10 Chapter 09- Dinner With a Beauty

Arthur didn't know what to say at all in such an awkward situation. He was completely speechless and yet also had an urge to speak and make some kind of half-baked excuse that could salvage whatever was left of his dignity.

However, all of those plans fell flat as Kaede took the opportunity to speak in his stead.

"I still didn't make dinner. Do you want to have a meal before you go?" She asked with a smile.

"Oh? Please don't mind it, I already bought the ingredients to cook my dinner. I wouldn't dare to bother you. Hahaha…" Arthur replied with an awkward laugh.

"You can keep those for tomorrow if you want. Since you're already here, let's have dinner together! I will be glad to have someone to eat with after a while." 

'Why are you insisting?!' Arthur tried to retort to her words but couldn't find any worthy excuse to say that wouldn't sound like he was trying to run away.

In the end, he sighed and gave up.

"Please take care of me." He said with a defeated tone.

"Yay! Finally, someone is going to try my food." Kaede rejoiced before she allowed Arthur inside again as she hummed happily.

"Please sit down. Food should be ready in a few minutes." She added before disappearing again.

Arthur nodded his head before he sat down again. 

'Maybe I'm just not cut out to talk to extremely beautiful girls. My social skills need serious work.' He mused with a sad expression.

The more Arthur thought about it, the more he realized how much he was lacking when it came to what a normal person should be able to do. In a matter of hours, he went from someone who gave up on life and was ready to simply throw himself back into that hell he tried to avoid as much as he could to someone who was motivated to change, to get better while also achieving his dream.

All of that was because of this magical power he gained out of nowhere. With a complicated gaze, Arthur summoned the Divine Pen and looked at it from up close, admiring its details while thinking about his fateful meeting with his Divine Editor, Kofia.

'She's probably watching me now. When we meet again, I ain't going to be the same, Kofia!' He swore to himself as he clenched the pen powerfully.

"Oh, that pen is really beautiful." 

"Ah!!" Arthur was surprised out of his skin by the sudden close voice that almost whispered in his ear. He didn't feel Kaede approaching him from behind and peeking from his shoulder.

"Oh, my apologies. Did I scare you?"

"No, hah, I'm fine. I was just deep in thought." Arthur said as he quickly calmed down.

Kaede's curious eyes then went back to the pen which made Arthur instinctively try to hide it.

"I like that pen. Where did you buy it from, if you don't mind me asking?" She said.

"Oh, this… Hahaha, it's just a gift from…"

"From?"

"From… From…" Arthur was shocked to find himself unable to find a good excuse. He could've easily said it was a gift from his dad or mom. But, for some reason, he just didn't even entertain that thought as an excuse.

"From my ex-girlfriend." He finally spoke after a while.

"..."

"..."

The two looked at each other blankly for a good few seconds. That's when Arthur realized what he just said.

'Shit.'

"Uh, no…"

"So this was a gift from your ex? It's unfortunate that you two broke up but it's still a pretty nice gift." Kaede smiled as she nodded her head in approval.

"..."

'She's an angel…' Arthur felt touched at how she easily diffused every awkward situation he threw himself into head-first. His dangerously bad communication skills didn't seem to stop Kaede from talking to him with ease.

'So this is what a divine level of communication is, huh? She can get out of any situation no matter how bad it was with words.' 

"Well, what I was saying? Oh, right, dinner is ready. I came here to tell you." She said.

"Of course, I'm coming right away." He said before he stood up and followed Kaede to the kitchen where he found a big table with two comfortable chairs on each side. On this table were a plethora of dishes that looked incredibly delicious. There was a mix of traditional Japanese food and Western dishes.

"Tada! What do you think?" She asked.

"Aesthetically… This looks great!" Arthur honestly praised as he sniffed the odors coming from the dishes. His mouth immediately salivated and his hungry stomach which hadn't eaten since morning reacted strongly.

"Thank you! I'm glad that I had made extra tonight. Please, enjoy yourself." Kaede said as she sat down to face Arthur.

"Itadakimasu." Picking up the chopsticks, Kaede prayed before she looked at Arthur.

"After you~"

"Y-Yes!" Arthur also clapped his hands together before he took the first bite from the dish in front of him. As he chewed on it, Kaede watched anxiously, clearly waiting for his reaction.

"Mmm, this is really good!" 

"Really…?"

"Yes! I didn't taste anything as good as this in a long time." Arthur replied honestly.

After living on instant noodles for years, Arthur's taste in food became almost numb so eating this home-cooked food is like an explosion of flavors in his mouth.

"I'm glad…"

The two then continued eating happily. One was rejoicing that he was finally able to eat something that didn't taste like cheap plastic and the other was happy that her food was received positively.

"Oh, by the way, Colbert-kun. Is it true that you work as a Mangaka?" 

*PFFT*

As Arthur was sipping the soup, his eyes widened as he almost spat out the whole bowl of soup.

"Cough! Cough!"

"Are you ok?!" Kaede was about to stand up to rush to him but Arthur stopped her.

"I'm… fine… Cough! Where did you hear about that?" He asked fearfully.

Working on Manga was Arthur's biggest secret that nobody knew of except for his parents who were opposed to it. So the fact that Kaede knew shocked him.

"Hm? You're always scribbling in your notebook in class or reading Manga so I thought that you're practicing to become a Mangaka." She asked confusedly.

'What… She was watching me?! What the hell is going on here, Mitsuhara-san?!'

In class, Arthur was a loner. So much so that he always thought that he might be the protagonist of some kind of cheap rom-com, waiting for the moment when he would catch the attention of some beauty. But, he obviously just had those intrusive thoughts jokingly.

In reality, nobody really cared what he was doing and he was fine with that. Granted, he wanted to have friends that he could talk to and have fun times with, but… Beggars can't be choosers. His appearance and his height made him stand out like a sore thumb but also unapproachable.

"Was I mistaken?" She asked.

"Huh? Oh… Uh, I wouldn't say…" As Arthur was about to deny those facts, he suddenly realized something.

'Why am I trying to deny it?' He thought to himself.

Before, Arthur considered this passion of his to be a shameful thing that he needed to hide. He believed that everyone would laugh at this stupid dream of his. But, why should he deny it now? 

Arthur was no normal person anymore. He was now a MangaVerser, someone who possessed a power only found in fiction and stories. He wasn't inferior to anyone and this power will prove that.

'I need to stop being a coward and be truthful about it.' He thought to himself.

"Yes, I'm working on it and I will soon be the greatest Mangaka and storyteller this world has ever seen." He looked up at Kaede with a deadly serious expression as he declared with utmost determination.