Chapter 117: Sweet Deception

“The ice cream on top is going to melt.”

I used a fork to gently cut off a piece of the slightly melted chocolate ice cream on top of the waffle and brought it to Anne’s mouth.

Only then did Anne put down the straw she had been holding in her mouth and obediently ate the ice cream on the fork.

Whether it was effective or not, Anne finally put down the chocolate shake and started eating the waffle in earnest.

She piled the slightly melting chocolate ice cream generously on top of a piece of waffle, and then put it all in her mouth at once.

Anne, filling her mouth with sweetness, had a happy expression on her face, but her hands were working diligently, preparing the next piece.

A slightly larger piece of waffle than before, and chocolate ice cream on top of that.

Anne swallowed the waffle in her mouth and, as if it were a lie that she hadn’t touched it at all until just now, immediately put the waffle piece she had just cut into her mouth.

Watching her put food into her mouth non-stop, it reminded me of a little hamster.

“Ah, just a moment.”

While enjoying Anne’s cuteness as I watched her happy face, I got up from my seat and leaned my upper body across the table towards her.

Apparently, too much of the melting chocolate ice cream had gotten on her mouth because she was cramming too large a piece into her small mouth.

Anne had licked her lips around her mouth, but perhaps because she couldn’t see her own face, there were still black chocolate marks around her mouth.

If it were in the dorm room, it would be fun to watch Anne, with chocolate on her mouth and a happy expression on her face, but I felt it was a bit of a waste to show Anne’s clumsy appearance to strangers in the middle of a cafe where people came and went.

“Eh? E, El…? Mmph…!”

As I reached out, Anne flinched slightly, pulling her body back, and I reached out and wiped around her lips with my thumb instead.

As I subtly showed Anne my chocolate-covered finger, who was still flustered, she seemed to understand my sudden action and let out a short exclamation.

I brought the chocolate-covered finger to my mouth, licked it with my tongue, and felt a strong sweetness.

As I put my finger completely in my mouth and sucked on the remaining chocolate a few times, Anne’s face, which had been watching the scene, turned as red as a ripe tomato.

She must have been embarrassed to show me that she was eating with chocolate on her mouth, like a child.

I wondered what there was to be embarrassed about between us with just this much, but considering that Anne was usually worried about looking young because she was shorter than other friends, it was understandable.

Anne’s shaking eyes soon turned downwards, looking at the waffle on the plate.

Even in the midst of all this, the chocolate ice cream was still melting, and if she didn’t eat it quickly, the waffle would get completely soggy.

Anne, still aware of the situation even in her embarrassment, must have realized that, because she scooped up a lot of ice cream and a large piece of waffle and put it back into her mouth to eat before the ice cream melted completely.

Whether she didn’t care anymore because she had already shown me an embarrassing sight once, Anne was staring at me with sparkling eyes even after eating all the waffles and ice cream that she had stuffed into her mouth.

“You’re such a mess….”

I guess she wants me to wipe it off for her.

If I stayed still like this, Anne’s waffle seemed like it would get completely soaked with melted chocolate ice cream, so I got up from my seat once again and reached my hand towards Anne’s mouth.

It would be cleaner if I had a tissue…. To be honest, my beggar-like nature, which had been cultivated in the Assassin’s Guild in the past, would not allow me to throw away the opportunity to legitimately steal chocolate ice cream.

If it were between men, I would have been punched right away, but according to my experiences with my friends so far, there are many ways in which women are more lenient than I thought, so this much would be fine.

See? Anne is staying still even though I’m wiping her mouth.

Even if she was still because she was embarrassed because it was the first time, she’s still staying still this time, so this much is definitely allowed among women, and there’s nothing strange about it.

“Hyat!”

Rather, Anne was even playing a prank of sticking out her tongue and licking my finger as I was wiping around her mouth.

“Wait, Anne! If you play around like that, I can’t wipe it properly. Stay still.”

Anne stopped licking my finger at my words.

Because Anne licked it, the chocolate that was on my finger naturally went into Anne’s mouth quite a bit, but there was still chocolate left on my finger because there was so much on her mouth.

I quickly took that chocolate-covered finger straight to my mouth so that Anne wouldn’t take it from me.

Because Anne licked my finger, her saliva was on it along with the chocolate.

But if I showed any signs of being conscious here, Anne might suspect something, so I put my finger in my mouth once again with a nonchalant face.

Of course, even while sucking on the chocolate on my finger, I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed when I thought about her saliva entering my mouth.

Moreover, if I felt that the chocolate on my hand was a little sweeter than the first time, am I a pervert?

Anne, whose mouth was clean, once again scooped up a lot of waffle and chocolate ice cream and put it into her mouth.

Then, she put a lot of chocolate around her mouth again and looked at me, waiting for me to wipe it off for her.

In the end, I wiped Anne’s mouth several times, and thanks to repeating that several times, Anne was able to eat all the waffles before the chocolate ice cream melted completely.

“How can you run the competition well tomorrow if you’re so clumsy?”

I said to Anne, who was sucking on the straw of the chocolate shake again as soon as she finished eating the waffle.

Since there was no need to worry about it melting, Anne was sipping the chocolate shake little by little, savoring it.

“Hehe… of course! I’m going to beat down anyone who comes up!”

Anne’s appearance of raising her fist and shouting loudly was cute on the outside, but the sword she would wield tomorrow would not be cute at all.

Even I still get chills when her sword passes in front of my nose when I spar with Anne.

The wind pressure created by the swinging of the huge greatsword hitting my face along with a heavy wind sound was something I could never get used to.

“I’m not too worried, but don’t be too careless. There might be opponents with bad compatibility since seniors and even students from other departments are participating.”

“Heheng! No one can stop this body that has received special training!”

Anne’s smug appearance.

As Celian is still hiding her identity, Anne herself, who brought up the story, may not know it well, but it is not unfounded confidence as she has been tutored by a Sword Master.

“Yeah, yeah. Let’s go up to the finals together and meet each other. Of course, I’ll be the one to win.”

“Huh?”

I said those words as a cheer and to say let’s fight together, but for some reason, Anne tilted her head and made a spaced-out sound.

Did I say something strange?

“Go up to the finals together? Isn’t El not participating in this competition because she is a Hero?”

Anne asked me a question with a puzzled face as if it was a very obvious fact.

“Of course. The award ceremony for the winner is also hosted by me and the Saint, so how can I participate.”

“Huh? But you clearly said just now that we should go to the finals together….”

We were having a good conversation, but for some reason, Anne suddenly said something strange.

“Hey, what are you talking about? Anne must have misheard.”

“But it’s not like I misheard, you definitely said that the win is El’s.”

Did I say something like that? But I don’t really remember. I think I just said words to cheer Anne on….

“I must have made a slip of the tongue. Don’t worry about it. It’s not really important.”

“Woong…. That’s true but….”

Anne was biting the straw and tilting her head left and right, trying to recall what I had said.

“Well, it seems like you’ve finished your chocolate shake, so let’s get up from our seats.”

Anne was lost in thought, so she must have forgotten to drink it sparingly, because she finished the remaining chocolate shake in an instant.

We had spent more time at the cafe than I thought, so it was time to enjoy the festival.

I returned the plate and cup that I had eaten from to the counter, and then watched Anne return hers and headed out of the cafe.

“Anne?”

But for some reason, Anne was stopping her steps in the middle of walking out together, and looked back with a lingering expression.

“If you’re that disappointed, should we get a takeout?”

“Ah, no! Let’s go quickly!”

I spoke out of consideration for Anne, but Anne pushed my back and came out of the store.

Well, it’s not like this is the only cafe, and if we crave a sweet drink while walking around, we can just go to a nearby cafe.

“Then where should we go first?”

“Ah! There…. Can you wait here for a second? I forgot something at the cafe….”

“Really? It’s a relief that you remembered right after leaving the cafe. It’s right in front, we can go in together.”

“Ah, no! You don’t have to! You have to wait here without moving?”

It would only be a few more steps since she had just come out of the cafe, but Anne left me in front of the store and ran straight inside.

While waiting for Anne to come out, I looked inside the cafe, but the sunlight was reflected on the store glass, so I couldn’t see the inside well.

“Then shall we be on our way?”

Fortunately, Anne, who came out of the store with a satisfied face as if she had found the thing she had left behind, passed me and walked ahead.

“Huh? Something is sticking out of your pocket?”

I said to Anne, whose pocket had something long sticking out, looking like it was about to fall, since she was walking ahead.

“Oh, oh! Th, that’s…. No, it’s nothing! It’s nothing!”

Maybe the thing that she had left behind at the cafe was that long thing?

Anne, surprised that she was about to lose the thing she had just found, put what she had put in her pocket into the depths of the crossbody bag she was carrying with a flustered face.

Anyway, she’s so clumsy, I wonder what she would do if I wasn’t there to take care of her.

But with her cute appearance, wouldn’t it be okay to see this clumsy personality as one of Anne’s charms?

Smiling at her puppy-like appearance that takes a lot of work, I followed behind her.