Leisurely Dessert Time

"Say, Archer, do you really like fruit?"

Having confessed what was on his mind, Tsukahara Meiji could finally relax a little when talking to Archer.

In fact, aside from wanting to save Archer from her loneliness, another major reason was that Tsukahara Meiji was not good at dealing with spirits. Thinking back on it, on the night he had summoned the Heroic Spirit, he had clearly started feeling timid in that silent forest late at night.

For someone like him, if a voice suddenly whispered in his ear in broad daylight, "Master, I have something to report," it would be enough to scare him half to death.

Having a physical body made things much better.

Once he felt at ease, this man, who had always been easygoing by nature, gradually began talking more.

Especially nonsense.

That question just now, no matter how one looked at it, sounded like a man with ulterior motives trying to deceive an innocent girl for some improper purpose...

But in truth, after Archer called over the server for the fifth time and ordered a fifth completely different fruit tart, Tsukahara Meiji finally could not hold himself back and asked.

"Fruit? I like it."

Archer had no intention of hiding it. As she put a strawberry into her mouth, she frankly admitted it. The sweet taste of the fruit brought a blissful flush to her already beautiful face, making her even more charming. Pink juice moistened her lips, making those already glossy petals look like roses in the morning, and Tsukahara Meiji found himself blushing at the sight.

Yet her words did not take on any sweetness from the sugary juice. They were plain and indifferent, as though she had merely drunk tap water.

As if it had nothing to do with her, she finished the strawberry in a few bites, without the slightest hint of embarrassment in her voice. Even though she had just insisted that Servants were not human, this genuine Servant was sitting in a human dessert shop, eating desserts humans ate—and eating both quickly and in large quantities...

"In my time, fruit was difficult to come by, and fresh fruit was even rarer—though I ate nuts often enough. But they were dry, and eating too many made it easy to get overheated. They simply could not compare to fruit. Oh, Master."

As Archer explained, she stuffed two more slices of peach into her mouth. Her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's, yet her words were still perfectly clear. A Servant truly was a Servant; she was indeed extraordinary. Had it been anyone else, they might have started babbling incoherently, or even choked on the juice in an embarrassing mishap.

Drawn in by her suspenseful words, Tsukahara Meiji's dark eyes reflected her serious face.

"If I am maintaining a physical body, call me Loxia. Archer would easily draw the enemy's attention, and Robin Hood does not sound like a woman's name either."

As she said this, perhaps it was only his imagination, but a faint blush seemed to suddenly spread across Archer's face... Then it disappeared, leaving only a calm, intelligent beauty who quietly lowered her head and continued focusing on her food. Her coffee-brown hair cascaded down like a waterfall, concealing her face.

Could it be...

"Could that be your real name?!"

"Who knows? In the work of a spy, there is no such thing as a real name. Every identity is me."

Archer Loxia brushed aside all of Tsukahara Meiji's questions with a mysterious, sweet smile. As if to change the subject, she said with some emotion, "This is the one thing I envy about you, Master. In my era, even nobles could not enjoy fruit every day, especially fruit this fresh."

As Archer Loxia spoke, she picked up a cherry from the fruit tart. Its small, rosy shape was exceedingly cute. Archer Loxia examined it again and again, as though it were not food, but an exquisite jewel.

Seeing this, a scene suddenly flashed through Tsukahara Meiji's mind like lightning...

"Say, Archer, this has nothing to do with anything, but can you play with a cherry using your tongue?"

"Play?"

The verb clearly left Archer feeling baffled.

After considering it carefully, she seemed to vaguely understand something. She plucked off the cherry stem and tossed it into her mouth. Before long, when she stuck out her tongue like a puppy, the slender cherry stem had been twisted into the shape of a heart.

Tying a cherry stem into a knot with one's tongue was a skill that was both surprising and utterly useless.

"Like this?"

Archer Loxia asked, blinking her clear, watery eyes.

"Ah, no... I meant licking it with your tongue and making it roll around on your tongue without letting it fall."

"..."

This absurd request was actually because Tsukahara Meiji had suddenly remembered a classic scene from a manga, an important detail through which the male protagonist discovered that his companion had been impersonated by an enemy.

But naturally, to someone who had never read the manga, the request was ridiculous, right? Archer's beautiful face was now plainly filled with refusal.

"Master, please do not play with precious food."

Ah, he had been scolded...

Tsukahara Meiji lowered his head with a bitter smile, not daring to look at Archer's imposing expression.

Right, right...

Archer was Robin Hood, after all. A chivalrous thief who robbed the rich to help the poor. As a chivalrous thief, she surely could not tolerate extravagance and waste, could she?

Hahaha... It seemed he had accidentally stepped on a land mine...

Tsukahara Meiji could only wear an ugly, tearful expression in his heart, silently regretting what exactly he had done. He had gotten too carried away...

But...

This was not necessarily entirely a bad thing, right?

Being respectful was certainly a good thing. When first meeting someone, courtesy always earned considerable points. But when people got along, if both sides were excessively polite, it instead created a peculiar sense of distance.

From that perspective, Tsukahara Meiji's foolishness was actually beneficial to their future communication. It was what ancient China called tearing down before building anew, though he himself had not realized it.

"Sorry, Archer... Loxia, y-you're right. It was my fault. Please forgive me..."

Tsukahara Meiji apologized softly. Lacking a Magus's arrogant airs, he did not feel there was anything wrong with apologizing to his own Servant. Archer Loxia had not yet recovered from his desecration of food. The girl crossed her arms over her chest, her dark brown hair falling casually over her pure white tracksuit. The stark contrast of colors gave her an air of rising unstained from the mud.

"Then, Master, order this for me, and I will forgive you."

"O-okay... Uh... the Colossal Fruit Parfait?!"

Seeing the exaggerated photograph on the bill, along with its even more exaggerated price, Tsukahara Meiji could not help swallowing.

He took back what he had said. Archer clearly was not angry; she simply wanted to taste more things.

The photograph showed nothing but a massive mound of milky-white ice cream, with all manner of fruit and sweet decorations arranged atop it into a whirlpool of dessert. Just looking at it made his mouth feel sickeningly sweet.

Then he looked at Loxia's expression. It was an expression that held teasing, anticipation, pride, and a touch of mischief.

Ah, I've been played.

Tsukahara Meiji felt somewhat helpless, but fortunately, Carl had prepared more than enough funds for him before he left.

Still, he had to admit that beautiful girls received a bonus no matter what they did. Even though Archer had just taken advantage of him and ordered an ice cream colossal in both appearance and price, Tsukahara Meiji only found Archer's love of desserts and fruit adorable in a way that suited a maiden's heart. He did not think of her as a detestable exploiter at all.

If it had been anyone else, Tsukahara Meiji definitely would not have scrimped on his own food expenses to treat them!

Master and Servant spent a relaxed, leisurely stretch of time together.