Chapter 30: Volume 2 - CH 1.03

Part 3

The food sold at Amaburi’s staff canteen (called A.M.) sucked.

Nobody knew why the canteen was called A.M., and its menu had remained unchanged for three years. It consisted of only three dishes: some weird smelling gyudon, messy spaghetti, and chicken curry.

Of course, the chicken curry was just as awful. The carrots and onions were hard and cold, while the partially uncooked chicken that was insufficiently seasoned with curry powder gave off a nose-stinging odor.

One could say that it was hard to mess up curry, and yet the chefs in A.M. had actually managed to succeed in doing so. Perhaps the cast members could earn some extra money on the side by marketing their “World’s Nastiest Curry”.

As punishment for being shaken up by that dream, Isuzu went ahead and bought a coupon for the chicken curry (though the main reason was due to its cheap price tag of only 240 yen).

“Woah, I never knew that there were people who actually eat the curry here, ron.” A voice came from behind Isuzu as she reached down to pick up her change of 260 yen from the ticketing machine.

She turned around to find Macaron standing behind her.

Macaron was an adorable mascot with white fur who resembled a sheep. He was a veteran cast member working at “Macaron’s Music Theatre” in “Sorcerers’ Hill”, one of Amaburi’s areas.

“Good morning, Macaron.”

“Good morning, Isuzu-chan. Just curious…are you really gonna eat that, ron?”

“I’m eating this because of personal reasons…and also because it’s cheap.”

“R-Right… But take care, ron. Wanipi once tried some, and he had fire coming out from both ends. He ended up facing dehydration and was administered an IV at Amagi Hospital, ron.”

Isuzu wondered why the hospital didn’t conduct an investigation to determine the cause of it, but decided to put that thought aside and moved on.

She exchanged the coupon for a tray of chicken curry and brought it to one of the tables.

The canteen in the morning was quite packed, with more than half of the patrons being cast members living in the dormitories.

Isuzu was one of those, for she stayed in the female dormitory. As such, she ate the majority of her meals in the staff canteen. If she recalled correctly, Macaron lived in the male dormitory, whereas his sidekicks Moffle and Tiramie had rented cheap apartments outside of the park.

Each of the cast members had their own preferences, and Isuzu had no reason to be nosy about this.

“May I, ron?” Macaron approached and sat opposite her. One would only need to look around and examine the large crowd to find his actions natural. Isuzu nodded blankly.

Macaron had gotten the fried fish set meal, one of the dishes that were moderately edible in the canteen. If Isuzu hadn’t had that dream, she would probably have gotten it as well. Compared to Isuzu’s chicken curry, the fried fish set meal was 480 yen.

Nonetheless, it was still pretty pathetic of her as an elite royal guard of Maple Land to be hesitating between the two dishes.

“This is our first time chatting over breakfast, isn’t it?” said Macaron.

“You might be right.”

“You know, you’re always eating by yourself. It gives off an unapproachable aura, ron.”

“You think so?”

“But then again, it can’t be helped given your circumstances, ron.”

“You’re right.”

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Isuzu had served in the imperial regiment of Maple Land before coming over to manage the park last year. People essentially viewed her as a young and elite bureaucrat from the capital who was dispatched to their park. As such, she wasn’t exactly welcomed when she first joined Amaburi, and she had faced difficulties in solving their problems.

And so despite the liveliness and harmony among the other cast members in the failing park, Isuzu ended up being isolated.

“Am I disturbing you or something, ron? My bad.”

Realizing that Isuzu had been saying nothing but vague replies, Macaron quietly continued with his meal. He ate a slice of brie and sipped on some miso soup.

Isuzu never intended for this to end up being so awkward. She simply didn’t know how to respond to what others said, so she was unable to start a conversation.

Who would have thought that a royal guard from Maple Land would turn out like this?

Isuzu had certainly not wanted to ignore others, but it always happened that way. In the end, everyone concluded that she was just a dense stickler for the rules who imposed her beliefs on others. Chances were that Macaron was feeling the same way too.

I just need to try harder next time.

So she thought, but it never turned out any different.

Isuzu tasted a mouthful of curry in silence. It was just as she’d expected: the half-cooked chicken gave off a foul smell and tasted horrible.

“Isuzu-chan…” Macaron began, “when the food tastes disgusting, say ‘it’s disgusting!’ with your heart and soul, ron.”

Instead of following his suggestion, she maintained her straight face and nodded. “You’re right.”

“Like this, ron.” Macaron demonstrated with a dissatisfied “Meh!!” sheep growl.

“I’d always thought you were keeping your distance because you were the manager, but do you have some kind of problem communicating, ron?”

Isuzu twitched ever so slightly at Macaron’s bullseye. Before she could say something to defend herself, Macaron raised his arms and interrupted. “I knew it, your overthinking is impairing your ability to talk with others, ron. You should do something about this.”

“…”

Isuzu hesitated yet again.

Is this the part where I should tell him to mind his own business?

She didn’t exactly have a close relationship with Macaron in the first place. Furthermore, while his statement was valid, it wasn’t something one would want to hear first thing in the morning. Isuzu was well aware that Macaron must have been speaking out of good will, and that ignoring his advice and worsening her relationship with her colleagues wouldn’t be wise. But if she did as he said, wouldn’t Macaron take it as a sign that he was allowed to keep being bossy towards her?

Not knowing how to react, Isuzu ended up reusing her template response, “You’re right.”

Hearing that, Macaron frowned in resignation. “That’s just mean, ron. And here I was, genuinely worried for your sake! Oh hey, it’s Kanie-kun!”

“Hunh?” Hearing that, Isuzu turned to look at the canteen’s entrance. All she could see was the silhouette of a random cast member who was making his way out.

She turned back to face Macaron. He had a stiff posture and was averting his gaze. “My mistake, ron.”

“…I see.”

Slightly suspicious of his behavior, Isuzu had another spoonful of her curry. She felt something crunch. Isuzu dismissed it as a grain of uncooked rice and swallowed.

She had a sip of water and continued with her meal, oblivious to the fact that Macaron was watching her every move. He clenched his hoof under the table out of Isuzu’s vision, and silently exclaimed a “YES…!”

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