Part 35: Episode 22: The First Request - The Mysterious Restaurant

We’ve been walking, following The King’s somewhat inexact directions, for about half an hour.

Is this the “Crystal Forest” The King mentioned?
There do appear to be crystals.

Of course, with everything in the kingdom as sparkly as it is, this forest really doesn’t stand out at all…


!?

G-g-g-g-geez! He startled me! Doesn’t anyone here know how to make their presence known beforehand!?
Not only that, but the citizen was gone as quickly as he appeared. No proper goodbye, just a quick scare and you’re gone!? Ugh…
Well, anyways.

If this is the Crystal Forest, then the restaurant should be nearby…

Once again I was interrupted in the middle of my thoughts, but this time it was by a set of voices I recognized.

Happy New Year! Happy New Year!



Happy New Year!
!?!?
Happy New Year! (Miru and Kaku are hungry!)
W-w-w-wait! Miru, Kaku!
What’s wrong!? Did you suddenly turn into New Year’s characters? You do realize New Year’s Day is over already too, right!?
……

Merry Christmas… (Miru and Kaku felt lonely because everyone forgot about Christmas…)
Merry Christmas! (But Christmas will always live on in Miru and Kaku’s hearts!)

Oh, good. I would really be a little much for them to suddenly change themes that soon after being introduced…

…Do you know those white things?
Oh, right! You’ve never met them!
They’re Miru and Kaku. They’re… white things! That look kind of like doves, but aren’t!
How vague.
Well, I don’t really know just what they are yet either, to be honest…
It’s fine. I’m Nageki. Nice to meet you two.
Merry Christmas! (Nageki! Nageki! Nice to meet you!)
Anyway, I hadn’t expected to see even you two in this dream. What are you doing? Are you still looking for trees?
Merry Christmas… (No… Miru and Kaku have a terrible problem. Miru and Kaku are hungry!)

No! Wait!
…Too late.

Miru and Kaku vanish deep into the forest.
The music stops.
This must be another one of those flags! After them!








Following their tracks, we were eventually led to a strange building at the edge of the forest.



This… is the restaurant Miru and Kaku were headed for, then?
The sign says… “Chateau Chukar”?

I have a terrible feeling about this. That name can’t be a coincidence… or maybe it’s just my imagination.

Well, if this is the restaurant The King was talking about, we need to investigate…

Nageki looks at me, as if asking what we should do next.
March straight in the front door, of course!
Nageki and I burst in dramtically, prepared for whatever would greet us on the other side.



It… doesn’t look like a restaurant.
A passage, a door, and a sign. It’s a little plain.

Maybe they’re closed?
The signpost says--
“This shop has many orders. Please be patient.”

…Huh? Does that mean there are a lot of customers, so we might have to wait?

There isn’t anywhere for a queue, though.

What do we do, Nageki? What if it’s reservation-only!?

Oh, right! Let’s keep going.



Another door, another sign, and… Miru and Kaku in a bucket.

Merry Christmas! (Warm and steamy! Warm and steamy!)
What are you two doing? Taking a bath?

Look, Miss Lourde.

Nageki points at the sign.
“Please clean yourselves here.”

How sanitary! This restaurant must cater to celebrities.
…So we may hope.
Merry Christmas! (Next room! Next room! Yaaay!)

Miru and Kaku, looking a little glossier than usual, head through the door.
Nageki and I followed right behind.



There’s another sign as well.

“Please rub this cream into your hands, feet, and face. From the tips of your feathers all the way into your skin.”
Cream? Before eating?
I’ve never been to a high-class restaurant before. Do celebrities always put on moisturizer before eating?


They’re covered in it!

Merry Christmas! (On to the next room, with excitement and dampness! Yaaay!)

They run through the door, still covered in the cream.
Oh, dear, they’re leaving footprints…



“All those orders must have been hard to follow. What a pity.”

…So then that one that said there were a lot of orders didn’t mean orders to the restaurant, but--
Orders from the restaurant, yes.

I’m not taking instructions from some greasy diner! I do what I want!
“This is the last order. Please rub this salt all over your bodies.”

Salt? On top of the cream???

Celebrities do some pretty weird stuff! This would be torture if you had a papercut or something.


Are you two okay!?
Cream, salt, and tears… I almost feel bad for the floor.

It is in a rather sorry state now.

Merry Christmas…
Merry Christmas! (But that was the last one!)

They go into the next room, leaving a trail of salt and sadness.
The janitor will probably have a nervous breakdown…



The music stops.

Huh?
There’s more written on it.

“We are so sorry for all that. You did very well. Now, go ahead.
We’ll be so happy to have you for dinner.”

Well, that ended on an awfully polite note!

It says they’ll be happy to have us, see?
Polysemy is a terrible thing.

Nageki stares at my coldly.
St-stop it! You’ll leave a hole!

You are reading “have you” to mean “have you over”, yes?
I… suppose so? What else would it mean?



WHAT!!!

Oh, no! Thanks for the explanation! Now we need to hurry!

Just as before, Nageki and I burst through the door, ready for the encounter ahead.



Comin’ through!

The passage from the entrance leads straight into the kitchen!? This is a bit much!
That wasn’t the main problem though, as I looked to the large pot in the room.


Merry Christmas! (Ow! Ow!)

They’re being boiled!

A-are you two okay!?
Merry Christmas…! (This bath is too hot! Can’t they turn it down a little?)
…It looks like we’re in time.
Wait just a minute, you two! I’ll have the temperature down in no time, and then you can enjoy your bath!

My, you are noisy. Are you with them?

Another bird entered the scene. Of course it was him…!
The music stops.

I knew it would be you!
Does your cruelty know no bounds even in dreams, doctor!? Why can’t you at least be nice while I’m asleep!?



I guess so, but…

Now, then… It is not yet your turn. May I ask you to be quiet while you wait?
Also, it would appear that you have not followed all the instructions. Please return to the entrance and start over.
He has a knife, Miss Lourde. Let’s get out of here.
Humans who’d be scared of a butter knife like that died out long ago!


Don’t worry, Nageki! I can handle this!

Thinking about my different attack options, I thought about how each possibility might play out in my head.

Take this! Right Golden Lightning Spiral Kick!

Unfortunately, as my leg came down, the doctor quickly stepped out of the way. My attack landed right where the doctor had previously been, a huge hole left in the floor.
The music stops.

…Not only do you not follow the orders, but you also damage my hardwood floor?

He dodged it…!?

Miss Lourde, watch out!









Well that certainly wasn’t gonna work. What else could I do…
…Wait a minute! The doctor’s weak on his other side, isn’t he? So maybe I’ll…

Take this! Legendary Left Tempest Uppercut!
Gah!
Hahaha! I knew you were weak on your right side, Doctor!
Know your enemy and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles, eh?


We’ll be taking Miru and Kaku back now.
And you’re closing this restaurant! You’ve been making The King worry, you know!
Hohoho… Very well. I shall defer to your impressive physique.
Don’t worry. I shall spend some time coming up with a new way of harvesting ingredients.

He’s not even trying to hide the fact that he’s aiming to be back open soon…

Make sure you get permission from The King when you reopen, okay?

I didn’t hear the doctor’s answer as we left the restaurant, but I’m sure we’re not finished with him just yet. For now, though, the victory is ours.






Yup! Are you okay, Miru, Kaku?
Merry Christmas! (Miru and Kaku are warm and steamy!)
Merry Christmas! (And Miru and Kaku got to eat the vegetables from the bath!)
They’re still a little on the rare side. That’s good.
Merry Christmas! (Miru and Kaku are going to go burn off some calories now! Yaaay!)

Some people just never slow down…

Aaah, I’m so hungry… And to be hungry is to be sad…

As Miru and Kaku ran off, a strange new bird appeared at the front of the restaurant, looking a little worse for wear.



Wait, no, don’t go in!
Hmm? What’s wrong?
You can’t go in here. It’s closed right now.
Wh-what!?
No… And I thought I would finally get to eat some corn…
The King thought this restaurant was suspicious… You aren’t from around here, are you?

A journey…? Did you come here on the train, sir?
Yes, that’s right. I’d never seen this star before, so I decided to look around. Aaah, journeys are wonderful! So many things to see!
…But being hungry is terrible. It makes me so sad.
I suppose I’ll keep looking for food, then. Goodbye.

Nageki and I watch the migrant wander back into the forest.
If he’d been five minutes earlier, he might’ve ended up on a spit…


Definitely!






What do we do now? We’re without a goal again.
We should… probably go report to The King. He must still be worried.

Aah, of course!

Let’s go back to the palace now, then. We’ll be walking more… Is that okay with you, Nageki?
Yes. I like walking with you.

He’s so quiet that I hadn’t realized! I’m glad he’s enjoying himself, anyway.
Come to think of it, being able to go on a journey and walk around outside like this must be like a dream come true for him. (It is a dream, after all!)

Hmmm… Wouldn’t it be nice if this dream lasted forever, Nageki?

I know, I know…

But until then, I want to keep walking around with you, Miss Lourde.
Me too! For now we can walk back to The King’s palace.

Suddenly, I heard a familiar fanfare echoing through the trees.

The King said, that will not be necessary.



You appear out of nowhere just like your citizens, Mr. King!
Your Majesty. We defeated the owner of the restaurant. The restaurant is closed now, so there’s nothing more to worry about.

You’re welcome!
The King would like to reward you. Please accept The King’s gift.


The King pulled a small gem out of his royal garb and handed it to me.

Waaah, what a pretty gem! What kind is it?
A garnet. The names comes from the French word for “pomegranate”.
It… looks a little bit like a pomegranate, I guess?

You must be having an awful lot of trouble, for how peaceful this planet seems.
Umm… What do you think, Nageki?
We don’t have anything else to do, do we? I’ll let you decide.

Well… Heroes are supposed to complete the quests set before them, right?

What is your next request, Mr. King?
The flowers in the garden are going to be blown away.
Blown away? Is there a typhoon coming?

What kind of garden is this!?

The King is very scared. The King is crying.
Even I would be a little unsettled if my garden was going to explode. Let’s help him, Miss Lourde.
Leave it to us, Mr. King!

We certainly can’t let an explosion go off in this peaceful land! We headed back to the town square to begin our search.