Chapter 6: Boom Boom Bakudan! Fontaine! [1/3]
"..." Isaac, who was still in his bed, stared blankly at the ceiling with a dazed expression. After a few moments, he lightly muttered, "Today, the terrorist visits."
After uttering this, Isaac quickly jumped out of his bed. He cleaned it before fixing himself and changing clothes.
Tick—*
Tock—*
Looking at the mechanical clock that gives interval ticks, Isaac sighed. "Eight in the morning... There's still an hour before I open."
With that realization, Isaac decided to do things as he normally did. After changing clothes, he went down to the café and started arranging the tables and chairs.
As for the bread, Isaac casually took out the bread he bought and placed it in his inventory.
While inside the inventory, Isaac found out that the items he placed inside would be put in a frozen state. As such, when he takes them out, they'll still be the same when he puts them in. 'The system is so useful...'
He took the bread out placed a few in the glass case on the counter and turned on the lights inside.
After a few more minutes of setting up the café, he finally changed the 'closed' sign on the door to 'open'.
Isaac, who was now in his barista uniform, looked around the clean café and nodded. 'This should be Klee-proofed now.'
The Café was glistening with cleanliness. The four tables with two chairs on them were placed symmetrically to each other in the other half of the room. As for the floors, the quartz tiles were also clean.
To top it all off, the bright golden shine of sunlight was illuminating the café, along with the soft light of the café's light bulbs, it gave the whole place a comfy and serene ambiance.
Isaac also tried his best to make sure Klee didn't blow anything up. He placed things in a manner that the child wouldn't bump into anything and potentially injure her.
'Oh boy, I wonder how this will go...' Although Isaac was nervous, he was slightly excited. This was, after all, the child of the powerful Alice! 'Don't worry, Miss Alice, I'll make sure your daughter won't be a wanted fugitive in another nation.'
With that thought in mind, he soon shook his head and picked up the cup of green tea he had on a table nearby, and took a sip. "Alright, let's do this."
[Invite Klee? Y/N]
Isaac extended his hand to the system screen while drinking his cup of tea and clicked yes.
Shortly after doing this, the door of the café started illuminating once more. This time, a bright blue color was being emanated.
'Wait...' Isaac noticed the color and found it extremely familiar. His face then dropped when he realized what that color was. 'Don't tell me...'
As if proving Isaac's guess right, the bright blue light soon started changing to a vibrant golden color!
'It's the Gacha summon effect!' Isaac almost spewed his tea out, flabbergasted at the sight. He then gulped down his tea and tapped his lips with a handkerchief. 'Seriously...'
[Now connecting the door...]
*
*
*
Meanwhile, in the nation ruled by the Anemo Archon.
Mondstadt was currently dealing with a crisis. One of Mondstadt's protectors— the Elemental Dragon Dvalin— was now antagonizing them!
It was unknown to the citizens of Mondstadt why one of the Anemo Archon's four winds would suddenly turn its back on them, but there's one thing they're sure of: It was angry.
As of now, everyone is referring to the dragon as "Stormterror".
Knights of Favonius.
Inside a room right next to the Acting Grand Master's office, a child was tinkering with a cute toy.
"There!" The child, with her pale blonde hair and her conspicuous red coat, said with joy. "Humpty Dumpty Mk2000 is now complete!"
On a table in front of her, a toy the size of a pillow was resting. It had cute features and resembled a bunny.
Other than its cute appearance, there seems to be nothing wrong with it.
Ah, but of course, that's the most common thought of someone who doesn't know the child.
"This time, it can even explode much stronger!" The child, proud of her new type of bomb, giggled. "Those fish in Cider Lake won't see what's coming to them!"
Yes, it was a bomb. A new and terrifying variant, at that.
This child is none other than Spark Knight Klee. Infamous for blowing up any fish ponds she sees and destroying a mountain due to her explosives. As well as being the youngest titled Knight in the Ordo Favonius.
Due to the recent Dvalin problem, the Acting Grand Master, Jean— who is also Klee's guardian— temporarily kept her inside a confinement room, hoping to not only keep her safe but also limit her bombings.
Unfortunately for the Acting Grand Master, Klee found this as an opportunity to upgrade her bombs.
Klee then looked out the window and saw the dark clouds looming over Mondstadt. With a sad pout, she whispered to herself, "Why can't Master Jean let me out? I'm sure if I just give Stormterror a Humpty Dumpty, I can go out and play again..."
Just then, while looking out the window, Klee managed to take a glimpse of someone flying up in the sky!
"Whoa! Is that person fighting Stormterror?" Klee said as she watched the blonde-haired person fly up the sky, following the dragon.
Unfortunately, they flew so high up that Klee wasn't able to see them anymore. "Aww... I wanted to see more." After saying this, she then looked around the room.
"It's so boooring here... Big brother Albedo only comes once in a while." She sighed to herself before jumping to a couch. She then thought of her mother, Alice. "Mommy said that if I'm really bored, I should wish for something. She said that if I wish hard enough, perhaps that wish would come true..."
"Then, I wish something fun happens!" Klee said while holding her toy Dodoko.
Woosh—*
Just then, something strange occurred in the room.
As if responding to her wishes, a mysterious gust of wind started appearing in the room, bringing life to the stale environment. Soon, a silhouette of a door started carving itself on a wall.
"Huh? What's that?" Klee, who saw the door being formed, was both curious and cautious.
After a few more minutes, the door finally finished forming, and a rectangular wooden door materialized in her room.
On the door, a single sign was present. What was written was: "Le Souffle du Silence."
"Le suffal du silence?" Klee tried to say the words were written, but she had difficulties reading the second word.
Klee looked around to see if it was dangerous, and even threw a Humpty Dumpty to it. But nothing happened. The Humpty Dumpty didn't even explode.
She then looked at the door leading to her room. She wanted to tell someone about the door, but the Grand Master prohibited her from going out.
With that option thrown out, Klee decided to investigate the mysterious door.
Klee inspected the door a bit more and found that it didn't do anything. She held her toy Dodoko in her hand and curiously looked at the enigmatic door. "What is it? Do you know, Dodoko?"
She looked at her toy, and, as if the toy also responded to her, she nodded. "You're right. Should we check inside?"
"You think so too? Then let's be prepared!" Klee agreed with her toy and quickly took her backpack.
She stuffed her bag with various items— mostly explosives and some lunch boxes with some fish in them. After doing this, she then hung her toy Dodoko on her backpack and picked it up.
Carrying her backpack, she jumped with excitement. "All set, let's go!"
With the enthusiasm of a child, she opened the door, bracing herself for what was about to happen.
*
*
*
"What's taking her so long... It's been minutes..." On the other side, Isaac was having breakfast while waiting for Klee. "Don't tell me she tried blowing up the door?"
He was having a simple nice meal. Two sunny-side-ups, a pair of toast, peanut butter, and two sausages. To finish it off, he also had cold water.
"Well, thinking back to when she fought a Primo Geovishap alone in the game, I guess something like that won't be impossible." Isaac lightly laughed at his words.
He then finished his meal, and, just after finishing the door finally opened.
"Hellooo? Is there anyone here?" The familiar voice rang through the café as the head of a child cautiously peered inside.
Isaac, who had already cleaned the counter, tidied himself and welcomed her. "Welcome, Demoiselle. Is there anything you'd like?"
"Whoa!" Klee saw the café and entered, closing the door behind her. She looked around the café before looking at the smiling person behind the counter. "Mister, where is this?"
"Why, this is but my humble café," Isaac said with a soft chuckle. "Out of all the cafés in Fontaine, I dare say that mine is the only one where you'll get the finely brewed coffee and tea."
"Huh? Fontaine?" Klee, who heard where she was, exclaimed. "That can't be right, I was just in Mondstadt a moment ago!"
"Hm? Is that so?" Isaac, pretending to know nothing about it, grasped his chin with a concerned look. "Then, can you try going back through the door to see if you can return?"
"Oh! Yeah, I'll do that!" Klee took his advice and quickly ran back through the door.
Isaac waited patiently. He already asked the system about this, and he was informed that the people he invited could go back through the door whenever they wanted.
After a while, Klee returned. This time, an excited look on her face. "Wow! I could switch between two places in an instant! This is just like one of mom's magic!"
'Teleportation magic?' Isaac thought of the powerful mage Alice and believed Klee. Someone as powerful as her can indeed do something like that, now that he thought about it. 'If it's Alice, then it's possible.'
He then looked at her with a polite smile, "Well then, Demoiselle, do you wish to have some coffee or tea?"
And so starts the business.