I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me. - Chapter 6
- Home
- All
- I'm a court magician. Recently, I’ve been worrying about the princess staring at me.
- Chapter 6 - My strange table partner.
“It’s pretty crowded…”
When I arrived at Cafe Cherry, the store was not yet open, but I saw more than a dozen women lined up at the entrance. The ones at the front might have been waiting since early morning. Personally, I wouldn’t have risen early for it, but women were the primary demographic anyways.
I noticed a woman, possibly a clerk, holding a sign indicating the end of the line, and made my way toward her. After lining up, I opened my pocket watch. It was opening time precisely. One by one, those who were lined up in front of me entered the shop.
At this rate, I should be able to head back soon.
“Next customer, please!”
“Oh, yes.”
“Will you be dining in?”
“To go, please.”
In no time, I had reached the register.
I looked at the display lined with pastries and located the particular marron cake that Arina-san had ordered me to buy.
There were exactly five slices remaining. Not a surprise, since most people probably came for the new cake specifically. In fact, I was incredibly lucky for there to be any left at all.
“Could I get five slices of the marron cake—”
I was about to finish my order when I noticed something.
The woman behind me had an exceedingly desperate look on her face.
The reason was fairly obvious. The marron cake she came for was about to be sold out right in front of her… But she looked like she was experiencing the end of the world.
She stared at me with puppy dog eyes. Hey, if you beg like that…
“…Four slices, please.”
And as a replacement, I added an ordinary berry cake to my order.
***
“So how did this happen?”
I glanced down at the shortcake and milk tea in front of me. I was currently sitting face to face with a woman at a table in the cafe.
Her body was slim and her red eyes gazed strongly at me. She had glossy shoulder-length black hair. Objectively, she was beautiful. In fact, she was attracting some attention in the cafe.
She stared at me and occasionally brought her hand to her chin, as if she were thinking of what to say.
“Hey…”
“Wait, why am I having tea with you?”
“Because I felt like it. Is there a problem?”
“No, not really…”
The woman answered my question firmly. Before, she looked like she was about to cry over a slice of cake, but now she almost seemed cunning. I didn’t really mind, but quite a few people would dislike this sort of personality.
Really, I didn’t mind at all.
I had a lot of other thoughts, but I decided to table them and focus on the cake in front of me. I pierced a strawberry with my fork and brought it to my mouth. The tart sweetness spread over my taste buds. Delicious.
“…You eat your strawberries first.”
“What? Is there a difference?”
“I eat mine last. The last bite should be the best one.”
“I’m eating the same thing either way, so it’s the same whether it’s first or last.”
“Boys just don’t get it.”
“Uh…”
I didn’t really care about the conversation we were having. I just wanted to leave already. If I didn’t get back early, Arina-san would beat me up. That was a joke… I think.
When the woman in front of me took a bite of her long-cherished marron cake, she smiled euphorically and let out a satisfied “Hmm~♡.”
“Oh, that’s good. I’m glad I escaped and came here.”
“You escaped?”
“Ah, forget I said that.”
“Huh…”
“Anyways, thank you very much. For this.”
The woman smiled as she poked at her cake with a fork.
“Well, you were practically begging me with your eyes.”
“Ugh… I didn’t think the person in front of me would buy five. I mean, that’s just too much, isn’t it?”
“I’m just running an errand. I couldn’t possibly eat this much alone. Not to mention the weight I’d gain.”
Huh? The temperature in the store seemed to drop. Was it just my imagination?
“Well, that’s right… you have to think about your body, don’t you?”
“I’m not offending you, am I? I think you look wonderful, if I may.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it. Ah, it’s already this late. I have to be back by noon.”
The woman quickly cleaned her plate, and both of us stood up.
“I should be heading back, too.”
“Oh, really? I’m sorry for forcing you to spend time with me.”
“That’s all right. Thank you for the cake.”
We left the store and were about to part ways when someone called out.
“Lena-sama!”
A middle-aged man in a butler’s uniform ran up to us and turned towards the woman. I had some idea of what was going on, but it still took me by surprise.
“Oh, you’ve found me.”
“Don’t joke around! Do you know how much time we spent searching—”
“I’m sorry. If you want to lecture me, I’ll listen back home, so let’s leave first.”
“Oh, you will be listening.”
The butler sighed in defeat and turned toward me.
“I’m sorry, it seems like the young lady has caused a great deal of trouble.”
“No, no, that’s… so she was a noblewoman after all.”
At least, that was the feeling I had. She said she had escaped, so her family was probably high-ranking and somewhat restrictive of her freedom.
The butler nodded and introduced the woman—Lena.
“This is Lena Auguste, daughter of Duke Auguste of Floreid.”
“Lloyd. We’re done here, right? Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
The butler bowed and stood behind Lena.
“See you next time then, Raize.”
“Eh?”
I didn’t have the chance to ask how she knew my name. She turned her back and strode away quickly.
I stared in amazement at her shrinking back. Losing track of time, I stood there wondering if I had said or done anything disrespectful back there in the cafe.
…I may have been disrespectful the entire time.