The Water Magician

"It's three o'clock, huh... It's still a bit early for dinner that Abel is going to treat me to."

"You're assuming I'm treating you, huh...? I remember saying that helping you find a house would clear things up..."

"I spared Abel's face by not killing that blazing flame mage at the coast of Whitnash... About that favor..."

"Ah, I get it, I get it. I appreciate it, thanks for that. Here, I'll treat you to a snack, so take me to any shop you like."

With a face that showed half resignation, Abel spoke to Ryo.

"Even if you say any shop... I don't know any place that has delicious snacks. Don't you know any good places, Abel?"

"Then, there's a place just over there that has great cake and coffee. Shall we go there?"

"Coffee!?"

Ryo heard the word "coffee" for the first time since coming to "Fai."

Well, of course, he had heard of "coffee makers"...

"Ryo, do you know what coffee is?"

"It's that drink that's as black as a devil, as hot as hell, as pure as an angel, and as sweet as love, right?"

"There are a lot of unclear words in there, but that's probably it. It's a black drink."

Ryo was struck by the reality that Talleyrand's famous words had been reduced to just "black drink" when it came to Abel.

"What in the world is this menu...?"

The two entered a shop called "Café de Chocolat - Run Branch."

However, despite the name containing "chocolat," there were no cakes made with chocolate.

Not that there were none, but...

"Mont Blanc, strawberry shortcake, Rindo's tart..."

"I'm going with Mont Blanc. Let's have Blue Mountain coffee."

"Coffee... Blue Mountain? Kilimanjaro? Or is it Mandarin...?"

(What is this sense of déjà vu... This feels like more than just reincarnators...)

"Have you made your decision?"

A lovely waitress came to take their order.

"I'll have the Mont Blanc and Blue Mountain set."

"I-I'll have... the strawberry shortcake and Kona."

After taking their orders, the waitress left.

"Do you know about cake too, Ryo? There wasn't any in the Forest of Rondo..."

"Well, there was back in my hometown..."

"I see..."

The cake and Kona coffee that came out were both very delicious.

It had a level of quality that could easily rival any café that would open in modern Japan.

However, the Kona coffee was not the "Hawaiian Kona" he had indulged in when he was on Earth.

He judged that they probably just threw a name on it.

But the taste...

"It was surprisingly delicious..."

"Right? It's just a stone's throw away from the Guild, but this place is good."

"Surely, it was Rhea who brought you here, wasn't it?"

"Yikes."

It seemed he had hit the mark.

"Well, it's fine since it was delicious."

"Ryo, you should take someone on a date here. Maybe Sera."

It was a line that felt probing.

"It's not like that with Sera."

"You just dropped her name casually..."

"You saw me refer to Abel without any honorifics, and now you want me to do the same with you... It's a compromise I had to make."

With that, Ryo lightly shook his head.

"Sera said she's your teacher... But why do you two know each other? You guys have no connection. Sera doesn't even show her face at the Guild, and she's a guide for the knight order..."

"I learned a lot at the North Library."

"I see, the library."

Abel finally had a look on his face that indicated he had resolved a long-standing mystery.

In reality, it had only been about a week.

"Also, recently, I've been getting sword training from her. Before she trains the knight order."

"A mock battle with Sera using swords...?"

"Yeah. She's incredibly strong. I'm currently on a losing streak."

With that, Ryo laughed freely.

It was a sign that he hadn't yet reached the level of being frustrated about losing.

Ryo felt that there was a staggering gap in strength.

"That 'wind attire' thing is amazing. Sera's wind magic is perfect. All of her speed increases. With her already extraordinary sword technique combined with the speed and weight from 'wind attire,' it's terrifyingly troublesome."

"Is Sera using 'wind attire'?"

"Yeah. I just said that, didn't I? Abel, you need to listen to people better."

With that, Ryo finished the remaining coffee.