"Oh—you're here!"
Diona, who had been wiping down tables, lit up the moment she saw Cael push the door open. She immediately ran over.
"Morning, Diona," Cael greeted with a smile.
Then—without warning—
he reached out and patted her cat ears.
"Eek—!!"
Caught completely off guard, Diona nearly puffed up like an angry kitten.
"H-Hey! You can't just do that out of nowhere!" she complained, glaring at him.
That said… yesterday's "deal" was still fresh in her mind.
Just touching ears, right? It wasn't a big deal.
In fact… it actually felt pretty nice.
"By the way," Cael said casually, letting go,
"how's the milk tea recipe I gave you yesterday?"
Diona thought for a moment.
"I can't decide whether it gets added to the menu. Only Margaret can do that. I let her try it yesterday, and she said she wants to meet you."
Cael nodded.
"Alright. I'll wait here then. I've got nothing better to do anyway."
He sat down—then held out his hand toward Diona again.
"Come on. Let me pet them again~"
"…You're really pushing your luck," Diona muttered, cheeks burning.
Still, she leaned her head forward.
"Good kitty, good kitty~"
Cael was visibly blissful.
Diona, meanwhile, melted completely—
a soft purr purr rumbling from her throat.
"Mmm~~…"
Her legs nearly went weak.
Seeing her face completely red, Cael knew he'd gone far enough and finally withdrew his hand.
The sudden cool air made Diona feel oddly… empty.
Her gaze drifted to his hand, her thoughts wandering dangerously.
"…Maybe head pats feel even better…"
Of course, she kept that firmly to herself.
...
...
The door to Cat's Tail opened.
Yawning, Margaret stretched lazily—arms raised high, exposing pale underarms without the slightest concern.
The instant Cael saw her, a single thought flashed through his mind:
Holy hell—what a mature beauty.
Margaret noticed him and smiled.
"Good morning~ You must be the gentleman who tried to kidnap my Diona with a milk tea recipe."
"…Huh?"
Cael froze. "What kind of title is that?!"
He turned to Diona. "You didn't tell her my name?"
Diona shook her head.
"…Wait. You never told me either."
"…I didn't?"
The atmosphere instantly became painfully awkward.
"Aha… my mistake," Cael laughed dryly and quickly introduced himself.
"My name's Cael. I'm from Liyue."
Margaret nodded thoughtfully.
"Then, Mr. Cael—if your goal in offering such an incredible recipe was to abduct my Diona, I'd rather refuse outright."
Wait—she thinks I'm a lolicon?!
Before Cael could explain, Diona suddenly stepped forward.
"He's not that kind of person!" she protested, clearly upset.
Cael blinked in surprise.
She defended him—without hesitation.
She really… I'm moved.
Margaret stared, then clutched her chest dramatically.
"So fast?! You already stole her heart?!
You degenerate lolicon—I'm calling the Knights!"
Cael: "..."
Compared to his calm silence, Diona completely panicked.
"Margaret! You can't do that! He's really not like that!!"
Then—
Cael gently patted Diona's shoulder.
"Diona," he said calmly, "look again. She's teasing you."
Diona looked up—
And saw Margaret smiling mischievously.
"…I got played again?!"
"Waaah! Everyone bullies me!!"
...
...
Business Time
Cael turned to Margaret.
"For Diona, the price was just letting me touch her ears."
"But for you?"
He smiled.
"That'll cost extra."
Yes. He admitted it.
He was a shameless cat-ear enthusiast.
If he gave the recipe away for free, he'd feel cheated.
[So you finally admit it?]
[This system is deeply gratified. At last, your hypocritical mask has fallen.]
"Shut up."
...
Margaret laughed.
"So my value is lower than a pair of cat ears?"
Cael nodded honestly.
"..."
That response stunned her.
"I'll warn you," Margaret said, sighing, "men like this don't find girlfriends."
"I'm not worried," Cael replied flatly.
"And I'm ready to name my price."
She gestured. "Go on."
Cael raised five fingers.
Margaret relaxed.
"Five million? That's acceptable."
Then—
"No," Cael said calmly.
"Fifty million Mora."
Diona: !!!
Margaret: ?!?!
"Are you insane?!" Margaret snapped.
"One recipe for fifty million?! Absolutely not—"
Clatter—
Cael dumped an entire stack of recipes onto the table.
Milk tea recipes.
Top-tier ones.
Any single one would sell like wildfire.
Margaret stared.
Then—
"I agree. Deal."
She immediately signed the contract and collected the recipes with elegance.
Diona watched silently, eyes full of disdain.
"…That face is disgusting."
Margaret cleared her throat, excused herself, and went off to handle the paperwork.
Once she was gone—
Cael and Diona looked at each other.
Then both grinned.
"Mission complete—yeah!"
They high-fived.
Diona hesitated, cheeks pink.
"…Cael."
"Hm?"
"…Can you… pat my head?"
Cael blinked.
"Your head?"
"H-Hey! Don't get the wrong idea!" she snapped quickly.
"I'm not asking because I want it! It's just… your reward!"
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