Chapter 31 – Dinner (2)

Vienna unconsciously reached out her arms for a hug.

It was clear that she wanted to be embraced.

Starchis was surprised by this type of greeting from Vienna, but he wasn't taken aback. Vienna occasionally engaged in skinship, such as holding onto his arm or leaning on his shoulder. And thinking back to what Casey had told him about Vienna’s emotional state earlier that day, he understood her actions a little better.

Starchis slightly lowered his body and gave Vienna a light hug.

When Starchis placed his hand lightly on her back, she also hugged him.

-Tap, tap.

Starchis patted her back and asked, "How have you been, Vienna?"

As they hadn't seen each other frequently as before, even a short period of separation felt like a long time.

Vienna nodded her head instead of answering as she withdrew from the hug.

But Starchis felt relieved. It didn't seem like her heart was as hurt as Casey had described…

She was just a little down.

"Come in."

Starchis took a step back to welcome her inside the house.

Vienna cautiously entered the room.

She was still nervous. The despair and fear she had tasted before had left a deep wound in her heart.

With every step she took, every part of this familiar room felt unfamiliar.

"The food is almost ready, Vienna. We can eat once Luss and Lily come."

Starchis said as he went into the kitchen. But Vienna was still trembling and looking around.

And when she had entered far enough into the room, she saw the bed.

She bit her lip hard enough to make it bleed, but she made sure that Starchis - who had entered the kitchen - wouldn't see.

'On that bed...' 

On that bed, Starchis became a man.

Thinking back to that time, a moan echoed in her head.

Feeling nauseated, Vienna turned her head away.

"Vienna, can you arrange these dishes on the table?" Starches asked.

Vienna nodded and acted as she was told, hoping that if she moved around, she wouldn't be reminded of that nightmare.

As they entered the kitchen, Starchis glanced at her.

"Aren't you unusually quiet today, Vienna?" 

He had hoped to lighten the mood by casually finding out what was wrong, but he didn't expect to actually hear about her problems.

Whenever he asked such questions, he always got short, evasive answers like "don't worry about it," "it's nothing," or "I'm fine."

But Vienna was suddenly annoyed by Starchis' ignorance, and frustrated by her own incompetence. She also wanted to redirect his attention that had been focused on Elza these days back to herself. So, she impulsively gave a somewhat honest answer.

"Yeah. Something bad happened."

Suddenly, the atmosphere became quiet.

Even Vienna was surprised by the much greater change than she had anticipated.

Starchis came up to her and asked.

“What happened?”

When he asked with a firm expression, as if he was genuinely worried, Vienna was startled, and her heart started pounding.

-Thump, thump, thump.

"Uh? Um, well..."

'I mistakenly heard you and your girlfriend having an intimate moment, and it broke my heart because I like you.' 

She couldn't say such words.   

Now that Starchis had a girlfriend, she had to hide her feelings even more. Otherwise Starchis -  who believed in pure love -  might stop talking to her altogether.

But time was passing fast; she had to answer something.

In the end, Vienna spoke while fumbling.

"So… um yes, Casey! I fought with Casey." 

"Oh?" 

‘That's what it was?’ Starchis thought to himself. ‘So, the reason Casey bought snacks for Vienna was to reconcile with her.’

On the other hand, Vienna regretted what she said. She wondered if she could have received more attention if she had given a better excuse.

As Starchis walked away after saying ‘it’d be okay,’ Vienna clenched her fists in frustration.

-Knock, knock.

Suddenly a knocking sound was heard.

Hearing the knocking on the door, Starchis said, "I'll get it. Just keep preparing the dishes," and went towards the door.

"Uh...? Uh, yes." 

Starchis then opened the door and Vienna, taking the spoons and bowls, walked to the table to prepare it.

-Crick!

"I'm here, Chis,"

Luss’ voice was heard. 

Vienna looked over at the door as she was setting the table and made eye contact with Luss.

Luss hugged Starchis lightly and looked over his shoulder to also make eye contact with Vienna.

Although they were supposed to exchange glares, Vienna gave up and looked away. There was no point in engaging in a staring contest. Starchis was already living happily with Elza.

Vienna might also not have felt competitive since she had already experienced Starchis’ embrace first. 

And more importantly, she didn’t make eye contact because she envied Luss.

Vienna was envious of Luss’s pure smile, untouched by the unfortunate fact that Starchis had already had his first experience.

Although Vienna never liked Luss much because Luss too eyed her Starchis, she still decided not to tell her about Starchis’ first experience. Because it seemed too cruel to tell her this. 

Vienna knew how painful that wound was, and no matter how much she resented someone, causing that wound as a human being was an unacceptable act.

So, Vienna went back to silently putting down the dishes and utensils.

Soon, Luss approached and said, "Hi, Vienna."

"...Hi," 

Luss unfastened the sword from her waist and putting it aside, she too began to help Vienna.

But Luss’ eyes kept glancing at Starchis's bed, wondering if there was any trace she had missed, or if Starchis had noticed any signs. 

But there didn't seem to be any changes, and there didn't seem to be any of her traces remaining either.

“What have you been doing, Luss?”

Luss, whose nerves were focused elsewhere, was taken aback by Starchis’ words. She caught her breath in a way that didn’t show her surprise. And then, she opened her mouth to answer, but no words came out.

There was nothing appropriate to say. She couldn’t tell him that she had masturbated in his bed, or cried every day, or searched for the pink-haired, pink-eyed woman. 

"...Did you hear me, Luss?" Starchis asked again.

Luss answered nonchalantly, "Huh? What did you say, Chis?"

"I asked what you've been doing. Hahaha."

"Just taking care of my body, that's all."

That was half true and half lie. Apart from the time she spent looking for Elza, she did indeed take care of her body. But that time was overwhelmingly small.

But Starchis, who didn't know that fact, felt good about it.

"Oh, really? Good job. I'm relieved. If you're in good condition, I feel better too."     

Instead of answering, Luss gave a sly smile.

Tap.

The last bowl was placed on the table. Starchis came and then prepared the drinks and cups.

Now that only the food was left to be served, preparations were complete.

"We just need Lily Noona to come now. Let's sit and wait guys."

During a brief rest, Luss and Vienna began to find a place to sit.

Vienna, who was fidgeting around, cautiously went to the bed and sat down, and Luss took the seat next to Starchis, watching Vienna’s actions closely.

For no reason, she felt her heart constricting strangely whenever someone approached Starchis' bed.

Vienna carefully stroked the bedding and clenched her fist slightly. 

While Luss felt nervous, Vienna too was facing her own terrible memories.

Luss found it hard to hold her tongue while watching her like this.

"What's wrong, Vienna?"

"Huh?"

Vienna was surprised by Luss’ sudden words.

"You were stroking the bed. Is something bothering you?"

"Oh, no."

"Vienna seems tired. She had a fight with her friend.” Then turning his gaze to Vienna, Starchis added. “You can lie down a bit if you want."

It was not at all true, but his small considerations like these still touched Vienna’s heart.

It felt both good and painful.

-Knock, knock, knock.

The sound of the door was heard again. The last person had also arrived.

It was perfect timing, as the resting of the steak had just finished.

***

Everyone took their seats around the dining table. 

To Starchis' left was Luss, and to his right was Vienna, with Lily sitting in the remaining seat. 

Once they were settled, Starchis went to the kitchen and called out to them.

"Could each of you come up with your plate one by one?" 

He moved the lid covering the steak he had cooked, and the delicious aroma and steam rose up. 

'It's cooked well.'

Starchis was satisfied. He felt like it was going to be a great dinner since the food turned out just the way he wanted.

Luss was the first to approach.

"Here," Starchis placed meat on Luss' plate and Luss handed it over to Vienna, who was waiting behind her.

"Why are you giving me yours?"

"I'll continue to receive it next to the Chis and bring it to the table. It's inconvenient for everyone to keep going back and forth."

"It's okay. I'll get mine myself."

"No, I think it's better to do as Luss said. You should go and sit down," Starchis turned and said to Vienna, who gave Luss a resentful look before returning to her seat. Lily also looked unhappy.

Meanwhile, Starchis expressed his gratitude to Luss.

"Thanks for helping out, Luss."

"It's nothing. We're all eating together, so this is the least I can do."

Starchis placed a piece of meat on the plate that Luss handed him and kept it aside, and Luss passed an empty plate to Starchis again. 

When they finished placing the last portion on the plate, both of them returned to their seats. 

Reaching the dining table and seeing that the positions had been switched, Luss frowned. Vienna was now sitting next to Starchis, and on the opposite side was Lily. 

Lily spoke up, "Starchis, come sit down quickly."

Starchis didn't pay much attention to who sat where and sat down roughly in his seat. Luss hesitated and then went to the remaining seat.

As everyone sat down with plates full of food in front of them, Starchis looked around and began to speak, "Well then, let's eat-"

"Before that," Lily interrupted him. She tried to smile a little while talking, but it wasn't easy on her wounded heart. "Before that, Starchis. Please say something as the leader."

This wasn't just an ordinary dinner gathering. They all had a life changing mission waiting for them tomorrow.

"I'm embarrassed..."

"No, you have to speak at a time like this. You're the leader, after all."

Starchis felt shy. He scratched his chin in embarrassment and tried to find appropriate words to say according to the occasion. After a few seconds passed like that, he spoke:

"... Alright everyone. We've seen our fair share of challenges in C and D class missions for a few years now, but you all did well. B-class missions may be risky, but we can overcome it just like we overcame past challenges. Then you’ll get better positions, better rewards, and better food to eat. Starting tomorrow, we’ll become a B-class party… we will definitely succeed. And oh, if anyone feels unwell tomorrow, let me know."

When he tried using an unfamiliar tone to appear serious about what he said, Starchis felt a bit awkward.

"Let's keep going like this for a long, long time… as long as we are a party."

The three of them flinched at those words.

‘... for a long, long time?’

‘... like this?’

‘... as long as we are a party?’

They wanted it to last long, but nobody wanted it to last forever. They didn’t want to be just party members forever. They wanted to become something more one day.

But they concealed their melancholic hearts beneath their expressions. The three of them were gradually getting better at hiding their emotions over the past few weeks.

"Alright, Party ‘Maenbal’, fighting!"

Since there were no glasses, Starchis clenched his fist and everyone - hiding their emotions - responded with enthusiasm.

"Let's be happy, Chis."

"I'll keep working hard in the future."

"Fighting…" Vienna extended her own fist to Starchis while saying that. 

Starchis smiled and punched Vienna's fist back. Seeing that, Luss now slightly regretted sticking with Starchis in the kitchen.

"Okay, everyone, please enjoy."

At his words, everyone picked up their forks and knives and started eating the food. They cut it into small pieces and praised Starchis' cooking skills. There wasn't anything special, and the meat was just good, which was unrelated to himself, but it made Starchis feel proud.

He also cut a piece of meat and put it in his mouth. The juice in the meat was as juicy as it could be, and the flavour was deep. It immediately melted in his mouth.

Starchis looked up from his plate after eating one or two bites, and as he was about to speak, he was slightly surprised to see all three women looking at him intently.

He cleared his throat and chuckled, and the three women also regained their composure and casually looked away.

-Clang clang

And, the sound of their forks simultaneously hitting the plates was heard.

 "... Did I get something on my face?"

He touched his face, but nothing came off.

"No, Chis."

Starchis nodded. Even though he wondered if he should make a few jokes to uplift the atmosphere, he lost interest. No one seemed likely to answer, as they were all concentrating on the food.

And, right! There was something more important to say.

"Hey, guys, so the mission we are going to take on tomorrow-"

"-Let's talk about it tomorrow, Starchis."

But Lily interrupted him.

"...Can’t we talk about it tomorrow? Today, I want to hear stories from you guys."

In fact, Lily just wanted to hear Starchis' stories.

On the other hand, since it was a B-class mission, Starchis wanted to talk about it first, but he felt Lily was also right. Work was work, and rest was rest. They had gathered here to enjoy the dinner, and there was no need to talk about work.

"Noona's right. I'm curious about how everyone's been."

"... We’ve been doing fine. How are you and your girlfriend doing?"

Vienna asked bluntly, and both Luss and Lily also turned their heads to look at him.

However, Starchis didn't like the sudden arrow that was directed at him. Lately, even if he didn't want to lie, the three of them kept asking about his girlfriend, making him lie.

On top of that, it was more uncomfortable than usual to lie when all of them were gathered for an important dinner.

He had tried to put down the sense of guilt many times, trying to convince himself that what he was doing was for everyone’s good, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

"...I'm doing well. But let's move on from my girlfriend-"

At his words, Luss, Vienna, and Lily all focused on him, curious as to what he wanted to talk about.

Starchis spoke, smiling. 

"-Instead, what about Noona and you guys? Do you have a crush on someone?"

He felt he had found a good topic to change the subject.

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