Today was the day we would open team [DxD]’s personal cafe. When I arrived, the customers — or rather, my companions were already gathered around in small groups here and there. I relaxed while looking around the inside of the store.
“Ah, Ise-kun. Welcome.”
Irina came out and welcomed me. The cafe’s uniform was so cute!
“Allow me to guide you to an available seat.”
Prompted by Irina, I was guided to a seat that overlooked the rest of the shop. Along the way, I exchanged greetings with some of the unfamiliar members with “Well, hello there,” and “It’s nice to meet you,” and such. Once we reached my seat, I asked Irina,
“How’s the attendance?”
“It’s plenty, since we have regulars. Those who live in the Hyoudou residence also drop by when they have a bit of free time. And there were even authorised people and staff members that brought along their parents.”
Ehhh… The cafe was a bit more crowded than I expected. For the time being, the main way in and out of the cafe was the transportation magic circle we prepared on the top floor of this building. I also came through that magic circle, jumping from the large transportation circle in the Hyoudou family house’s basement. The top floor had a spell placed on it that made the general public avoid it, and it seemed the elevator was made to not travel to the top floor. Similarly, the staircase was covered in some sort of illusion that prevented the general public from being able to recognise the stairs leading here or see this floor in general.
“Well then, I’ll have an iced coffee.”
I gave Irina my order.
“Yep! Thank you very much!”
Irina wrote down my order and headed to the store’s back. Suddenly, the uniformed figure of Mirana-san (cute) came into view…but she hid her chest again and ran away……Well then, I pulled myself together and did what I came here to do. That is, to take a look around the store and…to have conversations with the various people gathered here. Unexpectedly… No, exactly as I had expected, there were many new people to talk to. There were many stories to be told, and I never lost interest.
After a while, when I was relaxed and comfortable…His Eminence Strada came in! I came out of my seat a little before sitting back down. Sairaorg-san also made an appearance in the shop! As Sairaorg-san was being led to his seat by Asia, he locked eyes with His Eminence Strada.
“Oh… If it isn’t His Eminence Vasco Strada!”
“Hmm. Hello there, next head of the house of Bael. It’s good to see you.”
“I’d like to talk with you at once if possible. May I have the privilege of sitting with you?”
“I should be the one saying that. If you’re alright with my old bones, then certainly.”
And thus, Sairaorg-san and His Eminence Strada were seated together! Wow! Power sitting with power! While taking a sip of his black coffee, Sairaorg-san said,
“I saw your tournament match. Also, I read the records that the Bael House has on you from your younger days. Especially the anecdotes on the time around the second world war, I can only describe them as awe inspiring.”
“Fufufu, you embarrass me too much. I had heard there were records of the time I was still refining myself written in the records of the House of the Great King.”
“Before the alliance, Bael’s soldiers were taught that you were one of the opponents they should avoid if at all possible. That we can be here drinking coffee together…I just don’t know what we can expect to happen next.”
“I can completely agree with you there. By the way, this coffee…”
While holding his cup in his hand, His Eminence said,
“I hear it was the Bael House’s recommendation.”
Sairaorg-san’s cheeks became a little red.
“Yeah, I’m somewhat particular about my coffee beans… Rias had asked me for my opinion.”
Aah, this coffee! I had thought I recognised its aroma and taste somewhere. It seemed Sairaorg-san had recommended it! I had coffee with Sairaorg-san occasionally, and this iced coffee tasted similar. It seemed this was the coffee Sairaorg-san liked. The taste wasn’t quite the same, so maybe the beans were a bit different? Or was it different because of how they’re being prepared? His Eminence Strada said,
“It’s exceedingly easy to drink, and it has quite the friendly charm to it. There seems to be very little that could be bad about it, so it seems like we’ll have many people who will come visit here.”
Sairaorg-san seemed even more bashful as he said,
“Because I’m the one who recommended these beans to Rias, I taught them a variety of blends that they serve here. It is an honour for you to be drinking it.”
It was unusual to see Sairaorg-san be shy. It seemed he was very happy to have His Eminence Strada be complimenting his recommended coffee. His Eminence Strada asked Sairaorg-san,
“I also like my coffee a bit more bitter. Do you have any recommendations for that?”
“Ooh, actually, I… I[1] also like that type of coffee. Certainly, there’s–”
And as such, that was the kind of conversation the unusual pair of Sairaorg-san and His Eminence Strada had that day.
Translator’s notes:
1: Swaps from using “ore” to using “watashi,” 俺 to 私 , basically changing to a more casual tone.