Chapter Twelve: Dates and Intrusions

Today was a wonderful day.

I played Star Wars with my senior and even got the highest score.

Next, we’re going to have some delicious ice cream.

Watching Rinna Tsukimiya’s fingers dart across her phone screen like lightning, Chen Ziang was utterly dumbfounded. Could anyone in the world really type that fast?

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I’m writing in my diary.”

“Your diary?”

Rinna swiftly hid her phone behind her back and said earnestly, “You’re not allowed to look, senior.”

“I’m not interested in your diary.” Chen Ziang hurriedly waved his hands.

“I know you’re trying to explain yourself, senior, but perhaps you could phrase it a little more tactfully?” Rinna raised one finger and said, with playful charm, “For example, you could say, ‘A diary contains a young lady’s innermost thoughts,’ or ‘I would never pry into Rinna’s secrets.’ Girls find those sorts of words much easier to accept.”

“You could write a textbook someday and call it The Art of Conversation,” Chen Ziang joked.

“Hmm. That might actually work.” Rinna rested her cheek on one hand. “I feel like a lot of people don’t know how to communicate with girls. A book like that might really have a chance of becoming a bestseller.”

“Should I ask for your autograph in advance, then?” Chen Ziang chuckled. “When I get tired of this line of work, I can sell it for money.”

“I’m writing that sentence on the very first page,” Rinna said reproachfully. “As the classic example of what not to say.”

While they chatted, the ice cream they had ordered arrived.

In a weightless area, most ordinary food was nearly impossible to eat, since it would float everywhere. The shop therefore sold specially prepared ice cream in bags: partially melted ice cream sealed inside one-way pouches that let nothing back in. Visitors could squeeze it out of the bags as though sucking jelly through a packet.

Chen Ziang was not particularly fond of this semi-liquid ice cream, but his little sister and Rinna seemed perfectly satisfied with it, so he said nothing and “drank” his portion to the end.

After dessert, they went on to enjoy rides such as Cruiser Fleet—the carousel—Mining Tycoon—the bumper cars—and Conquering the Nebula—the log flume, among others. By the end, they had more or less managed to get their money’s worth from the tickets.

The amusement park naturally offered dinner as well. However, it was said that, to make it easy for visitors to squeeze the food through the sealed pouch openings, every dish was chopped into tiny pieces and thoroughly mixed with rice over a long period of time. As a result, curry rice was probably the only meal that did not lose its original flavor.

Rinna had therefore reserved a table at another restaurant on the outskirts of the spaceport. It was said to specialize in delicacies from various extraterrestrial civilizations—the sort of establishment Chen Ziang would never have visited on his own.

Though he had not expected much from the trip in the first place, he could not help feeling somewhat guilty and embarrassed when he considered how Rinna had practically arranged his entire itinerary for him.

The kindness of a beautiful woman was the hardest debt to repay. He felt he ought to find an opportunity to return the favor.

Not by offering himself to her, of course, but by taking her out to enjoy herself and have a meal in return. After all, a good relationship required both sides to maintain it.

The restaurant Rinna had reserved was called Fis Chikat, an Elven phrase meaning “aristocratic cuisine centered on fish.”

Apparently, the owner had once lived in the Aegiraos Star Sector and had worked for more than a decade as head chef in an Elven aristocratic household. His dishes therefore possessed a strong Elven flavor, accompanied by an abundance of elaborate rules and formalities. For example, regardless of how many guests the restaurant had that day, customers were required to reserve both their table and their dishes by telephone in advance. Otherwise, they would not be received.

Once they arrived, a waiter led the three of them to their reserved table.

It was beside a window as well, offering a view of the planet Takamagahara outside—a vast, perfectly round puff of white cotton candy.

Every so often, a starship could be seen taking off or landing nearby. Human starships were mostly angular, coated in shades of gray and black, and exuded a strongly industrial character. Elven starships, by contrast, had smoother, more delicate, and more graceful contours, as if they had been carefully designed by an artist.

The waiter soon brought them the menu. Chen Ziang glanced through it and was quickly stunned by the prices of the various dishes.

Were the fish used here raised on gold leaf?

“It’s a little expensive,” Rinna said with a smile, as though she had anticipated his thoughts. “The owner insists on having the ingredients shipped in from the Federation, so the prices are rather high.”

“What’s the difference between fish shipped in from the Federation and seafood from Hotlake?” Chen Ziang asked, puzzled. “Have they been baptized by cosmic radiation?”

“In terms of their physical composition, there’s no difference.” Rinna thought for a moment before answering. “But many rich people simply enjoy eating things the poor cannot afford. The fact that the price is high is itself one of the selling points.”

“I see.” Chen Ziang sighed. “My expectations aren’t very high. As long as Xiaozhu enjoys it, that’s enough.”

“Your little sister should like it.” Rinna smiled brightly. “At any rate, it certainly won’t taste bad. A friend has recommended this place to me many times—you know, Mimi, the one you met last time.”

The waiter came over to confirm their menu selections and ask about any dietary restrictions. Rinna handled the conversation while Chen Ziang idly glanced around the restaurant.

Hmm?

Wait. Was that… Xia Qingyu?

At a table diagonally across from them, a man and a woman sat facing each other over dinner. They had evidently arrived earlier than Chen Ziang and Rinna.

The man appeared to be an elf. His blond hair was combed with immaculate precision, and his clothes were equally crisp and impeccable. His face, however, was an alarming shade of blue, and he was vigorously cutting into the fish on his plate with knife and fork.

The woman revealed only half her back, but she appeared tall and slender. In particular, the elegant curve of her calves and her black stockings were almost indistinguishable from Xia Qingyu’s.

There were no two identical fingerprints in the world, nor were there two identical calf curves. More importantly, however, Chen Ziang’s hearing had been enhanced by the Spark, allowing him to faintly catch the voice and tone with which she spoke to the man across from her.

It had to be that sharp-tongued superior of his.

“Senior?” Rinna set down the menu and asked in surprise.

Chen Ziang raised a finger to his lips in a gesture for silence, then pointed toward the table diagonally opposite them.

Rinna turned to look. Her expression immediately darkened, and she said with a frown, “How did she know we would be here?”

“It was probably just a coincidence.” Chen Ziang suggested, “Should we change tables?”

“No need.” Rinna shook her head. Her gaze lingered on the man sitting opposite Xia Qingyu, and then a thought suddenly crossed her mind. With a cold laugh, she said, “I never would have guessed she was into that sort.”

“That sort?” Chen Ziang asked in surprise.

“Elves, obviously.” Rinna spoke with open disdain. “Aren’t there plenty of women in society nowadays who practically throw themselves at every male elf they see, hoping to be taken back to the Federation and married so they can obtain permanent residency?”

“Just look at her… She’s always so arrogant and overbearing in front of us, yet in the end she’s nothing more than a cheap admirer of foreign things. How laughable.”

“I don’t think she’s like that,” Chen Ziang said quietly. “The elf across from her seems to have been thoroughly infuriated by her.”

“Senior.” Rinna smiled sweetly. “If you want to listen to their conversation up close, we can move to a table nearer to them.”

“Ahem, no. I was only looking by chance.” Chen Ziang hurriedly explained. “Besides, wouldn’t it be awkward if she noticed that we were here too?”

“Who would be awkward?” Rinna widened her eyes and asked with innocent sincerity. “Her, or us?”

“Us, of course!” Chen Ziang said in astonishment. “Can you imagine her looking embarrassed and flustered?”

“…Not really.”

(End of Chapter)