Chapter 33: A “Totally Not a Date” Meal

A “Totally Not a Date” Meal

Right after Professor Baries’ class ended—

Sion exited the lecture hall, but this time, he wasn’t with Patrick or Gáe Bolg.

Instead, he was walking alongside the top student of Byzantium Academy—Serenne Camillea.

“Shall we talk at a café?”

“Let’s eat first. We should have lunch before the afternoon lectures.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Serenne nodded sleepily.

She was always hard to read.

Not that she was emotionless, though.

Side by side, Sion and Serenne made their way toward the academy’s shopping district.

‘The commercial area is really well-developed.’

In his past life, Sion had attended a prestigious university in Seoul thanks to his academic achievements. Fortunately, the area around his university was filled with restaurants, bars, cafés, and clothing stores.

Back then, he had never really taken the time to explore or enjoy campus life.

But now, it felt like a whole new world.

“There are so many people.”

“Of course. This is Byzantium Academy.”

Even compared to the university towns of his past life, the shopping district of Byzantium Academy was top-tier.

Rows of two- and three-story buildings lined the main streets, packed with people bustling about.

As expected from the Empire’s greatest academy, the crowd was overwhelming.

Suddenly—

Grab.

“?!”

As Sion was walking absentmindedly, someone grabbed his hand.

Serenne.

She was staring at him with her usual blank expression.

Her small hand was now firmly holding his.

“Uh… uh…?”

“If we don’t hold hands, we’ll get swept away in the crowd. Let’s just go into any shop.”

“Ah, y-yeah! You’re right!”

Serenne was small and petite.

It made sense that she might get lost in the crowd.

Even knowing that, the fact that she was holding his hand made his heart race a little.

‘Get it together. Serenne isn’t even thinking about this!’

The most important rule of male-female friendships—

‘Never misinterpret things.’

Once you start thinking the other person might like you, even staying friends becomes difficult.

Sion had read something like that on social media in his past life.

Before Serenne could get dragged away by the crowd, Sion quickly entered the nearest restaurant.

“Phew… Alright, let’s eat here.”

“Okay.”

“Excuse me, do you have a table for tw—”

The moment Sion stepped inside, he froze.

Pink.

Pink everywhere.

From the maid uniforms of the staff to the heart-shaped decorations to the overwhelming number of couples dining inside.

Creak.

Like a machine, Sion slowly turned his head to check the restaurant’s name.

Bling Bling Restaurant

— Couple Event in Progress! Enjoy a 10% Discount for Couples!

— Bonus: A FREE magical “Love-Love” photo with our enchanted photography service!

— Byzantium Academy students get an additional 10% discount! (Student ID required)

— Grow your sparkling love at Bling Bling Restaurant~♡

A bead of sweat rolled down Sion’s forehead.

He had just wanted a regular meal—

But he had walked straight into the worst possible restaurant.

“Um… maybe we should try somewhere else…?”

“I want to eat this.”

“…Huh?”

Serenne pointed at the menu board by the counter.

Under the glowing “Best!” label—

Hamburger steak.

Topped with sauce shaped like a heart.

“Wouldn’t other restaurants have the same thing?”

“No, I want this one.”

“Ugh… But still…”

“Oh my, are you students from the academy? Welcome, hohoho!”

“Ah.”

Before Sion could convince her otherwise, a staff member approached them.

A cheerful-looking middle-aged woman, dressed entirely in pink from head to toe.

If Sion had been alone, he would have immediately turned around and left.

But before he could react, Serenne wordlessly raised two fingers.

“Two people.”

“Ah, two of you, hoho! My, you two look so good together! Such a beautiful couple~”

“Ah, no, we’re not—mph!”

Serenne suddenly stood on her tiptoes and clamped her hand over Sion’s mouth.

Surprised, he looked down at her.

But she responded with the most natural tone possible.

With her arms wrapped around his—

“We’re a couple.”

“Oh my, I thought so! Such a lovely pair! And you’re first-years too? Already dating—hohoho, I must be getting old. Take a seat wherever you like~”

“Thank you.”

Serenne bowed politely and led the way to a table.

The staff member cheerfully moved on to serve other customers.

Sion, on the other hand, was frozen.

‘T-This is just a misunderstanding… right?’

First, she held his hand.

Then, she linked arms with him.

And now, she had declared them a couple.

It was an experience completely foreign to him in both of his lives.

But of course—

This was only shocking to Sion.

“Hurry up, sit down.”

“Uh? O-Okay…”

“I’m hungry. Let’s order.”

Serenne was already seated and flipping through the menu with a serious expression.

Sion sat across from her, still trying to process everything.

“Uh… is this really okay?”

“What is?”

“I mean… they’re all going to think we’re a couple. People might misunderstand…”

“I don’t care. Besides—look at this.”

Snap.

Serenne flipped to the first page of the menu and pointed to a specific line with her small finger.

A Discounted “Couple” Meal

The sign had been visible when they first entered the restaurant.

— Couple Event in Progress! Get a 10% Discount for Verifying Your Couple Status!

“…10% discount for verifying as a couple?”

“If there’s a discount available, it would be rude not to take it.”

“So that’s why you’re pretending we’re a couple…?”

“Of course.”

Serenne nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

‘She’s not wrong… but doesn’t she feel embarrassed at all?’

Sion glanced around the restaurant.

Everywhere he looked, couples were showing affectionate gestures—feeding each other parfaits, sharing a single drink with two straws, cutting their steak together…

No matter which direction he turned, it was packed with sweet, lovey-dovey couples.

Just being in this environment made him feel more self-conscious.

Completely unaware of his internal struggle, Serenne suddenly pushed a menu toward him.

“I’ve already chosen. Order.”

“Huh? Oh, alright.”

Sion quickly skimmed through the menu, trying to find something neutral among the overly decorated, heart-themed dishes.

In the end, he settled on pasta.

…A dish named Overflowing Love Rose Pasta.

“Excuse me, we’re ready to order.”

“Oh my, have you made your choices~?”

The same cheerful woman who had guided them in approached with a bright smile.

“…The rose pasta and the hamburger steak, please.”

“Alright~! That’s one Overflowing Love Rose Pasta and one Heart-Boom-Boom Hamburger Steak! Got it! And for drinks?”

“Sion, let’s get this one. It looks good.”

Serenne pointed at a layered, gradient-colored blue drink.

“One Youthful Beach! Drinks included! Please wait just a moment, hohoho~.”

The waitress giggled and moved on to another table.

Given the restaurant’s popularity, she barely had time to rest.

Unfortunately, the real issue wasn’t the number of customers—

It was the fact that every single one of them was a couple engaging in endless displays of affection.

“The hamburger steak looks delicious.”

“…”

Serenne, of course, didn’t seem to care in the slightest.

She was staring intently at another table.

Sion followed her gaze and saw a couple feeding each other bites of hamburger steak.

…Did he just see a tiny bit of drool forming at the corner of her lips?

‘This is so awkward…’

Sion fidgeted with his fingers.

Serenne was acting as casually as ever, but—

From Sion’s perspective, this was no different from being on a date with a girl he barely knew.

It felt even more awkward to sit here in complete silence, so he forced himself to start a conversation.

“…You mentioned having Mystic Eyes before. How did you get them?”

Blink, blink.

Serenne’s half-lidded, sleepy eyes turned to him.

She spoke in a slow, languid voice, as if recalling a dream from long ago.

“I was born with them.”

Her sky-blue irises—

Drifting like clouds in the wind, ever-shifting with the passage of time.

“Have you… heard of the Camillea family?”

“…No.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. It’s just an ordinary count’s family. A knight family, actually.”

“A knight family?”

Sion’s eyes widened.

She had entered Byzantium Academy as the undisputed top student.

If she was the top of the Magic Department, he had assumed she came from some prestigious mage bloodline—

If not one of the Empire’s Three Great Magic Families, then at least a notable one.

But to think she came from a knight family.

“I already explained my Mystic Eyes, right? The ones that see the flow of mana.”

“Yeah, I remember…”

“Being able to see mana flow is a blessing. But it’s also a curse.”

“A curse?”

“Yes. For a newborn child who barely understands the world… having all that magical information crammed into their brain is nothing short of torture.”

“…”

Sion tried to imagine it.

A pair of eyes that could see all the mana flow in the world.

If an infant had such a power, would it even be bearable?

The fact that she hadn’t lost her mind was already a miracle.

…Maybe her sleepy demeanor and aloof personality were lingering effects of it.

Sion adjusted his posture and asked,

“Then how did you…”

“I cried.”

“…”

“I cried, and cried, and cried some more. The pain drilling into my brain made me want to gouge my eyes out, but I couldn’t. Did you know? These eyes can see through thin eyelids with ease. Even if I close them, the mana flow is still visible. Even in total darkness.”

Serenne’s words left Sion speechless.

She spoke as if she were simply narrating someone else’s story.

Her tone was detached, empty—like she was stating facts with no emotion.

What little feeling was left in her words was as dry as a desert.

“Not a very interesting story, huh? You probably had a similar life anyway.”

“…No, that’s not what I—”

Just as Sion was about to protest—

“Hoho~! Your food is here~!”

The waitress reappeared, setting down their meals.

A hamburger steak topped with heart-shaped sauce, rose pasta sprinkled with heart-shaped cheese—

And, to top it all off—

A single drink with two straws.

“Enjoy your meal~! Ah, and don’t forget to take your couple’s photo before you leave~! Hohoho!”

Sion stared at the table, now completely covered in heart decorations.

Meanwhile—

“Hamburger steak… slurp Let’s eat.”

Unlike in class, Serenne’s eyes sparkled as she picked up her fork and knife.