Chapter 44: Contact with the Cat
Chapter 44: Contact with the Cat
She seemed to ponder something for a moment before suddenly asking,
“Then where are you going to be during that time, Oppa?”
Oppa?
For a moment, Ras did not realize who she was referring to, then quickly understood she meant him and became slightly flustered. Compared to the distance he thought existed between them, she was unexpectedly forward.
Is this what they call an extrovert? No, more than that, maybe she just feels like a child.
“Um, Oppa?”
When Ras did not answer, the girl leaned her face close to his. Startled, Ras instinctively pulled his head back, while the girl laughed softly as though amused.
She looked at least sixteen, yet the way she behaved felt incredibly innocent. Ras cleared his throat once before answering.
“Ah. I’ll probably just rest at home? Well, I have studying to do and other things, so I’ll probably just stay at home.”
In truth, there had been no need to add the latter half. But perhaps because he was flustered, or perhaps because of the girl’s friendly attitude and beautiful appearance softening his heart, he found himself speaking longer than intended.
“Home? Ah! Where’s your house, Oppa?”
Ras almost answered naturally, swept along by the flow of the conversation. But he barely managed to stop himself and shake his head.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“...Really?”
The girl stared directly into Ras’s eyes before lowering her head with a dejected expression. She was the kind of girl whose every action drew attention. Even though he had done nothing wrong, Ras somehow felt guilty.
In any case, now that he had informed her about the vacation, he thought he should simply say goodbye and head home. He glanced toward the darkened office. All the lights were off, and the lock was secure. Ras lowered the shutter and locked it as well.
Then, when he turned back and met the girl’s eyes again, a thought suddenly came to him.
Come to think of it, I still don’t know this kid’s name.
He had known her face for quite a while now. Even enemies usually knew each other’s names at least. And since it felt like they would continue seeing each other for a long time, he thought it would be good to know.
“Um.”
“Hmm? What?”
The moment he spoke to her, her expression brightened again. She really did have a cheerful personality.
“Could you tell me your name?”
“Me? I’m Ella.”
Considering her personality, he had not expected her to hide it, but the answer still came without even a second of hesitation. It gave him a surprisingly pleasant feeling. It meant she truly was not wary of him.
“I know your name too. Ras, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
This was not especially surprising. Since she had spent so much time lingering around nearby, he had expected she would at least have heard his name.
Now that they had exchanged names, they should have parted ways, but somehow it did not feel right. Ras glanced at Ella. It was not simply that he wanted to spend more time with this girl. There was something else as well.
What is this uneasy feeling?
And then Ras realized it. This was the perfect chance to gather information about the Orphan Gang.
He needed to talk with her more. No, he could talk with her more.
“Miss Ella.”
“Huh? Yes!”
Ella widened her eyes slightly in surprise at the respectful form of address before smiling brightly. It was the first time someone had spoken to her so politely. But she did not dislike it at all.
“Have you eaten yet?”
“No.”
At Ras’s question, Ella unconsciously placed a hand on her stomach and shook her head. If she had already eaten, he had planned to suggest a teahouse instead, so he was relieved. Still, asking a girl, especially one this beautiful, to share a meal suddenly made him nervous. Ras swallowed once.
“Would you like to eat together? It’s my treat.”
“Really?! Okay! Yay!”
Ras had intended to add some explanation, like saying he wanted to talk with her. But all that preparation turned out to be unnecessary. The moment he finished speaking, Ella immediately accepted. For some reason, she even raised her right hand while doing so.
Seeing that, Ras smiled faintly and said,
“I’m glad you’re interested. Then let’s go.”
As Ras left the office together with Ella and headed to catch a taxi, he considered what kind of restaurant they should visit.
At first, he thought he might as well take her somewhere fancy now that things had turned out this way. But after looking at Ella’s appearance, he suddenly realized something.
To Ras, her appearance was simply beautiful, nothing more.
But upscale restaurants had dress codes, which meant she would not be allowed in dressed like that.
Of course, they could buy proper clothes. But even if treating her to a meal was fine, buying clothes for a girl he had only just exchanged names with felt a little strange.
In the end, Ras settled on a decent restaurant among more ordinary establishments. Fortunately, one of Ras’s hobbies was searching for good restaurants, so he knew quite a few places.
“We’re taking a taxi?!”
Ella seemed excited just by the idea of riding in a taxi. Considering her striking appearance, it did not feel that way at first glance, but given her circumstances, it would not have been strange if she had never ridden one before.
Ras felt slightly uneasy leaving her alone in the back seat, so he glanced behind him. Ella was looking all around the inside of the taxi with fascination. He wondered what was so interesting about the empty back seat, but he was just glad she looked happy.
“Do you know Dornen Restaurant?”
“Ah. There? Yes, I know it.”
The Gnome taxi driver seemed to think for a moment before nodding his head, which barely reached below Ras’s eye level.
In the past, Ras had occasionally worried whether Gnome drivers could properly operate vehicles with their small bodies. But since there had never been any problems until now, he was simply thankful he did not need to explain the location further.
“Then please take us there.”
“Yes. Yes.”
A little while later, the taxi passed through the downtown district and entered a quiet street lined with impressive rows of large roadside trees. Before long, it stopped in front of a two-story building with a large sign reading <Dornen Restaurant>.
“Miss Ella.”
Ras stepped out first and opened the rear door for her.
Ella had noticed they arrived. However, since she had never ridden a taxi before, she was not certain how to open the door and hesitated awkwardly while Ras got out first. Left alone inside the vehicle, she panicked for a moment, but when Ras opened the door and smiled while gesturing for her to come out, she sighed in relief and hurriedly stepped outside.
“We’re eating here?”
Ella sounded slightly excited. Ras was relieved she seemed to like it. Together, they climbed the shallow stairs leading to the restaurant entrance.
The interior was not especially remarkable. Still, compared to ordinary restaurants, it had clearly paid some attention to the interior design, and it felt clean rather than disorderly like a neighborhood diner.
However, the place apparently felt unfamiliar to Ella. Instead of wandering around freely like usual, she stuck closely beside Ras while busily darting her eyes around. Ras was slightly surprised by the contact, but since it did not feel unpleasant, he secretly smiled and escorted her inside.
“Shall we sit here?”
“Mhm.”
The spacious restaurant was filled with various races chatting away while enjoying their meals. Perhaps the sheer amount of information overwhelmed her, because by the time they found an empty seat, Ella looked slightly intimidated.
But once seated, she quickly calmed down, and soon those orange eyes of hers sparkled again. It felt as though she had rapidly recharged herself somehow.
“Is there anything you want to eat? You can choose from here.”
Ras unfolded the menu lying on the table toward her.
At upscale restaurants, waiters came over to explain every dish individually, but honestly, Ras preferred menus where people could simply read and choose for themselves.
“I don’t really know.”
After staring at the dish names on the menu for quite some time while making thoughtful humming sounds, Ella eventually looked up with a troubled expression. Given her environment, the concept of paying money to order prepared meals was vague to her in the first place. She had always simply eaten whatever food she could obtain at the time.
“Really? Hmm. Then do you prefer vegetables or meat?”
“Meat!”
“Then what kind of meat do you like? Chicken? Pork? Lamb? Or beef?”
“Umm... beef?”
Ras smiled gently and chose the menu for her instead. Normally, it might have been bothersome, but perhaps anything depended on who the other person was. Watching a cute cat-eared girl tilt her head while answering made it enjoyable instead.
“Excuse me.”
After deciding on the menu, Ras called over a passing waiter and placed their order. Ella watched the waiter leave before turning back to Ras with a grin and suddenly saying,
“Oppa, you really must be rich if you eat at places like this.”
Ras had only considered it a reasonably decent restaurant, but to Ella, who had only known cheap neighborhood eateries, this place looked like a luxurious establishment. Moreover, the menu prices she had just seen were so high by her standards that it was difficult for her to think of them as the cost of a single meal.
Though Ella’s tone remained light, there was a trace of darkness surrounding her circumstances. Because of that, Ras could not immediately answer and instead gave only an awkward smile.
Still, thanks to that, Ras’s excitement cooled slightly, allowing him to remember the original purpose for bringing Ella here in the first place.
After thinking briefly, Ras decided to start by asking about her. Honestly, it was what he was most curious about right now.
“Miss Ella. Maybe it’s just my imagination, but I feel like you’ve been around me quite a lot lately. Have you been watching me this whole time?”
He had deliberately avoided directly calling it surveillance because it sounded too hostile. After asking, Ras stared into Ella’s orange eyes while his own heart pounded heavily.
“Yes.”
Ella briefly lowered her gaze, then nodded and answered shortly. For a moment, it felt as though cold water had run down his back. Still, he had already known from the beginning that she had been watching him, so it was not truly shocking.
However, even Ras could not help his tone becoming slightly colder with the next question.
“Was it your boss? Or your leader, I guess? Did they tell you to do it?”
But this time, she shook her head. And in a calmer voice than usual, she answered. Perhaps Ras’s atmosphere had affected her, or perhaps she understood this answer was important.
“No. I said I wanted to do it. Murstin said someone should keep an eye on Oppa, so I volunteered.”
Ras frowned at that before quickly feeling puzzled. No matter how he thought about it, it was difficult to believe Ella had been hostile or wary toward him. Of course, she might have hidden such feelings, but if that were true, there was no reason for her to tell him all this now.
If so, he could not understand why she had personally stepped forward to watch him.
“Why? Why would you?”
The question escaped Ras almost reflexively. But once again, the answer was unexpected.
“Hmm. Because I wanted to know more about Oppa?”
“Huh?”
Don’t tell me she means knowing your enemy to defeat them?
While Ras tried to interpret the unclear answer somehow, Ella quietly added in a small voice,
“Because I’d hate it if you turned out to be a strange person.”
Looking somewhat embarrassed, Ella lowered her head and glanced sideways at Ras’s face. Seeing that reaction, it felt completely different from what Ras had suspected.
Frustrated because he could not understand what was going on inside this young lady’s small head, Ras pressed further. But Ella tightly sealed her lips until dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth and absolutely refused to answer anything more.
There was no way to force an answer from her. At least the one reassuring thing was that she did not seem hostile for now. In the end, Ras gave up with a bitter smile, deciding to leave it for another time.
“Your meals are here.”
“Waaah...!”
A little while later, a waitress rolled over a tray carrying their food, and Ella’s attention instantly shifted toward it. Ras let out a quiet chuckle and focused on eating for the moment.