Welcome to Janome Diner: Prologue

Synopsis
Let's run a diner called Janome Diner!
Ake, a girl with a snake-like eye who calls herself Janome, ends up running a diner in a foreign land called Cat's Forehead, following the words of Uguisu, a girl with green wings.
She visited Cat's Forehead with a certain fate and mission, intending to take the life of the Golden Black Wolf, the king who rules over Cat's Forehead.
However, as she interacts with those other than the people who visit the diner, her tightly closed heart begins to thaw...

A story about a girl who has lived being hated and despised, who regains happiness by interacting with others and falling in love.

Main Story

Why did things end up like this?
Ake repeated the self-questioning for the umpteenth time.
“Yeah, it’s cute. Janome.”
Uguisu, a girl who wraps glossy fabric around her slender body like bandages and has large green wings instead of arms, smiles brightly.
Ake feels a small pang of jealousy at the cuteness she herself will never possess.
Ake has taken off the white kimono she wore until yesterday and is wearing a white apron over a kimono she hastily sewed from the madder-red fabric that had been presented as an offering and stored in the mansion. She knows she should really wear a triangular headscarf, but doing so would cover the eye on her forehead, making it impossible to see.
The part of Ake’s beautiful face where her eyes should be was covered by white, scale-like cloth. And in its place, there was a large eye with a vertically elongated red pupil on her small forehead.
It looked exactly like a snake’s eye.
“Is the preparation okay like this?”
Uguisu looks around with great interest.
The room that the Silky provided, saying it was the largest and most spacious.
A large window that allows one to come and go from the meadow.
Wooden boards that look like they have just been polished to a shine.
Walls in an unbleached color that soothe the heart.
And a large table with a heavy yet cute design made by cutting logs in half and lining them up. There are six chairs made by carving in the same way.
“Don't you need more tables?”
Uguisu asks, knitting her well-shaped willow eyebrows.
“I don't think that many people will come, so...”
Ake says hesitantly.
I’ve never cooked for that many people, so I’d be in trouble if they did come.
Besides, it’s not really a business; it’s just providing food.
“Ready!”
A high-pitched, child-like voice can be heard from outside the window.
Looking outside, Omochi, a white rabbit with red eyes as big as a snowman, is hopping around. Next to it, Azuki, a large wild boar with flames like a bonfire rising from its back, is lying on the ground and lets out a cute “pugi” sound.
Around Azuki, cooking utensils of various sizes—pots, ladles, cutting boards, cooking chopsticks, and knives—that were presented as offerings are lined up tightly on a small wooden table. And next to them are salt in a large hemp bag, and soy sauce, sake, and mirin in one-sho bottles.
Ake remembers being stunned by the offerings that seemed to have been provided just for today.
“Alright!”
Uguisu pats Ake on the shoulder with a thud.
“Janome Diner is open!”
Uguisu flashes a big smile.
“...Yes.”
Ake nods weakly and slightly.
“Then, let’s get started!”
Uguisu goes outside the window and spreads her green wings wide.
Illuminated by the sunlight, her figure shines like a statue enshrined in a shrine, and it is beautiful.
“What do you call them? Customers? I’ll go find some!”
Flapping her green wings, Uguisu floats into the air and flies off toward the horizon in one go.
“I’m going to go get ingredients!”
Omochi hops toward the forest, literally like a rabbit, with an agility unimaginable from its appearance.
The room suddenly becomes quiet.
Azuki has also started to doze off while lying on the grass.
Ake feels exhausted and sits on the log chair.
Why did things end up like this?
I shouldn't have come here to play “diner.”
(The reason I came here is...)
Ake touches the white scale-like cloth.
Dark feelings bubble up slightly.
“May I come in?”
Ake stands up as if startled by the voice that suddenly reached her ears.
Looking outside the window, a man was standing there.
Is he about the same age as Ake? He has black hair that reaches his waist and draws you in, a well-defined face with a wild charm, and he is wearing a long robe with flower patterns embroidered in gold over his slender, tall frame.
And his eyes were golden like the moon.
(A human?)
A human other than me in this Cat's Forehead?
And for some reason, I felt a sense of déjà vu from the man, as if I had met him somewhere before.
“May I come in?”
The man asks again.
“Y-yes!”
Ake regains her composure and answers.
The man enters the room.
He walks toward her with an elegant, efficient gait.
“Please, this way.”
Ake pulls out a chair other than the one she was sitting on.
The man sits in the chair without a word.
His figure is beautiful, too.
Ake finds herself captivated.
“What brings you here?”
When Ake asks, the man opens his golden eyes wide in surprise.
“To eat.”
“Huh?”
“I came to have a meal.”
This time, Ake is surprised by the man’s words.
“You came to eat?”
“Obviously. This is what you call a diner, isn't it?”
Ake’s heart begins to pound.
I thought Uguisu or Omochi would bring someone, but I didn't expect them to come so soon, and alone at that.
“Y-yes, I’m sorry!”
Ake bows with such force that it feels like her head might fall off.
The man narrows his golden eyes and looks at Ake quietly.
“Y-your order, please!?”
As Ake says that, she recalls last night, the moment that triggered the start of the diner.

#LongNovel
#Remake
#FantasyNovel
#Fantasy
#Diner