Chapter 137 : Chapter 137
Volume 2
Chapter 61 : Each With Their Own Thoughts
“Muen!”
In the quiet, secluded street, the girl’s delighted voice, together with the wind chime swaying by the door, finally made Muen feel a trace of the bleak chill of late autumn.
“S-Sherry?”
Muen turned around with a stiff neck.
Even though he recited in his heart again and again that this was just a hallucination, just a hallucination, that familiar pretty face behind the enormous black-rimmed glasses still entered his sight all the same.
“Y-You… why are you here?”
“Why am I here?”
A strange look appeared on Sherry’s face.
“This is my home.”
What?
Her home?
Muen’s mind blanked for a moment.
Then he whipped his head around so fast he could almost hear his cervical spine crying out in protest and looked at the restaurant’s address plaque.
Durank Street—No. 15!
Damn it!
No wonder the address had looked so familiar, enough for him to pick it out at a glance from all that information.
It was the address Sherry had given him!
In other words, this was her family’s restaurant!
“How strange. Did soaking in the Mercury Well for thirty hours soak my brain stupid too? How could I forget something this important?”
“Muen, what are you mumbling about?”
Sherry stepped closer.
Her faintly flushed cheeks were filled with unconcealed delight.
“All right, it is cold outside, so do not stand there. Come inside with me. I knew you would still come, so I had my father temporarily close the restaurant and wait inside.”
So that was why your family’s restaurant was not open on a weekend!
“No, forget it. I still have other things to do, so I will not be going in…”
“Huh? Muen, did you not come because of my invitation?”
The bright gleam of excitement in Sherry’s eyes suddenly vanished.
She was clearly empty-handed, and yet Muen abruptly had the illusion that she was standing in front of him with a woodcutting knife in hand.
He could not help shivering.
Was this girl really that frightening?
And had they not only met two or three times? Was she truly this fixated on him already?
Could it be…
She was coveting his good looks?
“Well, Sherry, actually today…”
Even so, Muen still insisted on refusing Sherry’s invitation.
Compared to the trivial matter of being stabbed to death with a woodcutting knife, he was even less willing to let this date run into yet another mishap.
A second woman appearing in the middle of a date was a grave taboo!
“Oh my, junior, are you not going to introduce this adorable classmate of yours to me?”
At that moment, Anna suddenly raised a hand to her cheek and smiled.
Muen instantly felt a chill run down his back and shuddered.
Senior, of all times, this is when you choose to make things worse?!
Sure enough, the moment Anna spoke, Sherry’s attention shifted at once.
It was as if she had only just realized that there was another great beauty standing here.
Her expression immediately turned wary, as though she had entered battle mode.
“Who are you?”
“She is Senior Anna, a senior from my club.”
Muen hurriedly wedged himself between the two of them and forced himself to make the introductions.
“This is Sherry, a classmate in my year.”
“Hello, Sherry. I am Anna Carp.”
Anna gracefully extended her hand, behaving exactly like a broad-minded senior, as though Sherry’s sudden appearance did not bother her in the slightest.
“Hello, I am Sherry Flander.”
Sherry reached out and lightly shook Anna’s hand.
But the instant their hands touched, Sherry’s body paused ever so slightly, and a trace of confusion flashed through her eyes.
Then it quickly returned to normal.
“Senior Anna… are you on a date with Muen?”
From behind her black-rimmed glasses, Sherry’s gaze swept over the two of them, carrying a hint of suspicion.
Here it comes!
Muen jolted.
According to the vast amount of romance manga he had read in his previous life, at a time like this, his answer had to be tactful.
He absolutely could not escalate the situation.
Otherwise, a girl like Sherry, who looked soft and timid on the surface but in truth loved to head down a blind alley, could very easily spiral into something dangerous.
Be tactful.
He absolutely had to be tactful.
“Yes, actually. It seems the junior here is trying to woo me~” Anna said bluntly.
Ahhh!
Senior, what on earth are you saying?!
Were you not the one who denied that this was a date before and warned me not to carry any improper thoughts into it?
Why have you suddenly changed your tune now?!
“I-Is that so? Haha… so it really is like that?”
As expected, the light that had only just gathered in Sherry’s eyes dimmed once more.
Looking at her expression, it felt as though she might pull out a woodcutting knife at any moment, shout, “Why do we not split him in half?” and rush over with two swift slashes—one for Muen’s neck and one for his stomach.
Just thinking of that dreadful image made Muen shrink back.
But unexpectedly, Sherry recovered very quickly, and she even seemed to have had her fighting spirit stirred instead.
“I…I will not lose!”
She clenched both hands into fists, as though cheering herself on.
“That is right. I will not give up so easily!”
As she spoke, she once more invited Muen.
“Judging by the time, you must be hungry, Muen. Since you are already here, why not come in and have a seat? You can try my father’s cooking too.”
“N-No, that really will not be necessary.” Muen shook his head forcefully.
Was this a joke?
Going in under these circumstances was no different from jumping straight into a fire pit of his own accord.
He was not going. Absolutely not!
“All right.”
But Anna answered with a smile:
“I happen to be hungry too. Junior Sherry does not mind one extra person, does she?”
So what exactly are you trying to do, Senior?!
Muen looked utterly horrified, but Anna acted as though she saw nothing, still wearing that captivating smile.
She was looking at Sherry, as if confirming something—or perhaps thinking something through.
Seeing Anna agree first, Sherry was clearly displeased, but she also knew that this was the only way to convince Muen.
So she once more turned a pitiful gaze toward him.
“At this point, Muen… you are not going to refuse, are you?”
“…”
…
They entered the restaurant.
Just like the pictures and descriptions in the guide, the small private restaurant was elegant in atmosphere and exquisite in decoration.
It truly was an excellent setting for a date.
“Let me introduce you. This is my father.”
After they had taken their seats, Sherry first dragged over a stern-faced middle-aged man.
“Hello, sir.”
“Hello.”
Muen and Anna greeted him politely, but the middle-aged man merely nodded in silence before returning once more to the innermost room.
Not long after, the rhythmic sound of chopping vegetables drifted out from inside.
“I am sorry. My father is not very good at talking to people.”
Sherry scratched her head and spoke apologetically.
Neither Muen nor Anna minded, naturally.
“Please sit for a while first. I will go help in the kitchen. This time, I am definitely going to make Muen surrender to my cooking!”
Filled with fighting spirit, Sherry headed into the kitchen.
And so, in the pleasant little restaurant, only Muen and his senior were left once again.
“So, Senior, what are you actually trying to do?”
After a brief silence, Muen looked at the senior whose thoughts he still could not read, his face full of helplessness.
“Are you just enjoying my misery?”
“How could that be? Am I really such a wicked senior?”
“Are you not?”
“Hehe… then let us say I am.”
Anna gave a light laugh, then changed the subject.
“Junior, that girl called Sherry seems to like you.”
“But I do not like her.”
Muen looked straight into Anna’s eyes and answered seriously:
“Although she really is quite a good girl, in truth, we have only met a few times. I do not like her, Senior.”
“I see. Then could you do me a favor?”
“What favor?”
“Help me…”
Anna looked at Muen and suddenly revealed a little devil’s smile.
“Make her cry.”