Welcome to Janome Cafeteria, Episode 2: First Gathering (1)

The forest, which looked like a black cliff, was much more comfortable and warmer than I had expected.
The fresh, clear scent, the sound of leaves rustling here and there, the chirping of squirrels or birds, and the scenery that changed as the sun rose.
Each of these was something Ake felt for the first time, and each time, a small sense of fear and curiosity struck her heart.
The black wolf walked quietly and majestically through the forest.
Despite its massive size, it didn't bump into trees or even brush against the branches. It was as if the trees were bowing, twisting their own bodies out of reverence.
Behind it, the white rabbit and the boar with the burning back followed slowly. It was strange that the trees didn't burn even when touched by the fire that burned like a bonfire. Could it be that the temperature was lower than it looked? Come to think of it, even when it got close, I felt warmth but not heat...
"Is your body okay?"
The black wolf asked in a low voice.
Although the voice felt dignified and imposing, it was somehow gentle.
Ake felt relieved for some reason when she heard that voice.
"Yes. Thank you for your consideration."
Ake bowed her head while still clinging to the black wolf's body.
The black wolf said nothing more and moved forward.
Ake buried herself in the black wolf's fur.
The flower-like scent was very comforting.
They left the forest.
The sun rose above the sea of clouds, and the red-tinted blue sky stretched out endlessly.
What jumped into Ake's snake-like eyes was a meadow so vast it felt like she might drown in it.
Lively trees, grass reflecting powerful veins, and colorful flowers blooming beautifully...
For Ake, who had been confined under the guise of protection in a small mansion provided by the White Snake Kingdom for 19 years, this was the first time in her life she had seen such a vast and beautiful sight.
Ake felt her emotional core tremble, and her snake-like eyes welled up with tears.
To think I could see such a beautiful sight when I thought I might be reaching the end of my life...
The black wolf turned its golden eyes toward Ake on its back.
However, it said nothing.
It just continued to walk slowly.
A small blue dot-like object could be seen ahead in the meadow.
Ake's snake-like eyes, which had excellent vision, caught it, and her eyelids narrowed.
(A... building?)
It looked like a cylindrical building with a blue pointed roof.
However, there shouldn't be any buildings in the small patch of land where the black wolf lived. Ake had assumed so, but as they got closer, she realized it wasn't an illusion and that it was truly a cylindrical mansion, causing her snake-like eyes to tremble.
Peeling paint, a blue roof with broken tiles, outer walls covered in mold, moss, and ivy, detached hinges, windows with hanging shutters, and a front entrance that looked like an open mouth without a door...
It was exactly like the haunted house she had read about in books.
The black wolf stopped in front of the mansion and sat down.
"Can you get down?"
"Yes."
Ake let go of the black wolf's body and slid down onto the grass.
It was soft.
The pleasant sensation of the grass was transmitted directly to her bare feet.
The white rabbit and the boar stopped a step away from the black wolf. The white rabbit placed its right hand on its left shoulder, and the boar lay down on the spot.
"|Silky|."
The black wolf called out to the mansion in a low voice.
The cylindrical mansion shook as if it were stirring.
The loose windows rattled, and the tiles made sounds up and down like a piano.
A human figure appeared in the wide-open front entrance.
Ake opened her snake-like eyes wide.
Even though there was no sign of anyone at all...
Standing there was a beautiful woman for whom no word other than 'peerless' would suffice.
With long golden hair elegantly draped in a fluffy sky-blue mantua, a white headband with frills, skin as smooth as porcelain, an egg-shaped rounded contour, long nose bridge, and a well-proportioned female figure visible even through her clothes...
However, the one thing that made her different from a human was that her figure was flickering pale like a |haze|.
Just like a flame lit on a candle.
"Well, well, King..."
The woman pinched the skirt of her mantua with both hands and bowed elegantly.
"How long has it been since the King visited such a place? This |Silky| is trembling with emotion."
The dilapidated mansion shook in response to the |Silky|.
"Sorry for coming suddenly."
"No, I welcome the King at any time."
The |Silky| bowed deeply.
"So, what is your business today? Is it for the storage of tributes brought by the people of the White Snake Kingdom again...?"
"Storage, huh..."
The black wolf narrowed its golden eyes.
"It's ironic that you're not entirely wrong."
Saying that, the black wolf told Ake to step forward.
Ake stepped forward as she was told.
The |Silky|'s long, narrow eyes opened wide.
"Could you let this person rest?"
Huh?
Ake was surprised by the black wolf's words and turned her snake-like eyes toward it.
"Oh my, oh my!"
The |Silky| let out a cry of joy.
"That such a cute person would use me!?"
The |Silky|'s beautiful face beamed.
Ake's face stiffened.
She was surprised by the |Silky|'s reaction, but even more so...
(Cute?)
Me?
Someone as ugly as me!?
However, without caring about Ake's state of mind, the black wolf pushed Ake's back with the tip of its nose.
Ake, who was off-balance in her white kimono, stumbled and fell into the |Silky|'s chest. Although that slender body was certainly there, she felt neither warmth nor texture.
"Welcome to me, my lady."
The |Silky| gently took Ake's hand.
"Then, let us go."
Saying that, the |Silky| bowed to the black wolf and the others, and happily pulled Ake into the mansion.
The black wolf and the others watched the two go without saying a word.
Ake was pulled by the hand by the |Silky| without knowing what had happened.
The inside of the mansion was as cluttered and dirty as the outside.
The wooden floorboards were dirty with dust and missing in places, the walls that should have been white were stained with something like oil and had lost their original color, spider webs were stretched in the corners of the ceiling, and the windows were detached, cloudy, and had lost their transparency as seen from the outside.
The |Silky| pulled Ake up the stairs, which made a loud noise, and walked down a hallway as dirty as the first floor, stopping in front of one door.
Only that door was not dirty at all.
The wooden door with a beautiful, elegant gold handle looked brand new, as if it had been used normally just yesterday.
"I just cleaned it."
The |Silky| smiled softly.
Ake frowned, not understanding what she meant.
"Please make yourself at home."
Saying that, the door opened slowly without even being touched.
Ake doubted her snake-like eyes.
Shining white walls.
A large, crystal-clear window with clean, raw-looking curtains, a soft red carpet that she couldn't even tell if she had stepped on, and a large bed with a gold canopy placed in the center of the room...
It was like the private room of a princess in a story Ake had read in a book.
"This is your room, my lady."
The |Silky| pinched her skirt with both hands and bowed.
"I apologize for the hasty preparation, but please rest comfortably."
"Eh?"
"I think it would be better if you took off those clothes. Well then..."
Saying that, the |Silky| slowly closed the door and left.
Left alone, Ake looked around the room without knowing what had happened.
What on earth is going on?
Why am I being accepted so kindly?
So many unexpected things have happened that my head feels like it's going to explode.
Ake slowly approached the bed, touched the cold pillar of the canopy, and sat down on the bed.
At that moment, her body suddenly felt heavy.
Her vision blurred.
Her head was spinning, and she couldn't think of anything.
Ake collapsed onto the bed.
Her white hood came off, and Ake's silky, smooth, long black hair spread out as if scattered.
Ake couldn't keep her snake-like eyes open and fell into sleep just like that.