endless path infinite cosmos Pt. 2

chapter 211

Since the Inn Vahn stayed at was on the same road between the Hostess of Fertility and the Babel Plaza, the two arrived outside the pub after a short ten-minute walk. Along the way, Vahn held Chloe's hand just like he had done so on their date long ago. To other pedestrians, they looked like a young couple walking through the City and enjoying each other's company. Though they were supposed to be in a hurry, Chloe had waited for him outside of the Inn and they leisurely enjoyed the stroll and sunny weather.

After arriving near the Hostess of Fertility, Chloe went toward the side entrance to change into her waitress clothing. She said that it would be a death sentence is she walked through the doors in her current getup while being accompanied by Vahn. Since she was already late, Chloe didn't want to do anything that might trigger Mama Mia's ire. Before she left, however, Vahn used the [Proof of Affection] that he had obtained from Chloe reaching maximum affection. The item that appeared was a beautiful blue ribbon.

Though Vahn found it somewhat strange that the item Chloe wanted was something so simple, she seemed to be very happy as she received it with a cheerful smile on her face. She hugged the ribbon to the side of her face with her eyes closed as if it was some great treasure. After a few seconds, she looked at Vahn with gentle eyes before handing the ribbon back to him. Vahn was somewhat confused until she turned around and said, "I want you to put it on for me..."

Vahn ran through the knowledge in his mind to find a hint for what she was implying, but none of the books he had read mentioned anything about a ribbon and cat people. Unsure of what to do, Vahn held the blue ribbon and stared blankly until he noticed Chloe's tail had been twitching while she silently looked away from him. Inspired, Vahn reached his hands forward and very gently tied the ribbon near the base of Chloe's, right under the small white bow. Though it clashed with the clothing a bit, Vahn felt like the pure blue color complimented the silken black hair of Chloe's tail quite a bit.

While he was lost in thought, Chloe said in a quiet voice, "You have to tie it tighter, or it will fall off~nya." Vahn followed her words and pulled the ribbon marginally tighter until it pressed into the fur a little. When he was done, Chloe's tail danced about before she turned around and threw her arms around Vahn's neck and gave him a kiss. Vahn held her by the waist and reciprocated her affectionate display until she finally separated from him. She touched the ribbon with her fingers and made sure it was firmly fastened to her tail before she laughed in a silly manner and walked inside without saying anything.

Vahn decided to ask her about it later or try to find out if there was some hidden meaning from one of the other cat people he knew. Since Milan and Tina were in a unique situation, that meant the only person he could ask was Arnya. Making his way through the front doors of the pub, Vahn looked around a bit before approaching the bar and explaining the situation to Mama Mia. As expected, she had already heard about the matter from Syr previously, but Vahn still left her a tip as compensation for the trouble. She took the money with a boisterous laughter and made comments about how he was growing up into a 'fine young man'.

Afterward, Vahn ate lunch with Milan and Tina after asking Arnya to be their server. She seemed to be surprised by his request and even acted a bit flustered before eventually accepting. The whole time she was serving the trio, Arnya acted in a somewhat sheepish and clumsy manner and even knocked over the pitcher of juice they had ordered at one point. Vahn immediately contained the spill with one of the towels he had in his inventory while Arnya apologized in an embarrassed manner.

When lunch was finished and Vahn parted with Milan and Tina, he decided to ask Arnya about the matter of the ribbon since they were alone. He approached her and asked in a quiet voice, "Arnya, is there a special significance between cat people and ribbons?" Arnya was acting strangely since earlier and she tilted her head like she was confused about his question for some time. She was always a bit on the clumsy and foolish end of the spectrum, so it took her some time to make sense of what he was asking.