Chapter 320: The Witch's Gambit, The Playboy's Counter
Ichihara Yuuko and Ren continued their conversation in the hallway for a while longer. Cerberus, meanwhile, had already bounded into the room to go over a list with Lucifer.
During this time, Yuuko and Ren steered clear of trivialities. They spoke of themselves, of their pasts and their natures. After all, whether she viewed him as her new master or simply as the only man in the place she would now call home, she felt a distinct need to understand him.
"Yuko, it's ready. Is there anything else you need?"
Just as their conversation found a comfortable rhythm, Lucifer emerged holding a sheet of paper. The two of them paused. Lucifer tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. "Hmm? What were you two talking about?"
Yuuko was about to reply when Ren stepped forward, taking the list from Lucifer's hand. He gave it a quick scan before nodding. "We were just getting to know each other. Deepening our mutual understanding, you could say. Right, Yuko?" He then offered the list to her. "Take a look. See if anything is missing."
Ichihara Yuuko leaned in and took the list. After a moment of review, she shook her head. "No, this is perfect. Even more thorough than I imagined. However..."
"However?" Ren prompted.
A slow, knowing smile curved Yuuko's lips. She placed a hand on Ren's shoulder, her body leaning forward conspiratorially as she spoke in a low, teasing whisper, "I'm quite surprised, Ren. I half-expected you to be fixated on the... physical data on this list."
Lucifer, who understood Ren better than anyone, felt a familiar sense of preemptive pity. Yuuko was deploying tactics meant for ordinary men, hoping to provoke an amusingly flustered reaction. It was a hopeless endeavor. She wasn't just going to be countered... she was going to be utterly routed.
And just as Lucifer predicted, Ren simply met Yuuko's playful gaze with a smile of his own. "Mm, an excellent point. I was so focused on the itemized section, I didn't look closely enough." His smile widened. "Yuko, could you hand that back to me? I'd like to give it a proper look now."
Ichihara Yuuko froze. Her mind went completely blank. 'This isn't in the script!'
By all conventional logic, he should have shown at least a flicker of awkwardness, or perhaps offered a hasty, flustered explanation. Even the most seasoned man would typically avert his gaze and deftly change the subject.
But Ren? What in the world was this? You were supposed to improvise within the established script, not rewrite the entire play based on your improvisation! If you weren't going to get flustered, at least change the topic! What was this about not paying attention before and wanting to take a good look now?!
For the first time in a very, very long time, Ichihara Yuuko felt a genuine warmth creep up her neck. She was shy. Mortified, even. The thought of handing the list back to him herself, under his knowing eyes, was excruciating. But if she refused, she would be admitting defeat, and she still needed his help with everything.
It was only then that the reality of her situation crashed down on her. The man before her was a successful playboy of the highest order. Compared to him, she—who had never even been in a relationship, let alone had a family—was an amateur playing in a completely different league.
Lucifer sighed, stepping in to mediate. "Yuko, don't try to play those games with Ren. He's a carnivore."
Yuuko's mouth twitched. 'Why didn't you say so earlier!' This put her in an incredibly difficult position. What was she supposed to do now? She had never been so thoroughly outmaneuvered before; she had no experience to draw upon!
Sensing her plight, Lucifer gently took the list from her hand. "Ren, here's the list," she said, her tone laced with helplessness. "Now, what do you want for breakfast?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure," Ren mused. "It's not closing time yet, so we might still get customers. I'd rather the curse didn't act up again."
"What curse?" Yuuko asked, seizing the change in subject.
"I'll tell you about it downstairs. Cerberus, let's go!"
As they headed for the stairs, Yuuko couldn't help but glance back at Ren, a flicker of genuine nervousness in her eyes, as if she was afraid he might actually snatch the list back and start studying it.
Lucifer noticed her expression and offered a quiet word of reassurance. "So, you see? Don't try to tease Ren, or you'll be the one who gets turned around. But your worry is unnecessary. While he might be a carnivore, he's not as indiscriminately hungry as you might imagine."
Yuuko gave a small nod, making a mental note. She would need to study Ren for a while before trying anything like that again. For now, he was clearly not someone she could easily control. But all that was secondary. The most pressing matter on her mind was whether or not she could smoke.
Having settled into this new reality and begun to re-experience the flow of time, the feeling of ease made her long for her kiseru pipe. But not only was she unable to return to her old world, even if she could retrieve it, the logistics of actually smoking it here presented a new problem.
'It seems I can only bring it back next time...' she thought with a sigh.
"Bring what back?" Lucifer asked, overhearing her mutter.
"Nothing," Yuuko replied smoothly. "Just some personal luggage."
Lucifer accepted the answer with a nod and returned to her seat behind the counter. Her eyes then landed on another figure already present. "Eh? Sora? Why are you up so early?"
Kasugano Sora, who was sitting at a table, let out a small, pained groan and recounted her morning's ordeal.
Lucifer's expression softened with sympathy. "Ah, so you're really unlucky... By the way, what are your plans for today?"
Sora considered the question for a moment. "Akemi is taking me to the gym. She said that once I get through the initial muscle fatigue, it won't be so tiring. My legs are so sore right now..." She then looked up. "Sister Lucifer, do you have something planned?"
Lucifer nodded. "Yes, Cerberus and I were originally going to watch a tennis match today. Now Yuko and Courage are joining us. You were already asleep last night, so I couldn't ask, but I wanted to see if you were free. It sounds like you won't be able to make it, though."
Sora sighed, a touch of disappointment in her voice. "There should be other chances, right? I saw online that there are a lot of big matches later on. These must be the preliminaries... Still, it's a shame."
"Eh?" Ichihara Yuuko interjected, her curiosity piqued. "Do tennis matches really require so many rounds? I always thought it was just one large tournament that lasted for several days and then it was over."
Lucifer nodded, sharing her sentiment.
Sora, however, shook her head. "Of course not. Setting aside the fact that different school teams have to be re-selected before the season, the tournament structure is huge. From what I've learned, you have the regional preliminaries, then the Metropolitan Tournament, and then the National Tournament. There are so many matches. What you're going to watch today is probably the regional prelims. Even schools within Tokyo are split into different blocks. The Metropolitan Tournament is when all the winning schools from across Tokyo finally compete against each other."
Yuuko nodded slowly, processing the information. "So, it gets really lively after the Metropolitan Tournament begins? I feel like that should be quite interesting. Sister Lucifer mentioned that the tennis here isn't as simple as it looks. I wonder if that's true." A thought flickered through her mind. 'I also don't know why this world's tennis, besides looking and being played the same as the tennis in my world, feels completely different in every other way...'
"That's right," Sora confirmed. "But I've never actually gone to watch a match... I've only seen a few schools posting on social media about their results."
Cerberus tilted her head. "But, Sora, what about Katagiri...?"
At the mention of her old school, Sora waved a dismissive hand. "In competitions like tennis or basketball, Katagiri isn't even cannon fodder. Besides, Koyo Academy is an all-girls' school, so I never paid attention to women's tennis. I hear Teitan's girls' team is pretty good, though... Katagiri should just stick to studying."
"Eh?" came the synchronized, surprised response from the others.
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