Chapter 274: The Melon-Eating Girl
"There's no such training method!" Vigne rolled her eyes and complained, her tone carrying both disbelief and exasperation. She crossed her arms and looked at him sharply before adding, "It's getting dark soon, why aren't you two heading back already? You'll catch cold if it gets chilly."
"We'll go soon, but we're stopping by the supermarket to buy some ingredients first. We'll cook dinner ourselves tonight," Kouya explained with his usual calm. He then turned toward the lazy angel beside him, who was looking away with her arms folded. "Want to come along? Could use an extra pair of hands."
"I'm not going!" Gabriel snapped almost immediately, her voice filled with annoyance. She clenched her tiny fists at her sides, cheeks puffing slightly. After what he had just done earlier, and now he wanted her to tag along like nothing happened? She could barely stand to look at him without remembering how irritating he'd been.
Her pride was too bruised to forgive him that easily.
Still, she couldn't just explode in front of Vigne. With her lips pursed tightly, she gave a sharp huff and muttered, "I'm tired. I'm going back to play games…"
She spun on her heel and stomped away, long hair bouncing slightly as she disappeared down the street.
Vigne tilted her head. "Gabi-chan's acting weird today… Did something happen between you two?"
Kouya coughed lightly, looking off to the side. "Nothing serious. Anyway, you're free tonight, right? I remember you said you don't have work at the café. How about joining me for dinner?"
"Dinner together?" Vigne blinked. Her cheeks turned faintly pink before she nodded after a short hesitation. "A-Alright… I don't have anything planned anyway."
The two of them headed to a nearby supermarket. The automatic doors whooshed open, and the cold air hit them with a faint smell of fresh produce and cleaning solution. They wandered past shelves stacked with vegetables, meat, and seafood, picking out some familiar ingredients—onions, cabbage, salmon, a bit of pork belly.
Then Kouya's eyes landed on something near the fruit section: pre-sliced watermelon wrapped neatly in plastic, red flesh glistening under the fluorescent lights.
"So expensive!" Vigne exclaimed after checking the price tag. She leaned closer to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. "These watermelons cost more than meat! It's ridiculous!"
She wasn't wrong. In Japan, regular meat usually sold for around 500 yen per kilogram, but a single ordinary watermelon easily reached 1,500 yen. And those fancy ones—the square-shaped, heart-shaped, or the famous black-skinned Densuke varieties—were even crazier. Most cost over 10,000 yen each, and some were sold in auctions for hundreds of thousands of yen just for being perfectly shaped.
Buying a whole watermelon was something people here treated almost like a luxury hobby. Most just picked up a few slices for taste. Fruit in this country had always been expensive anyway—melons, strawberries, peaches, mangoes—all priced like treasure.
Kouya studied the bright green fruit with mild interest. "Let's buy one and give it a try," he said casually.
He hadn't tasted watermelon in this world yet. When he first arrived, it was still rainy spring, when the air carried the smell of wet soil and the fruit stalls were filled with mandarins instead. The idea of eating something sweet and summery for once sounded oddly refreshing.
Vigne frowned. "That's wasteful. If you really want it, just buy a couple of slices. There's no need to show off."
But Kouya, unconcerned and amused by her reaction, bought the entire watermelon without hesitation. The cashier gave him a bewildered look; even the couple behind them in line exchanged glances, whispering. Vigne sighed, covering her face as if embarrassed to be seen with him.
As they walked out, Kouya felt countless eyes on his back. He muttered inwardly, 'Seriously, I just bought a melon. Why do you all look so jealous?' The thought made him snort quietly.
Guess I can't call them melon-eating spectators anymore—they literally can't afford to eat melon!
By the time they finished shopping, the sky outside had already faded into darkness. The last streaks of sunset glowed faintly red on the horizon while a slim crescent moon began to climb into view. Streetlights flickered on one by one, painting the pavement in patches of pale yellow.
The air was still warm, carrying the distant sounds of cicadas and the hum of traffic. People hurried by with shopping bags and umbrellas, while somewhere in the distance a train rumbled past.
Walking shoulder to shoulder, Vigne sighed softly. "Big Meow was really well-behaved today. He didn't even scratch the furniture."
"More like lazy," Kouya replied without thinking.
"Don't talk bad about Big Meow," Vigne scolded, giving him a playful glare.
He raised his hands in surrender but couldn't hide a smirk. Sometimes he really did feel like that spoiled cat had a higher place in her heart than he did.
His mind drifted back to that rainy night months ago, when he and Vigne had rescued two soaked, shivering Scottish Folds from a cardboard box. Gabriel had reluctantly used her holy light healing spell on them, and both cats had made a full recovery. One had since been adopted into a new home, while Big Meow—the one that had been neutered—had disappeared for a while, only to return later to the old cat lady's house.
But Kouya knew the truth. Big Meow wasn't well-behaved—just lazy. Ever since losing his balls, he'd lost his spark for life. All he did now was eat, sleep, and occasionally stretch in the sun. If not for his breed's size limit, he'd have turned into an orange cat-shaped ball by now.
The mental image made Kouya laugh under his breath.
"What's so funny?" Vigne asked, her voice tinged with curiosity.
He described the ridiculous image of a round, wobbling Big Meow trying to roll down a hill.
Vigne blinked, then burst into laughter. "Pfft! Stop it! That's too cruel!" Her laughter was light and unrestrained, and in the moonlight her face looked even softer, her eyes glimmering like starlight reflected in water.
Kouya found himself smiling too. For a brief moment, the world felt peaceful.
"Come on, let's hurry back," Vigne said quickly, trying to hide her embarrassment as she turned away, her pace suddenly quicker—but the slight bounce in her steps betrayed her mood.
As they reached the apartment complex gate, they saw a tall woman walking toward them. Her silhouette was striking against the glow of the streetlights. She had a distinctive ahoge strand of hair curling up from the top of her head and looked to be in her early twenties. Because of the summer heat, she wore only a sleeveless top and casual shorts, her pale arms reflecting the light almost like porcelain.
Her features were refined, her demeanor lazy, yet her gaze was sharp and confident. She carried an aura that could only belong to someone used to being in control.
It was Takanashi Touka, Rikka's older sister.
"Good evening, Touka-san," Vigne greeted politely, giving a small bow.
After the hot spring trip, Touka had invited them to dinner once to thank them for taking care of Rikka, so Vigne recognized her immediately.
"Good evening, Vigne," Touka replied, her voice low and husky, carrying a faint trace of amusement. She raised an eyebrow upon noticing Kouya beside her but quickly returned to her composed, languid expression.
"Good evening," Kouya greeted with a polite nod.
Touka glanced between them, then smirked slightly. "You two look cozy. What's this about?"
Vigne coughed and quickly explained, "We're cooking dinner tonight. Is Rikka home? If she is, you and Rikka should come over and eat with us."
Touka chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "That sounds troublesome. You kids have fun."
She cared deeply for her sister but found Rikka's chuunibyou antics exhausting. Still, she was glad her sister had found such good friends—ones who made her laugh, ones who didn't treat her like a weirdo. When she had invited them over before, it hadn't just been for dinner—it had been to see for herself what kind of people surrounded her sister.
The red-haired Satania—simple, loud, and weirdly pure-hearted—matched Rikka's energy perfectly.
The blonde Gabriel looked perpetually half-asleep, like an angel addicted to online games.
The silver-haired Raphael, elegant and polite, carried herself like a noble, though something mischievous lingered behind her gentle smile.
And then there was Vigne—kind, responsible, maybe too serious sometimes, but absolutely genuine.
Touka had liked them all.
"I'll ask Rikka. If she wants to go, we'll come by," Touka said, stretching her arms lazily. "As for me, I'll pass. You'll handle the chaos better without me."
The three exchanged goodbyes and went their separate ways.
Back at the apartment, Vigne pressed the doorbell to Gabriel's room.
"Gabi-chan, open up!"
"Coming…" came the muffled reply. The lazy angel cracked the door open slightly, revealing one sleepy golden eye. "Vigne? Why aren't you home yet?"
"Kouya invited me over for dinner."
"Oh."
The moment Gabriel heard Kouya's name, her cheeks puffed up again like a sulking child.
Vigne peeked inside and sighed at the sight—snack wrappers scattered everywhere, empty soda cans on the floor, and what looked like a pile of unwashed dishes on the desk.
"Still such a mess. We can't cook in here even if we tried. Let's go to Kouya's place instead."
Gabriel was just about to refuse, opening her mouth for a sarcastic comeback, when Kouya's voice echoed from across the hall.
"Hey, come eat some melon!"
"…"
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