"…"
"…"
Awkward. No — seriously awkward.
They stared at each other for a beat and then both clammed up. Even the air between them felt weird. Lumine buried her face in shame; her ears were bright red. She wanted to melt into the floor. As for Ye Luo — his whole face said, WTF just happened?
How did things get like this? Was he just utterly incompatible with Lumine's vibe? He was a law-abiding, decent citizen — no Mora left, running side projects was normal, right? Yet Lumine had charged up and cornered him for it. Last time he'd been giving Sumeru career advice, now he'd opened a cat café. What next? In Fontaine will his scribe ID get him hauled off to Melodipolis? Thinking that made him shiver. He did not want to be conscripted into sewing duty.
Something about this just didn't click — he was getting elementally countered, he decided. This needed thinking. If he wanted to farm popularity, he'd be spending a lot of time near Lumine, so he'd better figure out why his presence made her go full-swoon-or-rage.
"Uhh…" Paimon broke the silence first, scratching her head as she burst into laughter. "Ye Luo, I didn't expect you to run a cat café!"
"If Nilou knew, she'd be thrilled." Paimon's cheeriness dissolved the tension like sunshine through clouds.
Ye Luo tried to protest, but he couldn't deny it: the sign outside did read "Cat Café." He'd hoped to rake in some Mora before the entertainment industry fully developed in this world. Turns out not every noble idea became a hit in every town. The café in Port Ormos was lukewarm at best — a welfare project more than a goldmine — but at least it gave the cats a home. The manager was a genuine cat person Ye Luo had handpicked.
"Whoa, is that the leader cat? So majestic." Paimon had spotted a particularly bossy kitty.
"What's its name? Will it bite me?" she asked, a little nervous at its fierce posture.
"It's called—Coke… no, Mimi. It won't bite; honestly, none of the cats bite," Ye Luo answered without thinking. Every first-time guest asks that exact thing. He added with a wry smile, "You could say… they're practising being innocent." Ye Luo ground his teeth inward as he said it. Dang it — not everyone digs that cute-but-sassy vibe. Let them sell the cuteness and let him make a little Mora!
"Really? Its name is Mimi?" Paimon squealed. "Doesn't that hurt its leader's image?" But the thought of calling the boss cat "Mimi" made Paimon giddy. "Mimi, Mimi, little Mimi, come here—cuddle time!" She sprinted and scooped the cat up; to her delight it snuggled obediently. Paimon's laughter warmed the room. The awkwardness melted.
Ye Luo didn't feel embarrassed — only resigned. And honestly, Lumine like that was adorable. Her ears were translucent in the sun; Ye Luo almost wanted to poke them.
"Why are you here?" he asked, watching her closely. He was half afraid Lumine might vanish from embarrassment. Better to keep her around and entertain her properly.
"Uh… we saw you acting all sneaky on the street and thought you might be up to no good, so we followed," Lumine stammered, avoiding his eyes. This was the second time she'd been caught off guard by him; for Lumine, pretending not to care had gotten harder.
Ye Luo mumbled and let a faint, fitting loneliness slip into his expression.
"Ye Luo… we really didn't—" Lumine began, conscience pricking.
He cut her off gently. "Sigh. What I worry about most are these cats." Ye Luo looked past them at Paimon playing among the felines and the words tasted a little like confession. "This café's barely breaking even. I'm running at a loss."
He started to explain about trying to run a small side course to make Mora, then trailed off as if embarrassed. Lumine had already pieced the rest together; guilt painted her face. She'd been dragged into whatever this was, and she felt bad.
"I have a little Mora — I'll sponsor it!" Without a moment's hesitation she said it.
"Really? How much will you—" Ye Luo seized her hand, eyes shining scarlet. That's the line I wanted to hear, he thought, blinking like a man rescued from gloom. He'd been waiting for that one sentence.
Lumine's mouth twitched. Hold on — did she just get duped? She didn't exactly have heaps of Mora; her funds were meant for Fontaine travel! Still, she didn't hesitate. She'd seen the hope in Ye Luo's face. She couldn't refuse.
What Ye Luo didn't yet realize was what his little in-game antics had sparked: players had nearly gone berserk. He had almost suffered an unprecedented wave of online fan hysteria.
—
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