Chapitre 15: Chapter 14: Smells Like Teen Angst
W
e receive the dishes we order from the kitchen. Everything about the food is amazing. It's clearly made with such a passion I've never thought of imagining. Reminds me of the times I've cooked at home, trying all sorts of recipes from websites online, eventually getting two cookbooks from the people I really love to watch on YouTube. They were The Feast Of Fiction Kitchen and The Nerdy Nummies Cookbook. Ashley and Jimmy really put a lot of effort and enthusiasm into bringing all of those foods and drinks from TV shows, movies, books, and more to life. Rosanna Pansino always makes me smile, and it's so much fun to learn about baking when I watch her videos. I also heard that she has her own baking show, but I never got to see it. Maybe there's an alternate version of myself that watches that show?
Well, setting that aside, it never occurred to me that being in a different universe with a different time can be lonely, even when I'm with some of my favorite Food Souls. Hopefully, with the knowledge that Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie got, it should be a little easier to handle. I mean, he's a really sweet guy from what I've observed, and might have to do with the world of Undertale in a way. And the Food Souls we got, especially the ones the same as the Souls from Satan's Café, are very quite likable. Though, I've had trouble getting a full understanding of their stories, because I'd have to read all of them to piece together what's going on. Much like putting together the pieces of an elaborate jigsaw puzzle, except with lots of worldbuilding, lore, and the occasional mistranslations. (The game originated from China, it had been localized into Japanese and Korean, as well as having two separate multilingual versions with English support.) Still, it's quite nice to see everything from the perspective of each individual Food Soul, so it's cool. And since you have no idea what I'm talking about in regards to Satan's Café, it makes sense if you read the characters' stories in-game or in the wiki. Also, the Food Souls I'm specifically referring to in that case are Coffee, Milk, and Black Tea. I think Sweet Tofu might be involved one way or another, but I'm not completely sure. The other Food Souls I know are involved with Satan's Café are Tiramisu and Chocolate, but I highly doubt they'll be part of the main cast of this story anytime soon.
I do wonder, what will I do since I'm no longer in the real world? From what I could tell, and from all those isekai webcomics and stories I've read, I don't think I'll ever see my family again…. I suppose the only thing I'll have to do is adapt and accept this as my new home, and these Food Souls as my new family. It feels strange, because albeit I feel alone and perhaps anxious, I don't really feel homesick or anything. It's a completely new situation, and I just feel numb to it. I don't why this happens sometimes, but it does anyway, I'm fucking forced to live with it. I try to be worried about my old life, but with hardly any success, and after the chaos from just being a junior high school teen every day, I don't really miss any of it. The last few years have been nothing but shitty school lessons, bad food, overwhelming piles of homework, and now a pandemic with a goddamn president who gives zero fucks about anything moral.
After finishing up my meal, I excuse myself from the table. I could still tell that Akira is worried about me, but I don't care. I enter the living and meet the Food Souls there. Rice immediately looks at me with her face visibly worried. "Danny…? Are … you okay…?" I look down on the floor, trying not to make eye contact with anyone. I think about what Butterscotch and Akira said, which gives me a small glint of courage. I decide to take advantage of the time to tell them what's bothering me before I change my mind. Approaching with caution, I sit in front of Rice, take out my notepad and write I'm lonely. I could go on and tell her about how lost I am, and I don't know what to do, and stuff, but I'll just keep at what I wrote. Besides, it's hard enough being a dragon with a one-sided language barrier; without a notepad and a pencil, it's damn near impossible to communicate without having to do those stupid charades.
Sandwich asked, "Is something wrong?" Rice reads aloud, "I'm lonely…. It's, what … she, wrote…." Crepe asked, "How can you be alone? You've got all of us around you. Look, I don't know what you're thinking or what you're going through in that head of yours, but you're not alone. So, if anything bothers you, just tell any of us." – I look at Crepe – "Well, except for maybe Spicy Gluten; she takes pleasure from seeing others in pain."
I nod at that last sentence. Of course, she's right. I'm not alone. Even if I feel like it, I'm still backed by other people. Even if I don't have my family and friends anymore, I still have people who care about me. And maybe, I can start by making friends with those near me, even Spicy Gluten. She has a contract with Master Attendant Samson, right? So, that makes her nakama automatically … just a perverted and quirky one. Huh? What's a nakama? It's a One Piece thing; basically, a nakama is a friend, though in One Piece, it's often used to refer to someone who is closer than a friend, like a family member.
As for the contract thing, when a Master Attendant summons a Food Soul, a contract is formed. So that Food Soul works for that Attendant until the Attendant dies or if and when the contract gets canceled for a reason. (Or when Boston Lobster and Green Curry are causing havoc by using a machine that automatically cancels contracts in a desert country, but that's in Food Fantasy: New World. Thank God that's not the case, right?) Though, in my world, when a player gets a new Food Soul, they're stuck with the player forever. And if you get another one of the same character, they get converted into Food Soul Shards for the corresponding character.
I feel rather better hearing what Crepe said. I smile as I reflect on this. I get closer to Rice to give her a hug. The characters are surprised by what I'm doing, but Rice returns the hug. She's really warm and gentle, and she smells like freshly-steamed rice. We let go, and I head to Sandwich to give him a hug, and then Crepe. Sandwich smells like, well, a sandwich. And a cold one from a deli. And Crepe smells pleasantly sweet. Her head leans a bit closer, and she takes a sniff. She jerks back a little and remarks, "No offense, but you need a bath." I raise my left arm and sniff my armpit. Oh shit, she's right. I haven't showered since I became a dragon, so she's got a point. Setting that aside momentarily, I write {Yeah, you're right. But, thank you, guys for what you said. I feel so much better now, so I owe you guys. It really means a lot.} I place it on the coffee table, so the three Food Souls could read what I wrote. Sandwich looks confused. "Owe us what? You don't owe us anything." I let out a few small huffs of laughter, so I add {It's a figure of speech. It means I'm really grateful for you.} "Ohh, is that what that means?" he asked. I nod. He lets out a wide grin. "Well, in that case, you're very welcome!" We all chuckle a bit, and Crepe stands up. "Well, come on, Danny, let's get you clean. I have a feeling that will make you feel even better. Plus, you won't be smelling like an animal after this." I … don't know how to say "thank you" to that, but I chuckle with a smile and I follow her.
We walk into the hall under the stairs. I've seen what's in two of these doors, which are storage closets. They keep stuff like Soul Embers, Crystals, EXP vials/bottles, and Beginner's Seasoning. But, I haven't seen what's in the other doors. By the way, back in Chapter 4, I never mentioned how many doors are in the hall besides the entrance to the place and the room with the machine that summons Food Souls. There are five doors; two on the left, and three on the right. The first door on the left is the closet with the cleaning supplies, which is understandably big since you got a restaurant that serves western food. The first door on the right is the closet with the stuff to upgrade Food Souls, which was also where the Undertale characters crashed in somehow. I don't know the other three doors, but my guess is that one of them is a bathroom. As for the rest, I still don't know.
We stop in the middle of the hall, and Crepe thinks about which direction to pick. "Let's see…." she muttered. "Let's go with this one." She opens the second door to the left, which is a large bathroom. The room has a hot tub in the end of the room to my right. In front of it is a shower surrounded by glass barriers and a door. The glass has some sort of pattern and texture designed to prevent seeing the other side clearly. On the left is a toilet, which is very clean and looks like it's unused. In front of the toilet to my left is a cupboard with two sinks. I look at the wall where the door is at after Crepe and I enter the bathroom. There are a number of shelves storing all sorts of bath towels. They seem to be unused. Under the shelf is a laundry hamper.
Crepe walks to the tub and seals the drain with a bath stopper. She then turns on the faucet; I could feel the heat from the water flowing out of the faucet. As it's starting to fill, Crepe hums a cheery tune while grabbing some shampoo and a loofah. I peer into the tub. The water has gotten about a few inches high, and Crepe turns the faucet again. I get in into the tub and Crepe starts washing me with the shampoo. It feels rather pleasant, and the shampoo smells amazing. She also grabs some conditioner and a brush for the fur on my tail. She's right, a bath is definitely making me feel better. Of course, it's a little weird that I'm being bathed by someone I've known in person for roughly one and a half weeks as a dragon, but other than that, it's not bad. By the time she finishes scrubbing and rinsing me, she pulls the plug out and the soapy water starts draining from the tub. I shake most of the water off my scales and fur as Crepe grabs a towel from the shelves before fully drying me up.
I look in the mirror. I've seen my reflection before, whenever I wash my talons in the public bathroom, but I've never mentioned it. Even though I recognize myself, it's very weird that I'm not human anymore. I'm so used to seeing my reflection as a human, but even after a week and a half, I'm still not used to seeing myself as a dragon. I might as well describe my appearance since now's a good time. My face is reptilian, with dark crimson scales horizontally lining the center of my face, from my horns to the snout. My brows are a brighter red, matching the color of my fur and my underside. My eyes have white scleras and my irises are a fiery orange on top, fading to a yellow hue on the bottom. And my pupils are similar to that of a cat.
I reach out to the mirror, my index talon lightly touching my reflection. I don't know what to feel about this. "That's a mirror," Crepe explained, "it shows your reflection like the mirrors in the public bathrooms. See? That's you in the mirror, and the Food Soul next to you is clearly me, hahah. Now, come on. I bet Master Attendant has come back by now."
Today certainly hasn't been easy. And definitely not like other days; it's one thing to live in a restaurant as a dragon, but it's an entirely different matter when I think about how my life has been turned upside-down, with no way of making it the same. I can't even look at food the same way again when there's anime spirits personifying food. Welp, at least the bath did help a bit. Somehow, my scales feels so fresh and smoother than before. That shampoo really is something. As I've mentioned to Akira, it's best not to keep dwelling in this depressing identity mess for now. It's exhausting enough dealing with living in the past (literally) and in another universe where an underrated mobile game is real. And a universe that looks like an anime too, in the style of Beastars or some 3D-animated series with similar visuals, but without the anthro characters. (Wait, do characters of a similar manner exist in Tierra too, or just the Fallens that are in the game? Not to mention, there's Mr. Eve and the skeleton NPCs….) Actually, considering the characters from Undertale made a cameo appearance in the Glorywest Grill, I wouldn't be surprised if furries like the Beastars characters exist too. Makes sense since I was born a furry (and later became an otaku who's still into furries).
Damn, I guess I wouldn't stand out as much with that logic, but I can't be too sure. Besides, an anime world as a fantasy creature with new opportunities in life – who doesn't want that, am I right? I guess I kind of am lucky to be in a new life like this. I just wish I'd known what happened before that.
I follow Crepe to the living room, and Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie and Brownie are in the living room instead of Sandwich and Rice. I'm guessing they needed to switch places to recover stamina and so Rice and Sandwich could help out in the kitchen. Though, I'm slightly worried about Sandwich, since he's not the best cook, but maybe Bambri could help out with that, right? Or, he might be at the front of the house, and Rice is in the back. Either way, unless I head out there and see things for myself, it's not really possible to confirm who's in the front and who's in the back. Still, Brownie does need the rest. He looks so tired, even the bags under his eyes have bags. As for Butterscotch, he does seem slightly winded, as in out of breath. I bet the front of the front of the house has been a lot busier than usual; I can even hear it! I look at a clock next to the bookshelf. When did they add a new one? Whatever, it reads 12:41, so it's noon.
Crepe greeted, "Hey, guys." Butterscotch replied, "Howdy, Crepe. Did you just give Danny a bath?" "Mh-hm," she answered cheerily, "and now she looks as good as new. Hopefully she'll be feeling better too since she felt lonely." The new Food Soul nods. Brownie added, "Butterscotch Cinnamon Pie told me about how you are feeling, miss Danny RPG. Whenever something troubles you, you can talk to any of us, and we will do what we can to help you." I nod in understanding, still processing everything that happened.
I think about what to do next. I guess I could show them what I wrote in my notepad regarding Chapter 13. Yeah, I might as well do that so I can move this story along. It sure as hell beats writer's block! I approach Brownie and hand him my notepad; I have it at the page where I started writing today. (I have the pages sorted in different dates. The latest one is today, obviously.) I sit down as he reads the pages I wrote starting from today. Butterscotch asked, "What is she saying?" Brownie answered, "It is a list of sentences that Danny has written. The date written here is today. It looks like she was talking to someone before coming here." Butterscotch and Crepe read along what I wrote.
Four minutes pass, and they look at me. I try very hard to maintain my composure. Butterscotch gives me back my notepad. Crepe asked, "So, you were human?" I nod solemnly. Brownie added, "You also wrote that you were from a place called 'America.' If I'm not mistaken, you told me and mistress Black Tea you didn't remember where you came from. Could it be that your memory came back?" I shake my head. My head feels light and my throat feels so tight. My chest feels heavy from the guilt of lying to them. I write {No, I lied. Even before that time, I knew quite well about where I came from.} I show it the Food Souls. Crepe asked, "So, why did you lie?"
{I was scared. I wasn't sure how things will go if I told about who I am and where I came from.}
I feel embarrassed about this, but I decide not to write that. Damn, it's absurd how a comedy story suddenly becomes something serious. Butterscotch commented, "It also says you're from about two thousand years into the future. Being completely new here, I can't imagine how it feels." I don't really feel ashamed about hiding this stuff, knowing they won't judge me. I shrug at what Butterscotch said. Brownie added, "While I do not know how is it possible for you to turn from a human into a dragon, nor how you got transported from America to here, it does explain a lot about your quirks. Besides, considering your behavior and personality, it was obvious you are sapient, so it's not really a surprise that you were indeed human. What I do wonder, though, is your past." My head perks up. Oh, boy, this is going to be anything but a cakewalk. Butterscotch asked, "Same here. Did you have a family? What's the future like? How did you end up in the past? And, how old are you?" Oh, on second thought, maybe it's not that hard to answer. I write {Yes, I did have a family. A very nice and loving one, but as I got older, it became nearly impossible to get along with it – especially my dad – for having clashing beliefs and different perspectives on life. I've been fighting with my dad for the last several months over the pettiest of problems, and it wasn't fun. Plus, I've been increasingly taking my family for granted, and my control over my emotions deteriorated severely over time. I guess it really is my fault for everything, and I really wanted to change, but I suck badly at trying. If anything, I kinda gave up some time ago.
{The 2000s, anyway, is hell. You got a broken school system, political corruption, corporate greed, disinformation everywhere, suicide, poverty, a shit-ton of idiots to count, and a fucking pandemic to top it all. I don't know how the hell did I end up in the past, I still have amnesia from what happened after my high school year ended, and I'm currently 16 years old.}
I hand them the notepad, and they read what I wrote. I bet they feel repulsed by what I wrote. It'd make sense for them to dislike me after learning what a real douche I can be and have been. I'm not one for change, and this shit is hardwired into my head, so changing a mindset like this is damn near impossible. Then again, this could be a chance for that change, so I might as well take good advantage of it to improve. Brownie uttered, "I cannot imagine a future this depressing, but I do know that we have about one and a half thousand years before it could happen. Since we are currently fighting a war against the Fallen Angels, it would give us an opportunity to learn how to prevent it, and alongside that, we can figure out a way to defeat our enemies. Danny RPG, in the future, did we defeat or lose to the Fallen Angels?" I shrug, clearly gesturing that I have no idea. I write {No idea; America can be a lot of things, but a land that even knows the existence of Fallens isn't one of them. Also, America was founded in the late 1400's, so I don't think it exists yet.} I'm well aware that it was the guys from those old European countries that "discovered" the Americas so they can cause mass genocide and a slave trade, but this is rather off-topic, so I won't be telling them that anytime soon.
As soon as they read that, the Food Souls look at me with wide eyes. Shocking, isn't it? It's also shocking how easy it is to pull a Deadpool anytime I want without anyone noticing. Crepe asked, "Wait, America really doesn't know about the Fallens' existence?" I shake my head. She added, "If the Fallens don't exist there, then they might be extinct, right?" I write {Hell if I know. Like I said, we don't know anything about these Fallens. I just happen to learn about them because I've been living with you guys.} Which, is not true at all; if you recall Chapter 8, Bambri joked I had seen a Spectra. I said I wish I did because it was Spicy instead. This obviously implies that I'm familiar of these Fallens before I ended up here – not only that, no one until that point even mentioned that kind of Fallen. Why would that be? Could it be because America is indeed familiar about the Fallen Angels, and I'm lying to them about it? Well, duh, of course not! This isn't a Game Theory, it's an isekai fanfiction! Of course I'd know about this shit, because this is from a game with a dying fandom! The real theory is that this story is going on to this day, because the author is fond of the game even without playing it, that she's writing this to revive fandom! Coincidence? I think not!
Joke-ranting aside, I'm getting way too ahead of myself about this multiverse stuff. I mean, this is some real Rick and Morty shit, but without the dumbass family and the crazy, drunk scientist. And, yeah, as stated before, the Fallen Angel thing is as big of a lie as the black forest cake from Portal, but they don't know that yet, so, ssshhhh!
Butterscotch responded, "That makes sense. I didn't know about these Fallen Angels either until I got summoned. And how you ended up in that forest is as mysterious as the monsters that appeared in the closet. Until we investigate, this would remain as a mystery." Right you are, Butterscotch, right you are.
L’AVIS DES CRÉATEURS 
Danny_RPG
Danny_RPG I just realized I left a really stupid error in Chapter 13 as I was writing this chapter! I completely forgot Sandwich was in the living room with Crepe and Rice, so he’s not supposed to be in the kitchen. Sorry about that! Unless he can teleport like Sans, then that might be a plot twist (it’s not). Or, it’s like that one animation error in One Piece where Zoro is somehow in two places at once. (Actually, that might be because of Zoro’s lack of direction, but chances are that it was an error. XD) Also, I usually have my parents proofread my chapters before posting them, but not for Chapter 13 because it was late, I was trying to get out of a hiatus, and they were watching Doctor Who. (Don’t worry about the error, though, I got it fixed before publishing Chapter 14.) Also, I finished Chapter 14 a long time ago, but I totally forgot to post it!
État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone