Chapter 49 – Indirect Kiss

&R;&e;аɗ​ o&n;​ ​&K;at&R;eãｄı&n;​gＣaſe

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“President, aren’t you being too much?”

Yuika, entering the cafe, sat next to Hosanna and immediately started complaining.

“What did I do?”

“If you were meeting Mari, you should have called me too! And even with Andreina-san there… If I had known about a gathering like this, I would have dropped everything and come earlier!”

It’s usually unsightly to see a grown adult sulking, but when someone with Yuika’s looks does it, it somehow looks acceptable and attractive. However, Hosanna didn’t bat an eye and said with a dumbfounded expression.

“No, we didn’t plan to meet in the first place, you know? We just ended up gathering like this.”

“If we’re being precise, it’s more like Hosanna-nim crashed my and Mari’s appointment.”

“Saintess…?” 

“Isn’t that the truth? Isn’t it, Hosanna-nim?”

“Ugh, it’s technically true, but the wording is a bit…”

Hosanna looked at Andreina-nim with disbelief at her sharp retort. However, unable to refute the following words, she groaned and sank.

Seeing that, Andreina-nim chuckled, and Yuika said with a surprised voice.

“Somehow, President and Andreina-nim seem to have gotten a bit closer.”

“Not particularly.”

“Eh.”

“Aren’t you denying it too firmly?”

Hosanna looked at her with a slightly hurt expression at the blunt denial, but Andreina-nim didn’t bat an eye and continued.

“It’s best to minimize misunderstandings.”

“Ugh, that’s too much. We even ate from the same pot.”

“Relieving the poor is a virtue as a priest.”

“Am I being treated as one of the poor now…”

Hosanna let out a hollow laugh when his supposedly brilliant retort was blocked. I watched from under my hood, noticing the slight upturn of his lips, and pondered.

If they’re exchanging words like this, haven’t they already gotten a bit closer? 

Yuika’s expression, sitting diagonally, was ambiguous, as if she were thinking the same thing.

During a brief lull in the conversation, the master appeared with a tray of food that had been ordered, perfectly timed.

“Miss Aoki also came.”

“Ah, Master. Hello!”

“Yeah. What’s your order?”

“Hey, are you really just taking my order as soon as you see me?”

“One drink per person is the rule, so I can’t help it.”

Did he just make a joke? I looked at the master with disbelief, but only a blank, expressionless face was visible.

However, from Yuika’s giggling, I could deduce that he had made a joke.

He’s so serious when he jokes that you can’t even tell it’s a joke… Yuika, who had stopped laughing while the master placed the food on the table, said.

“Then I’ll have my usual cappuccino, please.”

“Sure.”

Hosanna, who had been watching the master leave as abruptly as he had come, asked.

“Was that a joke just now?”

“Huh? Of course. It’s not like the master opened the cafe because he really wanted to do business, so there’s no way one drink per person is the rule, right?”

“No, he said it so seriously that I thought it was genuine.”

“Hey, you know the master is secretly ambitious in that area.”

“…Was he?”

I’m not the only one who thought that. I secretly breathed a sigh of relief at Hosanna’s words, which seemed mixed with reluctance.

“So this is coffee. The aroma isn’t too bad.”

“Oh, Andreina-nim. Could it be that you’re trying coffee for the first time?”

Meanwhile, Andreina, holding the cup of coffee that had been served to her, quietly smelled it.

Yuika, who was cutting the pancakes that came with it into easy-to-eat pieces, looked at her with a surprised voice, and Andreina nodded, repeating the story she had told me and Hosanna earlier.

“In the world I lived in, it was so expensive that only the wealthy or those called nobles could afford to taste it. It was hard for me to obtain, as I was managing a small church in a remote village.”

“I see! Well, Andreina-san is originally from another world, unlike us, so maybe it’s a common story.”

“From my perspective, the worlds of Yuika-nim and the others are like that, though.”

Andreina smiled slightly and carefully tilted the cup. The gazes of the three of us, including me, were focused on Andreina.

There was no discomfort in her expression as she sipped it silently and savored the taste.

Her eyes twitched slightly, perhaps because it was a bit more bitter than she had expected, but that was only for a moment.

Andreina opened her eyes with a satisfied expression and said.

“This is… not bad. It’s much more bitter than what I usually drink, though.”

“If you think it’s too bitter, you can mix it with a little milk here. You’ll feel the bitterness subside and the flavor come alive.”

“Thank you for the advice, but I think I prefer it as it is rather than mixing something in.”

“That’s a relief. I also think coffee is best enjoyed as an espresso.”

Hosanna smiled brightly, as if he had finally found someone who shared his taste.

Conversely, I quietly brought the cafe mocha that I had been preparing to offer to Andreina back in front of me.

I was sure that Andreina liked sweet things like me, so I thought she definitely wouldn’t be able to drink such a bitter espresso, but I was surprised that she drank it so well.

Usually, you either like sweet foods or bitter foods, right…? As I quietly sipped my cafe mocha, a bite-sized piece of pancake was offered to me.

“Mari, ahh~”

“Ah, ah? Hmmm.”

I opened my mouth without realizing it at the voice I heard, and the pancake went straight in. Instinctively closing my mouth and chewing, the sweetness filled my mouth.

With each chew, the rising joy made me unconsciously smile. As expected, sweet is the best. As I was thinking that, a fork with another pancake on it was offered to me again.

This time it was from a different direction than before. I glanced at the pancake being pushed in from the seat next to me, and Andreina was looking at me with calm yet eager eyes.

It was as if she wasn’t even considering the possibility of refusal. Of course, I had no intention of refusing, so I readily accepted it.

“Mmm…!”

While I was chewing happily, another pancake was offered to me again. I naturally accepted it, assuming it was Yuika.

But no matter how I thought about it, the direction was different. Yuika was sitting diagonally to the right. So the direction of the fork should have been the same, but this time it was coming directly from the front.

And the person sitting in front of me was. Realizing this belatedly, I hurriedly looked up and saw Hosanna smiling wryly as he put down the fork.

“You eat well.”

“U-Uh…”

As I lowered my head in embarrassment, Yuika grabbed Hosanna’s shoulder and shook it, saying.

“President? I’m just saying, but just because you’re in your younger form now doesn’t mean it’s not a crime if you actually date Mari, okay???”

“Is it really that big of a deal to just feed her some food? I just did it because watching her eat reminded me of my niece.”

“How old is your niece?”

“Six years old.”

“Ah, a cute age.”

Hosanna smiled slyly at Yuika’s changing voice and continued.

“Right? I would have shown you her face if I had my phone. I even have a video of her running up to me saying ‘Uncle~’.”

“But you know that Mari isn’t your niece or a six-year-old baby, right???”

“What’s the difference? In my eyes, my niece and Mari are the same—cough.”

“They’re not the same at all!”

Yuika seemed ready to grab him by the collar and shake him, and Hosanna was helplessly swayed back and forth.

Even though he’s one of the top mages, his physical abilities aren’t much different from what you see, so it was only natural.

“Mari.”

“Y-Yes?”

As I was watching them, Andreina quietly came closer and whispered.

“If Hosanna-nim tries to do anything strange to Mari, be sure to tell me. I’ll punish him with my own hands.”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Yes?”

Punish? Suddenly? Why?

I was flustered by the sudden words, but I had no choice but to nod at Andreina’s firm attitude.

But what does she mean by “anything strange”?

I pondered for a moment, but soon realized it was a futile worry.

He was still a difficult person to deal with, but I could tell that Hosanna wasn’t someone who would do anything I would call ‘strange’ to me.

Hosanna was such a kind person that he could even be called a saint. I was thankful to Andreina for worrying, but it was safe to say it was an unnecessary worry.

“President!”

“Ah, I know. I’ll be careful now, so stop-“

Watching Yuika and Hosanna still arguing, I quietly took the plate of pancakes.

“Um, this, Andreina too…”

“Ah, um. Then…”

I picked a moderately large piece from the neatly cut ones and carefully offered it to Andreina.

It was only polite to return the favor if she had accepted it. Andreina seemed moved by my actions, and her firm expression softened.

Then, she looked around and weakly opened her mouth.

Soon, the pancake disappeared into her mouth and Andreina’s expression changed in various ways.

I knew that feeling, so I smiled slightly.

“It’s delicious, right?”

“Yes, it’s very… delicious…”

The sweetness would fill her mouth, so there was no way it wouldn’t be delicious.

Just as I was about to offer her another piece, Yuika, who had been arguing with Hosanna, exclaimed in surprise.

“Ah, it’s not fair to only give it to Andreina-san!”

“Since she said so, shouldn’t we share it with Yuika-nim too?”

“I-I was also going to give it to Yuika anyway.”

“Really?!

Andreina wasn’t the only one who had fed me pancakes, so it was only natural.

I handed what I was going to give to Andreina to Yuika as it was, and she quickly approached and snatched it away like catching prey.

“Mmm~! It’s already delicious, but it’s even more delicious because Mari gave it to me!”

“You’re exaggerating… Huh?”

Hosanna, who was grumbling and straightening his disheveled clothes, made a questioning voice as he looked at the piece of pancake that had quietly approached.

Then, he looked at me holding the fork and said with a hollow laugh.

“Don’t tell me you want me to eat it too?”

“Hosanna also gave it to me, so…”

“Wait, Mari, if you do that, does that mean I’m going to have an indirect kiss with the President?!”

Ah, that’s definitely true. Even if they’re close friends, they’re still of different genders, so it might be a bit awkward.

Realizing this belatedly at Yuika’s flustered words, I took back the fork I had offered to Hosanna and said.

“T-Then I’ll eat it once-“

“No, it’s okay to just give it to me. I guess I’ll just do it.”

“Yes? Ah, okay…”

“Aren’t you getting too tough when it comes to Mari?”

Hosanna said with a dumbfounded expression at the sudden change in attitude, but Yuika replied with an indifferent face.

“I’d rather do it myself than have Mari and the President end up like that!”

“I wonder about that… Anyway, well, I’ll enjoy it.”

Nom—Hosanna cleverly ate only the pancake on the fork and muttered with a groan.

“It tastes good, but it’s so sweet that I don’t think I can eat much of it.”

“I-Is that so?”

Well, when I was a man, I didn’t like sweet things as much as I do now.

It wasn’t something I couldn’t understand, so I nodded without much thought, and Andreina quietly murmured.

“If I had known it would be like this, I should have just told the truth…”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing…”

Perhaps because she had eaten something sweet and then drank a very bitter espresso, Andreina’s expression felt more pitiful than usual.

Maybe I should have given her another piece.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
I tried to finish the chapter as fast as possible…

I definitely didn’t deliberately write the chapter as late as possible just so I can post it at midnight!!!

It’s too late, ahhhhhh!!!!!

Oh, thank you for reading today as usual!!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Humans are cowardly creatures that only jump into the unknown once another human makes it known.

If this sloppy Saintess here isn’t already a great example, look at Kat and his shitty NSFW addiction. One does well, and suddenly NSFW are all that he picks up.

Tsk.