Chapter 21. The Way to Rina’s Heart

  Rina had always been a fan of pastries, but in recent years, she had only indulged in them on special occasions, such as birthdays and holidays. This was due to the fact that Rina had very little cooking skills, and her pride wouldn't allow her to ask someone else to make them for her because she didn't want others to know that she enjoyed pastries like a little child.

  'It's truly delicious. It's probably the best pastry I've ever had in my life. Maybe keeping this catgirl around isn't such a bad idea...', Rina thought as she ate the apple tart Lucy had offered to her, wishing it would never end.

  Seeing the regret in Rina's eyes when she realized there was only one slice left, Lucy had no trouble guessing that the quickest way to Rina's heart was through her stomach.

  'Hehe, when I created the Ninja Shop skill, I didn't think about how useful it would be when I want to impress a girl I'm attracted to. Let's strike while the iron is hot and try to win Rina's heart by satisfying her stomach!', Lucy thought as she navigated the Ninja Shop interface with the purpose of buying a few more desserts and some fruit juice.

  In the end, Lucy decided to buy a large platter of blueberry muffins and two 1-liter boxes of pineapple juice, each accompanied by a plastic straw to facilitate consumption. When these products appeared, Rina couldn't hide her excitement anymore.

  "Why did you get so many pastries? Do you want to share these with me?" Rina asked, her sparkling eyes reminding Lucy of the eyes of a little child sitting in Santa's lap at the mall.

  "Well, half a tart seemed a bit small to express my gratitude to you...", Lucy said, taking only one muffin from the platter and handing the rest to Rina.

  Rina wasted no time and immediately finished the last slice of apple tart she had been savoring slowly, then she took one of the muffins from the platter Lucy had handed her and bit into it eagerly.

  "So tender..." Rina involuntarily murmured, forgetting to hold back her excitement and letting it show on her face and in the movements of her lion's tail.

  Seeing this side of Rina, which she found extremely cute, Lucy struggled to restrain herself from jumping out of her chair to scoop Rina into her arms and start pampering her ears.

  'This strategy is a double-edged sword. Not only will it make Rina want to have me in her life forever, but it will also make me want the same thing...' Lucy thought. To calm herself, she filled her mouth with the remaining muffin to satisfy the sweet craving that Rina had induced in her.

  After finishing chewing, Lucy opened both juice boxes, inserted the straws, and handed one to Rina, who had been watching her with curiosity, not knowing what other delicious surprise this catgirl had in store.

  "This is a fruit juice box. The easiest way to drink from it is by using the straw I've put in it...", Lucy explained to Rina and then took a few sips from her own box to demonstrate.

  "Thank you. I really needed something to drink..." Rina said to Lucy, and then she began to drink from the fruit juice box, initially with hesitation, and as she got the taste, with deeper sips.

  Watching the young lionkin woman in front of her almost finishing a liter of juice in less than a minute and then starting to eat muffins again as if she hadn't eaten anything for two days, Lucy recalled an article she had read in her previous life, in which a citizen had talked about how he wanted to adopt a dog from an animal shelter but he gave up due to excessive bureaucracy, and, as he left the animal shelter and walked towards his car in the parking lot, an individual had approached him and offered to sell him a tiger cub. The citizen, who already had a big house and an expensive car, realized that owning a tiger was the missing piece to flaunt his prosperity, so he didn't think much and accepted the offer. Thus, in exchange for a sum of 1000 dollars, he returned home with a tiger on the right seat of his car like the sheiks of Dubai, being convinced that his future would be blissful. Although the first two years spent with the tiger were the happiest of his life because his popularity skyrocketed, as the tiger grew into adulthood and started consuming 15 kilograms of meat daily, he soon realized that his income was far from sufficient to sustain the tiger, so he had to cut corners and work overtime to ensure that the tiger remained well-fed and didn't get any ideas about turning him into a meal.

  'Well, considering how easily I can earn points for the Ninja Shop, I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping this lioness satisfied for a long time. Plus, I don't think I'd mind if she tried to 'eat' me when she's hungry, hehehe...' Lucy thought.

  ...............

  "Thank you for the meal. I've never eaten such delicious pastries before...", Rina told Lucy after finishing all the muffins and drinking another box of pineapple juice that Lucy had offered to her. "From what kind of fruit was the juice you gave me made? I don't remember ever tasting anything like it...", she continued, wanting to see if she could make a similar juice herself in the future because squeezing fruits didn't require much kitchen expertise.

  "The juice you drank was made from pineapple. Although in the place where I grew up, you could easily get this fruit, I don't know what the situation is here..." Lucy replied, having no idea about the fruits that grew in that area since all she had consumed since arriving in this world were products from the Ninja Shop.

  "Oh, I don't think I've heard of such a fruit. It's probably specific to the demon territory..." Rina said, visibly discouraged.

  "Huh, demon territory? What made you think that's where I'm from?" Lucy asked, a bit perplexed by Rina's words.

  "So, you're not from the demon territory? Given how powerful you are and the fact that I've never heard of your existence in these lands populated by demihumans, I thought it was possible you might be a descendant of a catkin family that managed to escape when their clan was destroyed around twenty-five years ago and sought refuge in the demon territory..." Rina said, a bit surprised that her theory was incorrect.

  "Oh, I see...." Lucy said without providing Rina with more information because she still didn't know much about the structure of that world and couldn't create a credible backstory.

  "So?" Rina asked Lucy, seeing she wasn't saying anything more.

  "So, what?" Lucy asked in turn, trying to feign obliviousness.

  "So, where did you come from?" Rina asked again, despite the fact that Lucy didn't seem too eager to talk about her past.

  'This girl has no idea what subtlety means...', Lucy thought, realizing that Rina didn't seem to understand from her attitude that she didn't want to continue discussing this topic. 'I really don't want to lie to her, but I can't blindly trust her and tell her I came from another world. What if transmigrators are seen as enemies?'

  "I'm sorry, but for now, I won't be able to tell you much about my origins. All I can tell you is that I arrived in this area a few days ago, and I don't know much about the current situation...", Lucy told Rina, hoping that she would understand and not press further.

  "Hmm, so you can't tell me for now. When will you be able to?" Rina asked again.

  "Well, probably when you decide to take responsibility. Although my ear has healed, don't think I've forgotten what you did..." Lucy replied, irritated, trying to hit Rina's weak point to escape from this interrogation.

  "Okay. I'll take responsibility. So, can you tell me now?" Rina said without a hint of hesitation as if she hadn't been the one making various excuses to avoid the consequences of her actions just half an hour ago.

  "Huh, what did you say?" Lucy asked, thinking her hearing must have played a trick on her.