'TEACHER?!' Closing the door behind her, Rain stood there confused and downright stupefied.
"Language, please," Her teacher said with a casual smile. He wore a dark apron, tied his hair in a ponytail, and stood behind a polished counter. Rain thought she had finally lost her sanity; that was the only way this could have been possible. No! No! She hadn't gone crazy, no matter how infuriating her teacher was! Rain came to the establishment known as Sunny's brilliant emporium because she heard rumors of the food being good and the owner being a beautiful and pleasant young man, according to older women, or being a pretty boy, according to girls her age.
She had assumed they were talking about Saint Nightsinger. So Rain was absolutely horrified to see her teacher standing there! Was Sunny his real name or a nickname? Rain thought it was Shadow, like he told her! Unless it was another lie? No! No! No! This man couldn't have been her teacher! Maybe he had a twin he never told her about, or someone was impersonating him.
Yes, that had to have been it! Because, as far as Rain was concerned, her teacher was supposed to be in her shadow at this very moment! But at the same time, something in the back of her head told Rain that this was her teacher; she had spent four years around the dark deity that was her teacher to know most of his mannerisms, his obnoxious smile, his boisterous laugh, his dumb jokes, and most of all his outrageous claims he hadn't said any yet but Rain knew they would come soon. She would get to the bottom of this.
"Brat! Are you spacing out on your teacher?" He snapped his fingers at her with an annoyed expression.
"T-teacher, what are you doing here, and who's the brat there?" Rain lifted a trembling finger to point at him as she tried to understand this crisis, but to no avail. Rain then pointed at the minor child, who was wearing quite the professional attire and hovering a few centimeters off the ground beside her teacher. She stared at Rain with a curious expression that turned into a frown after hearing Rain.
"Hm? Ah, I own this place, and she's not a child. Rain, this is my assistant Aiko!" He held a bright smile on his face, moving his hand to gesture to the woman beside him.
"Boss, why's this kid calling you teacher? And who the hell are you calling a brat, huh?! I'm 28 years old!" The small woman named Aiko pointed accusingly at Rain.
"Ah, I'm sorry! My sincerest apologies, auntie." Rain bowed with a guilty look on her face. And what did he mean by "I own this place"?! Since when?! He was just a bum deity living in a mundane girl's shadow!
"Auntie?!" The petite woman's eyes widened in horror. Aiko floated towards Rain with startling speed, and a moment later, Rain saw her teacher effortlessly holding Aiko back by the shoulder with one hand to keep Rain from being tackled. His smile was more reserved.
"Because she is my student, Aiko, I'm training her, and her name is Rain. I'd appreciate it if you didn't lunge at her." Aiko calmed down at the mention.
"Hey! What's all the commotion out here? Oh! But before that, Aiko, be a dear and please put this on the table for me." Upon hearing the voice, Rain whipped her head to the source, and the door to the kitchen swung open, revealing her- her T-teacher again in the same dark apron holding a cake which suddenly floated towards the table Rain was standing near. Rain took a few steps back. What the hell was going on around here?! Was Rain in the Twilight Zone?!
"Nothing to be concerned about, just our student overreacting about something, and speaking of students, be careful, Rain, you keep whipping your head around like that and you're bound to get whiplash. You should sit down and eat a slice of cake to calm your nerves." A joyful, carefree voice said behind her. Rain ignored the advice and turned so fast that she became dizzy momentarily, only to see a third teacher smiling at her! She stumbled in place at the sight. Rain wasn't hyperventilating; she was doing breathing practices! This time, Teacher was in the attire Rain was used to seeing. But that didn't make sense. The Teacher never appeared when someone was around. So, what logical explanation did Rain make for all of this? Well, it was pretty simple….
She had somehow died and gone to the afterlife; this was her punishment! It had to be! Three teachers?! One was already tortured enough!
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" Rain finally asked with a hysterical look on her face, chest heaving from yelling.
"A proper introduction, that's what, so no need to yell. My real name is Sunless, but most people call me Sunny, and you are witnessing my transformation now."
Aiko looked at him with slightly wide eyes. "I knew you were too goddamn pretty to be a Master! You being a Saint answers a lot of questions! Why am I not being paid more, then? You should be filthy rich, so I should be too." She got in his face and poked his chest hard several times, but stopped when he didn't budge an inch.
Teacher, no, Sunny. No! Nope! Sunny sounded too strange. Sunless, who apparently was a Saint, gestured to the other two, who dissipated into shadows. One shadow stayed connected to his feet, while the other glided out of the restaurant at impossible speeds, going elsewhere.
Still trying to comprehend what she was hearing and seeing, Sunless, the deity, or rather the man who constantly claimed he was her long-lost brother, continued to speak.
"Because you're too damn greedy that's why, what do you even spend all your money on anyway? You constantly want more money, and I'm convinced that it's your damn flaw—move on from that! Anyways! Did I ever tell you two ladies that Princess Eunbin wanted me to run away with her once? It was tempting, but a pretty face doesn't easily sway your teacher! Though I wish I had taken her up on that offer now that I think about it. I mean, would it really be so bad?" He mused to himself, holding a thoughtful look on his face.
That got Rain's attention: Princess Eunbin and her teacher? She internally recoiled at the thought of those two being together. There was nothing wrong with Lady Eunbin. From the time Rain caught sight of her, she had an affectionate personality and contagious laughter. She was charming, delightful, and drop-dead gorgeous; anyone with eyes could see that. She also had an infectious laugh, which made her very likable. However, Rain may have been biased since she looked up to Lady Eunbin, Queen Song's daughters, and the Blood Sisters.
It was her teacher, on the other hand, who made her recoil! Who would have the patience to put up with someone so insufferable, arrogant, and unreliable? Strangely, Rain could see the minuscule chance of it happening and not mind it. Rain shook her head rapidly, ignoring the strange looks she got from her Teacher and Aiko. Why was she even thinking about this? Rain stepped forward and sat in the chair, earning a smile from her teacher, who had surprisingly let her ponder in peace for once, which she appreciated but would never say aloud.
Aiko floated up the stairs, saying she would get Rain a hair tie.
Wait, hang on.
Wasn't this place only one story?
Why was there a second floor? Rain shook her head, knowing that a headache would appear if she contemplated it more.
Rain eyed him skeptically. "So, teacher, you're a saint?"
Teacher nodded, moving to sit across from her and smiling.
"That's right! Isn't your teacher so fantastic? So strong?"
While cutting a slice of cake, another teacher appeared again, holding two plates with forks, one with pancakes and an omelet, and the other empty.
This time, he was utterly silent, yet his expression was unusually sullen, giving the impression that he wanted to be anywhere else. The sullen Teacher stared at the smiling Teacher with disdain before putting the empty plate in front of her teacher. Then the gloomy teacher stared at Rain with an annoyed expression for a few seconds, and for whatever reason, it softened for just a heartbeat, so much so that if it weren't for her training, she wouldn't have noticed. He returned to his gloomy expression and positioned the plate of pancakes in front of Rain, then patted her head a few times before he shook his own with what she figured was sympathy for her.
"Yes, Teacher, you sure are something. So what exactly are you doing here? " Not bothering to question the strange interaction that just occurred. Rain pulled the plate closer, inspecting the breakfast items on it, and her sarcasm was evident in her voice.
"Running a business, that's what! Do you know that I work closely with the Song sisters now? I'm expanding and I'm rich! Speaking of employment, you have to start pulling your weight, brat." Darkness flowed into his hand, and a dark apron identical to his own appeared. He went to hand it to her, but stopped himself as if contemplating something, and a subtle frown crossed his features. He retracted his hand, and the apron dissolved into Darkness.
"Well, brat, it looks like you got lucky. You can keep freeloading for a while longer." He waved his hand lazily.
"Who are you calling a freeloader? You're just a homeless deity bum living in my shadow! You old fart!" She pointed accusingly at him, which made him stop eating and point his fork at her with a look of outrage.
"You! You're the freeloader! Who are you calling homeless? And who are you calling old?!" Her Teacher gestured around the cafe.
"Forget it! Teacher, do you know anything about the new Saint called the Lord of Shadows?" Rain asked, dismissing their previous conversation with a hand wave, not wanting this to go on all night.
Yes! I know Lord Shadow very well, like the back of my hand. He and I are like brothers." Teacher smiled proudly, getting an eye roll from Rain. She wanted a serious answer; all she got was his usual nonsense! Working with the Song Sisters, did he think Rain was that gullible? Why couldn't he be serious for once?
"Uh-huh, and I'm Princess Moonveil, teacher. There's no need to lie to your precious student. We both know you don't work with the Song Sisters, nor do you know the Lord of Shadows, whose name implies that he is royalty,might I add. You know what? If one of the Queen's Daughters or Nightingale were to walk in at any point today, I would work here for free without complaints!" She proclaimed boldly with a smile, but it dimmed when her teacher smiled sinisterly, and sparks of darkness formed in his hand. And a bland, bare rock appeared, which he held as if it were one of his most prized possessions.
"Say that again, please. Go on. What will you do if one of the Queen's daughters walks in here?" He held the rock to her face and put it in her hands.
"I-I will work here for free, no complaints. Why am I holding this rock?" Rain scratched her cheek while taking her first bite of the pancake, her eyes widened at the taste, and she sighed contentedly. It was divine. Heaven sent. She quickly regained control, but it was too late. His sinister smile widened at her reaction and proclamation, and Rain felt a chill run down her spine. Something in the back of her mind was screaming at her to take back what she said, but Rain stubbornly ignored the voice.
"Excellent! And it's just for later, just in case you try to go back on your word and deny what you promised." He chuckled darkly, leaning back in his chair.
This behavior was unlike her teacher. Rain sensed she had made a mistake, a terrible mistake.
"Now with that out of the way, I can ask the questions. Tell me, Rain, what brings you here to my humble shop?" For once, he looked genuinely curious.
Rain lingered for a few seconds. "I was hungry and heard rumors about this place."
Sunless gave Rain a long stare that gave the impression that he didn't believe what she said. "Right, of course. You were hungry and nothing else. You weren't expecting someone like Nightingale to be running this cafe, were you?" He theorized
How did he know that? Could he read minds, too? Rain scoffed at his words. "No, of course not, but I certainly wasn't expecting you." Rain kept her smile from wavering by taking a bite of her omelet, and nearly devoured it from the first taste. How was he such a good cook?
He gave her another long look. "Hmm, alright. Well, I'm expecting company soon, so if anyone asks who you are, say you're my student and unpaid intern, because you are."
That piqued Rain's curiosity."Oh? Who is it?" She asked before taking another bite, This was good.
Her Teacher shrugged casually, getting up to leave for the kitchen. "Princess Revel, Eunbin, and possibly Saint Nightingale, or not, who knows? I could be wrong."
Rain was bewildered that he told such a bold-faced lie with a straight face, but then she remembered who she was talking to. Rain's teacher was the same dark deity who told stories of being the heir to the daemon of fate and that the God of Death blessed him from beyond the grave.
Rain would never get a straight answer from him: just more lies and ridiculous tales.
Rain's Teacher returned with two glasses of water for each of them. He put one down in front of Rain. Sitting across from her once more. "So, how was the food? Delicious? A gift sent from the heavens? You can be honest."
He smiled smugly, but he was right. They were heaven-sent, divine. Rain had never tasted anything so perfectly cooked in her life, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that!
So she gave a nonchalant shrug. "They were okay, I guess. And what did you mean by unpaid intern? Nobody has shown up yet."
He gave her an annoyed look. "Don't lie; you work for me now because they're about to arrive." Suddenly, he smiled, throwing an apron at her face. "Put this on and get ready to introduce yourself."
Who was?
No, that is impossible! He didn't know the Queen's daughters.
Right? Right?!
Rain heard faint talking that was getting closer to the entrance, and quickly put on the apron. Just in time, too, as the moment she did, the door opened, revealing a ridiculously handsome man with auburn hair and electric green eyes alongside two drop-dead gorgeous women, it-it-it was N-Nightingale, Princess M-Moonveil, and Eunbin. And they were staring with smiles! At Rain!
Rain slowly turned around to look at her teacher, who was smiling with glee at her petrified expression. He walked towards them, grabbed Rain by the shoulders, and gently turned her back towards the stunning people still staring at her. He gave her a light push and smiled at them politely.
"Ah! Lady Eunbin, Lady Moonveil, and Saint Nightingale, what pleasure to see you again! Forgive her, she's pretty shy, go on, introduce yourself."
The Enchantress stepped forward, smiling at her teacher. "The pleasure is all mine, Master Sunless. I would have come sooner, but I got held up. You never told me you had another pretty assistant, and she's so gorgeous. What is your name, dear?" Lady Eunbin held out her hand and smiled kindly.
Rain's brain had stopped functioning properly. After a moment, she managed to speak and smiled meekly. "U-um Hi, I'm Rain." Gods, she wanted the ground to swallow her.
Princess Eunbin smiled beautifully. "Rain, what a unique name!" Her voice was like velvet
Saint Nightingale smiled so brightly that his cute dimples showed, making Rain blush slightly. "Rain! It's good to see you again; you've grown up so much." His voice was as smooth as honey. Rain went to fix her hair, but stopped when she realized Eunbin was still holding her hand out. She shook it, earning a smile from the woman. Lady Eunbin smoothly moved towards her teacher, who had grabbed several glasses containing different drinks, and put them on a table.
Lastly, Princess Moonveil, who had silently watched the interaction, smiled politely and nodded. Moving to join "Sunless" and Princess Eunbin at the table
Nightingale smiled at her, motioning with his head to join them. The Dragonslayer sat down beside Moonveil, who was sitting to the left of her teacher. Meanwhile, Rain took unsteady steps towards the table and sat in a chair between her teacher and Eunbin.
Gods help her, Rain would never hear the end of this.