6 Dinner & Lonely night
「Haaa......」
Sighing from the bottom of his heart for the who-knows-what time, Ren thought about the fact that he could've done better while playing around with Ana.
「???」
「......welp, let's not cry over spilled milk」
「Huh??」
「Ah no...don't mind me...I'm just thinking about something」
Hearing Ren's murmurs, Yuka tilted her head as she saw his troubled face. But Ren couldn't just tell Yuka that he chickened out from playing with a woman because he panicked.
Thus he just avoided the topic.
「Oh...is that so?」
「Yeah...so where are we going?」
「Ah right...it's right over there」
After getting his business done with the Freedom Guild, Ren found himself being surprised upon spotting Yuka sitting in a guest sofa near the counter reading a book. He thought she already left for other work.
But apparently, Yuka said she couldn't just leave before finding out what happened.
Then Ren suggested that he'll explain things while the two eat dinner somewhere since it was nearly dusk.
Thus the pair is walking towards a family restaurant Yuka suggested.
According to Yuka, this place gather ingredients from trustworthy sources, their working environment is always clean and the price is very decent for working class despite the high quality of food.
Ren gulped down his saliva as he imagined what kind of food would be brought up. Yuka giggled at him.
「Fufu~ I never thought a person as strong as you can be this plain」
「Shut up...sorry I'm not some kind of muscular handsome prince」
「Ah that's not what I meant, I was just trying to say I expected people like you to be a lot more arrogant」
Yuka quickly conveyed her true intentions behind her words as she saw Ren slightly frowned.
Ren himself, on the other hand, was a little upset because he couldn't get close to girls back in school days due to his plain-looking appearance despite being a decently highly-ranked student.
「You're the last person I want to hear that from, Ms.S3......well......you see, was me putting my nose into your fight with the orcs a mistake after all ? 」
After finding out that Yuka is S3, Ren was a little worried about his experiment on the orcs.
Normally, people at the top of ranking ladders such as Yuka has very high pride. That is why Ren is troubled about how does she think about him when he butted in like that.
A person fundamental personality, their beliefs, and their mentality don't belong to their 『Status』. They were all just a part of a person's nature, part of who they are.
Though if she showed hatred and scorn, Ren could've used the 『Charm』 debuff to change her...
But as expected, to Ren, doing so would give off a very awkward atmosphere every time Ren looked at the charmed Yuka that he knows will turn her disgusts towards him the moment the charm is removed. It doesn't rub him as a success if part of it is a failure.
「No no...not at all...that swarm of Elder Orcs exceeded my adventurer rank when I'm alone...I could've taken quite some serious injuries if Ren-san wasn't there...」
「......I see」
But apparently, reality was different from Ren's worries.
Though Ren was only 99% convinced, the truth is that, Yuka didn't bluff when she said that she could've taken serious injuries.
Each Elder Orc is A-rank, a novice adventurer would be murdered right away if he or she isn't extremely careful.
The reason for that is because Orcs don't have high intelligence, thus they use quantity to squash quality.
If one isn't careful letting one orc call out to other ones, he or she will immediately meet their destiny.
Then again, it's Elder Orcs we're talking about here, their strength is way stronger than just a swarm of any orcs. Plus, Yuka can't use a lot of magic since she's a pure swordsman.
Thus she was completely serious saying that Ren was her life savior.
「Here it is...the family restaurant I suggested」
「Ohhh......this is quite nice isn't it」
The two people stopped their steps right in front of a decent-looking restaurant. The sign hanging under a lantern outside the place had a tiger icon and the word 『Tigré』 carved right under it.
It's a simple one-story building without any fancy decorations. It gives off the image of a humble bakery.
「Sniffs......ooooo ! ! IT SMELLS SUPER GOOD ! ! ! 」
Making a "YES!" pose, Ren's eyes shone with wonders as the smell of the food entered his nasal cavity.
Yuka was honestly bewildered seeing this man before her drooling like a 10 year old kid looking at his favorite ramen. She never thought a person with master-level of swordsmanship and advanced magic would act like this.
Noticing Yuka's gaze, Ren fixed his posture and scratched his head.
「E-Err...ahem...well that smell was nice...so let's go in」
「O-Okay...pffft...let's...haha...go in」
「Stop it please」
Yuka's face twisted as she held in her laughter, but that had reverse effect, it made Ren even more embarrassed at himself.
The two entered the restaurant.
♦ ♦ ♦
「Ren-san, Ren-san. You don't have to hold back, this place is for adventurers you know?」
「Stop Making Fun Of Me...Geez...You Are So Persistent ! ! 」
「Hahahaha~」
Seeing Ren faking his table manners so that he wouldn't look like a scavenger, Yuka decided to mock him.
The two then enjoyed themselves chatting about meaningless things while savoring the taste of the food.
「This beefsteak is just wonderful...」
「Right? It's not the highest quality, yet the way the chef cooked it made it great」
Meat is the universal favorite dish of all adventurers since there are a lot of proteins. That's why this restaurant serve meat dishes whose cooking method involved a lot of healthy ingredients to replenish their customers' energy.
According to Yuka, this restaurant's owner is a kindhearted person.
「By the way Yuka」
「What is it? *nom nom*」
Yuka was politely eating at first, but after letting the relaxed atmosphere get to her, she's completely showing her true colors as an adventurer in her way of eating hurriedly right now.
Her appetite was on par with a grown man like Ren, which makes him a little surprised, but it put a smile on his face.
「You ever ate a man before ? 」
「Guhkaa ! ! W-W-W-W-What the heck are you asking all of a sudden ! ? ! ? 」
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Yuka's face turned bright red with half of a slice of meat still hanging from her mouth. The scene was so bizarre that Ren couldn't help but think she's kind of cute.
(But she's so flustered talking about things like this...don't tell me......)
Putting a hand on his chin, Ren stared at Yuka with a straight face. His expressions were serious.
「Are you really just a virgin ? 」
「IS THAT REALLY SOMETHING YOU ASK A WOMAN ! ? ! ? 」
Extremely flustered, Yuka swallowed the piece of meat and rebuked at Ren who nodded while murmuring 'So you are still just a virgin'.
(Not that I'm any different though...but...)
Couldn't help but feeling there's something off, Ren gave the matter some thoughts and didn't arrive at the conclusion he wanted. Thus he asked Yuka directly
「So basically, you are strong, and you do make a lot of money, is that why your standards in men high?」
「W-What? N-No...I don't have any standards. I just never thought of anything other than supporting my parents...」
「What? But you're this beautiful, nobody ever hit on you?」
「S-Stop flattering me already...and now that I think about it...there has never been a man that talked to me for more than 1 minute...I don't understand why...」
「That wasn't flattery. I don't talk bullshit when it comes to a woman's look」
Yuka's throat was blocked dead frozen not by just those words alone, but also Ren's straight face and honest eyes as he spoke with a firm voice.
In his previous life, Ren felt quite some nausea whenever he accidentally overheard a conversation between some women. They would praise each other like no tomorrow even though the other party was so ugly.
Thus, Ren doesn't want himself to be involved in that kind of nauseating flattery.
「S-Speaking of adventurers...what happened with Arnold ? 」
Avoiding the topic about herself, Yuka bluntly asked a completely different matter.
「Ah right. About that...」
Sensing that if he pressed any further he would ruin the mood, Ren started to explain about the situation.
「......then in the end I'll be S-rank and that's it」
「That was really rude wasn't it......you haven't attacked anyone......」
Ren hid most of the contents of the agreement and only told that they deemed him as a threat so they're negotiating.
Yuka on the other hand, frowned because of how the Guild handled this.
She thinks that Ren certainly is strong, but looking at him she can't really imagine him mass murdering on a whim.
「That said, aren't you too relaxed around me? I mean, the Kingdom fell into slight panic because of me」
「Ahh...don't worry about me...I came into contacts with monsters using magic your level a lot so I'm not shocked because of your presence...actually, all the S-rank people are like this」
「I see...」
The two continued chatting.
Yuka told Ren all about how the Guild and its requests work until late. They left the restaurant and headed to a decent inn Yuka suggested.
「Oh Shit ! Wait. I have no money......」
Yuka treated him dinner as part of their tour. But right now without money, Ren runs into the risk of sleeping on the street or a horse stable.
Certainly, Ren can adjust his body temperature and avoid any kind of danger or sickness using his power, but as expected, he would like to lay down on a proper bed at night to relax. Ren also wants to take a bath.
Despair showed on his face.
「Isn't it fine? You just came here, I can rent Ren-san a room until you make money」
Yuka seriously thinks she can just pay for his rent until he leave the Kingdom. In her eyes, he did save her from a big trouble after all.
But as one would expected, asking to pay for him forever would sound weird coming from a single woman.
Hearing those words, Ren's face changed to something like a vagabond running into a chest of gold.
「Really ! ? ! Hahaha. I know Yuka's a nice person ! ! 」
At the same time with his rejoice, Ren cried in his heart.
His first night staying at a fantasy Kingdom, Ren lodged off of a woman's money.
♦ ♦ ♦
「Haaa......I really wanna cry......」
Lying down flatly on the bed inside the gloomy room lit only by moonlight coming from the window, Ren exhaled and recollected the things happened during his first day in this fantasy world.
I died, I received this ability that is equal with god in some aspects.
I fought a monster that could only appear in anime and create an absurd weapon from a tattered sword.
I saved a woman and luckily had her become my tour guidance...but what's worse is that I'm lodging off of her money right now...
Unable to fall asleep, Ren walked around the room and inspected the bathroom.
This was a middle-class inn so there is a bathroom respectively for each room.
Looking around, Ren nodded in satisfaction and decided to take a quick shower.
...
「Ahhh......that was refreshed......」
After the bath, Ren is now in his boxer sitting beside the window staring out into the distance.
The stars are glittering, occasionally there's a quick shooting stars came by but Ren didn't know what to wish since he's possessing the kind of power that can make wishes come true.
Gazing aimlessly at the dark night sky it by the blue corn moon, a sudden sense of loneliness attacked Ren.
「It was...also under the same sky...that day......12 years already past huh......」
Recalling the memories of his childhood, Ren smiled as he felt a nostalgic warmth dwelling inside his heart.
A promise can now be fulfilled.
No matter how long it takes, it was a precious piece of memory that Ren will never let himself forget.
In actuality, Ren could've blown the promise by dying in his previous life...but that didn't mean he'd forget it.
「Well......just a bit more, Yui......」
Closing his eyes, Ren enjoyed the pleasant summer breeze. It was the exact same feeling he had during the times he played in the park as kids.
Memories of heart warming times are pleasant in a mid summer night.
「Tomorrow will be the begin of all the fun」
Deciding so, Ren went to sleep as the breeze died down. Leaving his thoughts about the past behind, Ren fell into darkness of a deep lumber as his new life begins.
The world might change from tomorrow...or not...nobody knows...