“Fwaaaah. I slept so well.”
The next morning, Kent woke up later than usual. Marie’s Bakery was scheduled to be closed again that day, so there was no need to wake up early to prepare.
“I’ve been waking up later than usual for the past few days. I might not be able to wake up early even after the shop reopens.”
Kent, who had developed the habit of waking up early to prepare for the shop’s opening, worried that if he got used to waking up later than usual, he wouldn’t be able to wake up on time when the shop reopened.
“Still, I’ve been sleeping a lot. Marie-san probably can’t wake up either, just like me… wait, it feels like she never woke up easily even when I tried to wake her before.”
Looking at Marie’s face, sleeping so peacefully next to him, Kent thought about such things.
“There’s no need to prepare for the shop’s opening, so there’s no need to force her to wake up. I’ll just wake up by myself.”
Kent decided there was no need to wake Marie up right away. He left her to sleep undisturbed in bed, got dressed, and left the room.
“Gooood moooorning, big broooother.”
“Good morning. Rachel. It’s unusual for you to show up this early, isn’t it?”
“This early? I think it’s usually around the time the shop finishes its opening preparations? Well, never mind that. I came to see my beloved big brother’s face!”
When Kent entered the living room, Rachel was relaxing in the kotatsu as if it were her own home.
“You know, saying that makes me a little embarrassed.”
“Well, it was a lie.”
“A lie?!”
Kent was embarrassed by Rachel’s statement that she had come to see his face. Rachel, who had been watching Kent’s face, looked satisfied before turning her palm and announcing it was a lie.
“Oh, big brother, don’t look so disappointed. Here, I’ll give you a hug-hug.”
“Oh, okay.”
Rachel crawled out of the kotatsu, approached Kent, and gently hugged him.
“Re-Rachel.”
“Big brother!”
As they held each other, a pleasant atmosphere enveloped them.
“I wonder how long this will last?”
“I don’t know, even if you ask me.”
“Whoa!”
“Eek, y-you startled me.”
When Kent’s gaze shifted, he saw Catherine and Al looking on from the kitchen with exasperated expressions. Noticing them, Kent and Rachel quickly separated.
“You don’t have to mind me. You can keep cuddling with each other, my siblings.”
Catherine said to Kent with a sulky expression.
“Catherine, you’re still very much a child.”
“I’m not a child anymore!”
As Catherine pouted, Elnet’s voice could be heard from the back of the kitchen.
“Good morning. Elnet, you’re here too?”
“Good morning, Kent. No one was at the shop, so I came here. And speaking of which, hello!”
From behind Elnet, who had appeared in the living room, emerged Josette with a strange laugh.
“Ah, Josette, you’re here too. Good morning.”
“Good morning, Kent-san.”
Kent exchanged greetings with Josette as well.
“Oh, and the only ones missing are Caro-san and Patty-san.”
“Um, actually, I’m here too.”
“Good morning, Patty-san.”
“Good morning, Kent-san.”
Kent thought that apart from the fairies, only Patty and Caro were absent from the shop’s staff. However, Patty also peeked out hesitantly from the kitchen.
“Big brother, Caro is taking a dump in the toilet.”
“I see, a dump. That means everyone is here except Marie-san, who is still sleeping.”
When Rachel revealed Caro’s whereabouts, Kent realized that all employees had gathered.
“Everyone’s gotten into the habit of waking up early, so they all woke up on time. I woke up at my usual time this morning too. Since there was nothing to do in my room, I went to the shop and found Elnet-san, Josette-san, and Patty-san there. Only you and Marie-san, who hasn’t woken up yet, are still sleeping without worrying about the shop.”
“I see. Um, I’m sorry for making you wait. But if that’s the case, what about Caro-san?”
Rachel, having woken up early, went to the shop and told Kent that Elnet, Josette, and Patty were already there.
“Caro was staying over in my room with me.”
“I see.”
Rachel was currently living in Marie’s Bakery No. 2 in her separate room because her previous room on the second floor of Marie’s Bakery could not use electrical appliances like air conditioners due to a power outage. It seemed Caro had also stayed with Rachel last night.
“Everyone, quiet!”
As they were talking, Rachel suddenly told everyone present to be quiet.
*Puri, puri, puri*
Then, from the direction of the toilet, a sound like something being expelled began to be heard.
*Karagara gara*
When the sound stopped, it changed to a sound like paper being unrolled.
*Jaa*
After the sound of paper being unrolled, there was a moment of silence, and then, as if to break it, a sound like water flowing could be heard.
*Gacha*
While the sound of water flowing was heard, the toilet door opened. And then, with a *totote* of footsteps, it seemed something was approaching Kent and the others.
“Caro, you were born safely, weren’t you? Congratulations.” (Rachel)
“You did it, Caro.” (Elnet)
“You did wonderfully, Caro-san.” (Josette)
“Caro big sister, you worked hard.” (Catherine)
“Caro-sama, you were magnificent.” (Al)
“Um, do I have to join in too?” (Patty)
*Pachipachipachipachipachi*
Returning from the toilet, Caro was met with a warm reception, including applause from all the women, praising her efforts.
“Rachel! I just went to the toilet, what kind of greeting is this! And everyone, don’t go along with it!”
Caro responded with an astonished look at Rachel’s actions.
(Caro-san is so mature, not getting angry at her sister’s prank.)
Kent was impressed by Caro’s composure despite Rachel’s antics. It seemed that they knew each other well and trusted each other, so Caro accepted Rachel’s prank.
“Caro-san, I apologize for letting you be subjected to your sister’s silly game.”
“Hya-wah! K-Kent-san, you’re here. D-do you possibly know what I’ve been doing?”
“It’s okay, everyone poops.”
“Auu, auu, auu, auu.”
Caro’s face turned red with embarrassment, having been found out by Kent that she had just been to the toilet.
“Master, you said everyone, but I don’t poop, you know?”
“You’re right, now that you mention it, that might be true.”
When Al interjected into Kent’s statement, Kent had to agree with her.
“Speaking of which, Marie-san still hasn’t woken up, right? Shall we try waking her up using this method with everyone?”
“Rachel, it might be okay for you, but Marie-san is older and the owner of the shop. You shouldn’t do such a thing. Although, looking at this situation, you seem determined to go through with it, don’t you?”
Rachel, after suddenly coming up with another silly idea, proposed it to everyone. However, Caro pointed out that it would be wrong to involve Marie, who was the owner, in such a prank.
“Waking up Marie-san is something everyone struggles with, isn’t it? I think this is a method that allows us to wake her up safely without facing her counterattack. Don’t you think so, Elnet-san?”
“You’re putting me on the spot here. Well, to be honest, trying Rachel’s plan might be a good idea. Even I have trouble dealing with a sleeping Marie.”
Although Elnet was suddenly addressed by Rachel, she calmly assessed the situation and said that it might be worth trying Rachel’s plan.
