A Fae's Emporium 4

Commissioned by InfiniteChaosRei

A Fae’s Emporium

Chapter 4

-VB-

Medusa looked up at the ceiling.

It was dirty.

“... You’re not a good maid, are you?”

“Pardon me for not knowing how to do something I have never been taught in my many lives,” she droned out blandly. 

“Hmm. Hmm. Makes sense. You were basically a pampered noble who got ousted and then killed because you went to the neighboring fief and made a mess.”

“That is an extremely simplistic and outright defamatory view of my first life, master. I resent it.”

“Would you resent it even if I made you a garlic bird oyakodon~?”

“... I will listen to whatever you say as long as you keep feeding me wonderful dishes every meal.”

Her pride was nothing compared to the heavenly flavors that poured out from her master’s kitchen.

‘I’m sorry, but the food is too good,’ she mentally apologized to herself and allowed a single metaphorical tear to drip down from her eyes. 

Servant Avenger? No, she was a Gluttonous Avenger incapable of escaping her master’s loose clutches. 

“Well, it’s actually lunch time. Let’s eat.”

“Yes, master,” she said very quickly. 

Her pride can take a rest today. Her stomach and tongue, on the other hand, will be taking their voluntold overtime shift.

-VB-

“... This store wasn’t here before.”

Mina blinked as she stared at the store that Eijiro was pointing at. 

“Huh, you’re right, Ei-chan!” 

“Can you stop calling me that?” he grumbled before looking pointedly at the store with. She looked at his face and saw a near mystified curiosity burning up inside of her friend. “... wanna go inside?”

She looked at the front of the store. It didn’t look like any particular architecture that she was familiar with. If someone told her that a bougie coffee shopkeeper, a traditional Japanese architecture historian, and a hapless western businessman got together to design this shop, then we would 100% believe them. 

Because it looked odd like that. 

She sniffed. 

Oh.

She smelled something really nice.

“... You smell that, too?”

Mina glanced to the side and also saw Asui looking at the store with interest. 

Well.

The crew’s all got an interest in the shop, and a good queen like herself would lead them to what they want! 

“Looks like we know where we’re entering now! Let’s go!” she said as she grabbed both of them by their arms and dragged them in. 

The door opened without a sound, but the chimes attached to the door rang clearly and cleanly. That wasn’t the sound of some 100 yen store cheap, disposable chime. Even though it looked like one of those, it was an expensive chime! 

See?! There was definitely a bougie designer or shop owner in… here…

Her jaws dropped when she saw a maid.

And not a maid at a maid cafe but an actual maid doing cleaning and everything! 

“Oh. My. Gosh. It’s a real life maid! A maid that’s not in a maid cafe!” she nearly shrieked with excitement. 

The said maid turned around and -.

Her jaws dropped even further, and she saw Ei-chan’s jaws drop, too.

Because the maid was gosh. Darn. GORGEOUS.

How was someone that beautiful?! 

“Hmm? Oh, we’ve got guests~!” someone with an American accent said from around the corner. There were light taps as someone walked around the counter and -.

Why?! How?! The shopkeeper was a pretty boy? With cat ears?! 

“I smelled something good,” Asui spoke up before Mina’s thoughts could drift off again. 

“Oh! You smelled that from the outside? I’ve been cooking up lunch for me and Dusa here.”

“Master, I insist that you either call me servant or call me by my full name,” the stern maid huffed as she arched her back to stretch and then climbed down from the ladder she’d been using to dust the ceiling. 

Mina’s eyes traced the curves. Beautiful with curves to spare. The world just wasn’t fair. 

… Wait, he cooked, too? 

“How much would it be for a bowl of whatever it is you have on the stove?” Asui asked, once again getting to the heart of the matter and not getting distracted.

See? This was the kind of mentality a girl needed to be a hero! Ugh, Mina knew that she needed to get her head in the game… but there were too many details around here that were too distracting! 

“Hmm. I wouldn’t normally sell something I make only for me and my servant here…”

“What would the cost have been normally?” Ei-chan asked as he took a long breath in. “Because that smells … awesome.”

“Hmm. Nothing you lot can pay with right now,” the shopkeeper said with a shrug. “But I’ll let you have a taste. Who knows? You might come back with enough money or treasure for another taste.”

And taste it they did. 

The shopkeeper called the dish “Rainbow Fruit Pudding.”

It was beautiful.

It was … definitely outside what she could pay.

But the shopkeeper let everyone have a taste. 

“... Do you want to go out with me?” Mina asked half-dazed.

And then she realized what she said and blushed while Ei-chan laughed at her. 

She glared at her friend while the shopkeeper… was looking at her a bit seriously. 

“You think I’m that easy?” the shopkeeper crooned, and a shiver ran up her spine. 

“Uh, I mean, I think I was -.”

The shopkeeper leaned forward. 

Did she mention that he was a pretty boy? 

Her eyes drifted down to his lips.

Soft, moist, and kissable -.

She froze. 

“Am I easy on the eyes?” he asked slowly. 

Her lips opened and closed. She felt uncomfortably hot. 

“Do you want me to hold you and call your darling~?”

She ran out of there because if she stayed there any longer, then she was actually going to say yes to anything he said! 

-VB-

“Pooh,” I sighed. “A cute just ran out on me, Dusa-chan!” I bemoaned before breaking out into a giggle.

“You are a terrible tease, layering your charm on top of feeding them the pudding,” she said as if she was noting the weather today and took a bite of the Rainbow Fruit Pudding. “This is delicious.”

“Oh? Is it delicious to your noble palate? I should be honored!” I grinned. 

She gave me a half-hearted glare before she took another bite of the pudding. 

I did not miss the way her body shivered with delight. 

… Was I making a Servant strong by feeding her a gourmet cell-packed food? Yes. Yes, I was. 

Did I know if a Servant can stronger with gourmet cells? I had no idea. 

That’s the great part about experimentation, wasn’t it? 

And if the medicine went down with sugar (the pudding), then all the better for my experiment.

“... Is there something on me?” Medusa asked me. 

“Nah nah nah. Just wondering what you’re going to do about the calories.”

She froze.

“What?”

“Oh? Did I not mention?”

“Mention what…?”

“Rainbow Fruit Pudding? That thing is super dense in calories. Like you’ll get less calories shoveling a bucket of lard.”

She stared at me. 

She looked down at the pudding. 

She looked back up.

And then the spoon snapped in her hand.

I ran. 

I did not escape.

-VB-

Connected Worlds so far:
RWBY
Fate/Stay Night

Bleach

My Hero Academia