I was waiting for Suika outside of The Crescent Moon Inn. It has been an hour since the last time I saw her…

 

I was sitting on a bench while resting… Even though everything looks good, my body feels very heavy and sluggish...

 

“Damn… She’s really taking her sweet time to get ready.” I muttered to myself while enjoying the shade provided by the inn behind me.

 

In the last hour, I was able to get ready to go out with Suika, talk with Mara, Lara, Rose and Leonard, and also do some light exercises to get my body to... Well… Get used to moving again.

 

I’m currently wearing a black tunic and beige pants with my usual sandals. I tried on some boots, but thanks to my claws on my feet they were extremely uncomfortable. I also combed my hair a bit.

 

Anyway, Lara and Mara were a bit pissed at me… They said that it was a bit unfair for Suika to have a date with me before them… I was left with no choice but to promise to go out with them later...

 

So, I now have two more dates...

 

I also asked Rose and Leonard about places of interest and popular stores in Alorari. Rose offered to take me herself to a few places she knows later… So I guess, I’m also having a date with my mother-in-law? 

 

But let’s leave jokes aside. Both Leonard and Rose gave me some good recommendations on where to go in this town. So I have more or less planned the date.

 

Leonard also asked me about what we were going to do about his beloved Mari. I just told them to be patient.

 

I’ll have to work on my plan to get them together on the sidelines… 

 

I also went to see Nozomi and Junko, but they seemed to be having a lot of fun baking and talking, so I didn't bother them. 

 

Of course, I will never forget the image of a smiling adorable pair of dogkin and mousekin while they were baking.

 

After that, I just came here and started doing some light exercises and took a seat.

 

"She wasn't lying when she said it might take a while for her to get ready…"

 

(Oh, don't worry. She is just applying the final touches on her outfit. It won't take long for her to come out.) Electra spoke in my mind. She sounded a bit tired.

 

(Hey, Electra. Are you okay?) I was a bit concerned.

 

(I'm fine, thank you for worrying about me! It is just that the error in the system proved to be a worthy opponent… I'm currently taking a break.) Electra seemed happy that I was worried about her.

 

(Take it easy. Do you have any suggestions for something that Suika and I could do?) I asked her.

 

(I think Leonard and Rose gave you some good suggestions about where to go, but… Ah! You don't have any money with you, right? Here!) Electra seemed to have remembered the fact that I don't have any money…

 

A small leather pouch appeared in my hands.

 

(Inside the pouch, there's 100 Yutz. It should suffice for a whole day doing fun things. Be careful with thieves and pickpockets!) Electra said enthusiastically.

 

(Thank you very much! Where did you get the money though?) I asked with a bit of concern.

 

(I got it from the money you were given by Orella.) Electra said happily.

 

Ah, I guess that makes sense. I had forgotten about that money…

 

(Umm… Ru, my cute believer, would you listen to a request of mine?) Electra seemed a bit nervous.

 

(Sure. What do you need?) I nodded immediately.

 

For a few moments, she was silent. But before I could ask her what was wrong, she finally spoke again.

 

(I would also like to have a date with you… I mean, you don't have to if you don't feel like it, but I think we should since we are already married, but I wouldn't really hold it against you if you didn't want to…-) Electra immediately panicked after asking for a date.

 

Not gonna lie, I found her panicking very adorable.

 

(Sure, let's have a date!) I smiled at the empty air since she was not here.

 

(Ehh? You want to have a date… That's great! I'll pick you up tonight! Hehehe! Let's have a lot of fun!) Electra went from panicked to very excited very quickly.

 

(I'll be waiting then.) I kept smiling.

 

(Wait for it patiently! Your date is here, so have fun! I'll be going back to work! Don't forget about our date.) Electra said with excitement.

 

The telepathic link between us was cut before I could say goodbye to her.

 

"Sorry to keep you waiting." I heard a very familiar voice coming from the corner of the building.

 

A very familiar petite girl (still taller than me) with gray hair, golden eyes and a big pair of mouse ears was the one who spoke. It was obviously Suika.

 

"I don't really mind waiting for a bit. Your outfit looks great by the way!" I smiled at her.

 

I immediately stood up, although my body still felt very heavy...

 

Suika is currently wearing a white blouse, a black skirt, black tights and a pair of matching shoes. There were a lot of bracelets on her right arm and a brooch adorning her gray hair. 

 

"Damn… He's good…" She whispered very softly. "Which word do you think would be better to describe me? Cute or beautiful?" She stood proudly with a smug expression. Her tail was moving excitedly.

 

I would definitely use cute… But I don't think that's the answer she wants…

 

"Beautiful, of course." I replied with confidence.

 

Suika immediately nodded in agreement. She walked towards me and linked her arm with mine.

 

"Off with a good start, it seems. You're not bad at all at this, Ru." Suika smiled warmly.

 

"Thank you for the compliment." I said proudly.

 

"So? Do you know where we are going today or are we going to follow the streets and see where that takes us? I'd be down for any of the two." She looked at me with curiosity.

 

"I more or less have something planned, but it doesn't matter if we deviate a bit from the original plan." I smiled at her.

 

"Hmm… 10 points…" Suika muttered very very softly. I was barely able to hear it.

 

Points?

 

"I like the sound of that! Let's make this a day worth remembering!" Suika said with excitement.

 

Well, I guess it doesn't really matter asking about those points, so whatever.

 

"Let's go!" I kept smiling at her.

 

The two of us left the patio of the inn with our arms linked.

 

Suika and I were walking together through the busy streets of the commercial district in Alorari.

 

The loud voices of the crowd and the vendors and the strong smells from the market immediately invaded my ears and nose.

 

“You don’t seem very bothered by the noise like your older sister.” Suika pointed that out.

 

She was talking about Mi.

 

“Hm? It doesn’t really bother me if I don’t focus too much on it.” I said with a flat one.

 

“We can go somewhere else if you feel uncomfortable.” Suika suggested.

 

“Don’t worry about me, I’m fine. In fact, the noise should also bother you, right? Are you okay?” I asked Suika.

 

“I’m used to it!” Suika said proudly. “He showed that he worries about me… 10 points…” Suika whispered very very softly again.

 

Again with the points…?

 

“So, where are you taking me?” Suika asked with an innocent smile.

 

“Let’s see… Do you like ice cream?” I asked her with a grin.

 

She nodded vigorously.

 

“Back on Earth, I really liked to have some ice cream during hot summer nights while I was correcting exams.” Suika spoke with nostalgia.

 

“Hahaha. I used to do the same when I got home from work. The first thing I did was to go to the freezer and grab a couple of them before having dinner.”

 

“Well, it looks like we have a nice place to go for this date.” Suika nodded to herself. “10 more points…” She whispered softly again…

 

“Let’s see… If I remember correctly, I was told that it was nearby…” I started looking around the busy streets. 

 

It took a few seconds, but I was able to spot the references that Rose and Leonard had given me to reach the ice cream place.

 

“I think I know where it is now.” I pointed at a very narrow street.

 

“Let’s go then!” Suika smiled.

 

The two of us immediately walked towards the narrow street.

 

As soon as we reached the street, Suika and I had to get closer to each other thanks to the large number of people walking alongside us. Suika didn’t seem to mind it much.

 

In this narrow street, there were dozens of food stalls and stores on each side of the street.

 

“Have some bread! We have hot steaming bread with meat stew!” A woman shouted from our right side.

 

“Magic pearls! Wanna regrow your hair!? Your wife left you and took the kids!? You’re losing your house thanks to some very questionable gambling addiction!? These magic pearls will solve all of those problems!” A very questionable vendor shouted from our left.

 

Jeez… I don’t even know what to say about that vendor and his magical pearls…

 

“Oh!” Something suddenly caught Suika’s attention. “Ru, look! An accessory stall!” Suika said with excitement.

 

She immediately dragged me by the arm towards the accessory stall.

 

A middle-aged woman was sitting behind the counter. Her goods were displayed just below the counter.

 

“Hello missy. Did something catch your attention?” The woman asked with a gentle smile.

 

Suika started rubbing her chin.

 

“And you my boy, are you perhaps going to buy your girlfriend a present? Kids these days are so precocious! Please take your time to choose something adequate.” The woman smiled at me.

 

I just smiled bitterly.

 

“I’m not a kid…” Suika whispered with anger…

 

“Then I'll take you up on your offer.” I said to the woman while looking at her goods.

 

I wanted something to calm down Suika…

 

I started looking for something good for that purpose...

 

“Oh?” I looked at an object with confusion.

 

The object that got me confused was a bracelet with some drawings of… Cheese… Yeah, you heard that correctly.

 

I was questioning if I should give this to Suika or not… I mean, she’s a mousekin but…

 

Just when I was having this little dilemma, I noticed that Suika was looking at me and the bracelet with sparkling eyes.

 

I just smiled bitterly when I realized that some stereotypes were true… Mousekins like cheese.

 

“Ma’am, how much for this one?” I asked the woman.

 

“Two Yutz for a set of two!” She smiled warmly.

 

I immediately grabbed the exact amount from my pouch and placed it on the counter. I also didn’t forget to grab another one of the bracelets.

 

“Here.” I gave Suika one of the bracelets with a smile.

 

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” She was overjoyed. There were still sparkles in her eyes.

 

Suika immediately put on the bracelet and showed it to me.

 

“How does the bracelet look on me?” Suika asked with an expectant expression...

 

I could only think about how cute she looked…

 

“It looks very adorable on you, missy!” The woman spoke before I could say anything.

 

I nodded in agreement.

 

“You look beautiful with it, Suika.” I smiled at her.

 

“Thank you very much! Let's go, Ru!” Suika seemed very happy to be complimented.

 

Suika then pulled me away from the stall. I managed to wave at the woman who owned the stall before going on our merry way.

 

“So you really like cheese huh…” I smiled bitterly.

 

“I love cheese! Even in my previous life, I used to eat a lot of cheese! But, eating cheese as a human cannot even compare to eating cheese as a mousekin! The true flavour of cheese has been granted to us! It is a shame that you can’t taste it like I do.” Suika got very excited about that…

 

“Well, I hope you treasure the bracelet then. Hahaha.” I laughed awkwardly.

 

“Aren’t you going to wear yours?” She tilted her head.

 

“Right…” I nodded.

 

I immediately put on the second bracelet.

 

“We now have matching bracelets... This date is already in my top twenty.” She smiled at me. “One hundred points for the bracelet… One hundred points for the compliment…” Suika whispered softly again.

 

Damn… I got a lot of points all of a sudden… I still can only wonder what they are for…

 

“I’m pretty sure this one is already in my top ten…” I smiled bitterly thanks to some memories from my previous life.

 

My love life was… Exciting? I think that should be a good word to describe it. My dates most of the time ended in disaster. From a jealous ex to a pair of violent father and brother… There was also a time where I was bitten by the dog of my date…

 

Of course, those events are stories for another day.

 

Suika and I had finally reached our destination, and the first store we were planning to visit.

 

“This is the place.” I pointed at the sign hanging on top of a small brick building.

 

“Huh… It looks kind of different to what I had imagined…” Suika smiled awkwardly.

 

I nodded in agreement.

 

Hanging on the outside walls of the store, there were three massive signs that said: “The Corner of the Black Cat” and the drawing of a cat below the name…

 

There’s… Uh… There’s a few problems with this name…

 

1. The building is not on a corner...
2. Each cat’s fur was coloured with very different colours that are not black…
3. There’s no other special decorations on the outside wall, unlike other stores.

 

“I wonder who was the one who came up with the idea of the name and the logo…” Suika muttered to herself.

 

I also want to know that…

 

“Well, let’s see what the insides look like.”  I suggested awkwardly.

 

“I agree.” Suika nodded.

 

The two of us went inside of the store not knowing what to expect…

“Huh…?” Suika and I looked at each other with confusion.

 

Contrary to all the expectations we had, the insides of the store were amazing and very elegant. There were sofas in strategic spots of the store and bookshelves. There were also a lot of tables that could accommodate large groups of people. Several beautiful paintings were hanging on every wall. The insides of the store seemed bigger than the outside...

 

Not gonna lie… I was expecting something way smaller and plain… 

 

“Now I can see why they recommended this place to me…” I smiled bitterly while thinking of my mother-in-law and brother-in-law.

 

“I was not expecting this at all… Well, I do like the decorations of this place though.” Suika nodded to herself while looking at the decoration of the store.

 

The two of us started walking further into the store when I noticed a pair of female catkins taking a nap on one of the sofas.

 

The two of them had short black hair that barely reached their shoulders. Their tails were also the same colour as their hair with the exception of the tips, which were white coloured. The two seemed to be 1.60 meters tall. They are wearing pants, black tank tops, sandals and an apron. The two of them remind me of Lana.

 

“I guess they are the clerks.” I pointed out the obvious.

 

“Meow…? Wustomer...?” One of them spoke while half-asleep.

 

“Nah… It is too early…” The other muttered as she rolled around the sofa.

 

Suika and I could only look at them with curiosity.

 

“Suika, do you like cats?” I asked her.

 

“Yes, I do! I had one cat in my previous life. I don’t really get why some mousekin don’t like them… They are very cute!” She nodded with excitement.

 

I was seriously considering mercilessly patting the heads of the peacefully sleeping clerks.

 

Suika and I nodded at each other… We slowly approached the two sleeping clerks…

 

We then started patting their heads.

 

“Meow… This is heaven…” One of them seemed overjoyed.

 

“Mom…?” The other seemed confused. 

 

Suika and I just smiled at each other.

 

One of the clerks immediately opened her eyes. It was the one which Suika was patting…

 

“Meeeeow… So good…” The other one was still asleep and looked very happy.

 

“Who are you guys?” The one who woke up looked at us with confusion.

 

Ah, before I forgot to mention this, she has heterochromia. One of her eyes is green while the other is brown.

 

“Wait a minute… You’re Elise’s husband, right?” The catkin clerk looked at me very intently.

 

I nodded.

 

“Yeah. I imagine that you two are Lana’s children.” I said to the clerk.

 

She nodded while still looking at me. Her gaze was filled with curiosity.

 

“So you’re Ru! Silvia, my mother and even Rose spoke a lot of good things about you! You look exactly as I had imagined!” She smiled.

 

Ah right… Lana’s children already met Silvia, Nozomi, Lara and the Goddesses…

 

“Thank you! Lana also spoke a lot about you guys.” I smiled awkwardly.

 

“I imagine that you already met Nozomi as well, she’s my daughter.” Suika spoke to Lana’s daughter with a gentle smile.

 

“Oh! So you’re the mother of that cute little thing!” Lana’s daughter seemed overjoyed.

 

“My name is Suika.” Suika introduced herself.

 

“I’m Falna. The one over there is Hana.” She pointed at her sister.

 

“Meeeeow… More…” Hana was drooling.

 

“Nice to meet you, Falna!” I said with excitement.

 

Falna smiled warmly at us.

 

“So what brings the two of you here?” Falna looked at us with a curious gaze.

 

“Ice cream.” Suika and I replied instantly.

 

“Oh! So we have customers then! Come with me, I’ll give you some!” Falna got up from the sofa and started walking towards a large counter.

 

Falna immediately beckoned us to follow her, which we did. I had to stop patting Hana’s head.

 

“The heavenly sensation is gone!” Hana shouted in panic. 

 

She instantly woke up and started looking all around the room for something…

 

“There!” She shouted.

 

A few seconds later, I found myself on the ground trapped underneath a very clingy catkin…

 

Off to a good start it seems...