Girls'(?) Talk (3)

Led by Katarina, the first place the three of us headed to was a dessert shop that somehow looked familiar.

‘Ah, this place….’

As soon as I stepped inside, memories of the familiar interior scenery came flooding back.

This place was also one of the event locations implemented in 『Luminor Academy』.

It wasn’t a famous shop with a special name; it was more like a place most people would vaguely recognize if you said ‘the cake shop in the Blackwood Shopping District’.

It was a place with little significance to the story itself, and frankly, it was closer to a location for collecting character CGs.

After I secured Lillith, the protagonist’s party couldn’t enter the Blackwood Territory, so Lillith’s related CGs probably weren’t implemented.

“Th-they say the Strawberry Cake here is delicious! H-hopefully you don’t, uh, dislike strawberries, do you?”

“I like them, Katarina sunbae.”

“Me too, sunbae-nim.”

“Haha, th-that’s a relief….”

Even if someone disliked strawberries, who could openly say so to that pitiful face? They’d at least try to like them.

The only maids with such messed-up personalities who could say something like that were, at best, Aeria or Alicia.

Three maids’ salaries weren’t enough to afford three cakes, so we pooled our money and ordered one slice of Strawberry Cake.

We then sat in a circle at a table in a corner of the shop with that one slice of cake and chatted about various things.

“This Strawberry Cake looks even prettier up close! I learned that only young ladies usually eat things like this….”

“R-really? Li-Lillith, are things like this really only for noble young ladies…? Huh…?”

“…Well, I wouldn’t know even if you asked me.”

What does it matter if a noble young lady eats it, or if maid girls eat it?

Of course, realistically speaking, desserts like this were luxury foods that three maids’ combined pocket money wouldn’t even come close to affording.

But this world was a game world before it was a medieval fantasy world. And it wasn’t as if it was completely impossible, even if one were to simply claim it was.

The Blackwood Territory is vast, so it has the capacity to produce its own milk and eggs.

Strictly speaking, the lack of sugar would be a flaw, but if they used less sugar and supplemented the sweetness with strawberries, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible to make.

Of course, the shop itself, which sold such desserts even to commoners, was quite incongruous in many ways, but I had no intention of pointing out any problems with it.

‘It’s just a place for collecting CGs anyway.’

No matter how much it claimed to be an SRPG, 『Luminor Academy』 was fundamentally an adult dating sim.

It was a game for players who would willingly play for three more hours just to collect a CG of their favorite character eating Strawberry Cake, rather than for those who would drop it while complaining about realism.

For now, I decided to enjoy the dessert in front of me without thinking too deeply.

“…Ha-eup.”

…The taste, well, it was just okay.

If it were Lillith from the game, she would have made all sorts of ecstatic expressions, saying it was the first time she’d ever tasted such delicious food.

But for me, who had already experienced a proper Strawberry Cream Cake in my previous world, this dessert was a bit bland but still edible.

“Mmm~! So soft~!!”

Isabel, sitting opposite me, savored each precious bite with an utterly blissful expression.

If this scene had been made into a special CG and distributed, wouldn’t 『Luminor Academy』’s sales have increased by about a thousand copies?

As I was having such a thoroughly materialistic gamer-like thought, a slightly anxious voice came from Katarina.

“Li-Lillith…?”

“Yes.”

“Wh-what’s wrong…? Is it not very tasty…?”

…Oh, right.

Come to think of it, this outing today was originally meant to stop Katarina’s indiscriminate attempts to repay her gratitude.

If I showed any dissatisfaction, she would feel sorry for me and continue her forced acts of gratitude as before.

It was important to clearly show that I was satisfied here.

“No, sunbae. It was so delicious that I was momentarily thinking about what to say.”

“R-really…?”

“The cream, melting like a cloud on top of the fluffy bread, and the refreshing, gentle sweetness of the strawberries. I’ve never tasted such a fantastic dish in my life.”

“Th-that’s good…. I’m glad to hear that…. Lillith, eat a lot….”

“By the way, aren’t you eating, Katarina sunbae?”

“I-I’m fine. I’m okay just watching you eat…. It was the same last year when I came with Aeria and Alicia….”

“…….”

…As soon as I heard about her past, which needlessly made my eyes well up, my mouth instantly froze in mid-air, unable to utter a word.

Those two damn bitches.

As soon as I heard Katarina’s sad confession, any lingering pity I had for those bitches who were dragged to the Northern Borderlands vanished.

Before I knew it, my hand was naturally cutting my remaining share of the cake and bringing it to Katarina’s mouth.

“Katarina sunbae, you should eat a lot too.”

“Oh, uh…? I-I’m fine, though….”

“Eat quickly. I’ve tasted enough.”

“…….”

“Are you going to refuse my request?”

“…….”

Katarina, who had been hesitating at the slice of cake held out in front of her, carefully opened her mouth.

And into her mouth, I unhesitatingly pushed the Strawberry Cake on my fork.

“Is it delicious?”

-Nod nod.

Katarina, with her cheeks full of Strawberry Cake, happily chewed with a blissful expression.

Perhaps because of her already small stature, her appearance somehow reminded me of a hamster.

‘…So, they just happily ate it all by themselves, leaving this girl who eats so well.’

As I sincerely wished for those two bitches, Aeria and Alicia, to work in the Northern Borderlands for a very long time, I observed Katarina eating.

This time, Isabel suddenly poked my shoulder from the right and spoke to me.

“…Lillith, Lillith.”

“Hm?”

“…….”

In response to her call, I immediately turned my gaze towards Isabel, but she remained still, her mouth quietly open as if she had been about to say something but stopped.

I couldn’t understand Isabel’s behavior and just stared blankly at her.

“…….”

“…….”

“…Isabel?”

“…….”

“D-do you have something to say…?”

“…Ah, it’s nothing.”

She picked up her own share of the cake with an awkward expression, put it in her mouth, and quietly savored it.

I wasn’t sure why, but I could sense a slight feeling of dissatisfaction from her.

…Girls’ moods are just impossible to fathom.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

After the snack time at the Strawberry Cake shop, the time with the two of them continued for a while.

We walked around the shopping district street together, looking at various clothes and accessories.

If we saw some delicious-looking street food while walking, we’d buy one and share it among the three of us.

Or we’d sit near a park and chat about various things, and before we knew it, half a day had flown by in the blink of an eye.

‘Surprisingly, this kind of time isn’t bad at all.’

To be honest, I hadn’t expected much when I first came out to the city with the two of them.

I figured there wouldn’t be much fun for a guy like me tagging along with girls, and I expected to just spend half the day accommodating them until the day was over.

However, thanks to Katarina, who surprisingly knew various things about the Blackwood Territory, Isabel and I were able to explore different parts of the territory.

I, too, had such an enjoyable time that I forgot my gender, wondering how time could have passed so quickly.

“A-and where do you want to go next? We probably haven’t been to….”

“Let’s head back to the city entrance soon. It seems our appointment time is almost up.”

“Yes, Katarina sunbae-nim. Thanks to you, today was truly enjoyable.”

“It was the same for me. If it had just been Isabel and me, we probably would have spent the whole day just wandering around near the city entrance, but thanks to Katarina sunbae, we really made the most of our day.”

“R-really…? Was I really helpful…?”

“Yes, sunbae.”

“Hehe, that’s a relief….”

…Well, with this, Katarina’s burdensome attempts to repay her gratitude to me will probably ease up a lot from now on.

In my opinion, this was a sufficient repayment. After all, even I, a man, spent the day without realizing how quickly time passed.

To be honest, when I first came out to the city, I did feel a bit regretful.

Rather than spending such a precious outing opportunity like this, I would have preferred to go to the back mountains and level up.

Now that I’d enjoyed everything there was to enjoy, I didn’t particularly regret it.

‘Leveling up, well…. There’ll be another chance.’

Since I now know that being a Debt Maid doesn’t necessarily mean being confined to the mansion, perhaps the next opportunity will come even sooner.

If I continue to build trust with the Head Maid like this, I might even be granted permission for future outings, not necessarily just to the city.

It would be much better than getting permission to go out to the city on a day like today, then secretly going to the back mountains, getting caught later, and facing disciplinary action.

Let’s take it easy, take it easy.

Increasing my maximum Mana, leveling up, and acquiring skills were all important. But the most important thing was still ‘not drawing attention’.

Especially from Ethan and Harold, the two individuals to watch out for.

“The city entrance was this way, right?”

“Sh-shouldn’t we hurry a little? Wh-what if the coachman leaves without us…?”

“Even at this pace, we’re not late yet. But let’s still quicken our steps a bit.”

I didn’t want to see our departure schedule delayed because of us.

We had already received a favor by taking the carriage here, and causing trouble for such a person was one of the actions I detested the most.

As we hurried, crossing the shopping district street towards the city entrance.

…A voice I couldn’t possibly ignore reached my ears from behind.

“Kyaaak! M-monster!”

……Monste…r?