บท 24: She Has Friends?

Cynthia knew that she had screwed up royally.

Even though Emilia looked so pitiful right now, how could she not know that far from being distressed, her villainess was actually very, very angry instead?

And as the person responsible for making her angry, the poor system could only meekly keep quiet and hope for the best.

Thankfully, Emilia seemed to prioritize reassuring her companions that she was alright over bringing Cynthia to 'justice'. By the time her turn came, she should have cooled off a little, right?

Their fussing was interrupted by the sound of the kitchen door opening, and the middle aged lady who came out looked startled when she noticed the three girls.

It was lucky that Emilia's tears had already been wiped away, or it would lead to some very awkward questions.

The heroine coughed awkwardly.

"Mom! T-These are my… friends, from school."

"Your friends?!"

With her eyes wide and mouth agape, Crystal's mother looked like she was in complete disbelief that her daughter actually had 'friends' now.

Her shock wasn't completely unjustified. From the start of her kindergarten life until the end of middle school, let alone bringing one home, her daughter had never even mentioned the existence of such a 'foreign concept' as a friend.

Even if there had been some subtle changes in Crystal's behavior recently, her mother did not dare hope too much.

Thankfully, Emilia took some mercy on the heroine and introduced herself to alleviate some of the embarrassment in the air.

"Hello auntie, my name is Emilia, and this is Dixy."

Once she realized that she wasn't dreaming, the heroine's mother greeted them so enthusiastically that even Emilia was left speechless.

"Nice to meet you! To think my daughter could make such cute friends! Ah, you girls stay here and chat, make sure to deepen your friendship! I will bring you some snacks."

Both Emilia and Dixy looked at each other blankly as the lady left far too quickly for either of them to be able to protest.

The heroine looked incredibly embarrassed.

"Sorry… It's just the first time I've brought someone over, so she's like that."

Emilia had actually wanted to tease her a little, just to lift her mood if nothing else, but looking at the heroine's already red face, she couldn't help but take some pity.

"It's okay. You don't have to be so shy. Why not sit down first?"

It was only then that both Dixy and Crystal realized they had been standing next to Emilia the entire time.

As the two of them took their seat with some embarrassment, Emilia's eyes wandered through the restaurant's interiors.

Aside from half a dozen tables with four to six chairs each, there was only an empty cash counter. And a metal double door diagonally opposite to the entrance led to what she assumed to be the kitchen area.

On the other side, a partially opened door revealed a winding staircase. She assumed that the upper floors must be where the 'residential' part of the building was.

The interior didn't look too dilapidated or shabby at first glance, but the fact that Crystal's mom was doing everything from cooking to serving all alone was enough to let her know their current situation.

Maybe it wasn't so hard to manage all the work, after all. Since all the tables were spotlessly clean, and there was no sign of any guests coming any time soon. But wasn't that an even bigger problem?

The situation didn't make much sense to Emilia, but she could only look into it later. She would have plenty of opportunities once she came by for tutoring, after all.

"What time would suit you best, Crystal?"

The heroine had already thought about it quite a bit, and just hoped that Emilia wouldn't make things more difficult.

"Uh, I think maybe the morning would be the best."

Dixy and Emilia looked at each other.

Crystal bit her lip. As expected, the want to sleep in on weekends, right?

"Is there a problem?"

"No, morning is fine."

The heroine breathed a sigh of relief when Emilia agreed. She was worried that if she came by in the evenings, she would maybe decide to stay over some day, and that could lead to all kinds of strange situations.

Even if the poison was slowly seeping in, it did not mean that she should just jump in and drown herself. If this whimsical rich girl really decided to have a sleepover, Crystal was sure not to get any sleep.

The heroine's mother came back carrying a few shortcakes and tea on a large tray, and this time Emilia paid a little more attention to the lady herself.

The creases near her mouth and eyes were far too well defined for her age, assuming she did not have Crystal extremely late.

It was one thing to hear about their dire straits from Cynthia, and another thing entirely to see it for herself. At this point, it wasn't possible for her to pretend nothing was happening. She would definitely have to figure out a way to change things soon.

Of course, even if she wanted to help, it had to be done in a way that would not hurt their self-esteem too much. It was unwise to rush without a plan.

The heroine's mother accepted their thanks with a smile, and left them alone to talk. She did not go to the kitchen, but the upper floors. Clearly, she didn't even expect any customers to come.

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The two of them didn't bother Crystal for long, and bid farewell shortly after finishing the cakes. The heroine didn't follow them out, and even locked the restaurant door when they left.

Emilia nudged Dixy when she saw the girl rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, don't be like that."

The short haired girl sighed. "I don't know, Emily, she's clearly not very happy to have us over. Are you sure you wanna let her tutor us? We can hire a professional, you know."

What Dixy didn't say was that with this girl's attitude, would she even be sincere with her tutoring? If she half-assed it, then it would be worse than just a waste of time.

Of course Emilia wouldn't think so, since she thought she had a better grasp of the heroine's character.

"Hm. Just give her a chance. Think of it as accompanying me to play, if you want."

"Ahaha… well, I can't say no if you say it like that! But what about the dojo lessons? Don't think my grandpa won't spank you if you miss his lessons just because he's favoring you now, you know, he definitely will!"

Emilia blinked, not seeing the problem at all. Although it might be a bit tiring to go to the dojo and then come for tutoring right after, it wasn't much different from doing the same on school days, right?

She certainly hoped the timing could have been different, but it wasn't a big deal to adjust to Crystal's preferences. It was a minor inconvenience at most.

"Uh, it's fine to come to Crystal after the dojo, isn't it?"

Dixy couldn't help but pout. Just how was this little princess so oblivious to all her plights?!

"It's not fine at all! I'm sweating like a pig once we're done, and I definitely need a shower! It's bad enough on weekdays when I have to go back and forth from home twice every morning before going to school, but even on weekends now?!"

Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if Dixy's grandfather wasn't a weirdo. He insisted that his disciples shouldn't bathe immediately after practicing his art, and refused to let any shower room or bath house be built near the dojo.

If anyone wants to take one after practice, they can only go home first.

This wasn't such a big deal for Emilia, since her body wasn't that of a human to begin with.

The only way she could sweat was if her body temperature was low enough to cause condensation from moisture in the air to form on her skin.

She realized she had neglected some of the issues her friend had been having, so she sincerely apologized to her knight.

"I'm sorry, Dixy. I'll see if I can arrange it so we can shower at school, so you don't have to go back home after dojo. It might be a little early but we can always use that time for self-study. And as for the weekends, my place isn't that far from the dojo."

Dixy was embarrassed, not expecting either her apology or her 'solution'.

"Eh? You mean I-I'll go to your home to shower?"

Emilia tilted her head. "Yes, is there a problem?"

The short haired girl scratched her cheek, not even sure herself why she felt so nervous.

"N-Not that it's a problem, but… wouldn't your parents also be there?"

"Maybe, they're not always home. They're not scary, don't worry."

Emilia smiled when she saw the girl reluctantly agree as Dixy's bodyguard pulled their ride over in front of the restaurant.

There were many things she didn't need to worry about thanks to her knight, such as how to get back home after walking all the way to Crystal's place. So it was only right to arrange a few things for her from time to time.

As they got inside the car, she smiled as she finally caught a clear view of the man slinking away into a nearby alley.