Side Chapter — Aidy’s Pastry Reading

“Cornets are truly divine.”

“Melon rolls are good too.”

It was a day like any other, with Aidy and Rokuko chowing down in the inn’s dining hall. As of late it wasn’t uncommon at all to see the two of them eating pastries together. Rokuko owned the inn, and Aidy was well-known as a guest from the Demon Realm. On top of that, Rokuko was Keima’s partner, and Aidy was strong enough to easily beat Niku, the town’s strongest fighter. Both of them drew a lot of attention.

“Lately, I have concluded that one’s favorite pastry is a reflection of their personality,” Aidy said while biting into her chocolate cornet.

“Oh...? Continue,” Rokuko replied casually.

“For example, my cornets. They reflect a very aggressive personality. They’re pointed to stab through any resistance.”

“And my melon rolls?”

“They are shaped like shields. Surely they reflect a defensive personality.”

“My goodness. I think you’re onto something,” Rokuko replied, probably just wanting to dramatically say “I think you’re onto something” whether or not she actually believed it. Incidentally, the sword on Rokuko’s hip was ornamental, and they both already understood that Rokuko would rip like wet paper if Aidy chose to attack her. Aidy didn’t scorn her for that, however, as she understood Rokuko’s true power was in Dungeon Battles.

In truth, Aidy had concluded that Rokuko had talent as a general who gave orders from the sidelines, which was not a concept that existed in the Demon Realm proper. She thus assumed that Rokuko would assign troops to guard her in a defensive formation. Was she wrong about that? Not really, but you couldn’t deny she was kind of forcing things to fit into how she viewed reality.

“It’s like palm reading... Pastry reading, I guess? I kinda wanna see what other people think.”

“Truly? Let me see, then...” Aidy looked around the dining hall and saw Niku working as a waitress. Some hand-gesturing later and she walked this way. “Answer, pup. What is your preference?”

“Mm?” Niku tilted her head in confusion at the sudden question.

“Oh, she’s talking about pastries. Aidy, you have to explain what you’re talking about.”

“Hrm... That is tedious. Allow me to ask again, then. Pup. What is your pastry of choice?”

Aidy corrected herself with Rokuko’s advice, and after thinking about why Aidy would ask that, Niku gave her answer.

“Hamburgers.”

“I see. I suppose pastries can include anything with bread, if you stretch it a bit.”

“O wise and mighty Aidy, what personality does that reflect?”

“Give me a moment, Rokuko. I am thinking it through.”

After a brief pause, Aidy came to her conclusion. Hamburgers were certainly like pastries filled with meat. Which meant...

“She is a carnivore! As one would expect of a dog, really.”

“I see!”

“Consider me surprised. I thought she was just a pup, but in reality she was a feral beast.”

“Not bad, Niku!”

“Mm? Okay...?”

Aidy let out an amused laugh and praised her. Not knowing why she was being praised, Niku just nodded in confusion.

“Let us move on, Rokuko.”

“Okaaay.”

Rokuko and Aidy left the dining hall in search of their next victim... or rather, their next target. They first visited the Beddhist church. Why? No reason. They knew the Succubus nuns and Rei the High Priestess were there, at least, and... There. They found the High Priestess and wasted no time questioning her.

“Eep! You’re here again, Aidy...? Oh, you want to know my favorite pastry? Well, I don’t really have one... My favorite food is blood.”

Already they had found an outlier—someone who didn’t have a favorite kind of pastry at all. Tch. Talk about a buzzkill. That said, it seemed obvious the Succubus nuns would give an even worse answer... They messed up going to the church at all.

“I guess that makes sense for a Vampire. So, Aidy? Will favorite foods in general work here?”

“No. Pastries are the heart of all this, Rokuko. And thus, Rei, I demand you give a proper answer.”

“Whaaaat? That’s even more unreasonable than what you usually do... Okay, I’ll go with jam pastries, then. Like strawberry jam. It’s red, so.”

“Jam pastries... I see.”

Aidy thought, then answered.

“I understand. Rei, you have a simple heart.”

“S-Simple?”

Hearing that, Rokuko nodded meaningfully. “You’re not wrong. But how did you get that from jam pastries?”

“Because her reasoning was simple as it being red like blood, no? It’s cute, but terribly simple-minded.”

Rei swallowed the urge to point out that it didn’t have anything to do with the pastry itself. Aidy was her Master’s guest, after all. She could have said “blood sausage” or “hot dogs” to try to wiggle out of it, but that probably would have earned her a similar reading.

“By the way, Aidy, you sure seem close with Rei.”

“Of course. I quite like her. Do you still refuse to give her to me?”

“Duh. She’s one of our top dungeon administrators.”

Rei just smiled and stayed silent, but thankfully that was enough for the two girls. They left the church in search of more targets.

“What’s my favorite pastry? Ummm, I guess sweet pea paste rolls?”

A surprisingly normal answer from their next target: one of the Silkies that had been drying clothes by the inn. All the Silkies looked almost identical so it was hard to say for sure, but it was probably Hanna.

“Is that because it’s green, perhaps?” Aidy asked.

“No, it’s because it’s the same color as big sis Kinue.”

And there you had it. Incidentally, the Silkies changed how they referred to Kinue based on their mood at the time: big sis Kinue, captain Kinue, head maid Kinue, etc. Today they felt like calling her big sis.

“How is that different from choosing it because it’s green?” Rokuko asked.

“There is a WORLD of difference between picking it because it’s green and picking it because it’s big sis Kinue’s color. Rokuko, think about it like this. Isn’t there a difference between choosing black and choosing Master’s color?”

“I think you’re onto something. Okay, I approve of your reasoning. With that said. Aidy, your reading?”

Rokuko accepted Hanna’s proclamation and passed the baton to Aidy. Her answer?

“Well, I have never eaten a sweet pea paste roll before.”

It was not a pastry she had tasted herself.

“It is different from tea cream rolls, correct?”

“Correct. Let me just buy one now... Here.”

Rokuko bought one with DP and handed it to Aidy. She split it open and confirmed that it had green-colored sweet paste inside. She took a bite, but didn’t really learn anything from it.

“Hm. Well, I suppose I can just say she has highly personal fixations?”

“That seems kind of lazy.”

“It will do. This isn’t my primary profession, after all.”

Rokuko wasn’t really that invested either. They were on the verge of dropping the game entirely.

While they were there, they returned to the dining hall and asked Kinue her preference. Hanna came with them.

“Hm? My favorite kind of pastry...? I will go with syrup waffles.”

“Hear that, Hanna? That’s what Kinue herself likes.”

“W-Well, that won’t change what color she is, so it’s okay.”

“True,” Rokuko said. Luckily, Aidy had eaten waffles before. They were the things with boxed ridges like a fence.

“So, why waffles?”

“All the nooks and crevices make it perfect for cleaning, no?”

One had to remember that Kinue loved cleaning above all else.

“Another one for personal fixations,” Aidy concluded.

“Aren’t you just repeating yourself now?”

“Such is the nature of spiritual readings. Truly, it is through being vague and half-hearted that they gain universal application for so many.”

“I’m just gonna say okay, you have a point there.”

Thus, they grew bored of the game, and just as they were about to stop playing...

“Yooo, Rokuko! Aidy! What about my pastry reading? I love me some curry rolls!”

Ichika rolled in despite supposedly being busy elsewhere. Someone must have told her about this.

“Oh my, Ichika. We were just bringing this to a close.”

“Awww, whaaat?!”

Ichika groaned with despair, which earned an amused giggle from Aidy.

“Very well, then... I will give you a pastry reading. Let’s see here... Curry rolls, hm?”

“I got this. Redra loves these super spicy ones. I showed you these before, remember?”

Just like she did with Hanna, Rokuko bought a curry roll and handed it to Aidy.

“Hm. This is spicy?”

“Uh-huh. It is curry, so...”

“Then... I conclude she likes curry.”

“So lazy!”

And so, due to Aidy growing kinda bored of it, the pastry readings came to a close.