Chapter 19:

“Wow, I hadn’t been to the residential district yet…this place really does have everything.”

Eres walked backwards, eyes popped open, observing the shopping district filled to the brim with storefronts and stalls. It almost brought a tear to her eye. Life before corporate domination! 

She gave it ten years.

Eres clipped the back of her heels on Leo’s feet, causing her to stumble. He caught her with a laugh.

“Are you dumb? Watch where you’re going.”

“Why?” She smirked, “I have you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Eres pulled away from him and crossed her arms. “If anything, you should be thanking me for helping your sorry ass on my day off.”

“Mm. I owe you one.”

“Hehe~ thank you for your understanding, young master.” She’d shake a bonus out of him later.

It was rare enough for her to be out of a uniform. Casual clothes! It was no small wonder her mood was so high. Not that she hated her uniform. It just got boring to wear the same clothes day in and day out.  Eres would never admit to Leo that she’d spent extensive time coordinating outfits she’d never wear because she thought he would tease her.

Luckily, she’d been “forced to dress like this due to her roommates,” an excuse she’d been happy enough to pin on her troublesome friends. As if! The only one with any sense of fashion was Arille, considering Celise had maids do it for her and Eliza was a cryptid, but Arille’s sensibilities leaned towards cutesy, childish. 

Nothing like the cool, mysterious beauty Eres was! Cold, despondent, the one everyone wanted to get to know! That was her ideal type in her past life. Forget anything else, kuudere is king!

Eres refused to be the girly girl. If she had to be a woman, it would be this! She fell in step next to Leo, grinning.

Her eyes caught on a food-stand selling some dessert she’d never seen. Ah~ looks so good…! Well. She did have her bonus from feeding Leo.

Eres grabbed his sleeve and redirected him to the stand.

He raised an eyebrow, but let himself be tugged by the girl. “Eres?”

“Food.”

“…Did you forget we’re here for supplies?”

“The test isn’t until tomorrow. Chill, man.”

“You’re hopeless.”

She patted her stomach. “No, Leo, I’m hungry.”

She ignored whatever he said next, pointless as it was, and bounced in front of the dessert stall. Eres still didn’t know if it was because of her new body, but for some reason, sweets tasted extraordinarily good in this world. 

Before, she’d eat something sweet and think, “Ah yes, this food was indeed food.”

Now it was like a parade dancing over her tongue, a full ensemble of flavor. Sparks flew from her tongue to her brain as she greedily snatched one of the treats from the man tending the stall and shoved the side of it into her mouth. 

“Hoh, enjoy young lady.”

“Mmph!” 

Surely he understood her. She handed over the coins and turned away. Ah! This flavor! Crisp pastry with flaky, buttery crust, the perfect mouth feel—not rough enough to hurt the top of her mouth—and the inner custard-like filling carried a refreshing fruit flavor, with hints of vanilla.

She nearly screamed. Leo took a bite and nodded his head. “It’s good.”

Good? A mere good? Hah. He had so much to learn. She’d lecture him later.

“Mwhmph oo?”

Leo’s eyes twitched. “Eres. Chew your food.”

Oh. Whoops. Her cheeks reddened, and she finished the bite she’d been savoring.

“I said, ‘Where to?’”

“…General store. We need survival gear, or we’ll regret it.”

“Counting on ya.”

He stared at her. “Why did you even come?”

“I’m here to supervise the budget.” She smirked. “Obviously, I’ll need recompense.”

“That’s embezzlement.”

“Not if I don’t get caught. Who’s gonna tattle?”

“Me. I will.”

Eres pinched his arm. “Traitor.”

“Eres,” He said, sporting a benevolent smile, “How could we misappropriate the budget? It’s the hard earnings of all of our friends.”

“Hmm~ young master, could it be that you don’t understand the concept of  a ‘tip’?”

“Nah, I never tipped.”

“…They definitely spit in your food.”

He shrugged. “If they did, I never noticed.”

“Besides,” He said, “I never said we couldn’t…prioritize.”

Oh? This young master had such a mean streak?

They looked at each-other, giggling mischievously. Ha~ such is the fate of the one who never shops. Her foolish roommates would simply learn a harsh lesson from the two adults. She held back her grin as they went shop to shop.

It was a while later that she found herself actually carrying something. Had they bought that much? Leo, though taller than her, still had the frame of a child, and currently looked like a wet dog, carrying all of those bags.

She cackled at the sight. “Ha~ young master, could it be you can’t carry all the bags in one trip?”

“Impossible.” His voice, though strained, was stern. “It’s a man’s pride.”

“You think they’ll get mad at us if we bring this into a restaurant?”

He looked at her, shocked. “How are you even still hungry?”

“?”

What kind of question was that? They’d only snacked here or there. No real meals. She hadn’t had protein since breakfast. Naturally, sugary goods didn’t keep one full for long. Maybe that’s why this kid was so scrawny. 

“You need more protein, Leo. Only chicken and broccoli from here on.”

He shook his head. “I’m not a body-builder, Eres.”

“Maybe you should be, chicken-legs.”

“Hmm? Eres, you like the muscly type? Could it be? A crush on the P.E teacher?”

Her eyes went cold, freezing the mocking look on his face. “E-Eres, I was just kidding, haha.” Sweat dripped down his back. Why is this maid so fierce?!

Eres’s face warmed up. “As long as the young master minds his manners, heh. Come. Food.”

Leo held back a burp. Heartburn. Ugh…how many places was she going to drag him to? He just wanted to go home…

Ed had introduced him to a card game much like one he’d played back in his old world. Why hadn’t he told Eres about it yet? Naturally, it was because he wanted to build a deck that could absolutely destroy her. He’d introduce her to a world of pain when they finally played.

But damn, this girl really was hyper…

He sighed. Leo’s shoulders were screaming from all the gear. He looked down. This little rabbit was only carrying a single bag—some random thing she’d picked up from a clothes store. 

Was it for one of her roommates? He couldn’t remember a single time Eres had ever shown interest in such things. She usually shied away from girly stuff. Though, she hadn’t done something like that for a while now. Not since the backpack. Funny, she still uses it.

Nah, he was overthinking it. Maybe she felt bad about misusing her friend’s money, however slightly. He almost felt touched at the thought. Maybe this girl had more of a heart than he realized?

Eres leaned back in her seat, sighing in satisfaction. This place—definitely worth bringing the others to. She’d show them all the dessert places next time. She almost thought it was a shame they weren’t here today. Though it being just her and Leo was still the best.

“What’d you think?”

Leo leaned forward, a small smile playing over his lips. “Mm. Good. You like it?”

“Ha~ amazing!”

“Did you eat like this in the other world?”

She shook her head. “No way, food is tastier here.”

“Is it? Tastes about the same to me.”

“Maybe I have super-tastebuds. Is that a thing?”

“…You’re making stuff up. No way.”

Eres scratched her chin. “I guess I mostly ate convenience store food. Never went out much.”

“You didn’t order in?”

“Mm? Sometimes? ‘Food is fuel’ was my mantra.”

“What, were you a ramen monk?”

“Buldak cultivator.”

Leo’s lips twitched. “No wonder. Your tastebuds burned off.”

“Spicy food is glorious, Leo. You’re just weak.”

“Your brain’s been boiled by capsaicin.”

“That’s just the bone-renewing effects of entering nascent soul.”

He rubbed his forehead. “Please talk like a normal human being.”

“I reject my—”

“Eres. Stop.”

She slid down in her seat, pouting. “…You suck.”

Eres ignored him until they were walking back to the dorms. Spoilsport! Monster! Ingrate! Worm!

Hmm? Insulting him while he carried everything? She might be the maid, but he was the perpetrator of a crime. It was only natural he should bare the cost. Using his own friend’s money for personal gain…how heartless. 

She waved him a happy goodbye, leaving him crushed under the weight of their sins, and whistled as she stepped back to her room.

Eres had barely opened the door before her roommates yanked her collar and pulled her in. 

They tossed her into her chair, Celise activating a light-spell to shine in her face.

Arille, Celise and Eliza all smirked at her. 

Celise leaned forward. “Eres…glad to see you made it back in one piece.”

“From. Your. Date.”

“?!”

Eres was dumbfounded. “The hell are you talking about…? Date?”

Arille poked her forehead. “You can’t hide it from us, Eres.”

“…I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Eres,” Eliza mumbled, “Too pretty today. Weird.”

“You’re all insane.”

Celise’s smile stretched wide. “Where’d you go?”

“Uh…a lot of places? Just got some food and went shopping.”

“And?” Arille was practically foaming at the mouth. What the hell were they imagining?

“We…got dinner?”

Eliza leaned in. “Eres is so forward…”

“I-it’s not like that! We were just getting supplies!”

“Hmm?” Celise hummed, “Since when are romantic, candle-lit dinners considered supplies?”

“There were no candles.”

Arille smirked. “No candles, but you didn’t deny the romance.”

“What romance?! How could a shut-in loser like that ever be romantic?!”

They looked confused for a moment. Oh. She’d lost her cool. Of course they wouldn’t know the ducal heir was really a socially deprived weirdo in his last life. He must’ve met some old man in the mountains to train, there was no way he could be better at talking than her. Impossible! It couldn’t be that it was…not a lack of ability, but a lack of will…right?

But what could cause a change that severe? These damn roommates of hers…

Annoyance flashed through her.

Eres pushed up, scattering her roommates like rats. She ran to the door, turned around, pointed, and growled at them.

“Y-you…I’m challenging all three of you to a duel! Right now! Come at me!”

They looked at each other. Celise smiled at her. “Ah. Young love…”

Eres yelled and bolted out of the door.