Chapter 31: Crêpes

Chapter 31:
Crêpes

In the largely untouched wilderness of the Eastern Continent was a small nation called the Land of Flowers. It was a small nation, a tiny field of flowers which boasted a spring that lasted year-round in a part of the world known for its long winters and short summers.

***

Perhaps because of that very spring, some hundred years prior, both the federation of human knights and the demons led by the great skeleton king attempted to invade the Land of Flowers during the great demon war. While the great skeleton king was in fact a demon, it had dedicated itself to the pursuit of knowledge, resulting in its reincarnation as a lich possessing terrifyingly evil magic powers. Both the demon and human forces wanted a base from which to build up their armies, so they settled upon the flower fields of the Land of Flowers. This proved to be a fatal mistake, however, as the moment both armies set foot upon the land, the citizens of its nation attacked, robbing both sides of about half of their forces as they retreated in shame.

Indeed, this land of eternally blossoming flowers had been the home of the small, winged faeries for over one thousand years.

Faeries were small beings capable of fitting in the palm of a human hand. They had butterfly-like wings that allowed them to hover in the air and magical powers that equaled the elves. Because of these powers, they were nowhere close to being regarded as weak among the races of the world. In fact, they were occasionally feared by human adventurers as monsters themselves. Despite this strength, they were respectful beings who didn’t invade other lands, though they were brave enough to defend their homeland should anyone try to step foot within their domain.

It was this very bravery that allowed the faerie queen of that era, Silvia Silvario XIII, to lead a squad of magic users into battle against the invading humans and demons, fending them off with her tremendous power. Since that time, the humans and demons knew that those who set foot in that field of flowers would meet their end. And so, peace came to the Land of Flowers, its citizens given no reason to wield their awe-inspiring magical powers.

However, approximately half a year ago, cracks began to appear in that peace.

“Your Highness! We have a problem!”

It was around noon when the panicked voice of a faerie echoed throughout the castle, which was decorated in flowers and greenery of all sorts.

“Calm yourself. I can feel it.” The current queen of the Land of Flowers, Tiana Silvario XVI, responded to the elderly mage captain with a tired edge to her voice.

Queen Tiana Silvario XVI’s skin was white as snow, her eyes and hair a beautiful pale green, and her wings rainbow colored amidst blackish green lines. It had only been two years since she had ascended to the throne as queen of the Land of Flowers after her mother passed away due to illness.

The elderly mage captain seemed stunned. “Your Highness, you’ve noticed?”

In response, Tiana heavily nodded her head.

“But of course. This is like my backyard. I notice any and all changes to it. Especially when they happen right in front of my castle.”

Since the day had begun, Tiana had yet to set one foot outside of the throne room. And yet, due to her talents as the most able mage in the entire country, she could sense the change in her home immediately.

Generally speaking, faeries made up in magical ability what they lacked in physical strength; they didn’t engage in battle with swords or bows like the humans did. Instead, they either used their magic directly or utilized golems born from their magic. This meant that those selected to rule over the country were those talented in the magical arts, regardless of gender. Tiana, their queen, was enormously powerful.

“We cannot let this lie. First, we must observe it.”

Tiana stood up from her throne with conviction, as if she had been waiting for this report all day.

“Regardless of what it might be, if it dares bring misfortune to our great country, we shall show it no mercy. Onward, follow me!”

The guards that had been quietly waiting for orders immediately assembled around their queen.

Indeed, this was the Land of Flowers, a nation that forgave no one who dared sully its beautiful flowers. It was a land of proud faeries. In response to the queen’s words, the knights and ministers gathered behind her in silence. The group walked to the center of the small castle where the disturbance had appeared.

“Is this a door?” Tiana mumbled to herself, a crowd of citizens having gathered nearby.

The object looked to be human-sized. The queen knew full well that there was no door like this in her country. On the front of the black door was a golden handle and an illustration of some sort of animal.

“It appears to be some sort of teleportation magic.’

Tiana came to a decision. “All right. We will enter the door. Mage squads will choose those who shall remain to guard the country. The rest will come with me.”

The longer the identity of this door remained a mystery, the more unrest would settle upon the Land of Flower’s citizens. Tiana was quick and decisive.

“What?! Your Highness, that’s too dangerous!” the mage captain said.

“Fear not,” Tiana said calmly, reasoning with the panicked captain. “I am this country’s queen. It is my responsibility to protect the people. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure this place is guarded properly before I depart.”

Tiana decided to make use of the Land of Flower’s secret weapon.

“O Guardian, hear my call. Come forth before me!”

Tiana pulled from a small bag a single seed and dropped it to the ground, beginning the spell’s incantation. This seed could only be harvested once a year, and it came from a flower said to have been born during the Age of the Old Wyrms, long before the elves had taken over the land. This unique flower was grown in a special garden protected by the castle’s magic. Only past rulers and royal gardeners could tend to it.

Through the spell, passed down from ruler to ruler, was the Land of Flower’s most powerful guardian born.

From deep within the ground, a voice could be heard as the seed began soaking up the resources from its surroundings, growing rapidly. Thick green vines grew out from the seed, wrapping around one another and creating the form of a green giant. The vines had settled like massive muscles, and pink flowers blossomed from the spots where its eyes and nose should be. It was about three times larger than the average human.

The court ooohed.

“Now, Guardian. Obey my command.”

Ooooooooh.

The giant responded to the queen’s orders with a low roar, confirming its allegiance to its master.

Tiana nodded, satisfied. “Excellent. Citizens, step away from the door!”

Leaving the giant behind, Tiana and the others backed away from the black structure. All they knew was that it was magical by nature, which meant they had no way of knowing how truly dangerous it might be. Tiana wanted to play it safe.

“Guardian, open the door!”

The giant obeyed its master’s orders and bent over. It wrapped two of its thick, branch-like fingers around the handle and gently turned it.

Ring ring!

The ringing of bells signified the activation of magic as the door opened.

“Huh… It’s some sort of teleportation device then.”

The other side of the door was hidden by a thin layer of mist, but Tiana could still make out several humanoid figures in a bright room.

“What shall we do, Your Highness?” the captain asked.

“Well, first…”

Tiana surveyed her surroundings, eventually stopping on her elite mages.

“Let us first find out the motives of those on the other side. I’ll take command on this. Understood?”

Once that had been decided, a plan quickly formed in her head. Tiana delivered her orders.

“B-but that’s far too dangerous! We don’t even know what lies beyond the door yet! And the Guardian won’t be able to come with us due to its size!”

Tiana refused to listen to her mage captain’s words. “You needn’t worry. We’ll be more than prepared. I’ll have you remain here. Prepare a series of magical escape circles. If the need arises, be prepared to activate them immediately.”

She was not only the queen of her nation, but also the strongest mage in the land. The queens of the Land of Flowers had long since maintained independence from the rest of the world, protecting their lands. Rather than sit in the back and give orders, they were far more inclined to bravely stand on the frontline. Tiana was no different from her forebears in that regard.

“Clearly they’re inviting us in,” she said. “Why not see where the door goes?”

It had been some hundred years since the foolish humans and demons dared trespass on the faeries’ land. This little bit of excitement stirred something within the young queen, even if she did not realize it herself. Indeed, things had been so peaceful that the queen had yet to find the opportunity to flex her own knowledge and strength. Now was the time to show her people what their queen was made of.

“I am the leader of this great nation and its people. It is my duty to talk to the one in charge on the other side.”

Even if that meant putting herself in danger, Tiana refused to back down.

She flew through the door.

***

The moment she came out on the other side, the thin layer of mist vanished, allowing Tiana to see everything with great clarity.

“Wh-what is this place?!” One of the mages accompanying the queen raised her voice in stunned shock. She could hardly be blamed, however, given the nature of what she was looking at.

“Calm yourself,” Tiana snapped.

Humans. Demons. Demi-Humans. Monsters. All of them were gathered together in a single room, but not a single one was engaged in combat. Instead, they all appeared to be preoccupied with eating.

But really, what is this place?

It went without saying, but Tiana herself had no idea where she was. She lacked information. The young queen took a moment to focus, using her powerful energies to look at the flow of magical power in the room.

“That half-elf over there is a mage.”

Tiana singled out one particular individual. She was a silver-haired half-elf wearing a simple yet beautiful blue dress. Judging by the mythril staff sitting next to her, she was most certainly a magic user. Given the powerful flow of magic energies around her, as well as how in control of them she seemed to be, the mage likely had abilities comparable to Tiana’s. It was highly likely she trained under someone with incredible talents.

Perhaps she might be able to tell me what this place is.

The queen left her team behind and approached the half-elf.

“Excuse me. You are a mage, are you not? I am Tiana Silvario XVI, queen of the Land of Flowers. If it’s not too much trouble, could you explain to me what this place is?”

The half-elf mage stopped eating her yellow, slime-like food and turned to answer the newcomer.

“My name is Victoria Samanook, princess of the Samanook Duchy. Queen Tiana, ruler of the Land of Flowers, it is an honor to make your acquaintance. This is ‘Nekoya,’ the Restaurant to Another World. That door over there connects this place to ours.”

“The Restaurant to Another World?” Tiana echoed. “You’re telling me this is an eatery?”

“Exactly. In exchange for human currency, the master offers us fine cuisine…er, all manner of foods that have been prepared and run over fire. This place has a great deal of rare foods unavailable to us in our world. Many kinds of customers come here in search of those meals, me included.”

Tiana took a moment to mull over Victoria’s general explanation.

“A place that offers food run over fire? I seem to recall that humans and elves liked that sort of thing.”

When Tiana was a young child, one of her teachers had traveled the human world. That teacher had taught her all sorts of things about human society, including that their appetites were different from faeries, who ate fruits and honey as is from the flowers and fields. Instead, they used fire or hot water to prepare warm food before eating it. So this Restaurant to Another World was a place that also prepared food before serving it then?

“But does the food really taste any good like that?” asked Tiana. “According to an acquaintance of mine who traveled the human world, nothing was quite as tasty as the honey found in the Land of Flowers.”

“It’s delicious,” replied Victoria with a firm nod.

Eight years had gone by since Victoria first started frequenting the Restaurant to Another World, and even now there were no signs of her ever growing tired of its many great meals.

“I see. Well, no time like the present, correct? Lady Victoria, would you mind picking something out that you think we might enjoy?”

Victoria’s firm answer ignited the flames of curiosity within Tiana. If the food here really was as good as the half-elf proclaimed, she should at least give it a shot.

“Of course. Let’s see, something you all might like…” Victoria quietly thought to herself.

Clearly the right answer here was some sort of dessert. Faeries primarily feasted upon fruits and honey. In other words, sweet foods.

A parfait might be good, but the glass would be a problem.

Victoria glanced at the other princess enjoying her parfait with a massive smile on her face. Nope, that wasn’t going to work. The sort of glass that parfaits came in were deep and heavy. It’d be far too much trouble for a faerie-sized being to reach into.

There’s always pudding a là mode… But wait, faeries don’t like bitter foods. Guess that’s a no.

She looked down at her own plate with disappointment in her eyes. She couldn’t possibly recommend pudding without its caramel topping.

Something fruity would be perfect. Oh, and it should also be something that takes little preparation, since faeries are constantly eating things as is. That leaves us with…

Victoria finally arrived at the one and only answer.

“A fruit crêpe would be my recommendation,” she said.

“I see. Then that I shall have,” the queen responded resolutely.

“All right. Master, could I get one fruit crêpe? It’d be lovely if you could cut it into small pieces like the pancakes.”

“A-aye, you got it.”

The master was ever-so-briefly shocked at the sight of the winged faeries in his restaurant. It was like something out of an old bedtime story. As usual, however, he quickly collected himself and returned to the kitchen. Soon after, a blonde-haired demon girl came out holding a plate with something on top of it.

“S-sorry for the wait. Here’s your fruit crêpe!”

The young lady’s hands were trembling. Perhaps she was unused to dealing with royalty like Tiana, or maybe the cautious group of faeries made her nervous. Either way, she set down the plate on top of the table. In front of the small creatures of legend was a thin, cloth-like object, with light yellow and brown patches all over it. This cloth wrapped itself around some sort of white, soft-looking stuff and a host of colorful fruits. It almost looked like a bouquet of flowers.

So this is a crêpe? Humans think of the most fascinating things, Tiana thought to herself.

Red, orange, and green. The beautifully patterned “cloth” and the white filling wrapped themselves around the colorful fruits like a gentle embrace. Judging by appearance alone, this “crêpe” was quite the meal.

“Let me just cut this right up for you.”

The demon girl used a glistening, silver knife to cut the crêpe into small chunks, which would be easier for the tiny people in front of her to handle and eat. She was careful to do just as the master had instructed her. It was important that each piece be equal, every small chunk containing fruit so there weren’t any lesser parts.

“Please take your time and enjoy!”

The demon girl finished cutting the crêpe and let out a sigh, finally relaxing around the faeries. She then left them to enjoy the meal.

“I shall be the first to give it a try,” Tiana declared to the squad on the table.

“What?!” a mage exclaimed. “Absolutely not! What if it’s poisoned?!”

“That’s why I need to be first,” Tiana calmly responded. “The blessings of my magic arts mean that I am unaffected by almost all poisons. Which means it’s safest for me to try first.”

While Tiana did intend to calm her subjects, that was just a front. Her real objective was her pure curiosity for this bizarre food. What did it taste like?

First… Hm? This doesn’t taste like anything.

She took a bite from the corner of the cloth-like food and tilted her head. It barely had a flavor to call its own.

Faeries liked sweet things, so if this was what Tiana could expect from the rest of the dish, this was a swing and a miss.

Next, let’s see about this white stuff. Huh?!

With her expectations lowered, Tiana licked the white creamy substance and widened her eyes. It was meltingly sweet and soft. But not only was it sweet, it had the flavor of fresh milk.

Amazing! And this level of sweetness is…?!

Tiana continued eating the piece of crêpe but was once again stunned into near silence. The orange-colored fruit was both sweet and incredibly moist. Tiana suspected it would probably taste incredible as is.

Did the master enhance the sweetness with some sort of sweet liquid?!

Tiana of all people knew her sweets, and yet here was this fruit, sweeter than any she had ever encountered before. Even crazier was the sweet honey that dressed the fruit! It made them so sweet she feared they might melt.

Tiana was in a trance.

How could this be so scrumptious? Perhaps…

After experiencing the flavor for herself, Tiana leaned in to look at the crêpe, one step closer to the truth. Inside it was a host of other fruits sandwiched together.

I knew it!

After taking another bite, Tiana concluded that each of the fruits had been prepared in a different fashion.

The red berries had been boiled together with a great deal of sugar, giving them a sweet flavor and melty texture. The green berries were likely frozen with some sort of magic, lending them a crunchy but cold feeling.

Last but not least were the yellow fruits unknown to Tiana. She imagined they were likely originally sour, but they, like the orange fruits, had sweet honey mixed into them.

I see. So that’s why they’re all wrapped like this.

The more Tiana ate, the more she noticed. The cloth-like wrap that she had previously dismissed as tasteless was actually well thought out. This neutral base supported the sweet white cream and the variety of fruits. By not adding further flavor to the whole package, it created balance so it wasn’t overly sweet. Indeed, without the wrapping, this could not be a crêpe.

Curses, this crêpe thing really did turn out to be poison.

Tiana chewed on the piece of crêpe, her eyes having been opened to the truth. While her stomach was satisfied with each bite, she could not stop eating.

This must be some sort of deadly poison designed to captivate my stomach.

The combination of sweet and sour fruits, and the sweet white stuff that was delicious beyond words… What else could this pairing be if not poison for the soul? It was as if there were some magic spell cast upon it, robbing Tiana of her ability to resist overeating. Until her stomach was full, she would be incapable of stopping.

The queen ate as much of the crêpe as she possibly could before letting out a cute sound and stopping. She let out a sweet sigh and turned to her followers.

“How was it, Your Highness?”

One of the mages swallowed their saliva in anticipation as Tiana wiped some cream away from her lips and replied simply and directly:

“There appears to be no poison. You may eat.”

The moment Tiana’s words left her mouth, the faeries began swarming the crêpe. It had been more than a little difficult watching the queen deliciously indulge in the crêpe in front of their very eyes. The faeries let out their own stunned, bliss-filled cries of joy as they dug in.

“Victoria, you have my gratitude. This is a token of my appreciation.”

While watching her people enjoy themselves, Tiana handed Victoria a prize worthy of any royalty: the Land of Flower’s secret treasure.

“This is a flower seed from my country. I’m sure someone as knowledgeable as you understands what that means.”

Victoria widened her eyes in surprise. “Are you sure?”

At first glance, it looked like an old brown seed. But for one as attuned to the magical arts as Victoria, it was clear as day that the small object had an incredible amount of magical power lurking within it.

Long, long ago, in the time of the old Kingdom, it was said that the king had sought this mythical seed to prolong his own life. Simply brewing and drinking it was enough to restore a person’s youth. The seed was a catalyst for immense magical power but could only be grown and harvested in areas brimming with magical energy, like the Land of the Flowers. The Duchy happened to have a single seed of its own, locked away in a safe protected by all manner of magic. It was, in fact, a secret treasure.

“Of course I am. I’ve long heard that humans valued these seeds above all else, but we faeries have easy access to them,” Tiana replied, a beautiful smile across her face.

“…Understood. Then in return, I promise to handle your payment for any and all dishes you and your people eat here, from now on.”

Victoria was more than aware of just how valuable the gift she received was. In order to try and pay back even some of that, she formed a pact with her new friend. She could pay for these faeries until the day she died, and it still wouldn’t be enough to match the value of the gift she received, but that was all she could think of.

“You would do that for us? You have my gratitude.”

Tiana accepted the princess’s kindness. Because the Land of Flowers had cut itself off from human society, it was not easy for them to get their hands on human currency. While she had yet to voice it aloud, Tiana had been concerned about how she and her people would be able to pay for the crêpe moving forward. She was genuinely happy that the problem was now behind her.

And just like that, visiting the Restaurant to Another World once every seven days became a thing set in stone for Tiana. She doubted the others would object.

About a hundred of her followers had already devoured the crêpe and were on the verge of ordering another. Tiana just couldn’t imagine a world in which they would disagree with returning here.

***

And so, half a year passed. Today was the ever-important day of the “Door Countermeasure Meeting.”

“We should be ordering the chocolate banana! Are you telling me you can’t see how scrumptious its bitterness is?!”

“Nonsense! You know full well that the sweet flavor of strawberry jam pairs fabulously with the sourness of cream cheese!”

“If we’re talking sweetness, how could you foolish fools possibly ignore custard?! We need to be focusing on a dish that utilizes custard!”

“Wrong, wrong, wrong! How could you possibly recommend custard while ignoring heavy cream and its gentle fluffiness?! It is a simple fact of this world that heavy cream is more delicious than custard!”

“Um, I’ve actually heard that there are crêpes that aren’t sweet.”

“REJECTED. An unsweet crêpe is no crêpe at all!” shouted the voices in unison.

The theme of the meeting was simple: “Other than the fruit, which type of crêpe should we order?” Unfortunately, they couldn’t reach a consensus.

The mage captain slipped into the frantic meeting and delivered their report to Tiana. “Your Highness! The citizens chosen for today’s visit have already gathered at the plaza of Nekoya’s door! If we don’t leave immediately, we may be dealing with a riot on our hands!”

“Understood.” Tiana stood from her seat and addressed the committee. “Let us be on our way. It’s unfortunate we could not reach a decision, but we can just think about it on the other side.”

Thus the great Queen Tiana made her way to the plaza where her citizens were waiting.

Since that fateful first visit, Tiana and her subjects came to one simple conclusion regarding Nekoya. Despite how large the dining hall was, partially as it was designed for humans, bringing the thousands of citizens of the Land of Flowers to dine all at once would cause trouble for the master. It was decided that once every seven days they would hold a lottery, unrelated to age, power, or status, where only the chosen two hundred citizens and Tiana would be allowed to visit Nekoya on that specific day.

“I apologize for the wait! My people, let us go beyond the door! To the Restaurant to Another World!” Tiana spoke to her people, many of them holding baskets made of vines with which to hold treats from the other world.

They raised their voices in joy and began gathering in front of the door.

“Come, Golem! Open the door to another world!”

At this point, the once-guardian of the Land of Flowers had essentially been reassigned to door-opening duty. As usual, it turned the handle of the large, black structure and opened it. As the sound of bells rang out, countless faeries made their way through the entrance.

“Ah! Welcome!” The demon waitress greeted them, clearly having grown used to their patronage.

“Thank you. Take us to a table, if you will. We would also like a menu.” Tiana nodded to the waitress and delivered her orders, marking the beginning of yet another sweet and delicious party.