Chapter 9: A Convenient Coincidence

*Beep beep beep*

The sound of my alarm clock wakes me up.

*Yawn*

I streched my arms as I rose up from my slumber.

"Hm? Why am I at the floor? Wait.... "

I stood up and turned towards my bed.

"So it was real... "

A beautiful girl was sleeping at my bed.

She was hugging one of my pillows tightly.

"Ahh... She's really cute... "

I was captured by her beauty.

I poked at her cheek.

*Boop*

No reaction.

"I guess she's a heavy sleeper. " I mused to myself.

I went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. " Ahh. There's not that much in here. " I said upon opening the cupboard.

A box of cereal and some crackers are inside the food cabinet alongside a few bags of chips.

"I can't feed her junk food... "

*sigh*

"I guess this will do. "

I grabbed the box of cereal.

I went to the fridge to get some milk.

I ate my breakfast as I was looking at the breadeat forums.

Still no UR character cards (Rant)

UR weapons data sheet (Info)

Were the UR cards released? (Question)

"There's no info about the UR cards? "

Was I the only one who got a UR Partner Card?

Well I can't talk to anyone about her... It's not like I have many friends. And the breadeat forums will most likely maul me to death.

And I also want to respect her privacy...

I took a glance at the sleeping Amelia.

She's still sleeping deeply.

*Click*

I took a picture of her.

"Imagine the outrage if the forums find out about this.... "

I closed my phone and continued eating.

After eating, I wrote a note to Amelia.

"Please eat this cereal for breakfast. There's milk inside the refrigerator. Mix them together in a bowl. You can grab some biscuits from the cabinet if you're hungry. Sorry if this is a bit unrefined for you. I ran out of money yesterday. "

"This will do. "

I went to took a bath and prepared for my work.

I looked at the mirror after changing into my uniform.

"Alright. I'm all set. "

I took my bag and saw the calendar.

"Today is July 4... Wait. Isn't this? "

I grabbed my phone and checked the wiki.

Amelia Favreau

Birthday: July 4

Age: 20

"She's turning 21 today? "

I looked at her.

Amelia is still sleeping so soundly.

"Ah... It's a shame... I can't get anything for her. I'm really broke after all those pulls. "

I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door.

I took another look at her before heading out.

"Happy Birthday Amelia. "

"Come on! Where are you Amelia? "

"Calm down Patricia. Maybe she just overslept? "

"But she's a stickler for her rules! She wouldn't be late for no reason Captain Louise! "

"Maybe she's just dressing up. It is her special day after all. "

"Vice captain! The captain isn't in her house! "

"What?! Did something happen to her? Please tell the others to search for her. "

"Understood. "

"Arrgh... Why would she go missing now? "

"Hmm... This is a bit weird. She barely goes around the town. Pierre, do you know anything about this? "

"N-no... I'm afraid I don't know anything. " "I see... Well then. I'll be off. The first division needs to restock equipment. "

"I'll go find the captain Guild Leader! I'm off! "

"...Damn. I would've prevented her from going to the cathedral if I remembered it was her birthday today. Maybe the Grand Mage can do something..."

"Hrngggh.... What?.... Where am I?..... "

I woke up at an unfamiliar place.

"Huh?... Why am I?.... Oh... Right... "

I was sent to another world and now I'm staying on Joshua's house.

I stood up and stretched for a bit.

*yawn*

"I wonder what time is it? "

There seems to be no windows on his house.

I opened the door and took a peek.

"The sun's rays are strong... It must be near noon already. "

I closed the door and headed back to the bed.

"Hnnnn. What am I supposed to do? "

I looked around and saw some sort of a device.

"Hmm? What's this? Is this some sort of a measuring tool for time? "

I inspected the device.

"10:43 AM July 4, Thursday? Today is July 4?!? "

Today is July 4. My birthday.

"Waaahh... This sucks... "

Today is my birthday and I'm far away from my friends.

Stranded in some other world.

The guild must be looking for me.

Arghhh! What should I do?!

*rumble rumble*

"Ahh... I'm hungry... "

I felt my stomach rumble.

I saw something on the table on the other side of the room.

I approached the table and saw a note attached to a box.

"Please eat this cereal for breakfast. There's milk inside the refrigerator. Mix them together in a bowl. You can grab some biscuits from the cabinet if you're hungry. Sorry if this is a bit unrefined for you. I ran out of money yesterday. "

I read the note.

"How kind of him... "

I opened the box and took the bag inside it. I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard. I poured the contents of the bag on the bowl.

"So this is called 'cereal'. Joshua told me to mix it with milk. " I muttered.

The note told me to get milk from the refrigirator.

"I think this black box should be the refrigerator? "

I opened the black cabinet-like box.

"It's cold... "

Cold air was blowing out of the box. Is this magic?

"It's rather empty... " I commented.

I saw a box reading 'Fresh Milk'.

"Oh. Here it is. "

I grabbed it and went back to the table.

I flipped the tab open and poured milk on the bowl. I returned the milk box inside the refrigerator.

"I wonder what this thing tastes like... "

I grabbed a spoon from utensil drawer and I started eating the cereal.

"It's crunchy... And it's rather sweet. "

I finished the cereal and placed the bowl on the sink.

I headed back to the bed and I lied down.

"Everyone... "

I remembered my guildmates.

They must be worried about me.

Why did this happen?

I'm trapped in another world for my birthday...

This sucks...

"Master... What would you do if you were in this situation? "

"Woaaah.. Is this for real? The company really spent a lot of money for the anniversary..."

*knock* *knock* "Who is it? "

"It's Pierre. "

"Come in! "

"Please excuse me for my sudden intrusion Grand Mage. "

"It's fine, it's fine. What brings you here Guild Leader? "

"It's about Amelia. Can you bring her back today ? "

"I'm sorry Guild Leader. Another jump might be too much on her. "

"I-I see... "

"May I ask, why do you want to bring her back ? Are you pulling her out from this operation ? I'm sorry, but she's a vital part of this plan. "

"N-no sir.. It's just her birthday today. And I know the gravity of her mission well. A threat that great should be vanquished before it reaches our world. "

"Ohhh... So it's the girl's birthday. We shouldn't have sent her yesterday then. "

"Yes... " "Hmm... Alright Mr. Guild Leader. I'll do something for her. "

"T-thank you very much Sir Grand Mage!"

"It's nothing much. "

"I'll be off now. "

"Alright then. Take care. "

"Huff... Talking to the Grand Mage is hard... Some strong magic aura is present in the room. He's probably so powerful, his magic is leaking out. "

"Oh! You're back Pierre. Where have you been? "

"I've been to the Grand Mage's office. "

"I see. Have you heard anything about Amelia? "

"The Grand Mage sent her on an important mission Louise. She wasn't able to drop by because they needed to head out right away. "

"Ahh. That's why she was called by the Grand Mage. It's a shame. She isn't spending her birthday with us. "

"Yeah.... It's as shame. "

"You're sending me out? "

"Yeah. The manager told me to send someone to this place. You'll pick up something and deliver it to some of the head honchos. "

"Alright. But will my salary get cut for today? "

"Nah. This was an order from the manager. I think you'll be fine. Here's the address. And here's the receipt. "

"I'll be going then Mr. Frank. "

"Good luck kid! "

"Yeah!"

I walked out of the convenience store.

"Well this is new. "

I was tasked to pick up something from this place and bring it to one of the bosses.

"582 Sunflower Drive..."

I put the paper and the receipt inside my pocket and started walking.

After a while, I reached my destination. I was standing in front of a bakeshop, in the middle of a crowded street.

"582 Sunflower Drive... A bakeshop? "

I smelled a pleasant aroma upon entering the bakeshop.

"Wow this place looks fancy... "

I looked around the bakeshop and saw some expensive looking equipment and pastries.

"Welcome to The Versailles! How may I help you sir? " a staff member said.

"I'm here to pick up a delivery. Here. "

I handed the receipt to her.

"Ahh! For Mr. Pendragon! I need the special order! "

The staff member gestured towards her colleague.

Moments later, her colleague brought two boxes to the counter.

The boxes seem to be very fancy.

"Here you go sir! Thank you for your patronage! " she said with a smile.

I smiled back at her and headed out with the boxes.

"Alright then, where should I go next? "

I grabbed the paper from my pocket.

"Metro Skyline room 537. That place is not too far from here. "

I headed towards the building.

I stopped in front of Metro Skyline and I surveyed the place from bottom to top.

"Woah this place is huge..." It's a very tall structure.

I entered the building and I approached the receptionist counter.

"Good afternoon sir, how may I help you? " asked the receptionist.

"I am here to deliver this to room 537. "

"Ahh... To Mr. Pendragon. He's been waiting for you. "

"I see. Thank you. "

The receptionist smiled at me then nodded.

I smiled back at her and I went to the elevator.

"Floor 5. Here we are. Now to find room 37..."

I walked around the floor for a bit.

I reached the end of the hallway and saw a huge sign with the number '537'.

I knocked on the door thrice.

"Come in! "

A voice said from inside the room.

I opened the door and someone lying on a sofa.

"Did you bring the cake? " he said.

He looks familiar... Where did I see him before?

"Hello? You there? "

"Ah! Y-yes! Here are the cakes sir! " I was caught up in my mind.

"Cakes? I only ordered one. Why are there two? " he asked.

"I don't know sir, the bakeshop gave me two boxes of cake. "

"Ahh. I see. We might have ordered two boxes instead of one. I can't see such a popular bakeshop make a mistake. "

"Ahh... Well... I'll be heading off now sir. " I bowed to Mr. Pendragon and turned around.

"Wait a minute. Take this. "

He handed one of the boxes to me.

"W-what?! I can't possibly take this sir! "

"It's fine, one is enough. And besides, you helped me a lot. "

"Are you sure sir? "

"Yup. " "

Thank you very much sir! "

"Ahaha! No problem kid! Don't sweat it. "

"Thanks again Mr. Pendragon. "

I headed out of the room, bringing the box with me.

"Pendragon huh... I wonder what Arthur would tell me about borrowing his surname? "

"Mr. Pendragon sure is a nice guy...Although he really does look familiar..."

I clutched the box on to chest.

"This box looks so fancy. The cake inside must be so expensive. "

I am really thankful for the cake. I can finally give something to Amelia.

"Wait. "

I stopped on my tracks.

"Isn't this a little bit too convenient? "

I thought to myself.

"Nah... I wonder what should I buy for dinner? "