"Hello! I've heard so much about you!"
"Ah, yes. I'm Shin Ian. It's an honor to meet you."
"Come on, you're being too formal! This isn't a formal marriage meeting. Make yourself comfortable, comfortable. Ah, I'm Han Yuri."
Han Yuri said so while glancing at Ian and Yuna, who were sitting across from her.
Ian was relatively composed, but Yuna was not. She couldn't keep her fingers still for even a moment, and her pupils trembled incessantly. In her frequent sidelong glances at Ian, an unmistakable anxiety seeped through.
She was so nervous that one would think she wasn't sitting next to her lover. Humming softly, Yuri fixed her suspicious gaze on Ian.
"How long did you say you've been seeing our Yuna, Ian?"
It was a pointed question. However, for Ian, who had memorized all 52 items of lies Yuna had told him, answering wasn't all that difficult.
"It's roughly our third year today."
"Ah-hum."
"When we first met, I was the one who asked her out first. Ahaha, it's a bit embarrassing to say this in front of her sister, but it was love at first sight. She was exactly my ideal type……."
"Is that so?"
Han Yuri smiled brightly and turned to Yuna. Yuna flinched at that gaze, but soon took a sip of her smoothie and laughed awkwardly.
"N-now that I think about it, i-it was so weird! I never thought I'd meet this person at a convenience store!"
"Convenience store? Didn't you say it was a library?"
"D-did I say convenience store? It was the library!"
"No, it was definitely a convenience store."
"……."
Yunaaaaaa.
Ian ground his teeth internally and pinched Yuna's thigh with his fingers.
"Heuk!"
She groaned as if she had been electrocuted, but Ian ignored her.
It was better to just seal her mouth here. She was so flustered that she couldn't even be sure of what she had said herself; how could he leave her be? Rather than arousing unnecessary suspicion, it was a hundred times more advantageous for him to lead the conversation.
Thinking so, Ian tapped the table with his finger. Yuri's eyes naturally turned toward him.
"How about we go eat soon? It's almost lunchtime."
"Ah, you're right. I already have a reservation, so let's go there. Of course, I'll be the one paying."
Yuri smiled brightly and rose from her seat. The two followed behind her.
When they stepped out of the café, warm sunlight welcomed the three. It was still winter, so it wasn't that warm, but it definitely felt milder than January. In just a few more weeks, the temperature would suddenly spike.
'I hope this summer is a bit shorter.'
Every year, only summer and winter grew longer.
It was something that defied common sense. Perhaps the Strange were affecting the global climate.
Those damned Strange bastards. I'll find them and kill them, no matter what.
"The restaurant is nearby, so let's walk. Is that alright?"
"Yes, that's fine."
He shook off the useless thoughts and moved his feet. Yuri walked slightly ahead of Ian and asked him this and that. Ian answered by mixing lies and truth appropriately.
Since it was basically acting, he was careful not to give too much information. Fortunately, perhaps because he skillfully mixed in lies, the words came out smoothly and fluently.
Just like he had on the cruise, he seemed to have a talent for acting. It was ironic that ever since becoming a mage, he kept discovering talents he never knew he had.
"So, your parents are in the provinces right now?"
"Yes. They're probably working at this hour. They won't be able to answer even if you call."
"Is that so? Then please send them my regards instead."
"I will."
Ian sent his regards inwardly to parents who did not exist. It was not a kind greeting.
Just then, Han Yuri, who had been walking ahead, turned her head toward Yuna, who was fidgeting restlessly right beside Ian.
"……Hm."
Her eyes narrowed.
"Yuna."
"……! U-uh? Whaaat……?"
Yuna, who hadn't expected the conversation to turn toward her, jumped in surprise and looked up at Han Yuri. Han Yuri alternated her gaze between Yuna's hand fiddling in front of her navel and Ian's hand hanging empty at his side, and spat out a single remark.
"You said you're lovers, but you're not holding hands?"
"……U-uh? What?"
"No, it's nothing. I just wondered if you weren't holding hands because it's cold. You've been dating for three years, so I thought you'd hold them naturally, but I guess not?"
Han Yuri smirked slyly and plunged her hands into her pockets.
"Are you still in an awkward relationship……?"
"N-no! It's just, uh, it's because you're here, unni. Normally we hold hands, hug, and even k-kiss!"
Yuna shouted with a red face. Ian also laughed awkwardly and scratched his cheek. He looked like a shy boyfriend, but his inner thoughts were completely different.
'What? Hug? Kiss? What the hell is she suddenly talking about?'
There was a limit to physical affection. While it was common for couples who had dated for three years to have seen everything there was to see of each other, Ian and Yuna were not like that. They were a three-year couple only in setting; in reality, they were merely business partners and acquaintances.
In such a relationship, did it make sense to kiss whenever they were bored?
Well, hugging was possible if the situation called for it. When solving a difficult request or having barely survived death, they could pat each other on the back to celebrate their survival without any emotions involved.
But a kiss? A kiiiss?
"……."
Ian glared at Yuna with a smile on his face. Setting aside the fact that her comment had caused the grimoire's vibrations to intensify to the level of a massager, what was she thinking, making such a bombshell statement when Han Yuri might ask them to kiss right here?
"Heop!"
Yuna also realized the implication of what she had said and opened her eyes wide, but the water was already spilled.
"Is thaat so?"
The corners of Han Yuri's eyes curved mischievously. If left alone, she would definitely demand something.
It was better to make a preemptive strike. Judging so, Ian snatched Yuna's fidgeting hand.
"Hgyaak!"
Yuna screamed at the sudden physical contact. People around them stared, but Ian ignored them and held Yuna's hand with bone-crushing force. It was a sign for her to cooperate accordingly.
"Ugek."
Fortunately, like a proper mage, Yuna had her wits about her. She immediately grasped Ian's hand and trembled her lips. Her face and earlobes had already turned red long ago. Whether the cause was the cold, embarrassment, or a fluttering feeling she felt without realizing it, not even Yuna herself knew exactly.
Whatever it was, it was none of Ian's business. He intertwined his fingers with Yuna's, who no longer resisted.
It was the finger-interlacing commonly done between lovers. It was a bit uncomfortable and painful, but taking such a bold action was better for show.
"Haha, Yuna is just very shy."
Ian said, raising his hand clasped with Yuna's.
"During our call yesterday, she suggested we refrain from public displays of affection in front of you, Ms. Han Yuri, because it was embarrassing to show affection in front of you."
"Oh, really? I wondered why. You should have told me earlier if that was the case."
Han Yuri covered her mouth with her hand and smiled warmly.
"Still, it looks nice seeing you holding hands. Let's go to the restaurant like that. Wouldn't that be warmer and better?"
"……Well, I suppose so."
Ian forced the most natural smile he could and tucked his clasped hand with Yuna into his coat pocket. Yuna's pupils trembled, but she didn't resist. Rather, she gripped Ian's hand even tighter.
The reason was unknown. It wasn't particularly important either.
"L-let's go! I'm hungry!"
Yuna answered, feeling vibrations that she couldn't tell were her own trembling or Ian's trembling. The grimoire that had its territory invaded threw a fit, but it couldn't affect Yuna, whose mind had fogged over.
"Yeah, let's go."
And so the three walked down the street and entered a fairly upscale restaurant. Ian and Yuna were finally able to let go of the hand they had been holding. Ian was relatively composed, but Yuna swallowed hard, feeling the lingering warmth on the hand she had held.
It seemed like a faint, pleasant scent wafted from it.
"The reserved seats are over there."
The restaurant was a buffet. The price per person was insanely high to match the luxurious interior, but judging by the quality of the food, it seemed worth it.
Ian walked to the seat Han Yuri had reserved and naturally tried to take off his coat to hang it on the chair. But at the same time, he saw the grimoire vibrating madly in his inner pocket and immediately put it back on.
"Ian? Wouldn't it be better to take off your coat?"
"Ah, I'm a bit cold. I'll take it off later if I get hot."
"Really? The heater is working quite well…… you must be very sensitive to the cold. But more importantly, where is this vibrating sound coming from since earlier……?"
"Isn't it just your imagination? I don't really hear anything."
"Hm…… is that so? Well, if you say so. Let's go get food."
He had succeeded in glossing it over. Ian let out a deep sigh of relief and quietly tapped the cover of the grimoire, hidden from the two.
"Be quiet for a bit. Why are you like this today?"
[Vrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!]
"……You're completely furious, huh. I'll groom you tomorrow, so please be quiet today. I'm sorry."
[Vrrrrrr!!!]
"Or, fine, I'll even kiss the cover. I'll sleep with you next to me tonight, so calm down for now."
[Vrrr!]
"Alright, I won't meet any women for the time being. Is that good enough?"
[Vrr.]
The grimoire's vibrations stopped. Ian let out a deep sigh and swept his hair back.
He felt like he would go crazy from exhaustion today…….