"Welcome!"
"Oh, it's Gabriel."
Hearing the shopkeeper call out a name while drawing, Yazuki momentarily shifted his attention toward the entrance. A petite blonde girl walked in, her expression sluggish and full of reluctance.
She looked familiar?
Well, no matter. Better to focus on finishing his illustration first. He was a bit rusty. Normally, by this time, he would have already refined the line art and started coloring. But right now, he was still stuck fine-tuning the details.
From the linework alone, it was clear he was drawing a cute bunny-eared girl.
Once the linework was done, he could finally start coloring.
Midway through, he went to take a sip of his coffee, only to realize it was empty.
"Boss, another cup of that blended coffee."
"O-okay, right away~"
The shopkeeper seemed quite excited. After all, the blended coffee was his proud creation, yet it was rarely ordered—let alone requested for a refill.
At this moment, Yazuki took the chance to glance around the café. Not far from him, at a table just ahead sat two girls, one with short purple hair and the other with long silver-white hair.
The purple-haired girl faced him, so he could see her gentle and beautiful features at a glance. She must have noticed his gaze because she responded with a warm smile.
As for the silver-haired girl, since she was facing away, he couldn't see her face. But judging by her elegant posture and beautiful back, she was likely just as stunning.
Oh? The petite blonde girl wearing a café uniform, was she the little angel the shopkeeper had hired? She did look cute, but for some reason, there was an odd aura around her.
How to describe it... hmm—lazy? Sluggish? A complete mess? Because of that, she didn't feel cute at all.
And what the hell? Why was she sitting and chatting with those two girls instead of working? She even had the purple-haired girl giving her a shoulder massage? Weren't their roles reversed? Who was the customer here, and who was the employee?
Whatever, not his problem. He focused back on his illustration, checking for any inconsistencies.
Missing out on the summer Comic Market had cost him a huge chunk of income. He had to grind hard now, or he'd be eating dirt soon.
"Wait, don't, Gabriel —I'll do it!"
The shopkeeper, caught off guard, originally intended to personally deliver the coffee. But in a blink, it was already taken away, leaving him flustered.
"It's fine, don't be so formal."
That tone—who was the real shopkeeper, and who was the actual worker here?!
"Here, your coffee!"
With a completely indifferent tone, the new cup of coffee was placed on Yazuki's table.
"Waah—!"
A cute, panicked voice made him look up.
The tiny blonde girl had turned bright red, glaring at him with the eyes of someone staring at a pervert. She took a few steps back, shielding her petite body with a tray as if terrified he might start sketching her in the nude.
Wait a minute, she looked familiar. He examined her more closely, and in response, she made a scissor-hand gesture at him, only to have it blocked.
"You pervert! If you dare draw me, you're dead!!!"
The loli-sized girl glared at him with a fierce intensity.
"Oh, so it's you! The little shorty who nearly kicked me to death yesterday, huh? Useless bratty loli!!!"
"Hah? Tch, if I'd just kicked a little harder yesterday, I could've sent you straight to hell!!!"
Both of them recognized each other and immediately started hurling insults.
"Draw you? Tsk, tsk, tsk~"
Yazuki scanned her up and down with a look of disdain then curled his lips into a mocking smirk.
"Even with a pair of A's(cup size), nobody would want to draw you. Are you joking? Pfft~"
He covered his mouth and chuckled.
"'Even with a pair of A's...' Pfft~"
The silver-haired girl mumbled under her breath before breaking into laughter. Now that she had turned around, =Yazuki could see her face—an angelic beauty.
Meanwhile, the purple-haired girl beside her puffed up her cheeks, trying her best to hold it in.
"Pfft~"
In the end, she couldn't resist and burst out laughing.
The gaze returned to the petite blonde girl—Gabriel. Her shoulders trembled, her fists clenched tightly, and the tray in her hands was crushed. Her eyes gleamed with a murderous glint, resembling those of a shark.
"Go to hell!!!"
She lunged forward, brimming with killing intent.
"You think I'm afraid of you?"
Yazuki immediately reached out to grab the oncoming attacker. Their hands locked together.
"I'll kill you!!!"
A chilling voice, enough to freeze the air, came from the tiny mouth of Gabriel, who now looked like a little demon straight from hell. Her eyes even seemed to glow red.
"Just you? Oh? Are you planning to rub me to death with a washboard?"
Both of them exerted force, their arms bulging with veins as if trying to crush each other's hands.
Their hands made cracking sounds as they strained. Sweat began to form on their foreheads. Yazuki hadn't expected such overwhelming strength from this tiny body, this girl was a total berserker loli.
"Go, Little Gab! Go, Little Gab~"
"Stop fighting, both of you, let go!"
The silver-haired girl was clearly enjoying the spectacle, while the purple-haired one panicked, trying to break up the fight.
"Umm… Tenma-san, Yazuki-kun, please…!"
The store manager also rushed over in a flustered attempt to stop them.
The next second, Gabriel kicked toward Yazuki. However, he sneered at her—her short legs couldn't possibly reach him.
But he was wrong.
Her little legs might be short, but the shoe flying off her foot landed an uppercut-like hit straight to his chin, making him momentarily dizzy.
Grinning viciously, he stared at her.
BANG—
Yazuki smashed his forehead against Gabriel's with a loud thud.
"Your head's pretty hard!"
"Same to you!"
"I'll kill you!" x2
They now looked like street punks brawling, rolling across the ground.
Ten minutes later, the two of them had rolled all the way to the entrance. Both were bruised and swollen, each sporting a black eye and a trickle of blood from one nostril. Their hands viciously pinched each other's cheeks as if they wanted to tear them off. Their arms even bore bite marks.
[Let's stop here, agreed?] Their eyes seemed to exchange this thought at the same time.
[Fine, you let go first!]
[No, you first!]
[You go first!]
[You go first!]
[Alright, let's count to three and let go together!] A consensus was reached.
[3…2…1…0]
[…]
Neither let go. They glared at each other angrily, how dare the other break their word?
They reached a new understanding through their eyes.
[3…2…1…0!]
This time, both let go at the same time. Yazuki sat up straight.
"Gabriel, I came to find you!"
Just as Yazuki stood up, an excited voice rang from behind, and the door was pushed open forcefully—smacking straight into his back.
In an instant, he was sent flying forward—right toward the also-standing Gabriel.
"Mm!"
"Mm!"
A strange, soft, and slippery sensation. Their faces were so close. Eyes widened, staring at each other.