"Vegetable soup really is a witch's romance, huh."
"I can feel the elemental flow in my body moving so much smoother."
An hour later, Lisa set down her empty bowl with a satisfied sigh.
Then she propped her chin on one hand and watched as Rowan polished off the rest of the dishes on the table, only pausing occasionally to scoop up a spoonful of soup and hold it out to him.
It was a scene of warm, easy intimacy.
Watching from a distance, Istaroth was grinding her teeth to dust.
Those Mondstadters had no sense of honor.
How dare they raid her "home turf" like this!
As for when she'd arrived?
Obviously, she'd been here even before Rowan and Lisa started eating together.
And why had she come?
Because someone had ratted him out.
Venti: "Achoo!"
…Caught a cold?
Whatever. There was mora in his pocket; he was off to Angel's Share for a drink.
Heh heh heh. Today was a bountiful harvest.
That was a whole million mora.
Tsk, tsk—money really was easy to make. He'd definitely be tattling again next time.
Yes, the informant was none other than that freeloading Barbatos.
He'd happened to spot Rowan and Lisa chatting and laughing together at Good Hunter.
So he'd taken that news and sold it to Istaroth. At first, he'd only wanted to see whether Rowan would get caught up in a full-blown love-triangle disaster.
Who knew Istaroth would immediately toss him a million mora and send him on his way.
He might not get to watch the drama unfold, but a million mora was absolutely worth it.
Heh heh heh. Old Rowan, don't blame your buddy for being "disloyal."
Your "mom" just paid too much.
Up above, Istaroth stared down at Rowan and Lisa happily sharing a meal below and had the urge to storm in and demand an explanation on the spot.
Why was he eating with another woman?
But she held herself back in the end.
There was no need.
With Rowan's status, if he really wanted to build a harem, he didn't need to sneak around behind her back at all.
He could just raise his hand and announce in front of her that he was selecting consorts, and all of Mondstadt's beauties would line up to volunteer.
Forget outsiders for a moment.
Even within the Knights of Favonius, that little Vice Captain, Eula—when she looked at Rowan, did anyone seriously believe there was nothing in that gaze?
Who'd buy that? Not even a dog.
And then there was the interior minister's daughter, Jean.
Every morning meeting, she'd sit there gazing affectionately at Rowan the whole time.
Even if Rowan didn't say a word and just sat quietly on the throne, she wouldn't look away.
Did they really think Istaroth, just because she wasn't physically present at those meetings, had no idea?
The more she thought about it, the more Istaroth realized just how many little vixens were prowling around Mondstadt.
If she didn't make a move soon, she might not have any place left at his side.
Even if she was Rowan's first girlfriend, until their relationship was truly confirmed, everything was still up in the air.
So tonight, she couldn't afford to keep being shy.
She was going to become Rowan's first woman.
Little did she know that she'd already lost that race.
Back in Good Hunter—
"Are you full?"
"If it's not enough, we can order a bit more. Don't hold back."
"Big sister's treating today."
Lisa smiled as she watched Rowan sweep the table clean, her tone indulgent.
Rowan drained the last mouthful of vegetable soup and waved his hand.
"No need. I'm almost full."
"There's no need to stuff myself."
Ever since he'd obtained King Arthur's Saint Graph, his appetite had quietly been increasing.
By now, he wasn't far off from the Glutton King.
But he still exercised a lot of self-control.
There was no need to eat like that ahoge King and put away terrifying amounts of food.
No matter how much he ate, it wouldn't make him stronger. There was no reason to cause a stir by eating like a monster, especially out in public.
And since this meal was Lisa's treat, he had even more reason to show some restraint.
"Well, alright then. If you're full, it's time to get down to business."
"The troublesome work hour has come again, it seems."
Lisa cared a lot about efficiency.
If something could be settled quickly, she absolutely wouldn't drag it out until the next day.
In that sense, she was very similar to Keqing.
The type who, once they decided to do something, wouldn't rest until everything was handled cleanly and thoroughly.
Lisa rose from her seat and walked up to the counter to settle the bill first.
Seeing that she hadn't left yet, Sara thought she wanted to place another order and asked politely,
"Miss Lisa, would you like to order anything else?"
"No, thank you. The food was lovely."
"It's like this, Miss Sara—could you please return the book The Boar Princess…"
Lisa didn't finish the rest, but anyone with normal comprehension should have understood what she meant.
Unfortunately, Sara's thought process apparently wasn't quite normal.
"Boar… stew?"
"I don't think we have a dish like that."
Lisa rolled her eyes, speechless.
"I'm talking about the book you borrowed."
"Oh, the book."
"After I borrowed it, the shop got so busy that I completely forgot."
"I'm really sorry, Miss Lisa. You even had to come in person to remind me."
"I'll bring it back myself after I get off work. How does that sound?"
Since Sara was being so sincere, Lisa didn't press her any further. She nodded.
"Alright then, but don't you dare forget."
"Or else…"
She left the threat hanging in the air, then turned to Rowan with a smile.
"Little cutie, take us to our next stop."
"Sure."
Their next stop was also their last one.
The flower shop.
Ten minutes later, Lisa and Rowan strolled their way over.
The flower shop wasn't far from Good Hunter, but since they'd just eaten, there was no reason to walk quickly.
They arrived at a leisurely pace, almost as if they were on a date.
As soon as they reached the door, the shop assistant Donna spotted them and hurried over to welcome them.
"Welcome to Flora's Flower Shop. I'm Donna, the shop girl."
"Is there any particular flower you're looking for?"
"If you see one you like, I can wrap it up for you."
Lisa instinctively glanced over at Rowan, then said softly, with a hint of meaning in her tone,
"Mm~ A date without flowers is always missing a bit of romance, don't you think?"
"How about this one—what do you think?"
Rowan wasn't exactly a dense block of wood.
With a hint that obvious, of course he understood.
Without a word, he picked up the only purple rose in the entire shop.
A Rose Witch paired with a rose—could anything be more appropriate?
"I didn't think that after all these years…"
"I'd ever get to see a fresh rose again. Looks like this is a good omen."
Lisa accepted the rose, a bewitching smile curving across her lips as she admired it.
"Looks like you understand me very well, little cutie."
"Thank you for this flower."
(End of Chapter)
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