The Grandeur Itself, Beyond the Concept of "Beauty" (4k)

"Your beer, please enjoy~"

The Hostess of Fertility was as bustling as ever, filled with the clink of cups and plates and the mingled sounds of laughter and conversation.

The pretty, gray-haired waitress Syr moved nimbly through the crowded tables and noisy patrons like a light-footed elf.

She was quick on her feet, and a gentle smile was always on her face.

"Syr, could we get a free smile over here?" a regular called loudly from one of the tables as she passed.

"Sure~" Almost by instinct, Syr glanced back at the voice while hurrying between tables, her face blooming into a pure, radiant smile.

That smile was clean and warm, without a trace of impurity, as if it had instantly lit up the noisy room.

Whoosh—

As if by magic, the bustling restaurant suddenly fell quiet.

The light clink of a cup against a plate, the half-finished words of a conversation—everything stopped dead. For one strange instant, the entire room was silent.

Many male customers froze with their mugs halfway to their lips, their gazes captured in unison by that fleeting smile. They stared, utterly entranced.

Only when a call from across the room summoned Syr away to fetch an order did the paused atmosphere begin to flow again. The noise rolled back in like a tide.

The buzz of conversation filled the room once more, as though that breathless silence had been just another small, ordinary moment at the Hostess of Fertility—one that lingered in the memory.

Yet that small moment was enough to make the other waitresses notice something was up.

The cat-eared girl Anya tilted her head, her round eyes full of confusion. She watched Syr, who seemed to skip lightly as she walked, and tugged at the sleeve of the companion beside her in disbelief.

"Meow? Has Syr been acting a little strange these past couple of days?"

Beside the counter, the blonde elf Ryu paused in the middle of polishing a glass.

Her clear, lake-green eyes rested quietly on Syr, her dear friend and benefactor.

Ryu had indeed noticed a difference.

For the past couple of days, it was as if a veil of happiness surrounded Syr. The smile that came from the heart had barely left her face.

If something special had happened...

Ryu's gaze drifted thoughtfully toward the entrance. The only change, most likely, was that special customer who had come by not long ago.

While Ryu silently pieced things together, Syr had already reached the counter, humming a tuneless little song as she came to pick up an order.

The proprietress, Mia, passed her a plate of food with one broad hand, her bushy eyebrows lifting slightly.

Her eyes swept over Syr's smiling, almost glowing face, and she couldn't help asking gruffly, "Girl, did something good happen to you?"

"Huh?"

As if her secret had been exposed, Syr instinctively cupped her faintly flushed cheeks. The blush was like a cherry blossom just opening, and her eyes were full of sweetness and bashfulness she couldn't hide.

"Is it... really that obvious?"

Her girlish, lovestruck manner was practically a confession.

Mia snorted and set several heavy, foaming mugs of beer down hard on the counter.

"I've known you for years, and this is the first time I've seen you make such a silly face!... Table twelve."

The latter half was an instruction, delivered with a hint of wistfulness and concern—and an almost imperceptible respect.

"Got it~" Syr replied with a cheerful, drawn-out lilt, making no effort to explain.

She reached for the mugs, her fingertips just touching the cold glass.

"Welcome, meow~!" Anya's bright voice rang out behind her, the familiar greeting she used to welcome customers.

But that greeting was like an invisible command!

Syr stiffened abruptly, as if some kind of signal had reached her.

She didn't even spare a thought for the beer wobbling beneath her fingertips, nearly spilling over. She spun around, her gaze darting toward the entrance.

The instant her bright eyes caught sight of the two familiar figures at the door—especially the young man whose hair was the color of a deep, starry sky—an immense joy swept over her!

"Meow?!" Anya managed only a brief yelp before Syr shoved past her with a speed and force almost reckless, so unlike her usual gentle self.

The next moment, Syr had threaded through the noisy crowd and stopped in front of the newly arrived customers, a gust of wind seeming to follow her.

She lifted her face slightly, her cheeks still flushed with excitement. Her eyes brimmed with pure delight and undisguised happiness, and her smile was sweeter than honey.

"Welcome~!"

Thor's gaze passed over her and landed farther inside.

The catgirl Anya, whom Syr had pushed aside, was hopping on one foot in an attempt to steady herself. To no avail—she gave a solid thump as her head struck the wooden door beside her, and her eyes instantly turned into spirals.

Thor looked at Syr, smiling warmly in front of him, then at the dizzy catgirl rubbing her forehead. For a moment, he was speechless.

Syr seemed completely unaware of the little commotion behind her. Without missing a beat, she asked again, "Welcome. Is it two of you?"

Thor surveyed the noisy restaurant, letting his gaze linger on the only empty table—the one with a "Reserved" sign on it.

After a moment's thought, he said to Bell, "Looks like there aren't any seats. Let's go somewhere else."

Bell naturally had no objections.

But as Thor turned to leave, Syr darted forward and grabbed his wrist!

Her grip was unexpectedly strong. She looked up at him with shining eyes, her voice urgent and full of anticipation. "There's a place for two! Please, follow me!"

Before he could answer, she pulled Thor along and hurried straight toward an inconspicuous corner of the restaurant.

They crossed the bustling dining room and came to a tiny, unassuming table beside the counter.

It seemed to be a place where the staff could take a short break. It had been tidied up nicely, and a small vase with a bouquet of roses stood on the tabletop.

There was even a half-screen around the table, blocking part of the view and offering a little privacy.

Syr asked with a bright smile, "Would it be all right to sit here?"

Thor glanced back at the bustling dining room.

It seemed this was the only place they could sit.

"Then we'll sit here." He took a seat with Bell.

As soon as Thor sat down, Syr's cheeks reddened slightly. She asked, her voice tinged with anticipation, "Um... my break just started. Could I sit with you for a little while?"

Standing beside the table, she fidgeted with the edge of her apron, her eyes fixed on Thor in earnest.

Thor looked up at her and fell silent for a moment, apparently considering her request.

Syr's voice grew increasingly tense. A faint tremor crept into the end of her words, and she sounded almost as if she were pleading. "Would that... be all right~?"

Only then did Thor look away. "Go ahead."

Syr's face immediately lit up with a smile. She quickly took the empty seat right beside Thor, pressed close to his right side.

After a dizzy spell, Anya slowly came to. A huge lump had appeared on her head out of nowhere.

What happened, meow?

She only remembered that she'd been greeting customers when something soft seemed to bump into her. She'd lost her balance, banged her head against the wooden door, and blacked out for a little while.

Anya rubbed the swollen lump on her forehead and shook her still-dizzy head in confusion.

Only then did she notice Ryu standing beside a pillar nearby, gazing calmly at a corner of the restaurant.

"Ryu?" Anya got to her feet and muttered, "What happened, meow?"

She looked around in bewilderment, then followed Ryu's focused gaze.

Syr was sitting beside a man at the little table in the corner of the restaurant, smiling more happily than Anya had ever seen her smile before.

Anya shook her head, and the dizziness finally passed.

She muttered, "That little table... is that the one Syr kept fussing over all afternoon, meow?"

Ryu's gaze remained on Syr as she calmly confirmed, "Mm. She went out this afternoon especially to buy the flowers."

She recalled how intently Syr had arranged everything that afternoon.

It had been obvious how much she was looking forward to it.

Anya watched Syr sitting close beside Thor, her face lit with a radiant smile that came straight from the heart, completely unguarded.

Even Anya could figure it out, slow as she was. "She's... in love, meow?"

Unable to resist her curiosity, she pressed, "When did this even happen?"

When had it happened?

Ryu's thoughts drifted back to four days ago.

That day, after they'd finished buying ingredients and returned, they'd happened to see Thor and Bell leaving just outside the restaurant.

The moment she saw them, the paper bag in Syr's hands had dropped to the ground.

"If you're asking when..." Ryu said, sounding a little unsure, "probably that time four days ago."

"That time four days ago, meow?" Anya tilted her head. She quickly remembered that four days ago, Syr had dropped the ingredients on the ground while out shopping and had been thoroughly scolded by Mama Mia when she got back.

"Is this what they mean by love at first sight, meow?"

As far as Anya knew, Syr had always been very reserved. She'd never seen her take the initiative like she had today...

Ryu shook her head too, unable to make sense of it.

That customer named Thor did seem different from the rest. He had a mysterious air about him that made people want to look twice.

It was a little like suddenly spotting a walking... um... fried potato ball wearing a veil on the street.

You'd see it and want to take another look to make sure your eyes weren't playing tricks on you. But when you focused, you'd see it was just a handsome young man.

That was all.

Ryu really couldn't understand what kind of charm he had that could make Syr act so unusually bold...

What was the most appealing thing about a person?

Appearance? Strength? Personality?

None of those.

It was the soul.

The pure soul that represented the essence of life and carried every experience.

That was the most unique, profound, and captivating treasure in the world.

Syr held a tray filled with beer and juice, her gaze habitually sweeping over the noisy patrons in the tavern.

The colors of their souls...

She sighed inwardly.

Most adventurers' souls were like gray stones coated in grime. Ground down by the pressures of survival and desire, they had lost most of their luster, becoming murky and ordinary.

Even the gods who occasionally came in for dinner, surrounded by their Familias, had souls that were no more than an unchanging, ancient pallor.

Those souls were pure but lacked variety, clean but bland—like frozen moonlight, unchanged for ten thousand years. The longer you looked, the more monotonous they seemed.

Syr drew her gaze away, quietly disappointed, suppressing the melancholy brought on by the comparison.

Carrying the tray, she walked lightly toward the little table in the corner, half-hidden behind a screen. A bright smile, befitting her role as a waitress, returned to her face.

"Please enjoy~" She set Thor's beer and Bell's juice gently on the table, smiling as she did so. Her movements were as soft and graceful as ever.

"Thank you, Miss Syr." Bell immediately looked up and thanked her, polite and sincere. His ruby-red eyes were clear as crystal.

Driven by some instinctive curiosity, Syr's gaze naturally fell on the boy who had thanked her.

Her eyes passed through Bell's outward appearance and saw the soul within.

There, a pure and flawless light shone with dazzling brilliance!

It was as sacred as fresh snow and as enduring as a diamond, sparkling with vigorous vitality and untapped potential.

It was a beauty more alive and more vibrant than the pale, frozen souls of the gods!

A treasure that would fill any being capable of glimpsing the source of a soul with awe.

What an... extraordinarily beautiful soul.

Syr marveled inwardly, feeling even a faint, belated pang of regret.

What a pure, brilliant radiance...

If I'd seen a soul like this before meeting him, I might truly have fallen for it beyond saving. Then... I might have done anything to get close to him, even wanted to... "possess" him, right?

But that regret passed through her mind like a shooting star, instantly eclipsed by something far more overwhelming.

Because in the very moment her thoughts raced by, her gaze once again turned, irresistibly drawn by an uncontrollable yearning and awe, toward the one and only existence in the world—

Boom!

The world seemed to collapse and reassemble before her eyes!

Before her "eyes"—or rather, in her soul's perception—the figure seated there was no longer an ordinary-looking young man, seemingly possessed of only modest strength.

What appeared before her was the boundless universe itself!

A magnificent vision of countless stars forming, being born, burning, and dying within it!

Vast nebulae slowly swirled like colossal whirlpools, radiating an unimaginable gravitational pull.

Newborn stars spewed out scorching stellar winds; dying celestial bodies collapsed into singularities that devoured all light; the sweeping arms of great galaxies stretched across the void, dotted with billions upon billions of brilliant points...

It was grandeur itself, beyond the very concept of "beauty"!

It was the interweaving of order and chaos, the music of time and space, the ultimate embodiment of the cycle of life and death!

It was not still, but flowed and evolved eternally, every instant revealing the ultimate mysteries of the universe—

It was the very "answer" she had sought for all eternity, now existing so tangibly before her eyes!

Syr stood frozen in place as if struck by an invisible hammer. Her breath stopped, and her blood ran cold.

The tray in her hands seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. Before the sublime grandeur of that soul, every sound in the world fell silent.

Ah...

A soundless, almost convulsive sigh rose from the depths of her soul.

If only...

If only that "universe" would spare her even the slightest glance, even just a brief look...

What kind of supreme gift would that be—one so great it could make eternity itself seem meaningless...

What a blessing and reward it would be!