Chapter 14: Pancakes

Chapter 14:
Pancakes

Deep in a certain forest, far away from human eyes, was a tiny, nameless village. With a population of around 100, each of the villagers wore matching grass-dyed clothes and lived off of the fruits and nuts from the trees near their home.

Those who lived here were not humans. No, they were tiny people named Lilliputians who could fit in the palm of a human hand. While fairies were also small, they had wings and could fly across vast distances and often had dealings with humans. Lilliputians, on the other hand, tended to build small villages and live their whole lives there, rarely dealing with other races. These Lilliputians were similar, hardly interacting with humans aside from the old witch living by herself in the forest. They traded medicinal ingredients like fruits and nuts with her, as well as various metals for forging work. Other than her, there was only one other human they had any kind of dealings with.

Most of the Lilliputians were born in the village, raised in the village, and would die there as well. They were a tiny people that lived much like humans did.

However, every seven days came the one day that they all looked forward to. The men who worked hard, the women who busied themselves with house chores, and even the children having fun outside all made their way to the same location.

Their destination? The Restaurant to Another World. For the Lilliputians, this day was much like a festival.

On the day of their excursion to the restaurant, all the Lilliputians gathered together in a small opening deep in the forest, just a short distance from the village.

“All right! We got it hooked!” A young man, the best tree climber in the village, used a rope made of vines to lock the golden protrusion coming from the door into place, facing down. He then called out to the other men waiting below him. Because the black door had no places to grip onto, climbing it was a struggle. There were a handful of people who could make their way to the golden protrusion, but most of the time it tended to be the young man who did it.

“All right! Everyone, get ready to pull! Heave, hooo!!”

“HEAVE, HOOO!” “HEAVE, HOOO!” “HEAVE, HOOO!”

“You can do it, Daddy!”

“Just a little more!”

Showered in the encouraging words of the village chief, women, and children, the men pulled at the rope together.

Slowly but steadily, the black wall began to creak open. From afar, it was clear that it was actually a door with a picture of a cat on it. Unlike the other larger races, just the simple act of opening this door called for a great deal of concentrated effort on the part of the relatively weak Lilliputians. It required the men of the village to pull at the handle using the vine rope they made.

“There we go, we got it open! Everyone, hurry inside!”

After confirming that the door was open enough and the time was right, the elder gave the signal for the villagers to head inside. They followed his orders, one after the other, starting with the elderly and the women who were still breastfeeding their babies. After that came the children who could walk by themselves. The men were the last ones to enter. Once everyone was inside, the door shut behind them and disappeared. The forest returned to its natural, quiet form.

The room the Lilliputians found themselves inside of was lit by a different color of light than the forest. After moving to a corner of the room, they heard a voice rain down upon them from above.

—Welcome.

The loud voice came from the gigantic master of the restaurant. The huge man was well aware that when the door just barely opened, that was the sign that the little people had arrived.

The master went to the back and returned to them with a tray originally meant for carrying food. On top of it was a folded moist towel. He brought it down close to the floor and spoke to his tiny customers.

—This way, please. I’ll take you to your seats.

The Lilliputians were used to this process and immediately hopped onto the tray.

—Here we go!

Once about half of the villagers were onboard and the tray full, the master brought them to their seats.

“Whoooaaaaa! This is awesome!”

“Ahh! We’re gonna fall!”

“Come now, make sure you wipe your hands and shoes. You can’t get off unless you clean yourselves.”

All of a sudden, the tiny people found themselves high in the air. The children grew excited seeing other races as large as the master enjoying their food. Meanwhile their mothers scolded them. Everyone cleaned their hands and feet on the giant wet cloth on the tray and eventually, they arrived at their destination. Those who had already cleaned themselves departed their makeshift vehicle and made their way down to the table below.

—I’ll be right back with the rest of your party.

The master took the tray back to the entrance and then returned with the rest of the villagers.

—Will you be having the usual? he asked.

Once the master confirmed that everyone was present and accounted for, he took their orders. The group of little people nodded in unison. It was then that the most beautiful girl in the village, the elder’s daughter, stepped forward in a lovely dress. In her hands was a large silver coin with the face of a person on it. The Lilliputians had acquired it by trading nuts and fruits with the witch of the woods. Normally, the metal workers in the village would use it to craft kitchenware and other useful objects. However, they made a deal with the previous master that twice a month, they would give him one of these coins.

—Many thanks. I’ll be right back.

The master picked up the large coin with just his index finger and thumb, and left for the kitchen. He would then go on to cook their absolute favorite dish while they waited.

“Woooow! We’re so high up!”

“It’s soooooo big!”

“Stop right there! It’s dangerous! What are you going to do if you fall?!”

“Huh, so you’re saying it was an even smaller village back in the day?”

“That’s right. Before the door started showing up, we had maybe half the population we do now.”

“You think the folks who moved over here are doing all right?”

“I bet they are. I caught a glimpse of them a little while back. They were wearing otherworldly clothes, but I’m sure it was them.”

The Lilliputians spent their time waiting for the food in all sorts of ways. The mothers kept watch of their children to make sure they didn’t fall off the table, while other adults chatted over the latest rumors. It didn’t usually take long for the food to be brought out, but just the thought of its sweet deliciousness left them more impatient than usual.

Finally, the master returned with their order in hand.

—Here you are, folks. Your order of pancakes.

With a thud, the master placed a large plate of pancakes down in the center of the table. Lined up nearby were three ceramic containers about the size of buckets, filled with three different types of sweet syrup. The small people shouted out with glee; after all, this feast was only available to them once every seven days. It was for this very plate of soft, fluffy dessert that every week they chose to abandon their jobs and daily work in order to come to the restaurant.

“Oh, Master! I’m sorry, but would you mind cutting it for us?”

The village elder shouted his request up to the master of the restaurant. If he didn’t, there’d be no way for his voice to reach the large man.

—Aye, you got it!

The master nodded his head, spread some of the butter atop the pancakes with his fork and then cut it into pieces more than large enough for the villagers with his knife. The sweet aroma of the butter and the pancakes made the Lilliputians’ mouths water.

—Take your time and enjoy. I’ll bring out seconds as soon as you need ’em.

And so the moment the master said his final words to them, the Lilliputians shouted out with joy and rushed to the front of the pancakes.

There was a system to all of this, of course. It made sure that everyone was able to eat a fair and equal amount of food. First, there were those in charge of handing out the pancakes. These little ones would get close to the plate and hand the villagers their pancakes. This prevented fights from breaking out over people trying to grab their share. If something like that happened, the small children would likely suffer the most. By having a multi-tiered system in place, they could avoid that kind of situation.

On occasion, the pancake handlers would lick their buttery hands or grab some pancake crumbs from the plate. This was considered one of the perks of the job.

Only a few Lilliputians ate their pancakes immediately upon receiving them. Most of the small people actually headed for the buckets filled with syrup.

“I want more! Put more on ’em! Don’t be so cheap!”

“Now, now. If you take too much, there won’t be any left! We also have some to take home, okay?”

“Hey, what’re you doing?! Putting brown and black syrup on it is super unfair!”

“Ah! That’s no fair! You’re eating the red fruit!”

“Oh, c’mon. It’s not that big a deal.”

The little people each lined up in front of the syrup bucket of their choosing, managed by the women of the village. These syrup handlers were extremely used to this task, using special brushes they brought from home to spread the syrup over the pancakes. There were three different kinds available to the villagers: the brown and super sweet one was called “maple,” the black, slightly bitter one was called “chocolate,” and the sweet and tart one made by boiling red berries with sugar was “jam.”

Normally, a customer was allowed to request one type of syrup to go with their pancakes, but due to the villagers being split on who preferred what, the Lilliputians asked the master if he could give them a little bit of each instead. Only then did they finally have enough pancakes and syrup to satisfy everyone.

“Perfect! Everyone’s got some, right?”

After confirming that all the villagers had their share, the housewives began to fill the pots that they brought from home with maple syrup. This was one of the benefits of being a syrup handler. They were allowed to fill the pots and containers they brought from the village with all of the remaining syrup so that they could bring them home. Of course, there would be trouble if they skimped on giving out syrup just so that they could take home more.

“Heehee, this is more than enough to use on our bread. We’re gonna be eating the good stuff for a while!” One of the Lilliputian wives wore a big smile on her face as she caressed the pot full of maple syrup.

The master’s syrup was as delicious as his pancakes, so just spreading a little bit onto regular bread made it that much more appetizing. While their small village had no name and didn’t stand out, it did have its own perks.

“Now that everyone has their share…”

The village elder checked once more to make sure that everyone had some warm, fluffy pancakes and syrup, then spoke to his people.

“Let us offer our thanks to the God of Earth for this bountiful feast. Dig in!”

And so the elder bit into his pancakes. An explosion of warm sweetness spread throughout his mouth. For his syrup, he chose the relatively simple, sweet maple. It had its own unique flavor and was significantly sweeter than the other syrups. Its flavor oozed out from the fluffy pancake with each bite.

“Mmm…”

The elder swallowed with a satisfied moan and quickly took a sip of the tea he brought from the village. The unsweetened, still-warm tea washed down the pancakes quite nicely.

“Phew…”

The sweet aftertaste was something else! Even though he’d just taken a bite, he found himself wanting more and immediately went for another. No matter how many years he ate this stuff, he never grew tired of how sweet and fluffy the pancakes were. It was easy to see how their population had doubled. People passing through would just happen to be around to experience the pancakes, and they too would become addicted to its flavor, choosing to move to the village.

“Father, would you mind sharing a piece with me? I would like to try some of the maple syrup.” The village elder’s only daughter was careful not to dirty her beautiful clothes while she ate her pancakes coated in jam.

She grew slightly jealous of her father after seeing him scarf down his portion. While her favorite type of syrup was the sweet and sour jam, just like her late mother, she couldn’t help herself after watching her father.

“Yes, yes. I understand,” her father said. “Here, take some.”

The elder chuckled and unsheathed the dagger at his waist, cutting off a chunk of his pancakes for her but also taking some of hers as well.

“Mm, this is quite good.”

He was actually quite used to this flavor. After all, jam was a favorite of his wife who passed away some ten years ago. It was sweet and sour, and just a little bit salty.

The village elder took a moment to look around and found that the rest of the Lilliputians were doing something similar. They were each sharing their own differently flavored pancakes with their families, lovers, and friends. Even the rugged blacksmith, who was almost twice as tall as the other Lilliputians, blushed after his small wife wiped the chocolate from his mouth.

Meanwhile, there was the one family known for its many kids. The little boys were mixing all of their syrups together to find out what they tasted like, which of course left their mother in a tizzy.

The young man and woman who were always fighting were instead eating their jam and chocolate pancakes together, even trading with one another. This was the one thing which the two could see eye to eye on.

Elsewhere, the wives who were on syrup duty were happily discussing their respective bounties.

Three years ago, a single older sorcerer moved into the village. This same man, seemingly incapable of holding himself back, was digging into his pancakes so fiercely that his beard was turning brown. Similarly, the village had a single priest of the Lord of Earth who could wield healing magic. This old woman smiled brightly, surrounded by her grandchildren.

This was all a familiar sight to any Lilliputian who lived in the village.

—Sorry to keep you all waiting. Here are your seconds.

By the time the large set of pancakes found their way to the bottom of the villagers’ stomachs, the master returned with a fresh plate.

The children who still had room in their stomachs, the youngsters who hadn’t eaten enough yet, and the more gluttonous adults all gathered by the plate once more. While the Lilliputians courteously followed the rules the first time, the second plate was a completely different story. Because the elderly and smaller children were already full, this meant that the second wave was a battle of speed.

I’m starting to feel my age…

The village elder happily patted his own full stomach while warmly watching the youngsters battle over pancakes. Seeing the villagers this lively made all he had done to protect his home worth it. It felt like he was looking upon his young daughter again.

“Master, thank you very much!”

After getting their fill of pancakes and clearing the plates entirely, the village elder gave his words of gratitude to the master.

—You’re most welcome. All right, all aboard!

As usual, the master quietly whipped out his tray and had the Lilliputians ride atop it. He went back and forth twice to carry them all to the entrance this time, their stomachs filled with two plates worth of pancakes.

—We’ll be looking forward to your next visit, the master said, opening the door lightly.

“All right! Everyone’s here, yes?”

“Yup!”

With that, the Lilliputians exited the restaurant as one, leaving none behind as the door closed.

“Man, there are always so many of those little guys,” the master whispered to himself after watching them leave.

Back in the day, when they first started showing up, there was only about half as many. Actually, it was probably closer to a third. When was it that he became unable to carry them all in one go? The master returned to the kitchen while thinking about this.

“Haha, imagine if we started getting little people with wings one of these days?” he laughed to himself.

The master had seen winged races from the other world, and he had small guests like the ones from earlier. But he’d yet to see any tiny winged people.

“Yeah, probably not.”

Anyway, it took multiple little people to open the door, given their strength. It was unlikely he’d be getting little visitors other than the ones from that village. The master returned to work.

He had no way of knowing that in a few days, a group of winged fairies would soon become regulars at his restaurant.