Another existence~1!

"Eh? What happened, Austin?"

Staring at a strange store that Luna had never seen when she came here in the past, Austin made a face like he just has seen ghosts wandering in daylight.

But not only that, his expression spoke more than his stutters, much to Luna's astonishment and slight worry. 

"L-Luna...that place...!"

Now Luna was becoming extremely worried by these short glimpses of the main thing as she cupped Austin's face suddenly before pointing his eyes toward her.

Austin became flustered as the shocking scenery changed into a beautiful sight; as he saw, the worries blended with an annoyed expression of his date, which made him realize how dazed he was.

"Tell me what it is, before I freak out."

Her intent gaze made Austin slightly amused, but he definitely wouldn't say it.

Placing his hand on hers, which was cupping his cheeks, Austin returned to his usual self as, with a smile, he whispered softly.

"It's nothing to worry about. Just the store is named after something which belongs to my previous world. That's why I fell into a stupor."

Luna wasn't aware of Austin's whole past as she had frames of his memory and had only focused on significant events.

Her eyes went wide, when she came to realize that the place which made Austin so shocked actually was related to his previous world, which made Luna slightly excited, too, as she dearly wanted to know about the things associated with Austin.

Turning his eyes, Austin again saw the giant board which had written the store name in his native language, but in the corner of the store board, there was Kanji dialect, too, signifying the origin of its owner.

"Should we check it out?"

Austin asked hopefully, as he really wanted to check the store. More than knowing about the eatery's owner, he was more tempted by the food he had been missing for more than 15 years now.

Luna was more than thrilled to know about the place, so without waiting, she nodded with sparkly eyes as the duo walked toward the store.

**TRING** 

"Irrashaimase~"

A bell rang as they walked in the store before Austin's ear received something damn nostalgic as he heard a feminine voice probably belonging to the store manager.

Turning his head, he saw a woman in her early twenties busily preparing ramen in the kitchen as the customers placed orders one after another.

The whole store was almost filled with various customers enjoying the delicacies, which made Austin's mind fuzzy, before homesickness got him hard.

The servers and even the chef who greeted them in Japanese were interacting with the customer in the native language of this place, which made him complicated, but he didn't ponder upon it much as he saw a waitress approaching them.

"Can I show you guys a table?"

"Yes, please."

It was Luna who replied with a smile as she knew Austin wouldn't be speaking anytime soon because of the whirlwind of emotions she was sensing from him.

The waitress, upon receiving such a gentle smile, blushed slightly as, in a fluster, she turned on her heel before she muttered in a shaky voice.

"P-please follow me."

The table, which the midget waitress led to the couple, was placed in a corner that was slightly secluded and gave a sense of pleasant atmosphere. 

The wooden table, along with the serene lightning, gave a vintage blended with romantic taste as the couple occupied the seats and sat while facing each other.

The waitress gawked both at Austin and Luna from time to time as the slight blush never left her cheeks. And the reaction was justified since the pair of a handsome man and an otherworldly beauty weren't commonly spotted around the town.

"What would you like to order?"

The waitress asked in a slight meek tone as she held a notepad in her hand.

"You take charge, master."

Luna spoke in a defeated tone, as she had no idea what was being served here.

But little did she realize that her casual remark to Austin would leave a significant misunderstanding with the midget waitress.

'She's enslaved?! Isn't she so beautiful? I wonder what price this man has paid for her.'

"Um...two miso ramen and a side serving of your taste. Thank you."

Austin smiled at the end of his words, much to the waitress' limit, as she nodded and, without even noting the order, darted away.

Austin blinked perplexedly at the disappearing sight of the slightly younger-looking woman, before he heard Luna's voice. 

"So, is that chef from your previous world?"

As Luna said, she cast a barrier around them in case of being eavesdropped as she heard Austin replying in an affirming tone.

"Yeah, it seems that's the case. The way she greeted us and coupled with the dishes this restaurant serves, I am now sure that this place is related to my real world."

Luna, who was hearing his words, suddenly halted her movement before she blinked toward Austin.

Her aura suddenly turned dark as her hand slowly made its way on top of Austin, surprising the latter mentioned.

"Luna?"

"Austin...isn't this your originality now? Why are you still saying that place as your real world when you belong here?"

There was a slight smile on her face, but Austin knew she wasn't smiling at all.

Austin, in an instant, sensed her unsettled thoughts before he expressed a loving smile before holding her hand in a warm hold.

"I know, Luna, that I belong here. It's just that, my life being so perfect with you, makes me think that this life is still a dream which might break at any moment."

Luna's expression softened drastically as a blush lit up her face. Austin sighed inwardly as he concluded that it was almost impossible to understand Luna's mood swings, which led him no choice but to use flowery words sometimes.

"I-Is that so. Then it's okay."

Shaking his head in defeat, Austin saw the fidgety Luna, who was stealing gazes because of her blush.

Soon their order was served with two big bowls of ramen and some cucumber and chili salad. The nostalgic smell of the ramen made Austin already full for the day, before he saw something out of place beside the bowl.

"Umm...are only forks available to eat ramen?"

Austin wasn't sure whether using the direct word would be good, so he just asked subjectively.

The maid's face instantly brightened up as she shook her head in an instant.

"No sir, we have another culinary which madam has invented along with these peculiar noodles. Since nobody knows about it, we generally provide a fork with ramen. Should I get it for you, sir?"

Austin nodded as he replied, "Please."

But before the waitress could have dashed away, Luna suddenly spoke up.

"Please bring two, whatever you are talking about."

The waitress blinked for a couple of seconds before she nodded and walked away.

"What?"

Sensing Austin's amused gaze, Luna asked with a slight frown as she hid her embarrassment behind her tone.

"Nothing~"

And to add fuel to the fire, Austin giggled at the end of his words, much to Luna's annoyance upon how she behaved right now.

The waitress didn't make the unique customers wait more than a minute before she brought two pairs of wooden chopsticks toward the table.

"Please enjoy your meal."

Saying so, the waitress left the two alone as the couple continued their date with an unexpected turn of events.

"Should I help you, Luna?"

Austin was thoroughly amused by the site of the clumsy saint who was trying hard to intimate him but failing miserably.

"Please do."

Luna sighed as she accepted her defeat before she saw Austin blowing over the ramen, which was stuck between his chopsticks, with a smile not leaving his face at all.

Luna pouted about being made fun of before she saw the chopstick being extended towards

her.

"Here. Enjoy plentiful~."

"Hmph!"

Grumbling, Luna extended herself forward a little before her small mouth received the noodle as she tucked her hair behind her ear to avoid disturbance.

The casual gesture of Luna made Austin mesmerized for a long time that, even though Luna slurped the serving, his hand was still frozen on his spot.

Luna blinked upon seeing Austin's dazed look before she raised her brows in query. 

"You are beautiful."

**Cough**Cough** 

Luna instantly coughed upon being attacked suddenly as she glared with teary eyes towards the unfair man.

Austin extended water with an apologetic smile on his face.

"Don't come at me so suddenly. It's bad for my heart."

"Hai....hai."

For the rest of the next twenty minutes, the duo enjoyed their couple time as Austin lovingly fed Luna and also ate the delicious ramen while chatting casually.

It was only after they finished, and the waitress cleaned the table, that Austin requested something out of nowhere.

"Can you pass this to your madam?"

What he extended was a tissue paper on which he had written something before. The waitress, despite being flustered, nodded as she went away in a daze.

Luna raised her brows in perplexion as Austin replied in a calm tone.

"Wait for a few seconds."

Luna was still unsure about the situation, but soon her eyes sparkled in alertness.

As Austin said, a presence darted toward them at a pace that made Luna nearly activate her spell. 

Appearing while panting heavily was the chef who was preparing dishes by the counter as she raised her voice in a hurried tone.

"You...!"

____________________ 

A/N:- Next chapter...big revelation.

Editor : Zenon #4120