"Hey, where to next?" Nelly asked as we walked through the bustling campus grounds.

"Isn't it obvious?" I chuckled, "Show us where your classes are."

"Ehh, I dunno..." She shied away, "That's a bit, well, yeah..."

"Stop acting like we're embarrassing you and show us around the damned place." Ed got mad, "What? You think Grim and I'll pull some weird stunts that'll make you regret even taking us there in the first place?"

"Well yeah, I'd absolutely die of cringe if that happened."

"Oi, stop talking in Simpletonese!"

"Cringe is an Entropic word..." She sighed, "But never mind that. There's this really good coffee shop near the actual University, so if you want, we can sit down there and observe from afar. That should be enough, right?"

"That is very much not enough." Ed growled.

"No, I'm up for a cup of coffee." I reined him in, "Down boy, we're not here to cause a scene."

"We're not?" He tilted his head.

With a suffocating silence emanating from Nelly and I, we ultimately gave up before just taking him to the coffee shop. Well, I say 'we', but obviously I have no idea where that place even is. We mostly relied on Nelly's knowledge of the campus, which was kind of refreshing to see, I guess. The little girl whom I've led around the world is now the one showing me the ropes. It's almost poetic, though I wish she at least fulfilled our wish of going to the University at least once in our measly, uneducated lives.

"There, see that ginormous building over there?" Nelly pointed to it as soon as we turned the corner.

"Eh!? You go there!?" We yelped, "Awesome..."

"It's not that big a deal. Anyways, we're not going there, but the place right next to it."

Right next to it... Aww, what? That tiny little coffee shop is what she was talking about? It's not even up to the standards of the ones we have in Whitehood! Don't get me wrong, it's homely and snug, not to mention its location gives the guests a prime view of the beautiful University, but this is such a hole in the wall!

"Yoohoo~, Jelena?" Nelly loudly called out to someone as soon as she opened the door.

"Be there in a second!" An unfamiliar lady's voice could be heard.

"Friend of yours?" Ed inquired.

"She works here." Nelly explained, "But yeah, we're definitely more than acquaintances. Friends, however..."

"Nego šta neg' smo prijatelji!" The lady that previously hollered back suddenly showed up, pinching both her ears and pulling, "Seriously, after so much you and Meil have put me through, for you to still not accept me as your friend... What can I say, I'm hurt."

"Ah, you're from Cardina?" I smiled.

"Gee, what gave me away?" She retorted, "Was it the name? Or the fact I just spoke the damned language in front of you?"

"Don't gotta be a bitch about it." Ed crossed his arms, "He was just asking, geez."

"U-Uncle! What the hell did you just call her!" Nelly fumed.

I don't get it, why's Nelly suddenly defending this lady? Didn't she just say they're not really friends?Hmm, Jelena was it...? Yeah, she's a bit standoffish, I wouldn't really call her all that much of a people person. Well, they always say never to judge a book by its cover, but then what's the point of covers in the first place? Well, maybe they're just gossip buddies or something like that. The type of female friendship where they say bad stuff about each other when they're not around each other, but they suddenly become best buds the moment they're put in the same room together. I guess I'll wait and see for now.

"Uncle?" Jelena raised an Eyebrow at Ed, "Oh, so you're the guy, are you? Nelly's uncle?"

"Yeah, what gave it away?" He smirked, "Was it my age and the fact I came in with Nelly? Or perhaps the fact she literally just called me 'uncle' right in front of you?"

"Pff!" Nelly stifled back her laughter, "T-That surprised me, sorry."

"Hm, well, you're as quick-witted as Nelly said you were." She then stuck her hand out, "Nice to meet you. I'm Jelena, Nelly's and Meil's friend."

"Oh, nice to meet you." He seemed surprised to see her suddenly go all professional on him, "Well then, I am Edward Saint - Nelly's uncle. My apologies for the rudeness just now, I appear to have misjudged you."

"Suddenly acting all coy as soon as the other person shows any semblance of respect, ey?" I nudged him with a few jeers added in between, "Not good, not good, Ed! You're just setting yourself up for embarrassment that way, don't you know?"

"Hey now, don't go mocking my boy Ed now, guy!" She put her arm around him in a friendly manner, "At least not until you introduce yourself properly first."

"So you're that quick to make friends, I see." I smiled as I stuck my arm out, "Nice to meet you. If Nelly's told you anything about me, then I'm sure you'll probably return my introduction with words of doubt, but there's really nothing to be done about that. I am Lune Grimheart - Nelly's dad."

"Ah." She stopped for a moment, "Ain't you dead?"

"Oh, uh... no." I shrugged, a bit surprised by how fast she replied, "Not anymore, at least."

"Mhm." She nodded a few times before going back to her post, "Well, whatever. Come on, sit down and drink some coffee, then! I wanna be able to say our coffee brings in even the dead for bragging purposes."

"He didn't revive just to drink your damned coffee..." Nelly grumbled, "And how come you're so casual about this!? Both Meil and I've already told you countless times that he died four years ago!"

"Well yeah, but didn't you hear what he said?" She continued brewing the other customers' coffees, "He WAS dead, but he came back. Simple stuff, really."

"Simple? First time I've ever heard of people resurrecting..." Ed sighed.

"Mine too, but it's not mine to pry too much on the topic." She smirked, "I'm just a waitress slash barista here, after all."

Weren't you Nelly's friend just now, though...?

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***

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

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"So." Jelena casually sat down at our table the moment she gave us our drinks, "What's up?"

"Uhh, do you mind?" Ed tried shooing her away, "Don't you have other people to tend to?"

"I made manager take over until you guys leave, don't worry." She admitted to bossing her own boss around, "Anyways, Nelly - I take it these guys are the reason Meil was gone recently?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, he went to go pick them up at the dock."

"Thank God it wasn't anything too serious." Jelena heaved a sigh of relief, "That guy, he really knows how to make a girl worry."

"He's capable of all sorts of shenanigans when left unattended, but I doubt it's anything for a waitress slash barista to worry about." I pointed out.

"Heh, no, that title only applies to Nelly's case." She smiled, "Meil and I are more than that."

Oh? More than that you say? I wonder what Nelly has to say to tha-OH MY GOD SHE'S GREEN WITH JEALOUSY! So that's why she didn't wanna outright call Jelena a friend! Wait, now that I think about it, this girl could work perfectly for Meil! They look to be around the same age, she seems to care a fair deal about him, and most of all, she's the bane of Nelly's weird romance!

"More than that...?" Ed too probably came to the same conclusion I did, "So you two are...?"

"Friends." Nelly answered for him, "They're just friends. Nothing more, and they never will be. She said so herself when I asked."

"Isn't it a tad rude to answer for other people? Not to mention cut them off?" I scolded her, "For shame, Nelly. I don't remember raising you to be this ill-mannered."

"It's alright. Hey, if everyone kept waiting for everyone else to finish talking, then none of us would ever get a word in." Jelena didn't at all mind the disruption, "Besides, she's right."

"Aww, come on~!" I didn't wanna lose hope just yet, "Meil's a good guy, right?"

"Of course he is, and I cherish our relationship very much." She then said something very mature, "But a very cherished relationship does not equate to love. I'm sure you guys understand.

"Not at all."

"Nope."

"Eh?" Both Nelly and Jelena yelped, "H-How come?"

"Well, I cherished Anna ever since we first met, and those feelings naturally segued into love." Ed explained.

"Same here. I met Cecily a decade and a half ago, and we've been in love ever since." I recalled with a nostalgia-ridden face.

"Khm, khm, Marina too." Ed whispered.

"I ain't ashamed! I loved her too!" I shouted back with tears in my Eyes.

"Well, I'm glad to hear you two have had such youthful experiences in your past." Jelena shook her head, "But I just don't see Meil like that."

"Ed?" I glanced at him and nodded.

"Hmm... We're good." He gave me a thumbs up.

"Good on what?" Nelly caught him using Analyze, "Oi, what do you mean by that?! Uncle, good on what!?"

"Alright, time to go." Ed and I chugged the rest of our coffees before whisking Nelly away, "We'll be seeing more of you from now on, Jelena."

"Oh, you're staying here for the time being?" She waved back naively, "Sure, come back whenever you want."

"Yeah, and we'll bring Meil with us too!" Ed snickered, "See ya' soon!"

Jackpot! I repeat, we've hit the jackpot! This is it, the solution to our problem is here, and it's none other than that laid-back waitress girl! As I surmised, just having Ed silently Analyze her mind to see if her emotions were truly as honest as she made them out to be proved she was lying when she said she held no feelings for Meil! In other words, we've got ourselves a harem situation, and I know which girl I'm rooting for!

"Ed, time to put on our best wingman outfits." I gave him a celebratory high five.

"Well, no... Don't get too hasty." He sighed, "It's true she does hold some feelings of affection towards Meil, but she's actively holding back."

"Thank God!" Nelly cried out, "W-Wait, huh!? But she definitely said that one time...?"

So Nelly too doesn't know about Jelena's feelings for Meil? Then could it be...? Is Jelena actively holding back from falling in love with Meil to let Nelly have him? Well, she seemed more or less mature when push came to shove, so I doubt she holds any other opinion on those two ending up together than we do. Still, it could be that she just wants everyone to remain friends, so she's letting Nelly shoot her shot and promptly get shut down before making her own move. But that ain't good, that's too risky, dammit!

"It's night time already." I looked up at all the stars in the sky, "We should probably head back home now."

"Yeah, we had a long day, so I'm tired as hell." Ed smirked, "Let's go get some shut-Eye."

Walking back to the house was quite a magical experience, I must say. Since the streets of the campus were dimly illuminated, with none of the streetlights being pointed up nor put up above knee height, we could see the path in front of us clearly, all the while being able to freely look at the summer night sky. It made for a festival-type feel, even though there were zero celebrations held in Simpleton at this time of year. Entering the house finally, we announced our return in the main foyer, but no one answered.

"They must've gone out." Ed alluded to Eleanor and Othelia, "And it looks like the guys still aren't back either."

"You can go to sleep if you want." I noticed how sleepy he looked just from one glance, "I'll wait for them, since I'm not that tired."

"Deal! Haha, dreamland, how I've missed you~!" He hopped up the stairs to the second floor and left as soon as the front doors behind us opened.

"Ah, there you are." Meil walked over to us, "Where have you been? I have been looking all over for you."

"We went for a walk." Nelly rolled her Eyes.

"And what about you?" I chuckled, "Shouldn't Issei be with you?"

"Issei? He returned home two hours ago." He furrowed his brows.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Ed could be heard shouting from all the way upstairs.

Oh no, this only spells trouble...