3 New home

As I made my way downstairs I was thinking about what would happen to me because of my position.

Downstairs I wasn't expecting anything, but I still have a feeling that something bad is going to happen to me.

The place looked nice at first sight, the smell I could smell made me imagine many things about this place, I can think of it as an inn, restaurant or tavern.

As I descended the stairs, I went to the door in front of me and hesitated to open it.

When I opened the door I received the gaze of the giant woman who was behind a bar, behind her were several drinks and some plates and cutlery.

"You are already here, come closer little one" the woman beckons me and unconsciously I started walking towards her position.

Something told me it was better to obey her.

"I am Mia Grand, the owner of this establishment."

I gave a nod to the woman now known as Mia Grand, it's nice to know the name of the person you're talking to and avoid giving them a nickname.

"I'm Syr Flova, a pleasure."

A voice spoke behind me and when I looked around I found the girl who had woken me up a little while ago, she had a box of ingredients carrying her.

"Nice to meet you" I said as I gave them a wave with my hand, I don't know how it is around here for greetings, but I'll move forward slowly.

The names I have heard of them sound foreign, they remind me of the Asian continent.

Video games have shown me a lot of names and nicknames of different people, so the names didn't seem strange to me.

But this name comes into my head every time I try to think of a name for myself, it's not my real name, but I will use it.

"I'm Riku" I said as I bowed a little, I think it's kind of normal to perform this around here.

"The other girls are out shopping for ingredients when they come back you introduce yourself to them girl."

More girls, I guess this place is a bit big for only a few people.

Focusing my eyes around me I observe how the clientele of the place is very good, the objects I see seem to be of high quality and the aroma of the food that accumulates attracts more people.

"First your situation" spoke Mia as she grunted a little.

I don't think that rescuing a person in the middle of the street is normal and there is also the possibility that I am the target of some people and that's why they left me in that place.

"Syr found you in an alley, she said you were too injured to be an accident. A quick result is that you escaped from somewhere, but I need your confirmation of that."

I stayed thinking for a while before Mia's gaze, I can't say that from one moment to the next I woke up in the room without knowing what had happened to me.

"Honestly... I don't remember, every time I think about it I get a slight headache."

I can't say I woke up in this body that night and now I'm trying to fit in and understand why I'm here.

"I only remember since I woke up that night, that's why I was too scared."

"I understand" Mia's look turned a little sharp at what I said.

She probably doesn't believe me, even if I give her excuses, but in the end it's not a lie what I answered since I don't know how I'm here and that's what I asked.

"Let's leave it here if you don't know it won't do any good to ask you, you'll stay in this place."

"Huh?"

"No 'Huh' girl, you're under my tutelage now, don't worry if someone wants you they'll have to go over me" Mia said as she folded her arms and gave me a hard stare.

I was puzzled by what she said, first they save me and now they give me shelter, not everyone is kind like her I guess.

"This one, Miss Mi-"

"Call me Mama Mia while you're here" my words were interrupted at what Mia said.

Why does she want me to call her Mama Mia if I've just met her, I can't shake that doubt in my head.

"Is-that's -"

"It's not up for discussion, you are now under my care" I couldn't help but freeze at what Mia said.

What thoughts will you have to be told that way, I can't refuse things since I don't live here and now they are giving me a place to rest.

Also for some reason something tells me not to replicate the things she says.

"Is that clear?" she spoke sternly as she gave me a look that would accept nothing else.

"Yes, Mama Mia!" I said quickly at what Mia said, she wouldn't take no for an answer and apparently she's too scary to complain at what she said.

She nodded at my words with a smile.

"Follow Syr, she will tell you what to do, after all we all work here without exception" said Mia.

I just nodded at her words and started to follow the path where Syr had gone, the boxes gave me a clue, but nothing more.

"Syr, are you here?" I asked in the open air so I could find the girl I had been directed to, I still don't know the place very well, but I'm good at memorizing the places I stay.

A few seconds later I see Syr walk through a door without the box she was carrying.

"Is something wrong Riku-san?" wait a minute san?, what does that mean.

Well, I'll ask her later, I don't think it's something very important, I may think it's a nickname or something extra to refer to acquaintances.

"Mama Mia told me to look you up so I know what I'll do."

"I see" Syr stood for a moment thinking at my words.

The smile she realized for a moment made me wince momentarily before it quickly faded.

"Follow me, I'll give you an easy task to start here."

I did not refuse what she said, after all I just woke up and now I am going to work in the tavern, now this is where I will live and make the best of my part.

I followed Syr through some corridors until I reached what I could consider a room near the kitchen, I know a little about restaurants, but I don't know where everything is exactly.

After a few introductions with the other girls that were there I was able to learn more about why I am here, apparently Mama Mia doesn't mind saving and keeping some girls.

It may sound a little strange, but several of them were in complicated situations and are very grateful to have stayed in this place.

"Here it is, your duty will be to wash the dishes."

I looked at the place where the dirty dishes were, there were a lot of them and they were forming a small mountain.

"I can assume you know how to wash kitchen utensils, right?"

"I think so" I don't want to tell her that I didn't want to do the dishes, it's not something I'm used to since I often go out to eat or order something to take home.

It was when I was preparing my own food that I struggled and eventually cleaned the dishes, already feeling good about myself.

"Let's get started... thank you Syr."

"No problem!, don't take too long, it will be lunch soon. Take these, it's the rest of the uniform" said Syr as she handed me some clothes which were folded and withdrew from the room while leaving me alone with the hill of dirty plates and glasses.

I inspected the clothes and dressed in the white apron she had given me so I could complement it with the dress and the white headband which didn't seem to show much with my white hair.

I feel that my appearance is much better and I am more beautiful now.

I still have my cheeky thoughts to my current situation, the good thing is that I have been doing well since I woke up.

For some reason I hear my mom in the background telling me to make a good impression so that others will see me as a responsible person.

How will my family feel now that I am here?

It is better not to think too much about it, I may have a mental breakdown thinking about my death, maybe I just disappeared and now they are worried about me.

I shake my head to ignore the bad thoughts and start to grab a plate that was near me.

Carefully I lathered it up and watered it with the tap water, the dishes I see are mostly made of wood, but I see some of them made of glass on a nearby shelf.

Something tells me that in this place there are several things that are similar to those in my world.

I could see several bottles of wine and beer on the shelves as I made my way to the kitchen, even through worlds don't change much.

This place is very well set, the girls are nice and very open between coworkers, the place is quite nice there are several things to do.

I never thought I would work in a tavern, I still remember the jobs I did. Some of them were organizing candy to sell to my classmates, family and friends and also helping the family to sell food.

I have no idea if I'm going to get paid, but as long as I can eat, dress and sleep properly around here I won't mind that too much, although I will want to buy other things to entertain myself and leave my old ways of thinking behind.

Grumbling I see how the dishes never finish. I always take care to rinse it well in the water and put the soap on it to scrub it with the cleaning rag to get it clean.

The pile of dishes for some strange reason always stays the same and the mountain doesn't go down a bit.

This feeling brings back memories, when I had to do my work for the next day and was at night doing several jobs at once to avoid getting a bad grade.

It always felt like they were never going to end and when they finally did the feeling I got back then was great, then I would take a quick bath to cool off and go to sleep very comfortably after a productive day.

And here I was with the dishes that never end, at least I can see that I've had enough.

Every time I finish a small set of dishes another girl comes and thanks me for my work and ends up taking them to I don't know where.

I just give it a settling down to go on with my work, even to sleep for 5 days I am full of energy.

When a person wakes up from an accident they tend not to do a lot of things, but I'm grunting in my insides while watching the dishes.

When you wake up after an accident it tends to be quiet, but I moved around a lot.

*****

After a long time washing the dishes and cutlery, I can see the table and there is nothing left for me to clean.

The feeling of satisfaction could not be clearer on my face, I could think that my smile is genuine to my situation.

"Ah, you're the new nya!"

Nya?

A voice pulls me out of my thoughts and when I turn around I can see a girl who was pointing at me momentarily, I never thought to see in my whole life as a human being someone like her.

The girl had cat ears and a tail which was wagging, I was amazed to see it.

It looked great.

That's why I could hear a nya when she spoke to me, this is unreal.

"Are you okay nya?, you stood still when you saw me nya"

Because I was observing the fantastic characteristics of the girl I committed an action that could be considered rude to others, I don't think I could control myself in front of her actions, I had never seen people with animal parts.

*Coughing*

"Excuse me" I said as I bowed to show her some respect and showed that I did not wish to linger looking at her feline features "I'm Riku, I woke up in the morning."

"Yes, My name is Anya Fromel, nice to meet you nya" the woman spoke as she shook my hand.

I still couldn't imagine a person talking like a cat and now here I am in front of this girl who has those characteristics.

"Excuse me if I'm rude, but... Can I touch them?" said I while pointing towards her ears, for some reason I wish I knew what it was like to touch a girl with cat ears, I only saw this in fantasy series.

"I've never seen a person with animal features before, or I just don't remember."

Anya showed a little sympathy when she heard my words as she put her finger on her chin and started to think, probably Mama Mia already told her about me and she had a picture about how I acted.

"Okay nya!"

She leaned toward me.

At that moment I realized that my height was much smaller than other people's, Anya doesn't look very tall but she is not short either, I don't know how tall I am now.

When my hands touched the ears it felt like stroking a cat's head, as if I was petting my pet, I could hear a little purr from the girl and thanks to that I could understand that they have similarities with cats.

I would not know how to explain the anatomy of these people, if they are just extensions or if they differ in several things, such as their habits or the development they have.

"Thank you very much, that was very nice."

When I removed my hands I could notice Anya's tail wagging back and forth as if she was happy, knowing where to stroke a garo's ear brings benefits.

"No problem nya! It's nice to meet new people nya! " Anya just laughed a little at me as she retreated from the room.

When she left, I fixed the things she had moved, such as the cleaning items and tidied up the dishes that were not taken.

Honestly I have never been able to think of how in fictional stories people are half animal or something like that, I always thought they were descendants of some gods or were blessed and kept growing that way.

"Brrrr"

A sound brought me out of my momentary trance at the cat girl's thoughts, apparently my stomach was already asking me to eat, I can certainly think that not having eaten for 5 days I already needed to eat something.

After saying goodbye to some of the girls who were fixing the tools and the pantry, I headed for the real kitchen room.

When I entered my nose was filled with multiple smells which I could not tell which one belongs to each one, the food I see are some vegetables the same as the ones I know, but other elements are not of my knowledge.

The kitchen utensils that I observed around me were very good, even someone like me who is not an expert in the kitchen can assume that they are of good quality.

The kitchen cabinets looked very similar to those in my world, the oven looked exactly the same only I could see that it was not connected anywhere, I could tell that electricity exists, but not in the way I knew.

The stones I saw could be the solution, but I don't know where they came from, it was probably mining.

"Are you Riku nya?, I'm May the cook nya"

While I was distracted looking around the kitchen another cat girl introduced herself to me, compared to Anya and the other girls she was dressed differently.

Instead of the green dress worn by the other girls she is wearing a white chef's outfit.

On her head she does not have a headband but a cap similar to a beret with two openings for her ears and her shoes are not booties but high heeled boots, also on her neck she has a small flare tied in a knot.

"Ah, yes."

I was a little surprised.

The girl apparently knew about me, but I know nothing about her.

I never liked someone saying my name without knowing who they are, it gives me the feeling that an introduction is useless with that person.

"A pleasure, I woke up this morning and chatted with Mama Mia, Syr sent me to do the dishes" I don't want to be rude but her looks are very distracting, I'm still not used to seeing cat people, I guess there will be more like her.

"I came with a-"

"Brrr"

Suddenly the same sound that had brought me to this area was heard by her, obviously I couldn't help but be embarrassed.

Whenever I visited a friend at their house I never told them I was hungry until I needed to, I was somewhat embarrassed or ashamed to do so and here I am in front of someone while my stomach is rumbling.

"Nyahaha!, I get it nya, I guess sleeping a lot and working made you hungry nya" at May's words, I just turned my eyes in embarrassment.

The embarrassment I'm having right now shows that nothing like this has ever happened to me before.

"Follow me, let's go eat with Mama Mia nya!"

At my initiative of hunger May took me by the hand and guided me to where she had spoken, I can't help thinking about how people saw me.

During my life I learned a little about how people acted, I saw myself as childish and carefree.

I don't really like being treated like a little kid, but remembering how I looked in the mirror I guess I'm a little kid now.

Let's see what's in store for me and the food they prepared.