S.A.O Project Alicization - OC/Male Reader Insert

Peoject Aliziation ----- Chapter Nine

Shino Asada took a sip of cold-brewed iced coffee with just a dab of milk, allowing the rich flavor to seep back into her throat before she let out a long breath.

"It's really coming down."

She didn't realize at first that the baritone from beyond the counter was directed at her. But of course it was; there were no other customers. Shino turned to look at the barista polishing drinking glasses, his skin the shade of a latte.

"It's the rainy season," she replied. "It's supposed to rain until tomorrow."

"And here I thought it was the work of an undine mage," the stern-faced man said flatly. She snorted.

"No one's going to understand that you told a joke if you don't at least make the right expression, Agil."

"Hrm..."

Agil, owner of the café/bar Dicey Café, wriggled his eyebrows and mouth in search of the "right expression," prompting Shino to burst into laughter when each face he made looked more likely to bring small children to tears. She lifted her glass to her mouth and drowned out the laughter with coffee.

Satisfied, he put on an even fiercer look, just before the bell on the door jingled. A new guest stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway when he saw the proprietor's face, and he shook his head.

"Listen, Agil, if you greet all your customers that way, your place is going to go out of business very quickly."

"N-no, it's not that. This is my joke face."

"...It's not that, either," the customer snapped, putting his umbrella in the whiskey barrel near the door once he'd shaken off the drops. When he saw Shino, he waved to her. "'Sup."

"You're late," she scolded, glaring at Kazuto Kirigaya as he winced in apology.

"Sorry, it's been so long since I rode the train..." He sat down across from Shino, opening his collar.

"You didn't ride your motorcycle?"

"I wasn't up for riding it in the rain...I'll have a caffé shakerato, Agil," said Kazuto, trying a new drink. The collarbone peeking through the top of his shirt was as thin as that of his virtual avatar. His skin color wasn't particularly healthy, either.

"...Have you lost more weight? You really need to eat more." Shino grimaced, but Kazuto just waved his hand.

"I was back at my base weight for a while. I just lost a bit more over this long weekend..."

"Why, were you training in the mountains?"

"Nope, just sleeping."

"How do you lose that much weight?"

"Probably because I wasn't eating anything."

"...Huh? Are you trying to reach enlightenment or something?" she asked, baffled. Just then, a light clattering came from the counter. The owner of the café was working a silver shaker with (rude as it was to admit) surprising dexterity for his size. Agil poured the contents of the shaker into a wide coupe glass and set it on a tray, and Shino was reminded that the place turned into a bar at night.

He set down the glass in front of Kazuto, the contents light brown with a fine layer of froth on top.

"So this is a...caffé shakey-something?" she asked. Kazuto pushed the glass over to her. She lifted it and put her lips to the rim to take a sip. The creamy texture of the head gave way to a pleasantly chilly coffee flavor, followed by a sweet aftertaste. It wasn't anything like the cans of iced milk-coffee from the vending machine at school.