"ARGH!!" Grace screamed as soon as her sanity returned. She immediately covered his eyes with her hands.
Grace's scream shocked Adro. He stopped his movements and looked at the girl with the t-shirt still in his hand. "What's wrong? Are there monsters?" He turned to the wide window behind him.
"Th-there are no monsters. But why are you taking off your clothes here?!" Grace asked, still closing her eyes. She felt bubbling heat all over her face.
"Didn't you just say you don't mind if I open my tunic here? Are women not supposed to see shirtless men in your world? Forgive my impudence. I wasn't aware because in my place, many men are shirtless when doing combat sports in public." He said, while putting his t-shirt back on.
Grace blinked, then she grimaced. 'Why are you so stupid, Grace? It doesn't matter if men are shirtless here! Why should you be the one to feel embarrassed? That's the same as saying that you are the one who thinks dirty about his sexy body!'
In a hurry, Grace touched around her philtrum to check whether she had a nosebleed or not. Once she felt safe, she quickly removed her hands from her face.
"Haha… Sorry, I was just joking. In this world, it's not a problem if men are shirtless. However, it's a little strange if they do it in community service places, like hospitals. I think I did startle you..." She laughed again while a cold sweat flowed down her spine.
"Oh my," Adro chuckled. "I thought you were scared for real. In my entire life, I have never been made fun of by anyone except my siblings when we were kids.
"Is... is that so? Oh… I'm so sorry for going too far," Grace said.
Adro shook his head and smiled. "It's fine. This is something new for me. It turns out it's funny to get a joke from a girl."
Then, Grace advised Adro to take off his t-shirt and place it under the air conditioning using a chair. Meanwhile, she gave him a blanket to cover his shirtless body.
"Oh, what a relief! Anyway, here's your meal." Grace opened the food bag and pulled out a plastic box. "This is Sushi. This food is made from rice, sea fish, and seaweed. There are additional seasonings - soy sauce and wasabi—to give it a spicy taste. I don't know if it's to your liking or not. I couldn't make a request because Sarah didn't have much time, so she bought anything reachable from her place."
"I'm good and grateful. Finally, I'm able to fill my stomach after going through a lot of hard things today. Thank you so much because I'm so worn out." Adro said. Although it was nothing compared to his experiences when he went to war, which made him continue fighting for one or two days without eating.
"In my life, I have only eaten sea fish a few times because my kingdom is quite far from the ocean. Usually, I always eat meat or freshwater fish." Adro stared in awe at the uniquely served food. He couldn't even conclude whether it was the main meal or just a dessert.
Grace unconsciously smiled while watching Adro. Even though that man's face looked stern, his expression changed like a child's when he discovered something new and unique to him.
"You can eat them using chopsticks." Grace took out the chopsticks from the plastic wrapper and used them to take a piece of sushi.
Adro stared at the object between Grace's slender fingers in confusion. Then he took the chopsticks from Grace's hand. Unfortunately, his fingers weren't used to it, so the chopsticks and food fell back onto the plastic plate.
"I didn't expect how to eat in this world to be so difficult," Adro muttered with a frown.
Grace couldn't help but chuckle. "Let me show you again. First, move one side of the chopsticks like this with your finger. Then, pinch the sushi. Once it's pinched, then you move it into your mouth..." Grace directed the sushi into Adro's mouth while opening her own mouth without realizing it.
Adro, who had been focused on watching Grace's face, seemed to be enchanted by all her orders. When his sanity returned, he found his mouth half open, and the food almost went inside.
Blinking, Grace looked dumbfounded at Adro's blue eyes while he stared at her hazel irises. She immediately withdrew her hand. "If … if you have difficulty using chopsticks, you can use your bare hand to eat them." Grace said after clearing her throat. Then she slapped herself lightly on the head and muttered, "Fool me. Even a child takes a long time to learn to use chopsticks. Sorry to cause you trouble."
"You don't need to blame yourself just for this. Thank you for being willing to teach me. It seems like using my bare hand will be easier for now." Adro said as he picked up a piece of sushi.
"Should I just eat this straight ahead?" Adro asked.
Grace nodded with a faint smile. "You can eat it any way. This is a free country, as long as you don't harm other people, of course."
Then Adro devoured the sushi and chewed it carefully. He didn't speak, and his brows furrowed as he tried to deduce what his tongue tasted.
"How?" Grace looked at Adro with round eyes full of expectation.
After swallowing the food, Adro answered, "This food has a taste that is completely opposite to its appearance. But, still, it's delightful."
Grace smiled in relief. "I'm glad that you like it."
"Thank you for providing good food for me, Grace." Adro said wholeheartedly.
Grace's cheeks turned red, but she tried to hide it by looking away. 'Should I slap my own cheeks whenever he smiles?'
Grace understood that Adro was just trying to be polite to her. He was also a prince who lived in an ancient kingdom; of course he would act formal and polite like this. However, she couldn't deny the fact that a beautiful man like him would make all his polite actions dozens of times deadly for an ordinary, weak-hearted woman like her. That heartwarming smile and sweet words of his would easily be misinterpreted by women.
Clearing her throat to relieve her nervousness. Grace replied, "No need to thank me. You are a human like me, and of course I will help you, especially with food and drink. Everyone would do the same thing if they were in my position."
However, Adro shook his head. "Not everyone is as good as you. I say this based on my life experience.
"Y-you sure? Haha..." Grace rubbed her arm. 'This is awkward,'
However, Adro didn't seem to feel the same way. "You can continue eating. It will get cold soon."
"Is this supposed to be warm? Because it's cold now," Adro studied his sushi.
"I-I mean before it becomes bad. Finish it while it is still fresh," Grace felt like biting her tongue because sushi was indeed cold-served food.