LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 269
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 269
“…”
Shuen was in a predicament.
“This is a disaster…!”
She had left her wallet behind.
For Shuen, who couldn’t focus on class when hungry, this situation was a matter of life and death.
“This is dangerous…!”
Although she had managed to enter the convenience store, Shuen, who had forgotten the crucial item—money—was flailing about noisily in front of me.
‘Hmm…’
I awkwardly smiled as I watched Shuen rummaging through her bag like a 21st-century robotic cat searching for a wallet.
‘She’s really someone to worry about.’
After searching this much, one would think she’d give up, but Shuen, who had been treasure-hunting in front of the counter for over 10 minutes, seemed to have quite a few issues.
She was prideful.
And she seemed like the type to resolve things on her own no matter what.
Shuen muttered to herself as she dug through her bag.
“Ugh… What should I do…?”
“…”
“I’m sure I brought my wallet… Wait, no!”
“Customer.”
“Ughhh… Shuen, are you an idiot?! Why would you leave your wallet on top of the lunchbox?!”
Watching Shuen muttering to herself so fervently, I awkwardly smiled and cautiously picked up the triangular gimbap she had placed on the counter.
And then Shuen, startled, grabbed my hand.
-Grab!
“What are you doing?!”
I awkwardly smiled and explained to Shuen that without money, she couldn’t buy food.
“You don’t have any money, do you?”
“But…”
“It’s unfortunate, isn’t it?”
“Ugh… It’s the same one Senior Mikhail picked… Please hold onto it! I’ll go get my money right now!”
I gave Shuen a wry smile and asked her.
“It takes about 30 minutes to walk to the dormitory from here, right? That’s an hour round trip. Can you make it back within lunchtime?”
“How do you know that?! Are you some kind of industrial spy?!”
“I’m not an industrial spy; I’m a dropout.”
“Ah… I forgot.”
“How do you know that?”
“Eek!!! It’s a secret!”
I burst into laughter at Shuen’s flustered expression and continued questioning her.
“So, can you make it back?”
Shuen lowered her head dejectedly and replied.
“…It’s impossible.”
“Exactly. Then why not borrow money from a friend or something…”
At the mention of a friend, Shuen’s face turned pale, and she looked at me with wide, startled eyes, her lips quivering.
“Oh-ho-ho… Oh-ho…”
Shuen stared at the ceiling for no particular reason.
For quite some time, Shuen gazed at the triangular gimbap in my hand with a sorrowful expression. Her eyes, filled with longing, resembled someone looking at an ex they couldn’t let go of. Seeing her like that, I let out a sigh with an awkward smile.
‘I want to feed her.’
It seems my heart softens when I see a pretty woman. Not because she has a big treasure pouch or anything.
“Then how about this?”
“Not my body!”
“Haha…”
Shuen hugged herself and took a step back.
“That’s not necessary.”
Shaking my head at Shuen’s prim reaction, I cautiously offered my suggestion.
“Not your body. I meant you could borrow money from me, or we could share a soon-to-expire lunchbox together.”
“T-Together?!”
Shuen reacted more strongly to the idea of eating together than to the mention of an expiring lunchbox, her eyes sparkling as she looked at me.
“Could you step back a little?”
“Ah, sorry! I got too excited…”
“Haha… Anyway, I can’t just give you food for free, so… Here we go!”
I placed a nearly expired convenience store lunchbox on the table and spoke to Shuen.
“Since it’s food that would be thrown away anyway, I thought it’d be nice to share it.”
“Do you throw away this much?!”
“Our boss says that taste is everything when it comes to food, so the expiration dates are set short… Anyway, it’s not spoiled, so you won’t get sick or anything. But if you do, don’t blame me.”
“Gulp…”
“If you’re uncomfortable with it, I understand, but still, it’s a free lunchbox. Isn’t that nice? I was feeling a bit lonely eating alone, so I thought it’d be nice to eat together.”
“…Is that really all?”
“Sorry?”
“If I eat with you, will you really give me the lunchbox for free?!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Shuen’s lips curled into a sly smile as she covered her mouth and let out a noble laugh.
“Oh-ho-ho! I made a mistake! I forgot that it’s every commoner’s dream to dine with a noble of my stature! I’ll graciously allow you to eat with—”
“Oh, then I’ll just eat alone.”
“W-Wait a moment!”
Shuen grabbed my hand and looked at me with pitiful eyes.
“Let’s eat together… I’m sorry.”
Honestly.
“Pfft!”
I couldn’t figure this woman out.
*
Shuen’s mind was in turmoil. She didn’t know how to respond.
The man in front of her was the one who had tormented Senior Mikhail. Simply put, he was someone she shouldn’t get involved with, especially since she admired Senior Mikhail.
The words she had heard from her seniors confirmed this, and she knew it herself. Even though she hadn’t personally experienced it, the man’s notorious reputation still lingered at the academy, making it hard to dismiss as mere rumor.
Moreover, even the kindest person in the world, Senior Mikhail, disliked this man.
Shuen harbored a lot of negative feelings toward Ricardo. She didn’t know why Senior Mikhail frequented this convenience store, but…
As she watched Ricardo move about busily, Shuen found herself wondering what kind of person this man really was.
“Do you prefer pork cutlet? Or inari sushi?”
“I like inari sushi…!”
“Then I’ll prepare that for you.”
He definitely seemed to have some ulterior motive, but he didn’t reveal it. Despite the rumors about his nasty personality, he didn’t react at all when insulted to his face.
-Does that guy have no shame? Why does he even show his face here?
-Exactly, he should just drop dead. But since Mikhail comes here often, the place won’t go out of business.
-Honestly, it’s convenient, and the prices are reasonable.
Even after hearing such remarks, the man continued to process payments and serve customers as if nothing had happened.
What on earth was he up to?
-Softly…
‘This is strange.’
Shuen couldn’t shake off her suspicions about Ricardo. She had no clue what kind of person he truly was. Of course, it wasn’t like she was interested in him. After all, she already had her prince, Senior Mikhail.
-Beep-beep────!
Ricardo pulled out a freshly heated lunchbox from the magic stone-powered warmer, exclaiming, “Whoa, that’s hot,” as he sat down.
Seeing the white steam rising from the lunchbox, Shuen swallowed hard and looked at Ricardo.
“Take a seat.”
“…”
“I can’t offer you anything fancy since I’m just an employee getting paid, but it should still be edible.”
“…Thank you.”
Shuen pouted slightly as she sat down, then slowly picked up her spoon and began eating the lunchbox.
How long had it been since she last shared a meal with someone?
“Sniff…”
In Misamo, where socializing was forbidden, she couldn’t make friends. And thanks to a slip of the tongue during the entrance ceremony, she hadn’t been able to make any friends either.
-Slurp.
Shuen took a sip of the soup and gave a faint smile.
“Is it good?”
At Ricardo’s kind question, Shuen replied absentmindedly.
“Yes…”
“Right?”
“No! It’s just commoner food, so it’s not that good!”
“Puhaha! Got it, got it.”
Thinking she had made a mistake, Shuen looked up at Ricardo and asked. After all, her habitual words always seemed to push people away.
“Does it bother you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“No… It’s just that I keep calling you a commoner. I mean, doesn’t that upset you?”
“Ah…”
Ricardo waved his hand with a faint smile.
“It’s not like it’s untrue.”
“What?”
“And it’s not like you’re saying it with bad intentions, right? You’re not saying it because you genuinely dislike me or want to hurt my feelings.”
Shuen lowered her head timidly and said.
“That’s true…”
“…”
Ricardo, holding his spoon mid-air, froze for a moment before shaking his head as if he found it genuinely amusing.
“You’re quite an interesting person.”
“…”
“But it’s fine. There are people who say much worse things than you, so I can take this as a joke.”
“There are people worse than me?”
“Yes. Some call me ‘pauper,’ ‘Dirty-cardo,’ or even ‘Cockroach-cardo.’ Compared to that, your words are mild.”
“Are those people… your friends?”
“No.”
“…”
Shuen silently continued eating, thinking to herself that she really needed to fix how she spoke.
*
From that day on, Shuen came to find me every lunchtime.
-Ding.
“Hey, commoner!”
Sometimes she came carrying a two-tiered lunchbox tower, and other times she forgot her wallet and ended up sharing a meal with me.
Of course.
-I’ll buy the drinks!
-Oh…
-Here’s the money!
-Didn’t you say you forgot your wallet?
-…I just found it!
Though her acting wasn’t very convincing.
Anyway, the days Shuen came to find me grew more frequent.
-Ohoho… Commoner. Today, I’ve specially prepared a lunchbox! It’s food far too luxurious for a foolish commoner like you, but I’ll let you have it!
She was an amusing person.
She was a woman with a strong personality, not someone who seemed like she’d quietly devote herself to magic after being rejected by Mikhail in the novel. Of course, I didn’t know how I appeared to Shuen, but still…
“You’re good at cooking.”
“Ohoho~! I am quite skilled at cooking!”
“Impressive.”
“Don’t just eat the spaghetti; try the braised potatoes too!”
I didn’t think she’d see me as a bad person.
Her pure-hearted gestures of consideration made me smile faintly as I nodded to her words.
After that, Shuen and I became close enough to know each other’s names.
And then.
I cautiously brought up a topic.
About her love.