– Whoosh.
The warm droplets falling from the showerhead held a distinctly different warmth compared to the raindrops pouring down outside.
Rainy days generally evoke a sense of gloom.
Especially in a travel destination, rainy weather is not something anyone would prefer.
However, despite the gloomy circumstances, Dayton’s mood wasn’t all that bad.
Today, Yerna was rare in wearing a flowing dress, and she looked so beautiful.
He couldn’t remember the background of their trip at all; all he could think of was her appearance.
He genuinely thought an angel had descended.
Though he got poked in the waist by Yerna’s finger for exaggerating when he mentioned it (and it did hurt quite a bit), he still felt good.
How should he put it? Being in a beautiful place with a beautiful person seems to bring immense joy.
Even while hastily returning to the hotel, completely drenched from the rain without an umbrella, he couldn’t help but smile.
After finishing his bath and shaking his hair dry, Dayton could see Yerna comfortably lying on the spacious hotel bed, fiddling with her phone.
With slightly damp hair from having been the first to shower, flushed cheeks, and a faint smile on her lips, she looked incredibly appealing.
And beyond the ample window, the rain was still pouring down.
“Hey, are you all done showering?”
“Yeah.”
Noticing Dayton’s emergence, Yerna momentarily set her phone down and smiled.
She slightly shifted her body to the side, making space for Dayton.
When Dayton relaxed on the bed with one arm outstretched, Yerna naturally moved closer, using his arm as a pillow.
It had become such a familiar form of intimacy now.
Turning his head, he took in the soft light from the lamps and the glimmering glow from the TV dancing across Yerna’s profile.
– …The rain that suddenly began is expected to clear by dawn, and it seems like there will be clear skies in the morning.
The weather report playing on the TV blended with the sound of the rain, creating a calm background.
Meanwhile, Yerna watched the TV screen comfortably, completely unfazed by it all.
This scene was something Yerna wouldn’t have been able to display before meeting Luke.
Thinking this, Dayton quietly smiled as he continued to gaze at her.
Noticing his gaze, Yerna asked with a slightly raised voice.
“What are you staring at?”
“Just, you’re beautiful.”
“…….”
Looking at Dayton’s face only made her think of their first night of their honeymoon, causing her cheeks to redden.
“Today, the kids aren’t sleeping….”
Just as Yerna mentioned, the sounds of children playing and chatting excitedly with the toys they bought from the souvenir shop could be heard from another room.
Perhaps the kids had hurried back to the hotel because of the sudden shower and hadn’t built up enough exhaustion.
Nevertheless, Dayton still only gazed at her beautiful purple eyes.
“Well, I’m just looking because you really are beautiful.”
“Ugh, fine. Just stop staring.”
Seeing Yerna’s embarrassment made Dayton want to tease her again, so he leaned down slightly and planted a quick kiss on the side of her face.
In response, Yerna shyly turned her head and raised herself slightly to lightly kiss him back.
This kind of skinship had become quite familiar now.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t continue as the kids weren’t sleeping.
Perhaps sensing Dayton’s thought, Yerna smiled softly.
That expression seemed to convey to Dayton: “Just take it easy and relax today.”
It felt slightly teasing, but well, there would be many nights ahead.
In response, Dayton gently ran his fingers through Yerna’s hair, ensuring not to tangle it, before quietly turning back to watch the TV.
At some point, the news had switched to a beverage commercial.
If he were alone, he wouldn’t have bothered watching such a promotional video for a company’s product, but for now, he chose to just watch.
He had no idea what programs were scheduled or which ones were interesting, and he didn’t want to disturb their comfortable position.
It felt just right.
Usually, it was always difficult for Dayton to find a comfortable position due to the discomfort of his unusual body shape.
His shoulders were excessively broad, so lying on his side was out of the question, and even lying down required stacking two or three pillows to find some comfort.
That was the only way he could match the height of the pillows with his head.
Above all, he didn’t want Yerna’s head moving off his arm.
For that reason, while watching the beverage commercial quietly, Yerna spoke up.
“Luke said that soon they will be holding a festival at the Academy. Apparently, he’s going to make and sell drinks there.”
She had been smiling while looking at her phone earlier, so she probably heard it while chatting with Luke.
“Luke is going to sell drinks?”
“Yeah. He said the kids are opening a cafe to sell snacks and tea.”
“Oh? When?”
“After the exams next week.”
“Why does he always wait until the last minute to tell us these things?”
Hearing such news during their trip inevitably piqued her interest.
Luke always acted that way.
It wouldn’t harm him to give them a heads up.
But Yerna defended Luke casually, as if to say don’t be too harsh.
“He probably just wasn’t thinking about it.”
Saying that, Yerna chuckled softly.
Well, Luke’s skill in making tea was definitely far superior to her as an elf, so it seemed like he’d be a good fit for running a cafe.
To be honest, Luke was someone who excelled at everything he did, so he would look good doing anything.
“Then… should we go to the Tigr Academy festival after our trip?”
“Yeah, we should.”
Regardless of what anyone said, after all, it was about their child’s school activities.
As parents, they had to show up.
Though they certainly didn’t look like Luke’s biological parents…
In truth, the reason Yerna couldn’t participate in Luke’s school activities was due to that very reason.
Deep down, she wished she could attend every event and support him.
She dreamed of visiting a parents’ observation class at least once.
It felt as if she wanted to proudly brag that that adorable child was her daughter, not just as a guardian but as a mother.
However, due to the evident differences in their races and appearances, Yerna inevitably had to suppress those feelings.
Even if Luke didn’t care about that at all, her apprehensions lingered.
But this time, she definitely wanted to go.
If Luke graduated this time, it might very well be his last academy activity.
As they chatted, a scene from a movie trailer that happened to be playing on the TV caught her attention, showing a man and a woman getting married.
Yerna turned sharply towards Dayton and opened her mouth.
“By the way, about our wedding…”
“Yeah?”
“What do you think?”
Perhaps influenced by the marriage scene on TV, Yerna suddenly brought up the subject.
However, asking “What do you think?” made Dayton respond as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“Of course, we should.”
Hearing Dayton’s response, Yerna realized the conversation had gone slightly off course and continued.
“No, when would be good? I think we should hurry a bit.”
“Hurry? Why?”
Dayton wore a naïve expression, not grasping her reason at all.
Yerna quickly expanded on her thoughts.
“When the Forest Keepers hear that I’m suddenly going on maternity leave one day, what do you think they’ll think?”
After hearing Yerna’s words, Dayton became completely frozen, realizing the unexpected problem.
“Oh.”
Indeed.
That would be a big deal.
They hadn’t shared the news of their marriage with the Forest Keeper team at all.
If they were to find out in such a manner, it would probably lead to immense confusion.
They’d need to set the wedding date soon.
——
After the final exam, the festival begins.
This means that the time before the festival is indeed exam period.
Due to this, the eighth-grade students on the verge of graduation tend not to participate in the festival.
The graduation exam comes after the final exams and festival, after all.
Moreover, the education at Tigr Academy, being prestigious, has particularly rigorous exam questions.
Failing to study for the exams results in failing grades, or worse, potentially repeating a year if not handled carefully.
And for students, repeating a year is indeed a dreadful punishment.
When others advance to the next grade, they would still be stuck at the same grade, having to attend the academy with younger juniors.
There’s no need to explain how frightening that is for children.
However, to academy students, the immediate threat of their parents’ belt is far more real and fearful than such institutional penalties.
Also, since Tigr Academy is prestigious, many children come from strict households.
Perhaps for this reason, despite the head of the baking club urgently calling everyone, not a single person showed up.
But, there are always students who are indifferent to exams.
These students fall into two categories.
Either their families aren’t particularly strict about exam scores, or they possess absolute confidence that they will achieve positive results in their exams.
Luke happened to fit both categories.
– Click.
“Kaila, I’m here.”
As Luke opened the door to the clubroom, Kaila greeted him enthusiastically.
“Welcome! I’ve been waiting for you!”
Receiving an overly cheerful greeting from Kaila, Luke set down his bag and quickly stated.
“Again, I won’t use a title like ‘master.’ I’d rather pull out.”
Yesterday, Luke had once again laid down some ground rules regarding the ‘cafe’ with Kaila.
Among those rules was to call the guests ‘master,’ just as a real maid would. Luke had vehemently refused that.
Naturally, since that term felt akin to making him a slave.
A mage’s words are as precious as gold.
Even if it’s merely role playing.
And, obviously, he wouldn’t add any fluff like “nya” at the end.
“That’s enough of that. More importantly, look at this.”
Kaila, still wearing a playful expression that didn’t suit her sleek cat-like features, presented something to Luke.
It was a cup filled with a beverage.
Surprised, Luke couldn’t help but question.
Why?
Because the type of drink was already sufficient to gain activity funding thanks to Luke’s recipe.
So there was no need to introduce another drink at this point.
“What on earth is this?”
When Luke sent a look asking for clarification, Kaila excitedly explained.
“Hehe, this is called ‘Tapioca Milk Tea,’ and it’s been selling really well on 21st Street lately. So I thought about including it in our cafe menu and brought it along.”
“This?”
Luke observed the cup he received with a skeptical expression.
No matter how he looked at it, this wasn’t something worthy of being called ‘tea.’
Moreover, it seemed more like a strange food rather than a beverage due to the numerous sediments inside.
The scent was lacking, and there appeared to be many little black balls floating in it.
Luke shuddered at the horrible presentation of the drink.
Having consumed various foods throughout his life, he couldn’t agree that this was popular at all.
People generally prefer the typical over the peculiar.
And no matter how open-minded Luke was regarding new trends, he didn’t have a favorable impression of a beverage that fundamentally denied the very concept of ‘tea.’
He handed the drink back with a frown.
“I can’t wrap my head around why this is popular. Who exactly would pay to drink this?”
However, Kaila showed no signs of backing down.
“Come on, don’t just judge by looks! Just give it a try! Then give me your verdict!”
Her tenacious attitude made it seem evident that she was simply trying to test out a prototype to sell at her cafe during this festival.
But then again, Luke didn’t have much to say regarding that.
He had also stepped into this to deal with his own surplus tea leaves.
In the end, Luke reluctantly took the cup from Kaila.
“Fine, fine. I’ll give it a try….”
Reluctantly, Luke took a sip from the straw.
– Slurp.
A heavy texture came up through the thick straw, instantly freezing Luke’s expression.
“Ugh.”
Despite having eaten insects and traversed various culinary horrors from the Demon Realm, this was abhorrent even to him.
The mushy sensation in his mouth evoked some very bad memories.
‘This is… as horrible as biting into untransmuted frog eggs from a beginner’s elixir!’
At least that had some efficacy; this was truly just a bizarre mixture of sweet and bitter with no aroma whatsoever… No, with so many solid parts, it was a stretch to even call it a drink. It was food. Yes, just a peculiar ‘food.’
“How is it? Is it good?”
To Kaila, who was excitedly awaiting his judgment, Luke forced himself to swallow the unpleasantness in his mouth, wiped his lips with a handkerchief, and responded.
“Well… it’s surprisingly… radical.”
Kaila clapped her hands in delight at Luke’s evaluation.
“Told you, right? How about we put this on the menu? You can remake it with your tea leaves!”
“Absolutely not.”
Luke was firm.
Introducing such a peculiar menu into the cafe in the middle of everything would only disrupt the harmony of the making process.
He didn’t want his tea leaves associated with such strange concoctions either.
However, Kaila was even more resolute than Luke.
“We already bought a ton of ingredients with the received funding, you know?”
“…Why?”
That meant his opinion was essentially irrelevant.
When Luke inquired, Kaila merely grinned.
“Just because it looked fun.”
It was then that Luke recalled Kaila’s species name.
Cat Hyun.
Without fail, when it came to something exciting, a cat would typically act this way.
Much like he himself would.
