Ding-a-ling.
As Chris and I entered the cafe, a man sitting at a table near the window waved his hand.
“Oh, Senior Chris, over here.”
Chris pushed my wheelchair and approached him.
The man waving and smiling brightly at us was Cherni. Chris smiled and carefully supported my body to sit me on the inside of the table. I gave Chris a slight nod of gratitude.
Sitting on the cafe chair in the form of an integrated sofa, I looked at the two men across from me.
One man smiling brightly looking this way, one man holding a coffee cup in one hand sitting by the window, looking outside with sharp eyes and setting the mood.
The man with a face full of mischief was the convenience store part-timer Elementalist Cherni, and the tall man with a sturdy body was Fighter Deathly Death.
“Heo Jun, what are you looking at? We’re here.”
“It’s Heo Junhyuk.”
At Chris’s call, Deathly Death turned his head to look our way.
A strange light settled in Deathly Death’s eyes as he confirmed my appearance.
Cherni also looked at me with surprised eyes.
“Wow… Rain, you’re wearing pretty clothes? You used to wear sweatpants every day when I was working part-time.”
I avoided their gaze with an awkward smile. Chris stuck closer to me as if protecting me from the men’s gazes.
“Hey, stop staring at Rain. Her face will wear out.”
“That’s not possible…”
I complained slightly at Chris’s words. She smiled brightly and held my hand tightly.
Ding-a-ling.
At the bell sound from the cafe entrance, Cherni turned his head to check who had just entered.
“Nam Dayeon, you’re the latest.”
“It’s not past the promised time yet, is it? Junhyuk oppa came today too?”
Nam Dayeon, Bae Merong’s name.
A short woman with a cute impression approached me smiling brightly.
She sat next to Chris and started squealing while looking at me.
“Kyaah…! What’s with Rain’s clothes!? She’s even prettier dressed like this!”
“Hehehe, right, right? I picked them out.”
Chris grinned stupidly.
Seeing this face of Chris that she only shows in front of me, it was hard to recall the image of the charismatic raid leader smiling confidently in front of the advance party teams.
My body had moved between Chris and Bae Merong at some point. They were busy holding my hands on both sides and squealing, not paying attention to the men across from us.
“Rain, what do you want to drink? Is coffee okay? Or there’s sweet smoothies too.”
“Do you like things like tiramisu? Unnie will buy you dessert!”
“…Anything is fine.”
They’re really noisy unnies.
“…So like this, lower your head as if diving in and move, just before the targeting disappears use Counterattack, hmm. Since Death ahjussi is a Fighter, if you use Nimble Move, you’ll move 180 degrees to the same spot, right?”
“Ooh…! I didn’t know there was such a usage! Hmm hmm. Indeed, skills that take the rear can also be utilized like standing invincibility skills!”
“Yes. It’s similar to the effect of using Backward Evasion and approach skills simultaneously.”
Deathly Death listened to my words intently with shining eyes.
His desire for improvement was amazing. I hadn’t seen him fighting directly since we didn’t run buses together, but he’s clearly the tank of a team aiming for first clear. He must have excellent skills.
While conversing with him, a strawberry smoothie was placed in front of me.
I held the cup with both hands and carefully put the straw in my mouth.
The cold strawberry smoothie slowly entered my mouth through the straw.
The first taste was smooth. Cream as soft as snow white enveloped my tongue, and the sweet taste of strawberries spread over it.
“Wow…”
My eyes widened and an exclamation came out involuntarily at the sweetness spreading throughout my mouth. The fresh scent of strawberries tickled the tip of my nose, and the sweetness tickled my tongue.
When I bit the straw a little deeper and sucked in the smoothie, this time strawberry pieces were chewed together. The fresh strawberry pulp popped in my mouth, conveying its texture as well.
I closed my eyes and slowly savored the sweetness of the smoothie.
The fresh strawberry scent and taste spreading throughout my mouth made me happy, to the point of thinking this might be heaven.
It’s sweet. It’s delicious.
I didn’t know strawberry smoothies could be this delicious.
At some point, it didn’t come out well even when I sucked hard. I started stirring the smoothie with the straw and eating it.
Slurp.
“Mmm…!”
This is quite good too. I shuddered at the sweetness that instantly rose to my brain.
And then, a slight sense of incongruity was felt.
I looked down at my lower body.
My legs aren’t shaking.
When I went to the capital’s cafe in the Astria continent with Rain’s body, my legs moved on their own when I ate something delicious.
Sweet things are good, but in this world after all.
My mood sank a little.
“Eh…”
When I raised my head while drinking the strawberry smoothie, I noticed that all four gazes were directed at me.
Deathly Death and Cherni with fond smiles, Bae Merong covering her face with shining eyes and an ecstatic expression. And Chris with a similar expression to Bae Merong, but her pupils shaking slightly.
I couldn’t easily understand their reactions.
What is it? Have they never seen someone drinking a strawberry smoothie before?
Just as I was starting to feel burdened by the gazes focused on me with their conversations cut off, Bae Merong spoke to me with a bright smile.
“Rain, are you doing well at Chris unnie’s house these days? Is Chris unnie treating you well?”
“Yes. Thanks to Chris unnie, I’m living comfortably.”
Chris’s shoulders shrugged. Bae Merong continued asking with a mischievous smile.
“Really~? How does Chris unnie treat you well?”
“Um… She cooks delicious meals for me… She set up the housekeeping robot too. The robot cleans and brings meals.”
When asked directly what Chris did for me, I didn’t have that much to say.
She tried not to approach my living space as much as possible to protect my personal privacy. I also had experience living alone, so I didn’t have much need to ask for her help. Because there was a housekeeping robot, I didn’t have to do housework like cleaning myself.
What else did Chris unnie do for me?
Come to think of it, there was something Chris unnie did for me recently.
“Ah, unnie made me feel good with her hands.”
Bae Merong’s eyes widened and her mouth opened.
Chris made a similar expression.
“…So, the idea is to delay the 2nd Named charging a bit. If we use the charging of the mob golem with the red barrier to burst it as soon as the Named’s barrier color changes, the damage time should increase considerably, right?”
“Hmm, good thinking. Indeed, the 10 seconds of damage time after charging was too short. It’s a tactic worth trying.”
Deathly Death and Cherni, the two men, hurriedly turned their heads and started discussing the game with each other.
As Bae Merong’s trembling gaze turned to Chris, Chris hurriedly waved her hands and made excuses.
“Ma-massage! It was just a simple massage! Rain asked me to do it!”
“Chris unnie… I know your tastes well too. But still, Rain is… O-of course she’s fully grown, just small! Unnie likes wome… Mmph! Mmph!”
“Dayeon, sh-shh!”
Chris hurriedly covered Bae Merong’s mouth.
Bae Merong shook off Chris and held both my hands tightly while shedding tears.
“Rain, Chris unnie is a dangerous unnie, you know? You have to protect your body yourself! Or, do you want to live at Bae Merong unnie’s house? I-I’ll try to persuade my parents somehow!”
“Hey, Nam Dayeon! No!”
At their intense reactions, a large number of question marks popped up in my head.
Chris is a kind unnie. She’s not a dangerous unnie.
Today she even helped me change clothes.
I felt the need to defend her.
“Chris unnie is a gentle unnie. She’s not a dangerous unnie. Even today, she took off my clothes diligently.”
“Hup…!”
Bae Merong choked on her breath.
After a brief intense discussion about my whereabouts, fortunately Chris seems to have succeeded in persuading her party members.
“Aah~! How can someone as straightforward as unnie act like a pubescent middle school boy on this issue!?”
“Ngh.”
“Haah, you understand, right? There are steps to everything. …It’s not good so you should also… …You need to approach slowly, …from the heart first…”
“Ah, I know! But it keeps…”
“Hey now!”
“…Yeah, yeah.”
Bae Merong made a stern expression towards Chris and whispered in a small voice so I couldn’t hear. Chris lowered her head deeply and kept nodding.
Chris, who finished talking with Bae Merong, held my hand tightly and let out a sigh of relief.
I felt tired.
I’ve been sleepy for a while now, so the conversation hasn’t been registering well in my head.
After all, it’s best to lay my frail body in the cozy capsule.
Still, the time spent with Chris’s noisy party members today was enjoyable. The strawberry smoothie was delicious too.
“Unnie, I’m sleepy.”
I leaned my face on Chris’s shoulder.
By her side, I could feel a comfort I hadn’t found in this world until now.
Chris carefully picked up my body.
“You guys over there, can you fold the wheelchair and put it in?”
“Haah… Isn’t Rain’s sleepy eyes too cute…?”
My body, surrounded by Chris’s party members, was moved to Chris’s car.
I’m sleepy.