Is It Easier If You Give Up? (5)

They hadn’t realized it. Ariel, due to her fear and shock about the current situation, and Reinhardt, because of the strange feeling of going on a date with Ariel, hadn’t noticed.

But Reinhardt was sharp. Although he hadn’t noticed the current oddity, he had the innate ability to intuitively approach the correct answer.

“Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”

“Pardon? I was thinking of just following wherever Your Highness goes…”

An absurd situation where they were both trying to accommodate each other. Reinhardt, who had just now noticed the reality, gave a wry smile.

Clearly, today’s meeting was more or less initiated by Ariel. Although Reinhardt didn’t particularly have any plans for today, the reason they were out walking around like this was because Ariel had said she wanted to play more.

That’s why Reinhardt tried to pass the initiative to Ariel again this time. He intended to follow her lead and accommodate her. But Ariel didn’t seem to be thinking that way.

“Didn’t Your Highness already accommodate me enough yesterday?”

“No, that’s not enough. I have plenty of time to spend with my fiancée today, so don’t worry about it.”

“But I was trying to accommodate Your Highness too…”

A situation that would go on endlessly at this rate. If they’re not careful, they might end up wasting time doing nothing despite coming out!

‘W-What should I do?!’

A red siren began to blare loudly in Ariel’s mind. She hadn’t expected him to react like this. She had thought this outing was just a final act of mercy towards her. Or rather, is he giving her the choice because of that? Letting her choose her own path for her final journey?

‘That makes sense.’

It’s entirely possible. Then what would happen if she continued to decline here? It’s obvious. She might be summarily executed, thinking that she doesn’t even need this final act of mercy.

‘That can’t happen!’

Regardless of what happened in the end, Ariel wasn’t so full that she would kick away the opportunity that had rolled in. She immediately started racking her brain to find the optimal route. A place where a man and woman could go together…

‘I don’t know such things!’

Unfortunately, Ariel had no proper dating experience even when she was a man. She never had any connection with the opposite sex to begin with. As for places where men and women might go together, she only knew about common places like restaurants or movie theaters that others might think of.

How much worse would it be now that she’s a woman? Places that men would like to go together? She knows. She knows very well. But the places Ariel knows are like collections of modern civilization, such as PC rooms and arcades. Places that don’t exist in this world.

Then where should they go? Even restaurants, which could be considered somewhat common between the modern world and here, aren’t appropriate right now. Because Ariel had just eaten, and when she casually asked, Reinhardt had also finished his meal. Then…

“H-How about having some tea?”

“Not a bad idea. Do you have a place in mind?”

Ariel’s breath caught in her throat at Reinhardt’s immediate question.

“I’m sorry. I don’t…”

“There’s no need to apologize. Then I’ll take the lead. I happen to have a place in mind.”

Should she be glad that he’s not complaining about making the man lead in this situation? Or is it actually right for the man to take the initiative and lead?

Ariel, who had never experienced a proper date, was confused. In fact, she wasn’t even aware that this situation was a date. She had vaguely thought of it as a date, but was this really a proper date?

‘Well, Reinhardt and I are engaged, so it wouldn’t be strange to go on a date. But Reinhardt doesn’t have those feelings for me, right? I don’t either.’

Then what should this be called? A young man and woman going out together and spending time together. But if this isn’t called a date, then what it becomes is…

‘Just hanging out?’

Ariel’s imagination was already at its limit.

The place Reinhardt led her to was, unexpectedly, a cafe with a modest feel. Since Reinhardt, a member of the royal family, had said he had a place in mind, Ariel had imagined a dazzling palace-like place, so she was looking around with wide eyes, clearly surprised.

Of course, that doesn’t mean this place was bad at all.

‘Actually, this place is amazing.’

The view is good, and the interior design of the shop is nice. The location isn’t too far from the dormitory. Additionally, the menu variety is very diverse, and there are many seats. It was practically perfect. Usually, it’s impossible to satisfy all these requirements, so one always had to give up on some aspects.

‘The only things left are the price and taste, but…’

While she didn’t know about the taste, the price didn’t seem to be much of an issue. Certainly, the menu prices seemed a bit expensive compared to the cost of living in her previous life, but cafes in this world were almost exclusively for the wealthy, unlike in modern times. It’s natural for them to be that expensive.

“I’ll go secure a seat.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Pardon?”

Ariel, who was about to follow what could be considered an unwritten rule of one person ordering while the other secures a seat, stopped in her tracks, dumbfounded at Reinhardt’s intervention.

“They’ll come to take our order once we’re seated anyway, so there’s no need to worry. Let’s find a seat together.”

“Y-Yes…”

Unlike the places Ariel remembered, where orders were placed at the counter or through machines, waitresses were walking around taking orders from customers.

‘H-How embarrassing!’

They say if a person stays still, they’ll go at least halfway. At this moment, Ariel was acutely realizing how precious and painful the lesson from that saying could be.

“I-I’ll leave the menu here. Please call when you’re ready to order.”

Watching the waitress leave, seemingly more rigid than necessary, Ariel turned her head back to look at Reinhardt.

Reinhardt was silently opening the menu without any particular reaction. Ariel carefully picked up the menu while observing him.

‘Wow, there are a lot of familiar names.’

Names she had seen in modern times, such as Americano, Cappuccino, Caramel Macchiato, and Cafe Mocha, were all there. She momentarily wondered if these menu items were appropriate for this world setting, but then remembered that this wasn’t the first time she had encountered such things, so she decided to let it go.

‘Wow, there are so many delicious-looking things…’

Looking at the dessert section, there were even more amazing options. Slice cakes, roll cakes, sandwiches, toast, macarons, parfaits, mont blanc… Everything that Ariel remembered as typical cafe menu items was included.

‘Is this a bakery or a cafe… No, is that why the shop is so big?’

A very plausible hypothesis. Ariel scanned the menu, not hiding her excitement. She had already decided what to drink, so all that was left was to choose what to eat.

Didn’t she just have a meal? There’s always a separate stomach for snacks. This was a truth that held true even when she was a man. Ariel carefully considered her options while trying to hide the fact that her mouth was watering.

‘I can’t choose everything.’

Unfortunately, it’s impossible to taste all the items on the menu. It’s physically impossible, and it might create an image of her as someone who just picks at everything.

‘I can’t have such a silly image!’

When humans are given limited options, they tend to agonize over their choices. Among them, there are those who become particularly weak when it comes to playing and eating…

In general, such people are called indecisive.

‘How much should I choose? What should I eat?’

And unfortunately, Ariel fell into this category of indecisiveness. The countless menu items were like poison to some people. These are the type of people who, if left alone, would spend 10, 20, 30 minutes just agonizing over the menu, wasting all their time.

‘The macarons look delicious, and so does the mont blanc… But it would be a shame to give up on the slice cake…’

Ariel’s eyes moved rapidly as she looked at the endless menu.

‘She really has changed.’

Reinhardt inwardly muttered as he watched Ariel, who looked like she was about to bury her face in the menu. When she had suggested having some tea, he had reflexively brought her to a place he frequented… but Ariel’s reaction here was quite fascinating.

If it were the previous Ariel, she would have randomly picked items from the menu, ordered a bunch, and then just left whatever was leftover.

There’s nothing particularly wrong with that. She bought it because she wanted to eat it, and after that, it’s up to the buyer whether to eat it or not. But Reinhardt, who thought it was better to eat everything if possible, hoped that Ariel would order only as much as she could handle. While the money wasn’t a concern, there was the sincerity of the person who made it to consider.

But Ariel still hadn’t decided on her order. At first glance, one might think she was just dawdling, unable to choose even a single menu item properly, but conversely, it could be seen as her being sincere about her order.

At least she wouldn’t leave anything she ordered. He felt a strange sense of trust in that.

But that thought soon changed.

“You can order everything you want.”

“Pardon?”

“If it’s difficult, I’ll help you too.”

“T-Thank you…”

Even so, 30 minutes was too much.