Dating Caster

Seeing Wang Xiaoming's reaction, Mr. Ba wore a meaningful smile before walking into the kitchen in the back.

Watching Mr. Ba's figure disappear into the back, Wang Xiaoming let out a slight sigh of relief.

But he had clearly forgotten something—

"Boss..."

Looking at the dish Mr. Ba had just placed in front of him, Wang Xiaoming's voice sounded somewhat aggrieved.

"What is it, guest?"

Standing beside the table, Mr. Ba looked pleasant and amiable.

"Could you explain... this dish to me?"

"Is there a problem? In my shop, this dish is the absolute signature."

Mr. Ba put on a look of "confusion" at the perfect moment.

"..."

That's right, Mr. Ba was telling the truth. What was currently sitting on the table in front of Wang Xiaoming and Medea was the signature dish of this [Hongzhou Banquet Hall: Mount Tai]—

Mapo Tofu.

Honestly, in Wang Xiaoming's eyes, this plate of Mapo Tofu was a feast for the senses: the vibrant red color, the sauce that seemed to be boiling and steaming, and the crystal-white tofu all gave the impression that it might start glowing at any second. It stimulated the guest's vision while involuntarily whetting their appetite.

What was even more miraculous was that, judging solely by the aroma, a guest unfamiliar with this dish would never guess just how—intense—it truly was!

But if Medea were to try this dish...

Are you really not afraid she'll tear your shop down? Wang Xiaoming muttered to himself.

"It looks quite good."

Seeing the visually striking Mapo Tofu, Medea seemed to grow interested. She picked up the spoon on the table and reached toward the dish in the center.

"..."

Wang Xiaoming could only watch with bated breath as Medea brought the tofu on the spoon into her mouth.

It felt like a long time had passed, yet it also felt like only an instant.

The scene of Medea's explosive rage that Wang Xiaoming had imagined did not occur. On the contrary...

After putting the tofu in her mouth, a flush instantly spread across Medea's snow-white cheeks, creeping all the way to the roots of her ears.

Immediately after—

"Wuu~~~"

A soft cry escaped Medea's lips, and her azure eyes began to mist over.

She's... crying!?

He had considered that Medea might get angry or fly into a rage, but Wang Xiaoming had never expected this reaction.

Although he had harbored a tiny bit of mischief by not stopping Medea earlier, but... but Medea's current expression was almost unfairly cute!

Watching Medea's eyes well up with tears as she tried to hold them back, Wang Xiaoming's brain began to crash.

"Spicy..."

Medea's soft whisper brought Wang Xiaoming back to his senses. Seeing her red-rimmed eyes and hearing the slight nasal tone in her voice, he began scrambling to find water.

"Ahem..."

A cough from nearby caught Wang Xiaoming's attention. Mr. Ba "happened" to hand over a glass of water.

He stood up to take the glass from Mr. Ba, not caring about anything else. After touching the side of the glass to check the temperature, he handed it over. Watching Medea take small sips, Wang Xiaoming finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew—"

After putting down the glass, Medea let out a long breath. Her tongue seemed to still retain the burning sensation, and although her eyes and lips were still red, it had eased up quite a bit compared to before.

"Are you okay?"

Wang Xiaoming looked at Medea and asked cautiously.

"The taste is excellent, though it's even more pungent than the potions I brew."

After shaking her head, Medea gave her assessment of the Mapo Tofu.

"..."

Wang Xiaoming glanced at the steaming red dish on the table, which felt like a whisper from a Demon, and involuntarily swallowed his saliva. He couldn't even imagine what kind of terrifying things the potions Medea spoke of actually were...

"Speaking of which..."

Medea finally remembered Wang Xiaoming's sneaky demeanor from earlier. It seemed he had known the flavor of this dish all along and had likely wanted to watch her make a fool of herself on purpose.

Just as she turned her head to question him, Medea suddenly realized the distance between the two of them...

Wasn't it a bit too close?

Because he had been so afraid of Medea choking earlier, Wang Xiaoming had subconsciously sat right beside her. Feeling Wang Xiaoming's presence nearby, Medea's cheeks, already flushed from the spice, suddenly turned even redder.

Wang Xiaoming had been waiting for what Medea would say next, but as his gaze fell upon her blushing face, he felt his heart rate spike in an instant.

With hair as smooth as silk and a delicate, upturned nose, her cheeks were flushed a deep red, seemingly from shyness. This version of Medea, so different from her usual self, possessed a charm that left Wang Xiaoming completely captivated.

A sudden tremor stirred within his heart. Wang Xiaoming looked back on the various situations he had faced over his twenty-plus years of life, and it seemed that not once had he experienced such intense turbulence in his heart.

There was no denying it; Wang Xiaoming liked Medea.

Beautiful, intelligent, and despite her occasional sharp tongue, she possessed a genuine kindness toward others deep down. Any man would be drawn to a woman like that.

But by comparison, what about himself?

He was nothing more than an ordinary person whose luck fluctuated between good and bad.

Under this extreme contrast, a sense of inferiority constantly sprouted from the depths of Wang Xiaoming's heart, which was why he had never been able to muster the courage to pursue the purple-clad figure beside him.

That "the moon is beautiful" comment from last night, while an instinctive attempt to break the tension, had certainly been fueled by a hidden impulse in Wang Xiaoming's heart to confess.

Although he didn't know if Medea had understood, it seemed now that... there might have been a bit of a return on his feelings.

Seeing her own flushed reflection in Wang Xiaoming's eyes, even the Witch from the Age of Gods, who had weathered countless storms, found it hard to handle.

She instinctively looked away, signaling that this battle of "gazes" had ended with the Witch's surrender.

"Kid Ming, how's the food today!"

Mr. Ba's boisterous voice interrupted the slightly ambiguous atmosphere between Medea and Wang Xiaoming.

"Boss, this dish is way too spicy. I'm here with a lady today, you know."

Since the mood had already been broken, Wang Xiaoming felt a slight sense of loss, but he couldn't help but complain to Mr. Ba.

"Eh? Didn't I mention there were more dishes coming that would suit a lady's palate?"

Mr. Ba's expression was one of pure "surprise."

"...You didn't."

After carefully recalling the previous situation, Wang Xiaoming looked at Mr. Ba and said firmly.

"Oh, then I must have forgotten."

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, Mr. Ba casually brushed the matter aside.

"..."

"But you're one to talk. Who only serves one dish when hosting someone? You're really underestimating me, kid."

Far from feeling remorse, Mr. Ba turned the tables and began to lecture Wang Xiaoming instead.

"So, in other words... it's my fault?"

Medea, who had long since recovered from her previous panic, was happy to watch her Master make a fool of himself.

"Who else could it be but you?"

Mr. Ba widened his eyes and retorted to Wang Xiaoming:

"As the saying goes, 'haste makes waste.' Did you learn nothing in school?"

"..."

He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but Wang Xiaoming always felt like Mr. Ba's words carried a double meaning. Still, it was true that his own actions just now had been far more impatient than before.

Come to think of it, his experience in this area was practically zero.

Wang Xiaoming glanced at Medea, who had basically returned to her usual composure, and suddenly felt a sense of realization.

The road ahead is long and arduous.

Sorry for the late update.

Writing romance... it's so easy to get choked up by your own fluff, Orz.

Chapter 48. Kariya and Shirou

The Matou House.

Back in the day, its first-generation head, Zouken Matou, had been so obsessed with pursuing his dream that he didn't hesitate to move the main family from Eastern Europe to this far-eastern town in Japan—Fuyuki.

Unlike the high-profile homunculi of the Einzbern family, Zouken Matou changed his surname from the original to the current one to blend in with the locals, and the name of the family evolved into Matou. Even the architectural style of their residence shifted away from its origins toward a Japanese aesthetic.

Although the Old Worm was already dead, the Matou residence was one of the few things he had left behind that could be called a legacy.

The warm sun of early winter made one feel naturally lazy.

At this moment, in the courtyard of the Matou House, Matou Kariya was letting the two children, Shirou and Sakura, soak up the sun.

"I'm so full, it's been a long time since I felt like this..."

Sitting beside Kariya, Shirou looked completely satisfied.

Watching Shirou's expression, Kariya chuckled and ruffled his hair: "Listening to you, does that mean your uncle didn't feed you?"

"Why does everyone like to mess up my hair?"

Shirou pulled away from Kariya's hand, covering his hair with both hands and complaining with some dissatisfaction. However, upon hearing Kariya's question, Shirou still explained: "It's not that. It's just that because I didn't have a stable place to stay with my uncle before, we couldn't really eat properly."

"Speaking of which, how did you and Ming-kun meet?"

Kariya suddenly felt a spark of interest in Wang Xiaoming's story, and even Sakura cast a curious gaze his way. However, upon seeing the somewhat pale look on Shirou's face, Kariya suddenly realized he might have asked the wrong question:

"Uh... if you can't talk about it, then forget it."

"It's okay..."

Shirou shook his head, his mood sinking; it seemed that only at times like this could one tell that this child also harbored many worries in his heart. Taking a deep breath, Shirou flashed a big smile at Kariya and Sakura:

"The old man saved me."

And so--

From the moment Ryunosuke grabbed him; to meeting the old man at his most desperate hour; and then, by some twist of fate, summoning Master Medea...

The events of the past few days were recounted one by one from the perspective of this child, Shirou. In Kariya's mind, an image of someone who lacked any real power but was nonetheless incredibly reliable began to take shape.

"Hmm, and after that, I met you, Uncle Kariya."

Shirou finished this sentence, which meant his story had come to an end; as for the series of events that followed, Kariya knew them himself.

"Shirou--"

At this moment, Kariya looked into Shirou's eyes and suddenly asked:

"Don't you feel it's unfair? Why did something like this have to happen to you?"

"How could it be?" Shirou seemed surprised by Kariya's question: "If I hadn't met the old man, I reckon I would already be dead."

"..."

Looking at Shirou's puzzled expression, Kariya suddenly felt that he himself was heinous for being able to ask such a question.

"Huh, is Sakura asleep?"

Shirou's voice brought Kariya back to his senses. Kariya looked to his side and realized that at some point, Sakura had fallen asleep leaning against his arm.

Kariya gently covered Sakura with his jacket, and Shirou, who had been observing Sakura's sleeping face, suddenly spoke up: