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Dearest Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well.
I am aware of the radio silence that I’ve sentenced upon all of you. These many months have undoubtedly caused you confusion and worry… and I apologize for it. I was previously not ready to involve you in the troubling situation that arose in my life, but the time has come, and I hope you can forgive me, and hear me.
Truth be told, I am sending this letter to all four of you as an invitation to come meet me personally, in the Black Citadel.
Recently, the heir to the Dark Cacao Kingdom was born.
A time for celebration has come. Something rare for my people, who know only cold and hardship… It has been a long time since I felt such a strong sense of pride and relief, and I would like to share it with you too.
I would be happy if you could come on XX.XX to meet the small child, and me.
I miss you all very much.
Stay safe.
— Dark Cacao Cookie
For a piece of Dark Cacaonian architecture, the room is cozy. Round and smooth are the cabinets and drawers, which are for now mostly empty, aside from a number of tiny onesies.
The blinds cast an interesting shadow onto the floor, thanks to the patterns of mountains sewn into the fabric.
A dark brown cradle stands in the middle of the room. A ring hangs from the ceiling right above it, and to it are attached the most varying of plush toys… Stars, clouds, and two dragons, with adorably goofy heads.
A large hand comes to gently hold onto the railing of the crib. Back and forth, the faintest rock. Dark Choco is asleep.
So so sleepy. There is probably no sleepier baby than Dark Choco Cookie—so thinks his father internally. There is probably also no sweeter baby than Dark Choco Cookie.
The little burrito slowly opens its eyes, and squints at the distant, blurry image of its father far above it. The burrito begins to squirm around, and kick its legs, as burritos do. And seeing this, father is overcome with the irresistible urge to pick it up, and cradle it in his arms.
The last two months have been exhausting, yet exciting too. The naivety of Cacao showed through when he thought that inviting his friends mere weeks after the birth would be doable—he changed his mind very quickly, and spent the time privately learning how to deal with the baby.
Most of it consisted of changing the nappy and feeding with the nippy, yes. And he also coped with the various emotions brewing up inside his head.
He did get diagnosed with postpartum depression soon after his conversation with Coffee Roll, the Second Watcher.
Due to his unique perspective, as a mother and a father at the same time, treating it was a bit challenging. The factors of being an alone-raising parent, having a history of chronic depression, high standards, self criticism, and the stress of being a king of a kingdom that eternally struggled to climb out of poverty… made everything worse.
Cacao refused to get ‘too much’ into therapy, and whatever the king says, it must be done without question.
Still, he thought that he himself made some improvements.
The general anxiety would never leave him, but moments when…
…The baby coo’d at his father…
…Yes, moments like this, allowed Cacao to forget, and enjoy the wonderful thing he was bestowed with.
“…Good morning to you too.” he mumbled with a warm rasp, hugging the little chubby body with just his hands. “You’re about to have a really busy day, little prince.”
He sighed through his nose, “You really did not let me get a wink of sleep last night, but still… we will have to meet a whole lot of Cookies. Are you excited?”
The prince squeaked.
“Good, good. Let’s feed you first, and then I’ll… get dressed for the day.”
Starting the day with nursing by breast, and then with formula, later down the day. Interlaced like this, the baby had a gradual and normal weight gain. But determining what was ‘normal’ was sometimes tricky, much to Cacao’s paranoid dismay, because he and the prince were already biologically different from every other Cookie in the kingdom. This was pretty apparent from the moment he came into the world, and was… closer to the size of a one month old, rather than a newborn—This staggering size is what destroyed his mother’s organs on the delivery, and left the mother with some issues even now, little over two months later. Cacao still found it hard to run, but little by little, with physical therapy, he made significant progress. Slow, but progress.
The prince currently resembled a large loaf of bread. Large for a two month old baby, but very much to-scale and tiny when compared to his father. Therefore, Cacao happily predicted that Dark Choco would grow up to be a very tall giant among mortals, just like himself.
The prince gained weight a bit too quickly. He was a bit blubbery for a two month old infant—but it wasn’t even close to being a dangerous problem. Looking far off into the future, as parents do, Cacao wondered if the prince will always have a pudgy appearance like this. And he was already preparing a script for a future like that; to let him know that he is perfectly fine no matter how his body looks.
As long as it doesn’t interfere with his health and stamina…
But there he was again, straying off topic and derailing in his thoughts, as the boy was being fed in his arms.
After the feeding was done, Cacao placed the baby back into the crib, and signed to a nurse that she can do the rest of the morning routine with the prince, as he was on his way to his own bedroom, just a wall away.
With the room change, came also a mood change.
Cacao stopped allowing a servant to assist him in getting dressed, as soon as he was able to walk again. He got dressed in very dim light, and didn’t allow sunlight into the room. He brushed his hair, teeth, cleaned his face, and stalled for the moment he’d have to put clothes on.
His body underwent… many visible changes. Most of them were easily disguised under Cacaonian robes—but when he looked at himself in the mirror, he was reminded of that day many months ago when he was at Golden Cheese’s kingdom, and how he looked back then, how… different nearly everything became.
He had gained weight everywhere… Muscles have softened out and retracted due to the many months of inactivity, and then several weeks pinned to one position in an infirmary bed.
His stomach looked deflated… The skin wrinkled and was darker in coloration. Little by little it did seem to pull back with time, but Cacao could already tell that he would never look like he did before. If anything, he’d have to continue having a big gut to make the loose skin less visible.
He wrapped a band around his midriff underneath his clothes to assist in pulling back this skin.
Even more scars were striped along his body now… Stretch marks around his waist, the lower stomach, and somehow they showed up on his ass too.
And of course the chest. It was still enlarged, and would probably continue to be for a time.
He wasn’t self conscious about his appearance. He told himself, but preferred to avoid looking at his reflection. Otherwise he would feel similarly to how he felt before Vanilla came to visit him.
When the king put on the layers of everyday robes on, he knew it was inevitable that his colleagues would notice that he’s more pillowy than last year. —Even his eyes were puffy from lack of sleep. He couldn’t tell if his face looked puffier in general, or if he was just starting to seek out differences in his appearance like some kind of maniac.
What will they think… when they see him after all this time… what will they ask…
A dark magenta robe was chosen for today. Golden patterns were embroidered into the chest area and shoulders. Only the king is allowed to have this diamond shape embroidered into it. The wide belt wrapping around his waist had characteristic metal plates embedded into it—which also conveyed his status as a king.
Dark Cacao patted the fabric of his skirt to flatten it… and the look was finished off with his crown.
…You look manly, yes. And ever dignified.
When you gave a speech to the Cookies of the Dark Cacao Kingdom last night, and showed the world the face of the sleepy little prince, it felt like the entire world beamed and radiated joy for a moment. The drums continued to boom, and then a celebration began…
This was really happening, hmm? None of what happened felt real until that very moment.
Cacao’s heart skipped a beat when he remembered that his friends would come to visit him today. It was going to be a very, very busy day…
A tall figure marches through Cacaonian snow, her thick, fur-adorned mantle fluttering and bellowing in the wind. Her energy is undying, for someone who traveled several kilometers in this climate on foot—Unfortunately she could only venture until a certain point in the mountains with her retainers and carriage—But every time Queen Hollyberry came to visit this neighboring kingdom, she felt like it was a fun challenge, rather than a hurdle. Killing a couple of wild monsters on the way was just a part of the fun.
She lifted her head, shielding her face from the wind with a hand, and began laughing—“Ahahaha! Look at that! We’re getting close!”
The Black Citadel finally showed up on the horizon, and conveniently, that’s when the wind seemed to slow down and soften. “Still a good few marches to go, I reckon. Well then.” she gripped the handle of her luggage tighter, “Let’s keep movin—”
She could hear a faint whistle, or, a prolonged peeping coming from the sky.
“…Hoh?” Holly raised her eyes towards the clouds.
What was that, was that a hawk? She squinted at the rapidly approaching, falling , figure from the sky. The figure seemed to have a suspiciously shimmery set of golden wings, flapping wildly.
“By the Witches, it’s Golden Cheese, falling from the sky like a thrown bag of peas!” Holly let go of her bag to wave her arms,“Golden Cheese Cookie! Here, girl! Look over here!!”
The flailing of a pink thing in the snow seemed to catch the bird’s attention, because Golden Cheese redirected her fall. But Holly could not tell if her friend was intentionally trying to land… or about to crash, and break all bones in her body. She looked unstable.
“GET OUT OF MY WAAAAY!!”
Holly jumped when she heard Cheese’s yell, realizing the other wanted to do a crash landing—and lunged to the side to get out of her path!
All Holly saw was a bundled up figure shooting down from the sky like an asteroid, and then an explosion of soft snow, which quickly rained back down again.
“C-Cheese! Are you okay?!” she sprinted to the hole of impact, “What even happened?!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Cheese quickly replied, in a jittery voice, “Except I’m freezing cold and on the verge of death…!”
“Oh come here, let me help you up.” Holly offered her hand to the girl, who accepted it and pulled herself up right away. When Golden Cheese stood upright, she turned out to be much taller than Hollyberry. “What a reckless thing for you to do! A crash landing?!” Holly scolded with concern in her voice.
“I didn’t do it intentionally! I absolutely LOATHE this climate…!”
It was certainly unusual to see Golden Cheese wear something opposite of her usual outfit. Bundled up in a coat, so bundled up, that she had to abstain from decorations and jewelry. These clothes definitely interfered with her flight ability. Shivering, she hugged herself with her arms, and her wings.
“I thought I’d experiment if there’s a certain atmosphere level in the Dark Cacao Kingdom that I can fly in without freezing, and I did find one, but I got clumsy, and suddenly totally lost control of my wings…!”
“Oh dearie, let’s get you warmed up!” Holly wrapped her arms around Cheese’s stiff body, and the other snuggled back without hesitation. “I told you that going on foot is the best option once you’re at the Giant Icing Ridge… Cacao told you too…”
“But I wanna try out every option!” Cheese grumbled, leaning her cheek against Holly’s pink head. “But anyway… I’m really happy to see you…”
“I’m happy to see you too, sunbird!” Holly chuckled, “I wonder if we’ll be the first ones to arrive.”
“Uuugh, I hope so…” Cheese groaned, “And I lost all my baggage on the way here…”
“What?!”
“It flew off with the wind. Some fool’s gonna find it and make a fortune…”
“Oh how awful. You’ve really had an awful morning, eh?”
“Yeah, I just want to be in the castle already, and stay in a hot bath for the entire time I’m there…” grumble grumble, “Chocolate baths aren’t as good as molten cheese baths, but they’re good too…”
And with that rapid meeting, Hollyberry and Golden Cheese continued dragging themselves towards the Black Citadel. Cheese was being very brave about it.
When they began to delve through the tall pine forest, the avian queen spoke up, a sigh exiting her lips, “Dark Cacao, huh… Been a while since I last saw that pile of wood…”
“Hmm, yes…” Holly responded fondly, “His letter was quite shocking, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, certainly, since he hasn’t spoken a word to me since last year’s March.”
“Huh? He hasn’t?”
“Uh-huh.” Cheese blew hot air into her gloved, cupped hands, “And he never even said goodbye. We had business to do in my kingdom, but at one point he made a scene, and then left the kingdom while I was elsewhere.”
“What!?” Holly gasped, “That’s… unbelievably rude of him!”
“He’s got some nerve to leave me like that, and then send me a letter eight months later, asking me to come visit and celebrate the birth of his baby.” Cheese scowled, “He better have a really good excuse for all of this.”
“Hmmh. Well now I understand why you’ve been so angry…” Holly frowned, “He left everyone in the dark, though. So whatever happened, it really must’ve been horrible.”
“Yeah, when you point it out like that…” Cheese huffed, “In that case, he better have a really good apology to all of us.”
And with a slightly uncomfortable atmosphere hanging in the cold wind, they walked on.
A smile was brought to Hollyberry’s face once they reached the village surrounding the Black Citadel. All around the kingdom were the remains of what seemed like a festival, from the day before.
Extinguished paper lanterns, long empty tables with crumbs and emptied plates… It wasn’t the Dark Cacao Kingdom she recognized!
“What the heck~!” Holly prepped her hands on her hips, “What is that fragrance in the air! Sugar? Tapioca? Icing? Something crazy happened here!”
Cheese watched a couple of warriors removing a large drum from the top of the giant wall. “Cacao had a huge party and deliberately invited us after it’s over?”
“Aw, don’t be so stingy!” Holly elbowed her, “Cacaonians are very demure, y’know. If there was some kind of festival to celebrate the birth of the prince or princess, then it probably was like a religious celebration.”
“Hmm. Yes, you’re right. I forgot how faithful and honor-bound they are.” Cheese added softly, “We all have traditions that are special and private.”
“Come on, we’re almost there!”
———
A dainty pair of fingers removed the dark green mantle off White Lily’s shoulders. “I can do it myself, you know.” she teased her friend lightly, as powdery bits of snow fell down to the floor. All Vanilla did was laugh and smile.
Cacao was having an exchange with one of his servants as he waited for his first two guests to take off their soaked garments. He returned to the proximity of Vanilla and Lily once he was done, twiddling his fingers. “I hope the rest is going to arrive here soon.” he spoke lowly, “Our group usually arrives in one place all at the same time. Do you think Hollyberry and Golden Cheese are being held back by something?”
“Relax, dear friend. It has only been ten minutes!” Vanilla replied.
“Last day’s festival may have brought in the attention of beasts. They are lured into populated areas by the sugary scent of Cookies, and jellies…” catastrophized Cacao.
“Both Hollyberry and Golden Cheese are great warriors, Cacao.” Lily’s soft voice reached his ears, “They wouldn’t be held back by a few cake monsters!”
“…” Cacao scratched his chin, “You’re right.”
A royal retainer approached his side. With their hands behind their back, they informed their king; “The gate has just been opened for Hollyberry Cookie and Golden Cheese Cookie.”
“Ah!” he lit up, pleasantly surprised, “They’re here! Are they uninjured?”
“Uninjured as far as I noticed, my lord.”
“Splendid!” with newfound pep, Cacao ran past Vanilla and Lily, and dragged the heavy palace doors open with his hands. The doors closed behind him when he entered the vestibule.
Vanilla chuckled after a moment, “He’s quite energetic today, isn’t he~”
“Maybe he drank coffee…” Lily smiled too.
———
As the two queens ventured down the bridge, they spotted a familiar figure coming in their direction from the other end.
“Ah!” Holly lit up, “Dark Cacao!!”
Cheese’s curled wings shook themselves into a flight-ready position, and with a mischievous grin, she began sprinting at the dark king ahead.
“Hey, wait up!!” Holly ran after her.
They ran, kicking away white snow, and though Cheese was just a tinge faster thanks to her wing propelling, she halted right before making impact with Cacao, and Holly crashed into him instead. The king nearly lost his balance, letting out loud grunt—
“Cacaoo!” Holly squeezed the devil out of him, “You old bull, I haven’t seen you in forever!!!”
“I’m glad to see you’re in one piece.” Cacao stabilized himself before returning the firm hug, “We’ve been waiting for you. Pure Vanilla and White Lily are already inside.”
“I’m happy to see you too~~!!” she sung.
Now, usually when Cacao and Holly were greeting each other like this, the unspoken tradition was that Holly would lift him up from the ground and twirl him around like a sack of potatoes, yet much to her dismay, this was suddenly… harder to do! She mustered up even more strength, yet could only get Cacao to stand on his toes.
“…Ahem.” Cacao made an awkward smile.
“What the heck…! Did I get weaker, or somethin’!?” she pulled away to pout at Cacao’s face.
“You came a long way, carrying that luggage, friend.” he glanced towards it, “You’ll regain your strength after sitting inside and warming up.”
“And me…!” Golden Cheese spoke up, “I’m freezing solid!”
“Oh, Golden Cheese, I’m happy to see you too, of course.” Still held by Hollyberry, Cacao offered her a hand, “Did you come here without any bags?”
“I had a bit of an accident, I need a bath, and those Cacaonian robes you had commissioned for me!” she ordered, circling past the cuddle pile, “Let’s all hug each other when we’re inside!”
“An accident? What? What happened?” Cacao asked, sincerely concerned.
“She nearly crashed into me when we were approaching the Black Citadel.” Holly answered.
“What!?”
———
Finally, all five of the heroes were in one room.
“Ahh! There they are!” Unable to contain his excitement, Vanilla broke out into a sprint, and greeted Hollyberry with a loving hug. He greeted her with a kiss to each cheek, prompting the queen to giggle. “My, Vanilla! I didn’t think you missed me this much!”
“But of course I did~ You look amazing!”
“You too, little guy! Hahahaha!”
Lily had a more calm approach to greeting the new visitors. But she lit up with a smile, when Cheese entered the palace, and began shaking the leftover snow out of her wings onto a mat.
“Golden Cheese…!” She approached the golden queen.
“Hm? Hey! How are you?”
“I’m good, but… you look cold.”
“Yeah, I’m not… not built for this weather at all.”
“I can hear your teeth chattering…” Lily’s knuckle came to gently dab Cheese’s cheek. She gasped, “Gosh, you’re really cold! Let’s warm you up with water— I’ll show you where the bathroom is…!”
Lily took her hand, leading her.
“T-Thank you! How kind of you!” Cheese let herself be led by the smaller girl, “You’re quicker to make the offer than the host of the building.” …She gave Cacao a look as she went past him.
What followed was all of the heroes going into separate rooms to switch into warm, dry, Cacao-appropriate clothes. This was an absolutely essential part of Cacaonian etiquette. They would not sit at a table together before this was out of the way. Cacao used spare time to order tea and coffee to be freshly brewed for his colleagues before their return.
Finally, they all met up in front of the steep stairs that led to Dark Cacao’s throne. He was sitting on it and partaking in a hushed exchange with a certain female servant, until his friends strided into the room from four different directions.
“Ah, now if you’ll excuse me.” he stood up from his seat, “You know what to do in the meantime.” he muttered to his servant, descending down the stairs.
“Whew, finally we can all meet for real.” said Holly.
“These robes are very comfortable, Cacao, I’ll give you that. They’re much warmer than what I was wearing…” Cheese added.
“How long has it been since we all met up in the Dark Cacao Kingdom? Usually our group meets up in either Pure Vanilla or Hollyberry’s palaces.” Lily added softly.
“It must’ve been at least two years… Yup… two years since I was in Cacao’s Kingdom…” Vanilla answered, crossing his fingers behind his back.
At last, the host, the Cacaonian king finally contributed, holding his hands before himself.
“I am beyond happy that all of you decided to come.” he was calm and collected, “You’ve all come a long way, through a very difficult road. Let us sit in the dining hall for our meeting. You deserve a warm meal.”
He beckoned them with a hand to follow after him, “Would anyone like coffee, ginger tea? We have hot cocoa too.”
Cheese: “Ginger tea!”
Holly: “Cocoa!”
Vanilla: “Tea, please!”
Lily: “Anything is fine, uhm… Tea?”
“Ah,” Cacao smiled to himself, “Versatile as always.”
Palace workers couldn’t help but stare at the group of misfits that followed after their king like a flock of ducklings. It never ceased being strange to see the recluse king babble on with these… rambunctious lot!
“The incense smells nice.” Lily turned to Cacao.
“Thank you. I like it too.” Cacao replied.
“This tapestry is gorgeous!” Holly pointed. It presented a somewhat abstract image of Dark Cacao, conquering a horde of monochromatic dragon serpents.
“Thank you. The artist was Crème Fraîche Cookie, I believe.” Cacao answered, nodding.
They just babbled on endlessly, but all intentionally avoided the most pressing question at hand…
Vanilla and Lily were right behind Cacao, and Holly and Cheese remained in the back. Admiring the palace of their friend was good and all, and they could get down to the baby business when the time was right… but Golden Cheese felt bothered by Cacao’s clueless-playing.
She cleared her throat at one point, “Hey, Cacao.”
He stopped walking and turned around, as did Vanilla and Lily—“Yes?”
“Don’t you think you have some explaining to do?” she crossed her arms, “And I’m not talking about the topic of your letter.”
As she said that, her three other friends seemed to understand and agree with what she was asking for. Everyone turned to Cacao with expressions of concern and skepticism.
“……Yes.” Cacao got it out of himself after a few seconds, “You are right, you are… yes. Well…”
Vanilla peeked up at Cacao with one pale, yellow eye, as the other explained himself.
“But those two things directly correlate. It will all make sense, why I didn’t want to meet any of you, after I—”
“I’m not talking about that, I’m talking about the way you left me hanging last year…!” Cheese spoke loudly, but she was not angry. More like sad. “After the conference in Pure Vanilla’s kingdom we traveled to my palace, and at one point you just got up and left, without even saying anything! You left while I was oblivious!”
“Ah.” his eyes widened slightly, “Yes, you’re right. I did do that.”
“…Do you have an explanation for that?”
The other three ancients just glanced between Cacao and Cheese on opposite ends of the group.
“I…I was so overcome with shame, that I thought you’d be happier if you didn’t have to see me any day longer.”
“Wow, how pitiful.” Cheese scoffed, “Stop making things about yourself for once!!”
“Hey, hey,” Vanilla’s hands and voice appeared in their field of vision, “Let’s rewind so that everyone is on the same page. Both of you should tell how you viewed the situation back then, one after another, so that we understand what went on inside your heads.”
“Very well.” Cheese placed her hands on her hips, “We had scheduled a meeting with a VIC up in the mountains in the morning. Cacao came about fifteen minutes too late to the meeting, made condescending remarks about my disdain for rain— it was raining, by the way!—and was nagging the whole time. He walked slowly, so I went ahead and sped up a bit. I thought that’d motivate him to go faster, but no, turns out, he went somewhere else ,” Cheese furrowed her brows, “and when I went back to where I left him, he was still there, and began arguing that I leave my people in need, and ignore them. I don’t care if he realized he acted like an asshole afterwards, I ended up doing my business by myself. When I returned to the castle, I thought he would’ve had enough time to think about what he did, but he was simply gone. My retainer informed me that he just got up with his servants and left.”
“Oooh.” Holly looked baffled.
“…That is all true.” Cacao confirmed, “But I can not explain what happened inside my head, not yet…”
“Seriously?!” Cheese facepalmed, “You just decided to be a total cunt for no reason, that day?!” her voice cracked, “That’s so not like you! Do you know how depressed I was? I spent months wondering if I was in the wrong, and if you hate me! Seeing that you hid yourself from the world, I wondered if I caused all of it!”
“No!” he put both his hands up, “I tried to explain it to you back then, but you did not let me!”
Cacao stepped forward, prompting his colleagues on the way to part, and allow him to come close to Golden Cheese. “Still, still I had received terrible news, but there’s no excuse for why I was so curt to you…”
The group raised their brows, as Dark Cacao came down to the floor and kneeled. When he lowered his head until it met the ground, his crown slid off and rolled away with a metallic clang.
“I am sincerely, truly sorry.”
He said, after three perfectly measured seconds.
Cheese stared at the vulnerably revealed back of his head with a blank expression.
Vanilla leaned to Lily, whispering, “I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him bow like this.”
Lily whispered back, “I think it’s a long-lost tradition from the prehistoric age. Ages before the Dark Cacao Kingdom. It’s inconvenient to do with the modern design of his crown and robes, but once upon a time, northern Cookies would kowtow…”
Cacao’s voice was flat as he spoke to the floor, “I do not know how else to convey to you the deep regret and shame I feel, Golden Cheese Cookie.”
“Hmmm.” Cheese shifted her weight from one foot to another, discreetly enjoying the submissive position Cacao took in front of her. “Well well…”
“Please forgive me.”
“Fine,” she gestured with her hand, “Of course I forgive you, silly! You don’t need to beg for forgiveness. All I wanted is for it to dawn on you how severely you hurt my feelings.”
Cacao rose up from the fetal position, sitting on his knees instead. His expression and voice boomed with complete resolution, “I hope to lift your spirits with all my might, to make up for the loss. May you have a pleasant stay in my kingdom. May it make up for the…”
“Yes, yes, I’m sure you will, big guy.” she patted his head. A one in a lifetime moment where Cacao was shorter than her, and without a spiky crown on his noggin. He took the headpats with unwavering seriousness.
“Aww, you solved this conflict beautifully!” Holly clapped her hands, “My knees are hurtin’ from all the standing though, can we go sit down already?”
“Yes.” Cacao got on one knee, and pulled himself up to stand. Golden Cheese offered him his crown, smirking. He accepted it. “…Thank you.”
The dining room was only a short distance away from where they paused. Cacao held the dark crown in his hands instead of putting it on as he walked, everyone was silent.
His voice had a somber note, “There is one last thing you all should know before we sit down and talk about the… the baby…”
“Hmm?” Lily tilted her head.
“W-What is it? You sound serious.” Holly added.
“Cacao…” Vanilla asked anxiously. He predicted what the other would be about to say.
“…” The dark king stammered, “A…
…A lot of food was prepared yesterday for the national holiday and festival my kingdom celebrated. The leftovers must be finished before anyone can think about cooking new food. Nothing can go to waste. But the drinks will be fresh. …I, I hope you don’t mind…”
Four heroes asked in unison, “ That’s what you were so nervous to tell us about?! ”