The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 133: It’s Not A Date [5]

"Hey, it’s not like I want to enjoy it," she huffed, crossing her arms. "But it’s a holiday, and I know you’re just going to lie around and waste it. So I figured, since we’re already out here, we might as well do something."

Whoa. Defensive much?

I wanted to say, Relax, I get it—you’re embarrassed, but I kept my mouth shut. No way was I about to tease her. Not when she was clearly trying so hard to play it cool.

I mean, who knew how she’d react?

"So... what do we do first?" I asked instead, trying to keep things simple.

"Lunch," she said immediately. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, a bit," I nodded. "Lunch sounds good. Is that alright with you?"

She blinked like I’d just asked for her permission to breathe.

"Of course it’s alright! But that’s not all we’re doing."

Oh no.

"We’re gonna eat, then we’re going to look around, maybe buy some clothes. There’s this one café I’ve been wanting to try, and maybe—if we’ve got time—watch a movie?"

Yep. She definitely had a whole plan in mind.

What had I just agreed to?

It was supposed to be a simple outing, but judging by the spark in her eyes and the way she was already dragging me forward by the sleeve, I realized something—

This wasn’t just a casual walk around the city.

This was a just like a date or closer enough to be one, And I’m sure she didn’t realised it.

I also wanted to point out to her that she crossdressing as boy but I didn’t since it was supposed to be secret and also let me tell you, as far as I know boy doesn’t behave like she’s doing right now.

If someone unknown person see us they must be think that im gay but I’m not.

Ahh, I know it! A woman just walked past us and gave me a knowing look.

Her eyes flicked between me and Leona—who still looked like a handsome noble boy with perfect posture and clear skin—and then she gave me a little thumbs-up like she was supporting the "cute couple."

No. No. This was not what it looked like!

But could I really correct her? Like, stop in the middle of the street and yell, "She’s actually a girl! And no, we’re not a thing!"?

...Yeah, no.

---

Leona’s POV —

"Ahh, I know it!" Rin muttered beside me, his voice low but his face already twisting in what I recognized as secondhand embarrassment.

I turned to see where he was looking—and sure enough, a woman walking past us gave him a strange, almost judgmental glance.

No doubt she’d seen me dragging him along, dressed like this, acting... well, not very ’boyish.’ She probably assumed something. And judging by the way Rin flinched, he knew it too.

I didn’t say anything at first. I just kept walking, letting the silence stretch.

Then—

"Pfft—"

I couldn’t help it. I let out a small laugh.

Rin turned sharply, eyes wide. "W-What? You’re laughing?"

"Why do you look so terrified?" I asked, grinning now. "You act like it’s a crime to be seen with me."

"I’m not terrified," he defended, straightening his posture like a soldier caught slouching. "Never mind. You won’t understand what I’m going through right now."

I just stairs at hime and turned away, but only so he wouldn’t see me smiling to myself.

Truth was... I didn’t mind the glances.

Even if they misunderstood us. Even if people whispered things behind our backs.

It was fun to see Rin’s expression.

---

Rin POV.

I sighed quietly and kept walking, letting Leona drag me toward the restaurant she had in mind.

As we entered the cozy little place, the smell of butter and grilled meat immediately hit me.

"Table for two," Leona said confidently, already removing her jacket and fixing her hair like she was prepping for a royal banquet.

The waiter blinked at us, smiled politely, and nodded. "Right this way, sirs."

Sir. Again.

I nearly sighed again, but I didn’t want to ruin her mood. She looked so damn proud—like she’d planned this entire day for a national festival or something.

We sat down near the window.

She picked the seat with the best lighting. Probably on purpose.

"So..." I began once we ordered. "Why this place? I thought you didn’t really eat outside."

Leona raised an eyebrow like I’d just insulted her family name.

"I eat outside all the time," she said. "Well... now I do."

I gave her a flat look.

She looked away.

"Okay. So I might have checked some online reviews and filtered by best ’couple-friendly ambience.’"

My brows shot up.

"...What?"

"Nothing!" she snapped quickly. "I meant ’comfortable ambience.’ You misheard me."

I didn’t mishear anything. But I didn’t press her.

Soon enough, a waitress came over to our table with a notepad in hand, flashing the standard polite smile.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

Leona glanced at me and then answered first, smooth as ever. "I’ll take the grilled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries. And—uh—one of those sparkling peach teas."

The waitress nodded and turned to me.

I stared at the menu like it was written in another language. Why were there so many types of pasta? And why did every dish have a name like "Moonlit Garden Primavera" or "Knight’s Delight Casserole"?

"Uh... just the burger. Regular fries. And water," I said, handing the menu back a little too fast.

The waitress scribbled it down, gave a quick nod, and disappeared into the kitchen.

I leaned back in my seat. "You sure this isn’t too fancy for just lunch?"

Leona tilted her head. "You say that like I dragged you into some noble banquet."

"Well, I was shoping potions until five minutes ago," I muttered, glancing down at my sleeves. "Now I’m here, awkwardly sitting across from someone who’s clearly overprepared for whatever this is."

"You’re calling me overprepared?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I just nodded.

She rolled her eyes and leaned on her hand. "Maybe I just like making plans."

"Maybe I just like avoiding them."

She laughed at that, not mocking, just amused.

After that there was silence.

A short silence followed. Not awkward. Just quiet.

Outside the window, the afternoon sun was breaking through the clouds, and a few students in uniform walked past, probably on their way home or toward other cafes.

I caught my reflection in the window and saw Leona’s beside it—her posture relaxed, one arm on the table, the other fiddling with the edge of her glass.

Then the food arrived.

Steam rose from the plates. Mine was exactly what I expected. Hers, of course, was practically plated like it was ready for a food commercial.

"Looks good," I said.

She nodded and picked up her sandwich, holding it like she’d done this a thousand times.

We didn’t say much after that. Just ate. Quiet, simple. No interrogations. No drama.

Just food, sun, and a weird sort of peace between two people who probably didn’t know what to call whatever this was—but didn’t mind it either.

And honestly, for once, that was more than enough.

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Thanks for reading the novel. Keep reading it more in future.