157. Returned First Love (6)
Lee Jun-woo was enjoying a date with Aina at a dessert café.
After Aina had replenished her sugar intake and was in a good mood, he stood up from his seat.
Before leaving the shop, he glanced at a table where the atmosphere was chaotic.
"...The check."
"Yes, I'll help you with that!"
Lee Jun-woo handed a gold coin to the employee and said,
"...Pay for that table too."
"B-but this is way too much change, are you sure...?"
"It's fine. Give the rest to the shop owner."
Since they caused such a disturbance, he felt apologetic.
Lee Jun-woo handed the employee far more than the bill amount.
Aina, who had left the shop first and was waiting, smiled when she saw Lee Jun-woo.
"Pfft, they probably think we didn't notice them at all, right? Isn't that adorable?"
"More annoying than adorable. I had unnecessary expenses because of those guys."
What a headache.
Lee Jun-woo felt dizzy from the unexpected expenditure.
He had anticipated the Hero Party would tail them.
But he never expected them to follow into the shop, order countless expensive desserts, and cause such a disturbance.
Lee Jun-woo muttered in a low voice.
"...Did I focus too much on just training? Should I have taken them to places like this more often?"
"Who knows. But it is a bit serious. They're way too naive."
They showed no naivety in combat.
But they seemed to have many problems when it came to living among people.
However, Aina wasn't one to talk.
"You're naive too, Aina."
"What are you saying, my disciple? Your master isn't naive at all?"
"You've always made me do everything since way back. You said dealing with people was difficult."
"I-I do research! I study magic, so it can't be helped!"
Aina's face rapidly turned red.
She, too, had many issues with interpersonal relationships, similar to the Hero Party.
"You said you were troubled because you didn't know how to speak kindly to strangers."
"When did I!! Y-you're slandering your master right now?! Y-you brat!"
Aina jumped up, trying to cover his mouth to stop him from saying more.
However, unlike the old days, Lee Jun-woo had grown and become skilled at dodging, so he didn't let her succeed easily.
The Hero Party watched the two of them cutely bickering through the café window.
They began expressing their respective feelings.
Crash—!!
"Ah, I dropped my parfait! W-what is ahjussi doing! He should dodge and immediately counterattack like he does with me!! What is he doing!!"
Luna pressed her eyes against the window, complaining.
And Hare, sitting in front of her, already had her head buried in her knees.
"...I don't want to watch. Why does ahjussi show that side to that woman? I-I worked so hard to see that expression... Why can she so easily see ahjussi's happy face...?"
Even though she's the one who made ahjussi like that and will leave for somewhere else.
Hare curled up with her head buried in her knees.
She wanted to see ahjussi, but her heart ached too much to look properly.
Saten looked at Hare with a pathetic expression.
"Just be patient. We can wait. That woman will be done soon anyway."
"Huh? What do you mean? Why will it end?"
"You don't need to know, Estia. Just sit quietly and eat more parfait."
"I don't want to! I've lost my appetite!"
Estia had lost her appetite from watching ahjussi.
Seeing her already place her spoon on the table, the café employee breathed a sigh of relief.
"...F-finally over? They'll stop eating now, right?"
The Hero Party had eaten until parfait glasses filled the entire table.
Though they received more money than the bill.
The exhausted employee just wanted to rest.
*'...Please, just leave quickly.'*
As if the employee's prayer reached the Hero Party.
The briefly dejected Hero Party stood up and rushed toward the entrance.
"W-we can't just sit here! Ahjussi is leaving! Quick, follow him!"
"Walk slowly, Luna. You're too loud."
"Come with me! I'm slow!"
Patter patter—
The Hero Party came like the wind and left like a storm.
Naturally, they quickly left the dessert café without paying.
The employee left behind muttered alone.
"Did that person know these people wouldn't pay...?"
Just who were these people about to be added to the blacklist?
The employee looked at the table filled with parfait glasses.
He never imagined they were the Hero Party destined to save the world.
Aina didn't particularly enjoy walking.
Her stamina wasn't great, and she preferred spending that time immersed in magic research.
However, after awakening from the sealing stone, she was a bit different.
"This park isn't bad. Nice for walking even at night."
"...Aren't you cold?"
"I'm fine. Not cold. Don't worry about me when you're just a disciple."
Was she saying a famous park in the capital was decent?
Rose Island—a park with quite expensive admission that selected customers based on status.
It was called a place where same-day reservations were impossible, but Aina and I were currently walking through this park together.
*'Honor over money, I guess...'*
There were people with more money than me.
But there was no one with an adventurer rank as high as mine.
Because I had the "Ruby" rank adventurer card, Aina and I were lucky enough to walk through Rose Island together.
"I never imagined this back then."
"What? What couldn't you imagine?"
"Walking here with you. Honestly, it's hard to believe."
The fragrance of roses rising from the park.
The refreshing breeze.
Lighting as bright as day even at night.
I couldn't believe I was in this space with Aina.
"Honestly, I never thought you'd be alive."
"Ha, what do you take me for to think that? I'm a bit disappointed."
"I didn't know you'd leave yourself a possibility."
Right before being captured by the Demon King.
Using non-elemental magic, paying the price, and sealing herself.
It wasn't easy to immediately think of that in such a situation.
That's why I hadn't left even a 1% possibility that Aina would be alive.
"That's why it feels like a miracle."
"...What, why are you being so cringy? Let's just walk through the park."
Aina responded with a slightly sharp tone.
Then she turned her gaze and pointed with her finger.
"Look over there, Jun-woo! There are lots of red roses!"
Patter patter—
Aina rushed quickly toward the roses.
*'...Somehow, it feels like she keeps avoiding conversation.'*
Rather than avoiding conversation...
It seemed like she was avoiding certain conversation topics.
Was it just my imagination?
"Walk slowly, Aina. You'll get hurt if you run like that."
I ran after Aina.
Her speed was slow so I could catch up quickly, but she had already become one with the roses.
"Jun-woo. Where am I?"
"...Why are you asking the obvious? You're standing in the park, trampling roses."
"Sigh, I taught you wrong. You have no sense of romance."
"..."
What kind of romance was that supposed to be?
I couldn't understand Aina's peculiar sense of romance at all.
And there was one more thing I couldn't understand.
"But Jun-woo. You're sensing it too, right?"
"It'd be strange if I didn't."
"That's why it's strange. You said this isn't a space just anyone can easily enter. But..."
Aina trailed off and slightly shifted her eyes to the side.
Hare hid her presence well so she wasn't detected.
But in the direction of Aina's gaze, the presence of the other three was strongly felt.
"How did they get in here?"
"...That's what I'd like to know. I don't understand that either."
Famous enough to be targeted for bad purposes.
That's why Rose Island attracted nobles by strengthening security and surveillance.
It was once called a hotspot for affairs because of that.
Anyway.
*'Just how far are they planning to follow?'*
I deliberately chose this place to shake them off.
I chose this location to have a serious conversation with Aina.
Was I going to be interrupted again?
I looked at Aina and asked.
"Aina. What do you want to do?"
"Me? I... being alone is nice, but wouldn't it be more fun with the Hero Party?"
Aina took a step back as she answered.
It didn't feel like a confident answer but more like she was dodging the question.
But since I wanted to accommodate Aina on this outing, I had no choice but to call them over.
"They've been following us for 5 hours, so I should acknowledge that dedication."
These foolish kids.
Rustle— Rustle—
The rose bushes moved unnaturally even without wind.
I slowly walked toward those rose bushes.
The closer I got, the louder the children's whispers became.
"A-ahjussi is coming! Who made noise! Was it you, Estia!?"
"It wasn't me! I was staying still!"
"...Be quiet, will you please shut your mouths?"
"What are you all doing here?"
"Eeeeek—!!"
Luna fell backward with a loud scream.
In front of her stood Saten and Estia with flustered expressions.
I looked down at them and asked seriously.
"It's late. Instead of going home, what are you doing here?"
"..."
The Hero Party didn't answer.
3 seconds.
2 seconds.
1 second.
After a total of 3 seconds passed.
Luna, who had fallen backward, made a flower frame with her hands.
"W-where are we~?"
"Obviously right in front of my eyes."
"..."
Of course, that method didn't work on me.
*'...So Aina wanted me to say she was a rose.'*
And watching the Hero Party, I could understand what Aina had wanted.