Ch.217Side Story: Priscilla – 2

“Go on a date with me this weekend.”

“…”

The club room fell silent in an instant.

Clink, the dessert fork slipped from Leona’s hand and stuck into the cake on the table. Thump, the plate in Rosaria’s hand tilted, causing the slice of cake on it to flip over.

No one paid attention to that fact. They were all just staring at Priscilla, who stood proudly in front of me. There were two reasons for this reaction.

First, someone was trying to break the delicate balance that had been surprisingly well maintained around me, and second, Priscilla was the first one to make a move.

Who was Priscilla? She was the type who always clung to my side, either purring like a cat or nuzzling her face against mine like a puppy. And now this Priscilla had made the first move.

“…Why so suddenly?”

I carefully composed my expression and voice to make sure I didn’t appear annoyed or displeased when I asked. In reality, I didn’t feel that way at all. I just thought, well, this was bound to happen.

If anything, I should be amazed that she managed to hold on for the past seven years without me and didn’t break down mentally. I had been prepared for her to develop a dependency as severe as when we first met.

“I like you. Do I need any other reason?”

“Wow, that’s insane…”

Rosaria muttered, not even thinking about chewing the cake in her mouth. Elisier looked like she was seeing some strange creature, and Laura widened her eyes as if doubting her own vision.

“…Is this a dream?”

Leona whispered softly. But the club room was so quiet that everyone heard it clearly. Even Nika, who was attending to us nearby, was staring at Priscilla with wide eyes.

This was definitely not the reaction one would expect toward someone who had just asked for a date, but since it was Priscilla who made the first move, it was understandable.

Of course, understanding the reason for their reaction and how Priscilla might feel about it were two different matters, so I quickly grabbed her wrist and led her out of the club room.

She seemed like she didn’t care about others’ reactions, but I wanted to be careful just in case.

“Are you serious?”

I asked only after going to the far end of the corridor where the club room was located and setting up both a soundproofing spell and a barrier.

“Do you dislike it?”

“No. I absolutely don’t dislike it.”

“Then that’s settled. Let’s do it. A date. I like it, and you like it. So why hesitate?”

Was Priscilla always this forceful?

I thought about it carefully, but she definitely wasn’t. In fact, among the people around me, she was probably the furthest from this kind of forceful approach.

Then why?

‘Wait a minute.’

Come to think of it, Aihenhart had mentioned meeting with Priscilla and hinted that I would soon find out why. I carefully probed.

“Did that woman Aihenhart tell you to do this?”

“…”

Priscilla flinched. Judging by how her previously steady gaze began to waver, I seemed to be right.

‘I thought so.’

She must have gained confidence from the advice she received. Just to be sure, I threw out another uncertain possibility.

“Don’t tell me you asked Rachel… No, that can’t be right?”

That woman, as far as I knew, had never even dated a man according to her backstory.

“…”

Instead of answering, Priscilla fidgeted nervously, her lips trembling as if she didn’t know what to do. So she really did ask. I was quite surprised that she would seek advice even from that sword saint.

I had only mentioned those two because they were the only people who could have influenced Priscilla recently; I never imagined it would actually be true.

On the other hand, it also meant she was serious. It implied that she had approached them first to ask about dating, even though they were barely acquaintances.

“I’m impressed you thought of that. You approached them first, right?”

“…Yes.”

Priscilla hesitantly revealed the whole story.

It was a plan she came up with when Rachel was staying at the Eternal Guild headquarters. She would skip the festival under the pretext of needing to look after Rachel, and use that as an excuse to request a one-on-one date.

But while the plan was ambitious, she hadn’t worked out any of the details of what to do or how to do it, so she ended up asking those two for help. Anything more would just be exposing her plan.

The bold, shameless approach and the deliberate proposal in the club room where all my friends could see were all part of the advice given by Aihenhart and Rachel.

“So… is it not possible?”

All traces of her previous confidence gone, Priscilla looked up at me pitifully, back to her usual self—shrinking and constantly checking my reactions.

Judging by her fingers fidgeting in front of her chest and her eyes gradually filling with moisture, she seemed ready to burst into tears if I showed even the slightest sign of refusal.

Instead of answering, I placed my hand on her head and gently stroked it.

“You’ve grown up, Priscilla.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. I’ve always told you to try taking the initiative on something, haven’t I? How could I refuse when I’m the one who said that?”

“Then…”

Priscilla’s face brightened again.

“Let’s do it. The date.”

But despite my confident answer, there was a major problem.

‘…How do I plan the course?’

Both Priscilla and I were complete novices in this area.

I was someone who had followed the predetermined path of a wizard: boys’ middle school, boys’ high school, and engineering college. The only women in my life had been my mother and sister.

Priscilla was even worse; she had experiences of being scolded by her mother, who asked why she was wasting her good looks by staying cooped up in her room, even hitting her back. Of course, she stubbornly refused to go out even after being hit.

But I couldn’t just wander around aimlessly. I spent the night wracking my brain, squeezing out every bit of knowledge I had.

I hadn’t expected the day would come so soon, but fortunately, I had heard about Priscilla’s preferences from Aihenhart. Whether it would work was another matter.

And for things I absolutely couldn’t do, I reluctantly decided to ask for help.

—Sis

—? What is it at this hour

—Help me pick out clothes

—What clothes? Just wear your usual sweatpants

—I’m going on a date

—ㅁ

After that single character “ㅁ,” the chat went silent, but it was soon followed by a barrage of calls.

“Hey, I answe—”

“A DATE?! A DAAAATE?! Wow, you’ve finally opened your eyes! This is crazy, Kang Yuna! Well done! I’m so glad I lived to see this day! To think I’d hear my brother asking me to help pick out clothes for a date!”

As soon as I answered the phone, an excited voice rattled off like a machine gun. Occasionally, I could hear exclamations like “Kuuuuuuu,” as if she had just downed a beer in one shot.

After listening in disbelief, I snapped back.

“So, are you going to help me or not?”

“Of course I’ll help! Your big sister will take leave right now and rush over! Just wait! If you move on your own, I’ll fold you in half at the waist!”

Thanks to her position as my sister, Kang Yuna, who had been receiving various considerations without being too obvious about it, really did get her leave approved and rushed over to drag me straight to the department store.

Honestly, I don’t remember much of what happened after that. I had to try on all sorts of clothes to a degree that made me wonder if it was really necessary. To my eyes, they all looked the same, but apparently not to my sister.

“Little brother. You know the meta these days is all about speed, right? I don’t know who your date is, but as long as they’re not like an A-rank hunter or something, no one’s going to complain if you speed things up a bit, so if the mood feels right, just go ahead and—”

“What nonsense are you talking about? You’re the one who should be speeding things up. Next year your age will start with a 3, and—”

“…”

Kang Yuna suffered a critical hit from that single remark and sank into silence.

I didn’t feel particularly sorry for her. This person was encouraging me to rush things, thinking Priscilla and I were meeting for the first time today.

Telling me to get her pregnant from the first meeting—she must be out of her mind because she still doesn’t have a boyfriend even though she’ll be in her thirties next year.

“Still, thanks for helping me pick out clothes. I’ll look for a suitable guy for you later.”

“…Stabbing me with a greatsword and then applying antiseptic won’t heal the wound, little brother.”

Well, that’s unfortunate.

“…”

“…”

The next day, when I arrived at the meeting place, there was Priscilla in casual clothes, smiling awkwardly.

More precisely, it was Priscilla disguised as someone else using a transformation necklace. I didn’t mind, but since Priscilla was such a famous person, all sorts of scandals would explode if she didn’t take this precaution.

I laid down perception-hindering magic around us and set up a barrier. Realizing my intention, Priscilla removed the transformation necklace. Immediately, the appearance I was familiar with emerged.

She wore a light brown off-shoulder sweater that slightly revealed her shoulders, with sweater gloves that came up halfway to her upper arms. No, they started from her wrists, so they weren’t exactly gloves.

A crossbody bag strap crossed the center of her chest, and her tight black skirt came down to an exquisitely perfect length. Below her thigh-high stockings, black shoes gleamed.

It was an outfit that clearly showed she had put in tremendous effort. From her makeup to her accessories to her fashion, the craftsmanship was extraordinary, and I could guess who was behind it without even asking.

“Was it your mother?”

“Yes. What about you?”

“My sister.”

“I see.”

We looked at each other and smiled. She had become a different person with the transformation necklace, but in a figurative sense too, she felt like a completely different person.

“It suits you well.”

“Thank you. It suits you really well too, Mira.”

Priscilla, her cheeks blushing shyly, gently took my hand. I squeezed her hand in return. This made Priscilla startle and flinch.

“Where are we going?”

“…Well.”

“If you don’t have any reservations or plans right now, can we go to the movie theater first?”

Now it was my turn to be surprised. The first item on my list, squeezed out of my poor imagination, was the movie theater.

It seemed like she genuinely wanted to go to the movies rather than just accommodating my preference. Strange.

So we somewhat awkwardly arrived at the movie theater, and I took out my smartphone.

“I’ve already reserved tickets, so we can go in after about 30 minutes—”

“Not that one, I want to see that one.”

Priscilla tugged at my sleeve and pointed to a poster. It was for a romance movie that looked suspicious from the poster alone.

—They could play porn instead and no one would notice the difference.

—Seems like the director is testing how many explicit scenes they can include with an R rating.

“…”

Remembering these reviews that flashed through my mind upon seeing the title, I carefully asked:

“Do you really want to watch that?”

“Yes.”