“So, why are you here, Riley? I didn’t expect you to be the type to be interested in this stuff…” Rose mumbled quietly as she looked at the front door.
Right in front of us was a large logo of a panda sipping coffee or tea, accompanied by a big plaque sign with a cutely written “Welcome to Panda Lover’s Café” on top of it.
Everything about this place screamed the literal opposite of me, and probably men in general, considering how pink and white the design was.
“Ah, well, I was just curious, you see…” I said as calmly as I could.
“Hmm~” Rose leaned in slightly, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “So you’re interested in this sort of thing, Riley?”
“K-kind of?” I stammered, feeling a bit flustered under her gaze.
“I see… well then, let’s go in, shall we?”
“Wait, you’re also coming…?”
“Yes, now that I’m here, I might as well check it out, right? And besides, this place is actually quite famous, you know? Some of my classmates usually talk about how good the sweets here are. Don’t even get me started on the teas.”
Rose’s unexpected enthusiasm made me even more nervous.
I had planned to use this visit as a quiet moment to strategize, but her presence turned it into something completely different.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t deny her.
As we entered the café, the sweet aroma of baked goods and freshly brewed beverages enveloped us.
The décor was indeed overwhelmingly pink and white, with cute panda-themed decorations everywhere.
The place was bustling with people, mostly young girls and a few couples enjoying their time. Looking around, I tried to spot the twins.
And It didn’t take long to find them; with their uniquely colored crimson hair, locating them among the array of customers wasn’t hard.
Seated at the very edge and viewing corner of the second floor, their red eyes were locked onto our direction as they looked at us curiously.
“Wow! Look!”
“Isn’t that Lady Rose?”
“Why is she here? And who is that gentleman she’s with?”
“Oh my, is that the reason why she denied my invitation last time?”
“How lovely”
I didn’t even know when it started, but now Rose’s fans were looking at us from all directions.
The seemingly quiet, cool, and relaxing atmosphere in the café was replaced by bustling conversations among the customers, particularly the girls.
I knew Rose had a lot of fans from the academy, among the students and professors alike, but I didn’t expect it to be at this level.
I’m pretty sure if phones and cameras existed in this world, people would come flocking just to try and take a photo or video of her.
At this rate, we’re going to cause quite the commotion.
“Riley, I’m sorry,” Rose whispered, leaning closer. “I didn’t realize I’d cause such a stir.” She looked at me with a worried expression, but I could tell she was enjoying the attention we were getting.
“No, it’s alright…” I played along with her whims, shaking my head in understanding. However, my plan for approaching the twins was unraveling rapidly.
With all these eyes locked onto us, there was no way I could discreetly make my way to the twins now.
Not to mention… when did she get so close?
I hadn’t noticed it at first, but since when had she leaned onto my hand? All the eyes of the ladies around us were now going wild with speculation.
Shit, at this rate, uncontrolled rumors would spread like wildfire.
Even though I was subtly trying to shake my hand free, Rose held on tight, occasionally resting her head on my shoulder. Something was clearly off-we were basically still acquaintances, right?
“Uh, Rose?” I whispered.
“Yes?” she responded, her voice dripping with feigned innocence.
“Don’t you think it’s a little uncomfortable?” I tried to say as subtly as possible to avoid drawing more attention.
“Hmm~? No, not at all,” she replied, her tone playful.
Great…. ‘Now I was in a bind.’
This girl was clearly doing it on purpose. Although I could probably shake my hand free more forcefully, considering I have more strength than her, or just talk her out of it, I had a strange feeling that doing something like that would only guarantee a more absurd rumor to float around.
I was relieved that, except for the twins, none of my other classmates were here… especially Susan, who’s part of the news and information network club. She’s guaranteed to make papers out of a scoop like this.
Looking around, I tried to find any excuse to leave her for a bit, but nothing came to mind. Unless I was being completely honest with her and explaining my actual reasonings, which would just make the situation more complicated, especially for someone as ever-curious as
her.
All eyes were still locked onto us, and I noticed some girls blushing as I gazed at them. Is this the effect of being near a celebrity? Did my charisma increase as well?
[Note: User is very handsome]
‘…Well, I guess that’s kind of true?’
Even if you compare my face to Lucas, Riley’s was no slouch.
But even then, I don’t think that’s the only reason they’re blushing at me though?
Sigh… looks like I’ll just have to accept reality.
For now, I should let this whimsical queen do whatever she likes.
Surely, she would go on her way once she’s had her fun.
‘Time to make this makeshift hangout as boring as possible.’
After walking around the massive café for a little more, we finally found a table near the window. Rose immediately picked up the menu, her eyes scanning through the options.
“I’ve heard their strawberry shortcake is amazing. Oh, and the matcha latte too. What do you think, Riley?”
“Uh, sure, that sounds good,” I replied, still trying to adjust to the unexpected turn of events.
A waitress, dressed in an equally cute panda-themed uniform, approached us. “Welcome to Panda Lover’s Café! Can I take your order?”
Rose took the lead. “We’ll have two strawberry shortcakes and two matcha lattes, please.”
The waitress nodded and left with a cheerful smile.
“So, Riley,” Rose began, her tone shifting to a more serious note. “I’ve been meaning to ask this… Why didn’t you choose me back then?”
“Huh…?”
“Back at the duo exams, why didn’t you choose me? Mr. Riley? Or should I say ‘Mr.Lucas’ perhaps?” she said in a playful tone as her bright golden eyes bore onto me.
Right…
‘I completely forgot about that.’
…
“Hmm, they seem very close, don’t you think so as well, Sis?” Lillian asked innocently as she
carefully watched Riley chatting casually with Rose.
Among the whole academy, Rose was known to be someone who spends most of her time
alone.
She wasn’t someone who even talked much with her classmates, so seeing her actually talking
to someone with a genuine smile of happiness like that was very surprising for the twins and
all the people around here.
“Yes… but when did those two get so close? Did we miss something in our daily surveillance?” Lily pondered as she scooped up a bite from her velvet cake.
“I don’t think so? We’ve never missed a day to read the reports and the new information we got every day, even during the suspension and duo exams, so there’s no way that’s the case…”
“I see… so this is new information then…. Should we inform Susan about this?”
“I don’t think we would need to, Sis. News about something like this would come flying around, especially with all these people around seeing it…”
“That’s true,” Lillian agreed, nodding thoughtfully. She took another bite of her cake, savoring the rich flavor, while keeping her eyes on Riley and Rose.
Lily glanced around the café, noticing how the other patrons were also focused on the unusual
pair. “You know, Lillian, this might change the dynamics at the academy. Rose getting close
to someone like Riley could shift a lot of things. Alliances, strategies… everything could be
affected.”
Lillian nodded; her expression serious.
“That’s true…. Nobles sure lives a very complicated life huh” she mused as she watched the lovely interaction down below even tough for the two of them their actions might’ve been to really enjoy the time for others it was probably a significant threat.
“Let’s finish up and head back. We need to prepare for tonight’s hunt” Lily suggested, her
tone decisive.
“Okay~” came the casual reply of her little sister, who quickly drank her tea before getting
back up to her feet in a hurry.
“Our target for today is Henry right?” Lillian asked.
“Yes”
“Sigh… I don’t really want to fight a spear user though”
“We can just kill him in his sleep”
“Eh~? then it won’t be fun sis!”
Lillian then sneaked a couple more glances at the two seemingly lovely couple down below
before jotting something down in her notebook.
“What are you writing?” Lily asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
“Hmm~ nothing, just noting down another fact about our mysterious sword master,” Lillian
replied with a playful smirk.
“A fact?”
“Yes~! Hehehe” she giggled.
Deep inside her small notebook, a clear circle was placed around another fact she had learned
about one of her classmates.
[Riley Hell: Womanizer] was greatly highlighted.
She smiled, feeling a sense of satisfaction upon knowing another significant piece of
information about one of the strongest in the academy.
As they got up and cleaned the hems of their dresses, the two walked out casually as if nothing
had happened. They disappeared like mist, not a single soul noticing their departure, as if they hadn’t even been part of the picture of the reality they were in.