endless path, infinite cosmos

chapter 162

Vahn enjoyed the rest of his lunch and made light conversation with Syr whenever she wasn't busy with other customers. She kept asking him 'probing' questions about his past and what he wanted to do in the future, but Vahn only answered with curt responses and a smile. Though he was certainly interested in Syr, he was still a bit concerned with other matters that he had been dealing with lately. However, his dismissive attitude didn't seem to offend Syr, as she continued to make conversation with him until he paid his tab.

As Vahn was preparing to leave, Syr stopped him and asked, "Will you be coming by again soon? Chloe should be working the rest of the week, and I'm certain she would be happy to see you." Syr had a gentle smile on her face as she put a little extra inflection on her words when she spoke about Chloe. Vahn imagined the image of the playful cat girl in his mind before nodding his head and responding, "Sure, I'll try to stop by more often. It was nice to meet you, Syr."

After giving her a few polite words, Vahn made his way out of the Hostess of Fertility with Syr following his back with her eyes. She wasn't the only one to do so either, as Ryuu had periodically looked toward Vahn as he was eating. Though she never spoke out to him after their initial meeting, she paid attention whenever he and Syr were speaking. Now that Vahn had left, Ryuu approached Syr and asked, "Did you take an interest in him?"

Syr chucked in a sing-song manner as she put her hand over her mouth and asked, "Aren't you the one that took an interest in him, Ryuu? I never expected you to let him grab your hand so easily~" As they had been friends for a long time, Syr knew about Ryuu's personality and past better than anyone, so she couldn't help but tease the taciturn elf. Ryuu, hearing Syr's question, allowed her expression to loosen a bit as she averted her eyes from Syr and said, "I couldn't feel any negative feelings from him..."

Syr nodded her head at Ryuu's words and, with a cheerful smile, said, "He really is an interesting boy, isn't he?" After her words, Syr moved away to tend to other customers while Ryuu watched her back with a hint of contemplation in her sky-blue eyes. It wasn't just Syr who could see through her, but Ryuu had also become well acquainted with how Syr acted. The people she took an interest in were all unique individuals or those with high potential. Turning her eyes to the door where Vahn had left a few minutes prior, Ryuu stared into space for a few seconds before lifting her left hand and recalling the earlier event. As long as she didn't get in the way of Syr, Ryuu wanted to get to know the boy that had taken hold of her hand so easily.

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Shortly after Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility, his steps paused for a few seconds as he looked back in the direction he had come. The system had given him a notification that Ryuu's affection had gone up an additional 8 points suddenly, and now she had a value of 79(Interest) in him. Though he was surprised when he got the large amount earlier, he didn't know what had happened for her to have another jump. Typically speaking, unless he did something drastic, most actions would only increase affection by +1 at a time.

Vahn remembered her subtly shocked expression when he had grabbed her hand earlier and the speed with which she departed after the fact. Though he didn't think much of it at the time, it should have been an indicator that his actions had a greater impact than he expected. The Ryuu he saw in the manga always seemed somewhat cold, but he also knew she had a warm personality behind the taciturn expression. Now that he had somehow gained her interest, Vahn was looking forward to his future interactions with the elven beauty.

In a better mood than when he had set out, Vahn made his way towards Hephaestus workshop to see if anything had been happening that he wasn't informed about. Surprisingly, after he arrived, Vahn found the workshop had been closed for the day. After he found one of the perimeter security guards, Vahn learned that Hephaestus had left early in the morning for personal matters. At this point, Vahn was absolutely certain there was something going on. The fact that he wasn't informed made Vahn believe that the matter most likely pertained to him, so he went to his next destination to confirm his hunch.