Th-This... should just be a coincidence, right?? It was probably just him puffing his feathers and overthinking it out of self-infatuation. Maybe she didn’t mean anything like that at all.

Vinny thought that to himself.

Yeah. If he really thought about it, Isatia was a girl. Even if her personality was strong, liking pink things was totally normal, wasn’t it??

That’s right. It had to be that. There was no “hint” or anything.

“Ahaha, yeah.” Vinny scooped up a bite of the velvety topping on the Chocolate Velvet Cake and put it into his mouth. It melted the instant it touched his tongue, and that cloying sweetness flooded his taste buds in a split second.

Mm-hmm—his whole chest filled up with this sudden, happy feeling. Seriously, insanely sweet stuff was justice!

After all, when he was little, forget desserts and sweets—he hadn’t even had many full meals. That was why, before he’d come here... or rather, before he’d awakened his past-life memories, Vinny’s malnutrition had been pretty severe.

To be honest, he still held a grudge about it. If he’d eaten better during his growth years—developed better—maybe he wouldn’t be like this now. It was hard enough for him to even reach an average male height.

Still, he didn’t demand that much. There were tons of people in this world who were more unfortunate than he was. At least he was alive, and he could eat his fill, right? Not only that—he’d even advanced to the Magus realm.

“Sugar can make the brain’s thinking ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) more flexible and faster. Vinny, your preferences are quite good.” Isatia also took a small spoonful of the pink Sweetberry Vanilla Cake in front of her. Every detail of her movements and manners was elegant and proper.

“Ah, right, that’s true.” Vinny nodded, even though he honestly hadn’t thought that far. He just liked sweet things. That was all.

Compared to Isatia’s refined, graceful way of eating, Vinny looked totally unrestrained. His whole style was basically: I don’t care about any of your rules—I’m eating, eating, eating.

As for Isatia, she simply took small bites of cake at the side, sipping coffee and reading.

As expected, it was another history-related book.

By now, Vinny also knew why Isatia liked reading history so much. But her [Saint’s Favor] problem was temporarily solved—only when it got worse would he have to sing for her, put on a private concert.

“What is it?” It seemed she’d noticed Vinny’s gaze lingering on her. Without moving her eyes from the page, Isatia asked.

“Ah, nothing. I just noticed you still like history books as much as ever, Isatia.” Vinny glanced at the thick tome in front of her. Just looking at that dense block of text made his scalp prickle.

No matter what, he didn’t have the patience to read that kind of book.

It felt like the kind of thing you put on your bedside table—so when you couldn’t sleep, you could pull it out and read two lines.

“I like this kind of book not only because it relates to my [Saint’s Favor].” Isatia explained softly.

“Oh, oh.”

“Also, you can just call me Isatia.”

“Ah—huh? Ah, okay.” Vinny froze for a moment, then nodded.

“It feels like you’re really serious when you read.” While eating cake and not finding a topic, Vinny tossed out a casual comment. It had that forced-I’m just trying to keep the conversation going vibe.

“Because I cherish every minute and every second in which my mind is clear and my awareness is lucid.” Isatia shifted her gaze away. Those dazzling eyes—brilliant like violet gemstones—moved to Vinny, calm, yet carrying a few shades of something deep. “Because you personally placed them into my hands.”

“Ah—ahaha, yeah. No one wants to have their brain all foggy all day long, right? That would be way too painful.” Vinny hadn’t expected Isatia to crank the intensity up over a simple bit of small talk. He was caught completely off guard and could only laugh it off.

“I won’t forget that this gift was given to me by you. I treasure it greatly.” Isatia looked into Vinny’s eyes steadily, enunciating each word.

“Uh... this... it’s nothing. Isn’t it the same as you treating me to dessert and coffee and tutoring me?” Vinny didn’t know how to respond. He spent ages trying to piece together a sentence, and this was all he could manage.

“Just tutoring?” Isatia murmured softly.

“Huh?” Vinny paused.

“What you have given me is far beyond anything comparable to that. You can ask for more—much more. You can be bolder.”

Vinny didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he felt like Isatia was a bit closer to him than before. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

He could feel it because those black stockings—slightly cinching tender flesh—seemed to have drifted a little toward him without meaning to. That faint orchid-like fragrance had grown noticeably richer.

He could even feel that scent brushing over the tip of his nose.

“B-Bolder? Th-That’s what you said, okay? Then... Isatia, can you treat me to a few more meals every month or something? That’s fine, right? Haha.” Vinny’s eyes suddenly didn’t know where to go. In an instant, he felt awkward and restrained.

In front of Isatia’s direct, head-on offense, his defense felt like it was made of paper—collapsing the moment it was touched.

“Just that?” Isatia tilted her head and leaned in a little closer. Vinny could even feel the breath she exhaled.

“Th-Then what else could it be?” Vinny’s body stiffened. But he also felt that, as a grown man, looking this flustered in front of a beautiful girl was just too ugly. He wanted to act tougher—but he couldn’t. His heart was a mess of contradictions.

“Your cake is almost finished. Do you want to taste another flavor?” Isatia glanced at the Chocolate Velvet Cake in front of Vinny, which was nearly gone.

“Ah, well...” Vinny subconsciously wanted another serving. His obsession with sweets was pretty intense. It was even more obvious when he was Vanessa—basically a no matter how much I eat I won’t gain weight situation, with all the fat being absorbed by some specific place.

“I can still eat.”

Before Vinny could finish, Isatia gently scooped a spoonful of her Sweetberry Vanilla Cake. One hand went under it to prevent any crumbs from falling onto Vinny, and she personally brought it to him.

“Want to try mine?”

“?!” Vinny’s pupils shrank. If virtue farming was a two-way street, then right now he’d probably already been blown up for a massive amount of Virtue by Isatia.

W-Wait, wait wait wait wait...?!

Hold on?!

What is this development, hey?!

Vinny felt like his outdated, obsolete processor was about to get fried again—his eyes practically about to spin into mosquito coils.

Staring at the spoon held to his lips, Vinny widened his eyes. He looked at the cake on Isatia’s plate again and again, repeatedly confirming that she’d already eaten from it.

No mistake. Isatia had been using this exact spoon earlier, right??

No, seriously—this bold?!

Vinny looked at Isatia’s reaction now. Mm. No reaction at all. Her eyes were so calm it was terrifying, like she was only doing something completely ordinary.

Those beautiful eyes had a lethal charm—the kind where you’d sink in after just one glance, and your wavering instincts would unconsciously submit and obey her.

Vinny swallowed as he stared at the spoon.

N-No, something’s off. His head felt a little unclear.

How could he even have this kind of feeling? If he actually ate this bite of cake, then the nature of things afterward would really be different, wouldn’t it??

Sure, he’d had indirect situations with Aesphyra before, but that had been forced by circumstances—there was no choice, okay??

But if a girl was this proactive and then got rejected... that would definitely hurt, right?

Vinny wanted to find a smooth excuse and dodge it quietly. But the moment his eyes met Isatia’s, he felt like he was being pulled in.

Only then did he realize—Isatia’s aura had already wrapped around him without him noticing. He had this feeling like a court minister facing a monarch, suppressed by sheer presence. He wanted to open his mouth and say he needed to use the bathroom, but no matter how he opened his lips, he couldn’t make a sound.

He was hard-controlled!

No—what is going on here??

And when Isatia saw Vinny open his mouth, she naturally moved to feed him the cake.

If the other party didn’t speak up to refuse, she always took it as acceptance.

“Pat.”

Right then, a sound rang out nearby—like a pen and notebook dropping to the floor—drawing both of their attention.

“??” Vinny also turned his head reflexively.

Good news: Isatia was also distracted by the noise, so her movement stopped.

Bad news: the noise came from Mirexia.

Only then did Vinny realize a fact: this café wasn’t just a place he’d come with Aesphyra before, or with Isatia. Mirexia also came here often.

Sometimes, when she wanted to relax, she brought her work to the café, ordered a few coffees, and handled official business while drinking.

That... was what Mirexia considered resting.

Oh. Ohhh ohhh?!!!

The moment Vinny saw who it was, his expression changed drastically. A feeling like he’d been caught cheating surged up instantly—though he didn’t even know why he had that feeling. It was obviously weird and strange, but Vinny’s defining trait was that his mouth often moved faster than his brain, so he blurted out:

“M-Mirexia?? Y-You... why are you here??”

“......” Mirexia stopped where she was, still holding the posture from a moment ago—documents in one hand, pen in the other. The things on the floor, naturally, were the documents and pen she’d been holding.

At this moment, Mirexia’s usually cold, proud, gorgeous face had stiffened a little. Her frost-blue eyes locked tightly onto Vinny and Isatia—without moving even a fraction.

Those ice-blue eyes were filled with emotions Vinny couldn’t read right away.

She said nothing. She just stared at Vinny—vacant, confused, and fixed—like she was trying to nail him to the spot with her gaze.

“Um...” Seeing Mirexia like this, Vinny swallowed and tried to say something, but nothing felt appropriate—and he didn’t even know how to start.

“...What are you doing?” Nobody knew how long passed before Mirexia finally spoke. Her voice sounded a little dry, packed with a calmness that felt forcibly suppressed.

Vinny felt like the wait—every single second of it—was torment and torture.

“It’s not what you think!” Vinny felt he had to explain something, but for some reason, the moment he spoke, he felt like a guy getting caught in bed.

But how was he supposed to explain like this? Whether it was a misunderstanding or not, the first line could only come out like that, right??

N-No, something feels off. Why was he deliberately explaining himself to Mirexia in the first place...??

Only after he’d said it did Vinny belatedly react.

“Then what is it?” Mirexia didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with his words. Not only did she pick up his line—she stared straight at him, waiting for him to continue.

“Ah—ahaha, it’s like this, you know? My written exam scores—my academic scores—are bad. I forgot a lot of stuff during the days I was gone, so before school starts normally, I wanted to ask Isatia to tutor me a bit. I forgot to tell you. Isatia tutors me pretty often, haha. Look—didn’t we even bring the textbooks out?” Vinny forced a smile, telling himself to stay calm, then lifted up the textbook and paper-and-pen to gesture at Mirexia.

“So which subject are you being tutored in?” Mirexia fell silent for a moment, then spoke again. “A subject that requires a spoon and cake, and putting it to someone’s mouth as a demonstration?”

Very clearly, although Mirexia’s emotional level was low, she still wasn’t Shicodale. She wasn’t going to be fooled by a couple of casual lines.

“Balancing work and rest is very important. Sugar provides the brain with sufficient energy. This is basic common knowledge from early education—I presume Mirexia knows that.” Before Vinny could speak, Isatia spoke. She said it lightly, as if what she’d done earlier wasn’t anything significant at all, as if Mirexia alone was overreacting and making a fuss over nothing.

“Isatia, what are you doing?” Mirexia pondered for a moment. Her deep-blue eyes met those violet ones.

“As for the question of ‘what I’m doing,’ it involves my personal behavior and certain personal habits. It is my privacy. Mirexia, you are someone very skilled at making full use of your time, making every minute and every second meaningful. You shouldn’t be the sort of boring person who takes an interest in other people’s privacy and spends time investigating it—nor should you be someone who loves meddling in other people’s affairs.” Isatia replied absentmindedly.

Listening from the side, Vinny felt that after Isatia went around in such a big circle, her central message was only four words:

None of your business.