About Having Dinner – Part 1

"Lua, what would you like to have for dinner?"

"*cough*! *cough**cough*!!!"

The afternoon after school, a period I was usually spending alone, going back to my house without asking anything to anyone. To be honest, I wasn't really alone at school anymore. I could even say I have some… friends now? Yeah, I think that would be the closest term to describe them.

First there was an haughty elf girl named Mizher. She was a bit insufferable and mostly thought of me as Iovanna's lap dog but she wasn't really a bad person… I think. Anyway, she was too busy proving she was better than a certain red-headed vampire to care about me any more than that.

Then, there was Nui, the girl I thought of as Mizher lap dog at first. Actually she was more of a morality pet than that. I heard that she had vampire blood in her vein, though it wasn't active. She was nice enough to explain everything I needed to know about vampires since she had many in her family. Thanks to her, I now knew which part of their myths was correct and which wasn't, at least for most types. I also learned to recognize them more easily which is how I realized that Io too was one.

Talking about Io… I think we started getting along too? I am not sure how that happened, but she found the courage to apologize for gassing me last time… well, she left a letter on my desk and looked from afar, half hidden behind hers. She never worked up the courage to get anywhere near me, but she seemed to try even asking to be my partner in swordsmanship class. She still ended up as a crying mess crouching in a corner, but I couldn't just ignore her effort, so I wrote her short encouragement… she avoided me for three days straight after that though…

Lastly, I finally talked to the girl with the licking sound at the back of the class, a mermaid called Lalahandra. She was surprisingly mild mannered and serious with her studies. She was also one the few first-years to regularly receive requests from the school. If she didn't have some troublesome quirks, I think she would be quite popular.

Even if it was only on occasions, I started talking to a lot of people ever since Iovanna was there. I even learned something interesting – apparently my classmates rarely approached me because I was apparently too serious-looking.

How strange, learning that me of all people is intimidating in the eyes of some.

Some found out we shared some interests and even walked me home a few times. I haven't had such a socially active school-life since… early middle-school? Yes, it was only a few years back, but it seemed so far away.

Besides, the vampire girl – the original one I mean – started coming like before and we had a lot of fun.

All in all, my life was really fun. I started looking forward to going to school again and, when going back home, I knew I would still enjoy myself. I guess it was one of those time periods where you start thinking life is all sunshine and rainbows before starting to worry about when something bad will happen.

Either way, I was in a particularly good mood, which may be why I invited her of all people.

"... Riftwalker?" asked the red-headed girl, hesitantly.

Sitting in the terrasse of a classy-looking cafe, the girl was staring at me in confusion while holding down a half-empty teacup. A shiver ran down my spine as her green eyes swept to me – getting used to them might be impossible after all.

"I heard that this place had some financial issues because customers wouldn't come anymore. So you were the cause..."

She closed her eyes and raised her eyebrows, "It does? Maybe I should order more cups then… Wait—"

"No, no, no, no, no! It was a joke! Don't call him over!"

There were already a dozen empty cups on her table though. Was the waiter too scared to pick them up? Who was serving her then? So many questions…

"Oh…" She lowered her head for a moment, "By the way, what was that about you calling me Lua?"

"I decided to call you that."

"Why?"

"Did they eat well today?"

She froze.

"... You…"

"I saw."

Amongst my "friends", Iovanna was the only one who never walked me home (well Io didn't either, but she doesn't count). Since she was living in the school's dormitory and I asked her to not get too involved with me, this was to be expected. What wasn't though, was the fact she still went outside school at the end of the day like every other student.

Where was she going? Well, there were a lot of rumors regarding what exactly she was doing going from fantasists ones to more crudes, but no one really knew. No one except me.

I once decided to follow her and see what all of this was about. Not that I was that interested or had that much time on my hands – in fact, saying that I followed her is an exaggeration. She was basically walking the same way I used to go home.

At some point, she took a box in front of a pet shop and disappeared into a narrow street not too long after. Keeping a good distance between her and me, I saw her cans of cat's food and milk and then left them there before going to the cafe across the street.

"So you are taking care of a stray cat?"

"I would not say that. I was just observing that street," she said pointing at a crossed out street with guards in front of it, "but then I noticed that poor cat in the nearby street and felt a bit generous."

Indeed, the street just in front of the cafe was famous in the town – it was the one supposedly leading to an alternate reality full of zombies. It wasn't rare to see some of them if you stayed in front of it. That is why the cafe was here actually.

That being said…

"You feel generous quite often, don't you?"

Realizing I knew everything, the girl stiffened again, only managing to utter a little insult.

"... Stalker…"

Say the one who… *sigh* whatever…

"So, Lua, what would you like for dinner?" I asked again.

"What is this about?"

"I am inviting you over to my house for dinner, idiot vampire."

"Why? I thought you did not want me to get too involved with you?"

"Are you saying you aren't interested?"

"... Well, I suppose it would not hurt."

"Well then, I am looking forw… huh, nevermind…"

I turned around and then turned to her again.

"Are you coming or not?"

"Ah… Yes, of course…"

After that, Iovanna and l left the cafe and slowly made our way to my home. As expected, a beautiful tall red-headed girl like her would attract some attention on the way… not? I suppose people didn't care as much as I thought. When wyverns sometimes fly just above the streets and you can meet an avatar of death every now and then, I guess a relatively normal-looking girl like Lua is not anything special.

On the other hand, her silence was still bothering me a bit so I tried to engage in conversation myself.

"The dormitories don't have any rules against pets, no?" I asked.

The red-headed girl tilted her head, maybe surprised by that question coming out of nowhere. She surely wasn't used to my speech pattern which would often ignore my whole thought process and begin by the end.

"I mean, you could take in that cat, right? You go to that cafe everyday just to feed and see it from across the street. Isn't that bothersome?"

"I cannot do that," she said, turning her face away. "I am not good with animals. Cats tend to scratch me to death…"

"Ah… Because of your eyes?"

"Yes."

Must be hard…

"Hm, why not catch it and put it in someone's care?"

"Did you not hear me? If I tried to catch it, it would scratch me to death."

"And what? You wouldn't even feel something like that."

"It is not about me. Animals are more sensitive to my power than humans and the like. If I tried to catch that cat, I am afraid its heart would stop eventually."

"That is what you meant by scratching you to death?!"

I was sure she was exaggerating a bit, but seeing how some upperclassmen feared her, maybe there was some truth to it.

"I will take the cat in. I think I can catch it with enough tries."

"You do not have to."

"It is fine. It doesn't bother me. In fact, I really like cats myself."

"No, you really do not have to. I already took care of finding a family for him."

"Huh? Why were you at that cafe today then?"

"... Is this not why you invited me for dinner?"

I stopped and furrowed my brows.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"..."

Again, she "stared" at me without a word. Now that I knew the uneasiness I felt when she did was caused by the power of her eyes, I didn't feel like scratching all over my body again. It was still a bit disturbing, though.

"... You did not do it because you… oh, sorry… maybe I should wash my hands…"

"Well, you are… going to eat so… you might as well? Can it wait until we get home though?"

"Maybe…" she began, lightly bitting her left index. "Maybe you are one of those good people that only exists in legends?"

"Lua…"

"Yes?"

So she agreed with the nickname, huh?

"I want to believe this isn't your fault, but could you… try talking in a way I can understand ? Please?"

"... I will try."

"Please do."

In the end we didn't talk again before reaching my house. She seemed to want to say something, but I guess she couldn't bring it up. As for myself, I wasn't interested enough to push her to tell me. It probably wasn't that important though.