Pursuit of Diligence, Chapter 4

It was early morning in Burrowgatory. Wrapped tightly in his blanket, Miguel was snoozing away, enjoying a pleasant dream about warm, sweet pastries. He could have stayed like this for a couple more hours, if not for one thing...

- Beep! Beep! Beep! -

The noise of his alarm clock immediately woke Miguel from his dream, leaving the poor Succubun wondering why he had the corner of his pillow in his mouth. "Hey, this isn't a pastry..." Miguel groaned, before spitting the fabric out in disgust. "Damn it all, I was enjoying that dream..."

Heaving himself out of bed with a wide yawn, he punched the top of his alarm clock, silencing it. A glance at the clock face told him it was exactly five o'clock in the morning. Five o'clock? Why did I set my alarm so early today? Miguel wondered. I don't think I had anything planned today that would require getting up at the ass crack of dawn like this, did I?

It took him a moment, but before too long, he remembered. Miguel slapped his forehead. Oh, shit, that's right! I need to get going to the Heavenly Embassy again today! I volunteered to deliver a shipment of coffee beans to Beanny!

Shaking his head to banish the remaining sleep from it, Miguel quickly started getting ready to go. Making haste, he brushed his teeth and did the rest of his morning routine, before getting dressed and grabbing a couple large muffins from the kitchen for a quick breakfast while heading out. Right as he was about to open the front door, three of his imps blocked his path: Alegría the Lunell, Ratón the Mamoo, and Calabaza the Pampki. The three imps all looked at their owner eagerly, silently asking to accompany him on his errand.

Miguel sighed and chuckled. "You three want to come to the Heavenly Embassy with me? Even you, Calabaza? Didn't think you would after that one time with being lectured by Primrose..."

The three imps all expressed their excitement: Alegría spinning in place with a cheery expression, Ratón letting out a high pitched, jovial moo, and Calabaza placing her foot on Miguel's hoof, looking up at him in a pleading manner. "All right, all right," Miguel laughed. "I don't see Sueño with you, so I guess he isn't interested this time... but if you three are, I guess I'll bring you along. Come on, then, let's go!"

---

Miguel arrived at the Heavenly Embassy's gardens just as Burrowgatory's light cycle was beginning to shift clearly to daylight. There didn't seem to be any other buns around by the greenhouses at the moment, except for one that Miguel wasn't too eager to see: Primrose.

"You're a minute late, torero," the uptight Cherubun sighed dispassionately, snapping a pocket watch shut.

Miguel was still not quite fully awake yet, he had just walked all the way to the Embassy from his house, and he wasn't in the mood for Primrose's nitpicking whatsoever. "Oh, no! ¡Qué lástima! I'm exactly one minute late!" Miguel retorted in a mocking tone. "Surely, Burrowgatory is going to explode because I was late by only sixty seconds! Oh, get over yourself, Primrose. Fucking Karen that you are. You're not invited to my next Mamoo-fighting performance."

"Ugh, such disrespectful and crude language... and I couldn't care less about your ridiculous performances," Primrose scoffed.

"Whatever. Did you want me to deliver those beans or not, Primrose?"

"Ah, yes... the... beans..." Primrose said, emphasizing the last word with tangible disdain. "One moment, Miguel. I will retrieve them for you." Primrose stepped away and disappeared into one of the greenhouses for several minutes. When he returned, he brought with him a large wooden crate, filled to the brim with rich, brown coffee beans. Even standing several feet away, Miguel could smell their strong aroma. With a grunt, Primrose set the crate down on the ground and dusted off his hands. "I really cannot fathom why Beanny is so invested in these..."

"Thank you, Primrose," Miguel said tersely. I really don't want to be around this jerk any longer than I have to, he thought. His imps weren't comfortable either; the whole time he had been speaking to Primrose, they hid behind him.

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," Primrose yawned, before waving his hand at Miguel and his imps dismissively. "Now, off with you and your... beasts."

Miguel nodded, hoisting the crate full of coffee beans up into his arms, once again glad that he arrived in doll form as the crate would no doubt be too heavy for a bun. Without wasting time, he started heading straight for the Paradise Café. The quicker he got these beans over to Beanny - and the quicker he got away from Primrose - the better.

---

Miguel jogged across the cloudlike grounds of the Heavenly Embassy, his three imps keeping pace with him. The load he was carrying in his arms wasn't the lightest thing in the world, but he had to do what he had to do, and he was going to do it to the best of his ability. Carefully and securely he held the crate, making sure not a single bean would spill out from it... or go into his mouth, for that matter. They sure did smell delightful, and would probably taste amazing covered in chocolate...

The Succubun bit his lip, trying to think of something other than his gluttonous desires, as difficult as it was when carrying something that smelled so delicious. When he found himself reaching the front door of the fanciful building whose sign read "Paradise Café", the relief hit him like a ton of bricks. Placing the crate down on the ground beside him, Miguel knocked loudly on the door. "Beanny? I'm here with the coffee beans!"

As if on cue, the Cherubun in question cheerfully sauntered up to the door, flipping the little sign on it around from "Closed" to "Open", before opening the door. "Good morning, Miguel! You brought the beans like I asked, I see! Thank you so much!"

"No problem," Miguel replied, rolling his shoulders to stop them from going stiff, then shooing Calabaza away from the crate as soon as he spotted her poking at the coffee beans with her front foot. He wiped his brow. "I think this is a real good batch, too. They smell so good... you have no idea how badly that delicious smell was taunting me on the way here!"

Beanny giggled as she picked up the crate to bring it inside. "Oh, I can imagine. They do smell really good! I bet I can make some really out of this world coffee with these!"

"I have no doubt about that, Beanny! That latte you served me the other day was indescribable!" Miguel smiled and made a "chef's kiss" gesture, prompting more laughter from Beanny.

"I'm glad you like it so much," she said with a smile. "You had to get up pretty early today for this, why not come on in and grab a nice cup of the good stuff before you head back home?"

"That would be phenomenal. And could I get some scones or something too?"

"Sure, why not? You deserve it."

Miguel followed Beanny inside, feeling quite satisfied.