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Oddly enough, it was a calm day in the Suitcase. Usually, at least one person would cause some kind of trouble by that time. "It's a little too calm at the moment" Vertin thought to herself. And only mere moments after she had thought that, she heard a loud yell from the kitchen.
"WHO THE HELL TOOK MY COFFEE BEANS?!"
It was a familiar voice that had shrieked those words, Medicine Pocket...
Of course, when your sleep is dictated by the philosophy of "just whenever" and not a set schedule, it can be quite difficult to stay awake for a long time. In the 15th Century, humanity solved this problem which today is known as “coffee”. By roasting a specific kind of Ethiopian bean, and then brewing it to create a dangerous black beverage that gives you energy, people of Yemen were able to create the first known record of what is today known as "coffee". Medicine pocket was one of many—humans and arcanists alike—that drink coffee to keep themselves awake during long periods of time of being awake.
Vertin rushed to the kitchen as quickly as she could to figure out what the problem was even though it would be difficult not to have known given how loud Medicine Pocket's yell was. There, she saw Medicine Pocket rummaging through every nook and cranny of the kitchen, almost as if they were raiding the place. Vertin was visibly confused, exhausted, and worried at the same time. She was only able to get a few words out.
"Uh... Medicine Pocket? You seem quite distressed. Do you mind telling me what has happened?"
"Well, Ms. Timekeeper." They started off, with annoyance in their tone. "For starters, I have now been awake for about sixteen hours. Why do I say this? Well, it's because I'm still working on something, and therefore, I need coffee so that I can stay awake a little longer to finish what I was doing."
"Right." Vertin was still visibly confused.
"So I went into the kitchen to go make some coffee only to find that there weren't any."
"But there are plenty of coffee grounds and coffee beans right there in the pantry, are there not?"
"No, no. Those won't do for me."
"I suppose that that's a valid excuse."
"Anyhow I open the pantry and see that my coffee beans—along with all the other types that I don't care about—are gone!"
"And why exactly would that cause you to start raiding the kitchen?"
"Well obviously someone must have hidden them from me. I bet X did it."
Suddenly, the two of them hear a loud crash coming from a nearby room. They look at each other, with a knowing look of agreement.
"37! Would you mind coming over to the kitchen?" Vertin calmly shouted in the direction of the noise.
Soon enough, 37 appeared near the kitchen entrance. She then proceeded to slowly and carefully creep into the kitchen where Vertin and Medicine Pocket were standing. The two of them bore a displeased look on their faces. "What is it?" 37 asked inquisitively.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Medicine pocket said, short moments before hurling themselves towards 37 in anger. "Where did you put the beans, 37? Don't try to deny it, we know that you stole the beans!" Medicine Pocket grew angrier and angrier by the second.
"Please Medicine Pocket, I swear that I do not know what you're talking about!" 37 made a desperate plea to be released from Medicine Pocket's anger.
"Then how come all the coffee beans in the pantry are gone? And that I can't find them anywhere else in the kitchen?"
"I don't know!!" 37 yelled again, this time with slight tears starting to form in her eyes. "So please, just release me already!"
Sonetto, having heard all the commotion going on, rushed into the kitchen. She walked in on Medicine pocket who was pointing a kitchen knife at 37 and claiming that they'd cut out a liver if 37 didn't fess up to the theft.
"Uhm, excuse me," Sonetto calmly exclaimed into the room that seemed to have turned into a fighting arena in the course of just a few minutes. "What's going on here?" she asked.
"Oh, Sonetto!" Vertin answered. "You couldn't have come at a better time! You see, all the coffee had been stolen and Medicine Pocket is accusing 37 of the theft." Vertin was explaining the situation and how the fight started as best as she could.
"Hm. That does sound odd indeed." Sonetto said. "37, if it is as you claim and you did not steal the coffee beans, then do you know who did? And what was that supposed crash coming from your room?" She did not receive an answer.
This all unfolded while Marcus sat on the floor in the corner and panicked. She couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by Medicine Pocket's loud shouting directed towards 37.
"Please, Medicine Pocket, I once again ask you to release me so that I may explain!" 37 had yelled out in desperation.
"Alright. I'll give you one minute to explain." they replied.
"The crash that you heard in my room has nothing to do with the curious case of the absent beans. I was simply trying to organise some books that were stacked on the floor. Some had simply fallen over, that's all." 37 explained her situation as quickly as possible.
"Alright then, that explains the sound we heard. However, the beans are still absent." Vertin replied.
"If these false accusations have something to do with my beliefs in not consuming beans, I should tell you that I had already decided once I got here not to disrupt someone else's bean consumption even if I do not believe in it myself. Do not forget that 6 is also here, and that he follows the same beliefs that I do." 37 continued.
"She has a point." Medicine Pocket mumbled to themselves as they pulled the knife away from 37's body.
"Sonetto, go find 6 and bring him here."
"Yes, Ms. Timekeeper!" the red-haired girl replied.
After a few minutes of waiting, Sonetto returned to the kitchen with 6 in tail.
"Yes what is it?" The man with long, blond hair stands in the kitchen doorway. "I heard that you needed help with something. Although, I do not know what. At first glance when walking here, I'd assumed it was Marcus's mumbling and silent panicking, but now I think that that was just a bi- product of what the main issue is." he said, looking towards Marcus and then the little standoff between Medicine Pocket and 37.
"Well, you see," Vertin then proceeded to explain the situation yet again, this time to 6 instead of her long-known friend.
"I see." he replied. He bore a worrying look, which made the others in the room suspicious.
Behind 6, the arcanists could faintly hear a series of sniffs. Shortly followed by a series of woofs. "The puppy smells coffee." A robotic voice was heard. It was Pickles' "translator", Doggie. The room grew more silent. So silent that Marcus' mumblings could almost be understood, even though they were in Romanian, which no-one else there spoke.
"N-Now, now. Just wait a second." 6 grew ever more worried.
Finally, Medicine Pocket made an aggressive remark accusing him of stealing the beans, to which the rest soon followed. With Medicine Pocket now aiming the knife towards 6's abdomen instead, within due time, he was forced to confess to his theft and show everyone where he had hidden the beans.
After many insults, annoyances, and too much time spent arguing, Medicine Pocket's beans—as well as all the other types of coffee stolen from the pantry—had been returned to their rightful place. As well as Vertin and Sonetto giving 6 quite the scolding. Ulrich was also happy, as now he could decrypt whatever the latest code he was working on was in peace and relative silence. Oh well, all's well that ends well.