Crossover
Chapter 5: Inexplicable Events (Part 2)
The taxi that Kuro rode arrived at Barrentone Avenue. The avenue was bustling with people entering and exiting rows of various businesses. It was a commercial avenue where businesses of all sorts lined up, and no buildings remained calm, as people flourished at every moment.
Kuro exited the car and paid the taxi driver, offering a generous tip that brought a smile to the driver's face. Looking around, he saw the usual businesses—the salon where he usually went to take care of his hair, the gym where he occasionally visited to work out, the bookstore where he bought books to read at home, and, of course, the restaurants and pastry shops he always visited in his spare time.
As he thought of all the luxurious food they had in their stand and menu, he couldn't stop himself from drooling incessantly. However, it was not his focus today; he needed to consult about the new product his mom had mentioned that morning in the café they owned.
Spotting the café wasn't hard, as the long line of customers was the most visible sign when searching for it. When he looked at the corner of the alley, he immediately found Aphrodite’s Delight. The pastry shop was simple, without excessive designs, yet it exuded the essence of modernity. Colored in crimson red and blue, the exterior design was strong and attractive, yet it emitted a feeling of naturalness.
Crossing the road when the stoplight was green, Kuro approached the kitchen's backdoor instead of the entrance. Since there was a long line at the front, cutting through it would be rude unless he had a certain reason, like being the owner of the pastry shop. However, being just seventeen, Kuro refrained from revealing his ownership.
Aphrodite’s Delight was famous all over Verneson. If he were to announce that he was its owner, it would certainly cause upheaval at his school. He watched his surroundings as he walked in the alley, ensuring that no one was watching. When he was certain, he opened the backdoor and smelled the aphrodisiac fragrance of various fresh pastries made by the bakers and pâtissiers—bread, cake, cupcakes, muffins, tarts, shakes, cookies, butterscotch, and more.
The instant he entered the door, he quickly and unconsciously drooled excessively. The kitchen was bustling, but when they heard the backdoor opening, the bakers and pastry chefs whose work could be halted for a moment instantly held down their tools and faced Kuro.
"Good afternoon, boss," they greeted simultaneously before quickly getting back to their work.
"Hm… good afternoon as well, good work as usual. Where is Head Pastry Chef Aubert?"
"Sir Kuro, he is entertaining a customer outside, seems like a governor of some place… who was that again?" the male assistant baker named Frederick answered. He was crouching in front of the convection oven, watching over some trays of vanilla chip chocolate cookies.
Kuro swallowed some saliva, watching the vanilla chip chocolate cookies being baked. When he was about to move, a tray of pinkish cupcakes suddenly blocked his way.
"I am afraid that you might get burnt if you stride and take the trays of unbaked cookies, Sir Kuro. These are the new product that Chef Aubert wanted you to taste. He said to feel free to eat all of it," a female pâtissier named Elyza placed a tray of cupcakes on the table in the center of the kitchen.
"Eh.. is that so?...!!... what is this gorgeous and godly cupcakes in front of me?!" Kuro was acting as if the cupcakes were exuding heavenly light, covering his eyes with both arms.
Elyza laughed and shook her head. "Sir, that is a chocolate strawberry cupcake, made from the first batch of strawberries delivered yesterday."
"I-i-is that so? Are you… are you sure it's not ambrosia?" Kuro was exaggerating, closely inspecting the cupcakes, causing him to crouch and stare carefully at the exquisite batch. The cupcake itself was very dark, seeming like it was made of pure chocolate. The icing was of a dark pink hue, emitting a fruity scent. Above the icing was a whole piece of strawberry dipped in melted white chocolate. The entire cupcake seemed drizzled with dark and white chocolate, creating a cheerful combination of colors.
Kuro wanted to keep the cupcakes safe but also wanted to eat them.
"Sir, I suggest eating the cupcakes, or they might lose their freshness," Elyza, still chuckling, gave Kuro the go signal to eat them.
Kuro licked his lips in delight, making Elyza's heart skip a beat.
Kuro took a cupcake; it was very light but fragrant. He gulped once and took a bite; some icing remained on the tip of his nose, but he didn't mind it, stupefied at the taste of the cupcake.
The chocolate cupcake was not overly sweet, very soft, and a little bit moist. Then he tasted a thick cream of chocolate and strawberry bits, intensifying the sweetness when eaten with the cupcake. He immediately took another bite and saw the filling in the center—a thick white chocolate cream with strawberry bits mixed together. The icing was not very fruity despite the dark color, it had a light taste. There was an occasional taste of white and dark chocolate on the icing, complementing the light fruity taste.
Then he took the strawberry with his fingers and ate it whole. His eyes went wide open; it wasn't a strawberry but a strawberry-flavored and shaped bread! It had the exact taste of a strawberry, and there was also a bit of thick white chocolate and caramel filling inside the strawberry-shaped bread—a delightful surprise!
Kuro's expression was very satisfied; he felt as if he entered heaven.
"What are you doing staring like fools?! Idiots! Go back to work! We are not pastry chefs who can afford to take a slight moment! We are baking and doing pastries! A slight time mishap could imbalance the taste of what you are cooking!" a man spoke out of nowhere.
Kuro broke out of his trance and saw a middle-aged short blonde-haired man whose hair was covered in a hairnet, holding his toque by his left hand. This man was the head pastry chef, Aubert. He was married to the Head Cook from the restaurant her birthmother also established, "Ares’ Savor.".
After Aubert spoke, the surroundings became busy again; even Elyza went back to her work, holding a thermometer and melting something in a casserole. Kuro didn't mind them and finished the remaining cupcake.
"Does the cupcake taste perfect?" Aubert approached Kuro with a smile.
Kuro was eating cupcakes, so he looked at Aubert with deep gratitude and amazement, giving him a thumbs up and biting his cupcake again. Aubert saw this and felt relieved; he didn't taste his cupcakes even though he was the one who baked them. He specifically waited for Kuro to arrive.
Kuro finished his second cupcake and said, "It was really delicious! The balance of fruitiness and chocolatiness was very good, especially the strawberry deceiving bread! That was a really good surprise…" He became a bit disappointed; gloominess suddenly enveloped him. "Too bad, I need to go home now… ah! Can you pack these cupcakes for me? Mom might be delighted to taste some of this." Kuro regained his previous demeanor and became joyful once again.
Aubert became alerted for some reason, "Young sir, you don't have to pack it; please eat it at once, for it might lose its freshness if kept prolong out of the kitchen. I will send some tomorrow to your house so that Madam Cecilia and the others could eat it!" He swiftly persuaded Kuro, a bit jiffy.
Holding his chin and closing his eyes, Kuro thought of something, "Hm? Is that so? Well, Mom did say to taste the cupcakes; knowing my nature, she should have guessed that it may take a bit of a while to eat all of this at once. Okay! I will enjoy all of these cupcakes!!" He nonchalantly decided things, although it seemed rational for him. He was just using this opportunity to eat all of the cupcakes. Although his intention to share it with others was real, there's one person who might hog all the cupcakes, leaving him not even a crumb behind—it was Richard.
Thinking of the terrible prospect of having his cupcakes stolen, he did not regret coming home a bit late. Thus, he merrily ate another cupcake without bothering anyone. Of course, he mouthed thanks to Aubert but didn’t notice the nervousness he had earlier.
"Phew," Aubert, once again, felt relieved.
After an hour of eating slowly inside the kitchen, he finally left and thanked everyone while also apologizing for the inconvenience he brought. The pastry chefs were all used to it, and seeing their young boss eat in delight made their work more synchronized, faster, and more efficient than ever.
It was four in the afternoon; the sun was beginning to set, and the skies were painted in orange. Although nearing the evening, the avenue was still as busy as ever, and some lights were even switched on, bringing a colorful hue to the buildings in the avenue.
When he successfully called a taxi and entered it, he felt a very sharp pain in his head. It was tremendously aching, almost making him shout in pain. Luckily, he managed to control it, but he held his head tightly, closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth.
The driver noticed Kuro and was very bothered and worried, “Sir, should we head to the hospital?” he asked with a hint of concern, not looking back nor glancing at the front mirror, just asking while driving with his eyes forward.
“N-n-no, this had happened to me earlier, no need to worry, just feeling a bit sickly,” he weakly told the driver.
The driver was not persistent; thus, he just increased his speed a little bit, not to make his passenger wait any longer.
‘What the heck?! I was just fine earlier, and now I am having this extreme headache?’
During the ride, the headache wasn't relieved that much; if there is a difference, it was even intensified more. Kuro felt as if his head was being split in two, no, he felt as if something heavy was continuously pounding his head. He was sweating profusely even when the aircon was turned on; some beads of his sweat dropped at the car’s floor. He sometimes let out a cry of pain, and this worried the driver further, so he suggested once more, “Sir, are you really sure not to head to the hospital?” He couldn’t help but look at the crouching long cyan-haired passenger.
Kuro shook his head.
“But sir, your condition—“
“P-please… t-take me to my destination…I…I can han…ugh…handle this.”
The driver bit his lips and fastened his speed again but still ensured a gentle ride for his passenger. There were not many cars on the road since the place seemed private. Soon they reached a golden gate; there was a small house nearby the gate, and a wall enclosed the surrounding area behind the gate.
‘Must be a private subdivision; he must be a wealthy person,’ the driver’s first thought was correct.
