Beloved by the World Chapter 5 – Hollow
It didn't take long for Reinhard to get ready, causing him to stand idly by the door as he waited for Natsumi.
She had mentioned that she would take a bit, having Reinhard direct her to the nearest restroom, but he was more than content to simply laze around by the door, the once unfamiliar idea of rest having been forcefully learned as he began to manage the schedule of a more human individual, while Lady Felt was more than exceptional in his eyes, she was only human.
Exactly 17 minutes had passed since he began to wait for Natsumi when he could hear the faint footfalls of another slowly making his way towards him.
Emerging from one of the many hallways that connected to the entrance room, Natsumi leisurely strode towards him, wearing a simple long black dress that roughly matched the color of her hair, along with matching sleeves, undoubtedly fancier than her so called track-suit, she typically wore yet much simpler than the flashy dresses typically worn by the nobility.
He was unsure how to greet his friend, fiancée. Yet before he could string together a passable sentence Natsumi beat him to it.
"Are you really planning on wearing that?" Natsumi gestured at him with a scowl, "We've really got to work on your charm mister."
"Is there something wrong with what I'm wearing?" he questioned, checking his clothing for any hints of dust or soot.
"Yes?" Natsumi deadpanned, looking as if she was holding back from saying anything more, before finally elaborating. "You're wearing your uniform!?"
"It's a fine uniform."
It really was, the uniform of the royal guard had been meticulously designed for their extended interactions with both nobility and commoners, being able to not look out of place in events with the nobility while at the same time conveying the air expected of a knight, all the while not hindering the movement of the one wearing it.
"It's a very nice uniform Reinhard," Natsumi spoke softly and slowly, as if she were speaking to a child, "But typically when you're just going out with someone, especially someone you've suddenly been engaged to, you wear something nice other than your uniform."
"Ah, I see." He spoke, now understanding why Natsumi was acting strange, "I wasn't aware of this, I don't think it's ever come up until now."
"Ever, even with Julius?"
"I can admit I've rarely seen Julius in 'casual clothing' so to speak, typically he always wears his uniform."
"That doesn't surprise me for some reason," Natsumi huffed, her eyes sweeping over him one last time before making her way to the front door, "at the very least we currently have one new objective to complete on this date."
As Reinhard opened the door, allowing Natsumi to pass through it he gave her a confused look, "What do you mean?"
"We're going to get you some clothes, c'mon Reinhard get with the program."
"Pro-gram?" Reinhard mouthed as he let go of the door, "Surely we shouldn't waste this day-te clothes shopping for me."
"Don't worry one little bit, just let the master do her work!"
Natsumi pumped her fist in the air as if to punctuate her words, the sight drawing a small smile onto his face.
"Alright, I'll leave it in your capable hands then, do you have a lot of experience in outings like this?"
"In a sense," Natsumi responded softly as they walked, before her head abruptly snapped to him, her face flushed, "I mean I've never went on one personally, but I've read a lot about it in a couple of novels and kind of lived vicariously through them."
The words came out like a raging river, and it took several of his Divine Protections to ensure he heard them properly.
"They must have been good stories." Reinhard noted, deliberately ignoring her flushed expression as his mind screamed at him not to walk into the proverbial minefield.
"Excellent stories." Natsumi stressed, completely seriously, before she stopped abruptly causing him to nearly bump into her.
"Natsumi?" Reinhard questioned, as she slowly turned to him, her eyes threatening to burn holes in him.
"Reinhard." She softly queried, beckoning him to come closer while gesturing to her ear.
The act wasn't necessary with his Divine Protection, yet for some reason, he found himself obeying her unspoken request, bending over slightly to allow her to whisper in his ear.
"I have no idea where I'm going."
Oh.
As expected, the third district of the capital was bustling with residents doing their daily shopping, the midday rush only beginning in earnest over the past few minutes as the sun reached its apex overhead.
"Man, talk about a rush." Natsumi spoke as they walked, "and yet they still give you such a wide berth."
"Yes, I'm afraid it's a terrible inconvenience for them."
It hadn't been noticeable in the noble district as it was much less trafficked, however the instant they crossed in the bustling economic artery of the capital their very presence seemed to cleave the sea of people apart, with no one willing to come closer than a few feet to them.
That wasn't to say people were ignoring them however, not more than a moment would pass before she noticed another person on the street gesturing to them, be it a child with stars in their eyes or an older individual who stopped their toils in order to catch a glimpse of the two of them.
Well, perhaps one of us, Natsumi thought as they walked, unknowingly scooting closer to Reinhard lest she get scooped up into the crowd and lost.
"Eh, it's no fault of your own, nothing is forcing them to do this."
"Perhaps," Reinhard conceded, eyes somehow scanning the storefronts through the hordes of people, "but my presence remains the cause regardless of fault, this way I believe." Reinhard ended, swiftly changing course as they walked.
They walked for a few hundred more feet before Reinhard made his way towards a storefront, growing close enough to where the crowd parted enough to allow her to see a relatively fancy storefront whose glass windows housed a plethora of outfits displayed prominently on a couple of human manikins.
Reinhard entered the store first, the opening of the door causing a bell to lightly chime above his head before he held it open for Natsumi to follow through.
With a nod at the gallant knight her shoes clicked against the smooth wooden floor, its texture possessing none of the rugged roughness that had punctuated their walk through the city.
Her breath hitched as her eyes swept over the large sea of clothes on display, ornate dresses and suits as well as simpler tunics and outfits were displayed prominently throughout the store, a sight that wouldn't look out of place in any of the numerous fantasy games she played.
"Man, I've really stumbled into Skyrim, haven't I?" Natsumi whispered, causing Reinhard's head to tilt questioningly.
Before he could respond however, an older woman, an employee no doubt, appeared from one of the aisles created by the mess of shelfing units and displays, a standard greeting rolling off of her tongue.
"Welcome to Ashley's Emporium how may we serve you today…"
The employee trailed off, her gaze rapidly flickering between Reinhard and herself, to the point where Natsumi could almost see the girl short-circuiting in real time.
Feeling pity for the girl, as well as the uncertainty Reinhard was hiding, she deftly stepped forward, forcing the girl's attention solely on her.
"We're looking for a few outfits for my fiancé over there, we're supposed to be going for an outing, but he didn't have anything to wear other than his uniform, can you believe it?" Natsumi sighed, hiding the unease she felt regarding Reinhard's newest title with a light joke, all the while shaking her head, the woman going wide eyed at her words.
"Oh, that's no good."
"That's what I tried to tell him, and he didn't understand!"
What started as a tease to Reinhard started to devolve into an actual rant, something the employee seemed to pick up on as she looked at the younger women in pity.
"We'll get it squared away miss," The women promised, her attention shifting to Reinhard, none of the earlier hesitation present in her demeanor, "Right this way Sir Astrea." The women spoke gesturing at him to follow, "We have a few seats across the way miss."
Reinhard took a step, before stopping suddenly, his hands dropping to his waist, "Ah just one moment," he stated before making his way to Natsumi, deftly unstrapping the scabbard that rested at his waist, "If you wouldn't mind." He spoke, offering the legendary blade to Natsumi as if he was asking her to hold a few coins.
"Oh alright." Natsumi responded dumbly, her hands digging into the scabbard that housed the blade, nearly losing her grip on it as Reinhard removed his hand, it's weight closer to a sheet of rock than an actual blade.
As Reinhard followed the woman, she carefully made her way to the seats she had been pointed towards, nearly all of her attention fixated on the blade in her hands.
It was the first time she had held a real sword; she didn't count the wooden blade she had been given during her ill-fated duel with Julius, yet it looked more like an ornate decoration than a functional weapon.
For a few minutes her eyes scoured every visible inch of the blade, the otaku she once was screaming internally in joy at the experience, while another, more cynical part of her wondered what could have been if she had entered this world with a weapon like this in her hands.
Probably nothing, she eventually settled on, after all this world has managed to teach me I'm nothing special when it comes to physical prowess.
She did attempt to draw the blade, but despite her best efforts she couldn't even get the sword to wiggle in its sheath, how'd they secure this thing, concrete?
While she still found herself nerding out about the experience, it could only hold her attention for so long, and before she knew it, she found her eyes scanning the store she found herself in, Reid comfortably nestled against the folds of her dress.
Hundreds of different outfits must have occupied her vision, the wooden floors covered in tables that each housed a single style of dress in nearly any color imaginable, and while she was currently surrounded by outfits meant for men, she could still clearly see the ornate dresses carefully crafted for the fairer sex.
A noticeable lack of pants however, she noted, scanning the women's section, I wonder if Crusch had to custom order hers… not that she'd remember.
Filing away that train of thoughts for another time, she gazed out the large display windows on her left, the sight blocked by half a dozen or so mannequins wearing an assortment of different outfits, the sea of people having reduced slightly allowing her the occasional peek at the opposite side of the street.
Sure enough, it happened again exactly where her gaze happened to fall, and for just a moment a similar shade of red to Reinhard's hair occupied her vision, yet instead of a mop of hair the color appeared more as a mountain of something.
Surely it couldn't be… Natsumi trailed, the gap being filled before she could come to any solid conclusions.
She chanced a glance to her right, her eyes scanning deeper into the store where Reinhard was located, no doubt already having tried a handful of outfits already.
After just a second, she stood suddenly, securing Reid in her arms before making her way to the door, the bustling noise of the street roaring into the store the minute the door was opened.
Forcing her way through the crowd she parted the sea on the other side of the street, her suspicions confirmed as she noticed the man running the vacant stall.
"Save-point guy! Looks like business as usual, eh?" she yelled, cutting through the chatter of the street.
"Who do you…!?" The man snapped, looking up at her as he attempted to determine who was speaking to him, his gaze losing much of its hardness as he recognized her.
"Oh, it's you." He spoke, "I hope you have money this time, I'm not giving freebies just cause you slayed some mabeast."
"Some mabeast?!" She responded, doing her best to rise to his snub, "I wasn't aware you were someone who could simply write off a century's long terror as 'some mabeast'."
Kadomon laughed, the look he gave was the direct opposite of when she had first been dropped into this world.
"You just don't know when to stop, do ya kid?"
"What can I say, I'm a go getter." She spoke, resting herself comfortably against his stall, her long flowing hair just barely brushing against a mountain of apples to her side.
Kadomon didn't seem to mind, as he didn't respond, yet even as she gazed across the street, she could feel his eyes on her figure.
"I take it the Sword Saint is near?" he eventually spoke, drawing her gaze.
"Now what makes you say that?" She teased, "Can't a gal come to speak to her favorite apple salesman?"
"Appa," he corrected drawing an eye roll from his companion, "And if I'm your favorite salesman shouldn't you be spreading the word more, for being the storefront of choice for the 'Slayer of the White Whale' I haven't been seeing any increase in business."
"Alas, even my charm has limits, and it seems even I can't improve your public relations."
"Even I take affront to that kid," he sighed, "but answer me honestly, the Sword Saint is somewhere nearby, isn't he?"
"And how would I know that?" she refuted, drawing another, even lengthier sigh from the salesman.
"You don't expect me to believe it's every day that you walk around with Reid is it," He shot back, causing her to register the familiar weight once again in her arms, "or that you'd be separated on the day of your engagement?"
"Ah," Natsumi dumbly responded, fully aware she had just been metaphorically checkmated, "I suppose that's true."
Kadomon gave her a dull look as he stood behind his stall eventually forcing a sigh from her, "He's across the street hopefully updating his woefully understaffed wardrobe."
"I recognize that look," Kadomon laughed, his boisterous voice rumbling across the smooth stone of the storefronts, "my wife gives it to me often enough, quite a handful it seems?"
"I don't know." Natsumi whispered, breaking her mask for a moment, "and that seems to be my largest problem, because everything I don't seem to know about suddenly manifests it's way into becoming a thornbush in my life."
She didn't even know if she was talking about Reinhard at this point.
"Easy girly, don't fall apart on me." The salesman replied, his tone light, but his face deathly serious.
"Don't worry." She responded. I'm proficient enough at picking up the pieces, her mind leered, attempting to snake her in its grip.
For better or worse, Kadomon seemed to take her words at face value, his eyes taking in an unfocused look for a second as his hands trailed down his stall before stopping over a full bundle of apples, taking two into his large hand.
"Here, for the road." He offered, extending them to her to take.
"Trying to shoo me off, are you?" Natsumi teased, the situation helping her forget her earlier breakdown, "But it's fine, what happened to not giving out freebies earlier?"
"I've changed my mind," He shrugged, "besides it's harder to snub two of the kingdom's greatest heroes, rather than just one."
Huh, two? Her mind barely managed to eek out before a hand came to rest on her shoulder, a twinkle of red appearing in the upper corner of her vision.
"I was wondering where you went." A smooth voice spoke from beside her, "Luckily your hair is quite unique."
One of her hands detached themselves from Reid before coming to rest on the back of her head, "What?"
"Black hair is something of a rarity in Lugunica, only sparsely found on a few immigrants of Gusteko." Kadomon spoke, drawing both of their attention, "rest assured lass that he didn't mean anything by it."
"My apologies, I should have explained myself better." Reinhard spoke again, removing his hand from her shoulder, its ungloved fingers instead digging in a pocket of his uniforms coat, before extracting a singular gold coin.
Even Natsumi was aware it was horrifically more than the apples were worth.
"None of that," Kadomon softly objected, seemingly unfazed by the offering in Reinhard's hand, "Consider it an engagement gift to a customer I will never forget, and her fiancé."
Reinhard hesitated for a moment, as if considering his words before returning the coin to the safety of his breast pocket, his newly devoid hand gingerly accepting the merchant's gift.
"Thank you." Reinhard breathed, his eye's carrying every bit of sincerity that permeated from his words as he lightly bowed his head, "We'll treasure it."
She couldn't help but find his childlike joy cute, after all if she didn't know any better she would have been fooled into believing the merchant had just gifted him an object of tremendous value rather than a pair of apples. Kadomon himself seemed hung up on Reinhard's words, as he was unable to even begin formulating a response, his eyes darting to her before finding… something, as his face relaxed and a retort finally appeared on his lips.
"I hope you'll eat it." He quipped.
"We will." Natsumi promised, before looking to Reinhard, "All done already?"
"Yes, I merely had my measurements taken and an assortment of outfits sent to the manor." Reinhard nodded, "Is that fine?" he questioned.
"It'll work." Natsumi acknowledged, before turning to Kadomon, "Seems it's time to go, we're killing daylight."
"Don't worry about me," Kadomon waved, "Try and take care."
"We will!" Natsumi responded energetically as Reinhard merely nodded, before grabbing Reinhard's free hand with her own, dragging him away from the stall and down the road.
"Cmon Reinhard! We've got to experience all this fantasy world has to offer!"
She didn't realize it, but she was smiling.
Reinhard himself was at a loss as he allowed Natsumi to drag him through the various different streets that made up the third district.
Already he had interacted more with ordinary citizens than he had in the past few years, first during his brief fitting for an updated wardrobe, and finally with his brief, but inexplicitly candid conversation with the appa salesman Natsumi seemed familiar with.
It was the first time anyone had ever talked to him in such a manner, besides Natsumi of course. The salesman seemed to look past his title and monstrous strength, treating him as he would any other customer, even if they had only exchanged a few lines. Yet unlike Natsumi, who seemed to have no issues conversing with him, never once even giving the smallest hint that his title constrained her, he could tell that it was still forced from the merchant.
Yet, despite their significance, none of that mattered at the moment, as instead his focus was occupied by the slender hand that was tugging at his own, as a myriad of emotions flowed into him.
Unknowingly, when Natsumi had grabbed his hand with her own, his Divine Protection of Empathy had triggered, no longer being constrained by the gloves that he typically wore on his hands.
Anticipation was the first emotion that he experienced; its embrace causing his own heart to beat faster as he wondered what would come next.
Uncertainty was next, leaving him to wonder if he should unravel his hand from Natsumi's own, should he tell her of the Protection she triggered? Wasn't this an invasion of her-
Fear was third, its hungry jaws quickly destroying what remained of its former siblings, leaving his heart sinking as he imagined the only true relationship he held burning to ashes before him.
Yet the terror was short-lived as the trio balked as their youngest brother finally made his appearance.
Happiness finally entered the fold, its warm embrace wrapping around his body, calming his heart, and banishing the twisted thoughts that his mind had spun. It wasn't quite as strong as all the other emotions he had experienced, duller than the rest more blanketing him instead of stabbing his mind but perhaps, most importantly, unlike all the others, this one persisted.
Even as Natsumi led them deeper and deeper into the third district the warmth that coursed into him through their connected arms didn't fade, but eventually, after he swore that they passed the same corner twice, his mind was forced back into the waking world.
"Natsumi," he softly intoned, causing her to come to a stop and look back at him, "Do you mind if I ask where we are going?"
"No idea." She quickly grinned, flashing him a grin, mischief flowing over him as she responded, "As you might remember I'm not a local of this city and therefore know little about it, the plan was just to run around until you said something."
He stared, his mind playing pickup as he processed his words, this was something he should have expected, how could he have forgotten that she wasn't familiar with the capital? Hadn't she mentioned that only a short time ago, was he really that ill-attentive?
The silence had stretched into a handful of seconds now, and even he, as incompetent as he was in emotions, could tell Natsumi was beginning to feel a sense of unease.
"Ah, my apologies," He eventually forced out, his speech not wavering for a second from the sincere tone he always spoke in, "Do you have any particular preference for our next stop?"
Natsumi stared at him, her hazel eyes seemingly attempting to pour into him, had he assumed too much, had she merely forgotten the way back to his their home and now he had made things awkward by assuming they were continuing this day-te of theirs.
Was… was she not enjoying it as much as he was?
Natsumi's eyebrows furrowed, extracting her hand from his own, causing Reinhard to involuntarily exhale as the emotions ravaging his mind disappeared in an instant, before returning just as suddenly as she gently placed her hand on his forehead, brushing his hair aside.
"Hmm, no fever." She murmured, as he stood as still as a statue, only able to track her movements with his eyes as every other part of his body rebelled against his control. "Are you feeling alright, Reinhard?"
"Always," he croaked, continuing as he felt Natsumi begin to interject, "I possess a Divine Protection that doesn't allow me to become sick."
"Interesting," Natsumi hummed, withdrawing her hand, an action Reinhard was incredibly thankful for as reality once again came crashing around him. "Does that mean you've never been sick?"
"Never." He parroted, it wasn't a lie, he had only been barely coming down with a sickness when he was a child when the Divine Protection had been bestowed upon him, immediately reversing whatever symptoms he might have been beginning to experience.
"Anyhow, I personally don't have a preference for where we go next, I think I'll leave it up to you."
Up to him? His mind repeated, the only establishments he had ever visited being the few bars' Julius had drug both Felix and him to, a place even he could wager wasn't a good spot to take Natsumi.
"How about a café?" He eventually posed, his mind immediately jumping to a restaurant not long after his last thought, also it had been nearly half a day since either of them ate, their respective hunger being silenced after the council's decision.
"Ohhh," Natsumi exhaled, "Really following this by the books, eh? Don't worry though I'm game."
"Very well," she announced, giving him a smile, "after you then."
His heart hammered in his chest as he gestured back towards the estate.
"Theres a small café near the edge of the noble district." His voice rumbled, "If you don't have anything else you'd like to do we can stop there before returning to the manor."
"Sounds good to me," Natsumi sang, a light breeze causing her hair to flow gently in the wind, "If you're good, so am I."
Reinhard nodded, his gaze drifting to Natsumi's side, lingering a moment before returning to her eyes, "I can take Reid back now."
Her eyes widened, almost as if she had forgotten she carried the blade in her other hand, "Jeez," she sighed, "I completely forgot about that."
Gingerly she raised the sword, offering it to Reinhard who made short work of returning it to his side, "Don't worry," he spoke as he tied the last strap to his belt, "You did a superb job of watching over it."
With a small gesture, the two of them began the trek towards the second district, Natsumi jogging to walk alongside him rather than behind him.
"Say, how heavy is that sword I couldn't get it to even shift within it's sheath when I tried."
"I would have been amazed if you could." He answered, as they walked, a few passersby's moving out of the way as he grew near, "While the Divine Protection of the Sword Saint isn't necessarily required to wield it, it has been passed down from Sword Saint to Sword Saint since it's namesake himself." The information being some of the earliest that he had memorized, not long after he himself came into possession of the artifact. "The blade will only allow itself to be drawn when it deems it necessary, even myself with all my strength cannot force it from it's sheath should it decide against it."
"I see," Natsumi responded, bringing a free hand to her chin, "That makes a lot of sense actually, I initially thought it was a show of ego when you refused it's use against Elsa, but that never seemed to match up to your character.'
"What do you mean?" he questioned as they walked, both anticipating, and partially dreading her answer.
"Cmon," Natsumi scoffed as they walked, "What else could I mean?"
"I'm afraid I'm lost."
"I'm saying that you're humble to a fault, I don't think you have a hint of pride in that body of yours, not even a healthy amount."
Could one have a healthy amount of sin? He questioned internally, stopping only in his thoughts to point out a rough patch of road to Natsumi.
"Can the same not be said for yourself?" he posed, seeing her face shift toward him out of the corner of his vision, "As I understand it, you were the keystone in the defeat of the White Whale, and yet when offered even a hint of praise you rejected it, for someone who was ridiculed and publicly shamed not long before that it's surprising you didn't relish in the moment."
"Perhaps I would have, had the events at the castle occurred differently," Natsumi admitted, as she maneuvered out of the way of a small child that had weathered the wide berth Reinhard created, her mother quickly running after her, "My mindset at the time was… not healthy to say the least."
The conversation petered out, something Reinhard was more than happy to allow, the conversation straying too close to things he'd rather keep concealed.
Before long, the crowds that had surrounded the two had disappeared, leaving only a handful of individuals within earshot on any given street they turned down.
It was easily midday by now, the sun almost directly overhead, had he left last night he would have returned to the Astrea estate a handful of hours ago.
None of that, he reminded himself, Lady Felt would be fine.
She would be, Carol would be remiss before allowing Felt to renege on her lessons, in a sense she was easily stricter with the fifth candidate than he was.
While he wasn't forbidden from returning to his liege, he would have to bring Natsumi, something that would undoubtedly lead to more hurdles than he'd like, he… they needed more time before opening that can of worms.
Finally, like an oasis in the desert, the visage of the building he believed to be the café came into view, large windows on either side of the entrance, just barely allowing one to see various tables and booths nestled comfortably inside it.
"Man, I really hope they have coffee it's been too long," Natsumi remarked as they drew closer to the door.
"Assuming you mean coff, then yes." Reinhard remarked, strutting forward a small amount to grab the door and hold it open, allowing his companion to enter unimpeded.
"Oh, potato patato," she deadpanned, as Reinhard returned to her side, the both of them stopping just before a small counter.
The café was of a mild size, allowing a few dozen to sit comfortably if it were ever at max capacity, currently it housed only a handful of individuals yet still the café was noisy as it's various patrons and staff's voices seemed to clash in the very air.
Yet to Reinhard's trained ears he could hear the conversations shift the moment they entered the building.
The aesthetic was quaint for an establishment bordering the noble district, preferring to keep an almost rustic charm, while making sure every surface as polished and clean as possible. Plants hung from hooks on the roof and sat on windowsills and counters, while a large blackboard on the opposite side of the entrance proudly displayed their menu.
A server quickly made their way over to the two of them. Her eyes lingered on the two of them for only a second longer than appropriate before giving them a smile before gesturing for the two of them to follow.
They were quickly ushered into a quaint booth in the front corner, windows on either wall allowing them a nearly unparalleled view onto the street outside.
A handwritten menu was also placed between them, with the server rushing off with a promise to be back in a handful of minutes, leaving Natsumi staring at her retreating back.
"Poor girl," She commented as they were finally left to their own, the next closest patron being a couple of tables down, "You could tell she was completely out of her depth."
"You noticed that as well?" he commented, scanning over the menu a singular time before pushing it towards Natsumi, "I thought she had hidden it rather well."
"Maybe to someone who had never run from something in their life." Natsumi peered over the menu, taking an infinitely longer time than him, "Putting us at the farthest table away, scampering away without once making eye contact, classic behavior."
"She could merely be attempting to be polite."
"Perhaps," She tutted, looking up from the menu, "But ordinary people aren't like that when meeting their heroes, any hint of normality goes out the window."
The words were surprisingly insightful, and even if he attempted to, he likely wouldn't be able to refute her statement, but it did make a question burn brighter in his heart.
So why do you treat me so normally?
"Reinhard," comes her soft voice, breaking him from his reprieve as he finds a menu being shoved in his face, one of her long slender fingers pointing out a particular line on the menu, "Does this say a 'Lugunicanno'?"
He blinks, once, twice, before his mind finally stops it's failed rebellion, the words finally twisting themselves into a legible fashion as he takes the menu in his hands, all the while being subjected to Natsumi's expectant gaze.
"Indeed," he croaked before silently clearing his throat, "However I cannot claim to know what it is."
"An Americano, really?" The strange word caused him to look up in confusion, Natsumi's gaze threatening to burn holes into him, "You guys do know stealing others work is plagiarism, right?"
How am I supposed to respond to that?
Luckily enough, he didn't have to, as their server returned, yet instead of the young women it was beforehand, now it was a slightly older, yet still distinctively middle-aged, man who arrived to take their orders.
"Everything is in order?" The waiter spoke, his gaze comparatively calmer than former, drifting over them without a second look.
"Indeed," Natsumi, spoke seeking confirmation from Reinhard before continuing, "I'd like to try a Lugunicanno, and a blueberry tart."
"I assume you mean a Boo-berry tart."
"Er, yeah, my apologies." She deflated, the words doing more damage to her than a Sin Archbishop could ever hope to.
"And for you?" The waiter turned to Reinhard, whose eyes were too preoccupied with Natsumi to even bother facing the man.
"Just a lemon tart." His words caused Natsumi to perk up for a second, her gaze settling on the waiter expectantly as if she were anticipating a certain response only for her to slump forward when he merely nodded.
"Get him a black coffee as well." Natsumi muttered into her arms, her words causing another clarification from the waiter "coff?" before it too was scratched onto the order before the waiter left to drop the order.
"I was more than content with just the tart, I'm not even sure if I'll enjoy the coff." Reinhard noted, his words causing Natsumi's mop of hair to shuffle but her face remained hidden under the ebony folds.
"You've got to live a little, besides you look like a black coffee type of guy."
Unlike the waiter, he didn't bother to correct her pronunciation, accepting it as one of her quirks.
Silence stretched for a moment before Natsumi's dark locks shuffled, a singular amber eye peering forth from the abyss surrounding it, much like a star in the night sky.
"Lemon, eh?" She grumbled, her eyes searching him, "You sure it's not lemo or Lay-mon?"
"No?" he answered warily, somehow completely missing the teasing note in her voice, "Why would it be?"
"I don't know, you tell me!"
Thanks for all the support, hope you enjoyed.
Updates on both this and The Everdistant Utopia might be slightly delayed as Uni starts again, and Starfield but are we really counting that?
- Surv