Somewhere hidden in the distant streets of the Capital, resided a humble café. Away from the noisy crowds and chatter, only a handful of people of people passed by. Most were young students or adventurers travelling to and from the Institute, donning from simple uniforms to armour.

This street was a rather popular place to pass through for a certain crowd, despite how quiet it seemed. A mixture of delectable scents hovered in the cool air beneath the afternoon sun as people left the café with bright smiles. In their hands, were small baked treats and sweets. Some left the store with paper cups containing the delicious cinnamon coffee.

The wooden interior was rather spacious for how little the amount of people would settle and eat inside. Most of the time, they’d come and take their tasty orders on the go. Not that the cat-eared owner minded – he was just as happy to serve them with nothing but a pleasant smile.

He remained behind the wooden counter, exchanging coins and hot pastry to the eager customers. This man was the owner of the café, and he beared the name of Catil Tanu, hence the store’s name – ‘Tanu Treats’.

It was a rather foreign name, considering his mother was a demi-human from Cryo in the far west. But it didn’t stop hungry adventurers and students from taking a chance of a bite from their store.

For the few people who were seated and awaiting their orders – a certain blonde-haired man gracefully tended to them.

“Sir, your coffee.” He masterfully placed the mug of the delicious-scented beverage in front of a man before returning to the room behind the counter.

This was Allen, the ex-adventurer who returned to working in the café his brother owned. In the times Catil had to teach in the Institute, his sister-in law would take over the store-front.

Just remembering the woman caused him to let out a weak sigh. Disappearing into the curtains of the door, he entered a spacious kitchen. Various cooking wares were fitted compactly around the room. Another door sat at the far end, which led to a ‘break’ room and the Tanu residence.

Another figure joined him the kitchen. A girl with short, brown hair and thick, fuzzy eyebrows skilfully worked at a flaming stove. Her pale gown was pristine, despite how intimate she was with the meals she made.

This was Bailey, and unlike her uncle who specialised as a pastry chef, she was responsible for the hot meals on the menu. Currently, she was preparing a handful of meat sandwiches and fried potato chips. It was a rather new dish which was requested a while back by a group of Otherworlders. Apparently, it was a staple back in their world.

She enjoyed cooking. Even before she became an adventurer, cooking was something she dearly held to heart. It was the only thing she could come back to after their encounter with Uru.

A sigh of relief left the petite girl as Allen gently set aside a fresh batch of cinnamon rolls.

“What’s wrong? Already missing the thrill of adventure?” He laughed at Bailey.

“Uncle, you’re the one who suggested that we should quit.” She reminded with a small smirk.

“After that insanity – there’s no way I’d even consider going back. We fought a damn demon and lived to tell the tale.”

“If we tell anyone, Uru will finish off what she started.” Bailey nervously spoke. Just the mere mention of the demon sent dangerous chills down her spine.

It was largely the same for Allen, but for an entirely different reason. It jogged the memory of Bailey’s kiss with death, her heart clenching escape from the beams, and to top it all off – her flight towards the demon.

The events were something he’d expect a veteran adventurer to retell at an inn. And by no means was he anywhere close to being a capable adventurer.

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Exrite suddenly came to mind. A mere human, even if they were the Exrenity, managed to stand tall at the face of death.

“The man had a sword but didn’t use it once. Just a bloody one-handed crossbow.” He didn’t know how to feel towards Exrite. “With a build like that, he’d be better off with a bow and arrow. What do you think?”

“We can’t judge someone when we couldn’t do anything ourselves.” Bailey responded sharply as she gently constructed the sandwiches. “It was probably a backup weapon. You don’t see a lot of people with swords as their main weapon anyway. Unless it’s a big one, or they’re well trained.”

“You make a good point…” He admitted. “But really – Khaos’ was waaay too big to even be called a sword. It looked like a damn propeller ripped straight from an old airship engine.”

In these parts, the sword was a fairly common weapon to have on a person. It was dubbed ‘the adventurer’s weapon of choice’ for its ease of use, access and less restrictive carry. If the time called for it, a sword would always be there for the wielder.

But this was only common in Truebirth because it was just monsters and animals to subjugate. Against other humans, they’d have a much tougher time, especially if they had plated armour.

“Anyway – is this any better than adventuring?” Allen asked as he brought the wrapped treat and a coffee towards the exit.

“One hundred times better. At least we won’t have to fight a demon here.” Bailey hummed and brought the sandwiches and chips along, neatly composed on a pale plate.

“Damn right. And we’ll get more time to watch the airship’s construction.” He laughed enthusiastically and disappeared behind the veil of cloth. A second later he cried, “Careful, it’s piping hot!”

Baily took in a deep breath, the amazing scent of her creation along with the delicious cinnamon cascaded her body in nothing but bliss. With a single huff, she put on her friendliest smile as she brushed her fuzzy eyebrow.

“I hope they’ll like this.”

* * *

As night began to fall, the store seemingly grew busier. Around this time, was what they considered to be their ‘peak’ hour. Adventurers and students often left the Institute at this time and sought for something sweet or savoury to restore their vitality. After a long day of hard work with magic practice and theory, one should spoil themselves, right?

The café perfectly provided for them. Before Allen and Bailey’s help, it was only Catil’s wife, Mela, who attended the pastries and meals. Truly, she was an incredible chef, but even she had her own limitations. Until now, lines were often congested. It was a godsend for Bailey’s parents, although they were concerned as to why she and her uncle had suddenly quit adventuring.

Two days ago, Bailey broke into tears with Allen embracing her with an unusually stern face. It alone was enough to convince them that something had gone awry, and they let it be. After all – they didn’t want their only daughter to be sad.

As her mother said: “Honey~ It’s fine. Just do what you think is right for you. We’ll be rooting you on!”

The energetic woman was staggeringly different than what Allen was used to, but he let that slide.

Returning to the present, he couldn’t help but to laugh. He was glad that his sister-in-law was a good mother for his precious niece.

“And if only she wasn’t such a pain in the neck. Am I really that off-putting?” The words reached no one as he continued to smile.

After the store had closed, he found himself on the Institute grounds, watching the men and women work hard on the airship. The fabulous design and skeleton of the behemoth was utterly breathtaking.

They didn’t seem to be affected by how late it was into the night. The vast open yard that contained the structure was open to the public eye, as were many things in the Capital. With the weapons being crafted, it was easy for people to realise what was going on.

A war was on the horizon, and as word spread, the Guild and Institute of Magic quickly became a hotspot for people to swarm to.

Not for refuge however – they wanted to become stronger.

After all, this was their safe haven. It wasn’t called the ‘Adventurer’s paradise’ for nothing.

Allen took a sip from his cup of normal coffee. Cinnamon wasn’t really his forte. In the coldness of the night, only bitter coffee could keep his body warm enough to stay out for as long as he needed to.

Absentmindedly staring at the workers, a voice suddenly yelled from the airship.

“Oi! You bastards fitted the wooden shaft the wrong way! Stan lad, yer' being sabotaged!”

Allen broke into a smile.

“Damn dwarves.” He chuckled before taking another sip of the bitter coffee.

And in that moment, he wondered when Exrite and the others would finally come to visit them.

It had already been two days since they said their goodbyes.