Lynn silently lowered his head, glancing at the mountain of stew piled in front of him.
Then he looked back up.
Irene's gaze was still glued to the clay pot. Following the rising white steam, her eyes slowly drifted upward, finally landing on the spoon in Lynn's hand.
“...”
Lynn shifted his spoon slightly to the left. The girl's eyes followed it to the left.
He shifted it to the right. Those light purple eyes followed it to the right as well.
Wait...
Are you playing some kind of motion-controlled game here?
Seemingly realizing her little movements had been caught, Irene stiffened slightly and quickly retracted her gaze. Pretending as if nothing had happened, she squatted back down to continue picking up the scattered porcelain pieces.
However, the ahoge poking out from her long, silvery-white hair drooped down in complete honesty.
“Grumble—”
A long, clear sound echoed from the girl's stomach.
The dining car fell silent for a brief moment.
Irene's hand froze mid-air as she picked up the shards. She slowly lowered her head to look at her stomach, her fair ears gradually flushing red.
‘It wasn't me.’
The girl pursed her lips, her expression dead serious.
‘As long as I pretend I didn't hear it, everyone else will probably pretend they didn't hear it either... right?’
“Gurgle—”
Her stomach protested once more, even louder this time.
Irene: “...”
‘You stupid stomach, have some tact!’
A few stifled chuckles rippled around them.
Keeping her head low, the girl picked up the fragments at a visibly faster pace. Only when the last shard was tossed into the tray did she stand up as if a heavy burden had been lifted, preparing to flee this embarrassing place as fast as possible.
“Hey.”
Lynn's voice drifted from behind her.
Irene paused in her tracks and turned her head in confusion.
The blond youth was pointing his spoon at the empty seat across from him. “Would you like to join us for a bite?”
“Eh? Is... is it really okay?”
Irene looked at Lynn, then at the dazzling array of food on the table.
Her eyes instantly lit up like stars, and her snow-white ahoge snapped straight up with a whoosh.
【Emotion Points +300】
‘So... so many! Should I expect nothing less from the protagonist?’
The conflicted girl quickly came to her senses and shook her head vigorously. “No, thank you. I've already received compensation, so I can buy some myself.”
As she spoke, she pulled out the silver coin she had just received from her pocket and earnestly displayed it.
“Unfortunate timing, miss.”
The middle-aged man in charge of food service poked his head out of the kitchen. “Today's breakfast is completely sold out. The plate you dropped just now... was the very last portion.”
‘Ugh! How could this happen!’
She squatted down in frustration, staring at the now-useless silver coin in her palm, and then at the completely empty food service window.
The light in the girl's eyes gradually faded away.
“Sold out...”
“Yes, sold out,” the middle-aged man nodded ruthlessly, utterly crushing her last shred of hope.
“It's... it's fine. It's just skipping one meal. Irene, you can do this,” she whispered softly, as if cheering herself on.
“Gurgle~” But her stomach seemed completely uncooperative.
“Ha...” Looking at the teary-eyed, pitiful "snow-white kitten," Lynn really couldn't hold back a chuckle.
However, under the gaze of those watery, embarrassed eyes, he quickly raised his hands politely in apology.
“I didn't mean to laugh at you, miss.” Lynn pointed to the mountain of dishes on the table.
“As you can see... I made a bit of a blunder when ordering.” He paused, speaking in an extremely regretful tone. “I ordered far too much, and I've been worrying about how to finish it all.”
“After all, being overly wasteful goes against my family's ancestral teachings.”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the light in front of him suddenly dimmed.
The white-haired dumpling had instantaneously materialized right across from him. Swiftly tying her napkin, her light purple eyes stared dead at the massive plate of stew. “So, can we start eating now?”
“O-Of course.”
“Thank you,” she said in a sweet voice. Seemingly feeling that wasn't sincere enough, she added, “You really are a good person!”
“...”
‘To be given a good person card by the protagonist while playing the role of a minor villain... is this what that bizarre experience feels like?’
Irene looked at the table and chairs, intending to take the empty seat. Suddenly, she noticed the cherry-haired girl sitting opposite her with a sweet smile.
Lilian rested her cheeks in her hands, watching her with a beaming smile.
“Hello there~”
“Hello,” Irene responded politely.
“This is my young master, you know~”
“Yes, I can tell.”
“I am the young master's most trusted and closest personal maid~”
“Yes.” Irene nodded earnestly. “Your outfit is indeed a maid uniform.”
“...”
The sweet smile on Lilian's face stiffened awkwardly.
‘Is the point the maid uniform?! The point is clearly "most trusted and closest"!’
‘How does this white-haired woman completely miss the warning?’
‘Ugh... she really is a formidable enemy!’
“Have a seat.” Lynn shifted to the side, making room for Irene.
Just as Irene was about to sit next to him, Lilian's chair let out a sharp screech. The cherry-haired girl slid next to Lynn with lightning speed, clinging to his arm like a plaster.
“It's a bit cramped on this side~” She pointed to the opposite side. “Miss Irene will be much more comfortable sitting over there.”
Irene looked at the gap between them, which could clearly fit another half-person, and then at the spacious seat opposite.
Without thinking much of it, she sat down directly opposite Lynn.
“Thank you.”
Lilian: “...”
‘I don't feel like I've won at all.’
“Let's eat first.” Lynn used wind magic to lift an empty bowl, filled it with the stew sent by Anger, and let it land gently in front of Irene.
A rich, savory aroma wafted over.
Tender, slow-cooked magical beast meat was submerged in a thick, rich broth, with a few potato chunks that had fully absorbed the meat's flavor wobbling slightly in the bowl.
“I'm digging in.”
Irene clasped her hands together, expressing her gratitude very solemnly.
At first, the girl maintained a bit of the reserve typical between strangers. She took small bites, and her eating manners could even be described as elegant.
But the moment the first piece of stewed meat entered her mouth, her chewing suddenly stopped.
“How is it?”
“An enthusiastic friend of mine recommended it. According to him, this is in high demand in his hometown...”
Lynn's introduction suddenly cut short.
Was the taste good? There seemed to be no need to ask.
The mountain of stew in front of them was vanishing at a terrifying speed.
Lynn glanced over at Lilian, who was also eating like a hurricane. As a Tier 3 Warrior, Lynn himself required a massive amount of daily energy, so his appetite per meal was definitely far beyond that of an ordinary human.
But compared to these two...
“I guess I really can only be considered to have a bird's appetite.”
Rate on N.U.
