"Please wait a moment!"
Takina pulled Chisato into the kitchen.
The two whispered back and forth, thinking they were being quiet, but Roy's hearing was sharp enough to catch every word.
The girls first expressed concern and wariness about his apparent memory-reading ability, but given their current refugee status and lack of means to resist magic, they had no choice but to return to discussing Roy's proposed conditions.
Before long, Roy's expression shifted, a smile spreading across his lips.
The two girls emerged from the kitchen.
"We'll do it!"
"Excellent!"
Roy smoothly pulled out his phone, opened the camera app, and pointed it at them.
"Begin, please!"
"You're recording too?!"
"That wasn't part of the deal!"
"I'm adding it now. Do you still agree?"
"..."
Takina and Chisato exchanged glances.
At this point, there was no need to hold back. A little embarrassment was nothing—it wasn't like they were being filmed naked. If a bit of shame could earn them a rune paper, it was more than worth it!
"Don't say I didn't warn you—it's not just the words. You have to do the actions too."
"...Damn it."
Takina cursed under her breath.
She had planned to skip the movements and just say the lines, hoping to slip by unnoticed.
That wouldn't work now.
"Let's go!"
Roy held up his phone, urging them on.
Takina took a deep breath.
Then, with the expression of someone marching to their doom, she raised her arms in front of her, leaned her upper body forward, balanced on her left leg, and stretched her right leg back.
"Sakana—!"
Chisato quickly followed, rushing forward and waving her arms like seaweed.
"Chin ana go—!"
"Perfect! This is exactly what I wanted!"
Roy's excitement was palpable.
Hahaha, a live performance of "sakana"! How many people in the world get to see this in person?
No one—except me!
Nino was utterly baffled.
"What kind of performance art is this...?"
"Whew...!"
Takina exhaled heavily, fanning her face to cool the heat of embarrassment.
"So, that was the first condition, right? There's a second one?"
"Yep."
Roy nodded matter-of-factly.
"The second condition is for you two to kick each other's butts!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The café fell silent.
Takina, Chisato, and Nino all stared at him in disbelief.
What kind of request was this?!
Did this guy have some kind of weird fetish?
Itsuki was still busy devouring her cake.
"Do it or not?"
"Fine..."
Takina chose to endure for the sake of the rune paper.
"Come on, Chisato!"
She turned around, presenting her backside to Chisato.
"Ahaha, Takina's making such a sacrifice!"
Chisato giggled, delivering a swift kick to her rear, sending Takina stumbling forward.
Takina turned back and glared at her.
Then, without waiting for Chisato to turn around, she retaliated with a kick of her own, sending Chisato flying two steps forward.
"That's cheating! That was a sneak attack!"
"No, this is justified retaliation!"
Takina snorted coldly, then turned her gaze to Roy.
"Any other requests?"
"There's one last one..."
Roy trailed off, his eyes flickering between the two of them before a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"No, never mind. Let's drop the third one."
His gaze settled on Chisato Nishikigi, who was grinning cheerfully.
More precisely, it settled on her chest.
Of course, he had a third request.
But if he voiced it, it might wound the hearts of these two girls.
Seeing them bickering and laughing so happily...
Better to let it go.
He wouldn't bring up that particularly painful demand here.
Tilting her head, Takina gave him a puzzled look.
Though she didn't quite understand why Roy had backed out at the last moment, if it meant she didn't have to do any more embarrassing actions, she was more than happy to oblige.
"What kind of rune do you want?"
Roy replayed the recording, and the "sakana" sound from his phone made Takina flush red, torn between the urge to lunge at him and the restraint holding her back.
"Please give me an auto-defense rune!"
Struggling to suppress her embarrassment and violent impulses, Takina forced her face into an expressionless mask.
"Here."
Roy pulled out a rune paper and handed it to Takina.
"Just carry it with you. It'll automatically activate when you're attacked, blocking both physical and magical assaults. The barrier will last until the stored mana runs out. But since it's a one-time use, don't rely on it too much. If the defense activates, try to escape if you can."
"Thank you very much!"
Takina solemnly accepted the rune paper, her face visibly relaxing with relief.
Though her feelings were still somewhat complicated.
"By the way, how much for all of these?"
Roy pointed at the three meal sets on the table.
"Don't worry about it! Consider it on the house, since we've already received such a generous gift!"
Chisato, still giggling as if completely unbothered by the earlier humiliating performance, waved off the payment.
Takina pressed a hand to her forehead in exasperation.
Do you even understand how much the shop's expenses are?
She had intended to charge him, but now that Chisato had spoken, she couldn't bring herself to insist.
Still, thinking of the rune paper she'd received, Takina found some solace.
All things considered, the gains far outweighed the cost of a few coffees and desserts.
With the transaction concluded, Takina excused herself and dragged Chisato back to the kitchen.
Roy, meanwhile, replayed the recording again, the sound making Takina stomp her feet in frustration from the back.
Itsuki had already finished her cake.
Nino had only just lowered her head to start eating hers.
Ding-a-ling~
At that moment, the wind chime hanging by the café door jingled.
The door swung open, and two figures stepped inside.
"To think we'd find a café in a place like this. Let's rest here for a bit before moving on."
"Hahaha! To be so weak as my subordinate—you're truly pathetic!"
"Say what you will. I can't walk another step..."
A man with waist-length black hair walked into the shop, looking utterly exhausted.
He appeared to be in his thirties or forties. After removing his heavy winter coat, the black suit he wore underneath showed slight wrinkles, but its craftsmanship was impeccable—likely custom-made, exuding an air of luxury.
Another man, laughing boisterously, stood over two meters tall. His fiery red hair sprawled like a lion's mane. Despite it being winter, he wore only a white short-sleeved T-shirt and blue jeans, his bulging muscles straining against the fabric, radiating an overwhelming presence that was impossible to ignore.
The black-haired man stepped inside, his gaze sweeping over the only three customers—Roy included—lingering on Roy for a brief moment with a flicker of surprise in his eyes before taking a seat nearby.
"Boss, a coffee first..."
Slumping lazily into his chair, the black-haired man called out weakly.
"Just a moment, coming right up!"
Takina's voice rang out from the kitchen.
Roy's eyes had also swept over the two the moment they entered.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
What were these two doing here?