Chapter 190
Irene grumbled as she meticulously cleaned the stain on my chest with the handkerchief.
…I swear, I’m not an idiot who normally spills food. This was just unfair.
While she was removing the stain, Irene glanced at Daniel. I followed her gaze out of habit.
Daniel, a bit too late, was awkwardly standing halfway up with tissues in hand.
…Given where the soup had spilled, he was understandably hesitant to get involved.
Irene seemed oddly pleased as she resumed cleaning my shirt.
That didn’t stop her from scolding me though…
“I told you to focus on your food while eating. You keep chatting needlessly, and that’s why you’ve spilled it.”
“…Sorry.”
“If you keep talking nonsense, I’m leaving.”
“…Okay, I was wrong.”
“All done.”
Irene is the best at laundry of anyone I’ve ever known, in this life and the last.
I had just spilled soup, yet there was no trace left on my shirt except for some wrinkles.
As I stared blankly at my chest, Daniel spoke up.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Daniel gently grabbed the end of my sleeve and pulled it towards him. Then, he began to neatly fold my sleeve.
“Uhh, I’m fi…”
“I’ve been worried about it since earlier. That side too.”
“Okay.”
The sleeves of my shirt today were indeed wide. He must have been concerned that they might dip into the soup and decided to fix them while we had a momentary pause in the meal.
I obediently held out my other arm, and Daniel neatly folded that sleeve as well.
In no time, my shirt sleeves were rolled up to my elbows. The precision of the folds left me a little dizzy.
“…Do Espers take classes on folding clothes perfectly?”
“Ah… it’s just my personality. I’m a bit particular.”
Daniel blushed as he spoke.
Irene, who brings laundry detergent to lunch, Daniel, who folds shirt sleeves with razor-sharp precision, and me, Rose, who spills food like an idiot…
Who’s the normal one and who’s not?
I replied with a troubled expression.
“…No, it’s fine. Thank you.”
“It’s nothing. Your shirt looked uncomfortable for eating; would you like to use this as a napkin?”
Daniel handed me a handkerchief with a smile as bright as an angel scattering light.
“…”
…I appreciated it, but…
Feeling a bit awkward, I took it and tied it around my neck.
My second plan of spilling food to leave the table naturally had failed.
All attempts were thwarted. What remained was my ruined image.
Whining about wanting more fried food, spilling food on myself…
Being taken care of by Daniel and Irene, who were about my age…
Feeling utterly defeated, I just sat there in a daze. Half resigned to the fact that today was a lost cause.
Then I noticed Irene.
She was looking at Daniel with a curious gaze. It was the first sign of interest she had shown since the meal began.
But it wasn’t a look of infatuation or anything like that.
It was more like…
‘What the heck is he doing?’
Noticing my stare, Irene looked away from Daniel and down at me.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing, nothing.”
I just shrank back.
…Let’s not try anything more. It’ll only get worse.
Then, unexpectedly, Irene asked me a question.
“You’re receiving guiding training these days, right? How’s that going? Are you getting used to it?”
It was unusual for Irene to ask about recent events. Surprised but without suspicion, I answered.
“Yeah, I’m doing well. I’m the best at it. The other Guides are all idiots. The office worker selection test was a hundred times harder.”
“Are the Guides treating you well? They’re not giving you a hard time because you suddenly became a guide?”
“No, they all like me. We’ve gotten close, and they even gave me a nickname. Honey Badger.”
“…Honey Badger?”
“Yeah.”
“….”
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