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Episode 4.

The operating hours of our Bolbangbang Cafe are as follows:

10:40–11:00 Preparation
11:00–14:00 Morning Business Hours
14:00–16:00 Break Time
16:00–18:00 Afternoon Business Hours

Bolbangbang Cafe is a hidden gem nestled in Mt. Goma, not a place just anyone can stumble upon. Since it doesn’t get too crowded, the employees’ break times are just as long as their work hours. It’s a cafe that boasts an excellent work-life balance, providing services at a level that the squirrels can fully enjoy.

For me, this work-life balance still feels unfamiliar. To the point where I wonder, is it really okay to rest this much and work so comfortably?

• Jingle –

“Welcome~”

I greeted the customer who came in. Head squirrel Toko scurried out and delivered the official welcome men.

“Hot, hot?” (Hot one, Cold one?)
“A cold one, please.”
“Chaker, !” (Cold one, one!)

Toko skillfully took the order. Then, Mungko started brewing the coffee.

They were complete pros. With flawless, professional skill, he brewed the coffee and passed the cup to the side.

Then, Anko, who had been waiting by the side, used wooden tongs to plop ice cubes, one by one, into the coffee cup.

The cold coffee was finished in an instant. Anko picked up the finished coffee cup and trotted over to the customer.

No matter how many times I see it, it’s just so amazing that these little creatures can work with this kind of division of labor so diligently.

The customer received the coffee cup and then held out a whole six acorns. Wow, that’s a lot at once.

Then Anko made a V sign with their fingers. Seeing this for the first time, I thought Anko was just posing as if for a photo. But the customer seemed to know exactly what it meant.

“…You’re asking for just two~? I want to give you all six.”

At the customer’s words, Anko shook their head side to side. And then, with their tiny little hand, they made the V sign again.

But the customer persistently held out the six acorns to Anko. I wondered how Anko would react.

After a long standoff, Anko let out a soft sigh, poof, then picked up the customer’s acorns and swoop, tucked them into their mouth. One in the left cheek, one in the right cheek. They took exactly two in total.

Then, they casually turned their head away from the remaining four acorns.

But the customer didn’t back down easily. It seemed like they’d dealt with Anko more than once or twice before.

“Ah~ If Anko won’t take them… I guess I’ll have to give them to the other wild squirrels around here…”

The customer hinted slyly. Anko looked a little startled, glancing around warily, and then, at incredible speed, stuffed the rest of the acorns into their cheeks. Anko’s cheek pouches were instantly packed bulgingly full of acorns. Wow, so they can hold six at once too.

The customer, having succeeded in giving away all six acorns, had a face full of joy.

“I enjoyed the coffee! Next time, I’ll bring even more acorns~”

Anko turned their head away as if uninterested, but maybe they didn’t completely dislike it, because their tail started wagging gently back and forth like a cat’s.

• Jingle –

The customer left with a satisfied expression, and Anko scurried over to me. With cheeks about to burst. Some acorns were poking out a bit, so their mouth couldn’t even close completely.

The sight was so adorable that I naturally broke into a smile.

Anko carefully took out the acorns from their mouth, one by one, and placed them in my hand.

“Yes, I’ll keep them safe for you.”

I said with a bright smile to Anko, who was glaring at me sharply.

Unlike Anko’s unreadable eyes, their tail was wagging gently again.

Seems like a friend who’s prickly on the outside but sweet on the inside. Maybe they’re embarrassed about taking all six in the end after acting like they wouldn’t.

Holding the acorns Anko had given me, I headed to the cafe’s pantry. In the pantry, there are containers for storing acorns and various nuts, sorted by type.

I chose the biggest container and put the acorns in.

Huh, but this container feels heavier than it looks. Is there a lot inside already?

I tried to check how many acorns were inside, but my hand slipped by mistake.

As a result, the acorn container tipped over, and all the acorns stored inside came tumbling out.

At the sound of acorns rolling , the squirrel employees, wondering what was going on, rushed into the pantry.

And what unfolded before the squirrels’ eyes were plump, inviting acorns rolling all over the place.

The squirrels momentarily lost their composure and charged in with gusto.

Each one frantically swoop scooped acorns into their mouths.

Just like a sparrow can’t pass by a rice mill, these squirrels seemingly couldn’t possibly pass by the acorn field spread out before them.

With sparkling eyes, they hurriedly gathered the acorns. At times like this, they really do seem like ordinary squirrels.

I found this situation both absurd and funny.

I was watching their cheeks puff up as if under a spell, then suddenly snapped out of it and,

“Ahem!”

I cleared my throat deliberately.

The five squirrels flinched and froze. Only then did they seem to notice my presence.

They stopped their hands from gathering acorns, their eyes wide and round as they stared blankly at me.

All of them had their mouths full of acorns, wearing expressions as if they’d been caught red-handed.

“……”

I looked at the squirrels and kept my mouth firmly shut.

The squirrels, who had been frantically stuffing acorns into their cheeks, all stopped moving, and I could feel them fidgeting nervously. Maybe it’s a guilty conscience, but even though I wasn’t trying to scold them, they seemed startled among themselves.

Barely suppressing a laugh at their adorable appearance, I said.

“Um… Shall we just make today the acorn settlement day?”

At my words, Toko seemed to snap back to reason, and with a hugely shocked expression, they hit their own head, thump thump, blaming themselves. They cried out in an embarrassed voice.

“Toko, mistake…!”

In my eyes, they hadn’t done anything particularly wrong to that extent, but Toko is quite strict with themselves. Toko hurried over to the acorn container and chuk chuk put the acorns from their mouth back inside.

Then, in a solemn tone, they gave orders to the other squirrels.

“Return to original state!”

Then Anko, Mungko, Chuko, and Tadako also quickly ran over and returned the acorns to the container. A moment ago, they briefly showed the side of ordinary squirrels, but as expected, these guys aren’t ordinary squirrels. To show such amazing self-control in front of food. Their outstanding qualities as employees really stood out.

The employees also quickly gathered the remaining acorns scattered on the floor and put them back into the container.

I smiled brightly and said.

“I could have cleaned it up, but thank you.”
“Ugh!”

Toko replied in a cheerful voice again. The other squirrels also nodded their heads up and down vigorously. How can they be this lovable and pure? Just looking at them makes me feel like endorphins are naturally flowing.

“It’s already almost two o’clock~”

It’s finally break time. Anko and Chuko  ran over and closed the shop door.

So, first we eat lunch, and then we can just rest comfortably until we reopen at 4, I guess?

But how should we handle meals? It would be nice if I could cook for myself. But since this is a place run by squirrels, I doubt I can cook human food here. Should I go down the mountain and buy something to eat?

Toko tugged at the sleeve of me, who was worrying.

“Mr. Toko? Where are we going?”

Led by Toko’s hand into the kitchen, I saw a dazzling array of various cooking facilities fully equipped.

Whether the squirrels had managed to keep it clean, it was spotless without a speck of dust.

“So摩尔! Here, lunch!” (So摩尔! means ‘Squirrel!’ here, but ‘Solmo’ might be a name/mishearing. Keeping as Toko’s unique way of saying Squirrel)
“Can we make lunch here?”

Toko nodded vigorously.

Wow, great. Actually, I’m quite good at cooking. Being able to cook for myself is really welcome news.

I wonder if there are any ingredients I can use right now. I opened the cupboard.

Completely empty. I expected this to some extent. Hmm, it’s not a refrigerator, just a cupboard, so it’s hard to expect something to be inside.

Just then, Chuko let out a cute Choot-choot” sound, catching my attention. In the direction Chuko was pointing, there was a古朴的 old-fashioned natural wood-fired oven.

“Wow~ There’s even a wood-fired oven!”

I was so surprised, as if receiving a surprise gift, my mouth wouldn’t close.

Anything baked in this natural wood-fired oven would surely be several times more delicious than home oven cooking.

“I’ll go out and buy some ingredients.”

Then Mungko, as if waiting, wrote letters on a sticky note.

[Coffee beans.]

“Mr. Mungko? Um… Shall I buy coffee beans too?”

Not fully understanding, I looked at Mungko with a puzzled expression.

Mungko shook their head side to side, then post-it threw that sticky note into the oven. It instantly burned  brightly up and disappeared.

I still couldn’t figure it out.

Toko, as if to show me, proudly opened the cupboard.

Huh?

Coffee beans had appeared.

I couldn’t believe it, so I rubbed my eyes and looked again. When I had opened the cupboard just moments ago, there was definitely nothing.

“Wow, how did this happen?”
“The oven, gives, ingredients!”

Toko said clearly, pronouncing each word distinctly. Somehow, I could understand their speech in short, word-like forms perfectly.

With an excited heart, I briefly borrowed Mungko’s pen and sticky note. Testing it out would make it clearer, right?

“Shall I try just one simple thing first?”

[One egg]

I carefully threw the note into the oven. The note burned brightly up, and when I opened the cupboard, amazingly, one egg, which hadn’t been there before, had appeared.

Putting together Toko’s words and the result I just tried, it seems that if you write the name of an ingredient on a note and put it in this oven, that ingredient is immediately prepared in the cupboard next to it.

So this is how the squirrels prepared the beans and ran the cafe. Sourcing raw materials is this convenient.

It’s truly a magic oven.

I wonder if this oven can also produce completed dishes? Just in case, let’s try.

I lightly chose a menu. A dish I often make with an easy recipe.

[French Toast]

Without much expectation, I threw the note into the oven.

The note disappeared into the flames then, and soon after, a bang-! sound of something exploding came from the oven.

Parting the fragrant smoke and looking inside the oven, surprisingly, there was freshly made, piping hot French toast. A savory and sweet smell wafted from the appetizingly golden-yellow toast.

French toast for lunch had appeared in an instant before my eyes.

So, the structure is that dishes come out of the oven, and ingredients come out of the cupboard.

“Um, suddenly I have a question.”

The squirrels tilted their heads and focused on me.

“Couldn’t we just ask this oven for acorns?”

If this magic oven provided acorns, wouldn’t the squirrels not need to brew coffee in the first place?