The warmth of the Café [1]
"Are you sure you don't want me to accompany you?" Looking at Furina outside the cafe's entrance, Isaac questioned.
"There's no need," Furina shook her head as she refused him. She then placed her hands on her waist and continued, "Besides, it's about time for the café to open, is it not?"
"That's true... But still..." Isaac wanted to persist, but before he could do so, a hand suddenly blocked his mouth.
Furina, who supported herself by raising her foot to reach Isaac's height, placed her hands over his mouth.
"Mmfh...?" Surprised by Furina's sudden actions, Isaac was just about to question what she was doing when he was met with a surprise.
Chu*
A small peck on the cheek.
"There..." Trying to hide her flustered expression, Furina took her hand back as she backed away from Isaac. "Would that work...?"
"..." Isaac, on the other hand, stared at her blankly for a few moments before smirking. "How bold of you."
He then chuckled lightly and nodded at her. "Alright, have a safe trip back to the Palais, Furina."
"Je vais." Furina replied with a light nod. And, with that, she turned around and left.
However, before she disappeared, she turned around once more and waved at Isaac. As for the latter, he also waved back with his hand.
Seeing her slowly disappear, Isaac sighed and closed the door of the café.
"...what an odd turn of events." He said to himself in disbelief. "I still can't believe it..."
In this quiet café, only his voice reverberated. As the light of the morning sun shined from the windows, Isaac stared blankly at the shadows of the chairs for a moment— his eyes, full of melancholy.
At that moment, his deep amber eyes, which always looked lifeless and devoid of emotions, began to swirl with thoughts.
Tud—*
His back then leaned on the wall before he slowly slid down to the floor.
Placing his hands over his face that reached his hair, a deep audible, and heavy sigh escaped from his mouth. "Hah..."
"I've overstepped my bounds..."
His impulsive actions have now crossed the line. He was now at the point of no return— he couldn't undo his actions anymore.
With this, he had now solidified his direct interference in fate.
Him— an anomaly that wasn't supposed to be here.
'Isaac... You idiot.' Brushing back his hair with his fingers, Isaac grumbled under his breath. 'What happens if Furina's role is broken because of your actions...?'
He knows far too well how his work could have seriously impacted Furina's unspoken role. For she must act as the God of Justice— and being with a mere mortal could subvert that role.
'Her five hundred years of hard work could have gone to the gutter because of a person who shouldn't have interfered.' He bit his lip at this thought.
Remembering her sacrifice— her willingness and tenacity to endure centuries' worth of suffering— made Isaac grit his teeth. '...all her efforts could have gone to waste because of me...'
'Her deeply painful efforts...'
After this thought, Isaac fell into silence. For an unknown amount of time, he remained seated in silence on the cafe's floor, deep into contemplation.
"No..." Just then, a meek voice escaped from Isaac's mouth. He then lifted his head— however, this time, something had changed.
Isaac's left eye, under the darkness, looked as if it was giving off a luminescent deep amber glow. What differentiates it from his usual eyes is that it looks eerily creepy.
Just looking at it makes one's skin crawl with shivers.
"There's still a way to mitigate this..." As Isaac thought of this, a plan began to form in his mind. "Yes..."
Making up a plan, Isaac stood up and walked to the counter. He then took out his journal. Afterward, he took out a pen and began writing.
The sound of him frantically scribbling on his hook was the only sound present for a while, however, not long after, he finally formed the framework for his plan.
Looking at it, Isaac's eyes stayed still for a moment, checking for any vulnerabilities. After a while, he smiled wryly at his newly formed plan. "Yeah, this could work..."
"With this... There's still a chance to get everything back on track..."
Just then, another thing caught his attention.
[Notice.]
[A new quest has been created.]
[SS-Rank Quest]
[Type: Main Quest]
[Title: The Nameless King.]
[Description: It was more than a title. It was an ideology.]
[Objective:...]
Looking at the newly formed quest issued by the system, Isaac was momentarily speechless before a faint sinister smile spread across his face. "How cute of you, system. To think you'd base your new quest on my plan..."
Standing up, Isaac looked at his café for a moment before letting out a small sigh of relief.
In that momentary silence, a small smile formed on his face. "Yeah, this would work."
"...It has to."
---
"Lady Guuji, if you would, please just—"
"Enough. If you don't have anything else to say, then please, leave this mountain."
Meanwhile, over in Inazuma's Mt. Yougou's Grand Narukami Shrine, the highly-famed Head Shrine Maiden, Yae Miko, was overseeing a matter.
However, evident by her lackluster attitude, she seems to not be enjoying the talk.
"But Lady—" The man tried to continue persuading her when she suddenly cut him off.
"Don't make me say it twice." With a cold and uninterested voice, she brushed him off.
"This is your last chance."
As she said this, electro fox silhouettes began to form behind her.
Seeing the electro foxes, the man subconsciously gulped. He had heard about the Head Shrine Maiden's short temper, but he didn't think that it would be this short.
'Mission failed...!' Bowing his head, the man apologized. "My apologies, Lady Guuji. I'm sorry for troubling you today!"
"Whatever, just go." Still bored out of her mind, Yae Miko sent one electro fox after the man.
"W-wait!" Seeing this, the man's eyes widened. He then started running away while being chased away by the electro fox. "L-Lady Guuji! Please! I'm sorry!"
With that said, the man finally left the shrine and descended the mountain.
"Hmph, foolish errands." Frowning, Yae Miko rolled her eyes and turned around.
"Lady Guuji... wasn't that too much?" Just then, another Shrine Maiden got curious and asked. "I mean, you haven't even heard what he wanted yet..."
"I don't need to. I already know what he wanted." Turning around, with the same lackluster expression, she looked at the Shrine Maiden. "That fool is nothing more than a dog of the Tenryou Commission trying to rope me in their self-annihilating path."
"A... dog? And Self-Annihilation?" Utterly confused, the Shrine Maiden probed further. "What does that mean...?"
"It means he wanted me to be with their little conspiracy against the Raiden Shogun." She scoffed as she replied to the Shrine Maiden. "Truly, their arrogance has reached unprecedented bounds."
"Against the Raiden Shogun..." The Shrine Maiden was no fool, and she immediately understood what Yae Miko meant. "Are they... staging a coup d'etat against the Raiden Shogun?"
"A coup d'etat?" Upon hearing this, Yae Miko couldn't help but laugh lightly. "Haha, I'd love to see them try."
"Do you really think they have the guts to face the Raiden Shogun's Musuou no Hitotachi?"
"Of course not, Lady Guuji." The Shrine Maiden shook her head calmly. She then continued. "I was just wondering where their brains went for them to even conspire against the Raiden Shogun."
"Well, that's true." Yae Miko nodded her head. "As for your question... Well, it has something to do with a certain snowy nation."
"...oh." Immediately, everything clicked inside the Shrine Maiden's head. "Fatui?"
"Bingo." With that said, Yae Miko turned around and headed for her abode. "Well, now you have the gist of it."
"Thank you, Lady Guuji." Replied the Shrine Maiden as she bowed to her.
"Hm." Yae Miko hummed as she went inside her abode and closed the door. Within the confines of her privacy, she sighed. 'How utterly boring.'
Inside, she locked the door and looked around her room for a moment. She then looked at the door at a certain corner of the room.
Walking over it, she sighed lightly. She then grabbed the handle of the door. "Do entertain me, Isaac. It's so boring here..."
With that said, she opened the door. Immediately after, she felt that a certain amount of Mora she had on her person had disappeared. This was the payment, after all.
Afterward, Yae Miko passed through the door.
In her vision, she was enveloped by a starry sea, with nothing but the boundless stars present.
However, not long after, all those stars disappeared, and now, she was standing inside Isaac's café.
"Klee, don't bother Nahida too much."
Her ears then perked up as she heard the familiar voice that had always brought her unfound entertainment.
Standing behind the counter he usually works at, Yae Miko saw the familiar Isaac pouring a cup of coffee on a cup.
"Hehe, it's fine." On a table not far away, the white-haired child whom Yae Miko found endearing replied. "Klee is so energetic and playful, how could I pass off a chance to play?"
"That's right, Mister Isaac!" Beside her, the child in red smiled happily. "With us together, we're invincible! Nahida promised me that she'll help me improve my Jumpty Dumpties!"
Upon hearing this, Isaac's face suddenly became grim. "Oh Archons, please no..."
"Haha!" Seeing Isaac's expression, both Nahida and Klee laughed.
Seeing this warm scene, Yae Miko, who just arrived, couldn't help but smile genuinely.
Her pink tail then swayed as if it reflected her inner thoughts.
"Oh, Miko, perfect timing." Just then, Isaac finally noticed Yae Miko's presence and looked at her with a helpless expression. "Can you look after the kids? I'm afraid that they might accidentally split up an atom and well..."
Hearing Isaac's sarcastic words and the clear hint of despair present in his voice, Yae Miko, a new party that arrived, scoffed.
'That's right...This warm atmosphere is the new entertainment I am now fond of...' Smiling softly, she then looked at Isaac with a smug smile. After a moment, she opened her mouth.
"No, I don't think I will."
And it just also happened that teasing Isaac was another form of amusement for her.
---
A/N:
What's one thousand minus seven?
:)
(Definitely not foreshadowing an arc)