The GPS led him down an avenue Takeshi had never been through before, parallel to the main commercial district but clearly in a completely different category. The buildings were newer, the facades better maintained, and there were fewer people on the street, though they dressed noticeably differently from the usual high school crowd.

Takeshi slowed down when the GPS announced he had arrived.

He looked at the building in front of him.

It was undeniably a restaurant, but the facade had indirect lighting, the windows were frosted glass with black frames, and beside the entrance was a metal sign with the name engraved on it. There were no menu photos on the door, no prices visible from outside. A man in a suit stood by the entrance, and he definitely wasn’t there for decoration.

Takeshi checked the location on his phone, and it matched exactly.

’I came to the wrong place.’

He thought.

’There’s no way this is it.’

He checked the address three times and confirmed the GPS had made no mistake.

"You’re right on time."

Takeshi turned around. Nyx stood two meters away, wearing something other than her high school uniform. She had on dark pants, a light-colored blouse, and her reddish hair was styled slightly differently than usual.

"This is the place you told me about?"

Takeshi asked.

"Yes."

Nyx glanced at the facade and then back at him.

"Is there a problem?"

"No, I just expected something different."

"Different how?"

Takeshi thought about how to phrase it.

"Less... like this?"

Nyx considered the answer for a moment.

"It’s a good place."

She commented.

"Come on."

The interior was exactly what the exterior promised. The ceiling was high, the lighting warm but controlled, the tables spaced far enough apart that conversations didn’t blend together, and the chair material wasn’t the kind found in places that cared more about prices than anything else.

The man who greeted them inside led them to a table near a side window. It wasn’t in the center of the restaurant, but in a quieter, more secluded area.

Takeshi sat down and picked up the menu.

He opened it and closed it the second he read it.

’Did I read that wrong?’

He opened it again because he needed to confirm what he had seen.

The prices were there, discreetly printed in the lower corner of each section. Takeshi quickly calculated what an average dish plus a drink would cost. The result was enough for him to understand that his current financial situation couldn’t cover a single possible combination on that menu.

At those prices, even his sanity took damage.

[-5% Sanity]

’Seriously!? It hit me that hard!?’

"I can see you checking the prices."

Nyx mentioned from the other side of the table.

"I-I’m checking the menu."

"You’re checking the prices. There’s no need to hide it."

Nyx placed her own menu on the table.

"Don’t worry, I’m covering everything."

"No."

Takeshi spoke firmly.

"I’m paying for my part."

’I can’t let a girl pay for everything...’

"With what?"

Takeshi didn’t answer immediately.

’Damn... she’s right...’

"That’s not a difficult question."

Nyx continued, without any mocking tone in her voice, more like a straightforward observation.

"I invited you, so I pay. That’s how it works."

"I’ll pay you back later."

"You don’t have to."

"I do."

Nyx looked at him for a moment and then nodded once.

"Alright, if that’s what you want."

Takeshi returned to the menu with part of the awkwardness resolved. He picked something from the least extreme price range, which was still more than he spent on an entire week of lunches at school.

The waiter arrived, took both of their orders, and left without any extra comments.

Nyx adjusted the silverware in front of her with an automatic motion before looking at Takeshi.

"How was the rest of your day?"

She asked.

"Normal."

Takeshi answered.

"At least by my standards."

"Did Aoi ask anything?"

Takeshi considered how much to say.

"A little..."

"And?"

"I told her we were going to look into magic stuff."

Nyx processed that.

"And she believed you?"

"Partially."

"What part didn’t she believe?"

"Most of it."

Nyx stayed silent for a second. Then, with an expression that wasn’t exactly a smile, but close enough.

"Well, technically, I can teach you some magic over dinner if that helps."

"I don’t think it would."

"Probably not."

Nyx admitted.

The food arrived without any rush. Takeshi tried what he had ordered and immediately understood why restaurants like this existed and why they charged what they did.

The conversation that followed had no sense of urgency. That was the first thing Takeshi noticed. Nyx spoke directly, as always, but without the tension that sometimes appeared at school when more people were around.

She told him she had started reading about the history of the elven families in the city, not because of the Solynmars, but because she genuinely found it interesting.

Takeshi asked what she had found, and she explained it. Then he asked more questions. She answered with more detail than probably anyone else would have wanted, but Takeshi kept asking because the way Nyx organized information made it easy to follow.

They talked about school, the teachers, the student council, and the way Merwyn handled every situation.

Nyx had a clear opinion on almost everything, and she expressed it bluntly, which kept the conversation moving without the awkward silences that happened when someone tried too hard to be careful about what they said.

At some point between the main course and the end of dinner, Takeshi realized something.

He hadn’t paid attention to the chat the entire time.

The messages had kept appearing in the corner of his vision, but he had ignored them so automatically that he hadn’t even registered what they said.

He was sitting in an expensive restaurant he couldn’t afford, with a girl who hadn’t even existed in his life three weeks ago, talking about elven history and Merwyn’s questionable decisions.

Nyx ordered dessert and looked at him.

"Want some?"

"Yeah, sure."

Takeshi answered before remembering the price.

"Wait, no!"

"It’s already ordered for both of us."

"Nyx."

"I’ll subtract it from the total you said you were going to pay me back."

Takeshi couldn’t come up with a reasonable response to that, so he accepted the dessert.

When the bill arrived, Nyx grabbed it before Takeshi could even move. She checked the total, pulled out a card, and placed it on the small tray without any change in expression.

Takeshi glanced at the amount he managed to see before Nyx closed the folder.

"Nyx, that’s way too much."

"Not for me."

She said it completely neutrally, but then, in a considerably quieter voice, she added something else.

"After all, I’m basically going to be supporting you in the near future..."

Takeshi didn’t hear all of it.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Nyx looked up.

"Nothing, I was talking to myself."

"No, you said something, didn’t you?"

"I said there’s no need to worry."

She looked back at the card the waiter had just returned.

"That’s all."

Takeshi watched her for a second, then let it go.

They left the restaurant after it had already gotten dark. The air outside was colder than when they arrived. Nyx walked beside Takeshi without saying she was going to accompany him, but she headed in the same direction.

They walked about five blocks until Takeshi recognized the area near his apartment. They stopped at the corner before the building.

"I guess this is where I head off."

Nyx said.

"Thanks for dinner."

Takeshi commented.

"Seriously."

"I know you mean it."

Nyx started walking toward the opposite side of Takeshi’s apartment building, then halfway down the block, she shouted.

"Next time, you pick the place!"

"Next time, I’m paying!"

"That too!"

Nyx walked off down the street without hurrying. Takeshi watched her turn at the next corner, then pulled out his phone to check the time.

He had a new message.

It was from Aoi, and the text read: Did you have fun?

Below the text was a photo. It was sharp, taken from an angle that suggested distance, but zoomed in enough for the details to be clear. In the picture were Nyx and him, walking out through the restaurant’s front entrance.

Takeshi stared at the photo for a few seconds before hearing a voice behind him.

"You seriously thought I wouldn’t notice?"

’Oh... I think I’m dead...’