Chapter 8: The Mind-Reading Girl

“Welcome back next time!”

Amidst the standard 90-degree bows of two adorable, beast-eared girls in maid outfits, I walked out of the dazzlingly splendid shop.

As I was leaving, customers were still constantly rushing in… and from time to time, a cat-girl would escort a customer to the door, arm in arm.

Don’t get the wrong idea, this isn’t some kind of sordid place.

It’s just a restaurant with a catchy slogan…

‘Even for a customer whose face is clouded with sorrow, we will use our quality service to help you regain your happiness, Meow~ (>^ω^<)’

This was the slogan of this ‘Maid Restaurant’.

To be frank, it’s just a restaurant that combines beast-eared girls and maids…

As for why it’s a restaurant and not a cafe, I think it’s probably because they don’t have things like coffee here.

Anyway, I just came to try it because I was hungry and happened to hear passersby on the street mention this restaurant.

I… I didn’t come here because I wanted to see beast-eared girls or anything… I didn’t.

Even a customer whose face is clouded with sorrow can regain happiness… mhm.

That’s right… before I stepped out of the restaurant’s door, I was indeed happy…

But, now… my face is still clouded with sorrow…

As for what’s troubling me, it’s naturally my reply to Aisilis…

Perhaps some people think there’s nothing to worry about. If you like her, accept Aisilis’s confession; if you don’t, just reject her.

Indeed, Aisilis’s confession only requires an acceptance or a rejection…

But what about after that? How should I face Aisilis?

If I accept, then it’s obvious I’d just be deceiving myself and Aisilis…

Aisilis’s feelings for me are mostly due to a childhood attachment that has morphed over time, making her mistakenly think she likes me.

And while I do have some special feelings for her, right now it’s at most a state of being more than friends, but not yet lovers.

But if I reject her… I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but for someone who confesses to you, whether in school or in society, if one side’s confession fails, then future meetings and interactions become extremely awkward.

And what I’m afraid of right now is that kind of awkwardness…

“Should I really just leave this place?”

I’m a person who is skilled at running away; that’s been the same in the past and now.

Since I can’t solve it, then I’ll choose to escape.

Life will be a bit better if I don’t face this problem…

This is undoubtedly a coward’s method, but I have to admit, sometimes this method is very effective.

I relied on this method to live a very easy life in my original world…

Although some accidents happened in the end that brought me here, I have no choice but to use this innate talent of mine again.

After I go back, I won’t give Aisilis a reply, but will just find some random excuse and then leave this place…

After a few years, when Aisilis has grown up and understands that her feelings for me are just a morphed attachment… then Aisilis herself will forget me… forget this relationship, and then start her own life anew…

Although it will take a long time to implement, and Aisilis might feel some pain, it’s not a bad method.

After all, I’m also doing this for Aisilis’s own good…

Plus, I was planning to leave here anyway. My journey has only just begun…

Thinking this, my mood instantly brightened…

People are just like that… they deceive themselves and run away from problems they don’t want to face. And once they find a reasonable excuse for themselves, then even while hurting others and themselves, their hearts will still not stop feeling self-satisfied.

After all, I’m just doing it for her own good…

While I was distracted thinking about what reason to use to escape Aisilis’s confession, at a street corner…

‘Bam’ ‘Bam’

I bumped into someone…

“Ouch… oww, oww, oww…”

“Um… sorry… I was thinking about something and wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Facing the blonde, twintail loli in front of me, who was holding her head with both hands and kept shouting ‘ow,’ I couldn’t help but extend my hand.

“Sorry…”

The blonde twintail loli took my hand and stood up…

“You b*stard, were you not looking where you were going?”

“Um, I already said I was thinking… I’m really sorry!”

Facing the blonde loli’s suddenly sharp gaze, I performed the 90-degree perfect bow apology technique…

Hmph, I’m not bragging, but back in the day, I relied on this very technique to gain forgiveness after accidentally knocking a drink out of someone’s hand.

Although I still had to buy them a new drink in the end…

And this time, my 90-degree perfect bow apology technique will surely earn the forgiveness of this blonde loli, because… even if you don’t forgive me, there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Hey, what’s with that attitude of yours? What do you mean ‘even if you don’t forgive me, there’s nothing I can do about it’? An apology needs to be more sincere… you b*stard!”

“? What? Did I actually say my thoughts out loud?”

“…You didn’t… but I saw it.”

“Saw it, as in?… You can read people’s minds?”

“Of course… I am the eldest daughter of the Aileron family, after all~ Hmph ╭(╯^╰)╮”

After speaking, the blonde loli closed her eyes, tilted her body, and crossed her arms over her chest, a look of annoyance mixed with pride on her face.

She might as well have had the words ‘Hurry up and worship me’ written on her face.

Ah… a tsundere…

The old saying is true indeed: since ancient times, blondes have often been tsundere.

And she’s a loli, too… a blonde, twintail, tsundere loli? Mmm, very good, very powerful…

But…

‘Aileron? I feel like I’ve heard that somewhere… but I can’t quite remember.’

“You don’t even know the Aileron family?”

The blonde loli had a look of disbelief on her face.

“Sorry… but, how did you know… ah… mind-reading… But… does that really exist? Things like mind-reading?”

“Of course. Didn’t I just say what was on your mind?”

Seeing my suspicious expression, the loli said with contempt…

“Eh? You could also use magic to make me say my thoughts out loud, then delete my memory and pretend you have mind-reading powers…”

Since I was bored, I started to banter with this blonde tsundere loli…

“Why would I do that? I don’t even know you. Besides, what’s in it for me?”

The blonde tsundere loli looked at me as if I were an idiot.

“Mmm… true… but what if you did? Just like me right now… out of boredom…”

The blonde tsundere loli seemed to be holding back her anger as she interrupted me…

“Then let this commoner see what I’m made of! Although as a noble… my noble upbringing and status tell me not to stoop to your level, but for the honor of the nobility… I’ll stake my name, Liya Aileron, and show you, a commoner, what mind-reading truly is!”

“Oh~~ is that so? I’m suddenly a little excited… So what should I do?”

“Just think of something in your mind, preferably something that can’t be described with words. I’ll draw it out for you exactly as it is. That should be enough, right?”

“Mmm… pretty interesting… then I’m ready… By the way, one more question… can I really think of anything?”

“That’s right… ah… just hurry up and start…”

Looking at this blonde tsundere loli, who was even more eager than I was… I began to fantasize…

‘…’

“…………….You…”

Slowly, the blonde tsundere loli’s whole body began to tremble…

Her face flushed red all the way to her ears… and tears even welled up in her eyes…

“Alright… I’m done thinking… you can start drawing now.”

“Y-y-y-you… y-y-you… you… s-s-shameless… c-c-c-c-c-c-commoner…”

“? Hurry up, I’m in a rush.”

Finally, at my urging, Liya couldn’t hold back her tears…

Then, while crying, she gave me a slap.

“Lewd……… sob sob sob sob sob………”

Then she ran away crying…

After taking a slap, I was sent flying and spinning in mid-air by Liya…

That’s right. Spinning in mid-air…

Heaven knows why that blonde loli has so much strength…

But, as I’m spinning non-stop in the air right now, I’ve at least learned two things.

First: That blonde tsundere loli really can read minds. Because I confirmed that I could think about anything… I imagined a scene that would be absolutely impossible to say or draw in front of someone else…

Second: Regarding the Aileron family… isn’t that the handsome blonde guy who completed the ceremony declaration in Aisilis’s place?

With a loud ‘Bang’… I crashed into the ground………

On the other side… Aisilis, lying on Yuren Xing’s bed, was now holding a palm-sized communication crystal.

A cat-girl beastman appeared inside the crystal.

“So, Yuren Xing has been to your place?”

“Yes, Miss.”

The cat-girl beastman seemed very respectful towards Aisilis…

“Then, did Yuren Xing do anything?”

“No, Miss… Young Master Yuren Xing just came for a meal and then left.”

“Oh~ is that so? You didn’t have someone ‘take care of’ him?”

Faced with Aisilis’s suspicious tone… the cat-girl beastman trembled all over.

“No… Miss… I knew that was Young Master Yuren Xing, so…”

“Shut up! Is Yuren Xing’s name for you to say?”

Frightened by Aisilis’s sudden outburst, the cat-girl beastman knelt down…

“I’m sorry, M-Miss… Young… Young Master… he… other than not looking very well, he really didn’t do anything else…”

“Tsk. Forget it, then. We’ll leave it at that. If Yuren comes to your place again, you know what to do, right~”

“Y… Yes, Miss.”

Ending the crystal conversation, Aisilis lay on Yuren Xing’s bed, looking at the stained and messy blanket.

“Mmm~ I should clean this up… so Yuren doesn’t find out when he comes back~ Sorry, Yuren❤ I lied to you~”

After speaking, a slight smile lifted the corners of Aisilis’s mouth…

Regarding what Yuren Xing was thinking… Hint: Tentacles.