69 – Meal 2
I approached Sephia, who was standing by the shop’s entrance.
“How did Miss Sephia know about this restaurant and find her way here?”
As far as I remember, it took some time before the first customer came to this restaurant.
So, considering Johanna dislikes crowded places, I came here thinking there wouldn’t be anyone she knew. Could it be someone she knows?
“This restaurant?”
Upon hearing me, Sephia looked around the restaurant in surprise.
Did they enter without even realizing it’s a restaurant?
“I didn’t exactly know it was a restaurant when I came in, my little sister just said she wanted to come here once. I didn’t expect to find you here.”
Sephia’s little sister?
Now that I noticed, there was a small girl clinging to Sephia’s hem, barely reaching her waist. She was hiding behind Sephia.
“However, why did you come here alone…………. Did you come with Freya Gongnyeo?”
Sephia’s smiling lips turned downward as she spotted Johanna.
Do they have a bad relationship?
I don’t know well because there was no scene of them talking in Croatia.
Peekaboo.
Sephia’s younger sister peeked out from behind her, glancing at me as if she was cautious.
Smiling inside the mask, I waved my hand to greet the child, who was startled and quickly hid behind Sephia again.
“Rania, she’s Unni’s friend. You should say hello, right?”
Sephia spoke affectionately while stroking Rania.
So her name is Rania.
“Uh!”
Upon hearing Sephia’s words, Rania mustered up the courage and let out a small, cute sound from behind Sephia.
But with one hand, she tightly held onto Sephia’s hem.
Rania had cute bright sky-blue hair tied up and was dressed in a matching bright sky-blue outfit.
“I, I am!”
Oops! She got tongue-tied.
Oh no!
Rania blushed with embarrassment, almost on the verge of tears.
“I’m Rania Reivaden……..”
Lania spoke with a voice crawling with tears, holding them back.
“So adorable!”
If it weren’t for my poker face, I would have burst out without resistance.
Sephia also shook her body desperately to not laugh as Lania was adorable.
“Nice to meet you. My name is Loki.”
Though Lania wouldn’t be able to look into my eyes because of the mask, I knelt down and reached out my hand to make eye contact with her as I greeted her.
Lania rolled her eyes, contemplating whether she should hold onto my outstretched hand or not.
“Aren’t you scared because of the mask?”
Sephia playfully petted Lania’s blue hair and said.
“Then, if I take off the mask, will the little miss accept my greeting?”
I also said playfully.
“Let’s go.”
Johanna suddenly appeared by my side, holding my hand as she spoke.
“Haven’t we paid yet?”
“I did it.”
When exactly?
When Sephia was looking around the restaurant. Was the reason she didn’t see Johanna because she was paying?
So, did Sephia come into the store and go straight to pay?
Johanna pulled my hand, wanting to leave the restaurant as soon as possible.
As I was being led by Johanna, Sephia held my other hand.
“Hey, would you like to have a little chat, fool?”
“I’m busy.”
Before I could even respond, Johann raised Sephia’s hand that was holding onto mine and replied with a cold voice.
“I didn’t say that to Princess Freya, you know?”
“…………………”
They stared at each other in silence.
I was also taken aback, but Rania seemed even more surprised, her tears welling up as if they were about to fall any moment.
Snap!
I clapped my hands together to draw attention and opened my mouth.
“Since it seems like the young lady is still uncomfortable with me, let’s have our conversation at a later time.”
I approached Rania, knelt down on one knee to meet her gaze again.
“Now, have a look here.”
Ta-da! I made a sound effect and showed Rania the flower that appeared in my hand.
As the flower suddenly appeared in thin air, Rania’s eyes widened.
From Noble mtl dot com
“This is a small gift for the little lady.”
I handed the flower to Rania.
With trembling hands, she accepted the flower I gave her.
This is not a fantasy; it’s a flower I retrieved from a different dimension.
It was a flower that I had put in there when I experimented with various things in the different dimension before.
“T-Thank you.”
Lania held the flowers tightly in her hands and spoke.
“See you next time.”
* * *
After they left the restaurant, Loki said to Johanna, “Senior, can you wait here for a moment? I forgot to mention something.”
Upon hearing Loki’s words, Johanna furrowed her delicate brows, seemingly displeased.
“You mean that woman?”
Although the term “that woman” was a little odd, Loki didn’t pay much attention to it.
“No, I have something to say to the restaurant owner, not Sophia.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“How long do I have to wait?”
“It won’t take long. At most three minutes, I guess?”
Johanna was about to ask, “Can I not listen to this conversation?” but she remembered what her mother had said before leaving the mansion.
“If you cling too much, the other person might run away.”
Loki probably wouldn’t run away, but even if he tried, she had no intention of letting him escape.
However, Johanna thought that if she didn’t engage in a conversation with the woman, it would be fine to at least have a conversation. She opened her mouth.
“… Do I have to be back within three minutes?”
“Of course. I’ll bring it back as quickly as possible.”
As Loki went into the restaurant, Johanna heightened her hearing and focused in order to catch every sound coming from inside.
189 seconds later, Loki stepped outside.
He wasn’t pleased that three minutes had passed, but he decided to pretend that he hadn’t really talked to the girl.
“Just this once.”
“What? Just this once? What are you talking about?”
“It’s nothing.”
And so, Loki walked with Johanna, conversing, all the way to the academy.
Johanna said there was a faster way to the academy, so Loki followed her, but apart from taking more than twice as long as the usual route, nothing out of the ordinary happened.
.
.
“Ughhhhh.”
I threw myself onto the bed and stretched.
Even before entering the academy, I had gone through rigorous training at the Adelian Palace, but after joining the academy, the difficult tasks became even more numerous.
“Indeed, school is the source of all evils.”
I briefly recalled my school days in the original world.
“Hmm………..”
Well, at least I can wear a mask here. That’s a relief.
In the world I originally came from, I couldn’t walk around with my face covered.
After experiencing a lot during my six years in elementary school, I had planned to attend a mixed-gender middle school, but since there was none near my house, I had no choice but to go to a co-ed school.
And regretted it after just three days of entering middle school.
The boys would envy me, but being confessed to by a girl who I had zero interest in was not amusing at all.
In my first year of high school, there was a time when a senior boy caused a fuss because he was interested in a girl. By the way, I didn’t even know the name or appearance of the girl at that time. There was even a girl who came to my house, wielding a knife and causing a scene because her confession was rejected. Just thinking about that time gives me goosebumps all over my body.
“Of course, things are different now.”
Back then, it was scary to see someone walking around with a knife, ready to stab, but now I know that getting stabbed won’t kill me. Unless it’s Johanna wielding the knife.
“hahahahaha.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the thought of Johanna wielding a knife at me. I was lost in memories of the past.
*Riiing. Riiing.*
Once again, the sound of the communicator rang out tonight. Talking to Erika every night has become an integral part of my life. It brought peace to my mind and kept nightmares at bay.
“Huh?”
It was only now that I realized the discomfort I felt when I woke up in the carriage earlier. Why didn’t I have any nightmares then? I wasn’t particularly exhausted or had taken any medication. I hadn’t even talked to Erika right before falling asleep.
– Ring! Ring!
Answer the call first, think later. If you don’t answer for too long, the call might get cut off.
[Why are you answering so late, Kwonjae-nim!]
When I answered the call, Yerika spoke in a loud voice as if she was angry, but her voice was full of laughter.
“I accidentally answered late while organizing some stuff. Did you have anything special today, Yerika?”
[I wonder if Kwonjae-nim thinks of me at all. I spent the day worrying.]
“I also always wondered what you were doing, Yerika.”
*Knock knock!*
“hahahaha!”
We laughed at the same time.
After that, we didn’t have any special conversations with Yerika.
But the more we talked, the more comfortable I felt.
“Did something really happen at Hwangung today?”
[Huh? Why all of a sudden?]
“Just wanted to ask once.”
[Really! You can’t keep it in, can you.]
While talking to Yerika, I heard a familiar sound coming from somewhere.
– Ring. Ring.
This sound was definitely coming from the communication device.
To be precise, the communication device I was talking to Erika with was different from the one I received from Johanna.
– Ring, ring!
[Master, what is this sound?]
Erika also asked if she could hear the communication device.
– Ring! Ring! Ring! Ring!
The communication device made the sound without any hesitation.
Rip
Uh oh