"This is the shop you mentioned?" Kawaragi Momoka asked suspiciously, looking at the shop in front of her, "Isn't it not even open yet?"
The building didn't even have a signboard; from the outside, apart from barely being able to make out tables and chairs behind the glass walls, suggesting it might be a food-related establishment, nothing else was discernible.
Not only that, but perhaps because her attention had been slightly unfocused earlier, Kawaragi Momoka had a persistent feeling that when she first arrived, this building hadn't existed at all, and it had only suddenly emerged from between two shops the moment she walked up to it, as if popping out of a fissure.
It must just be an illusion, she thought.
"It's open, it's open..." Asakura mumbled, tearing off the 'For Rent' sign posted on the shop door, perfunctorily saying.
"I can't see any progress towards opening..." Kawaragi Momoka complained, "To use a band analogy, Boss, you're only at the stage of just having bought the instruments..."
This was normal, after all, even the business direction had only just been decided yesterday.
"Nonsense, at least I already know how to read sheet music!" Asakura retorted, pushing open the shop door.
"No, you're even worse than that, hey?" Kawaragi Momoka followed Asakura into the shop with no hope whatsoever.
As soon as she entered, she was greeted by a very rich, sweet, and pleasant aroma.
Wheat flour, eggs, milk, sugar, and butter...
Undoubtedly, it was the smell of pastries.
"There's actually a cake scent..." Momoka said, stunned.
"It would be a big problem if there were other smells..." Asakura replied as a matter of course.
Momoka didn't speak, but she had actually prepared herself for the shop to be filled with lingering formaldehyde fumes, yet reality was much better than expected.
At least from the strong baking aroma, the desserts in this shop could be guaranteed to be above the passing line.
The shop's interior decor didn't feel like a cake shop; instead, its style looked more like a bar.
"Want to try some?" Asakura suddenly asked.
"What?" Momoka, who was still looking at the interior decorations, was startled, then her gaze fell on the display case by the counter, but the glass cover of the display case was empty.
"Cake..." Asakura said.
Momoka hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "Never mind, it's too much trouble and too time-consuming to bake now..."
Then she saw Asakura mysteriously disappear into the back kitchen, only to return to the counter a moment later carrying two small plates, each holding a one-sixth slice of cake.
"Come and try it. It would be too strange to work in a shop and not even know what your own shop's cake tastes like..." Asakura said, pushing the plates in front of Momoka.
Momoka curiously looked at the two Cupcakes in front of her. One was a strawberry cream cake, and the other was a chocolate Black Forest cake. Could it be that there was a refrigerator in the back kitchen? But wasn't it a bit wasteful to prepare cakes in advance before even opening?
She heard that pastry chefs wake up at four in the morning to prepare the cakes to be sold that day...
Momoka subconsciously looked towards the back kitchen; there was no sign of anyone else, which meant that this cake was very likely made by the boy in front of her, who looked even younger than herself?
Thinking that even today's breakfast was prepared by him, she couldn't help but look at Asakura with some admiration, feeling that he was the type who wouldn't seem out of place even if he said, 'Have you ever seen Chiba at four in the morning?'
—Although she had indeed seen Chiba at four in the morning a few days ago, due to staying up late to perform at some bars to earn money.
"Is it really okay for me to eat this? Cake is quite expensive, isn't it?" Momoka asked softly.
"For this, we have to thank Yanami."
"..."
Facing Kawaragi Momoka's confusion, Asakura didn't explain much, only showing a friendly smile.
He couldn't very well say that the free ingredients provided by the Magic Club from the Elf Kitchen seemed to be portioned according to the biggest appetite in the club, so there was actually always plenty of surplus.
Rather, there was a bit too much; they couldn't finish it, simply couldn't finish it...
Kawaragi Momoka was still utterly bewildered, but seeing that Asakura didn't seem to mind much, and also because she had been short on money and hadn't eaten sweets for quite a long time, as a woman, having such an opportunity was quite tempting.
So she clasped her hands together, said 'I'm going to eat,' and accepted Asakura's kindness.
The plastic fork gently cut through the snow-peak-like cream surface, revealing the cloud-like cake base. Although she initially thought the cake had been in the refrigerator for some time, it actually tasted nothing like that. The freshly whipped light cream's texture instantly filled her mouth, and the sweetness of the sugar bloomed on her tongue—it was definitely not the sticky sweetness of industrial vegetable fat, but a more high quality and delicate animal cream that brought more satisfaction.
The sponge cake base, soaked in a double baptism of maple syrup and brandy, was completely different from the ordinary chiffon cakes one could buy anywhere on the street. Every pore was saturated with amber liquid, yet it miraculously maintained a velvety fluffiness and resilience, clearly indicating that a highly skilled technique was used in the baking process. The light cake body and silky cream complemented each other perfectly, performing a wonderful duet in her mouth, as if she had held a cloud warmed by the sun, unbelievably soft and smooth.
Immediately after, a hidden surprise in the filling quietly appeared: raspberry jam, quite rare here in Japan but incredibly rich in flavor, pierced the sweet curtain with just the right amount of tartness. Dark purple berry particles burst between her teeth, complementing the slightly sour strawberry variety on top and activating all her taste buds.
Kawaragi Momoka had never truly felt the truth of the phrase 'sugar brings happiness.'
And she tasted more, much more.
But even though it was a very happy sweetness, when the raspberry jam and strawberries burst between her molars, Momoka inexplicably felt a long-suppressed feeling, whether it was grievance or hardship, suddenly well up inside her.
She clutched the cake fork tightly, as if to twist all the conflicts and divisions in the band over the years, the gurgling of the clogged toilet in the cheap rental room, and the loneliness reflected in the blurry neon lights at midnight, into this melting cream, and then swallow it whole.
There was no warning, but tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
"Is it bad?" Asakura handed her a tissue, his face showing a knowing smile.
Kawaragi Momoka didn't know what she had said to him last night after getting drunk, but at this moment, she clearly felt his tolerance and kindness.
"...It's very delicious..." she said in a muffled voice after taking the tissue, wiping her face, and then her nose.
"Thank you."