Hi, Yuri unni.

The other person next to Anne-Marie followed along and greeted me too. Today, Hestia came together with her.

Hello, Ms. Anne-Marie. Hestia as well, how are you?

I greeted both of them in return.

Anne-Marie and Hestia were sisters who obviously looked very alike. On top of that, Anne-Marie was famous on Ferret when she worked in the clinic opposite the coffeehouse not too long ago. And so, there were many customers in the store who were stealing glances at the pair of sisters.

Right now, the both of them were standing side by side, wearing the hats I gave them as a gift. It was a cream-colored hat with a wide brim suitable for going outside and there was a light purple ribbon with white polka dots around it, giving it a cute and refreshing feeling.

The hat looks great on you.

When I complimented it, Anne-Marie gave a happy smile.

Hestia and I went to the outskirts of town to get some air today.

Is that so? That must have been nice, Hestia.

Yes, it was fun. Yuri unni, you should come with us next time.

The three of us made some small talk.

Of course, it wasnt difficult to see each other because we lived next door but still, meeting outside like this made it feel different.

Then Anne-Marie suddenly looked around the store and spoke like she was surprised.

I know there are usually a lot of customers at this time, but it looks like more crowded today?

Its been like that lately. Would you like to come inside?

However, Hestia shook her head while pulling at Anne-Maries arm.

I want to sit outside.

Oh? Then well go with what Hestia wants.

Anne-Marie and Hestia went to sit at a table outside. They both ordered lemonades. I brought a cheesecake too as a service on the house.

Grandpa Bastia was here a little earlier.

Ah, the title of Grandpa still felt awkward to say. But there wasnt any other title I could use that made me go this is it!.

He did? Aww, if I came a little earlier, I might have seen him.

When I saw him today, he definitely looked much healthier than before. It must be because Ms. Anne-Marie is his caretaker.

Oh gosh, no. The people before me were all amazing, Im just benefitting from it because I came after.

Anne-Marie blushed and waved her hand. Sure enough, she was the humble female lead.

By the way, did grandpa say anything else?

And at the next question that flowed from her mouth, I couldnt help but tilt my head, feeling skeptical.

What do you mean? He did tell me to be careful because things are quite dangerous outside.

Hearing that, Anne-Marie slowly nodded her head as though saying he was right. But it didnt look like that was what she had in mind.

Then I guess he wants to tell Ms. Yuri when you visit the mansion this week. Mm, then I wont say anything either.

As she said that, Anne-Marie smiled and her expression was akin to a kid secretly playing pranks on an adult. From the looks of it, Anne-Marie already knew what Bastian planned on saying to me. Somehow, I was starting to have an idea about what Bastian wanted to tell me.

Hello, Ms. Yuri!

That very moment, a clear voice rang out from behind me.

As I turned my head, I was greeted with the sight of a sloppy man smiling at me with untidy bangs covering his eyes. Today again, he was dressed as Snow instead of Genos.

Ah, the clinics silver angel is here too!

He discovered Anne-Marie in front of me and greeted her boisterously. Then he saw Hestia sitting next to Anne-Marie and looked stunned like he was seeing her for the first time then he added:

And the one beside youdont tell me, the clinics silver angels sister?!

I felt my body growing a little cold.

The title was stupidly longand cringy.

Hello. Its been a while. I see youre still a regular at the coffeehouse.

The two had met once before so Anne-Marie responded to Genos greeting.

But that title isnt suitable for me. Besides, I dont even work at the clinic anymore

But perhaps due to the title he said, the smile on her lips looked a little embarrassed.

Hestia was starting at him with a little wariness in her eyes, perhaps because she was seeing Snow for the first time. She had met Genos once at the festival before Hestia did not know that.

What do you mean, there isnt anyone who suits that title better than Ms. Anne-Marie. An angel never stops being an angel! Isnt that right, Ms. Yuri?

The title does suit Ms. Anne-Marie.

Well, although it was a little cringy, like Genos said, Anne-Marie was truly like an angel so I calmly nodded in agreement.

At that, Anne-Maries cheeks flushed red.

To, to me, Ms. Yuri is the one who looks like an angel!

Her voice went up uncharacteristically as she exclaimed.

Really? Thank you.

I knew Anne-Marie liked me but if she really thought that then I could only say her rose-colored glasses were amazing.

Are you guys dating?[1]

Hestia spat out after glancing at me and Anne-Marie while biting on the straw in her lemonade.

Eventually, Genos took a seat inside the store.

Id like a glass of lemonade too.

Weve changed our coffee beans starting today, would you still like to go with a lemonade?

When he ordered a lemonade like usual, I casually informed him that our coffee beans had changed. After all, I could still remember that Genos started ordering lemonade after we changed the original coffee beans.

When he heard me, Genos paused for a moment.

His eyes, hidden under the shaggy brown hair, stared at me for a while. And a moment later, a voice quite lower than before rang in my ears.

I seeIll have coffee instead then.

Sure, please wait a moment.

Even as I walked to the kitchen, I could feel his gaze sticking to my back.

Excuse me but can I hold for hand for a second?

When I finally brought the coffee, Genos spoke.

No.

I refused without batting an eye, like I usually did when he played his tricks. And at that moment, I could feel a sense of embarrassment coming from Genos.

Ah, its not because of that todayits because of what I said last time, I feel like Ill be able to know more about it if I hold your hand.

He explained, looking a little flustered.

No wonder I felt his voice was serious just now. I guess he wasnt joking around like other times but was saying that for a different reason.

I arranged the tray then I spoke like I was talking casually.

You mean the palm reading you talked about when you came before?

ThatI did say that butthis is different from that

I was just making a little joke, but Genos seemed more embarrassed. Apparently, it was only now he was getting embarrassed by all the nonsense he had been throwing my way.

That said, from what I remember when reading the novel, Genos foresight ability was stronger when he was in contact with the body involved. It was very similar to psychometry, but the difference was that Genos saw the future, not the past.

I dont know if its going to work but still, just in case.

I let my gaze fall on Genos.

Seeing him in front of me like this made me remember what I heard in the conversation between Genos and Kalian a few nights ago.

~

This incident seems to be related to your family and the Salvatores somehow.

~

I wanted to know more about what that meant but I couldnt question the person in front of me directly. Of course, I could have infiltrated the Salvatores or the Crawfords to investigate personally but I felt like this wasnt the time to act rashly. So for now, I was thinking about it a little more and deciding the best time and method.

It wont take long, its really just a second.

Alright then.

Eh, huh?

Drag. [2]

I pulled out the chair and sat down opposite Genos. Even though he was the one who brought it up, when I finally accepted, Genos looked very surprised.

He looked at me, stuttering like he was at loss for words.

You said it will take a second.

I held out my hand over the table.

Starting from people sitting around us, the sound of people murmuring spread throughout the store. They seemed shocked by the fact that I saw down on a specific customers table because I had always defended with an iron wall no matter who made a pass at me.

When Genos, who was hesitating for some reason, carefully held my hand which was stretch over the table, the disturbance grew louder. I heard things like No way and I even heard some forks and teacups falling to the ground.

I couldnt help but frown slightly at all the various noises digging into my ears.

Agh, Ill have to clean up all of that.

Whether I was sitting down with someone or holding hands with someone, it was none of their business so I couldnt care less about them acting like that.

Either ways, regardless of other people thought, on the surface, Genos and I continued what we were doing without paying attention to the reactions around us.

Genos held my hand tight and focused on something as if his previous hesitation was just an illusion. I simply waited quietly without doing anything.

Come to think of it, Im holding hands with my favorite character right now.

Of course, the circumstances werent fun at all. For some reason, it was almost certain I had a death flag or something similar soon and right now, Genos was trying to see if he could look into my future.

To be honest, he and I didnt have any particular relationship. At best, we were coffeehouse employee and customer to each other. Even then, we only talked when he was ordering and paying at the store, so maybe we saw each other for 5 minutes in a day at the most?

Despite that, he wasnt ignoring my plight instead he was seriously trying to help me. I was truly grateful for that.

As I stayed still with nothing to do, several thoughts began to float in my head.

Only

Genos hand is pretty too. Of course, Lakis hand is the best.

Then I suddenly thought of that as I looked down at the hand holding mine.

Translators Corner:

[1] This is a sarcastic statement, but I dont know if that is obvious.

[2] I think this is supposed to the sfx for pulling out the chair???