First Evening at Yokai Academy

[Evening - 1 April, Mon.]

As accorded between the girls, after the work was done, they went to the mall, where they would find the local café, still open. Inside, the sight of numerous delicacies could be sem through the glass, inside the showcases. The first to beam at them being Katsuya, presumably not alone. "Waaa!! They look so yummy!! I want to try them all!!"

---

The small bell above the Café Céleste’s entrance chimes as the girls step inside, the scent of fresh cakes and coffee washing over them. The café is cozy, lined with warm wooden furniture and softly glowing lanterns. The atmosphere is elegant yet casual, the kind of place that feels effortlessly charming.

Standing behind the counter is a petite girl with brown hair and warm eyes. She barely speaks above a whisper as she records orders in a neat, precise handwriting, glancing up only to offer a polite bow before handing receipts to customers.

She clutches the register as if it’s a lifeline, shifting her weight nervously whenever someone raises their voice. Someone behind the staff-door constantly yells about something, making her visibly tense each time—but she keeps her focus, her fingers typing prices like clockwork.

She takes a deep breath before softly announcing: "Please enjoy your meal… um… thank you for coming to Café Céleste." Her hands twitch slightly.

---

As they all find a nice place to sit, suddenly, Aika comes running through the entrance; and while panting, she looks around, until she finds Hanamil, darting at her then. Ban- I mean, Hanami!!! She says, coming and squeezing her between her athletic arms, then shaking her madly. "Where have you been?!! I waited for you to come borrow my phone, but you never showed up!!"

She looks at the other girls, specially at Sumeryu, her eyes squinting a little bit, as she rubs her knuckles, suddenly feeling a bit sore. "Oh... Uh... You guys are having some snacks?? W-well, don't mind if I join!"

---

While their order is about to come, they overhear another maid, itting at a small side counter, with her sharp blue eyes and silver-white bob, pushes up her thin-framed glasses as she scans through a ledger, murmuring to herself. She taps a perfectly manicured nail on the paper, sighing.

"Too much wasted inventory this week," she mutters before turning her gaze toward another maid coming from the kitchen, bringing orders, with blue hair and yellow eyes, her tone dripping with disapproval. "I’m deducting the cost of broken dishes from your paycheck."

When the yelling inside restarts, She mumbles without looking up: "You’re too loud."

She sounds bored, unimpressed by everything and everyone, yet her sharp eyes are constantly watching, calculating.

---

"Aww... Not again... I-If you do that, I won't have any money next mon-" Can be heard, as loud CRASH rings through the café as the girl stumbles, sending a tray of drinks flying. A customer gasps as tea spills onto their lap, and before anyone can react, she is already on her knees, bowing frantically.

"I’M SO SORRY! I-I’LL FIX IT RIGHT AWAY!"

She scrambles to clean the mess, but in doing so, she knocks over another tray on a nearby table, sending cakes toppling.

Finally, a redheaded girl, presumably the source of the yelling, comes from the kitchen. She then practically explodes at her: "Reika! Are you actually blind?! That’s the FOURTH time today!"

Reika winces but keeps trying to clean up, only for the silver-haired girl to sigh and adjust her glasses. "Hopeless," she mutters under her breath.

A blonde maid in a blue blue dress, who also came out, quickly kneels next to Reika, patting her head. "It’s okay, don’t rush. Accidents happen!"

Reika sniffles, nodding quickly before standing back up with comical determination, as if vowing to be less clumsy—until she immediately trips again...

---

When Reika stumbles yet again, The blonde maid quickly steps in, catching a teacup mid-fall with a fluid motion. "Oops! Close call, huh? Don’t worry, Reika-chan, I got it."

"Why don't you go to the lounge and regain your breath, while I take care of the customers, uh?" She says kindly, dismissing the girl and leaving for the kitchen. After a very short while, she comes back with a new tray, going swiftly to the girls' table and precisely handing out orders. "I'm so sorry for the inconvenience." She gives Konomi a warm smile. "I hope the cake is to your liking." She adds, with a chuckle.

"Reika! Do you have butter on your hands, or do you just enjoy making my life miserable?!"

The loud maid utters, finally revealing herself. She slams her hands on the counter, flaring up at the inconvenience. Which prompts the blonde maid: "Oops, I better go!" She says chuckling, sticking her tongue out. As she comes near the counter, she swiftly pulls the redheaded maid away inside the kitchen, giving cheerfully flustered looks at the customers.

---

Finally, the girls have some peace to enjoy their meal. After some time, an elegant and charming woman leaves the staff-area, she studies the café with a smile. She then glides across the room, setting down a beautifully arranged platter of cakes and tea before the girls.

"Thank you for waiting, my dears~." Her pale lilac eyes shimmer mysteriously as she studies the guests with an intensity that doesn’t quite match the warm café atmosphere. "I'm Irina... Irina Yukiha, the owner of this café... A pleasure to meet you..." She then chuckles modestly "Heh, You seem like an interesting bunch... Please, enjoy yourselves…"

Katsuya's order is scandalously large, made exclusively of sweets. Her already sweet scent combed with that could be to much to the faint on the ways of sweetness.

She sits between Sumeryu and Luna this time. And when she's distracted, Luna suddenly catches herself being sniffed by her! "Oh, hey!! Y-you're like me!! You, fluffy and all!! Aren't you?? Eh? Eh?" She says, apparently very joyful at that.

"My, my... Sumeryu, is it?? What an impressive looking girl~" SHE Says, giggling, her hand on her cheek. "Oh, this os courtesy from the house~" She chuckles at Hanami, dropping some more plates with macaroons and cookies. "It isn't always that we've got such a lively bunch coming into our little café!"

"Well then, eat your fill and enjoy the meal!" She rhymes, "We'll keep in touch~" Irina says, turning back and leaving for the staff area.

---

Moments later, while the group finishes the cookies she left, Ibuki feels something fibrous and dry inside her cookie as she bites it. At closer inspection, there was a piece of paper inside the cookie!!

After studying it, it was clearly a map of the campus, or at least the northwestern part of it, displaying the shopping district (here) at the bottom and the chapel at the right corner, the rest presumably filled by the forest. Somewhat on the center of the little page, I. e. at the north of the shopping district and west of the chapel, there is a red X marked on it.

Ibuki's question goes at the clumsy and shy made from before, who came to take some empty dishes from the table, startling her.. "Eh?! Uh... I- I think these cookies were made... Hmm... M-maybe by Lady Yukiha? She helps with the cooking sometimes... Oh, she already left..."

---

"Waa!! A kitsune?? Yay!! I'm a Kitsune too!! Nice to meetcha! C-can we be friends then??" Katsuya asks, unaware of the reaction she caused on Luna. "Where is your ears??" She asks, tugging at her big fox ears. "A-and, your tail??" She adds, bringing hers over the table (almost knocking some plates) and right next to Luna's face.

"Gaah!!" She gasps at Luna's remark. "Y-you're right... Oh... I'm not very good at this, sorry..." She says, shamefully.

---

"Ah! Miss, wait!" The blond maid said, extending her hand towards the leaving Sumeryu, "Your exchange..." But Sumeryu already left.

---

And thus, the girls who decided on it, go back outside, the red sun now a mere stripe of light on the horizon, skies filled with deep purples and oranges.

Their goal lead them back to the chapel, as deserted as before, though now the front door is half-opened, giving a peek of the neo-gothic interior, now darkened, as it seems to not have artificial lighting and relying completely on sunlight to be illuminated.

Through there, they, following the markings on the map, find an entrance to the forest deep; the place seeming to connect with the overall direction Hanami could scry from her spell, when looking for the source of corruption. Though the search-area is still broad.