**Chapter 2**
**Episode 21: Lunch Break**
(≈720 words – full scene)
The diner was packed.
Cheap, hearty, and loud. Exactly the kind of place I liked.
Eve came back from the counter with enough food to feed a small army.
My half: one normal plate.
Her half: the rest of the menu.
I stared.
"…I can't eat that much."
"It's fine. I'll eat it."
And she did.
Plates vanished like they'd been teleported away.
No magic signature. Just pure, expressionless annihilation.
One second a mountain of meat skewers.
Next second a white plate and a satisfied blink.
I forgot to eat my own food watching her.
Eve noticed.
Cheeks faintly pink.
"Please don't stare. It's embarrassing."
"S-sorry."
I finally started eating.
Conversation drifted in from the next table.
Another "demon" attack.
Sixth child.
Heart removed.
Knights clueless.
People scared.
I muttered under my breath.
"Guess I'll take the long way home tonight…"
Eve tilted her head.
"You look scary. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Just thinking if I see the creep, I'll punch him a few times. Been stressed lately."
Eve's lips twitched—almost a smile.
We kept eating.
Mostly her.
At one point she reached across the table and plucked a crumb off my cheek with two fingers.
"There."
"…You look like a kid."
I protested immediately.
"I'm super mature! I drank the world's bitterest potion every day as a kid!"
Eve actually laughed—soft, quiet, eyes curving for the first time.
My brain short-circuited.
"Eve… you can smile. It suits you way better than the blank face."
She froze.
Eyes wide.
A single tear rolled down her cheek without warning.
I panicked.
"W-what?! Did something get in your eye?!"
She shook her head, wiped it away fast.
"…It's nothing. You just… really remind me of Ray."
Ray again.
I leaned in, curious.
"What was he like? As handsome as me?"
Eve looked into the distance.
"I never saw his face. But he was the kindest, strongest person I've ever known. He saved me. He's… important."
Her voice dropped.
"If he were alive, he'd probably be a hero by now, right?"
Eve's expression went dark.
"No. That's impossible."
"Why—"
"Because he's already dead."
The air turned heavy.
Eve stared at her empty plate like it held memories.
I didn't know what to say.
After a long silence she spoke again, softer.
"…He hated his own face. Always hid it. Said it only brought trouble."
I swallowed.
Eve finally looked up.
Eyes still red, but calm.
"Thank you for today. It's been a long time since I… felt like this."
She stood, gathered the bags (bear tail still wagging traitorously from one of them), and gave the tiniest bow.
"See you at the exhibition."
Then she walked out.
I sat there a while longer, staring at my half-eaten food.
Dead, huh.
For some reason my chest felt weird.
I paid the bill and left.
On the way home I took the long route.
No demon showed up.