Chapter 137: Mixed Motives

“Muen Campbell!”

On the quiet and secluded street, a girl’s voice rang out in surprise. Paired with the chime of the wind bell above the door, it made Muen feel, for the first time, the chill of late autumn’s killing frost.

“S-S-Shali Frand...?”

Muen stiffly turned his head. Even though he repeated in his mind over and over It’s just a hallucination, it’s just a hallucination, that familiar face, framed by those giant black-rimmed glasses, inevitably entered his vision.

“W-Why are you here?”

“Why am I here?”

Shali looked slightly puzzled. “This is my house.”

...What?

House?

Muen’s brain briefly short-circuited. Then, almost fast enough to hear his own neck creak, he whipped around to look at the restaurant’s address plaque.

Durank Street—No. 15!

Shit!

So that’s why this address looked so familiar—why it jumped out at him from the sea of information.

This was the address Shali had given him!

In other words, this was her family’s restaurant!

“How did I forget something so important? Did soaking in the Mercurial Well for thirty hours fry my brain?”

“Muen, are you muttering something?”

Shali leaned closer, her cheeks slightly red, the joy on her face utterly unguarded:

“Alright, it’s cold outside. Don’t stand around—come inside. I knew Muen would come, so I told my dad to temporarily close the restaurant just to wait inside.”

So that’s why this place was closed on a weekend?!

“No, it’s fine. I have... something else to take care of, so I won’t go in—”

“Eh? Muen, didn’t you come because I invited you?”

The light in Shali’s eyes vanished in an instant. She wasn’t holding anything, but Muen suddenly felt like she was standing in front of him with a firewood cleaver.

A chill ran down his spine.

Was this girl... really that terrifying?

Besides, hadn’t they only met two or three times? And she was this fixated on him?

Don’t tell me...

She’s lusting after my good looks?

“Uhm, Shali, actually today—”

But even so, Muen was determined to reject her invitation.

Because compared to being chopped to death with a hatchet, the bigger issue was ruining this date any further.

Having a second girl appear during a date—now that was a mortal sin!

“Oh my, junior, aren’t you going to introduce this adorable young lady to me?”

Right then, Anna suddenly touched her cheek and smiled.

Muen instantly felt a chill down his back and trembled.

Senior, this is really not the time to stir things up!

As expected, the moment senior spoke, Shali’s attention shifted.

It was like she just realized there was another beautiful woman standing here. Her face instantly turned guarded, like she'd entered battle mode.

“Who are you?”

“She’s Senior Anna, my upperclassman from the club.”

Muen quickly wedged himself between them, forcing an introduction:

“This is Shali Frand, my classmate from the same year.”

“Nice to meet you, Shali. I’m Anna Kaplin.”

Senior offered her hand with a graceful and elegant demeanor, like a big-hearted upperclassman completely unbothered by Shali’s sudden appearance.

“Hello, I’m Shali Frand.”

Shali reached out and lightly shook hands with Anna.

But the moment they touched, Shali’s body paused for a brief second. A flicker of confusion flashed through her eyes.

Then she quickly returned to normal.

“Senior Anna... are you on a date with Muen?”

Her gaze, behind those black-framed glasses, swept over the two of them, with a trace of suspicion.

Here it comes!

Muen tensed up like he'd been electrocuted.

According to the countless romance manga he’d read in his past life, now was the time to answer tactfully to avoid escalating conflict.

Because girls like Shali—seemingly soft and meek but actually obsessive—were dangerously prone to turning yandere.

Tactful.

He had to be tactful.

“Oh yes~ Junior here seems like he wants to woo me~” Anna answered casually.

Aaaagh!

Senior, what the hell are you saying?!

Weren’t you just denying this was a date? Didn’t you warn me not to carry any strange ideas?

Why the sudden flip?!

“I... Is that so? Haha, so that’s how it is, huh...”

As expected, the light in Shali’s eyes flickered and disappeared again.

She looked like she could pull out a hatchet at any moment, scream “Let’s split him in half,” and charge in swinging—one slash to the neck, one to the gut.

Just imagining it made Muen shrink back.

But, unexpectedly, Shali recovered quickly. In fact, her fighting spirit seemed to ignite.

“I-I won’t lose!”

She clenched her fists tightly as if to cheer herself on. “That’s right, I won’t give up that easily!”

And with that, she renewed her invitation to Muen:

“Judging by the time, Muen must be hungry, right? Since you’re already here, why not come in and try my dad’s cooking?”

“No—no thanks.”

Muen shook his head hard.

What kind of joke was this? Walking into that house now would be suicide.

Absolutely not going in!

“Sure.”

But Anna responded with a smile:

“Perfect, I’m hungry too. You don’t mind one more, do you, junior Shali?”

So what are you even doing, senior?!

Muen stared in horror, but Anna just kept smiling like she hadn’t noticed a thing.

She stared at Shali, as if trying to confirm something—or maybe lost in thought.

Seeing Anna agree first, Shali, though clearly unhappy, realized this was her only chance to get Muen inside.

So she threw another pitiful look at him:

“It’s come to this... Muen won’t refuse me now, right?”

“......”

...

Inside the restaurant.

Just as the guidebook pictures and description promised, the little private restaurant had an elegant atmosphere and tasteful decor—perfect for a date.

“Let me introduce you. This is my dad.”

Once they were seated, Shali dragged over a middle-aged man with a stern face and few words.

“Hello, sir.”

“Hello.”

Muen and Anna both greeted politely. The man nodded silently, then turned and walked into the back room.

Before long, the sound of rhythmic chopping echoed from within.

“Sorry, my dad’s not very good at talking to people,” Shali said, scratching her head apologetically.

Neither Muen nor Anna seemed to mind.

“Please wait here. I’m going to help out in the kitchen. This time, I’ll definitely make Muen fall for my cooking!”

With resolve burning in her eyes, Shali dashed into the kitchen.

And just like that, the elegant little ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) restaurant was left with only Muen and his senior once more.

“So, senior, what exactly are you trying to do?”

After a brief silence, Muen looked at Anna helplessly, still unable to figure out what she was thinking:

“Are you just here to laugh at me?”

“How could I? Am I really such a wicked senior?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Kukuku... Then let’s just say I am.”

Anna chuckled lightly, then shifted the topic:

“Junior, that girl named Shali—she seems to like you.”

“But I don’t like her.”

Muen looked straight into senior’s eyes and spoke seriously:

“She’s a decent girl, sure. But honestly, we’ve only met a couple times.

I don’t like her, senior.”

“I see. Then, junior, can you do me a favor?”

“What kind of favor?”

“Help me...”

Anna looked at Muen and suddenly flashed a devilish smile:

“Make her cry.”