Chương 15: A Pleasant Date

I arrived at the cafe with light steps. There was barely anyone here. Just four others. Hm… Mouse isn't here yet. I quickly concluded. The other people looked way older than 20, and the image of Mouse I have in my mind didn't match any of these people. Finding an empty seat, I pulled out my phone. [New Race? Someone has awakened a skill and became a 'Dragonkin'!] A news article caught my attention. Did someone really become a dragon? There were people who had become other races due to their skills.

Elves, dwarfs, beastkin, vampire, just the whole slew of fantasy. But it seems like someone has finally become a dragon. Neat. If I were them, I'd be bragging all over the place. Aren't dragons supposed to be all-powerful, arrogant, and the strongest? But alas, I was just a measly alchemist. Dragonkin? Doesn't matter to me. So, I scrolled on by and opened the gallery. … Ding! A few minutes later the bell rung, signifying someone entering the cafe. I threw a brief glance.

"Wow…" I instinctively mumbled. The girl that entered was absolutely stunning. She was a bit taller than me—only due to the heels—and had brilliant silver hair that shone like moonlight. Her deep blue eyes were reminiscent of the ocean's depths; Her fair skin was unblemished. She wore heels that matched the color of her eyes; A simple but gorgeous dress fitted her body. I caught the barista blankly staring at her with wide eyes but I couldn't fault her. Is she a celebrity? I briefly wondered before shrugging.

She scanned the room for a second before taking her seat. I didn't bother to look at her after the initial glance. As I started to continue my mindless scrolling, I received a text. [Luna: Just arrived, sitting at a table now.] My eyes widened as the gears clicked into place. That beautiful, silver-haired girl was Mouse? The same girl who'd repeatedly die to skeletons? The same person who gamed into the late nights with me? ElectricTypeMouse? I quickly shook my head and replied. [Me: Oh? That was you?? Coming!] Standing up, I looked over towards the silver-haired girl. She looked at her phone with confused eyes before twisting her head around. Spotting me walking towards her, her eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly. A look of utter confusion mixed with disbelief appeared on her face. Which caused me to smile. Hehe! That's definitely Mouse! She's so confused! My goal today had been achieved and I quickened my steps. All that was left was to confirm that this was indeed Mouse.

"Mouse?" I asked, tilting my head slightly. At hearing my words, the girl's mouth opened wider as she instinctively replied,"…Bin?" The smile on my face grew. The pretty, silver-haired girl was indeed, Mouse. And the utter look of confusion on her face was a sight to behold. I quickly snapped a photo of that look, I'd save it forever. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Mouse! Hehe!" At the sound of the shutter, Mouse's mind seemed to restart and she shook her head,"W-wait! Did you just take a photo?!"

"Yep! Hehe, I got what I wanted!"

"Ah! Delete it! Delete it!" Mouse said with quick tones. There was a look of slight panic on her face.

"Should I?" I tilted my head.

"Yes!" She nodded, relief showing. Snap! I took another photo. She looked at my phone then at my face with disbelief.

"Hehe, nope!"

"Ah…I'm ruined." She muttered, realizing that photo was immortalized.

"It's fine! It's fine!" I said with confidence, "Mouse, you're so pretty that even your confused face looks good!"

"Haah…" She sighed, "I know, but the problem is you have it." She glared at me.

"Hehe."

"Ah, ahem." She shook her head and scrutinized my appearance, "…Bin."

"Yes?"

"You're Bin? You? You are Bin?"

"Yes?"

"The same Bin that's played with me for three years?"

"Yes?"

"BinLover?"

"Yes?"

"The same person who said all of those comments without a trace of shame?"

"Yes?"

"Ah…The world is ruined." Mouse looked towards the sky, "How is such a cute girl so degenerate…"

"Hey!" I protested, "Hm…? Yeah, I am pretty cute."

"That's the part you latch onto…?"

"Hehe." I stood in front of her and spread my arms. She stared at me for a moment in confusion before she realized,"Ah," Mouse spread her arms. We hugged.

"Hehe, it's good to finally meet you, Mouse. I can't believe someone with your appearance dies to skeletons so much." I felt her arms tighten around my back,"…And I can't believe someone with your appearance would spout such degenerate words without shame." She muttered before sighing, when we parted she continued to speak, this time with a smile, "But, I'm happy to meet you, Bin. It feels good to finally connect."

"Ah, so embarrassing," I chuckled before stepping back, "So…How do I look?" I did a little twirl for her.

"Shockingly cute." Mouse nodded, "Nothing like what I imagined. What about me?" She stood up. Due to her heels, she was half a head taller than me so I had to crank my neck to see her face.

"Extremely pretty! I thought you were a celebrity when you first entered, I didn't think for a second that you could be Mouse. Though, you pretty much match what I pictured if you exclude the hair and heels. Speaking of, your hair is so pretty! Silver? That's such a gorgeous color! It's like moonlight, is it dyed?" I asked, tempted to touch her hair.

"Haha," She chuckled, "Thank you for the compliments. No," She shook her head, "My hair changed colors when I awakened…Fine, you can touch it, your expressions are so easy to read."

"Really?! No take backs!" I stepped forward and gently caressed her hair. It was soft, extremely so. If she sold blankets made from her hair, I'd instantly buy.

"Wow…It's so soft…" I mumbled. I didn't even notice that she had done the same and started rubbing my hair.

"Hm…Yours is quite soft too." She stopped and stared at me for a few seconds before gently tapping my hand, "How long are you going to fondle my hair?"

"Forever?" I tilted my head with a smile.

"Unfortunately, not allowed." She pushed my hand away and I frowned.

"Hehe," I giggled, "Huh, wait? You're awakened?"

"…You just now realized?" A sigh escaped her lips, "Yes, I'm awakened. But…" She paused and looked around, "Let's chat more elsewhere." It was then I noticed that we were still in the middle of a cafe, drawing the attention of some customers and workers.

"Okay! Ah, but can I buy a drink first?"

"Mhm."

"What do you want?" I asked.

"No, you don't have to get me anything." She shook her head.

"Hm…Okay! Hot chocolate for both of us then." I smiled and headed to the counter.

"No, I just said-" I think I heard a ghost behind me, but I didn't pay much attention. The drinks were completed quickly. When I handed Mouse her hot chocolate, she sighed,"Thanks."

"Hehe." I giggled and slowly sipped my hot chocolate. We left the cafe side by side.

"So, where are we going?" I asked.

"Have you eaten?" Mouse asked.

"Nope!"

"Then, let's get breakfast somewhere. Did you drive here?"

"I taxied, I don't have a car." I shook my head.

"Figures," She chuckled, insinuating something I didn't bother to reply to, "I'll drive us then if you're okay with it."

"Yep! I'll be your passenger princess!" I replied with a smile.

"…I don't think you're using that term correctly?"

"Hehe." … We arrived at a small diner fifteen minutes later. As the passenger, I had aux duty. Since I actually knew Mouse's music taste, it wasn't hard to play good songs. It was comfortable, there wasn't any awkwardness between us. Even when we were silent and just listening to music it was comfortable. Was this because we were naturally compatible? Or because we've been online friends for three years? In either case, it felt nice.

"I've never been here before." I said, looking around the small diner. It looked like a typical diner you'd see in a movie. It felt like we were back in the 80's, the retro vibe was interesting.

"It's not a popular place," Mouse said, "I've been here maybe once or twice, and the food's been good every time."

"Feels like we're in a spy movie, hehe." I giggled as we took a seat in a booth. A breakfast menu was on the side and I quickly glanced through the options.

"What're you gonna get?" I asked after closing my menu.

"Hm…I'm still looking. Have you decided?"

"Mhm! I'm gonna get the 'Grandmas Playbook'! —Two chocolate chip pancakes, six slices of bacon, and two sunny-side eggs!"

"Good choice." Mouse nodded with a smile, "You look like you could eat more food."

"Hm?" I tilted my head, "I can't tell if that's a jab or a compliment."

"What do you want it to be?"

"Compliment?"

"Then let's go with that."

"Okay!" After a few minutes of bantering, the waitress came and took our orders. Shortly after, the food arrived and two big plates of food sat in front of us. It smelt delicious. Looked delicious. And tasted delicious. The only word I had for this was…Delicious.

"Yum!!" I chewed in satisfaction.

"Quite good, isn't it?" Mouse said with a smile before biting into her meal.

"Mhm! Almost better than my own cooking!"

"Really? You can cook?"

"Of course? You can't?" I tilted my head, continuing to eat. Mouse's face slightly turned red as she looked away with a hint of embarrassment,"I've…never needed to."

"Hehe, it's okay! I can cook for you whenever!" I smiled, returning to my meal.

"Haha, thanks then." After a few bites, I continued the conversation we were having earlier,"Ah, right! You're awakened?" I asked.

"Yep," Mouse nodded, "I've been awakened for around two years now."

"Wow! I thought you were just a jobless hikikomori!"

"…" Mouse looked like she took mental damage from my comment. Nice.

"What's your class?" I asked. Mouse replied after composing herself,"Guess?"

"Hm…Are you a production-type, combat-type, utility-type, support-type, or other?"

"Combat."

"Huh? Really? You know how to fight? That's surprising."

"…" Mouse squinted her eyes and muttered, "I don't want to hear that from you…"

"Hehe, hm…Are you…A summoner?"

"Nope," She shook her head, "I am…A…" I slightly tapped the table in a drumroll.

"Mage!" She said with a smile.

"Wow! Really?! Mage?!"

"Yep!" She nodded with pride.

"Amazing…So, you can actually use magic and stuff?"

"That's right. Wanna guess what type of magic I use?"

"Is it electric?"

"It is. I actually created my username, ElectricTypeMouse, before I awakened. I couldn't believe it when I awakened as an electric mage."

"Wow, it must be fate."

"Right? Haha." Mouse chuckled.

"So you climb the tower? What floor are you on?"

"Well, I did. I'm on the 24th floor right now, but I've stopped for now. It's been about two months?"

"You stopped? Why?" I asked, taking a big bite of pancake.

"Hm…" Mouse pondered for a moment before continuing, "I had a disagreement with the party leader. So, I left." She simply replied and took a bite of her food.

"Wow. You're so mature!?" I said in astonishment. Mouse paused and stared at me before starting to laugh.

"Right, I am, aren't I?"

"Mhm! I don't know what the disagreement was, but I agree with whatever you said! Hehe. That ex party leader of yours must be a dummy, if it were me, I'd have never let you go." I took a big bite of food.

"Haha, thanks for saying that." Mouse smiled.

"Mmm! Pancakes are so good." I smiled in bliss.