Chapter 68: The Meal
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68: The Meal
I lay in the carriage, my head pillowed on Johanna’s lap.
As if she’d never tire of the sensation, Johanna ran her fingers through my hair once more.
The first time I’d rested like this, I’d been a nervous wreck, but I must have grown used to it by now. I felt perfectly at ease.
"What kind of place is this restaurant we’re visiting?" Johanna asked, her fingers still dancing through my hair.
Just as I had adapted to her lap, Johanna seemed to have grown accustomed to petting me; her touch was far more natural than it had been at first.
When I had asked her to dinner earlier, she had grilled me for details about the place, but I had kept it a secret.
"I’m sure you’ll like it, Senior. The chef is a former member of the royal kitchen."
Of course, I had never actually been there myself; I’d only seen it through a screen. But since it was described as being good enough to shock even the royal Lucas, the food was bound to be divine.
"What’s the name of the shop?"
"I don't know."
Johanna gave my cheek a light pinch, likely thinking I was teasing her. But I wasn't joking—I really didn't know the name. The location had been described in Croaka, but the name of the establishment had never been mentioned.
"Is it crowded?"
"No. In fact, we’ll probably be the only two people there."
Later on, it would become famous enough to have people lining up out the door. But right now, there shouldn't be a single customer.
".........Just the two of us."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
"It’s nothing."
There was still plenty of time before we reached the Academy. During the ride, Johanna and I talked about all sorts of things. I asked her what it was like when she was a freshman, and she mostly asked about my life in the Special Class.
"So, there are only two girls in the Special Class?"
"Yes. Miss Clara and Miss Sepia. Just those two."
"......Are you close with them?"
"Well, I’m naturally close with everyone. Don't I have great social skills? I talk to both of them every day."
".................."
Squeeze.
"Seniooooor?"
For some reason, Johanna pinched my cheek significantly harder than before.
"........Which of the two are you closer to?" Johanna asked, her hand still clamped onto my face.
Unaware of the chill that had crept into her voice, I gave it some thought.
"I suppose I’m still a bit closer to Miss Sepia."
I had walked to the Special Class with Sepia a few times and shared some decent conversations. With Clara, however, I hadn't had many opportunities to talk.
"More than me?"
Johanna pulled on my cheek with one hand while her other hand traced my lips, as if warning me to choose my next words very carefully.
"Of course I'm closer to you, Senior."
"............."
Only after hearing my answer did Johanna finally let go. I rubbed the sore spot with my palm and added, "I haven't even met them outside the Academy yet."
"Yet?"
Johanna’s hand returned to my cheek.
"Does that mean you plan on meeting them outside eventually?"
Wait. Is that how it sounded?
Sensing the air around us growing colder by the second, I spoke up quickly.
"More importantly, there’s so much I want to know about you, Senior!"
"........About me?"
"Yes! You have no idea how interested I am in you."
"Really?"
"Of course!"
Fortunately, I managed to steer the conversation back to Johanna’s past. She resumed stroking my hair gently. Perhaps it was because the tension had bled away, or perhaps it was just because her touch was so soothing.
I'm so sleepy.
A lot had happened over the last two days. Only yesterday, I had killed Mordor, and today I had sparred with Askal. Although I had rested briefly while unconscious earlier, it hadn't been for long. It was nothing more than a short nap.
Maybe that was why my eyes kept fluttering shut. My vision blurred and darkened, then cleared, over and over. The periods of darkness grew longer, and the moments of light grew shorter.
Lulled by Johanna’s touch, I fell asleep on her lap.
* * *
"Loki? Are you asleep?"
"................"
Johanna looked down at the sleeping Loki. Naturally, he didn't answer, and his steady breathing told her he was deep in slumber.
Johanna carefully turned his head so that she was looking at him head-on rather than from the side.
"........ Gulp."
The sound of Johanna swallowing echoed in the quiet carriage. Because it was so silent, the sound felt incredibly loud to her ears. She carefully traced Loki’s features, making sure not to wake him.
He’s handsome.
It was a simple description, but there was no other way to define his face. He was so handsome it felt as if the word itself had been coined solely to describe him.
As the daughter of a Duke, Johanna had attended many banquets. She had seen many nobles whom other ladies swooned over, but she had never felt they were particularly good-looking.
But looking at Loki’s face, she finally understood why those other ladies chased after those men. Of course, compared to Loki, those men were practically eyesores.
What would happen if those ladies, who chased after such mediocre faces, saw Loki?
At that thought, Johanna clenched her fists tight. It might be selfish, but she didn't want to show Loki’s face to anyone else. Especially not to other women.
Fortunately, it seemed Loki hadn't shown his face to many people yet, but one could never be too sure. She would have to keep a very close eye on the girls in his class.
They were in the same class, so Loki probably talked to them because he "had no choice," but she still didn't like it.
Did he really need to talk to women? Couldn't he just stay silent unless it was absolutely necessary?
She recalled Loki talking to that pink-haired girl this morning. Surely that girl had approached him first, and the kind-hearted Loki had simply played along because he felt he had to.
I don't like it.
She hated that they could talk to Loki just because they were in the same class. Could she use her position as the Disciplinary Committee President to move Loki to the second year? It was an absurd thought, but Johanna considered it seriously.
"That time you changed the subject earlier... I’ll let it slide just this once."
Johanna spoke in a chilling voice as she stroked Loki’s neck. Loki might have thought he was being natural, but Johanna had been fully aware that he was dodging her questions.
* * *
When I opened my eyes again, the carriage had stopped moving.
"Are you awake?"
".....Senior?"
"Yes."
"How long was I out?"
My body felt a bit stiff from lying down for so long, but my head felt remarkably clear.
"We arrived at the Academy about thirty minutes ago, so.........."
Startled by her words, I tried to lift my head from her lap, but Johanna gently pressed me back down.
"Then... have you been waiting for me to wake up this whole time?"
If it had been thirty minutes since we arrived, and I had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of the trip, Johanna must have been waiting for hours with me on her lap.
"Don't your legs hurt?"
"Not at all."
Johanna gave my hair one last stroke before speaking. I felt a strange sense of dissonance, but before I could figure out what it was, she spoke again.
"Shall we go now?"
"Yes. I know the way to the restaurant perfectly."
We talked about various things as we walked. Considering the Academy was in the heart of the capital, the restaurant was located in a rather secluded corner. Naturally, I had put my mask back on before stepping out of the carriage.
"It’s here."
The place I stopped at looked more like a house than a shop. It had an ambiguous exterior—neither clean nor particularly dilapidated. It didn't look like a business; there was no sound of people inside, nor the smell of food.
I also realized why the shop’s name never appeared in the game. There was nothing that could even be called a sign. For a moment, I wondered if it really was just a normal house, but it looked exactly like the place I had seen on my monitor.
"Shall we go in?"
Creeeeeak...
The old door opened with a groan that made it sound like it might fall off its hinges at any moment. There were several tables inside, but not a single person. Then again, who would ever think this was a restaurant without a sign?
An old man with an extraordinary physique stared intently at Johanna and me as we entered.
"Are you open for business?"
The old man pointed toward a table with his finger and then disappeared into the kitchen.
"Let’s sit, Senior."
Johanna looked toward the kitchen with a suspicious gaze, but when I took a seat, she followed suit without a word.
After we sat and chatted for a while, the old man returned, carrying several plates of mouth-watering food.
".................."
After placing the food on the table, the old man went back into the kitchen without saying a word. He likely wouldn't come back out until we were finished.
"Let’s eat, Senior."
"Okay."
I took off my mask before eating.
"....Oh?"
"It’s just you here, so it’s fine to take it off, right?"
"........Yes. It’s just me, so it’s fine."
I started by taking a bite of some delicious-looking meat.
".........!"
I felt a bit sorry for the Freya family’s chef, but the food this old man made was even better than what I’d had at the Duke’s estate. Johanna’s eyes widened in surprise after she tasted the soup.
"How is it, Senior? Good, right?" I asked with a smile.
".......Mmph!"
Johanna let out a strange sound and nodded vigorously.
Glance, glance.
Johanna kept alternating between looking at me and taking a spoonful of soup. Look at me, eat soup. Look at me, eat soup.
What is this? Is she using my face as a side dish?
She did this not just with the soup, but with every dish. It was a bit distracting, but I focused on enjoying the delicious meal.
Creeeeeak—
"..............!"
Johanna suddenly grabbed the mask from the table and forced it back onto my face. At the same moment, someone entered the shop.
"Huh?"
The person who entered let out a sound of surprise upon seeing me. I couldn't help but be surprised myself when I heard the voice.
Sepia Rivayden, a fellow student from the Special Class, looked at me and opened her mouth.
"Pushover! What are you doing here?"
That’s my line.
"................."
But for some reason, the gaze Johanna directed at Sepia was bone-chillingly cold.