what, then. Why don't you come back in, I don't know, two days or something? And we'll have completely turned this place around," Anne wagered, pushing the critic nearing the exit.

"I, uh, I beg your pardon. What?" Stumpy protested again.

"Oh, a wager, is it? Fine, I'll be back in two days. Looking forward to writing my review and shutting this place down," Albus challenged, removing the napking from his neck, crumbling it into a ball, and then dropping it to the ground. Duckweed then left the restaurant.

"Kid, what have you done? That was the most popular critic in town. One bad review from him and we're finished," Stumpy scolded Anne.

"Oh gee, so that's who that was? Albus Duckweed? Ugh, that guy is so annoying. He panned our comedy act one time!" Berry seethed.

"Maybe it's because we at one point weren't trying hard enough. And now look where we are now. But only time will tell if we foul up again," Skittles pointed out.

"Oof, that sounds hard," Akira replied.

"You have no idea," Loofy snarked.

"Stumpy, I know I got carried away, but we can do this. The Boonchuy family pride is at stake. What do you say?" Anne said.

"I say...you just put me out of business. Bound to happen eventually, I suppose," Stumpy lamented, heading back to the kitchen, knowing that his diner was bound to close down sooner or later.

Hop Pop went up to Anne, "Anne, did you just promise to save this restaurant?" he asked.

"In two days?" Sprig added.

"By yourself?" Polly asked.

"Yep. That's, uh, that's pretty much what just happened. Uh, me and my big mouth," Anne moaned, facepalming.

"Tell you what, Anne. I may not be a cook, but I'll help out in any way I can," Akira assured.

"Thanks, Akira. Anything for a pal," Anne smiled.

The next morning, Stumpy was carrying the corpse of an alligator back to the diner kitchen. He tried to turn on the mushroom light, which wouldn't stay on until a few times, "Dang mushroom needs replacing. Not that it matters anymore," Stumpy groaned. He then found Anne and Akira standing in the corner with wide smiles, "Mother of pearl!" he exclaimed.

"Hey, Stumpy!" the kids greeted.

"How long you been here?" Stumpy demanded.

"All night. Couldn't sleep, too excited!" Anne answered.

"Except me of course. I couldnt just help out without any sleep," Akira said.

"So, anyway, you ready to beat that critic?" Anne said.

"Creepy kids," Stumpy scoffed, setting the dead alligator on the chopping table

"Hey, I resent that remark," Akira huffed.

"What do you wanna start with? Change the menu, redecorate," Anne asked. The ceiling burst with a hole as goop fell, "Burn this place to the ground and start over?"

"Anne, we're not burning the place down just to start over," Akira scolded.

"Look, kids, you're on your own. Do whatever you want. It's not gonna make a difference in the end, anyway," Stumpy said.

"Not with that attitude," Akira chirped

Anne laughed, "Oh. That is where you're wrong." she said. Anne played a song from her playlist on her phone and the two began to renovate the diner.

First order of business, Akira and Anne began swabbing the diner. Of course, like typical teens, the kids began to do it stylishly while being playful. Anne was making all sorts of karate moves with her mop, which accidentally hit the local resident of Wartwood, Wally. He was startled awake by the mop, "Oh, what day is it?" he shouted.

Stumpy just rolled his eyes and went back to his own work in the kitchen.

Next, Anne and Akira held a giant, black, garbage bag onto the dumpster outside. But unfortunately, it collapsed, spilling the contents onto each other. They then scooped the contents hand by hand into the dumpster. Or so they thought. It was apparently a creature made to look like a dumpster. The creature began chasing Anne, but Akira began to fight it off with his glaive.

"I knew about that garbage lizard," Stumpy laughed as he was watching.

The next thing was Anne and Akira went to washing dishes. Even the boy commented on the pile of dishes there was. They used what looked like a lamprey that was a sink, but it squirted water out of control and it soaked both kids. The water then squirted onto the dish pile. Just as it was about to fall on them and shatter, Stumpy caught the dishes just in time. He then balanced the dish with his spatula hand and Anne squirted water on it, washing the grime away.

"Nice shot. Direct hit! You got it," he said each time a dish was washed.

"Thanks," Anne complimented.

With each dish that was in the drying rack, Akira dried the dishes so that they were ready for service. It almost felt like something out of a flash game.

By this time, Anne, Akira, and Stumpy had now cleaned and renovated the place.

"Now this is sparkly and squeaky clean. Or should I say, zestfully clean," Akira said.

Anne just stared at him with a straight face, as if to say, "Really?"

"I gotta hand it to you, Anne and Akira. This place looks great. We even scrubbed the Wally out," Stumpy said.

"That's what you think!" Wally called out from the background as the sound of crashing was heard.

"The critic is gonna be blown away," Stumpy said.

"Blown away? Ha! No. All we've done is mop the floors and clean some dishes. This place is still a house of broken dreams," Anne told the diner owner. She looked outside and the sign for the diner crashed to the ground.

"I have to agree with Anne here. We're not fully out of the woods yet," Akira concurred.

"Harsh, but on point," Stumpy acknowledged.

"If we're gonna impress that critic, we've got a lot more work to do. We need a complete and total transformation," Anne instructed, raising her hands for emphasis.

"What do you mean? Like placemats?" Stumpy asked.

Anne then showed the blueprints, "Bigger," she said.

"Oh. I'm gonna need me hammer hand for this," Stumpy reckoned, installing a hammer onto his metal stump. For the rest of the night, the kids and Stumpy worked to renovate the diner.

The next day, a crowd was gathered around the renovated Stumpy's Diner and were chattering. There was even a fount One elder frog was curious, "What are you all looking at?" she asked.

"Stumpy's changed overnight," One villager said.

"Wow, look over there," a second called out

"It's so exotic," a third complimented.

The frog villagers then looked around, "Oh my goodness," one of them said, amazed at the renovations. The customers were then greeted by Anne, who was in Thai attire for the theme of the restaurant. Except Akira of course, who was in a kimono, designed by Jansen.

"Swadi-ka," Anne greeted bowing, "And welcome to Stumpy's! Wartwood's first frog-Thai fusion restaurant, now with napkins," she added showing the napkin.

The napkins seem to interest the customers. The many customers in the restaurant were eating. Akira was getting help with Berry on cooking and preparing orders. It would seem with the renovations that Anne, Akira, and Stumpy worked so hard on, perhaps that they'll impress the critic that there would be no way that he would give this a one-star review.

Anne went to a customer and refilled a customer's glass with fly ice tea, "Need a refill of fly ice tea? On the house, sweetie."

Anne then served up more of the food, "Order up. Enjoy!" she said, handing the plates to each of the patrons. The customers dug in and were pleased with the results.

"I'll take the maggot larb. Did I say that right? Larb?" the elder lady said.

"It's actually pronounced "laap." " Anne corrected good heartedly.

"Well, how about that? One foot in the grave and still learning new things," the old lady said.

Akira looked to see that there were others that she had befriended since being in Wartwood. Just like how he did in Murkwell. Stumpy rung the bell, signaling a food order was ready and Anne came to pick it up.

"I've never seen this place so packed. What- What's this weird feeling in me chest?" he asked.

"That is called hope. I think we might actually pull this off, dude," Anne answered. Suddenly, the ringing of another bell called her over. It was Sprig who was playing around with the bell. He had come with Hop Pop and Polly.

"Please. Please stop ringing that bell," Anne said.

"Anne, this place is amazing," Sprig praised, his hands in the air.

"You weren't kidding when you said you were good at this," Hop Pop complimnted.

"Oh, yeah! Score one for Anne!" Anne exulted.

"And for Akira too!" Akira called out from the kitchen.

"So, table for three," Hop Pop requested.

"Ooh, sorry guys. All the tables are full," Anne regretfully said.

A frog from a booth cleared his throat. For some strange reason, he had a zipper on his head. He unzipped himself, revealing itself to be a costume. And who was it that was wearing the costume. Why none other than Albus Duckweed, "They can have my table. I am done here," he offered.

Anne and Akira gasped. The Thai-American spoke, dropping the menu, "It's..."

"Duckweed! He's here!" Stumpy gasped.

Even Akira and Berry showed up, "Gee, that guy? He's here too?" Berry pointed out.

The elder lady went to the group, "I have another question," she said. However, the four were headinf for Duckweed, "Thanks for coming," Stumpy said hurriedly.

"Okay, great, see ya," Anne also said hurriedly.

"Duckweed...What's with the disguise?" Anne demanded.

"Oh, this? It's kind of a critic thing," Duckweed explained.

"Makes me wonder if you've seen all of our performances in disguises and we never knew about it," Berry pointed out.

"Really?" Anne asked.

"Uh-huh. It's to guarantee that we get a genuine experience, you know?" the critic admitted.

"Oh, interesting," Anne admitted.

Even Akira was beginning to understand. It made him wonder if other critics have also done it as well.

"If you knew it was me, you'd probably zhuzh it up a bit, make it a little bit better. But in a disguise, you're just gonna serve me like anyone else," Duckweed explained.

"Oh, that's actually really clever," Anne admitted.

"I hate to it admit, that explains so much," Akira conceded.

"Thank you!" Duckweed acknowledged.

"Now, we worked hard for this food. So, comes in the million-dollar question," Akira replied.

"So, did you like the food?" Anne asked, hopeful that they have managed to turn this around.

"Oh, right... No!" he said sharply, pounding his fist on the table, "I found the experience had no cohesion, like one thing was clumsily grafted on top of another. And when I publish my review, your restaurant will be ruined," he began laughing madly, showing his review with a one star review of the restaurant, "I love my job."

Akira was wide eyed. Did...did he really just say that. No. No. No no no no no. He did not just say that, Akira thought.

Anne, Stumpy, Akira, and Berry looked at each other.

"Will you, uh... Will you give us a moment? Stay right there!" Anne asked before the four dashed to the kitchen.

Back in the kitchen, Akira facepalmed. They clearly were working hard and yet somehow the restaurant would still giving a one-star review. Duckweed couldn't see quality right in his face. It's almost like he was being paid to do reviews and didn't care about how good or how serviceable the service was. Anne was pacing back in forth, thinking of a new plan. Berry was banging his head on the floor a bit. It was then Stumpy decided he would throw in the towel.

"That's it. It's over. We're finished! The second that review goes up, this restaurant goes down," Stumpy fretted.

Anne then slapped across the face, "Pull yourself together, man. We can do this. It's time to bring out the big guns. My parents' squid and basil special. No critic in town could resist," Anne planned.

"Ooh, squid. Ooh, you think we can make even calamari? That would make a good side dish!" Akira bubbled.

"Okay," Stumpy said. Anne mistakenly slapped him again, "I already said okay!" he protested.

"Sorry, sorry. I am amped!" Anne exclaimed excitedly. The four then stopped at the exit and looked at the critic, "Hey, we've got a special dinner just for you. Be right back."

"Don't go anywhere," Stumpy told Duckweed. The four then exited to find what they're looking

"Amusing. All right, I'll play your little game," Albus said.

Hop Pop approached the booth, "So...this mean we can't have your table?" he asked.

Anne, Akira, Stumpy, and Berry then began hauling a large squid into the kitchen. Anne and Stumpy pulled it in from the tentacles and Akira and Berry helped push it in from the back, "Man, squid are huge here," Anne commented.

"It's not a squid. It's a kraken," Stumpy corrected, grunting.

"Eh, potato, tomato," Anne shrugged, also grunting. The group began to prepare the biggest meal they could that they hope will really knock the critic's socks off. If he even wore socks to begin with. First, they put the cauldron over the fire. Then Anne began cutting the lettuce, with Akira and Berry putting effort in placing the slippery squid into the cauldron to prepare it. With that done, Anne then sprayed sauce on it as they continued to prepare it.

When that was done, Anne came through with the meal on a cart. The meal was on a platter and covered by a dome, "Gangway, coming through," she announced. Akira followed behind. He wanted to see how it played out. He helped his friend place it gently on the booth where Albus is, "All right, dude. Get ready to be blown away," she said confidently before revealing the meal.

"Oh, my..." the critic said in awe. Anne winked at Stumpy and gave him a thumbs up. It appears to be working.

"What an exotic selection," Albus crowed. Before he could jab his fork into the squid, it's eyes suddenly opened and it began to growl. Duckweed screamed as it wrapped one of its tentacles around him.

"Oh crud!" Akira cried. He then looked around for anything he could use as a weapon as he didn't have his Shovel Glaive or any of his weapons with him since he didn't think he would need it. He then grabbed a pan, and Berry grabbed a fork and knife. Akira looked at his caecilian friend with a deadpan look, "What?" Berry asked.

The kraken growled and roared, "Assassinating your critics, I love it," Polly cheered. The kraken then wrapped it's one gigantic tentacle around the Plantars. Anne and Stumpy ran away from the tentacles and dove behind the counter Akira and Berry unfortunately were caught by the tentacles.

"Oh heck no! I didn't come all this way to impress a critic just to be supper!" Akira shouted. With his one arm free, he began smacking the tentacle around. Berry was also trying to cut a piece and try to eat his way out.

"Okay, this is a disaster. I never should have made this dumb wager," Anne regretted

"Anne, calm down. Maybe we can't save the restaurant, but we sure can save those people's lives. What do you say?" Stumpy offered

"I say...let's crush this calamari," Anne exulted. She poked her head and saw a lemon. Almost immediately, a lightbulb lit in her head, "I've got an idea," she gasped.

A shadow loomed over her and Anne and Stumpy narrowly managed to avoid the kraken's tentacles. The kraken roared.

"Hey Anne! If you got an idea, some help would be nice!" Akira exclaimed.

Stumpy then bit his pan that was a part of his stump and replaced it with a meat tenderizer of some kind. Stumpy then leapt at the kraken and smacked it with the tenderizer. In retaliation, the kraken roared and spat ink at the chef, causing him to hit the wall and then crash to the ground, his face covered in ink. He then licked the ink, and it seemed to please him, "Mm...oh, that's good," he said.

Akira saw this and gagged, "Okay. If that ink starts being a stand in for lemonade, I am not drinking that," he grimaced.

"Stumpy! The lemon!" Anne pointed to the lemon, which happened to be next to Stumpy.

"Coming right up!" Stumpy responded. He used his spatula hand to flip it towards the girl.

Anne grabbed it, "Pad See Ew, you later," she quipped, squeezing the lemon. Lemon juice flew out of it and it squirted right into the kraken's one eye. As the eye turned red, it screeched loudly, forcing it to let its prey go. As it struggled to see, the last thing it was Stumpy battering it in the head, now killing the squid. The patrons that were taking cover then got out.

"I don't think this thing's getting back up," Sprig said.

Everyone sighed with relief.

"Pretty sure we saved the day...again," Akira sighed, groaning, "That's gonna hurt in the morning."

"So, Duckweed. Guess you got a bad review to write, huh?" Anne asked sadly.

"Here it comes," Berry muttered.

But to their surprise...

"Bad...Bad? That was incredible! A food that tries to eat you? The irony, the ecstasy! I simply must tell everyone. To the message board!" Duckweed cheered before exiting the restaurant. The patrons and the human's friends began clapping.

"Wait, what just happened? Did we please the guy?" Akira marveled.

"You go, girl!" Sprig praised.

"Go, Anne!" Polly cheered.

"She lives in my basement," Hop Pop chirped.

"Wait, you guys have a message board?" Anne asked.

"Sure do. It's a literal board," Sprig answered, pointing outside. Akira looked outside to see a message board. He saw Albus post a four-star review of the restaurant, which made him smile. But he also was curious of the message board. I bet just like in all those anime, it has quests and stuff like that one anime with the guild of wizards, he thought.

"Well, guess we better clean this place up. Again. Stumpy, I'm sorry about all this. I took things way too far," Anne apologized.

"Yeah. Admittedly me too," Akira admitted.

"No way, Anne and Akira. This whole thing was a big success. You even convinced this old grump to actually care. If your parents could see this, I'm sure they'd be proud," Stumpy assured them.

"Thanks, Stumpy. Put her there," Anne smiled and shook Stumpy's hand. Or rather spatula, "Oh, this feels nice. What is this? Oak? Mahogany?" she asked curiously.

"It's carved from the bones of me missing hand," Stumpy answered.

"Oh, come on!" Anne paled.

"Welcome to the club," Berry responded.

After Anne, Akira, and Berry helped with cleaning, whatever was left over, he tried some of the calamari leftover. It was delicious. Even the next day, Akira invited Jansen and the rest of the Four Cae-Sillies the restaurant. Though on Akira's part, he considers that punishment for not having his Shovel Glaive with him that time. And, not having his other tools.

"This is delicious!" Jansen crowed, "This is something I have never tried before."

"Well...me and Anne did do our part to keep Stumpy's restaurant open. And I enjoyed the calamari too," Akira commented.

As Jansen ate, Akira wondered if his brother would think of the restaurant if he ever sees this. Little did he know of the troubles that were about to come for Wartwood soon enough.

Well how do you like that. Akira and Anne helping with a restaurant. It sure was chaotic wasn't it?

But next time, the toads make their first appearance. Along with a knight.

Til then, may your heart be your guiding key.