“Hmm? Oh, isn’t he an acquaintance of Fina-chan?”
“Just an acquaintance!” “No, he’s my fiance!”
They cheerfully asserted. Oh boy.
“No, we’re not. We’re not even lovers or engaged.”
“That’s right! We’re not. I’m sorry…!”
Despite my desperate denial, the girl blushed and stammered as if she might be misunderstood–Rafine. She has black hair because she has taken the form of Fina with the Ring of Transfiguration.
“Then, I’ll leave it to Fina-chan here!”
“Yes, leave it to me!”
The waitress who had been taking the order left, and Rafine, her eyes sparkling, stayed behind.
At the same time, the surrounding male customers’ eyes were piercing.
“Is he really her fiance?” “That’s a lie… how could such a dull-looking guy…?” “But he’s got a pretty good body. Maybe that’s her type.” Shut up.
…It’s really uncomfortable here. That’s why I didn’t want to come.
Yes, this is actually where Rafine works.
While I couldn’t go on adventures and was working as a day laborer, it seems Rafine and the others decided to work as well.
It’s not like I don’t have money, so they don’t need to work, right? But Rafine had never worked before, so she wanted to try it out, and she chose this place because she thought she could wear cute clothes here.
And Eve also works here. She’s in the back making the food.
“Alright! Let’s hear your order wan! Ah, let me take your order!”
“You don’t have to force yourself, you know?”
“I can’t do that! I’ll serve you with all my heart wan!”
Rafine enthusiastically added a weird ending to her sentences. No, seriously, it’s fine…
Rafine was dressed as a dog spirit, with dog ears on her head, a fluffy tail around her waist, and gloves resembling dog paws on her hands. She was wearing a cute maid outfit.
Even though she’s using the ‘Ring of Metamorphosis’ to change her appearance, she’s still a beautiful girl. She’s not shy and has a cheerful personality, and I heard she’s the top-ranked employee in this café’s popularity ranking (according to Wedd’s information).
She publicly declares that she has a fiance, and despite not offering services like taking photos together, she’s still popular. Her unwavering dedication seems to be what drives her popularity.
” …… “
“Is something wrong wan?”
Rafine looked puzzled. I turned my face away and said, “It’s nothing.”
…Well, I guess I can’t entirely blame her for feeling that way… or can I? What am I even saying? That’s not it. I’m not like that!
Shaking off those stray thoughts, I casually ordered something from the menu.
“I’ll have this.”
“One omelette rice, coming right up wan. And for you, Wedd-san?”
“Alright, I’ll have the same. …Huh, why didn’t you call me ‘wan’?”
“Two omelette rice dishes it is. Please wait a moment.”
“Huh…?”
Raffine takes the order slip and heads down to the kitchen.
After seeing that, Wedd looks at me with a smirk on his face.
“Hey, but you know, Jirei, you’re…”
“…What?”
“You’re doing your best, huh?”
“I’m not doing anything. Knock it off.”
“Hey hey, don’t be shy. I’m happy, you know?”
Wedd chuckles and gives a thumbs-up. Damn it…!
Damn it, he’s teasing me. I’ve said I’m not her lover or fiancée.
But no matter how many times I say it, he just smiles happily and winks at me creepily, saying, “Make sure to invite me to the ceremony,” with a disgusting wink. I want to punch him…
About ten minutes later, Raffine comes back with dishes on a tray.
“Here you go, wan! These are specially made omelette rice dishes, made with all my love. Pretend it’s me and enjoy wan!”
Raffine swiftly serves the dishes on the table. Only my omelette rice dish has a large, silver, round lid covering it, so I can’t see what’s inside.
“Oh, does mine have Finna-chan’s love too?”
“Yours is just a regular omelette rice dish.”
“Oh… okay…”
“Specially made”… Is there something weird in it? I’m starting to lose my appetite.
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As I cautiously attempt to lift the lid, Raffine stops me. Then, with a confident smile, she presents something.
What is this …… Ketchup?
Wedd dramatically falls off his chair and trembles with a shocked voice.
“Th-That’s… Could it be?! The legendary hidden service of this shop, the ‘I Love You Ketchup Message’?! Even after coming here dozens of times, I’ve never received it…!”
The surrounding customers exclaim in disbelief. “No way!?” “Even Fina-chan doesn’t do this for free…” “Who is that guy?” The murmurs of astonishment spread.
“It’s a little embarrassing, but for Jirei sama’s sake…!”
Even Raffine blushes as she says that. Upon seeing that, the customers in the shop erupt into excitement. Cheers and applause fill the shop. I remain expressionless.
“I’m ready. Now, Jirei sama–“
Raffine, with a serious expression, interrupts. I can hear the customers holding their breath.
The tension is so high, it feels like a battlefield. No, it’s just ketchup, right?
All eyes are on me as I absentmindedly lift the lid.
“Ray♡LOVE I Love You♡”
Splat.
The ketchup Raffine was holding spills all over my omelette rice.
my omelette rice.
“Go ahead, please enjoy?”
“…W-What’s written on it?”
“It’s your imagination. There’s nothing written there.”
Raffine tilts her head with a smile. She’s not smiling with her eyes…
“Wait a minute, you went to all that trouble to write something.”
As I’m flustered by Raffine’s pressure, a girl comes out from the kitchen.
The girl slightly puffs her cheeks and confronts Raffine with a displeased look.
She’s dressed like a professional chef, wearing a white chef’s coat and a light blue apron around her waist. With a ladle in her right hand, she slaps her left palm provocatively, like a savage brandishing a sword.
With light blue hair and eyes, the girl is Eve, a white mage by profession.
“What’s the matter? I just made it so you could eat it deliciously.”
“This omelette rice was made with my love for Ray. It’s the crystallization of my love. Don’t interfere.”
“Is that so? But when I carried it, it was overwritten by my love, so it’s invalid.”
“My love can’t be overwritten. Yours is invalid.”
“Then I’ll overwrite your love again. There, now Eve’s love is gone.”
Splat.
Ketchup is added to my omelette rice dish.
“Even so, my love is stronger. Invalid.”
Buchi-buchi. Another dollop of ketchup added from Eve.
“Overwrite.”
“Invalid.”
“Overwrite.”
“Invalid.”
“Can’t you stop already?”
The ketchup keeps piling up on my omelette. It’s turned into something unrecognizable, a red blob of something.
The two of them keep bickering without pause, sandwiching me in between.
“Even though Ray came all the way here for me, it’s Rafine’s fault.”
“No, it’s Eve’s fault! Besides, Jirei sama came to see me!”
“That’s impossible. I’ll entertain Ray, so Rafine should just leave.”
“No way! I’m the one who’s going to feed Jirei sama!”
“Ray, I’m better, right?”
“Jirei sama, I’m better, right!?”
Rafine on the right, Eve on the left. Two beautiful girls pressuring me.
Eyes from around the room gather on us. Expectant gazes from the two. Tension fills the silent restaurant.
In that moment, my answer was–
“I’m leaving.”
And with that, I left.
By the way… I heard later that the two of them were scolded by the manager for “not treating food properly.”
After that, they seemed to reflect on their actions and worked diligently, almost too seriously.
Perhaps it was because of that, for a while, they didn’t invite me to the restaurant as much. I do feel deeply grateful to the manager.
A few days later.
After waking up in the afternoon, I checked out of the stable and grabbed some breakfast from a food cart before illegally entering the magic library and diving into some books.
Next to me was a mountain of carefully selected books. Despite using “High-Speed Thought” for the past few hours to speed read, I hadn’t even finished half of them.
The fact was daunting. But, if I didn’t act, nothing would get done. I picked up the next book and quickly flipped through the pages, cramming information into my head.
As you can see, I was studying.
What I’m studying now is a field unknown to me.
It’s not a field where I can apply my knowledge of magic or martial arts, and as a result, I’m struggling to understand a lot of it.
This is the first time I’ve struggled so much to understand something. Even with complex and difficult magic spells, I’ve always been able to analyze and understand them by applying existing magical knowledge. But this time, I was completely clueless.
“Oh, I can’t understand… “
I threw the book down and buried my face in the desk.
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