Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Yuria's Shopping Has Its Thrills (4)
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Two people, frozen stiff with a single door between them.
What was I supposed to do about this atmosphere? It was truly awkward.
In the midst of this tension, Raven was the first to come to his senses and move.
He let out a small cough, averted his gaze from me, and glanced around the inside of the shop.
“Ahem, what kind of shop is this? Hmm, since I'm here, maybe I'll just buy one thing…”
…
“Sigh, fine. I get it. Let's go, let's go.”
Trying to play dumb in this situation? How ridiculous.
I grabbed the hand of the shamelessly acting Raven and walked outside.
Realizing I had no intention of hiding it, he obediently followed me.
…If this was how it was going to be, why did he even bother wearing a robe and a goblin mask?
I mean, one of the reasons I came all the way to the northern slums was because it was a place Raven rarely visited.
To run into him here… no matter how you look at it, it meant he'd been following me for quite some time.
What was the point of hiding, then? I was caught from the very beginning.
“Ma’am! You can get a full refund if you come back within a week. So if you change your mind, please come back! Understand!”
…!
“And you… get over here. You need a scolding. Forgetting to take the customer's money? There are some things you just don't forget!”
“Hieeek! Master! I’m so sorry!”
I gave a wave to Tara, who was shouting in front of the shop.
Then, I walked side by side with Raven out of the northern slums.
As we walked away, I could hear the yellow-haired young man getting an earful from Tara.
If he sold something without taking the money… well, he’d have to deal with the consequences.
The way out of the slums was much easier than the way in.
That was because Raven had handily driven off the thugs who tried to block our path and start trouble.
“Hey, you two, hand over everything you’ve got… Ack!”
“Huh? Jason went down like a fly… P-please, go on! I’m sorry for not recognizing you!”
“Right. Carry on.”
…
To think those muscle-bound thugs would fall like autumn leaves from a few smacks of his palm.
It was a stark reminder that Raven was a superhuman who far surpassed ordinary people.
And so, after walking for nearly an hour, we left the northern slums, took a bus to the area near the agency, and entered a familiar franchise café, sitting down across from each other.
Me, who had secretly gone to the black market to buy something, and Raven, who had been caught tailing me.
It was, in many ways, an undeniably awkward situation.
“Hmm. I think I'll have a chocolate latte. What about you, part-timer? The usual apple mango?”
…!
*Nod, nod.*
I nodded at Raven’s words and swallowed hard.
If he was crazy about sweet things, especially chocolate, then my favorites were the sweet and tangy fruit types.
The apple mango drink, with the rich sweetness of mango and the tartness of apple, was one of my favorite drinks at this café.
‘No, wait. This isn't the time to be grinning foolishly.’
I belatedly snapped back to my senses and swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my mouth.
Then I placed both fists on the table and looked up at Raven with an expression that asked, *Why did you do it?*
*Why did you follow me without permission? You want to pick a fight?*
It was a very intimidating and aggressive posture that conveyed roughly that meaning.
Did my intention get across to him safely?
Raven, who had ordered our drinks using the code etched on the table, scratched his cheek sheepishly.
“Um, well… sigh, it’s because those guys were making such a fuss.”
…?
“I’m talking about Alice and David. They were wailing about making a ‘grave decision’ if something happened to you… so I had no choice but to follow you for a bit. I’m sorry about that.”
…
So that was it.
Right, there’s no way he would have followed me of his own volition.
We may have felt a bit closer lately, but we've still only known each other for a month.
It was a little strange to think that Raven, who's rather detached when it comes to relationships, would go out of his way to tail me.
But if it was a request from Alice, who’s been a bit overprotective lately, or David, who has ties to Sabrina… it was entirely plausible.
Though it was absurd that those two were nowhere to be seen.
I would have noticed them right away if they were here. I guess you could call this a proper division of labor.
‘If that’s the case… I guess there’s no reason to be angry. In the end, he followed me because he was worried. As long as he didn't find out about my psychokinesis, it's not a big deal.’
The anticlimactic way I was caught at the end was probably because I was taking too long in the shop. He likely came to check if something was wrong and got caught in the act.
If the reason wasn't suspicion but simple goodwill, then I had no reason to dislike it.
Considering Raven's usual behavior, it's not like he would have harbored any strange thoughts.
Besides, from a distance, my psychokinetic flick would have just looked like the guy suddenly collapsed. He probably didn't find out I'm a psychic.
…He didn't find out, right?
No matter how smart Raven is, he's never met me in my ghost form, so there's no way he could have found out, right?
[ “Here is your deep chocolate latte and apple mango juice.” ]
As I was thinking this and adjusting my posture, a server robot carrying our drinks approached.
For Raven, a warm latte with a large chocolate bar dunked right in. For me, a cool apple mango juice with chunks of mango floating in it.
Having received our favorite drinks, we both drank in silence for a while.
First of all, I couldn't speak, and second, Raven wasn't the type to initiate conversation and lead the mood. That was Alice's specialty.
At this rate, we would just finish our drinks and head back to the agency. Suddenly, the box containing the device I'd bought earlier caught my eye.
There's nothing to do in this awkward atmosphere anyway. Should I open this?
As I thought this and took the box out of the bag I'd placed on the chair next to me, Raven, who had been staring blankly out the window, showed interest.
“Right, you went all the way there to buy that, didn't you? What on earth is it…?”
…!
“Huh. That’s a device, isn’t it?”
*Ssk.*
When I opened the box on the table, a well-packaged device was revealed inside.
A pure white device, slightly larger than my palm. I felt an affinity for it, perhaps because its color was similar to mine.
However, Raven narrowed his eyes slightly at the device inside the box, looking puzzled.
You went all the way to the black market just to buy a device? That seemed to be what he was thinking.
Well, just watch and see what it can do.
Thinking this to myself, I took the device out of the box.
Across from me, he, who had been watching intently, stroked his chin and offered a light assessment.
“Hmm, it's a simple design. But without a chip, isn't it just an empty shell? What are you planning to do about that? Should I pop over to the black market and buy you an illegal chip?”
…
He had a point. By itself, the device was nothing more than an expensive toy.
To use its functions properly, you needed to insert a user authentication module, commonly known as a chip.
So, what Raven was asking was whether it was pointless to go through all that trouble to buy a device if I couldn't solve the chip problem. And he was right.
Without giving him a big answer, I just shook my head, took the charger from the box, plugged it into the device, and turned it on.
Almost immediately, the screen lit up, displaying a message that initial setup was required.
Of course, there was no need to enter a name or anything, so I pressed the ‘set up later’ button and neatly skipped the whole process.
[ Welcome! Are you ready to navigate the world with Echo? ]
Once everything was ready, the following sentence appeared on the screen.
The device's name was Echo. I needed to remember that carefully.
Yes! I finally have a device of my own!
In my excitement, I fidgeted in my seat and fiddled with Echo.
Raven chuckled at my behavior, then pointed to the order code on the table, telling me to try placing an order.
Hmm, that shouldn't be too hard.
I immediately opened the camera, had Echo scan the order code on the table,
and then casually tapped the screen to order a cake, a chocolate latte, and a cherry cola.
The information must have gone through, as a notification confirming the order appeared in a corner of the café.
Raven, who had been watching me quietly, smiled broadly and snatched Echo from my hand.
Hey, what are you doing? Give my device back!
But he just stared at it as if he'd seen something unbelievable, his lips trembling as he raised his voice in bewilderment.
“W-wait a minute. You just ordered with this? H-how?”
…?
You told me to try, didn't you?
Suppressing a laugh at Raven's obvious confusion, I tilted my head nonchalantly.
But he examined the device he'd taken, reconfirmed that there was no chip inside, and slapped his forehead as if wondering what on earth was going on.
He turned the device over and tapped the screen a few times.
He looked like a programmer who had just seen a forbidden line of code execute perfectly.
…Actually, it wasn't strange for Raven to be so bewildered.
After all, I had just taken an empty-shell device out of the box, done no setup, and used it to place an order that required an internet connection, despite it not even having a chip to enable communication.
For someone like him, who knew a thing or two about these devices, it was bound to be shocking. He probably only suggested I try it to tease me.
But for me, who already knew the circumstances, it wasn't surprising at all.
Hmph, you think I went all the way to the northern black market, which takes forever to walk to, for nothing?
Ah, whatever. Just give it back.
I held out my hand to Raven as if to say just that.
With a look of utter incomprehension, Raven returned Echo to me.
And as Echo drew closer to me, perhaps it sensed his mood.
The Tesseract, which had been idly rolling around, chirped brightly.
[ Ah! Mama! Friend! ]
At that moment, Echo's screen flickered faintly for an instant before returning to normal.
It was as if it had instinctively sensed that something was terribly wrong.
I looked down at Echo and cast my mind back.
What came to mind was none other than one of the horror episodes: the haunted device.