137 – So we’re not that kind of relationship after all. (11)
The date disguised as a mission continued.
The festival not only had street vendors but also some decent dessert cafes.
“Shall we go there?”
“Where?”
“The dessert cafe. I really love sweet things. I’ve always wanted to go there, but never had the chance.”
“Was there a dessert café at Celus Academy too?”
“Well, that’s…”
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“Um?”
“I don’t have any friends…”
“What? That’s the first time I’ve heard of that.”
It was a completely new sound. The renowned maiden had no friends? Adrian didn’t seem to have any personality issues either.
“Well, you see, being a maiden, the students found it quite difficult to approach me…”
“Ah, that makes sense. It’s not easy for anyone to have the audacity to be friends with a maiden.”
“Exactly! It was really frustrating. Especially since there are many aspiring priests at the academy, they created such an atmosphere that even those who were trying to approach me discreetly took a step back… Not that they did anything wrong, but it would have been nice if they showed some restraint… It wasn’t easy to say. They value me, so I understand why they act that way.”
“That’s inevitable. Anyway, because you don’t have friends, you couldn’t even go to such a dessert café?”
“Yes… Going to such a place alone is a bit…”
She bowed her head deeply. The typical nerd scent was so strong that it was a bit unpleasant. No, her temperament was completely extroverted, but her background seemed to prevent her from being an extrovert.
I can’t just leave it at that. I took her hand and led her.
“Let’s go.”
“Oh.”
“Why?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Let’s go in.”
Adrian’s eyes sparkled. Somehow, she seemed to be showing a side of herself that I hadn’t seen before. Well, no matter how burdened she may be, Adrian was ultimately just a seventeen-year-old girl.
This must be closer to her true self. Always smiling at small things, unable to contain her excitement about anything… Just an ordinary girl.
“What do you want to eat?”
“I wanted to try this once.”
“This?”
The parfait that Adrian chose looked very grandiose.
I remember the food culture here… I didn’t know much about desserts, so I just picked whatever. So, of course, there had to be such a grandiose parfait.
Seeing her looking at it with great anticipation, eyes sparkling, I couldn’t help but smile.
“You wanted to eat this that badly?”
“Yes!”
“Then let’s order. No, just order everything you want to eat.”
“I don’t think I can eat it all.”
Rumors of a certain maiden being a big eater were quite widespread.
“Who said that!?”
Adrian snapped at the mention of being a big eater. But the fact that she was a big eater remained unchanged. After all, wasn’t she the one who had drunk the blood of a giant?
Having drunk the blood of a giant, she gained immense strength, so she had to consume that much energy. Moreover, having completed knight training in that state, her basic food intake couldn’t be a joke.
Maybe she could eat everything she wanted without any problem.
“Well, that’s what the rumors say, right?”
“Ugh…”
She blushed as if embarrassed.
“Anyway, now is the time for you to do what you haven’t been able to do freely, right? Just do as you please. I’ll cover the bill if it’s about money.”
“I, I’ll pay.”
“What would the seniors think if they heard that I took advantage of my juniors like this?”
“Nobody will know anyway, right?”
“Alright. Just graciously accept it if your senior offers it~. By the way, did you bring enough money?”
At that moment, Adrian stood still. Look at that. I knew you’d react that way. It’s not like the saintess would typically carry money around. If she asked her attendants to buy something, they would have readily paid for it.
“Um, well. I think I might have forgotten to bring money….”
“See. That’s why I’ll just pay.”
“I will definitely pay you back.”
“You don’t have to. I may not be as rich as the Holy Kingdom, but I’m well-off in my own way.”
“Then I feel really sorry….”
“It’s fine. I could treat my cute junior to a dessert.”
“C-Cute junior….”
“Seeing you, I wonder how suffocating it must have been at the Academy and the Holy Kingdom. How did you manage to maintain a lively demeanor while trying to be so serious?”
“Did I really stand out that much?”
“Of course. You even asked to be treated casually by Roslan and the others. I thought there was a reason for it… Turns out you just needed a friend.”
Upon realizing this newfound truth, I was somewhat puzzled. Who could think of the saintess as a friendless loner?
“I’m sorry for not having any friends.”
Adrian looked out the window with a stern expression.
“Well, you don’t need friends like that. I don’t have any either.”
“Don’t lie. You’re surrounded by so many people.”
“Who?”
“Lina, Neana, Senior Aris, Senior Asti, and even Roslan….”
“I’m not particularly close with Roslan. We just have a formal relationship.”
“No, excluding Roslan. Are all those people your friends?”
“They’re not exactly friends. Just… a group that gathered out of necessity. We wouldn’t have resolved the recent incident without Lina and Neana.”
Adrian nodded with a skeptical expression at my response, then suddenly looked surprised.
“Wait. Why does it seem like there are only women around you, Senior? Do you really not have a single male friend around?”
“Come to think of it?”
“Senior, am I mistaken?”
“What nonsense is this again?”
I sighed. “Am I mistaken” indeed. What a frightening thing to say. It’s true I have no friends. They all disappeared after the incident with Aris attempting rape.
Not that I consider them friends anyway.
“Why would you call me mistaken?”
“Well… Senior Aris.”
“Good grief.”
I covered my face with my hand. I have nothing to say, darn it.
“Well, have I done anything wrong since then?”
But then, coincidentally, the parfait I had ordered arrived. The parfait, exuding a cold aura, was more splendid than any dessert I had ever tasted before entering the world of novels.
Wow.
The visual was so stunning that admiration naturally escaped my lips. Luckily, there didn’t seem to be any sinister ingredients like mint chocolate. With this, I should be able to eat it without any issues.
“Wow….”
Thankfully, the awkward topic was immediately diverted. Adrian was looking at the parfait with sparkling eyes, as if he had never seen such a dessert before. Clearly, why would someone familiar with only good things be so amazed by this dessert?
“Arin. Have you ever tried a dessert like this?”
“No. In Sung-guk, there’s a rule not to indulge too much in snacks outside of meals…”
“…Is there anyone who actually follows that rule?”
“Most people don’t really follow it, but I have to…”
“It seems like Sung-guk has a lot of things that need fixing, more than one would think.”
“Right? I feel the same way.”
As she said that, seeing Adrian scoop up a large bite of parfait and eat it with gusto, a chuckle escaped her lips.
Wanting to fall in love, wanting to eat dessert. Perhaps those two reasons were among the reasons Adrian was attracting the attention of the officials.
“Is it delicious?”
“It’s delicious! Honestly, I’d love to come here often in the future… though I’m not sure if that’s possible.”
“You think you can come here often?”
“Do you think so?”
“If this matter ends smoothly this time.”
“…Hmm. It might be a bit difficult?”
“You seemed so confident earlier.”
“There’s no guarantee of success in everything, right? That’s why I’m a bit anxious.”
“Don’t worry too much. You’ll definitely succeed.”
If you don’t succeed, it will put me in a difficult situation.
“What’s the source of your confidence?”
“Things I’ve handled usually end well. So don’t worry.”
“Hmm… Honestly, I can’t argue against that. I’ll trust you.”
“And let’s finish this first. Oh, it’s too sweet, I can’t eat much.”
“Then, I won’t decline… But still, I wanted to try this once.”
“What?”
“Here we go, ahh~”
What is she up to now? I looked bewildered as Adrian scooped up some parfait with a spoon and offered it to me.
“I just said. It’s too sweet to eat.”
“But just one bite. It’s from a cute junior, you won’t refuse, right?”
“…Sigh.”
“Is your arm hurting?”
“Okay. I’ll eat it.”
I know this isn’t something ordinary women do. Despite Asti’s words about Adrian having a liking for me… It felt like that was becoming more apparent.
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But I didn’t want to dampen her good mood after going out, so I couldn’t simply refuse.
In the end, I had to comply with her words.
I don’t even know what parfait tastes like. It’s too sweet.
“How is it?”
“It’s sweet.”
“Alright then.”
As I looked at Adrian smiling broadly, she seemed like a fox that had found its way here.
