To be perfectly honest, my initial reaction was complete confusion. I’d assumed Kuro had just dropped by for her usual nightly visit, but she immediately transitioned into a prostrate dogeza in one fluid motion.
In fact, she’d moved with so much momentum that she practically slid across the floor. Was this the legendary "Sliding Dogeza"? Regardless, I had no idea what she was trying to achieve with such a display, so I made her get up and asked for an explanation.
"So, let me see if I’ve got this straight... In short, you want to eat baby castella at the stores in the Arclesia Empire and the Hydra Kingdom?"
"Yeah..."
"To be honest, I didn't even realize baby castella was on the menu."
"What? You didn't know, Kaito-kun?"
"I took a quick look at the menu early on and tried a few prototype cakes, but I left the final selection to Canaris-san. Since I only saw it at the very beginning, they must have added it later."
I had sampled a few things when I was inspecting the interior design, but Anima, Caraway, and Canaris-san were the ones who had handled the actual planning and decision-making. I really hadn't done anything this time. Since I hadn't been out promoting the shops like I did when the brand first launched, I actually knew surprisingly little about the specifics of each location.
"Well, regardless of that, about your request, Kuro..."
"I know it’s sudden and I’m being a bother, but I just couldn’t help myself! Could you somehow sneak me in? Maybe for five minutes before opening, or five minutes after closing? Just for a little bit... please!"
"Oh, no, it's fine. I can get you a seat during normal hours. Actually, we have tables set aside for exactly this kind of situation."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. Every Nifty branch keeps at least one table perpetually open as a 'VIP seat' in case Anima or I want to invite someone. I just need to check with Canaris-san, so I can set it up right away. The scheduling should be pretty flexible, too."
It had been Canaris-san’s idea. Every store maintained a "Reserved for Related Parties" space. Consequently, securing a reservation was no trouble at all for me; a quick word to Canaris-san was all it would take.
Kuro’s face lit up with a smile like a blooming flower, and she lunged forward to hug me in delight.
"Kaito-kun! Thank you so much!"
"Whoa... Hahaha. I'm glad it makes you that happy. It’s rare to see you lagging behind when it comes to baby castella news, though."
"Ugh, my research was seriously lacking this time. I had such a strong image of it being a high-end boutique... plus, like most demons, I’m pretty relaxed about time. I figured I’d just wait about half a year for things to settle down before going, so I didn't bother gathering much info on the shops themselves."
Most demons belong to long-lived species, so their perception of time tends to be a bit loose. A few years feels like nothing to them, so unless a shop strongly piques their interest, they rarely think about visiting during the hectic grand opening period.
"Honestly, it gives me the chills to think I would have realized even later if Ein hadn't invited me to the Sinfonia branch. I definitely need to do better research from now on."
"I see. So, was the Decoration Baby Castella actually good?"
"It was amazing! It kept all the best parts of baby castella while turning it into a truly high-end dessert. It was incredibly well-crafted and sophisticated. Even if I weren't biased because it's your brand, I’d give it a solid ten out of ten."
"Wow, you’re really talking it up. If it’s that good, I want to try it myself."
"Oh! In that case, let's go together! I’d be so happy to go with you, Kaito-kun!"
"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s coordinate our schedules and go together."
"Yes!"
She nodded with a joyful smile and squeezed me tight. As I hugged her back, I started thinking about our upcoming date at the cafe. I couldn't help but grin at the thought of how much fun it was going to be.
Machina: "Since he said 'a bit later,' does that mean the date is for another time, and next we’ll be seeing how the stores in the Arclesia Empire and elsewhere are doing?"
Serious-senpai: "Probably. Another date on the books... Damn it all."