Chapter 82: The Angel, the Cat, and the White Beard (2/2)

She was fine with both coffee and black tea. Since he had the opportunity, Amane decided to give her a little surprise, and did not tell her what he ordered.

After a while, the attendant served their drinks with a smile.

The attendant slowly put the lattes on the the table without ruining the art, nodded, and left. Mahiru in turn stared intently at the latter on the table.

“You dislike this?”

“N-no. It is really cute…!”

“That’s good then.”

The cup before Mahiru had a latte art of a sleeping cat all curled up, and the cocoa formed its patterns and expression. Amane’s had a cat leaning onto the edge of the cup.

The latte was finely shaped, and looked cute. It was no wonder it was so popular.

Mahiru looked completely elated, and probably wanted to save that impression she had as she took photos on her smartphone. For some reason, she looked stunned.

“I cannot bring myself to drink it when it looks so cute…”

Once he heard her mutter, Amane burst out laughin.

“P-please do not laugh at me.”

“No no, I was thinking that you’re troubled by this cute thing.”

“B-because…it is a pity to ruin such a cute cat…”

“It’s a pity not to drink it.”

“Uu.”

While he understood how Mahiru felt, he had a feeling that the latte art would be ruined if left be. The maker would be happy if she were to drink it before it cooled and was ruined.

Once he thoroughly appraised the photo, he casually brought the cup to his lips.

Ahhhh…he heard a sad groan next to him, and did his best not to ruin the art as he drank. The latte tasted good, and the richness of both the coffee and the milk were just right.

It was not sweet, but Amane was fine with black coffee. No worries for him here.

“Yep. It’s good.”

Mahiru mumbled away once she saw Amane sigh and express his comments, but she hesitated to bring the cup to her mouth.

She made sure not to ruin the cat on the latte, and cautiously lifted it. it was an amusing and adorable sight that left Amane smiling.

“Wh-why do I feel I am taken for a fool?”

“You’re thinking too much. Is it good?”

“Yes. Of course.”

Mahiru moved the cup away from her lips, and Amane started huffing his shoulders.

“Wh-why are you laughing?”

“Well, you have a white beard on your face.”

There was a Santa-like white beard near her mouth, as she paid too much attention not to destroy the cat and failed to notice the milk foam.

She looked so adorable that Amane instinctively took his smartphone out to take photos.

“Ah! Y-you just took a photo!?”

“Sorry. Do I have to delete it?”

“A-are you keeping that embarrassing photo?”

“It’s so cute, so I,”

Mahiru bit her lips when she heard his eyes, and her cheeks reddened slightly. “…just one.” she muttered.

The white beard remained on her face as she said so. Amane felt his heart warm as he nodded, resisting the urge to laugh.