"The war could have been... avoided." Kokomi's grin grows wider, fonder. "I see. Thank you for your gift, and for the sentiment. It means a lot me." Sara returns the look of kindness.
"Of course." She offers a soft smile, small dimples evident on the sides of her cheeks. "I take it that you like the present so far?"
"Yes, I do, but I'll open the rest later," Kokomi replies with a wink, "Gifts can wait for now-I want you to enjoy the party first." Sara nods.
"As you wish."
With that, she's off, gravitating towards the punch bowl, and the priestess' attention is now on you. Soon, you're swept up in an embrace, Kokomi's arms wound around your torso, bringing you close.
"Thank you Traveler," Kokomi whispers. Though she doesn't reveal much about her gratitude, you think you know what it's for, and hug back, arms wrapped tight around the birthday girl.
"Anytime."
[End.]
"A cake?" Paimon asks, "Paimon thinks that is a great idea, no, a wonderful idea!”
You have to hold back a laugh; it's no wonder that Paimon would be excited for it. Her stomach is growling so loudly already that you can hear it over the sounds of the falls close by from where you’re standing.
“We're going to be baking it ourselves," you say, and for a moment, Paimon visibly deflates. It’s one thing to buy a ready-made cake to feast on and another to have to put in the effort to make it all entirely by scratch. Work… work and effort are the differences. Paimon’s face scrunches up, her body wriggling with distaste before calming.
“No matter!" she starts, "This will be the best cake the priestess has ever had!”
That, or the biggest disaster.
Still, you laugh and nod in agreement.
“First things first, we need ingredients!”
There are two places by which they could go.
Now where to begin…
Staying in Watatsumi rather than teleporting back to Inazuma City has its perks. For one, there is no travel time, little as it is. For two… well, that's where it stops, because Watatsumi is small and the amount of trade is even smaller.
The ingredients are harder to find and much more expensive—the folk in the village have to make a living after all, but your Mora supply is dwindling faster and faster these days. You'd think that being the legendary hero people have come to coin you as would grant a much larger income. Paimon wholeheartedly agrees.
At least it's beautiful here, surrounded by rose-like shells and giant coral, stretches of waterfalls, and clutches of pearls; it's easy to get distracted by a setting like this one, but you're on a mission right now! You have to stay focused!
“Sugar, flour, salt, eggs, butter, milk… All we're missing is lavender melon. Why can’t we find any lavender melons on this island?” Needless to say, Paimon is frustrated and waving her little hands to and fro. You're about to throw your own up in exasperation as well.
“Did you say lavender melon?”
You turn to look and see—
“General Gorou!”
Paimon flies over as he's standing there, smiling a toothy grin and holding what looks to be like an entire sack of lavender melons.
Perhaps you should…
It's so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of Inazuma City, especially when accompanied by Paimon, who flits to each and every stall with marvel in her eyes. At day, the market is as much alive as it is at night with its various stands of foods and trinkets. Your hand twitches. You have to remind yourself that the beautiful kimono you’ve been eyeing can wait another day—there’s a gift to be made before the end of the night!
Finding the ingredients is relatively easy; if anything, it’s much harder to decide whom to buy from as seeking out the best deal that mora can buy is of the utmost importance for a traveler as poor as you’ve become. Your wallet isn’t bottomless, despite what your party seems to believe.
“Alright,” Paimon says, “I think all we have left is the lavender melon… and maybe, a snack! I saw some dango over there. Oh! Paimon also saw some mochi awhile back. That sounds good, doesn’t it or—“
You ignore her ramblings with a shake of your head. It's as you're doing so that you notice a familiar face. Wait a minute… that's General Gorou, standing at a stall exchanging Mora for an entire bag full of lavender melons.
It’s then that you hear, "And that’s the last of what we have for the day, enjoy!”
The last… of what they have…
“Gorou! General Gorou!" you holler, immediately making your way over to him; your march is fast and rigid. You mean business.
Your plan is to…
“So you're saying that if I give you a couple of lavender melons, you'll take on a mission or two of mine?" You nod, and Gorou chuckles, scratching at his neck with his free hand. His ear gives a nervous twitch. He continues, "I actually, uh, like serving Her Excellency.”
You visibly deflate, and Paimon follows in suit, looking like a perished, floating fairy at your side.
“But," he says, "How about I give them all to you in exchange for helping you out with the cake itself? It can be a gift from the three of us.”
Paimon is immediately revived, whether it's from being included or the prospect of having to do little work, you aren't quite certain. You, on the other hand, are surprised. Here is a general with flushed cheeks and a fluffed tail, basically telling you that he knows how to bake and decorate a cake. You did not see this coming, not in the slightest.
“You know how to bake and not… cause a fire?" you ask this with a gesture of your hands.
Gorou smirks then and moves towards you. "I can make buttercream icing using the lavender melon as well. I know exactly what our head priestess likes.”
At the same time, you and Paimon look at one another and then look back to the general.
“Deal!”
“Deal!”
“So you need my help?" Gorou asks. His tail is wagging; he seems to be reveling in this! It's a really good thing that you have no shame anymore or else you’d be embarrassed. Your travels so far have really done a number on your sense of pride and self.
“Yes, please!" Your hands are clasped together, and Paimon's are the same, a true, pleading position.
He laughs, "Okay, okay. How about I help you make it, too?”
“Yes, please!" Paimon repeats, but the expression on your face is one of puzzlement with eyebrows scrunched and your mouth parted open.
After noticing your response, Gorou says, "Hey, I may be a general, but I do know my way around the kitchen. Her Excellency isn’t always the best at taking care of herself.”
Honestly, that is something that you both can definitely agree upon. Your mind wanders back to the period of time that you spent visiting Kokomi and how she barely could find a single moment to take rest. The amount of duties that she has are lengthy. Though tiresome, you know that she has come to enjoy it, loving taking care of Watatsumi Island and its people.
Still, like Gorou said, Kokomi really needs somebody to take care of her as well.
It takes a lot of trust to allow that, and as the Traveler, you know how hard it can be to give that at times; before memories of past exchanges can flood your mind, you say, "Alright, General, let's do this.”
Besides, you've been cooking plenty on this journey of yours so far. How hard can it be to make a cake from scratch?
Your arms are tired. Mixing the cake batter hadn't been too hard, but now that the cake is baking and you've moved on to the icing, you've grown weary. This is worse than that time you fought Foul Legacy, having swung your sword close to a thousand times before he'd been downed. Insatiable lust for fighting? Yeah, this icing is a much greater foe.
You scowl at the spoon that you wield and that bowl that you're using. Somebody should create a machine for this, something that could immediately whip this mix of cream and sugar and lavender melon extract into the delectable texture you desire.
“You're doing great, Traveler. Just a bit more to go!”
That's easy for Gorou to say. He's been instructing you this whole time, and now, he’s sitting on the counter in wait, the pretty, sugar decorations of shells sitting on a plate by his side as he constructed them in no time. He's just watching and waiting.
You peer up at him, eye the muscle on his bicep that his tiny amount of armor does nothing to conceal; your own arm feels like slime jelly.
Maybe a cake wasn't the best decision.
Paimon has long since given up, laying withered upon a table closeby.
You think of the hair pin you envisioned in your head. You imagine the idea of a signed book.
You sigh.
“Happy birthday, dear divine head shrine priestess, Sangonomiya Kokomi, of Watatsumi Island," everybody takes a breath, “Happy birthday to you!”
Perhaps, it was a mistake on your part.
The cake itself, now that it's done and both looks and tastes absolutely divine, was a great idea, but the choice of the handler, well, maybe, it shouldn't have been Paimon that was allowed to carry it to the table where the priestess sits at its head in waiting. Everybody is so happy leading up to the moment of disaster.
The village people, the shrine maidens, the resistance… they're all gathered here to celebrate. You and Gorou stand by Kokomi, smiling and singing. And Paimon, she flies unsteadily, the cake nearly as large as she is, with candles glowing near blindingly bright from it under the beautiful night sky of Watatsumi Island.
It is as she tips forward, aiming to set it on the table for Kokomi to make a wish and blow out the candles that disaster strikes. It slips, the cake toppling over from Paimon's hands, and you burst into action with the electrifying speed that had been granted to you when you first arrived in Inazuma.
The cake still falls… sort of. The top layer is gone already, a mix of extinguished flame, pretty seashell decoration, and pastel icing laying on the ground. The rest of it is squashed between your hands and Kokomi's face. Your mouth is open, teeth clenching into a horrified grimace, and your eyes are wide. Kokomi's are also big, long lashes fluttered open in surprise. It's all that you can see of her, the cake meeting right at her nose and below.
It's silent as you flail back, cake being twisted away from the priestess, and shout, "I'm sorry, so sorry, Kokomi!"
Icing is smeared all over the priestess, and there's clumps of cake that had fallen onto her pretty dress, one she wore especially for this occasion; strange, how nobody else ever seems to change garments around here.
You feel terrible. In taking a glance at Gorou, you immediately look away; yeah, he looks a little mad right now, a bit like a growling guard dog who's just witnessed its master get disrespected before them.
Quietly, everybody watches as the priestess smooths a delicate finger across her own cheek and then presses it between her lips. She smiles, and it's like moonshine on a night that had become so clouded with darkness.
"No matter, Traveler. It tastes excellent. How did you know that I love lavender melon?"
It is then that everybody takes this as permission to laugh.
“I had a little help, but to answer your question, you always just really seemed to enjoy it.”
Your cheeks burn. It suddenly feels very hot, despite the cool evening air that floats up from the waters below the shrine.
“Thank you," Kokomi murmurs softly, and it's likely that only you and Gorou can hear it, and then she stands with her lavender covered face and calmly says, "Let us feast in merriment and enjoy this night together that Orobashi has blessed us with.”
Everybody cheers.
This is a blessed night, indeed, one in celebration of a great and kind leader, a beautiful and hard working shrine maiden, a dragoness amongst human souls, the pearl that is Sangonomiya Kokomi.
[End.]