I poured Yura another glass and chuckled. "I have that effect on people. Eliciting emotions is the fundamental skill of an accomplished writer, after all."
"...I hate that you're so self-assured about this."
"Liar~" I laced my fingers together and rested my elbows on the table. "You love it."
"Tch." Yura averted her gaze. But the slight smile on her face showed she was happy.
The soft clinking of silverware and cooking echoed in the distance. The staff prepping our meals, of course.
Yura looked around and said, "Did you seriously reserve the whole place just for us? Idiot. Even if you're rich, there are better uses for that money, you know?"
"There's no better use than on the woman I chose to love for all my life." I smiled and held up her refilled glass of wine to her. "Now, drink, relax, and forget just for tonight. There's a lifetime for you to grieve, you know?"
Yura took the glass from me and went quiet. Then she took a sip and said, "I'm sorry if I'm snippy, Neol. It's just..." She let out a bitter laugh and said, "So many people I knew died. *I* almost died. And if that demon had his way with me..." She swallowed and then shook her head. "It's just been so much. And then there's you, us, and the fact that we did all... that. Not even a day after everything that happened. And that I initiated it too..."
I sipped my wine as well and said, "Relax. It's only natural. You were in turmoil, and I took advantage of that to make you mine."
Yura snorted, choking on her wine. After clearing her throat, she glared at me, half-amused, half-adoring. "Oh, so you admit to taking advantage of my fragile mental state to put your claim on me now, huh?"
I smiled. "I never said I was a good person. But I'm yours. Isn't that fine?"
"...Dammit." Yura murmured. "...You don't get to disappear on me, got it? Especially since I might be... you know. Since we did that."
I paused. Then I said, "...You took the pill though?"
Yura rolled her eyes. "They aren't 100% effective, dumbass." She reached out to punch my arm. "If you didn't want kids, you should have used a condom instead of... you know. Inside." She blushed and averted her gaze.
"Ah, true, true."
I was under the impression that since there was so much magical technology improvement that we'd at least hit 100% effective birth control pills... but if it happened, it happened.
Yura let out a warm smile after she saw I wasn't shaken by her words. "You know, most guys would be panicking at potentially getting the Legendary Hunter's granddaughter pregnant."
"I'm not most guys, I'm yours." I winked and said, "Besides, I've always wanted kids. And I'm already a perfect stay-at-home dad anyway, remember?"
Yura paused, mulling over that fact. Then she groaned. "Dammit. Why are you like this? It's like some bastard wrote you to be perfect for me on purpose."
I shrugged. "Who knows? Life is weird. Maybe someone did. There might be some higher power who hates tragedies and wants you to have a happy ending."
Yura rolled her eyes.
At that time, the waiter came by to serve our food.
Traditional lasagna, a steak over greens with a gorgonzola sauce, and shrimp alfredo.
...Honestly, I preferred Olive Gardens since traditional Italian food was too plain. But I kept that fact to myself.
Considering how touched Yura looked at seeing the food laid out in front of her, it would definitely spark an argument.
Yura gently cut a piece of lasagna and took a bit, her eyes crinkling with joy. "...God this is good."
I ate a piece of my lasagna as well.
...Yep. Plain. I mean, cheesier. Milder. But I liked bold flavors more...
Still, I just smiled and said, "I'm glad you enjoy it. You seemed like a pasta sort of girl."
Yura paused. Then she blushed and said, "Wh-What do you mean by that, huh? Is it because I'm half? Just because I'm half-American doesn't mean I enjoy pasta!"
I hummed. "You say that, but I doubt you'd enjoy a proper burger or barbecue."
The moment I said that, Yura grimaced and waved her hands. "Yeah, hard pass on that. Dad used to waste soooo much time trying to get the 'perfect' temperature on the grill only to get barely decent burgers and ribs..." She paused. "Wait. How did you know that?"
"Hm? I just..."
Huh. How DID I know that?
It's one thing being perceptive. But at this point, it's like I'd known Yura all my life...
> Ability update!
> Due to User's prowess in modeling cognitions and other concepts, Compilation allows for intuition of a target's background information through subconscious processes.
> Due to User's willful devotion towards Yura Shin and the compatibility, information will naturally be obtained when it is required.
...Huh. Neat.
But to answer Yura...
I smiled and said, "Well. I just love you enough to intuit your best and worst sides."
Yura huffed. "Yeah right... Fine. What's my favorite-"
"Color? Pink. Food? Chocolate raisins. Music? Unsurprisingly, Anisong."
Yura froze. Then she flicked a shrimp at me. "Stop doing that! It's creepy!"
I tilted my head and caught the shrimp with my teeth before biting into it. After I finished the shrimp, I said, "You say creepy, but I can see how touched you are in your eyes, Love~"
"...I'm so fucked." Yura groaned. "This is why Dad said to introduce any boys I'm interested in to him, isn't it? I'm such a sucker for love... One kiss, one night, and one love confession later. Now I'm... this." She waved at herself, a soft smile on her face. "I should hate you for this, you know? I know for a fact the me from just last week would hate you for this. Hell, the me from before yesterday would have punched your teeth in for trying to flirt with me."
"Mm. Hate, love... it's the same emotion in the end, just through different expectations. You care a lot for the other person to the extent of wanting to do something reckless. It's just that hate requires those expectations being betrayed while love has those expectations being met." I smiled and stole a shrimp from her alfredo. Tossing it in my mouth, I chuckled and said, "And I've done nothing but meet your expectations. Right, Love?"
"...Just shut up and eat. Stop being such a perfect romance lead, you damned author. It's not fair." Yura tore into her steak with her knife, the blood staining the gorgonzola sauce pink. After stabbing the piece and munching on it, she muttered, "Authors should be banned from flirting. They say perfect lines without any shame."
I laughed and kept eating. "Well, you'll have to get used to it, Love. I don't have any intention of stopping."
Yura rolled her eyes, but her lips shifted into a warm smile.
After that, we ate in a comfortable silence for a while, interrupted only by the waiters coming in to change out our food.
I noticed that Yura was still eating with gusto even after the third meal, so I smiled and said, "You have a big appetite, huh?"
Yura blushed and said, "S-So what if I do, huh?" She twirled a forkfull of spaghetti and said, "It's pasta! And pasta is carbs! I burn a lot of energy using my ability, you know? Where do you think all the lightning comes from?"
I blinked. "Huh? You don't use mana for it?"
"Of course I use mana, idiot! But how do you think I regenerate mana, huh?" Yura pointed a fork at me. "Don't tell me you don't even know the basics about Abilities? Even Grandpa's ability taxes his body, you know?"
"Does it?" I tilted my head. "...But I don't expend anything using Ragnarok?"
Yura froze.
I blinked.