Two holes. Verdell remembered taking a breath to calm herself down while facing a door, but she got dragged in and pinned by a group of men at the counter. Her face crumpled in fear. They seemed to be cultists, and they all were all looking at her like unlicensed doctors dawning at a newborn baby like they’ve been blessed with food. She said nothing, but she tried to struggle, even more so when the man in front of her walked forward while looking at her through his mask’s two eye holes like he was already peeling her clothes off.

The man took another step, rubbed his palms together, and spread his arms. He raised his chin with a sense of pride, but Verdell jolted, gritting her teeth as she kicked his balls. The bell rang. His body straightened next, allowing him to breathe through his nose and grunt before crumbling to the floor; it urged the other cultists to scramble like ants and hug the walls to get away from her.

Verdell stomped the ground, clenching her fists, and roaring, “I’ll kill—”

“What the fuck are you doing?” Rosemarie entered and her face froze, holding herself back to let out a chuckle at the man wriggling on the floor. Her gaze sharpened at the cultist that surrounded them. It took her all to keep her stern demeanor, but she broke with a short laugh. “Don’t tell me Penelope is out looking for some crosses to burn.”

“Oh, god.” A short woman wearing a green shirt paired with black pants under an apron ran out from the kitchen. She was rubbing her hands with a towel, but she dropped it when she saw the man holding his crotch. Her lips quivered, but after a deep breath through her nose, she covered her face with her hands and chuckled.

“Y-you were supposed to say ‘surprise.’ Penelope, where were you?” The man looked at Verdell and groaned. He removed his mask, revealing his sharp dreaded eyes matched by his unkempt newly-shaven facial hair as he forced himself to smile. “Suuuupriiiseeee…”

“I was in… Wait, you didn’t tell me anything!”Penelope shouted.

“Yes, yes…” Rosemarie placed her bag on the table to take out a pencil and a bottle of energy drink. With a tired sigh, still holding back a laugh, she placed the energy drink in front of the man’s face and touched the back of his thigh. “This should help.” She whispered some words at the pencil and turned it to ash, dulling the pain that made the man suffer.

The man jumped on his feet, snatched the bottle from the floor, chugged it, and retreated to the door while holding his crotch. He scowled at Rosemarie before slowly twisting his body away from her. “You’re not here to kick my balls?”

“I am,” Rosemarie dusted the ash from her hands. “it’s just that she beat me to it, boss.” She pointed him at her ruined clothes before smiling sweetly.

“B-boss?” Verdell took a deep breath and blinked like waking up from a frigid dream. The dark wooden box that seemed to trap her seemed brighter now that Rosemarie was there. She started to see that this was a cafe or a tea shop, after all. It didn’t take long for her to relax and rely on the counter to keep herself from falling, but she’s still unnerved at the cultists looking at her like they’re now wanting to shake her hand.

“She’s scared, isn’t she,” the man by the door asked.

“She’s just confused,” Penelope glanced at Verdell and glared at him. “I don’t know, maybe it’s because of an idiot who dragged her inside without a word, boss.”

“But, I did say surprise.” The boss cupped his chin and looked into Verdell’s empty eyes. “Where did I go wrong?”

Verdell furrowed her brows and gasped when she finally noticed the man in front of her. His pained and fearful smile somewhat made her feel guilty, and it turned worse when she remembered her kicking his balls. She looked at the man, wide-eyed, and opened her mouth, but no words went out of her mouth to defend her.

“Anyways… My name is Aaron. Penelope calls me boss, but you could call me Aaron or anything polite for that matter since it’s embarrassing. As you know, there are a few things I hate in this world.” He grinned. “I hate the bright morning sun. Two, It pains me to realize that my favorite shows would never get their next seasons and that the ‘experts’ are committing heresy by giving them endings; shitty ass No Game No Life cuckwads made them fuck with the elves too early I tell you.”

“Ah.” Rosemarie let out a long but silent uninterested groan, smiling at Penelope after taking the coffee that she offered to her. “This is getting sadder.”

“Not gonna deny that.” Penelope smirked back at Rosemarie, hugging the tray that she carried. “I’m good as long as the boss seems happy; he already looks brighter than when he got his crotched kicked in earlier.”

Aaron scowled at them. “Can I continue now?”

“Sure, boss.” Penelope smiled.

“Alright, I’ll give you the details later and if you don’t know Jojo’s, we’ll fix that. But really, what I hate the most in terms of people giving themselves an ending is that they’re betraying the source material for their own gain, you know. Like what happened in the past was set in stone, but they just ignored it and created this new future that would suit them; that is, indeed, heresy for me. Also, most importantly, do not, by any circumstance, refer to me as onii-chan, senpai, onii-san, or daddy, especially with that anime voice. I’ll punch you in your throat. I'll really do it. Don't try me, please.” Aaron clapped to get Verdell’s attention. “Got it?”

“Yes, sir.” Verdell straightened up her back and looked straight into Aaron’s eyes.

“Nice.” Aaron smiled and shook her hand. “Well then, you’ll be working with us from now on, and we’re glad to have you here. Welcome to the Melbrine Tea Shop.”