Unlike the rest of the building, this was the one room where everything was in order -wooden stations with a rolling pin in the centre of each. Different-sized bowls stacked on top of each other in the corner, right next to whisks, pipes, and other pâtissier accessories. At the end of this incredible bakery stood the most stunning, giant brick oven, already roaring with life, fire, and sparks.
Despite the chaos at the front of the house, this kitchen was incredibly organised. Everything had its place, chosen with careful consideration. It was a space created by passionate, knowledgeable people.
"Jiro! Come here, sweety!" Fiona called from the pâtissier station. Jiro quickly made his way towards her. "Our little Cassie has the biggest sweet tooth on the planet, so this place is dear to my little girl. Be sure to ask before touching anything, ok?"
"Of course, ma'am," Jiro answered with a kind smile.
"Hmph! It's not like I care about sweets or anything!" exclaimed Cassie, now standing in the doorframe, already in her baker's outfit – a simple t-shirt and a white apron. She flipped her long black hair over her shoulder in an attempt to seem nonchalant, but her heavy breathing and the apron being inside out betrayed the fact that she had rushed here.
"Oh, honey," Fiona giggled, "but you love sweets so much! You even sing to the little muffins after baking. How was it? Oh, right!"
~Sweet little muffin, you'll be yummy for days. I'll get sprinkles and chokies on your honey glaze~
"MOM!" Cassie screamed, terrified as her face suddenly glowed bright red. She quickly hid behind the door.
Her mother chuckled softly.
"Cassie, don't worry. Jiro seems like a nice man. I'm sure he doesn't mind."
"Of course. Where I come from, talking to pastry is something many people do,"
"Really?" Cassie asked, peeking her head from behind the corner.
"Absolutely!"
(Not. Who sings to muffins?)
Cassie returned to her previous position in the doorframe, swatting dirt off her cute apron. She looked both like a wounded animal scared of emotional damage and an absolute diva ready to dish out some sass at any second.
"Hmph! It's not like I care what you think!"
*sigh* "Come on, lad. Let me show you how it's done," said Rory, slightly embarrassed by his daughter's behaviour.
"Yes, sir!" said the young hero with enthusiasm.
He quickly walked over to one of the dark oak tables to collect a white matching apron and tied it behind his back, ready for work. He rolled up the sleeves of the white shirt he managed to buy at the adventurer's guild after his drinking bender. His heavy leather boots stomped heavily on the granite floor with his determination. Despite his general dislike of working, he didn't want to betray the trust Carmen Evergreen, the bakery's owner, had placed in him. It was time for the hero to prove what he's made of.
Although he had not yet entirely transformed into the professional Jiro, as he passed Cassie on his way to the work bench, the young man could not stop himself and, under his breath, so quietly that only the person next to him could hear, he hummed a soft, happy melody.
~Sweet little muffin~
The young adventurer winked and rushed towards Rory before Cassie had a chance to react, her face was now beetroot red. The faun girl quickly turned around, pretending to read the recipe she knew like the back of her hand. She would rather let the earth swallow her than let this guy see it. This was the third time Jiro had made her blush. Her heart began pounding against her ribcage with an irritating echo. Nobody had ever made her feel this way before. She turned her head to sneak a peek at the hero, but instead of doing so secretly, Jiro coincidentally looked at her at the same moment. Their eyes met. The young man's lips curved into a kind smile, which made Cassie's heart do a little flip. Her tsundere nature made her retreat, her face revealing her sudden unfamiliar emotions.
Jiro chuckled and approached Rory.
"Listen here, laddie. We will teach you how to make sweets, cakes, pastries, and everything you could imagine, but first you need to learn how to make proper bread. Go grab the flour, and I'll show you the art of kneading the dough"
"Sure thing, boss!"
Jiro walked over to the cupboard to get what Rory had requested. As he retrieved a huge bag of flour, he noticed a small photo hidden behind on the top shelf. Curiosity got the better of him. It was a regular family photo, showing all four members baking a large loaf of bread together. Cassie's face was covered in dough, Rory was holding her up like a child, and Fiona was smiling and laughing as a young man put the bread in the oven. He was tall, wearing a military uniform. His hair was as dark as night, but his smile was brighter than the sun. It must have been the family's oldest son.
"Master Rory? Does your son also work in the bakery? I'd love to "Jiro suddenly stopped, remembering a much newer picture of just the three of them. The young man's military uniform was also a big clue that was hard to miss. "I'm so sorry. It's none of my business"
Middle-aged faun looked at the photo with a nostalgic smile. In that moment, he seemed to remember all the good times he had shared with his son, all the birthdays, fishing trips, moments at the bakery, and how proud he was when his own blood joined the knight's order to defend their kingdom. But at the same time, he remembered he would never have new memories of him.
"It's fine, kiddo", he said, walking over to Jiro. He took the photo and looked at it for a second before pointing at the young faun in the picture. "That one there is Callum. My firstborn son. My pride. He was killed in battle two years ago." An uncomfortable silence fell between Rory and Jiro. Neither of them knew what to say in that moment, but thankfully, Fiona placed her palm on her husband's shoulder, offering him comfort.
"Cal was the kindest little soul there ever was. He and Cassie were inseparable, so when we received the news from Captain Galeon about how the Demon Lord's offspring defeated our sweet little boy… It changed her. It changed us."
"I'm really sorry for your loss."
As Jiro looked over to the exit, he managed to notice Cassie's black hair behind the door. It was still too painful for her to talk about her brother, which is why she stayed just out of reach.
"Maybe it's a little selfish of us, but to be honest, now that our little girl is going off to the academy, and Cal is gone, the main reason we wanted to hire someone was because with just me and my husband, it would feel… empty"
Fiona looked at Jiro with a gentle smile, hiding two years of excruciating grief over her son.
"We try to live as a happy family, but there's always something missing. I was hoping that, maybe, if someone else came into our lives, the dynamic would shift. I'm sorry. It's not fair of us to expect you to come in and fix our family when you're trying to do your job. I apologise. I was out of line."
Jiro shook his head, his eyes full of understanding and empathy.
"Please don't apologise, ma'am. It's not easy to live with that emptiness. I understand you wanted something to change. Although I'm just here to bake bread, I hope that maybe my presence will be enough to help you as a family as well."
"Jiro…" Fiona wiped a single tear from her rosy cheek.
"I promise to do good work, ma'am. And I do hope I could become a part of this bakery."
The young man picks up the large bag of flour and throws it over his shoulder as he walks to the workbench to start baking bread. Rory and Fiona join him closely, with hopeful smiles.
"Well, nothing we can do about it, can we?" said Rory. "All we can do is accept the reality and move on."
"Speak for yourself," said Jiro, surprising even himself with how harsh it came out. He quickly covered his mouth to stop the words from escaping, but he wasn't quick enough: "I'm sorry for that."
Faun's words triggered the hero in a way he never thought they would. Jiro had never actually considered what Rory proposed - moving on and accepting the reality. Those concepts felt alien to him, as if they were personally attacking him.
"Lad? Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I was out of line."
"That's not what I mean."
Jiro turned his head towards the married couple, but instead of their friendly faces, he only saw their blurry silhouettes. Like they were standing in the centre of dense fog. He rubbed his eyes, but his vision didn't improve. Instead, all he felt was sudden wetness on the back of his hand. His eyes were filled with tears, flowing freely down his cheeks. He wasn't sobbing or choking on crying. His voice was steady, as if only his eyes decided to give in to his overwhelming grief.
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me."
"Honey, it's ok," Fiona said, placing her palm on his cheek. "You must be in so much pain."
His eyes widened to moons with absolute shock, for the first time someone acknowledged the agony he was storing deep inside his soul. He didn't say anything. Jiro nodded.
"What happened?" the mother of the family asked.
"I... I don't… Did Ms Evergreen tell you I'm an otherworlder?"
"Yes, she did mention it."
"I was summoned here just a few days ago. I was at the royal palace. Everyone was telling me how big an honour it is to be a hero. But then I got completely discarded like I was nothing. Thrown out to fend for myself."
"That must have been really difficult."
Jiro shook his head.
"That didn't matter. The only thing was… I never asked for this. I didn't want to be a hero. I didn't want to be transported here. I didn't want to have an adventure….
...
…
…
I didn't want to lose my life."
The young Japanese man started choking on sobs, letting the tears flow naturally. He couldn't stop them anymore. He didn't want to.
"I had a family. Mom, Dad, sister, brother, aunties, uncles, grandparents, friends, a crush, dreams, plans, home, school, dog, bike, sneakers, phone, favourite ramen shop, bloody fried chicken coupons. I had everything stripped away from me. After my auntie Sana died, I read every book there was about processing grief. I studied it for months to help myself.
None of them said how to grieve after an entire world."
Silence.
Not a sound in the air after this sentence.
Even Jiro's tears stopped flowing, as if he didn't even have the motivation to cry anymore.
Suddenly, soft sounds of hooves clicking on the floor broke the silence. They became quicker and quicker, louder and louder, until they stopped abruptly, only for Jiro to feel the weight of a tight hug from behind.
Cassie had her slim arms wrapped around his waist. Her face pressed against his back tightly, feeling each other's warmth. Soon after, Fiona joined in, with Rory soon following.
(This feels… familiar)
After what felt like five minutes of a silent, comforting hug that seemed to heal everyone involved, the faun family stepped away. It's possible they needed that hug just as much as he did.
"Thank you…" said Jiro, "and sorry. I think hearing someone say to move on triggered me a little."
"It's ok, laddie," Rory said, putting his hand on the youngster's shoulder. "You're fine now. I think it's safe to say fate brought us all together for a reason. Home who lost a boy, and a boy who lost a home."
Jiro looked at him with amazement and smiled brightly through leftover tears. He clasped his hands together with excitement. Not faked this time. Genuinely happy to be here.
"I'm ready to learn how to make bread now, sir, if you'll show me!" he said with his chest puffed out—standing straight as if he were on the side of a military parade.
Fiona looked at Cassie and reached for her. She squeezed her daughter's hand in silent understanding. They both knew that, despite being here for less than an hour, Jiro was no longer just a random employee. He was here to stay, and maybe even to become part of this family, which had been haunted by grief for years.
The men rolled up their sleeves, ready to work. The master of this bakery pulled out a large ball of prepared dough and divided it into two equal portions. He positioned himself at the workbench in front of one of the halves. Jiro quickly followed.
"Alright, laddie. Now listen. It's all in your wrists. You need to be both firm and gentle. Slow and explosive. Kneading dough is like forming a parent-child relationship with your future bread loaf. You need to know when to pamper and when to discipline. Do you think you've got it in you?"
"YES, SIR!"
"That's the spirit! Step One: Sprinkle flour around the station to prevent it from sticking."
"Sprinkle flour."
"Step Two: Stretch the dough as far as you can without ripping it."
"Streeeeetch the dough."
"Step Three: Fold it in half."
"Fooooold."
"Step Four: Punch the dough."
"Punch…"
*BANG!!!*
The full might of the hero's unlimited power was accidentally unleashed on the piece of dough. A shockwave could be felt all the way in Malro village, on the frontier of Arame. Peasants across the kingdom believed it to be a great awakening of the fantastic hell beasts from the gates of the underworld.
But back in Rosalia, where once there was a lively family bakery, now only a heap of rubble inside a crater remained. Nothing was left of the beloved neighbour's favourite spot. In the middle of this chaos, the hero stood, confused and scared by what had just happened. Right beside him, the faun family stared in complete disbelief.
Jiro turned his head towards Rory.
"So… am I…."
"Fired. You're fired."
"Yup, yup, yup. Makes sense. Yeah. Cool."