Ch.182181. Reunion (2)

# 181. Reunion (2)

“…”

This is my first time in such a situation, so I’m not sure what to say.

As I remained silent, the other party spoke first.

“Excuse me… would it be okay if I join—”

“No, it wouldn’t be okay.”

Someone’s voice cut off his words.

The voice was too familiar to pretend I didn’t recognize it.

The owner of that voice sat down next to me with complete naturalness, took my arm, and linked it with hers as she pleased.

And then…

“Please don’t touch my girlfriend.”

She warned them with those words.

Girlfriend.

What an absurd situation.

Still, the effect itself wasn’t bad.

“Girlfriend? Are you… are you ladies… that way?”

“And what if we are? Right, honey?”

“…”

Luna seemed too immersed in the current situation.

Or was she actually that way?

Of course she obviously wasn’t, but her acting was so good that such thoughts naturally came to mind.

“Please go find another table. We’re on a date after a long time… ah…”

“Ah… sorry… I see you’re already taken… Hey, let’s go.”

With that, the two of them actually got up from the table and left the establishment.

It seemed that was their only reason for coming into this place.

Actually, I should probably be concerned about something else.

“Girlfriend? Honey?”

“I’m a good actor, right?”

“Ah… yes…”

“I saved you from getting hit on, and that’s all the reaction I get?”

“Wouldn’t I have managed to get out of it even if you hadn’t come?”

“You can’t know that for sure.”

Though her method was a bit unusual, it was helpful.

If I had been alone, I might have had to use harsh words or force.

“Why aren’t you eating? It’s getting cold.”

“Do you think I can eat in this situation?”

“Of course. Should I feed you, honey?”

“Please… could you stop calling me that?”

“I don’t want to.”

Like Aelin, she seemed to be in high spirits because of the trip.

Of course, that probably wasn’t the only reason.

“Are you starting to resemble her too?”

“That’s just your imagination. But how can I help it! There’s such a pretty unni right in front of me!”

“Ah, yes… I’m not happy at all hearing that kind of compliment, you know?”

“You’re really pretty, extremely so. You even almost got hit on.”

Luna was gathering all the irritating things to say and saying them all at once.

Yet she seemed unaware of what the problem was.

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

“That’s why I need to stick close to you and protect you from bugs swarming around, you know?”

“Sure… good luck with that…”

She wasn’t the type to stop just because I told her not to.

Just like that person who’s probably eating cake right now.

After eating a decent amount of the soup rice I ordered, I said to Luna:

“Let’s go now.”

“There’s still this much left.”

“You can eat it then…”

I was never a big eater to begin with, but I could usually finish a bowl of soup rice.

However, today I couldn’t even finish that much.

“Is your stomach shrinking too?”

“I don’t think so.”

Luna stood up after leaving that ambiguous remark.

I asked her:

“Aren’t you going to eat it?”

“Eat what? You?”

“No… this.”

“Why would I eat what you left?”

“That’s true…”

Come to think of it, it’s natural that she wouldn’t eat it, but I thought the current Luna would have no problem finishing it.

I’m not sure why I thought that.

After paying the bill and leaving the restaurant, we entered the café where Leo and Aelin would still be.

Luna asked me:

“Want some coffee?”

“I don’t like coffee.”

“I didn’t know that…”

“I like things like grapefruit ade.”

“And what about me, honey?”

“Could you shut up?”

“Oh my…”

Now it seemed like she and Aelin were cut from the same cloth.

We placed our orders and headed to their table.

There we saw Aelin personally feeding cake to Leo.

“You two seem to get along well.”

“Huh!? When did you get here…?”

Aelin asked, startled by our sudden appearance.

“Just now.”

“You came back really quickly.”

“I couldn’t eat much.”

“She almost got hit on just now.”

“Who did?”

When Luna heard that question, she pointed at me with her finger.

Why did she have to share such unnecessary information…

After hearing this, Aelin made another strange expression and said:

“How was it, unni?”

“What?”

“The people who hit on you, were they your type?”

“They weren’t my honey’s type. My honey likes someone like m—”

“Haven’t you two gone a while without getting hit by me?”

“A certain amount might actually be nice…”

“…”

I really didn’t have the energy to deal with them anymore.

And it seemed like engaging with them only made them more excited.

“How much time do we have left?”

“About 30 minutes?”

“That’s quite a bit…”

“Unni, should I take a picture for you? The composition is perfect right now.”

“No, it’s fine.”

Despite my clear refusal, both of them quietly took out their phones.

I didn’t say anything even after seeing that.

‘Was I wrong not to stop them?’

-Click!!-

***

That night.

Two women chatting away as always in a large lodging, just the two of them.

The subject of their conversation was also no different from usual.

However, today they were discussing in a slightly different direction than before.

“Princess! Look at this!”

With an excited expression, Riel suddenly ran over and showed her phone to her.

There was a photo on Riel’s phone screen.

In the photo was a mysterious woman with a pretty café as the background.

For some reason, the woman’s appearance was strikingly similar to the man they knew.

“Who is that?”

“Isn’t she pretty!?”

“Yes… she’s pretty… but who is she? A girl group member? Or an actress?”

“Neither. Want a hint!?”

Riel was still maintaining her high energy.

Even at this late hour.

“No… it’s fine…”

Despite her refusal, Riel ended up giving a hint anyway.

“It’s someone we know.”

“Someone we know? I don’t recognize her at all.”

Black hair and black eyes weren’t common, so if it was someone she knew, she would have noticed right away.

However, she couldn’t even begin to guess who the woman in the photo might be.

“Doesn’t she resemble someone?”

“She does, but… you say we know her?”

“Yes, someone we know very well. Someone whose whereabouts we can even track right now!”

The woman bore an uncanny resemblance to him, who would be resting on a train by now.

Not just in outward appearance, but even in that distinctive aura.

However, she couldn’t think of that woman and him as the same person.

“But… they’re different genders to begin with…?”

Changing one’s appearance was possible.

Using a potion containing the skill [Disguise] would make it more than possible.

Of course, he wouldn’t do such a thing.

But the moment she had that thought, Riel’s words shattered it completely, piercing her ears.

“This unni is Albert.”

“What!? Really!?”

“Yes, according to Aelin.”

“Aelin must have made him do it, right? Albert wouldn’t have such a hobby…”

Her voice sounded somewhat anxious.

But as expected, it wasn’t something like ‘Albert’s weird hobby!’ and Riel soon explained how it had happened.

“He said he wanted to disguise himself because he might attract too much attention coming here, but since doing it normally would be boring, it was just a prank they tried.”

“Aelin did it, right?”

“Yes, that’s what she said.”

“That’s a relief…”

After hearing that, she sighed in relief and looked at the photo again.

The woman in the photo.

She was indeed the perfect answer to the question, “What would Albert look like if he were a woman?”

“She is pretty…”

“She’s princess-level pretty, isn’t she? With just makeup, he’d really look like that.”

“He did have somewhat pretty features to begin with.”

“With this level, wouldn’t it be worth having him crossdress occasionally?”

If Albert heard that, he would have cursed up a storm.

However, she seemed to be secretly positive about his crossdressing.

“It would be fine, I guess…”

“Weren’t you worried just now? Like ‘What if my boyfriend has such a hobby!? Do I need to match him!?’ That’s how you seemed to be worrying.”

“But it wasn’t a hobby of his.”

She seemed relieved that the crossdressing wasn’t done of his own volition.

And it seemed like she thought it was fine if she was the one who did it for him.

“So it’s okay if we do it for him?”

“Then… it’s fine…”

“How does that make sense…?”

“Anyway! When did they say they’ll arrive?”

“I think they said they’ll arrive tomorrow afternoon.”

“At what time exactly?”

It was quite puzzling why she was asking that.

Aelin wouldn’t know the exact time either.

Still, Aelin estimated the arrival time and answered:

“Probably around 3 PM.”

“3 PM… that’s training time…”

“It’ll take some time to get here anyway, so it’s fine. They’ll probably arrive around the end of the day’s activities. And it doesn’t really matter, does it? It’s enough that he’s coming, right?”

“Indeed… his coming alone is sufficient.”

***

After spending a full day and night on the train, we arrived in an unfamiliar region.

Like a country bumpkin, I was taking in the buildings that filled the city.

“Our place is definitely better.”

“Isn’t Rachel here too?”

“I don’t know about that.”

Come to think of it, Rachel would also be back in her country for the vacation.

However, she didn’t know we were coming here, so she wasn’t waiting for us at the train station.

Of course, such trivial matters didn’t concern me.

“So where is my honey?”