Chapter 17: Lunch Time Out!

"Here is your order, Mistress Riana, Master Eryn, and my little mistresses."

Mayonee and Akiko served their orders to them. Mayonee placed the meals and sweets on the table, while Akiko handled the drinks. The food had such a vibrant and delectable presentation to their eyes. It was something they'd see straight out of an advertisement.

"Wow." Eryn and the monstergirls said in awe. It looks amazing…! It was rather aesthetically pleasing to their senses!

"It looks amazing, doesn't it?" Riana uttered the thoughts in his mind. "Not only are the waitresses cute, but so are their creations!"

"Yeah, you aren't kidding." The food left Eryn astounded. He almost felt bad for wanting to eat it. I need to take a picture of this.

"The food looks really cute!" Iris peeked over the table. "Can we eat it?"

"Of course you can, Iris." Eryn patted her head. "That's why we're here, after all."

"Looking at it is making me hungry!" Melty's eyes sparkled with little stars.

"We hope you enjoy your lunch!" Akiko smiled brightly.

"Please let us know if there is anything else we can help with." Mayonee bowed at the waist.

"Thank you, as always." Riana rolled her sleeves up to her arms. "Let's dig in!"

"Yeah!" the monstergirls cheered in unison.

Eryn held the sandwich in his hand, his fingers feeling the fluffy texture of the bread. Nice to touch, too… bringing it to his lips, he took a bite out of the sandwich, and a crunchy and delicate taste filled his tongue. A perfect balance between soft meat and greens.

"What do you think?" Riana asked.

"It tastes… pretty good!" Eryn bobbed his head in approval. "Better than what I was expecting."

Following Eryn, the monstergirls took their sandwiches and began eating them. Iris took small bites of her sandwich. Melty took big bites instead and chewed quickly. Lofie tried to shove the entire thing inside her little cheeks.

"Lofie…" Eryn gently grabbed her wrist. She sure likes stuffing her mouth with food… while it was endearing, he found it deeply concerning. She might choke one of these days. "Here, try biting into it… like I do!" He took another bite of his sandwich and chewed slowly to demonstrate.

"Oh." Lofie looked at him, then back at her sandwich. She chomped on her sandwich and stuffed her cheeks. She muttered some incomprehensible words which Eryn understood as "like this?"

"Well… sure?" He chuckled softly as he caressed her hair. At least she didn't shove it in, I guess.

"Ish tash sho good!" Melty exclaimed while chewing her food. Her eyes sparkled with delight and her tail wagged around, brimming with excitement.

"Haha, don't talk while your mouth is full, Melty." He lightly pinched her cheek. This sure reminds me of the days when I was just a kid…

"Eryn…" Iris called out.

"What is it, Iris?" He turned to her.

"Am I eating my sandwich wrong?"

"… Huh?" Eryn blinked in a comical fashion. "No, I wouldn't say you–…"

"I'm not?" She pouted cutely.

That's… not what I expected. There was nothing wrong with the way she was eating, but her expression suggested otherwise. His gaze shifted to her twitchy ears and waving tail. It was as if she wanted him to say something about it. Does she… want me to correct her?

"M-Maybe you can take… bigger bites?" he went with whatever was at the top of his head. "I think that would be more… uhm, efficient?" Efficient? What an amazing reason, Eryn.

"Oh, okay!" Iris smiled brightly and returned to eating her sandwich, taking bigger bites this time.

"Uhuh…" Eryn scratched his head in confusion. Don't tell me she just wanted to get involved because of Lofie and Melty?

"You look like a father right now, Eryn." Riana remarked. "It's honestly adorable."

"Do I…?" Eryn briefly raised his shoulders. "I still have much to learn before I can call myself a good owner to them."

"A learning father is a good father in my book." She winked. "Do you feel you've made mistakes raising them so far?"

"Well, there is one burning example in my mind." He let out a soft sigh. "Do you remember the couch we used to sleep on back when we were kids?"

"I will never forget it." She reclined in her seat. "But what does the couch have to do with this?"

"I'm getting to that point." He took a bite of his sandwich. "So it's–gyak?!"

"No!" Melty headbutted his chin.

"Ouch, Melty…" he rubbed his chin to ease the pain. She has so much strength in her little body, it's unreal! "What's wrong?"

"Please don't tell Riana that!" she pouted, throwing her hands down. "It's embarrassing!"

"Embarrassing…?" Eryn cocked his head at an angle. It was rather cute to see Melty embarrassed.

"Whose fault was it, though?" Lofie cut in. "Tell us, Melty."

"Mnnnh, Eryn!" Melty pointed at Lofie. "Lofie's being mean to me!"

"Did something happen with the couch?" Riana asked, curiosity in her voice. It doesn't sound good…

"Let's just say that the couch is no longer with us." Eryn took a sip of his tea. "I'm planning to buy a new one soon."

"… Oh," was all Riana replied with. Her eyes naturally drifted to the little hinezumi. "I'm guessing little Melty had something to do with it?"

"Mnngh…" Melty fiddled with her fingers nervously, her ears draping down. "I didn't mean to–"

"It's not Melty's fault." Eryn caressed her hair. "I don't blame her one bit."

"Eryn…?"

"It was a massive oversight on my part." He explained. "In hindsight, I know I could have prevented it. I should have familiarized myself with the monstergirls' needs when I adopted them."

"Well, you sound quite certain." Riana simply smiled. Not that I'm surprised. "No matter, I'm sure it was a memorable lesson for both you and Melty."

"Yeah… it sure was." Eryn glanced at Melty. It's quite burned into my mind… not the couch, but Melty's teary-eyed face on that day. Seeing her cry really hurt me.

"Mnnhh…" Melty cast her gaze down as she remembered the events of that day. Though Eryn didn't blame her at all, she still felt bad. She let out a deep sigh, which didn't escape his attention.

Eryn grabbed her strawberry juice and guided the straw into her mouth. "Here, Melty. Did you already try drinking your strawberry juice?"

Melty stared at the straw, then drew her lips to it, taking a sip of her juice. Her eyes lighted up immediately at the sweet taste filling her mouth. "It's so good and sweet!"

"It is!" Eryn smiled sweetly. I hope this will brighten her mood, at least for a while…

"Riana." Mayonee approached her.

"What is it, Mayonee?" Riana raised her brow.

"I have some urgent news." Mayonee leaned closer to her face to whisper.

"Tell me." Riana drew her to her lips to hear what she had to say.

Urgent news…? Eryn observed them intently. Mayonee began whispering into her ear. Whatever Riana was hearing, it must have been bad news, judging by the frown appearing on her face. Another observation he made was the fact Mayonee didn't refer to her as 'mistress'.

"Really, Mayonee?" Riana asked, clenching her hands into fists.

"Yes, they're currently on the move to…"

"… Terrible timing." Riana sighed, her eyes drilling holes into the table. I wanted to spend more time with Eryn and the monstergirls…

"What's up, Riana?" Eryn asked, curious.

"Sorry, Eryn." Riana stood up, pressing her palms against the table. "I have an urgent matter that requires my presence."

"Oh, no worries." Eryn nodded in understanding. I wonder if it's related to the registration center. "You took time out of your day to accompany us. We're really grateful."

"I'm so sorry." Riana's lips curved downwards. "I wanted to have a nice leisure lunch with you, but… duty calls."

"Maybe some other time." Eryn smiled. She did strike me as the busy type…

"Iris, Melty, Lofie." Riana bowed to them. "I'm glad to have met you all three. Please look out for Eryn. My brother may not look like it, but he enjoys getting himself into trouble."

That's not true! Eryn scoffed at her. "Hey, what do you mean by that–"

"Okay!" the monstergirls said in unison.

"Thank you for spending time with us, Riana!" Iris gave a polite smile.

"Thank you for the food!" Melty grinned.

"We'll look after Eryn." Lofie gave her a thumbs up. "You can count on it."

"See you all later!" Riana waved as she turned around and left the café. The monstergirls waved back as she disappeared.

"… Take care, Riana." Eryn whispered. I hope whatever this urgent matter she needs to attend to gets settled. Just as soon as he reunited with his sister was just as soon he had to separate from her. I'm sure we'll catch up again soon enough.

"Riana seems very fond of you." A voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh?" Eryn turned to Mayonee. I didn't realize she was still standing here.

"Would you mind if I sat with you, Master Eryn?" Mayonee asked.

"Oh, no." Eryn waved his hand to the seat in front of him. "I don't mind at all."

Mayonee smiled. Now taking Riana's empty seat was the butler. Eryn was awfully curious about Mayonee ever since he first laid his eyes on her. There was just something about her presence that felt so… mysterious.

"… Mayonee, was it?" Eryn leaned on his hand, which was plopped upright by his arm on the table. "Do you and Riana know each other?"

"I've known Mistress Riana for quite a long time." She replied. "We have a… professional relationship of sorts."

"Huh, I see." Eryn nodded as if he understood. A professional relationship… my sister and a butler?

'Eryn…" Iris pulled his arm and hid behind it.

"What's wrong, Iris?"

"Mhmm…" Iris shook her head, her ears and tail appearing on high alert.

Oh, right… she said Mayonee scared her, but I wonder why. Eryn thought. He admitted that Mayonee seemed rather mysterious. I think Mayonee is a nice person… he stroked her hair to reassure her. It'll be fine, Iris.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mayonee was staring at Iris's expression, as if analyzing her mind. Her pink eyes looked empty, but at the same time, they looked… calculating.

TING TING!

"Oh, another customer." Mayonee stood up from the seat. "Thank you for allowing me to sit with you, Eryn. I must return to work now."

"O-Oh, thank you too…" Eryn said awkwardly.

After Mayonee left their table, Eryn felt Iris's body relaxed in his hug. Iris is very wary of her… should I be, too? After all, monstergirls had sharper senses compared to humans.

Ah, well… let's finish our lunch.

…

..

.

After finishing their lunch, Eryn and the monstergirls exited the café.

"Thank you for stopping by!" Akiko waved at them. "Please come again next time!"

"We will!" Eryn and the monstergirls waved back. I'll definitely come back. The food is great!

"Eryn, where will we go now?" Melty asked.

"I think we'll walk back to the registration center," Eryn answered. "Let's meet up with Azusa."

The little family made pace to the registration center. Riana was busy with whatever matter she was handling, so Eryn figured they could just go home directly. Nothing else to do here.

As they walked, sounds of children talking and laughing could be heard, prompting Lofie to stop in place and turn her head to the noises. Her ears twitched, focusing on the sounds she just heard. Unaware, her fingers slipped from Eryn's grasp as she faced the area from across the street.

"… Lofie?" Eryn walked back to her, with Iris and Melty following behind. "What's wrong?"

Eryn followed her line of sight and noticed the group of children on the other side. They were forming a line, following the instructions of an adult leading them. All the children were wearing the same clothes. Though what caught his attention the most was the various ears and tails poking out of their bodies, making him realize that…

That must be their teacher… and they're monstergirl children, leading him to conclude that this was a school–a school activity. It never hit me that there could be schools for monstergirls, huh?

Schools for monstergirls… he looked at each of his monstergirls. He's never questioned it until now, but…

Did they ever go to school?