Chapter 52

The figure sprawled out on the floor was unmistakably a Demon, something that could be discerned just from the back of her head.

After all, her skin was not just pale—it was a distinct shade of blue. And with sharp horns protruding from the top of her head, it was impossible not to notice.

However, maybe because she was smaller than expected or because she was wearing a sleek, form-fitting women’s suit, she didn’t exude the usual intimidating aura associated with demons, who were often seen as dangerous elements within the city.

Besides, after witnessing someone slip and fall while carrying a tray of desserts in real time at a dessert cafe, how was anyone supposed to feel threatened by that?

Sharing a look with Sabrina, who was just as bewildered as I was, I decided to approach the demon woman.

Upon closer inspection, it was at least a small relief that she hadn’t spilled any sticky dessert on her clothes.

Of course, the poor dessert that had been launched across the floor and was now lying helplessly several meters away wasn’t so lucky. But, well, there was nothing we could do about that.

“Ugh… Oww…”

“….”

“Um, are you okay?” I asked.

“Hek! I-I’m fine! Uh, I mean… ah….”

Maybe it was because she’d fallen so hard onto the solid tile floor, but the woman groaned while still lying face-down.

When she noticed us approaching, she gasped in surprise and quickly tried to get up.

Then, once she realized we had seen the entire spectacle, her face turned a bright shade of red.

She looked so embarrassed, as if being comforted by a couple of kids had mortified her beyond belief.

Well, I look like a kid, but I’m definitely not one.

The demon woman glanced around, looking flustered, her face still burning hot with embarrassment.

Her gaze landed on the poor Mont Blanc lying face-down on the ground, and her pupils trembled violently.

“…M-My Mont Blanc… nooo…!”

Her expression resembled that of a person who had saved up to buy a rare treat, only to have it tragically wasted.

The way her lips quivered and her eyes welled up, it felt like just a light poke from the side would send her straight into tears.

Seeing her like that, Sabrina glanced at me with a look that practically screamed, “What do we do about this?”

Hmm, first, we should calm her down.

I gestured for Sabrina to bring the tearful woman over to our table.

Meanwhile, I went to find a cafe staff member to clean up the fallen dessert.

Since I didn’t have the strength to guide a woman taller than me, this division of roles made the most sense.

“Excuse me, ma’am. How can I help you?”

“…!”

“Uh, huh? Over there?”

I gestured toward the spilled dessert on the floor and, with a bit of awkward hand-waving, managed to convey my request for it to be cleaned up.

I also made a small additional request before heading back to our table.

When I returned, I saw the demon woman sitting at our table, her face buried in her hands.@@novelbin@@

“She looks like she’s ready to die from embarrassment.”

I mean, think about it. It was a series of events that could easily become someone’s “life’s most shameful moments” montage.

Carrying a tray of desserts at a cafe, only to trip and fall in front of people. The dessert goes flying, and you lie face-down, grumbling in pain, only to be helped by what you think are kids. R̃äNǒВΕş

Tonight, I guarantee that the demon woman’s blanket will be getting kicked and punched repeatedly in frustration.

But honestly, I think this is better than sitting on the floor alone, crying in misery.

With that thought in mind, I sat down next to Sabrina.

Fortunately, the table was for four people, so the seating arrangement naturally had me and Sabrina facing the demon woman.

“….”

“….”

The atmosphere at the table was incredibly awkward.

The demon woman no longer looked like she was on the verge of tears, but she was too embarrassed to speak.

And Sabrina… Well, Sabrina wasn’t the type to initiate a conversation unless she had a specific reason to.

That meant, technically, it was my job to break the ice since I was the one who brought her to the table…

…but I couldn’t talk.

So the three of us sat in uncomfortable silence, our gazes darting around the room, none of us saying a word.

Maybe the awkward atmosphere was getting too much for her to bear.

Sabrina, who was sitting close enough that her shoulder brushed mine, leaned in and whispered quietly into my ear.

“Yuria, please… do something about this atmosphere…!”

“…!”

I mean, I wouldn’t mind just quietly eating dessert, but…

Considering I was the one who brought her here, just leaving her to suffer in silence seemed a little heartless.

Fine, fine… I’ll handle it.

I nodded at Sabrina and knocked lightly on the table.

The sound drew the demon woman’s attention, and she peeked out from behind her hands, glancing in our direction.

Once I had her attention, I leaned forward, rested my elbows on the table, propped my chin up with both hands, and stared directly at her.

If I have nothing to say, then I’ll make her start talking instead.

My gaze silently conveyed the message: “If you stay quiet, I’ll keep staring at you like this.”

Sure, I wasn’t exactly intimidating, but it seemed to be having some effect.

Her lips quivered as her eyes darted around, trying to avoid my gaze.

“Ugh… u-um… th-thank you… for helping me…!”

Her voice was small, like she had to drag it out from deep inside herself.

Her reaction was so genuine and sincere that it didn’t feel like the kind of thing you’d expect from a “demon” — a race notorious for toying with people’s emotions.

Next to me, Sabrina cupped her hand over her mouth and murmured softly.

“Sh-She’s so cute… I wish I could have someone act all cutesy like that toward me….”

“…?”

I didn’t hear her clearly, but judging from her reaction, she must have been charmed by the demon woman.

Anyway, since the ice had been broken, we started by introducing ourselves.

The demon woman’s name, as it turned out, was Anser.

She was 23 years old and had only been in Nighthaven for a month—a total newbie to the city.

She’s even more of a rookie than me. Cute.

As I chuckled to myself, quietly nodding at Anser’s clumsy charm, she suddenly let out a strange sound—”Ihiing!”—and covered her mouth.

Huh? What’s with this sudden weird reaction?

“S-Sorry! I have this bad habit where I can’t hold back my laughter when I see stuff like this!”

“Oh, I think I know exactly what you mean.”

“R-Really?!”

“….”

I glanced back and forth between Sabrina and Anser, who had somehow started bonding over this shared understanding.

What part of that did they connect over?

Curious, I tilted my head, but after a moment, I decided to just let it go.

There’s no need to understand everything in this world. If it was something important, they’d have explained it, right?

With that, I lightly poked Sabrina on the shoulder with my finger.

Hey, sorry to ask, but I’m really curious why she looked so down earlier. Can you ask her for me?

“….”

“Hmm? Oh… um, Anser, if you don’t mind, could you tell us how things have been for you since you came here?”

“Me? Well….”

After that small icebreaker, the conversation started to flow more smoothly.

We learned that since Anser arrived in Nighthaven, she had failed to land a job dozens of times.

Even though Nighthaven was supposed to be a haven of freedom for non-humans, not all species could integrate smoothly due to differences in mindset and behavior.

For example:

-Ogres who didn’t understand the concept of “buying” items with money.

-Vampires whose idea of “recreation” involved spilling blood.

-Demons who deceived people into signing contracts to bind their souls.

When 99 out of 100 members of a race behave that way, it’s only natural for people to be wary—even if that 1 out of 100 is an exception. It’s unfair, but that’s how it is.

Anser sighed, fiddling with her fingers as she continued, “I was feeling more and more down as time passed, so I figured I’d try to lift my mood… I splurged on a dessert here, even though it was a bit of a stretch for me financially…”

“But then you tripped and fell as soon as you got here. Yikes…” Sabrina grimaced.

She wasn’t wrong. Imagine treating yourself to an expensive dessert to cheer up, only to slip, fall, and splatter the dessert on the ground.

Losing money and gaining a new “cringe memory” to relive at 2 a.m.? Yeah, that’s enough to make anyone cry.

I can understand why she looked so pitiful.

But surprisingly, Anser just wiped away the small tears gathering at the corners of her eyes with her fingers and smiled.

Even after all that, she’s still smiling…

Maybe she had a stronger heart than I’d thought.

“Well, I didn’t get to eat my dessert, but thanks to you two, my mood’s lifted anyway. Really, thank you,” she said, smiling genuinely.

“Oh, uh… Yuria’s the one who told me to help, so I don’t think I deserve your thanks….” Sabrina scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Fufufu, is that so? Even so, thank you, Sabrina. And Yuria too, of course.”

Her sincere gratitude was nothing like the typical image of a demon.

Her outward appearance was shy and tearful, but on the inside, she seemed like someone who had a lot to admire.

I shrugged as if it was no big deal, and at that moment, I spotted a cafe staff member approaching from across the room.

Sabrina and Anser noticed him too, but they quickly averted their attention, assuming he was just here to clean up the Mont Blanc.

But instead, the employee placed a plate on our table.

“Sorry for the wait. Here’s your Mont Blanc. I’ll clean up the one that fell on the floor right away,” he said with a polite bow.

“Huh? W-Wait, this is…?”

“The other customer already paid for it. Enjoy your time here.”

The staff member left just as quickly as he’d arrived, leaving behind the plate.

On it sat a fresh Mont Blanc, the chestnut cream swirled into a mouthwatering spiral.

Anser’s eyes went wide as she stared at the plate, then turned to look at me in confusion.

“Um, why… why is this here…?”

“….”

What do you mean why? It’s for you to eat, of course.

Without a word, I casually slid the Mont Blanc toward her.

You came to a dessert cafe, so it’d be a waste to leave without eating anything, right?

I tilted my head back slightly, shifting my mask to reveal my lips, and took a bite of my strawberry shortcake, savoring the sweetness.

Yum! Delicious!

The taste was so good it brought a smile to my face, and I waved my fork in delight.

But while I was basking in the joy of my cake, I noticed something strange.

Drip… drip…

Out of nowhere, I heard the soft sound of tears falling.

“Hic… huff… I-I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…!”

Anser was crying.

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she struggled to speak, her voice wobbling with emotion.

“To be honest… t-this is the first time I’ve ever… been treated like this. Everyone always calls me a bad person… and says awful things about me….”

“U-Uh… I… see….” Sabrina glanced at me, completely flustered.

For her, it must have been jarring to see someone who looked older than her sobbing so openly.

But it didn’t bother me that much.

It’s not like I did anything that big.

All I did was give her a Mont Blanc that had already been paid for.

It wasn’t like I was doing some grand act of kindness—I’d just thought it would be a shame for her to leave without eating anything.

Even if it was a bit pricey, it wasn’t that expensive.

If it had cost enough to make my wallet cry, I wouldn’t have done it either.

Eventually, Sabrina seemed to calm down after seeing how relaxed I was.

Her flustered expression faded, and she patiently watched as Anser’s tears slowly subsided.

In the quiet corner of the cafe, far from the watchful eyes of other customers, the three of us sat in a little pocket of peace, letting “Tearful Dessert Time” quietly pass.

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