Why Should I Be Worried? (2)

Chapter 20: Episode 10 - Why Should I Be Worried? (2)

Chattering began and the room was full of it.

"Isn't she the new girl that just transferred recently?"

"I heard she joined Group A so she must be skilled."

"I heard that during her entrance exam, Henri Lucas was one of the judges judging her, so she must've impressed him right off the bat."

My heart was beating heavily and seeing everybody staring at me made me want to run away and hide.

"We're here for food, Keiko," Fraise reminded me as I stood still at the door, unable to move an inch of my body.

'Food. I'm here to eat just like everybody else.'

I walked down the pathway of aligned lunch tables filled with students over to the counters where the food was being served at the far end of the large and contemporary cafeteria.

"Isn't she super pretty? She kind of seems like a princess next to the Sweets Princes."

"She even walks calmly and gracefully. Truly a beauty."

I could hear compliments about my looks though I paid no mind to them.

I made it to the counters where the food was being served. Since I'd entered the cafeteria a little later than everybody else, I was the only one in the line.

"Hello, Miss. What would you like?" One of the chefs asked and I looked at the assortments of food.

'The food here is so pretty like it just came out of a high-class restaurant. If the food looks like this, I might eat here every day.'

"Um… Can I please have this?" I pointed to what I wanted and the chef gave me a warm smile.

"Of course!"

When I received what I asked for, I bowed my head respectively and walked over to the other side of the stall to pay for my food.

When I finished paying for my food, I looked around the room for an empty table to sit at.

'Here comes the hard part.'

Fraise stood by my side and I scanned the room anxiously.

'All of the tables are full so there aren't any open seats for me to sit at.'

"Oh, look over there, Keiko!" Fraise pointed over at a green-haired boy waving his hand at me.

"Michiko, you can come sit with us!" Hanabusa called out not too far away. He sat at his table with Andou and Kashino.

"No way. She's offered to sit with the Sweets Princes?" The chattering began again for a short second.

I felt a moment of relief when he offered that I sit with them.

I walked over towards them and sat down at the empty seat right next to Hanabusa.

"Thanks," I sighed in relief.

"Now that I think about it, isn't this Michiko's first time eating here at the cafeteria?" Hanabusa asked and my eyes widened.

"You noticed?" I asked surprisingly.

"I mean, everybody wanted to see who the new transfer student was that caught Henri

Lucas' attention so everybody was curious to see when she'd pop up in the cafeteria," he explained with a warm gaze.

"Is that so?" I took a small bite of my food.

"Why did you skip out on lunch and dinner?" Andou asked me but I hesitated to answer.

"I-uh…" I couldn't find the words to explain to them what was going through my brain.

"—It's still taking Keiko time to adjust to the people here so she practiced her baking skills in the cooking lab during dinner," Fraise thankfully answered for me.

"Oh, really? Even Michiko works hard outside of class," Andou praised as I took small bites of my food.

"Now that I think about it, I still haven't properly introduced my sweets spirit yet," I brought up, putting down my fork. "This one is Fraise and I met her in the cooking lab on the first day I transferred here."

Kashino's sweet spirit popped out after I introduced Fraise.

"Ugh… it's like we're playing with dolls—it's embarrassing. This is Chocolat. I also met her in the cooking lab during my first year." Kashino muttered frankly.

Chocolat respectively stood by Fraise's side.

Andou and Hanabusa's sweets spirits also joined in.

"Hello, Miss Michiko!" Caramel greeted me with a warm smile and walked toward me.

Before she could get any closer to me, she suddenly tripped on her feet.

"Ow!" Caramel's eyes welled up in tears.

"Again, Caramel?" Andou said in disbelief and helped her up. "This clumsy little one, as you learned before, is Caramel."

Hanabusa's sweet spirit flew over to me and kissed the top of my hand.

"Bonjour again, Miss Michiko," the sweet spirit greeted with a smile on his face.

"He's Cafe," Hanabusa pointed at the blue-haired sweet spirit.

"Nice to meet you," I directed towards all of the sweets spirits.

"This academy and the spirit world are connected here and there. We came here so we can train," Cafe explained to me.

I had already gotten the basic rundown from Fraise when I first met her.

"I know, you pair up with humans to create the ultimate cake so that you can become royal patissiers in the Sweets Kingdom," I answered.

Chocolate, Caramel, and Cafe lit up at the sound of "Royal Patissiers."

"But there's one thing I don't understand. Why do you refer to Fraise respectively as if you look up to her?" I questioned with a puzzled look on my face.

"It's because we do look up to her," Chocolat answered, her brown eyes shining brightly.

"She's the same as us, finding somebody to partner up with, but Miss Fraise's skills are out of this world. Nobody can match her besides Master Sucre," Chocolat said highly.

The mention of my mother's sweet spirit, Sucre, caught me off guard as well as Fraise. At the mention of Sucre, Fraise's expression dimmed.

'I can tell she's still troubled because Sucre is still missing.'

"Even Miss Fraise is better than Miss Honey because she worked with Master Sucre," Cafe explained.

"That is true, and Miss Honey is older than all of us. Though Fraise is the same age as us, her skills are close to being one of the best right after Master Sucre who mentored her," Caramel added.

'Wow, I'm surprised to hear that Fraise is well-respected among the sweets spirits.'

"But, Miss Fraise, why were you gone for 6 years and never came back to the Sweets Kingdom? Everyone has been worried ever since! Weren't you with Master Sucre?" Chocolat asked and a sad smile formed on Fraise's lips.

'She never went back to her world? Why?'

I looked at the mysterious sad gaze Fraise had in her eyes.

"It's been 6 years since we've seen Master Sucre as well… Did something happen?" Caramel asked and that was when Fraise's expression turned dark. Finally, Fraise spoke up.

"Master Sucre went missing."