C236: Chance Encounter (3)
âWhy are you here?â
âThatâs what I was going to say.â
Casey Selmore stares at Rudger in disbelief since she didnât expect to meet Rudger in a place like this, but neither did Rudger.
âNo way, did you follow me?â
At Caseyâs words, Rudger frowned.
âI think youâre mistaking something, but itâs me that came here first and was eating. If I had to argue, you are the one that followed me.â
âHa. Funny. Me? For what?â
Casey sighed and replied.
Selina, who was still listening to the conversation between the two, opened her mouth.
âDo you know her?â
There was a tension in her voice. Selina felt a sense of crisis the moment she saw Casey Selmore.
âAn acquaintance of Mr. Rudger?â
Maybe itâs just an acquaintance, but looking at him talking to her, they seemed to be quite close. If the two had heard it, they would have denied it, but that was how Selina felt.
In addition, Casey Selmore was a beauty.
Casey opened her eyes wide to see Selinaâs appearance.
âShe was the teacher from back then, right?â
Selina may not remember, but Casey knew Selina. In fact, all Casey knew was that she was the teacher that Rudger saved from the burning warehouse on the last day of the festival.
However, as soon as she saw the two people meeting and eating like this, Casey thought so without realizing it.
âDate?â
âWhat?â
Selina reacted furiously to Caseyâs muttering. In fact, it was more of an exclamation of half joy.
âDonât be mistaken. I just ran into teacher Selina and we shared a meal together.â
Then Rudger stepped up and corrected Caseyâs misunderstanding. Selina was sullen at the words, but Casey wondered on the contrary.
âDo you usually come to eat together because you ran into each other?â
This is a famous restaurant where reservations are hard to make, however Rudgerâs confident behavior meant he told the truth.
âNo, you never know. Maybe this vicious man is trying to seduce an innocent female teacher and do something behind her back.â
Rudger felt Caseyâs disturbing gaze, but he didnât feel the need to correct that.
âI donât know what youâre thinking, but if you came to eat, it would be nice to just eat quietly and go.â
âWhat?â
âIt was pure coincidence that we encountered each other in the first place. Nothing would change if we talk about it.â
âWhat?â Above all, it is a nuisance to other customers. Are you going to make a lot of noise in public?â
Casey shut up at Rudgerâs blow and her clenched fist trembled.
Rudgerâs words were certainly irrefutable.
âItâs really unfair. Am I supposed to hear this from James Moriarty?â
Would it feel like this when the criminal of the century scolds her for throwing trash on the street?
âCasey, sit down.â
Betty, who came with her, also nagged Casey.
There were no allies here who stood by her.
The rational judgment was right to sit quietly however there was one problem.
âI donât want to listen to him!â
Casey knew in her head that it was enough to sit still, eat, and leave but her heart refused to listen. She felt like she would lose something if she listened to Rudger.
Normally, she wouldnât have done that, but when she was involved with Rudger, her rational judgment was blurred.
Even though she knew it, it was hard to extinguish her simmering sense of competition.
âHe, he.â
When Casey was worried about this and that, Betty, who couldnât watch, grabbed Caseyâs hand.
âSit down.â
As a special automaton, her strength is far higher than that of ordinary people and Casey was forced to sit down by Betty but she did not forget to stare at Rudger with a glare of frustration.
âI sat down because I wanted to sit down. I didnât sit down because you told me to sit down.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Who said that?
He didnât know whatâs wrong with her, but Rudger agreed and decided to move on. He had a hunch that if he didnât, he might be swept away by more troublesome things.
Betty frowned at Caseyâs behavior, but bowed to Rudger and Selina.
âIâm sorry. Casey is not very sociable, so I apologize for her.â
âWhoâs bad at socializing?â
âWho do you think it is?â
Rudger ignored the two who started bickering and decided to focus on the meal.
His gaze stayed on Betty, who bowed to him for a moment, but it was only for a moment so no one noticed him.
âHmph.â
Casey ignored him and glanced discontentedly at Rudger eating his meal.
Meeting today was pure coincidence. There was nothing strange about dismissing it as an unexpected incident and moving over it.
She wanted to ignore it but she kept worrying about it since seeing Rudger eating with Selina made her feel sick. Her fingers kept tapping on the table because she felt stuffy inside.
Casey was mad because she was having a hard time, while Rudger was enjoying a date with a pretty female teacher.
âYou donât deserve it.â
Why are you so nonchalant after all that?
Why are you so relaxed when youâre still fighting the Black Dawn Society?
Now she couldnât tell whether Rudgerâs appearance was fake or real. To be honest, she didnât know.
Casey admitted for the first time that she didnât know anything and raised the white flag for the first time.
âCasey, whatâs wrong with your face?â
âWhat?â
âYou keep groaning like a dog.â
âDogâ¦? Why donât you just cool off if you want to swear?â
âOh, my. When did I do that?â
âI think thatâs what you meant.â
Betty hurriedly excused herself as Casey opened her eyes and glanced helplessly.
âMore than that, Iâm worried about Casey. Of course, Caseyâs usual behavior is so extraordinary that itâs comfortable for me to stay still.â
âYou talk like a mother who brought out a child who doesnât listen to her.â
âBut Caseyâs doing wellâ¦â¦.â
âIs that so?â
âIâm starting to feel anxious that something bigger might explode.â
ââ¦â¦.â
A tendon sprang up over Caseyâs forehead.
Still, she thought that Betty was worried about her, but she was rather anxious.
âYouâ¦â¦were you looking at me like that?â
When asked so while suppressing her boiling anger, Betty countered as if she had something to say this time.
âCasey, you donât even remember what you did to me, do you?â
âWhat?â
âLook at that. That attitude. I think Iâll go crazy because such a person suddenly closes her mouth.â
From Bettyâs point of view, it would have been better if Casey had a fling as usual. She resented herself for adapting to such a weirdo, but what could she do?
She may think itâs annoying, but at least she could think of her as her usual self.
âBut Casey, who is so depressed, doesnât fit.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Caseyâs lips twitched at Bettyâs words. However, she soon nodded.
âI see. That wasnât like me.â
Casey smirked at her remark and felt like her complicated head was getting clearer.
âWhat on earth was I so worried about? I just have to act like my usual self.â
When Caseyâs expression brightened, Betty was relieved by her appearance. After that, he suddenly felt uneasy.
âWait. Did I press the wrong switch?â
Unfortunately, Bettyâs anxiety has become reality.
Casey stood up straight from her seat and began to cast a spell. The overflowing water moved the table and stuck it next to Rudgerâs table.
Looking back at Rudger and Selina who were wondering what was going on, Casey said brazenly.
âItâs fate that we met like a whole lot, so letâs sit together.â
ââ¦â¦.â
Ignoring the absurd gazes, Casey smiled and Betty shook her head when she saw it. Casey, who is now in that state, couldnât be stopped by anyone.
âI have no choice but to pray that this will end safely.â
* * *
âWhatâs with her?â
Merylda, who was secretly watching the inside of the restaurant, was angry at the behavior of an uninvited guest who suddenly intervened.
âSelinaâs date!â
Looking at the uninvited guest, Merylda felt anxious.
She was pretty while her sky-blue like hair was also attractive and she also had a unique temperament.
In addition, the two seemed to have known each other for a long time from the way she talked to Rudger without hesitation and Rudgerâs behavior of accepting her words.
âSomeone he knew appeared here. This will ruin Selinaâs date!â
Merylda agonized and thought about how to support Selina.
âNo, itâs too late to think about it now. This was Selinaâs first chance in a long time, and I canât let her ruin it.â
Merylda realized that she had to break into the scene herself and made up her mind but at the moment when she pulled herself away from the street lamp and approached the restaurant.
âOh, my, Merylda!â
Merylda was startled when someone called her and when she turned her head, she saw a student with lemon-colored hair.
ââ¦â¦Excuse me, who are you?â
âOh, you donât know. My name is Cheryl Wagner. Iâm a second-year student at Theon.â
âWhat brings you here?â
âMy major is curses so I wanted to have a deep conversation with teacher Merylda at least once but I didnât expect to see you here!â
Of course, Cheryl didnât want to talk to Merylda because her major was not curses. However, he noticed that Merylda wanted to intervene in that situation and tried to stop her.
She didnât expect a blue-haired woman to break into that situation all of a sudden, but that was better for Cheryl.
If Selina and Rudgerâs date didnât go down like this, Flora would have a chance.
Merylda and Cherylâs eyes clashed in the air.
âSheâs trying to disturb me.â
âIâm sorry, but you have to stay still for Flora.â
Merylda and Cheryl were about to fight and Hans, who was secretly watching the two, was surprised by the unexpected situation.
âWhatâs wrong with those two?â
Were they enemies?
Hans thought it was an opportunity since two people who are wary of each other are colliding, so he could send a signal to Rudger in this gap.
âI need your help.â
Hans immediately called a mouse and handed it a note.
âGive this to brother.â
The content of the note was a warning because a suspicious person was following him.
At first, he thought about calling a crow, but soon shook his head.
If he called a crow here, he would stand out. Rather, it was cleaner to have a mouse leave a note quietly.
âIf it doesnât get caught, there wonât be any damage to the restaurant.â
With that in mind, Hans sent a mouse to the restaurant. It was a simple matter since it just had to deliver a note anyway.
A mouse with a note in its mouth ran toward the restaurant through the crowd and, after a while.
âKyyyaaaaaaa!!!â
A huge water blast erupted from one side of the restaurant.
âHuhâ¦??â
Hans stared blankly at the scene.