Chapter 138 (1/2)

Volume 2

Atelier Tanaka Volume 3 Chapter 3 Part 1

Witch

After finishing our audience with the King, we left the castle.

Since I was told the ceremony to give me my new title would be held at a later date, everything we had planned for the day was now complete.

This reminds me of the days I’d get out of class early and have the rest of the day free. The so-called half-day.

And since I had no other business in the castle, I wanted to leave immediately.

If I were an ikemen, I’d probably stay inside the castle and try to form connections with some nobles. However, this soy sauce face is impossible to hide, and if I were to try to speak with anyone, I’d most likely lower their opinion of me.

I walked back to my dorm room with this thought in mind.

Ester-chan also came with me.

Unlike her recent habits, she came straight to my room without first returning to hers.

We sat opposite each other in the living room. The blonde loli would occasionally cast fleeting glances at me. She sat with her back straight and her hands in her lap, her cheeks dyed a faint red. She looked like a nervous virgin that had entered a man’s room for the first time.

A complete fraud.

The maid that lives with me isn’t here. She left to get laundry or do another maid activity. She’s a hardworking girl. I no longer have any doubts about her abilities as a maid. It just seems natural now.

“By the way, umm, d-do you have any plans for the rest of the day!?”

“Did you have something you needed me for?”

“I-I-I was wondering if we should get something to eat!”

“It is about time for that.”

It was just past noon.

I got up early today for the audience with the King. I didn’t eat anything before going to the castle. Ester-chan’s suggestion sounds good. I can heal injuries and diseases with my recovery magic, but it can’t fill up my stomach.

“Yep, that’s right! Regardless of everything else that’s going on, it’s still important to eat!”

“If that’s the case, Sophisan will be returning shortly..”

“S-S-Sometimes it’s also better to eat outside!”

“outside?”

“Yes! Outside, outside!”

“I guess so.”

In other words, she wants it to be just us.

This made me think about everything that’s happened between us the past few days.

She stayed by my side longer than the others during the last fight. She even shed tears for me when I forced her to leave. She fought for me in front of the King. I’m certainly indebted to her.

If so, this is the least I can do.

Even though she doesn’t have a hymen, Ester-chan is still a beautiful girl. It would also be nice to have a peaceful meal outside with a cute girl. Now that I think about it, isn’t this the first time in my life I’ve been asked out by a girl? Most of all, I have a desire to take care of her.

“All right. I’ll go wherever you want.”

“Yeah, leave it to me! I’m going to take you to a very special place!”

“Oh, that sounds interesting.”

I decided to go out to lunch with the loli bitch.

***

The place she took me to was a small restaurant built in the middle of the down-market. I expected her to bring me to a classy restaurant in the aristocratic section of the city, so I was quite surprised when I saw this place.

The waiter guided us to a table with two seats.

When we were seated, Ester-chan spoke.

“were you surprised?”

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t.”

“That’s right.”

The waiter quickly returned to us. Ester-chan ordered as if she had done it a thousand times. She asked what the special was today before ordering it. It sounded good to me, so I ordered the same thing. The waiter also told us we could order liquor now that it was past noon, but I decided to show a little restraint this time.

After taking our orders, the waiter quickly turned and left our table.

The moment we were alone again, Ester-chan spoke again.

“Cyan recommended this place to me when we were acting as adventurers.”

“I see.”

I bet that cyan bitch came here in her free time to get used by all these commoners. I’m going to temper my expectations for this place.

“Umm, I-I thought you’d like a restaurant like this.”

That nervous gaze didn’t fit the usually self-confident loli bitch. She was clearly trying to judge my mood.

This is my first time being invited out by a woman. She also got me a position among the nobles.

I might actually want to marry her if things keep going like this.

On top of that, I’ve never had a close relationship with a girl before. It’s a rather nice feeling. With her being the source of so many amazing things happening to me, I felt genuinely bad for making her upset.

“You don’t need to worry. As you can see, I’m very happy.”

“Really? T-Then, that’s good.”

Oh, the loli bitch is stroking her chest in relief.

And then, a bright smile slowly appeared on her face.

The loli bitches eyes looked at me steadily.

Loli bitch.

Our meals were brought out shortly after this exchange. It was a thick piece of meat on an iron plate. It’s an item I wouldn’t expect a young girl to order. But I guess Sophie has to find some way to fill her mouth with meat.

The conversation between Ester-chan and I slowed down as we focused on our meal. I cut into the steak with a knife and fork and took a big bite of the delicious food. When I occasionally looked up, I saw Ester-chan staring back at me with a bright smile.

It was a delicious meal with a somewhat peaceful atmosphere.

We had almost cleared our plates and had already ordered dessert. It was at this time that we could overhear the conversation of a nearby table.

It was the table right next to us. There were two people sitting across from each other holding a conversation. They were both men that had matching armour that they had placed at the foot of their chairs. There were also two spears leaned against a nearby wall. They’re most likely two guards assigned to patrol this area.

They each spoke with a serious expression.

“Oi, have you heard? Rumours about that jailbreak that happened not too long ago.”

“Yeah, a friend of mine went to confirm it and the entire prison was empty. He told me it was the great thief that managed to break out and free every prisoner. On top of that, he used a single wire.”

“I see. There were a lot of tough criminals imprisoned there. If they were to unite, a common soldier wouldn’t be enough to handle them.”

“It’s even worse than that. I doubt anyone besides the Magic Knights would be able to handle them. Soldiers like us certainly wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s for sure.”