In her previous world, Kaguya had never had the luxury of experiencing a relationship, let alone going on a date. As a perennial bachelor, things like dating were entirely beyond her reach. What's more, she had always been naturally oblivious to romantic advances. Even when other girls would drop clear hints, Kaguya would remain clueless, leading them to mistakenly think she was politely rejecting them. By the time she graduated, she had even missed out on several direct confessions, only realizing what had happened long after the moment had passed.
Looking back, she deeply regretted those lost opportunities. A prime chance to end her singlehood had been right in front of her, and she had let it slip away.
It wasn't until she crossed over to this new world that she began to slowly understand the feelings of others, particularly those of girls. Yet, even this newfound awareness hadn't entirely rid her of her characteristic obliviousness.
Was she destined to be alone forever?
Now, as she walked through the streets with Esdeath, Kaguya found herself at a loss for what to do. The two of them were simply wandering aimlessly, turning what was supposed to be a date into nothing more than a stroll.
"Hey, aren't you going to say something?" Kaguya suddenly asked.
Esdeath, who had been quiet all this time, turned to her with a curious look. "What should I say?"
"Ugh, forget it," Kaguya sighed, rubbing her forehead. Was this karma for all the times she had teased others?
"Isn't it normal to not talk during a date?" Esdeath asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"Who told you that?" Kaguya said, bewildered. She had never heard of such a rule.
"Look at them," Esdeath said, pointing ahead.
Kaguya followed Esdeath's gaze and saw a couple walking side by side. However, their mood didn't seem particularly pleasant. The woman glared at the man, who, instead of paying attention to her, was sneaking glances at Kaguya and Esdeath. When he noticed Kaguya staring back at him, he quickly looked away, his face showing a hint of embarrassment.
Kaguya's face twitched in disbelief. It was clear now—the guy was ogling other women even though he already had a girlfriend. It was no wonder the woman was angry; she was being generous by not slapping him on the spot.
"Um," Kaguya cleared her throat. "You can definitely talk during a date."
She couldn't help but think, "You're the Empire's strongest general, can you not be this clueless? It's really throwing me off."
"I see," Esdeath said, blushing slightly. "I've never been in a relationship before, so I didn't know what to do on a date."
Kaguya felt at a loss for words.
Perhaps because it was winter, the streets were not very crowded despite the warmer weather. Only a few villagers hurried by, scattered here and there.
Suddenly, Kaguya stopped in her tracks, her eyes lighting up as she spotted something.
At the corner of the street was a shop—a large one, significantly bigger than the surrounding stores, with beautiful decorations. The doors and windows were made of fine pearwood, intricately carved with delicate patterns. Two rare winter bonsai flanked the entrance. Through the windows, Kaguya could see that the interior was equally luxurious.
But what caught her attention was that it was a dango shop.
Kaguya's eyes were instantly drawn to it. It had been a long time since she'd had dango.
"Do you want some?" Esdeath asked with a smile. "Let's go inside."
"Yes," Kaguya quickly nodded, unable to hide her excitement.
Just as they were about to enter, Kaguya paused, her brows furrowing slightly. Something didn't seem right.
She had been to this town before during military campaigns and was familiar with the area. Yet, she didn't recall ever seeing a dango shop here, nor did she remember the locals having a particular fondness for this type of food. How had this shop suddenly appeared?
Moreover, the shop's design was new and stylish, as if it had been built recently. As she got closer, Kaguya could even smell the faint scent of freshly cut wood, a smell that only comes from newly constructed buildings.
Glancing at Esdeath out of the corner of her eye, Kaguya noticed the general's satisfied smile. It dawned on her that this was Esdeath's doing. Despite everything, Esdeath had gone to great lengths to make this happen, which made Kaguya feel a slight warmth towards her.
Wait a minute—this shop would have taken several days to build. Could it be that Esdeath had been planning this for a long time?
Kaguya's mouth twitched. She had thought Esdeath was clueless about relationships, but now it seemed she had underestimated her. She almost got fooled by Esdeath's seemingly innocent act.
"Let's go in and eat," Esdeath said, linking arms with Kaguya and smiling.
Looking into Esdeath's crescent-shaped, light-blue eyes and seeing the bright smile on her face, Kaguya decided not to say anything.
Of course, Kaguya would never admit that it was mainly because she wanted to eat the dango.
"This dango is delicious," Kaguya said, chewing slowly on a skewer of dango, savoring the soft, sweet flavor that filled her mouth. The aroma was delightful, and the texture was perfect. It was definitely the work of a master chef, perhaps even better than Eir's cooking.
"Eat as much as you like," Esdeath said with a smile, offering Kaguya another skewer of red bean dango.
Kaguya didn't hesitate, taking a big bite out of the skewer, her cheeks puffing up as she chewed happily.
Neither of them noticed that they were being watched from a distance by someone on the second floor of a small building.
"This so-called princess really isn't a good person," said the observer, none other than Mine, who was supposed to be with Kurome. Beside her stood Night Raid's boss, Najenda, dressed in a black suit.
"She's not like that," Najenda said quietly, her voice firm.
"Isn't this proof enough?" Mine said, pointing angrily down at Kaguya and Esdeath. "They must have been in cahoots all along. The fight earlier was probably just an act."
At that moment, Esdeath was feeding Kaguya dango, treating her like a small, pampered kitten.