Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Cafe
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*Tinkle, tinkle.*
As Chris and I entered the cafe, a man sitting at a table near the window waved at us.
"Oh, Chris, over here."
Chris pushed my wheelchair over to where he was.
The man waving and grinning at us was Cherni. Chris smiled back and carefully helped me out of the chair, seating me on the inside of the booth. I gave Chris a slight nod of gratitude.
Sitting on the one-piece sofa, I looked at the two men across from me.
One was grinning this way, the other sat by the window, holding a coffee cup in one hand, striking a pose with a sharp gaze fixed outside.
The man with a playful face was the Spirit Master, Cherni, who used to be a convenience store clerk. The well-built, tall man was the Fighter, Death of Death.
"Jun, what are you looking at? We're here."
"It's Jun-hyeok."
At Chris's call, Death of Death turned his head to look our way.
A peculiar light flickered in his eyes as he took in my appearance.
Cherni also looked at me with surprised eyes.
"Wow... Rain, you're wearing such a pretty outfit. When I was working, you always came in wearing sweats."
I gave an awkward smile and averted my gaze. Chris moved a little closer to me, as if to shield me from the men's stares.
"Ahem, stop staring at Rain. You'll wear her out."
"That's not possible..."
I grumbled slightly at Chris's words. She just smiled brightly and squeezed my hand.
*Tinkle, tinkle.*
Hearing the bell from the cafe entrance, Cherni turned his head to see who had just walked in.
"Nam Da-yeon, you're the last one here."
"The meeting time isn't here yet, is it? Oh, Jun-hyeok is here today, too?"
Nam Da-yeon. That was Beimerung's real name.
A short woman with a cute impression smiled brightly and walked toward me.
She sat down next to Chris and started squealing as she looked at me.
"Aah! Rain, what's with the outfit!? You look even prettier dressed up like this!"
"Hehehe, right? I picked it out for her."
Chris giggled like a fool.
Seeing this side of Chris, a side she only showed in front of me, it was hard to recall the charismatic raid leader who stood with a confident smile before the vanguard parties.
I was now somehow positioned between Chris and Beimerung. Ignoring the men across from them, they held my hands from both sides, busy squealing.
"Rain, what do you want to drink? Is coffee okay? Or there are sweet smoothies."
"Do you like things like tiramisu? I'll buy you dessert!"
"...Anything is fine."
These two were certainly a lively pair.
"...So, like this, you duck your head and dive in, and just as you move, right before the targeting disappears, you counterattack. Hmm. Since you're a Fighter, Death of Death, if you use Swift Step, you can move 180 degrees and end up in the same spot, right?"
"Ooh...! I never knew it could be used like that! Hmm. Indeed, a skill that gets you behind the target can also be used as a standing invincibility frame!"
"Yes. It's similar to using a backward evasion skill and a gap closer at the same time."
Death of Death's eyes shone as he listened intently to my words.
His desire to improve was impressive. We hadn't run dungeons together, so I hadn't seen him fight directly, but he was the tank for a team aiming for world firsts. He was undoubtedly highly skilled.
As we talked, a strawberry smoothie was placed in front of me.
I wrapped both hands around the cup and carefully put the straw to my lips.
The cold strawberry smoothie slowly entered my mouth through the straw.
The first taste was smooth. A cream as soft as fresh snow coated my tongue, followed by the sweet flavor of strawberries spreading over it.
"Wha..."
The sweetness that filled my mouth made my eyes widen and a gasp escape my lips. The fresh scent of strawberries tickled my nose, and the sweetness tickled my tongue.
I bit down a little deeper on the straw and sipped the smoothie. This time, pieces of strawberry came up with it. The fresh strawberry pulp burst in my mouth, delivering a delightful texture.
I closed my eyes and slowly savored the sweetness of the smoothie.
The refreshing aroma and taste of strawberries filled my mouth, making me so happy I thought this might be heaven.
Sweet. Delicious.
I never knew a strawberry smoothie could be this good.
At some point, it became hard to draw anything up, no matter how hard I sucked. I started stirring the smoothie with the straw and eating it like that.
*Slurp.*
"Mmm...!"
This was pretty good, too. I shivered as the sweetness shot straight to my brain.
And then, I felt a slight sense of unease.
I looked down at my lower body.
My legs weren't shaking.
When I went to the cafe in the capital city in Rain's body on the Astria Continent, my legs would move on their own whenever I ate something delicious.
Sweet things are nice, but in this world...
My mood sank a little.
"Eh...?"
I looked up from my strawberry smoothie to find that all four of them were now staring at me.
Death of Death and Cherni wore fond smiles. Beimerung's eyes sparkled with an ecstatic expression as she cupped her face. And Chris, who had a similar expression to Beimerung's, but her eyes were trembling slightly.
I couldn't quite understand their reactions.
*What? Have they never seen someone drink a strawberry smoothie before?*
Just as I was starting to feel burdened by their focused stares in the sudden silence, Beimerung spoke to me with a bright smile.
"Rain, are you doing well at Chris's house these days? Is she treating you well?"
"Yes. Thanks to Chris, I'm living comfortably."
Chris's shoulders puffed out with pride. Beimerung continued to ask with a mischievous smile.
"Really~? How is she treating you well?"
"Um... she cooks delicious meals... and she set up the housekeeping robot for me. The robot cleans and brings me my food."
When asked what Chris had done for me directly, there wasn't much to say.
She did her best not to intrude on my personal space to protect my privacy. And since I had experience living alone, I didn't really need her help much. With the housekeeping robot, I didn't have to do chores like cleaning myself.
*What else did Chris do for me?*
Come to think of it, there was something she did for me recently.
"Ah, she touched my body and made me feel good."
Beimerung's eyes widened, her mouth falling open.
Chris had a similar expression.
"...So, what you're saying is we delay the charge on the second boss a bit. If we use the charge from the minion golems with the red barriers to detonate the boss's barrier the moment its color changes, the DPS window should increase significantly, right?"
"Hmm, a good idea. Indeed, a ten-second DPS window after the charge was too short. It's a tactic worth trying."
Death of Death and Cherni, the two guys, hastily turned their heads and started discussing game strategies with each other.
Beimerung's trembling gaze shifted to Chris, who frantically waved her hands in denial.
"A m-massage! It was just a massage! Rain asked for it!"
"Chris... I know your tastes all too well. But still, Rain is... w-well, she might be small, but she's fully grown! But for you to like women... Mmph! Mmph!"
"Da-yeon, shh, shh!"
Chris quickly covered Beimerung's mouth.
Beimerung pushed Chris away and, with tears streaming down her face, grabbed both of my hands.
"Rain, Chris is a dangerous woman, you know? You have to protect yourself! Or, do you want to live at my house? I-I'll convince my parents somehow!"
"Hey, Nam Da-yeon! No!"
Their intense reactions filled my head with a sea of question marks.
Chris is a kind person. Not a dangerous one.
She even helped me change my clothes today.
I felt the need to defend her.
"Chris is a gentle person. She's not dangerous. Today, she was even breathing hard while she diligently helped me take my clothes off."
"Gasp...!"
Beimerung sucked in a sharp breath.
A heated debate about my living situation ensued for a moment. Fortunately, it seemed Chris succeeded in persuading her party members.
"Aah~! How can someone as sharp as you act like a middle school boy going through puberty when it comes to things like this!?"
"Urk."
"Haa, you get it, right? There are steps to these things... and since it's not good, you have to... that... and approach slowly... start with the heart..."
"I-I know! But I keep..."
"Ahem!"
"...Yeah, yeah."
Beimerung shot Chris a stern look and whispered in a voice too low for me to hear. Chris hung her head low, nodding repeatedly.
After finishing her talk with Beimerung, Chris took my hand and let out a sigh of relief.
I felt tired.
I'd been sleepy for a while now, and the conversation wasn't really registering.
As expected, my frail body is best suited for lying down in a cozy capsule.
Still, the time I spent with Chris's boisterous party members today was fun. The strawberry smoothie was delicious, too.
"I'm sleepy."
I leaned my head against Chris's shoulder.
Next to her, I could feel a sense of comfort I hadn't been able to find in this world until now.
Chris carefully lifted me into her arms.
"Hey, you guys over there, can you fold up the wheelchair and put it away?"
"Haa... Rain's sleepy eyes are just too cute, aren't they...?"
Surrounded by Chris's party members, I was carried to her car.
I'm so sleepy.