Then, a little bit later, around 13:28 pm, somewhere close to the downtown center of District 4, on a rather large sidewalk, that was close to several office buildings and stores of various sizes on it's right side, to be precise...
"Oh my! These buildings are so tall and there's so many stores here, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya, that was walking next to Tatsurou on this said sidewalk, said with a happy and excited tone, while she looked and pointed, at the towering office buildings and the various stores on her right side, that went from small restaurants and bakeries to simple clothes, perfume, or shoe stores.
It was needless to say, that upon seeing this, Tatsurou, couldn't stop smiling, as he looked at Livanya observing and pointing at everything, with an excitement, befitting of a child that was about to go out and play.
"I have to admit that I'm quite impressed to see that, Drakon-san, is so excited just by looking at such simple buildings and stores...I do wonder, if they don't have a lot of these taller buildings, back where she lives..." Tatsurou thought as he briefly glanced at Livanya, while he tried to imagine where she lived, back in Russia.
"If you're already impressed by this, then I just can't wait, to show you the downtown center, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said also with a happy and excited tone, as he looked at Livanya and gave her a big smile, before giving her a thumbs up.
"Hold on a minute, mister Tatsurou! You're going to take me to the downtown center, for real?!" Livanya asked with a very curious and excited tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, with her eyes opened wide before she clenched her hands a bit.
"Well, since you told me earlier, that it was your first time here in Takamagahara, Drakon-san...I thought, that you would like to go visit the downtown and see some of the landmarks we got there! But what do you think about this idea?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he glanced at Livanya while scratching his cheek a bit and upon hearing him, Livanya's eyes began to shine bright as stars.
"What I think about it? I think that's an amazing and very good idea you just had, mister Tatsurou! You get 10 points for that!" Livanya said with a very happy and excited tone, as she looked at Tatsurou with a big smile on her face, while she placed her hands together, but Tatsurou on the other hand, looked at Livanya, with a faint sad expression on his face.
"God...I feel so bad for lying to Drakon-san...but for now, it's the only way, that I can think of, that will help her..." Tatsurou thought a bit sad and guilty, while he sighed a bit, since his true objective, was not to take Livanya to the downtown's center, to visit any landmarks, no, Tatsurou's true and real objective, was to convince Livanya to go to the Soteria headquarters and report the people that were after her once they got to the downtown.
It was true, that this wasn't a perfect plan and it could backfire quite bad, but right now, it was the best plan Tatsurou had and his only and best bet, to help Livanya with whatever problems she had, but even so, Tatsurou couldn't stop feeling bad for lying in such a way to Livanya, that was smiling brightly with the idea of seeing and visiting, District 4's downtown.
"I just hope that Drakon-san forgives me, for triking her like this, once this is all over and done with..." As Tatsurou thought this, he let out a depressed sigh, that was cut short by Livanya, that gently pulled on his right sleeve, something that surprised Tatsurou a little bit, as he was brought back from his thoughts.
"Mister Tatsurou...is something the matter?" Livanya asked more worried than curious, upon seeing that Tatsurou, got a little bit too quiet, all of a sudden.
"Hmm? Nothing's wrong, Drakon-san! I was just thinking...where we should go first when we finally reach the downtown, that's all!" Tatsurou said with a very faint nervous tone, that turned into a reassuring one, while he laughed and scratched his cheek a bit.
"I see, I see...to be honest...I thought that you were a bit bored with the idea of showing me around the town and that I was, being a nuisance..." Livanya said with a sad and worried tone, as she let go of Tatsurou's sleeve before she began to look a bit down, something that Tatsurou didn't let her do for too long.
"Nonsense, Drakon-san! You're not being a nuisance and I don't mind showing you around town nor am I bored by it! So please turn that frown upside down, alright?" Tatsurou said with a very happy and reassuring tone, as he smiled at Livanya, something that made her blush a bit, as she turned her gaze towards him.
"So...you're not bored by this...that...makes me really happy to know that..." Livanya muttered with a happy and embarrassed tone, as she looked down again, before smiling and blushing a bit.
"Did you, say something, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked both curious and a bit innocently, as he glanced at Livanya, that jolted quite a bit upon hearing him.
"Heh?! N-No...I didn't say anything...well...I did say something, but it's nothing important, so don't worry about it, ok?" Livanya said with an embarrassed tone, as she blushed from ear to ear, while she flailed her arms around a bit, needless to say, that this got Tatsurou, suspicious.
"I understand, but if there's something wrong and you want to talk about it...I don't mind lending an ear, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he placed his hands inside the pockets of his jacket and smiled again before he looked at Livanya, but this just made her more embarrassed.
"T-Thank you for your offer, mister Tatsurou...but it wasn't anything bad, just a small and random thought, so please don't worry about it..." Livanya said still with her embarrassed tone, as she slowly regained her composure, while she thought of ways to change the subject, something that happened sooner rather than later.
"B-But, speaking of which, mister Tatsurou...earlier in the park, you said that you were going to take me, somewhere that, "I would like", so if you don't mind me asking...where are you, going to take me?" Livanya asked with a very curious tone, while she placed her hands behind her back and briefly leaned forward, before looking at Tatsurou.
"The place I'm taking you? Well, it's a bit of a surprise...but it's one that I bet you'll like, a lot!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, while he glanced at Livanya, that became even more curious than she already was, upon hearing him.
"It's a surprise? Hmm, I do love surprises...but now I'm even more curious about this place! So, just tell me what it is, Mister Tatsurou! Pretty please?" Livanya asked again with a very curious tone, as she grabbed Tatsurou's sleeve and gently pulled on it, while she tilted her head and gave Tatsurou the classic puppy eyes, something that made him blush briefly before he smiled again.
"Well, well now...it wouldn't be a surprise, if I told you where we are going right, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou said with a joking tone, as he gave Livanya a quick wink, but in response to this, Livanya began to pout a bit.
"That's so unfair, mister Tatsurou! But I have to admit that you're kind of right...so...could you at least tell me, if we're getting close to it or not?" Livanya asked with a faint angry tone, which quickly turned into a happy and curious one, as she pulled on Tatsurou's sleeve again.
"Now that I can tell you, Drakon-san! But I don't think I'll need to since we've arrived!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he stooped walking and began looking in the direction of the many buildings, that stood on the right side of the sidewalk they were on.
"Heh? We did? Really?" Livanya asked with a very surprised tone, as she also stooped walking and briefly looked at Tatsurou, that nodded while he smiled and upon seeing this, Livanya let go of Tatsurou's sleeve, as she began to look in the same direction as Tatsurou.
"Well then, let's have a good look at this mysterious place you talked about...!" As Livanya said this, she finally set her eyes, on what Tatsurou was looking at, and for a lack of better words, Livanya became speechless, as she was now looking at a white and light pink colored, two stories tall building, that stood between two other buildings that were, more or less, of the same size.
But what surprised and caught Livanya's attention, was not the color of the building or its size, no, what caught Livanya's attention, was the big sign that had a very cute cartoon drawing of a crepe, that stood over the large glass framed storefront door of this building, and on that said sign was written, The crepe factory.
"Wooah! No way, no way! I can't believe that you brought us to a crepe store, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with an extremely happy and excited tone, while she clasped her hands together, as she quickly looked at the building, then at Tatsurou.
"Well, you did say, that you never ate any crepes before and that it was a shame, we couldn't eat the ones from that van in the public park, when we left, Drakon-san...so with that in mind and the fact that's already lunchtime, I thought that it would be a good idea if we could eat some before we head to the downtown...what do you think?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, while he took his right hand out of the pocket of his jacket, to briefly scratch the back of his head, before placing the same hand on his hip.
"What I think, mister Tatsurou? I think that you just had the best and most wonderful idea!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, while she turned towards Tatsurou and got very close to him, as she grew a grin, that went from ear to ear.
"But just what are we doing here, in the outside and talking, when we could already be inside and enjoy some delicious crepes together? Come on, let's go mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said again with a very happy and excited tone, as she suddenly grabbed Tatsurou's right hand and began pulling him towards the inside of the crepe store, something that surprised Tatsurou a bit.
"W-Wait, Drakon-san..." Tatsurou called out to Livanya but it was mostly useless, as she had other things on her mind, so Tatsurou just smiled and went along with Livanya's pace, then after a rather quick walk, both Tatsurou and Livanya finally entered the crepe store and once inside, Livanya became at a loss of words once again, as she saw that the interior of the store had its walls, painted in a light pink color and it's ceiling painted in white and we couldn't forget its floor, that was made with black and white tiles.
The wall to the left side of the store was covered with various framed pictures of different and various types of crepes, and on the wall to the right, there was a cartoon drawing of a cloud with a chocolate and vanilla crepe resting on top of the said cloud and in the wall behind the counter, there was also another cartoon drawing of the various ingredients and utensils used to make crepes and small screens with the store's menu.
As for the tables and chairs, there were 5 light pink and white cushioned booth seats, that were close to the window, from where one could see the sidewalk and in the middle of the store there were various white tables, that had 4 or 6 pink cushioned chairs each and to top it all off, both the waitresses and the girls on the counter of this crepe store, wore light pink maid uniforms, with white frills and an equally white apron over it and needless to say, that upon seeing this, Livanya became very excited and her state of loss of words, was gone in the blink of an eye.
"Wow, wow! This crepe store is so, so very cute and adorable looking, mister Tatsurou! I just love it! Say, did you already came here beforehand or is it your first time here?" Livanya asked with a very excited tone, while she let go of Tatsurou's hand and began to look in every direction before she placed her hands together.
"Well, to be honest...I was told about it, from a friend of mine...so this is my first time here too..." Tatsurou said with a happy and embarrassed tone, while he scratched his cheek and laughed a bit, as he remembered how Marie told him and Shirayuki about an ad she saw for this crepe store on the internet and that they should visit it, one of these days.
"Oh, I see, I see! Good thing, that your friend told you about this store then, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she placed her hands together before she turned forward again.
"But well...right now, this calls for pictures! Lots and lots of them!" Livanya said again with an excited tone, as she opened her shoulder bag and began fumbling inside it with both of her hands and after a few short seconds, Livanya took out a small digital camera from her bag, with which she proceeded to take pictures, lots of them.
It was impressive to see, how Livanya turned in every direction of the store, and quickly snapped pictures of the walls, the tables, the staff, and the customers and one had to wonder, if the pictures that she was taking, were coming out good or not, but for Tatsurou that was witnessing this, it didn't matter, as he was happy to see Livanya, snapping more and more pictures, as she smiled brightly.
"Good grief...if Drakon-san keeps taking pictures like this, she will fill up the camera's storage in no time, won't she? Wait..." Tatsurou thought as he let out a quick sigh, before a mischievous smile, slowly appeared on his face.
"Say, Drakon-san...don't you think that you should be a little bit more careful when taking pictures?" Tatsurou asked with a stoic tone, as he smiled and upon hearing him, Livanya stooped snapping pictures, before she turned towards him.
"Heh? Why should I...be a little bit more careful about that, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked with a curious and surprised tone, as she tilted her head a bit.
"Well, taking pictures of the store is ok and everything, Drakon-san...but you should at least ask the staff if it's alright to take pictures of both them and of the customers..." Tatsurou said again with a stoic tone, while he looked a bit away and smiled, but Livanya on the other hand opened her eyes wide and blushed quite a bit, as she finally understood what Tatsurou was talking about.
"I-I'm so sorry, for taking pictures without asking, everyone!" Livanya said with a very embarrassed and apologetic tone, as she put her camera away and turned towards the staff and the customers of the store to give them a bow before she turned to Tatsurou again.
"I-I'm...I'm very sorry about this, mister Tatsurou! I was so excited, that I completely forgot that you shouldn't take pictures without asking! I just hope that we don't get in trouble for this...!?" Livanya said with a very worried and embarrassed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, that began to giggle quite a lot, as he placed his hand in front of his mouth, something that confused Livanya a bit.
"I'm just kidding, Drakon-san! No one is going to get angry or say anything about you taking a few pictures and besides, the staff doesn't seem to mind and there isn't a lot of customers around today...so don't worry about it, ok?" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he tilted his head and glanced at the two girls on the counter of the store, the 4 waitresses and the 3 customers that smiled, while they said things such as "So cute!" and "What an adorable angel!" as they looked at Livanya, that began to pout and blush a bit, when she heard Tatsurou.
"Y-You're such meanie for tricking and making me worry like this, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a faint angry tone, while she got close to Tatsurou and pouted again, while she pointed at him.
"I'm really sorry about this, Drakon-san...but I just couldn't resist joking a little bit with you...!" Tatsurou said with an apologetic tone, as signaled Livanya to calm down with his hands, while he smiled again, but this wouldn't last long, as Tatsurou was suddenly interrupted by one of the waitresses, that approached him and Livanya.
"Welcome to the Crepe Factory! Is it a table just for two?" The waitress, that had short messy black hair and was wearing a light pink maid uniform with white frills and a white apron over it, asked this with a very cute tone, to Tatsurou and Livanya, while she placed her hands together and smiled a bit.
"Yes, it's a table, just for the two of us!" Tatsurou said as he looked at the waitress and smiled.
"A table just for two then? Very well, please follow me!" The waitress said with a very happy and inviting tone, as she led the way towards one, of the many available booth seats close to the window, while she was followed by Tatsurou and Livanya and after a very quick walk...
"Here is your table!" The waitress said again with a happy tone, as she pointed with her hand, at the last booth seat, which had a table and two small light pink sofas on each side of said table.
"Thank you!" Both Tatsurou and Livanya said at the same time, as they briefly bowed, before taking a seat facing each other.
"With that done...what can I bring you two?" The waitress asked with a curious tone, as she took a small notebook and pencil from the small pocket of her apron.
"Hmm...well, let's see, I think I'll get...the vanilla cream and chocolate-filled crepe!" Tatsurou said as he pointed with his thumb at the drawing of the vanilla and chocolate-filled crepe, on the wall behind him, the waitress just nodded and smiled, while she wrote Tatsurou's order down, on the small notebook.
"And what about you, Drakon-san? Which one would you like to eat?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he now looked at Livanya, that was looking down at the table, as she pointed her index fingers at each other.
"W-Well...c-can I really choose...which one I'd like to eat, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked with a very shy tone as she blushed a bit, something that made Tatsurou smile before he let out a sigh.
"You don't need to be so shy about this, Drakon-san! Just go ahead and choose the one you like the best! Oh and don't worry about the price, it's my treat, after all!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he rested his head on the palm of his left hand and smiled while giving a wink to Livanya, that opened her eyes wide, while she clasped her hands.
"I-If that's the case...then...I would like a crepe...with lots of...strawberries and vanilla cream! That is...if it's alright with you, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy tone, which turned into a shy one, as she looked at the waitress then at Tatsurou, while she kept her hands clasped.
"Fine by me! You heard her, didn't you, miss?" Tatsurou said with a happy and reassuring tone, as he looked at Livanya, then at the waitress, that nodded and smiled while she wrote Livanya's order down.
"I sure did! Now, what would you like to drink?" The waitress asked with a curious tone, as she tilted her head a bit.
"I'll take a milk coffee, with extra sugar...how about you, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Livanya, that was smiling, as she now had her hands on her cheeks and imagined how her crepe with strawberries, would look.
"Me? Well, I...I would like some strawberry milk...if that's alright too..." Livanya said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she blushed a bit, upon being brought back from her thoughts.
"Once again, fine by me, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he looked at Livanya and smiled again.
"Very well then, let's see...your order is a crepe filled with vanilla and chocolate and milk coffee, for the mister and a crepe with lots of strawberries and strawberry milk for the little miss...did I got it right?" The waitress asked as she briefly looked at her small notebook, then at Tatsurou and Livanya.
"Yes, that will be all!" Tatsurou said as he looked at the waitress, that smiled as she placed her pencil back in the pocket of her apron.
"Alrighty then! I shall bring your order right away!" The waitress said with a happy tone, as she turned towards the counter, but as she was about to leave...
"Oh and little miss? Both my co-workers and I don't mind that you take pictures of us, as long as you catch all of our good sides on them!" The waitress said with a reassuring and joking tone, as she looked at Livanya from over her shoulder and smiled, Livanya got a bit embarrassed upon hearing her.
"I-I'm so sorry, for taking pictures without asking first earlier..." Livanya said with an embarrassed tone, as she pointed her index finger at each other before she looked a bit away from the waitress.
"You don't have to say sorry, young miss, it's ok! But just make sure to show those pictures to your friends and bring them here, to pay us a little visit and eat some of our delicious crepes, is all I ask!" The waitress said with a happy and reassuring tone, as she gave a quick wink to Livanya, before she finally took her, leave and once she was finally gone...
"Thank goodness! I thought that the waitress and the customers got angry at me, for taking pictures earlier..." Livanya said with a relieved tone, while she placed her arms on the table before she slowly sank away on the sofa.
"Come on, Drakon-san...I was just joking earlier and you just heard it from the waitress, it's ok to take pictures, so go ahead and take some more, if you want!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he gave Livanya a comforting smile.
"Well, I would like to take some more, but I already took lots of them in the entrance of the store and I wanted to have pictures mostly of the frames on the wall behind us and pictures of the walls that have drawings on them...with the only picture missing, is one from the outside of the store...so for now, I'm happy and good with these pictures I have!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she quickly regained her composure and smiled, but for some reason, she looked a bit sad, something that Tatsurou took notice of.
"I see...then we'll have to take one from the outside too, once we're done here!" Tatsurou said also with a happy tone, as he rested his head on the palm of his hand again.
"I shouldn't have made that joke earlier...I just hope that Drakon-san, doesn't become afraid of taking pictures, because of it...maybe we should talk about something else, for now..." Tatsurou thought a bit guilty as he looked at Livanya, that took her camera out of her shoulder bag and was now looking at the pictures she took.
"Say, Drakon-san, are you a fan of strawberries?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious as he looked at Livanya, which was brought back from her thoughts, once she heard Tatsurou.
"Hmm? W-Well...you could say that...I'm quite a fan of everything related to strawberries! I just love how sweet they are and how well they go with almost everything you can imagine!" Livanya said with a very faint embarrassed tone, which quickly turned into a very happy one, as she placed her camera away before she looked at Tatsurou and smiled.
"But how about you, mister Tatsurou? Do you like strawberries too?" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she intertwined her fingers a bit.
"If I like strawberries? Well, I do like some strawberries, especially fresh ones, every once in a while...but I have to always eat them with some whipped cream or with some yogurt, to be fair..." Tatsurou said while he rubbed his chin and laughed briefly, but on the other hand, Livanya just looked at Tatsurou with an angry expression on, something that surprised him a bit.
"Well...I do have to agree, that fresh strawberries with whipped cream or yogurt are pretty good, mister Tatsurou, but, you also have to eat them without any of those things too!" Livanya said with an angry tone, as she gently slammed the table with both of her hands before she got up, surprising Tatsurou even more than he already was.
"Listen, mister Tatsurou, strawberries are the best fruit there is, in the world! And they simply taste better when they are eaten without any whipped cream, chocolate, or yogurt! Especially when they are recently harvested and fresh, you just own it to yourself, to eat them and have all those sweet and natural juices flood your mouth!"
Livanya said still with her faint angry tone, that turned into a very happy and delighted one, as she pointed at Tatsurou, that kept silent as he looked at Livanya, with surprise written all over his face, but this wouldn't last long, as Livanya began to blush quite bad, upon realizing the way she talked and acted, just now.
"I-I'm sorry...I didn't mean to be...so aggressive towards you, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a very embarrassed tone, as she quickly took her seat again, while she looked away from Tatsurou, that smiled a bit, upon hearing her.
"You don't need to apologize, Drakon-san! I'm not angry!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring and happy tone, as he looked at Livanya's, which kept blushing while looking away from him.
"No, I shouldn't have spoken like this towards you, mister Tatsurou...I really shouldn't have...but I just can't stand hearing someone saying that they eat fresh strawberries with whipped cream, yogurt, or something similar, when they simply taste the best when you eat them without any of those things...but honestly, that's just my very unimportant opinion, to be fair..." Livanya said still with her embarrassed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou, then away again.
"I already told you that it's alright and that I'm not angry, Drakon-san, and please, do not say that your opinion, is unimportant when I believe that it is important!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring and honest tone, as he smiled again.
"M-My opinion, is important?" Livanya asked with a curious tone, as she tilted her head a bit.
"Yes, I believe that your opinion, just like all opinions, does matter, and its a good thing, that your both passionate about what you like and that your ready to share, defend and provide arguments about them, so that in the end, you can make more people join and try out, the things that you like! And as long as you respect and don't force your opinions on people and let them have opinions of their own and respect them...then I don't see a problem with sharing your thoughts on how strawberries should or shouldn't be eaten, and to be honest, thanks to you, next time I get some fresh strawberries, I'll try to eat them without anything, just like you said!"
Tatsurou said with an honest tone, as he looked at Livanya and smiled, something that made Livanya blush from ear to ear, while she looked at Tatsurou, with a very impressed expression on.
"So...my opinion...does matter..." Livanya thought happily, as she briefly looked down, then at Tatsurou.
"I see...but, you don't really have to eat them without anything if you don't like them that way and I don't want you to force yourself into eating them like that, mister Tatsurou! And once again I am very sorry for sounding so rude just now when I talked about how strawberries, should or shouldn't be eaten..." Livanya said with a faintly embarrassed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou and smiled.
"It's ok, don't worry! But speaking of which, since you like strawberries so much and talk so highly of them, Drakon-san, I can only assume, that you eat them a lot, no?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he looked at Livanya, that jolted a bit upon hearing him and for a while, Livanya remained silent, as she slowly looked away from Tatsurou.
"Is something wrong, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit worried, as he looked at Livanya, that was now blushing from head to toe.
"N-No, nothing's wrong, mister Tatsurou...well...I mean...although I love strawberries very much and talking so highly of them...I...I rarely get a chance to eat them, especially fresh, to be honest with you..." Livanya said with a very embarrassed tone, while she pointed her index finger at each other and looked down.
"You don't get many chances to eat them, really?" Tatsurou asked with a very surprised tone, as he looked at Livanya, that nodded a bit.
"Yes, that is true...but that's mostly, because of the village I live..." Livanya said with an embarrassed tone, as she looked at Tatsurou.
"Please, don't tell me, that you're village has something against strawberries..." Tatsurou said with a faint joking tone, as he looked at Livanya that placed her hand in front of her mouth and giggled briefly.
"No, that's not the case...well, you see, mister Tatsurou, since my village is located in the Narodnaya mountains... it's always very cold there and by consequence, there's also lots and lots of snow there...so growing strawberries is pretty difficult and quite a daunting task...so we can only raise livestock such as cows or sheep to get milk, butter and eat their meet..." Livanya said with an embarrassed tone, as she scratched her cheek a bit and it was true.
Since Strekoza, was located in the middle of the very snowy Narodnaya mountains, which was plagued by heavy snowstorms, it was quite hard to grow any type of vegetables or fruits there, so Strekoza could only raise livestock and had to rely on the Black Bear unity, to provide them with vegetables and fruits, that they could not grow on they're own.
"I see...but doesn't your village have something like a supermarket or something, where you could get them, a little bit fresh at least?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he tilted his head and moved his hand a bit.
"Well, we could have a supermarket...but my village is a bit small and surrounded by small and beautiful looking woods, you know...so I think, that it would be a shame and a waste to cut them, just to build a supermarket..." Livanya said with an informative tone, as she made a small pause.
"And after all, we do have something, that's a bit similar to a supermarket, and that would be our market street, where fruits, vegetables, milk, meat and the alike are sold! And as I told you since we can't grow either fruits or vegetables...they have to be brought to my village from Moscow or Saint Petersburg and because we're located a bit far from both of these cities...we rarely get our food fresh, so to speak..." Livanya said again with an informative tone, while she raised her right index finger a bit and moved her left hand.
"Well, to be fair, I have to agree with you on that one, Drakon-san, it would be a real shame to cut those woods around your village and ruin its landscape...just to build a supermarket, when you already have a market street...but it's still a shame, that you can't grow any vegetables or fruits in your village and you need to rely on, imports, to get the food your village needs and still being unable to get anything fresh in the end..." Tatsurou said with a worried tone, as he sighed and crossed his arms a bit.
"Well, we do get fresh vegetables and fruits, but unfortunately, that only happens every 3 or 4 months, unfortunately..." Livanya said with a faintly sad tone, as she sighed, and once again it was true.
Strekoza had a long straight road that was called, the Narodnoya highway, that leads straight to Moscow and usually it would take half a day to get from Strekoza to Moscow by either car or truck, but, this long road had a setback that made the half a day road drive impossible, for most of the year and this setback was, it's very heavy and dangerous, snowstorms, that unfortunately plagued this road and made the usual, half a day trip, last for weeks or months and the only good thing, was the fact that every few months, this snowstorms would settle down and make this road drivable once more.
"But once when we do to get fresh food, especially the strawberries, I just have to eat them, as they are, mister Tatsurou! No whipped cream, no chocolate, no sugar! All I need is a large bowl filled with those fresh strawberries, that flood my mouth with their natural, sweet juices with every bite and nothing else!"
Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she placed her hands together and smiled, as she imagined herself eating a large bowl, filled with nothing but freshly harvested strawberries.
"I see, now this explains, why you love strawberries so much, Drakon-san! To be honest, now I kind of regret, not choosing the same crepe you did, after hearing you talking so much about strawberries!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he looked at Livanya and smiled.
"And since we're talking about your village, Drakon-san...can you tell me more about, what else your it has, besides the woods?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, as he scratched his cheek a bit.
"Heh? Do you really want to know more about my village, mister Tatsurou?" Livanya asked a little bit curious and surprised, as she looked at Tatsurou that nodded, while he smiled.
"Well, you see, Drakon-san...I lived here in Takamagahara, for all my life and as you have probably noticed...there aren't any small villages or towns here...so...I'm curious about how small towns or villages look like and what's in them, you know?" Tatsurou said with an honest tone, while he scratched the back of his head and laughed briefly and it was true.
Despite having traveled to Japan a few times with Hime, Tatsurou only had visited the big city such as Kyoto or Yokohama and never the more simple, calm, and peaceful towns or villages that existed there, in a certain way, we could say that Tatsurou was fascinated by villages and small towns, in the same way, that Livanya was fascinated with the more bustling and never sleeping big towns and cities.
"Oh! I see I see! If that's the case, then I just can't refuse, telling you about my village! Hmm, well let's see...besides the woods that surround it, we also have a river that traverses the whole village, but this river is frozen up for almost all year, except from August to October! And when he's unfrozen, there's usually lots of fish that swim there and we catch them to eat at the festival that we hold every year!" Livanya said with a happy and informative tone, as moved her hands a bit.
"And besides that, we also have small and old houses, a small grade school, a courthouse, a very small police station, the market street, a few small stores, that are, mostly small family business...for example we have a bakery, a pharmacy that sells normal but mostly homemade medicine, a book store that has mostly old books and novels, a clothes store that sells hand made clothes and there's also a restaurant that also serves as a bar if I remember correctly!"
Livanya said with a happy and informative tone, as she more or less described the village of Strekoza to Tatsurou, that was listening to every word that came out of Livanya's mouth with all of his attention, while he grew more impressed and curious, with every new thing he heard about it.
"I have to admit, that your village sounds like a very lovely and welcoming place, Drakon-san! I wouldn't mind visiting it and take some pictures, there!" Tatsurou said with a very honest and happy tone, as looked at Livanya that smiled upon hearing Tatsurou praising her home so much, but, it didn't last long...
"I'm really happy to ea that and I won't deny that my village, is a lovely place...but to be completely honest, I envy you quite a bit, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with a faint sad tone, as she looked a bit down.
"You...envy me?" Tatsurou asked more worried than curious, as he looked at Livanya, that nodded briefly.
"As weird as it may sound, I do...I envy the fact that...you get to live, in such an incredible and big place, as Takamagahara, where you have lots of stuff to see and do every day and meanwhile I live in a place...that is boring and where there's nothing to do there, most of the time..." Livanya said a bit sad but also a bit angry, something that worried Tatsurou a bit.
"Drakon-san, I'm sorry to be so direct and if this sounds a bit rude...but...do you dislike your village?" Tatsurou asked more worried than curious, as he looked at Livanya, that jolted upon hearing his question.
"P-Please, don't get the wrong idea, mister Tatsurou! It might sound like I hate my village if you take into account what I just said...but I do love my village, I love it quite a lot!" Livanya said with a very embarrassed and nervous tone, as she failed her arms a bit.
"But the truth is that...despite what I just told you about my village and what you could see in it...I haven't visited any of those places myself, in all honesty..." Livanya said with a faint embarrassed and sad tone, as she blushed a bit, Tatsurou just looked at Livanya with surprise written all over his face.
"You haven't visited any of those places yourself, really? But why?" Tatsurou asked both surprised and curious, as he looked at Livanya, that briefly nodded.
"It's true...I haven't visited those places myself...as for the reason...well...my parents...but mostly my father are not very fond of the idea of me going out to walk around the village or going out in general...so I spend all of my time inside my house or in my room...where I play video games, watch TV or study...in a few words, it's always boring and lonely..." Livanya said a bit embarrassed and as she looked down and blushed.
"I see...but if you don't mind me asking, how do you know about the things, that your village has, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked a bit curious, but this caught Livanya, even more off guard.
"W-Well...I know about the things...because...because of my older sister...yes, my older sister Talya! She goes out more often than me, so she told me about the things our village has and showed me pictures of it...but I have to admit that she told me because I asked...I mean nagged her...over and over again...without stopping..." Livanya said with a nervous tone, that slowly turned into an embarrassed one, while she looked down, then at Tatsurou.
"Well, now you know why I said that about my village...but make no mistake, mister Tatsurou! None of the things I said were heartfelt in the slightest and this was mostly me being angry at my parents for not letting me go out..." Livanya said with an embarrassed and reassuring tone, as she moved her hands a bit.
"I know that what you said wasn't heartfelt, Drakon-san! But I have to admit, that this was a little bit unexpected, but now understand, why you looked in every direction on our way here with so much excitement and why you took so many pictures of the store, once we got inside..." Tatsurou said with a comforting tone, while he crossed his arms and gave Livanya a warm smile, that made her blush.
"Yes, it's like I have told you back in the park, mister Tatsurou...this is both my first time outside of my village and my first time in Takamagahara...that's why I want to explore a lot and take lots of pictures...since I don't know, if I'll ever get another chance to come back here or visit other places, you know..." Livanya said with a very sad tone and expression, as she looked down, something that made Tatsurou clench his hands quite hard when upon hearing her.
"I see...if that's the case, then...!" As Tatsurou was about to say something, he was interrupted, by the waitress, that took his and Livanya's order.
"I am very sorry for the long wait!" The waitress, that was holding a round board made of iron with two plates with a crepe each and two cups, said with an apologetic tone, as she looked at Tatsurou and Livanya, something that surprised them a bit.
"Don't worry about it, it's fine!" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, as he looked at the waitress placing in front of Livanya, a fork and knife, a cup with strawberry milk and plate with a big triangle shaped crepe filled with vanilla cream and lots of strawberries, both inside and outside of the crepe and the finishing touch, a gentle wavy line of strawberry syrup.
"Here's your crepe with vanilla cream and lots of strawberries and strawberry milk, young miss!" The waitress said with a very happy tone, as she looked at Livanya, that grew a big smile on her face as she looked at her plate.
"Wooah, this looks so good! Thank you very much!" Livanya said with a very happy and excited tone, as she looked at her plate with sparkling eyes, something that made Tatsurou and the waitress smile.
"Your welcome, young miss!" The waitress said with a very happy tone, as she gave Livanya a peace sign and smiled.
"And now, here's your vanilla and chocolate crepe and milk coffee, mister!" The waitress said again with a happy tone, as she now placed in front of Tatsurou a fork and a knife, a cup with milk coffee and a plate with a big rolled-up crepe, filled with vanilla, that had a wavy line of chocolate syrup on top of it.
"Thanks..." Tatsurou said as he looked at his order then at the waitress.
"You're welcome! Now, please enjoy and let me know if you need anything else, ok?" The waitress said as she tilted her head and slowly turned towards the counter again.
"Sure and thank you, once again!" Tatsurou said, as he looked at the waitress, that gave them another peace sign before she took her to leave and once she was finally gone...
"With all that said...how about we dig in, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked with a curious tone, as he looked at Livanya, that was still looking at her plate with sparkling eyes.
"Y-Yes, let's do that! But first, let me take a quick picture of it!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she quickly took her camera out from her shoulder bag and began to snap various pictures of her crepe, from all imaginable angles, something that made Tatsurou smile but not for too long...
"I still can't believe that Drakon-san, never visited any other places nor her village...just what is wrong with her parents, for doing something like that to her?" Tatsurou thought both angry and sad, as he looked at Livanya, then down at the ground.
"I know...that I shouldn't judge her parents like this, without knowing the reason as to why, they won't let Drakon-san leave her home...but then again, why did they let her come here to Takamagahara now or why are there two very different people following her? Something isn't adding up, at all...feels like I'm dealing with another "Magician hunter" here..."
Tatsurou thought, while he crossed his arms and tried to make any sense of everything that he knew about Livanya and from what she had told him, but his thoughts were suddenly interrupted...
"Done! These, look pretty good!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she looked at the pictures she just took of her crepe.
"I'm sorry for taking so long, mister Tatsurou..." Livanya said with an apologetic tone, as she put her camera away.
"It's alright, Drakon-san! But now that you finished taking these pictures, it is time to dig in for real, right?" Tatsurou said with a reassuring tone, that turned into a happy one, as he smiled at Livanya.
"Yes, let's dig in! Thanks for the food!" Livanya said with a very tone as she placed her hands together before she grabbed her knife and fork and in the blink of an eye, Livanya cut a bite-sized bit of the crepe and ate it.
"Mmm! This crepe is so warm and fluffy and both the vanilla and especially the strawberries, just make it even better!" Livanya said with a very pleased tone, while she placed her hand on her cheek, after taking a bite of her crepe.
"I'm happy to know that you like it, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he looked at Livanya talking another bite, before putting down her fork to grab her cup with strawberry milk, from which she took a sip.
"I'm really happy that Drakon-san likes it...but..." Tatsurou thought a bit happy, as he looked at Livanya that stooped drinking her strawberry milk and was now liking her upper lip while she smiled, but this didn't last long as Tatsurou began to remember Livanya's many words.
"Yes...this is my first time outside of my village and my first time in Takamagahara..."
"That's why I want to explore a lot and take lots of pictures of everything...since I don't know, if I'll ever get another chance to come back here or visit other places, you know..."
"It's always boring and lonely..."
These words that Livanya said to Tatsurou, replayed over and over again inside his mind, as he remembered the sad expression that Livanya gave him, but it was the last words that hit Tatsurou the hardest, because, in a way, he understood what Livanya was feeling, because he knew better than anyone else how bad it feels, to be all alone and being closed off from the world.
"I still don't understand half of the things that are going on...but just knowing that she never visited her village and that she came here to Takamagahara and can't even enjoy visiting anything or having some kind of fun, because she's being followed around...just feels...wrong and unfair..." Tatsurou thought again, while he looked a bit down, but that was when he made up his mind on the spot.
"I think that going to the Soteria headquarters can wait for the time being and I believe that no one will try anything "bad" or "funny" with Drakon-san, as long as I stay close to her, at all times..." Tatsurou thought, as he looked at Livanya again, while he briefly clenched his hands, before he put on, a determined face.
"Say, Drakon-san? After we finish up eating...is there some specific place that you would like to visit?" Tatsurou asked with a very curious tone as he looked at Livanya, that looked at him a bit surprised, as she stooped eating her crepe.
"A specific place...that I want to visit? Hmm...I don't really have anything in mind, to be honest, so I would rather leave that you, Mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a happy tone, as she placed the fork and knife down before she began to rub her chin a bit.
"Come on...there has to be some kind of place that you really want to visit, but that you never had a chance to...that is until today!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, while he smiled and looked at Livanya that began to rub her chin again as she thought of places that she wanted to visit and after a while of thinking...
"Ah! There's a place that I want to visit, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with an excited tone, as she pointed at Tatsurou.
"What place is it?" Tatsurou asked with a very curious tone, as he looked at Livanya that began to blush as she fidgeted a bit.
"Is something wrong, Drakon-san?" Tatsurou asked more worried than curious as he looked at Livanya, that jolted upon hearing him.
"N-Not really...it's just that, the place I want to visit...is, in fact, an arcade..." Livanya said with a very embarrassed tone, as she looked a bit away from Tatsurou.
"You want to visit an arcade, really?" Tatsurou asked a bit surprised and curious, as he didn't expect that Livanya wanted to go to an arcade, off all things that she could visit.
"Yes...I always wanted to visit an arcade and play on all those prize-catching machines and arcade cabinets with fighting, shooting, or racing games, since I always see them so much in anime and especially in the Yakuza games...so if it's ok with you, mister Tatsurou...I would like to visit one..." Livanya said with a happy tone, which turned into a faintly embarrassed one, as she pressed her index fingers against each other, Tatsurou just giggled a bit, as he heard Livanya.
"Sure, we can go to an arcade! There's a pretty big one, that's on the shopping Square, not far from here!" Tatsurou said with a happy tone, as he looked at Livanya, that began to smile, as she clasped her hands.
"I'm finally going to visit an arcade, I can't believe it! Thank you so much for doing this, mister Tatsurou!" Livanya said with a very happy tone, as she gave a blinding smile to Tatsurou.
"You don't have to thank me for that, Drakon-san!" Tatsurou said, as he also smiled upon seeing just how happy Livanya was, with the idea of going to an arcade.
"Say, say, mister Tatsurou! Do they have Tekken, Time Crisis, or Wagan midnight cabinets in that arcade you told me about?" Livanya asked with a very curious tone, as she used her fingers to count down the types of cabinets the arcade might have.
"Well, it has been more or less a month, since I last went there, but I believe that they have both the old and updated versions of those cabinets there!" Tatsurou said, as he briefly remembered the time he went with Shirayuki to the arcade, back in May.
"Wooah, that's so cool! I have only seen those cabinets on the internet and in video games, so I can't wait to go there and finally see them in person!" Livanya said again with an excited tone, as she placed her hands on the table and leaned a bit forward.
"And I can't wait to show you that arcade, but first, we should finish eating up our crepes, no?" Tatsurou asked with a faint joking tone, as he smiled.
"Yes, we should! And you don't have to worry, mister Tatsurou, I'm not going anywhere else...without eating this strawberry goodness first!" Livanya said again with a happy and excited tone, as she grabbed her fork and prepared to take another bite of her crepe...