kscans

Chapter 497 - An Awkward Lunch

"—Please, enjoy your meal."

With theatrical phrasing and a respectful bow befitting the high-class restaurant-like interior, the impeccably mannered waiter… and chef, departed. Left behind were two lunch sets and an atmosphere thick with an almost-accident-like tension.

Two girls sat facing each other at a single table. One wore a blank expression, the other a look of indescribable nervousness. They stared at each other, frozen.

Neither moved—though even in this, there was a contrast. One (Nia) was rigid with nervousness, confusion, and other emotions, while the other (Iris) was simply contemplating, 'What should I talk about?'

The two, opposites in both their outward appearance and inner state, spent a short while in a silent matchmaking session…

"—Thank you for the meal."

"…………!"

One aloud, the other in her heart, they offered words of gratitude and brought their hands together simultaneously, as if in a mirror. In a Western-style restaurant floor, the sight of two girls with foreign heritage adhering to Japanese custom would likely seem quite peculiar to an onlooker.

However, before them sat the chef's special Miso-Simmered Mackerel set meal. The one rebelling against the 'Place' aspect of TPO was the master of the kitchen, so there was no issue.

There was truly only one problem.

Neither Nia nor Iris had any idea how to act in a one-on-one situation with a complicated acquaintance who was also a love rival in a cooperative relationship—

◇◆◇◆◇

Quite a few days had passed since Nia moved into this 'dormitory.'

However, perhaps due to her expectedly busy schedule, or perhaps out of an unexpectedly strong sense of fair play, she had been ceding her time for a while. 'The Princess' was often out or stayed in her room, and Nia had only seen her a handful of times.

Including the time she came to greet her right after she finished moving in, it had only been three times. The initial greeting, passing in the hallway, and this chance encounter.

In other words, she hadn't built up any sort of familiarity at all. There was also the question of whether a day would ever come when she could get used to the truly inhuman beauty of Alicia White, but even so, she had zero resistance. Honestly, if she wasn't careful, she felt like she would find herself captivated every second.

Putting aside the whole love rival business, the awe she felt as a fellow human being was overwhelming. Thanks to her best friend constantly praising her, Nia had a certain degree of confidence in her own appearance, but… this was on a different dimension, or rather, a different genre.

She didn't even feel a sense of rivalry as a girl anymore. It was like trying to compete with a 2D heroine; it was just pointless.

Why did even the simple act of her picking at a miso-simmered mackerel set look so divine?

"…………"

"……,…………"

The conversation, there was no conversation.

It wasn't that she disliked her, and she had a feeling that she wasn't disliked either… which she was grateful for.

She just had no idea what to talk about.

There were no seeds for conversation, no common ground.

Well, there was one massive piece of common ground, but mustering the courage to willingly create the hellish scenario of discussing the person she loved with her rival was out of the question, so it was as good as non-existent.

However—

"…………"

"………………"

"…………"

"……!…………"

"…………,………………"

—And so it was. The endless awkwardness meant that they ended up in a different kind of hell anyway. Nia moved her chopsticks with a vacant mind in an attempt to escape reality.

"…Thank you for the meal."

"?!"

Before she knew it, the person across from her had finished her extra-large lunch in just a few minutes. Noticing this, Nia felt another layer of awe for Alicia White stack upon the last.

◇◆◇◆◇

She had no idea what to talk about.

She was the one who had proposed the 'joint front'—a reckless suggestion, really—but that was just a figure of speech. It was a proposal to first make 'him' fall in love with them, the two of them together, not a suggestion to hold hands and cooperate.

Faced with a challenge that seemed to be beyond the realm of simple competition, she had concluded there was no time for that and had simply formed a treaty for 'attack only.' Personally, she wanted to get along, but she was at a loss as to how much she should close the distance.

There was the fact that they were, for all intents and purposes, love rivals, and even without that, Iris understood that she herself was a difficult person to get along with.

This was because she, more than anyone, correctly, deeply—and heavily—recognized the unique nature of 'Alicia White.'

She had known for a long time—long before she became famous as a player—how she appeared in the eyes of others.

She had known since she was a child that her appearance, her very existence, deviated from the norm.

The people of the White family are just like that. Her family of hobbyists attracted other hobbyists who were similarly specialized in something, and their blood and way of life had been continuously sharpened to this day.

Though their name had only recently become known to the general public, they were a gathering of people who had always been seen as a 'special clan.' Therefore, being looked at with special eyes was a matter of course for Alicia White.

In short—she was completely used to being stared at, being nervous around, and being viewed with awe by people of all genders.

And because she understood, it was difficult.

She was already seen as a special being by default, and when you added the fact that they were both in love with the same person, the difficulty of interacting was easy to imagine.

Essentially, because she could read the feelings of Nia, who was frozen before her, Iris too was frozen. Honestly, she couldn't see a way to break the deadlock.

And again, personally, she wanted to get along.

But unfortunately, unlike 'him,' she didn't possess the talent to close the distance with people with such incredible momentum, so—

"…Thank you for the meal."

"?!"

She would not rush it. She would build mutual understanding, and slowly hope for a 'someday.'