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Seeing me, Finia put a hand to her mouth in shock. Unlike Cortina who went for that brutal tackle, it was quite a ladylike reaction. But her lack of reaction kinda made me lonely in its own way.

“What’s wrong, you do remember me, right?”

Based on my memories, Reid’s existence has been almost deified in her mind. Maybe seeing the real me made her disillusioned or something.

Thinking that made me a little worried.

“Lord… Reid…”

After letting out that muffled voice, she suddenly clung to my chest.

She was a bit taller and fleshier than Cortina, but she was still more delicate compared to an average human.

Her dainty loveliness was well within my tastes.

“I reincarnated a little while back. Sorry that I didn’t come to see you any sooner.”
“Don’t be! I don’t deserve that…”

She let out a sobbing voice while still clinging to me. Her voice reached the surroundings too, and due to the poor timing, the passersby looked my way wondering what was going on.

“Right, what about Lady Cortina! Have you met her before meeting me?”
“Yeah, don’t worry. I already met her earlier. And some more.”
“Is that so, I’m glad… But, maybe you should have stayed together longer?”
“She told me herself to come meet you.”

She looked up at me with teary eyes to make an appeal. But from an outsider’s perspective, this would have been a questionable sight. In fact, I could see married ladies here and there whispering while pointing at me.

Moreover, we were in front of Maxwell’s mansion. His reputation might have played the part too.

“…Well, not that the old man’s the type to care about his reputation.”
“Eh?”
“Ah, no, just talking to myself. Why don’t we move somewhere else? I know a cafe nearby that girls like.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah. I lived here for quite a long until recently. We missed each other a bit though.”
“That… Is a little unfortunate.”

Perhaps she imagined living in this town together, she muttered quite regrettably with her cheeks dyed.

The figure of a teary-eyed girl with cheeks dyed red clinging to a guy’s chest honestly was putting me to shame in front of the public. The surrounding gazes were really stabbing me like needles.

“Okay, let’s go already. I’m a little embarrassed here, you know?”
“Ah! My apologies.”

She seemed to have finally noticed the gazes, she hung her beet red head. That was awfully adorable, but it only served to worsen the doubtful stares.

I took Finia to the cafe that Elliot once took me to.

The bean tea here wasn’t bad, but the sweets were particularly good. I often came here with Michelle and Letina too.

Finia tended to stay at Cortina’s house all the time, so she shouldn’t have been here before.

“The desserts here are quite delicious. I think they would suit your tastes too.”
“Is that so? Now that you mentioned it, I don’t often eat this type of sweets.”

She was good at cooking, but she rarely had time to make things like cream and chocolate.

If she learned to make them, wouldn’t I be able to eat them at Cortina’s home too? I couldn’t deny that I had such ambitions.

“It would make me happy if you make them for me next time.”
“Huh, m-me?”
“Yeah. I heard from Cortina that you’re a good cook.”

As I told her to cook for me, she got flustered and blushed deep red for some reason. I don’t think I asked her something so embarrassing though.

“That… Um, maybe you could ask that to Lady Cortina?”
“Cortina’s cooking? Her food is more of a survival kind.”
“B-But it was quite good back then.”
“Back then? Oh, that…”

Cortina had cooked with Finia in the past. That happened at the orphanage where I died. Her memory was quite good to remember something so old.

“Her dexterity is good, but, how should I put it, it’s quite sloppy… Would be nice if she was as good as Maria. As such, you being there would be a great help.”
“Well, umm… At present, I serve Lady Nicole.”
“Ah, i-is that so.”

I was that same Nicole, but she had no way of knowing that.

While we were having such random talk, our food had arrived. She seemed to have been pleased with the taste as she ate it.

“This is quite good indeed.”
“Right? Oh, right…”

I conveyed to her that I could only show myself once a month at the earliest, and also told her what I had been doing until now—of course, a made-up story.

Hearing that there would be such a long interval, her face turned sour with disappointment, but it was still far better compared to the one she had when she wasn’t certain of my existence.

She responded with a strong nod, as if to convince herself.

“So, I can’t stay for much longer today.”
“I would not mind no matter what your real form is like, you know?”
“Well, I would.”

She wouldn’t even consider that my true form was someone she took baths with every day. And even kissed me when curing my magic buildup disease. For those reasons, I could not reveal myself no matter the cost.

Cortina said something about not minding some affairs if it was her, but I felt reserved on putting hands on her given the present situation.

In my mind, she was… Right, she was much like a younger girl from the neighborhood.

Thus, I enjoyed tea with her until the last moment, and when it was a good time I withdrew from the place.