episode_0050

“Wouldn’t it be better to give up? There’s no need to force yourself to do something you don’t even want, right?”

“Look who’s talking. Aren’t you being too nice for your own good, unnie?”

The words I’d casually thrown out caused a bigger stir than I’d expected. Until the food arrived, Chris and Cecilia sat across from each other, glaring daggers.

“How should we decide the bet?”

“Let Oppa choose the method. That’s fair, isn’t it?”

“That sounds good. What do you think?”

“Huh? Are you serious?”

And just like that, the baton was passed to me.

Sure, it made sense since I was the one who brought it up, but I was so flustered that I stumbled over my words, and of course, neither of them missed that.

“What’s this? You brought it up, and now you’re trying to back out? I get it, but…”

“N-no! It’s not like that, I was just caught off guard!”

If they got angry and decided to punish me by revealing their true forms or using their powers, I’d be in serious trouble. Desperately racking my brain, I managed to come up with a decent bet—something that would kill time while keeping them both engaged.

“How about… the 31 game?”

“31?”

“What’s that?”

I briefly explained the rules to them.

“Hmm…”

“That doesn’t seem like it’ll work.”

At first, they listened with interest, but the moment I finished, they both looked utterly unimpressed.

“Hey, Oppa. That doesn’t even count as a proper bet.”

“Isn’t it just a game where whoever goes first automatically wins? It’s not even worth considering as a bet.”

“Huh?”

When I made a dumbfounded face, they took the opportunity to sit on either side of me and kindly explain why the game was flawed.

“Look, Oppa. At first glance, it seems fair, but actually…”

“So if the first person calls out ‘2’ right away…”

After a few minutes of their “kind” explanation, I had no choice but to raise both hands in surrender.

“Got it. Then…”

I tried to think of a better game, but nothing came to mind. Word chain was out of the question—given their knowledge, it would probably last until the food arrived.

Most of the games I knew were just simple drinking or party games meant to lighten the mood. I’d picked the one that required the most brainpower, but who knew it had such an obvious winning strategy? I felt cheated.

“Ugh…”

I glanced around, but it seemed our food would still take a while.

“Then how about this? It’s simple but should keep us entertained for a while.”

“Hmm?”

I explained the rules of the game I’d come up with. Of course, I couldn’t teach them the original version, so I tweaked the name a bit.

“Sounds fun.”

“This seems like a fair enough competition.”

With that, they both raised their fists.

“One, two, three!”

Cecilia held out her hand flat, while Chris kept hers in a fist.

“I go first, then?”

“Tch. As if that matters. Just hurry up.”

“Okay. One, two—!”

Cecilia quickly switched her hand to a fist, but Chris was even faster, flicking hers open.

The two were now fully engrossed in rock-paper-scissors.

Well, technically, it was rock, scissors, paper, but since the game didn’t require verbalizing or explaining each move, it was perfect for them right now.

“One, two—”

“Gotcha!”

“Not bad, huh?”

As I watched blankly, I tried to push away the thought creeping into my mind.

When will this end?

They were far more serious about this game than I’d imagined, and their back-and-forth showed no signs of stopping.

Do they really hate treating me to a meal that much? It stung a little.

They both knew that, having come to this restaurant, they’d have to play along to some extent.

“Shouldn’t you back down by now?”

“It’s just that unnie’s terrible at mind games. If you’re so upset, why don’t you try tricking me~?”

Even as they taunted each other, their eyes darted around, refusing to miss even the slightest hint from the other. And their fierce battle of wits led to an outcome I hadn’t anticipated.

“…Is that… rock?”

“…Paper… so…”

“…Wait, then… actually…”

The customers around our table were whispering and staring. But the two at the center of attention couldn’t care less, too busy trying to outmaneuver each other.

“One!”

“One!”

“One!”

Now, they weren’t even counting to three—just instantly switching hands in rapid succession.

I thought about intervening, but I was too afraid of the backlash if I disturbed them mid-game. If they hated dining with me that much, who was I to butt in?

All I could do was bow my head to hide my face and gesture for the onlookers to quiet down.

If I accidentally provoked them, things could get ugly.

Since the game had simple rules, most people quickly caught on. Thankfully, my gestures worked, and instead of talking, they just stole glances, watching the match with bated interest.

Well, I guess it’s exciting, but if you’re just going to let the food get cold, you might as well give it to me.

Even just watching was tense, and I was starting to get genuinely hungry.

“One!”

“One!”

“One!”

What felt like an eternal rock-paper-scissors battle ended far more abruptly than expected.

“Your food is here~”

Clack—

The steak was placed on the table—

“One!”

“O-one—ah!”

Cecilia, tricked by Chris’s last-second two-finger switch, held out her hand flat, only for Chris to flick hers open right after.

“Hah… hah… I win, right?”

“N-no way! This is—”

“You’re not thinking of denying it, are you? You just got distracted when the food arrived.”

“Tch…”

Did she really get thrown off by something that small? Then again, Lucifella once said life-and-death battles could hinge on the tiniest things. I wouldn’t know, but if she said so, it must be true.

Maybe these two were so evenly matched that the winner would be decided by something most people wouldn’t even notice.

“So… it’s your win, then? It was neck-and-neck till the end. You were both amazing.”

That was my genuine opinion. By the end, I was a little sick of it, but it was like watching a sword fight without swords.

“Hehe. Guess so. Sorry, unnie.”

“A loss is a loss. I admit it. I’m defeated.”

“Congrats.”

“Ugh…”

“Now that the food’s here, let’s eat. Watching you two is making me hungry.”

Ignoring the stares, I forced myself to focus on the meal.

Luckily, the crowd seemed satisfied with the intense showdown and slowly returned to their own sweet conversations. Watching them just made my stomach ache again. Since we were here and the match was over, we might as well eat quickly and leave.

“Hmm.”

I stared at the two steaks on the table.

They looked delicious. Definitely worth the effort Chris and Cecilia had gone through to bring me here.

The fact that this was only half-price for couples was such a transparent “1+1” marketing ploy, but I had no choice but to play along.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“Fine. Enjoy your meal—wait, what did you just say?”

I handed Cecilia the utensils.

“What do you mean? You’re feeding me. We agreed, right?”

“N-no, yes! We did make that bet, but I lost, didn’t I? So why should I—?”

“I’m not giving it to you. Chris gets to eat comfortably by herself, and you eat with me. Don’t like it? Then I’ll have to think of another penalty.”

Seeing Cecilia’s crushed expression, I realized just how reckless and stupid my request had been—though that realization stayed my little secret.

She was already upset about losing, and now I was asking her to feed me?

That wasn’t just pouring oil on a fire—it was throwing a bomb.

So I subtly left her an escape route at the end, but our saintess wasn’t one to take the coward’s way out.

“N-no! It’s fine! I’m totally fine with it!”

“What are you talking about, Oppa? The loser has to eat with you?”

Chris also turned to me with a question.

“What’s wrong with you two? Of course you’d both rather eat comfortably. That’s why I said it. The winner eats in peace, the loser does the annoying task. Isn’t that common sense?”

“Right, right! The winner eating comfortably makes perfect sense. No one who won would willingly take on the harder job, right?”

“Huh? Well, yeah…”

I nodded at Cecilia. Why was she even confirming something so obvious? Was she that bitter about losing?

Well, if it’s Cecilia, this’ll just fuel her competitive spirit, so it’s fine.