The restaurant didn't open for another hour.
Alerted by the sound of the restaurant doors slamming shut, the Food Souls working there hurried out into the dining area, ready to defend. Gene waited in the kitchen, where his newly summoned Food Soul was keeping him until it was safe.
"It's just Cupcake!" One of the Food Souls, Tiramisu, called out.
Confused as to why Cupcake was even out, Gene hurried out of the kitchen and into the dining area. Sure enough, Cupcake had just entered the restaurant. He was carrying a basket full of ingredients for recipes and the meals, and some of those ingredients weren't in the safer areas.
"Cupcake, what were you doing out!?" Gene demanded, crossing his arms.
"I'm sorry, Master Attendant...." Cupcake apologized, sighing with guilt. "I wanted to be helpful..."
"Cupcake, I told you before, you can be helpful, all you have to do is train." He groaned, shaking his head.
"Um... Master Attendant?" Tiramisu started, uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes, Tiramisu? What is it?" He asked, turning his attention to her.
"Cupcake doesn't have any Soul Energy..." She answered, giving the said Food Soul a look of worry and pity.
".... So what does that mean?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
"It means, dare I say it, that he's considered useless to human usage... he's an empty shell..." She explained, placing a hand on Cupcake's shoulder.
Gene looked down at Cupcake, feeling a bit bad about being so harsh on him now. A Food Soul without any Soul Energy was useless for a human to use, especially when fighting against Fallen Angels. Even so, Cupcake could always use his physical body to shield Gene from any harm.
"Milk, Crepe, Black Tea, Chocolate, and Hawthorne Ball." He started, turning to the five said Food Souls. "I want you to go to the forest and get some potatoes, pork, squid, cucumbers, carrots, oysters, and lettuce."
"I'm so very happy to help you..." Milk nodded, her voice very quiet and soft.
Once the assembled team of Food Souls departed for the forest, Gene took Cupcake to the kitchen area. Tiramisu followed them, but not for the purposes of talking. Tiramisu was the head chef, with Sandwich and Sakuramochi serving as the waiter and waitress.
"Cupcake, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Gene asked the Food Soul, honestly a bit disappointed in him.
Cupcake didn't respond, instead just staring at the floor of the kitchen. Over at the stove, Tiramisu uncomfortably started to boil the lettuce for the meal she was preparing.
"Come on, Cupcake, you can talk to me..." He said, before noticing the look on the Food Soul's face. "You.... you do trust me, right?"
"Of course I do, Master Attendant, it's just...." Cupcake trailed off, before hearing a door open and shut. "..... What was that?"
Gene looked outside the kitchen, seeing a highly suspicious stranger walk into the dining area of the restaurant. Sandwich, Dorayaki, Sakuramochi, Taiyaki, and Tom Yum braced themselves for a fight, but their stances faltered when they saw the person accompanying the stranger. They certainly did look human, but there was just... something off about them.
"T-That's....!" Cupcake gasped, hiding behind Gene.
"Boston Lobster." Tiramisu stated bitterly, having turned off the stove so it wouldn't burn the kitchen down.
"Is the your contractor around?" The stranger, now identified as a male, asked the Food Souls.
"Yes, and I'm right here." Gene replied, walking out of the kitchen.
