"Let's eat first, shall we?"
Dianna asked Eren, receiving his nod in response. He had to admit that she had chosen an excellent place for their date with benefits.
"You look beautiful today, Dianna. And your choice of place is just as awesome as you are. I'm glad we hit it off that day."
Eren raised a toast to Dianna, the ranked wine poured in his glass by one of the lady servants. She stepped aside after setting up the duo's table and waited for them in silence.
"Hmph! Did you notice that I looked beautiful just now? I'm sure you wouldn't have waited this long to compliment Altashia."
Dianna replied with a pout. Eren chuckled and drank from his glass. He taste-tested the wine by keeping it in his mouth for a bit before finally gulping it down. It started stimulating his mana core as soon as it entered his system.
'Good wine.'
Eren complimented his drink before replying casually. He felt like it's been a while since he had used one of his powers. The power of bullshittery.
"I was just waiting for the right moment, Dianna. Your beauty and company are like fine wine. It should only be indulged in when the ambience is just right."
Eren swirled his glass of wine as he spoke. He then picked a cheese cube using the toothpick and ate it.
"Hmm. Does that mean Altashia is not fine wine?"
Dianna's ego was soothed when the butcher elegantly complimented her. But since she had received such praises, she wanted to fish for more.
Eren chuckled when he understood Dianna's subtle undertone. She wanted him to say that she was more stunning than Altashia. Which they both knew was untrue. But vanity often doesn't like to see reality with its eyes open.
"Comparing yourself against someone is something I wouldn't ever do. Aren't you a unique individual yourself? If I do that, wouldn't I be neglecting your uniqueness?"
Eren spoke and his expressions turned stoic. The butcher just wanted to bring more depth into his bullshittery by sounding serious after all.
"Dianna Remus, I wouldn't treat you the way your family treats auctionable items. You are you. Additionally, I wouldn't compare you to anyone because there is no need for a comparison. It's not an auction, is it?'"
Eren said before adding further.
"Does… does that make sense?"
Eren asked earnestly. But if anyone paid any attention, they'd find a hint of uncertainty in his voice. But when the butcher looked at Dianna, her expression looked serious too.
'Did… did I overdo it?'
Eren started to doubt the power of his bullshittery. He thought that he needed to use it more often so that he wouldn't lose his touch like this time.
"Sigh! You are right, Eren. I'm sorry for asking silly questions like these. I was just trying to poke fun at you. But I didn't know I was demeaning myself in the process.
I guess one can't really see these things clearly unless they are staring at the big picture from a distance."
Dianna sighed and touched the edge of her wine glass with her lips before taking a sip. She then smiled mirthlessly before continuing.
"Thank you for making me realize that I was walking on the same road my family has walked on for so long. Comparing one thing or person to another and putting a price tag on them."
'It… it worked. I'm still worthy!'
Eren thought to himself and raised his wine glass once again towards Dianna. The latter responded to his gesture with a light smile.
As they ate their breakfast, they talked about random things. The topic of routine military missions also came up. The topic of discussion slowly turned to each other's lives before they joined the army.
Eren didn't mind the wait. He handled all questions with the skill he had shown earlier. He had a habit of enjoying his puns more than his listeners did.
"Eren, this is the Total Control spell that you were looking for. I know our deal. I only pitched it as a joke at first. But now I'm glad that I did."
Dianna said after taking out a rune-sealed scroll from her storage and placing it on the dining table. She then pushed it to Eren's side before continuing.
"I'm giving you this because I don't want our experience together to feel transactional anymore. Here, you can have this.
You can have this and leave the place without anything happening between us. And that's fine with me. Or you can have this and still choose to be with me. No matter what you choose, I'd be completely fine with it.
This way, it won't be a transaction. I like our bonding here. And I want it to grow."
While tucking her red hair behind her ears from both sides, Dianna said. The butcher smiled and kept the scroll in his storage without any fancy theatrics. He had come for this spell mainly. There was no way he would leave without it.
But that didn't mean he would leave without reciprocating Dianna's approach.
"See? I'm still here."
Eren said as he folded his arms while looking at Dianna mischievously. Dianna smiled and nodded at him. She then told the two ladies who were waiting for them to clear the dining table.
Eren and Dianna were then led to two different chambers inside the wooden cottage by the two ladies. They were then helped by the two ladies to wash their bodies before they entered the spring.
Eren stripped out of his clothes as soon as the bathtub was filled with water-element mana through the usage of arrays. Although the mortal servant couldn't employ mana, she had an array disk in her possession she could operate on. It was made so that even unranked entities would be able to operate on it through their touch alone.
It wasn't long before Eren was washed and offered a simple robe to wear. He got outside and waited by the spring's edge. He had lit up his smoke as he observed everything around him.
He was tempted to use his mana sense in the area. But Dianna had insisted that he shouldn't do that and ruin the fun. So Eren decided to honour her request.
'All things come to those who wait.'
Eren said to himself and smiled before taking a long drag of Stellar Sativa stick.
