The Witch waitress probably hadn’t understood what he meant. The look she gave him had only grown more disdainful.

“I’m sorry, sir. If you really don’t have the money, you can always come back another time.” She kept her professional smile and bowed respectfully, but the distance in her voice told Carlisle that her patience was running out.

“I’ll pay for him.”

Just then, a voice like music to his ears rang out from nearby.

A girl in a white Church robe walked gracefully up to him. She adjusted her clothes, then took the seat across from him.

“Liya!” The Witch waitress seemed delighted to see her.

Sherry often came here to enjoy the food. She never put on airs as a Saintess, and got along well with everyone in the restaurant, so she was especially welcome at [The Witch’s Flavor].

By a curious stroke of luck, she’d run into Carlisle here today.

“Order whatever you like.” She slid the menu over to Carlisle, a sweet smile on her face and kindness practically radiating from her.

Money? She wasn’t going to pay a cent.

When the bill came, Carlisle would pay for his meal with the gold coins in his own ring.

“Thanks. I won’t hold back, then.”

She’d thought Carlisle might feel a little awkward, but he simply picked up the menu and ordered several of the most expensive dishes. The Witch waitress shot him a look of contempt.

The Saintess had kindly offered to buy him a meal, and he couldn’t even show some gratitude? He had to take advantage of her generosity, too!

Even the other diners nearby were starting to lose patience with him.

From the moment Sherry stepped through the door, plenty of eyes—some curious, some full of affection—seemed glued to her, following her every move.

Saintess Liya would pay for a boy who couldn’t afford a meal. She was kind enough to do that. Everyone understood why she’d done it, but when she sat across from Carlisle, they still couldn’t help feeling jealous.

If the boy had just quietly accepted the Saintess’s kindness, that would’ve been the end of it. But what happened next was simply too much for them to stomach.

He’d actually used her generosity to order expensive dishes they wouldn’t even dare order themselves. What a shameless jerk!

Their eyes burned with anger. The only reason they didn’t rush over and beat the boy to a pulp was that they wanted to look respectable in front of the Saintess.

Once Liya left, they’d teach the young punk exactly what happened to people who crossed them.

Carlisle was fully dressed, yet his back felt as though it were bare. A chill crept over him.

“Don’t worry. Once I get my things back, I’ll pay you back.” He knew he was taking things too far, but once he got his ring back, he could make it up to Liya.

For now, though, he might as well enjoy himself.

To everyone else, those words sounded like empty boasting. They didn’t change anyone’s opinion of him—in fact, they only made them look down on him more.

Luckily, Carlisle had never cared what other people thought of him.

“Just my usual drink, please.” Sherry handed back the menu and said this to the Witch waitress.

Waiting for the food was boring. Sherry propped her chin on one hand and broke into a mischievous smile for no apparent reason.

She wouldn’t have come to have lunch with Carlisle if she didn’t have a reason.

“Where’d you get those clothes?” she asked quietly.

“Stole them.”

Sherry froze. She hadn’t expected Carlisle to be so honest.

Breaking into a church and stealing Church robes was a serious crime. People like him usually got arrested and sent to the Inquisition for a proper reeducation.

“...You really are honest. Aren’t you worried I’ll have you arrested and thrown into the Inquisition?”

“There’s no point lying about something like that. Besides, you can’t beat me.”

Carlisle’s answer left Sherry at a loss for words. It was hard to imagine that someone who looked about her age could overpower her in an instant.

But when she remembered that he was one of the Knights of the Round Table, she felt a little less surprised. Someone who walked the line between reason and madness having extraordinary strength seemed plausible enough.

If it were her, and she had to contain some grotesque thing left behind by an unknown entity?

Don’t make her laugh. She’d be gone before she even heard the first hint of trouble.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Liya? Judging by the ill-intentioned looks they’re giving you, you must be the Saintess.” Carlisle glanced around and let out a cold laugh.

He meant the looks coming from the diners nearby. He could sense their hostility toward him. He considered himself an expert on human nature, and if Liya were just an ordinary nun, the diners wouldn’t be this hostile.

Only a Saintess, perfect in everyone’s eyes, could stir up their emotions so easily.

“Now that you know who I am, aren’t you afraid I’ll call the Inquisition to arrest you? Even if you can beat me, you can’t take on the Church’s Inquisition!” Sherry’s threat came in such a soft voice that it carried very little weight. If anything, it sounded more cute than intimidating.

“If you wanted them to arrest me, you wouldn’t be sitting here chatting with me.” Carlisle wasn’t paying attention to Sherry. He turned his head to look at a tray floating in the distance.

The spell that made real objects float was a little like the way Witches used their magic.

The tray held the food he’d just ordered. For a hungry person, good food was far more tempting than a beautiful woman.

Sherry had a tray of her own. It held not only a drink, but also a few cute desserts—a little kindness from the Witch waitress.

Maybe that was one of the perks of being loved by everyone.

...

“That was really good.” Carlisle popped the last bite into his mouth, then licked his fork twice, still wanting more.

He was rough when he ate, but once he was done, he seemed almost like a gentleman. That was Sherry’s impression of him.

“Hey, aren’t you hungry?” Carlisle noticed that Sherry had only taken one bite of her dessert, and her clear drink was still half full.

“I’m not really in the mood.”

Sherry wasn’t particularly interested in sweets. Ever since she’d become a girl, she’d started caring a lot about her figure, even if she acted like she didn’t.

She wouldn’t touch sweets or anything like that.

“Then why not give them to me? It’s a shame to waste food.”

Carlisle surprised her again. She’d thought he was trying to make conversation, but all he wanted was to eat her dessert.

Good grief. Nothing could be more boring than talking to him. She was starting to doubt her own charm.

Still, about him wanting her dessert...

She rested a hand against the edge of the plate and gently pushed the dessert, which she’d taken one small bite of, toward him.

Carlisle didn’t care that she’d already taken a bite. He speared the dessert with his fork and popped it into his mouth. The food at this Witch-owned restaurant was delicious, but the portions were small. He was nowhere near full.

When she saw him pick up the fork and eat the dessert she’d bitten into, Sherry’s eyes darted around and she put on a bashful expression.

As if her face still wasn’t red enough, she covered her cheeks and rubbed them hard.

“Sorry, I have to go.”

She hurriedly left him with those words, got up, paid the bill, and fled the restaurant.

Carlisle still hadn’t figured out what was wrong with her when he abruptly noticed that, with the Saintess gone, the atmosphere among the diners had turned unusually dangerous.