Unusual Lunch(1/2)

As her words here the truth, Cassandra could only look down. She wanted to convince Daphne with much more willpower. However, her insecurity formed chains that tied her to the throat, not even being able to express in a concrete way what she had seen.

She felt that sword wrapped in lightning was on her neck. The breath of the man was so close to generating a shiver that ran down her back. She felt as if something was ready to cut her neck in two if she had continued those words.

"I...I..."

Seeing her indecision, the woman with eyes similar to gold and red hair of a medium length called Daphne shook her head. She could understand Cassandra's emotions, because she too wanted to get rid of those chains with all her heart, and yet even if that was true, Daphne had not felt such strong emotions for some time, just because even if they had been forced to enter, Their God didn't treat them bad at all. As neither of them was his potential love interests, but only as a force that would suit the familia, Daphne didn't find any harm in that.

"Try to relax, Cassandra. You know if I could have done something to get us out of here, I would have done it already."

By saying these words, Daphne felt guilt. While she considered the situation not to be so bad, Cassandra suffered a lot, to the point of growing a disorder according to which she was a 'psychic' and was able to predict the future...

"Anyway, I'll try to protect you."

With these words, Cassandra felt two arms wrapping her in an embrace. However, it made her feel even worse as it was another of the times when no matter what she tried to do, those arms that gave her so much warmth protected her further, while she with the knowledge of what will happen in the future, could do nothing but accept this warmth. At that moment, she hoped with all her heart what she had seen was a dream, and not reality...

---

"...It's nice to see you here, Haru-san!"

With a big smile, the girl welcomed Haru into the pub, while the latter nodded as he wore a small smile on his face.

"After the delicious breakfast, I couldn't choose another place to have lunch if not here."

The kitchen of the Hostess of Fertility was impeccable. Not having much to do for the day anyway, Haru chose to spend his time here even if he could go to several restaurants in the area.

To his words, the girl's cheeks grew redder, this because having hardly ever the chance to interact with the kitchen, it was rare that someone showed such appreciation for it. Even though Haru had already complimented her previously about the kitchen, she was still easily embarrassed by the compliments.

"...I-I see.."

Laughing it off, the girl diligently escorted him to his table, and once she had a small chat with him, the girl returned to the counter, hurrying in the kitchen to not display her embarrassment to the whole pub...

Watching the scene unfolding in front of her, Mama Mia couldn't help but sigh as the situation seemed to be getting out of hand, but it didn't have a negative tone, so there was nothing she could do to change the situation.

Whereas Syr's help in the kitchen would certainly have been helpful, given that many times she preferred fooling around the pub looking for someone alluring, and then finally do what she should be paid for.

However, that was not a problem for Mama Mia, because at the end the dishes came out clean, and it did not matter if the last ones were cleaned later, just because they had plenty of them.

"I'd be tempted to charge ya extra just for the stress, but I can't."

Although she hadn't said these words seriously, Mama Mia wouldn't hesitate to charge him more than he should pay, if the Hostess of Fertility wouldn't lose face as a result...

---

'... The atmosphere is as lively as ever.'

This thought was anything but obvious. Compared to the morning where the place was empty and the only audible noises were those of the waitresses who cleaned the place, at this time there were many types of people.

There were so many types of people, and yet Haru was the only one alone, which led him to sigh. Of course, he didn't particularly feel the need for someone next to him, yet sharing the delicious food wouldn't have been so bad, and that someone had a name Haru had well imprinted in his mind.

'I bet you would like everything in this place.'

This time, however, Haru did not feel he wanted to cry, as if he had run out of tears, the only thing he could do was to move on. Although she would have made the atmosphere much livelier for him too, however, it was not possible, all he could do was continuing to--

"...What didn't you understand about what I said the last time-nya?"

Those words surprised Haru. In front of him, there was one of the women who worked at the Hostess of Fertility, Chloe Rollo.

"... I don't know what you mean."

Finding his calm after being interrupted, Haru asked with little interest what she wanted from him, just because from her previous 'advice' he didn't have the best opinion about her, but the latter couldn't care less.

"...The aura surrounding you isn't foreign to me-nya. Even though I can't understand the reason for your pain, I can tell you whatever happened can't be allowed to affect your mood any longer. Harden your heart, make it strong enough for people worried about you to know that no matter how hard you're punched, it won't be enough to knock you out."

Chloe was worried. Syr was showing interest in Haru, while the latter seemed to be locked in a shell of many layers. It was too much for her, observing without being able to do anything was something she partly hated. Just as she had advised Haru, she turned her pain into the strength that would further harden her heart, so that no matter what would happen, Chloe could have been the force that drove everyone else. However...

"I can understand your words. Every day I am struggling to do that, and yet it's not easy. You see, all this pain is but the fruit of my selfishness. I could have made things a lot easier, but instead, I preferred to satisfy what were my desires, even if these... had devastated someone else in return."

Feeling the chills behind his back, Haru knew that mentioning the fact he died or related to his previous world would lead to a catastrophe, which is why he was trying to express his thoughts to Chloe's words as vaguely as possible. Although he didn't have a particular interest in his earlier words, it was a fact that she was right.

Turning pain into strength was what he wanted to do from the start, and he was off to a good start, but quickly, the pain seemed to be wrapping around his heart without him even noticing, which was evident to Chloe, who knew at this rate Syr would have to deal with this, which she honestly didn't want to see.

Knowing that it was not the time to talk about these things, Chloe swallowed. She expected to get answers like last time, but Haru seemed to have responded with his true feelings, and although her goal was to protect Syr anyway, trying to help Haru didn't seem as second-rate of a thing as it used to be.

"...I see. If that's the case, you and I might be more similar than I thought. How about we go out for a while after you're done?"

She had no ulterior motives, of course. If she was going to ask Syr to cover her place, Chloe could have gone with him without a problem, since there was a need for an in-depth conversation.

Of all the things he could have told her, Haru never expected Chloe to invite him out, but given the determination in her eyes of a glittering emerald, he found himself nodding. Haru had no romantic feelings for her, and yet, her words somehow made him feel better...

"...Wait for me outside after you finish eating. I have to go to the other customers now. Otherwise, I'll draw futile attention to you."

It was common for a waitress to have quick conversations with customers, maybe by recommending something in the menu of the day or something that had nothing to do with it at all. But it certainly wouldn't be the case if, for example, Chloe sat down to discuss with him or to entertain the conversation too much. Only Syr was known to do so, and it also attracted a lot of attention, as it happened a few times.

"...I understand."

That's all he said before he saw Chloe leave...

---

(This chapter may sound weird, I did my best to explain what happened, but Haru's slowly understand he feels lonely and that he actually feels all that happened even when he's not in his home alone. Even if he's trying to be strong, it's not easy, and Chloe will be there to help him 'in the shadows' as it's more or less her job. However, don't misunderstand. The relationship will NOT be based on similarities in their pasts. Chloe has a way worse past than Haru, meaning their relationship will rapidly change. I would want to belittle neither of their past, but I need time to fully detail what will happen in the future!)

(The chap is a little smaller than normal, but this is only because I'm forced to write from the phone, which is rather annoying because I don't have the notes that I need maybe for information or check some plot parts I have already written. As readers on discord are already aware, I am having several connection problems, and since my computer does not have the Wi-Fi card, I am stuck lmao. Join my server discord if you want to know about this kind of things faster, and also to join polls! After my connection will resurrect, there will be another one regarding the novel (y8VBZAp) also if you want to support me on pat reon.com/SkyInTheNight)

(Cassandra is sus)