"Then, do you know where I could take someone to quietly kill them without anyone ever knowing?"
Katherine's eyes very slowly widened. She wasn't sure if she'd heard him correctly—but no, she had. She absolutely had. She just refused to believe Riley really said that.
Even V, who had been halfway through sitting down and joining the others, froze her butt and stared at Riley with wide eyes.
In fact, everyone in the cafe went silent. Even the student sitting alone in the corner raised her head at the heavy silence that followed.
Only one person didn't seem fazed by the question—his sister.
"Why the fuck are you talking about killing someone?" Hannah said, already up on her feet as she stormed over and pinched Riley's mouth shut. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say creepy shit people are going to take the wrong way? You already look fucking suspicious, Riley. Don't make it worse."
Riley didn't resist. Or tried to speak. He simply stood there, lips pursed in Hannah's grip, staring up at her like nothing was out of the ordinary.
Hannah squinted at him, clearly warning him with her glare to choose his words carefully once she let go.
After a long, hard staring battle… Riley gave a small nod.
"Good," she muttered, releasing his lips and turning to walk back to her seat—but then paused. Her head slowly turned toward Katherine, narrowing her eyes.
"And… who is this?"
"She is the one I mentioned earlier, Sister," Riley said, stepping aside and motioning to Katherine. "She helped me when I got lost after the interview. I found her almost wearing no clothes."
"Wh—what?" Hannah's voice pitched up as she glared daggers at Katherine, who could only groan.
"He barged into my room!" Katherine protested, raising her hands.
"The door was open," Riley clarified.
"Still not the point!" Katherine sighed.
"Ugh, Riley!" Hannah dragged her hands down her face. "After everything we talked about?! Why are you entering people's rooms?! And why'd you drag her here? Why keep bothering her?"
"Because she told me to come find her if someone troubled me, Sister. And you said Steph and the others are troubling you."
"Agh…" Hannah winced and turned back to Katherine with a weak smile. "I'm really sorry about this, Ma'am…?"
"Katherine. And please, don't call me 'Ma'am. And it's… fine," Katherine said, shaking her head. "Honestly, it's partially my fault. I didn't think he'd actually take it seriously—or show up in the middle of my class in front of everyone. That was… definitely something."
"Welcome to the club," Hannah muttered with a tired chuckle. "Anyway, sorry for dragging you into this. There's really nothing serious going on."
"A duel on your first day, huh?" Katherine smirked. "Enjoy it while you can. After your second year, the excitement dies down. You'll be too busy working as someone's sidekick."
"Wha—"
Hannah's eyes lit up with questions, but before she could say anything, Gary clapped his hands loudly, cutting through the conversation.
"Enough about that…" Gary whispered loudly, leaning closer to the table and placing a hand on his chin. "Let's return to the original topic—superhero names. And since we're graced with a senior in our midst, maybe she can help us come up with better ones. Please, senior, sit with us."
"You guys are already picking work names?" Katherine raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed," Gary pointed at her dramatically. "I've already chosen mine. From henceforth, I shall be known as—"
"Wait, I'll be back."
Before Gary could finish telling everyone his chosen name, Katherine abruptly turned and walked off toward the counter, gesturing for Riley and Victoria to follow.
"Oh, you guys ordering?" Hannah called out, chasing Riley and handing him her ID card. "I got that bitch's points—buy whatever you want."
Riley blinked at the card in his hand, but then gave a small nod and followed after Katherine and V.
At the counter, Katherine didn't really look at the menu at all and just checked on Riley and Victoria.
"What do you kids want?" she asked. "I'm getting my usual. But… hmm."
"Do they have soda, Ms. Katherine?" Riley asked.
"They've got cola on the side. But why not just get the same one I'm getting? I always order the mango one. They use mangoes from the Philippines—really… really good."
"O-oh," Victoria nodded quickly. "I like mangoes. You should try it too, Riley."
Riley looked up at the menu, staring at the photo of the mango bingsu with his eyes narrowed.
"I am still deciding, Ms. Katherine. You should go ahead."
"Great." Katherine stepped up to the counter, but frowned when she didn't recognize the person manning it. "Where's Raging Underpaid Employee Girl?"
"Oh, her?" The cashier laughed. "She left in a hurry about half an hour ago. Weird, right? We're already short-staffed."
"Huh…" Katherine muttered, but didn't press. She gave her order, then turned to Riley to check if he was ready—but he was still staring at the menu, frozen with indecision. And if she could hear it right, his heart was actually fluctuating.
Killing a little girl in a simulation didn't make him flinch, but choosing a dessert did? Has she… ever really met a person like Riley before? Well, the answer was clearly a big, fat, no.
"Riley?"
"I am still choosing, Ms. Katherine."
And just like that, a full minute passed. Katherine, trying not to pressure him, waited. But the student behind them wasn't as patient.
"If you're not ready to order, can you please move and let me go first?"
"Oh…?" Katherine blinked at the girl behind them. The tone was curt, but not rude—just flat. Almost too flat and emotionless. Katherine winced slightly and gestured toward the counter. "Sure, go ahead."
"Thank you," the girl said, stepping forward without looking at her. Her voice was even more robotic than Riley's.
Katherine leaned down and whispered to Riley as she stood beside him, "Psst… why don't you ask her what to order? I think she's half Korean."
"She is not, Ms. Katherine," Riley said immediately, shaking his head. "She is Japanese."
"Huh? How would you—"
"She's… in our class," Victoria cut in, answering quietly.
"Oh."
Tomoe glanced back at them, clearly having heard their conversation. But she didn't say anything, just turned away and continued placing her order before returning to her seat in the corner of the cafe. Judging by the three empty bowls already on her table, she'd been there for quite a while.
"...And I thought I had a sweet tooth," Katherine muttered.
The three stood awkwardly for a few more seconds in front of the counter before Riley finally made his choice… the same thing Katherine had ordered in the first place.
Katherine groaned, but she didn't say anything. Victoria, on the other hand, giggled like she found the whole thing amusing.
Finally, with their desserts in hand, the trio returned to the table where Hannah and the others were already seated.
Riley didn't waste any time. As soon as he sat down, he addressed the very visible bruise on his sister's face.
"She hurt you, Sister?" he asked, gently placing his dessert on the table.
But Hannah waved him off.
"This?" She pointed at the bruise, then reached over with her spoon and scooped a hefty portion from Riley's bowl as soon as it made contact with the table. "It's nothing. You should see the other girl—and holy shit, this is amazing. I should have ordered this one!"
Her eyes lit up at the taste of the mango bingsu. She went in for another scoop—but the bowl slid away from her just before her spoon could reach it.
"Wow," Hannah narrowed her eyes at Riley. "You're really getting good at that."
"If you tell me what happened to your eye," Riley said calmly, "I will let you have another bite."
"Boy, chill out…" Bella jumped in, twirling her spoon in her fingers with a sigh. "It was one-on-one, aight? Stuff like that just happens."
One-on-one fight? Then maybe I should postpone killing you, Steph. Or is it Stephanie? Steph feels weird. If I'm going to kill you, I should know you better. Yes. I need to know you better.
"Well…" Pauline suddenly spoke up, her voice louder than usual. And her cheeks… were flushed red for some reason, "...She did punch Hannah after the duel was over."
"Right?!" Gary slammed a fist on the table. "Where is the honor in that?! What are we, if not savages without our honor?!"
"Right?!" Pauline echoed, also slamming her hand down. "Fuck that bitch!"
"Whoa."
Everyone stared at Pauline in disbelief. Bella, who was sitting closest to her, squinted at her for a second before leaning in as she caught the scent of something weird.
"Hold up… this got liquor in it?!" She recoiled from the smell, "Man, what kinda school out here slingin' booze to kids?!"