After half an hour or so of staying in bed, Isaac finally decided to part with Furina. She decided to stay in bed for a little longer, whilst he went down to prepare for another day of the café.
Business doesn't sleep, after all.
And so, after washing himself up, he decided to go down...
...only to be t with a peculiar sight.
"Hm?" The mont he turned the corner, he was stopped by the unexpected sight in front of him. "What's going on here?"
Normally, the café would have all its lights off and seats turned over to be rearranged the next morning.
But contrary to his expectations, the place was already well-lit, properly arranged, and even cleaned!
His gaze trailed off to look at the person present behind the counter, who was cleaning the surface with a damp cloth.
"Freminet?" He asked as he approached, seeing the young man that was cleaning so eagerly. "Why are you here?"
It was Freminet, his young protégé, and whom Isaac was passing on his skills of brewing to. Once called, he turned his head to look at him.
Upon seeing who it was, the young boy's soft expression brightened ever so slightly.
"Good morning, Mr. Isaac." Freminet greeted him with his usual soft tone of voice. Then, addressing his question, he added, "I'm cleaning the café early."
"Good morning too, Freminet. I can see that, but what I ant was... How did you get in?" Walking over near the counter, he greeted him back, which was again followed by yet another question. "I an, I don't rember giving you the keys... Or did I?"
The last part was sothing he mumbled under his breath.
It was because, lately, he had been in a few hectic situations that required his ntal focus. He genuinely can't rember if he gave the young boy the keys to the café or not because it is sothing he would do.
Fortunately, that wasn't what had happened.
"No, you didn't give any keys." Freminet smiled softly with a shake of his head. "I was actually just taking a morning walk to deliver a ssage from Father, and just happened to see the café open so early."
"I got curious and approached, and I was invited inside."
After hearing his reason intently, Isaac couldn't help but tilt his head slightly upon hearing the last sentence.
He stared at the young boy for a mont before asking with a doubtful look, "Invited? Who invited you?"
"It was , my dear."
Hearing a nonchalant voice coming from behind him, Isaac's eyes gazed over to the source and found a familiar kitsune lady.
"Miko...?" He asked with a wry look. "You're quite early today, aren't you? The café usually opens a few hours later, you know?"
"Oh, I'm well aware."
Yae Miko, the ever so mischievous yet fairly elegant and graceful head shrine maiden of the Narukami Shrine, smiled at him with her eyes slightly narrowed.
Seeing that smile on her face alerted Isaac. It didn't feel creepy or insidious, per se, but it did feel like a blade was hovering above his head at the mont.
Seeing him with an agitated look, Yae Miko chuckled as she continued speaking.
"Did you forget, Isaac? We can enter whenever we want." She stated with an amused tone. "Besides, didn't we get temporarily hired at one point? We're all too familiar with your café already."
"...you got a point." He nodded along as he she spoke. But when she finished, his confusion grew deeper. "Hold on, what do you an 'we'?"
At that mont...
"Mr. Isaac! Good morning! Where have you been all this ti?"
"Good morning, Isaac. Have you had coffee yet? Wait, do you even drink anything besides tea, you tea hound?"
"Good morning. Did you have a good rest?"
"...if you feel tired, leave the rest to us."
"Isaac, good to see you again. How was your trip?"
When he turned, he was suddenly greeted... or bombarded... with a series of greetings from his friends whom he hadn't t for weeks due to his trip to Nod-Krai.
There was Klee, that playful kid who has too much energy to spare, together with Nahida who balanced her chaotic nature with her calm presence.
Lumine and Paimon were each holding a different cleaning equipnt, already in their uniforms that Isaac had provided them.
As for Xiao, he was sohow the only one holding multiple cleaning equipnt on his person all at once. Poor guy.
It was only Miko who had a different attire from the rest of them, wearing an apron.
Looking at all of his dearest friends, Isaac was montarily stunned by their sudden appearance.
There were many thoughts that passed through his mind, but the most prominent one among them all...
"Uhh... Aha, hey guys, good morning to y'all too." He greeted them back first with a wry smile. "Is there anything special that happened while I was away? Why are you all... here, all at once?"
This certainly had never happened before.
Sure, there were occasions when they all visited the café, but for it to happen early in the morning, and even help?
Now that was certainly a first.
The one who was first to answer him was none other than Lumine, who was still holding a spray bottle.
"Well, a certain soone disappeared for a while, and a few of us here missed the tea he brewed." She said as she side-eyed Xiao. She continued, "So, when we found out that you're back, we just happen to coincidentally have the sa idea to visit."
At this point, Nahida continued on from Lumine. "One thing led to another, and we all agreed to help the café today."
"That's right!" Beside her, Klee nodded. She looked at Isaac and added, "I really missed you, Mr. Isaac! It's been so boring in solitary confinent without you..."
"That's right!" Paimon butted in. "Paimon has been resorting to cooking her own food lately, and although they're delicious on their own, nothing beats a delicious food cooked by soone else! So Paimon also missed you, boss devil."
"I must admit that the confectionery brewed by you has... resulted in so dependencies on my part." Xiao said as he turned his head. "Their effects are great and gives my mind ease, so the withdrawal was... agonizing, to say the least."
'Poor guy must've had a caffeine withdrawal...' Isaac amused himself after hearing him.
At that mont, Isaac's eyes returned to Yae Miko, who was watching him especially closely today, as though she were quietly piecing together sothing from his actions that even he himself hadn't noticed.
The mont he looked back, Yae Miko t his gaze without hesitation. Then, after a brief pause, she gave a small nod to herself, as if confirming a conclusion only she understood.
"As you can see, my dear Isaac, we're all here for one reason," she said as she walked over to him. "I trust I don't need to spell it out to you?"
He nodded. "Uhh... Yeah, I got the ssage."
Isaac wasn't that dense.
How could he not notice the countless little gestures of his dearest friends? The way they had all gathered here. The way they looked at him. The way none of them had stayed.
He'd genuinely have to be stupid not to understand.
They missed him. That much was obvious. But more than that...
They valued him.
Far more than he had ever valued himself.
His gaze wandered across the familiar faces before him. So wore soft smiles. Others looked quietly relieved. A few seed amused by his reaction. Yet despite their differences, there was one thing they all shared.
The warmth in their eyes.
A warmth directed entirely at him.
For a fleeting mont, Isaac felt his heart skip. "You guys..."
The words caught in his throat.
Turning his head away, he tried and utterly failed to hide the smile tugging at his lips. A faint warmth crept across his face, and no amount of looking elsewhere could conceal it.
"Gosh," he muttered with a helpless chuckle. "Now I'm all flustered."
"Oh my, are you feeling flustered, my little fox?" Seizing the opportunity, Yae Miko slipped beside him with a mischievous smile. "Say, why don't you tell us why you're suddenly so unwilling to face us, hm?"
Lumine let out a quiet laugh.
"I don't think I've ever seen him this shy before."
"Stop it, I'm not..."
Isaac tried to cut the idea off before it could spread.
Unfortunately, the mont he turned toward Lumine, he saw the expressions on everyone's faces brighten ever so slightly.
...And that was when it started.
"Whoa! Mr. Isaac, your face is all red!"
"Hehe, I didn't know you could get this flustered, Isaac."
"Look at you getting all red. You're really growing into the nickna Paimon gave you."
One voice beca two.
Two beca three.
Before long, the entire conversation had drifted firmly out of his control.
Faced with the rciless teasing of his friends, Isaac, who had sohow beco the centerpiece of everyone's entertainnt, carefully considered his options and ca to a simple conclusion.
It wasn't worth fighting back.
The damage had already been done.
This perception of him had long since taken root in their minds, and at this point, there was absolutely nothing he could do to change it.
"Darn..." he mumbled under his breath.
Normally, he disliked being the center of attention.
He never quite knew what to do with so many eyes on him.
But now, standing before the people he considered his closest friends...
...he didn't feel uncomfortable at all.
If anything, seeing them laugh like this brought a strange warmth to his chest.
The sight of their brightened expressions, their carefree smiles, and the genuine amusent in their voices...
None of it ca from mockery.
They were happy, not only to see him, but also because that he was here.
And deep in his heart, Isaac knew they ant well.
To him, that was all that mattered.
Still though.
'Ah... All my aura... gone down the drain...'
If he had any, anyways.
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