C235: Chance Encounter (2)
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Merylda glanced inside the restaurant with her back to the street lamp. She even wore a wide-brimmed hat to avoid being identified.
It was embarrassing enough to be called a disguise, but at least Merylda watched Selina and Rudger's date believing she was disguised.
'Good job, Selina. You made it to the restaurant safely.'
There was a disturbance at the entrance for a while, so she wondered what had happened, but fortunately, it didn't seem like it was something serious but she couldn't be relieved yet.
The real problem starts after the meal and in Merylda eyes Selina had no choice but to think of her next plan during the meal while Hans watched Merylda from a little distance.
Hans, leaning his back against the wall, was pretending to read the newspaper and staring at Merylda.
'She's sneaking a peek at brother in disguise!'
He didn't know what she was up to, but he was going to keep an eye on her so that things don't go her way.
* * *
Rudger and Selina ordered the menu recommended by the chef and waited for the food to come out.
As the two faced each other Selina only smiled as if she was happy about the situation while Rudger was uncomfortable to sit still so he carefully opened his mouth.
"You look very happy."
"What? Is that so?"
"Yes. It's good that you're on vacation after a long time, but I was worried that I might have taken up your time for no reason, but I'm glad."
"No! You don't have to! I'm rather glad I met Mr. Rudger."
"It's nice of you to say that."
The food they ordered came just in time. When various dishes were laid on the table, Selina admired and opened her eyes wide as if wondering.
"Oh? I didn't order this."
There were additional dishes that she didn't order and the employee looked at Rudger and hesitated to answer. Then the quick-witted manager stepped up and said.
"It's a special service. The lady who came to our store today was beautiful, so the chef cheered up."
Selina smiled shyly at the naturally flowing words while Rudger signaled the manager 'well done' with his eyes.
The manager bowed his head.
'You've at least got a proper education.'
Rudger was satisfied and lifted the tableware. The food itself was quite delicious because the chef did his best to cook it for Owner.
"More than that, how did Miss Selina come to Royal Street?"
"Oh, didn't Mr. Rudger know? This place is very famous these days."
"Famous?"
"Yes, it's a street for the youths. The students often came here and after hearing about it from them I decided to visit too."
Selina answered and was happy to have a topic to talk about.
"The clothes on Royal Street are said to be much more wearable and more beautiful in design than traditional clothes. In fact, there are rumors that a famous designer in the capital praised House of Verdi's dresses."
"So that's what happened."
"Come to think of it, isn't the outfit that Mr. Rudger is wearing new?"
"Do you mean this?"
Rudger looked at his clothes and nodded. In fact, it was made by Violetta, the manager of House of Verdi, so she was not wrong. It was a custom made product, but he didn't need to say that.
"Yes, that's right."
"Wow, that's great. I heard that men's clothes are also very competitive, so they are only made on a reservation basis."
"I was lucky."
"I can see you became famous by looking at the clothes. Your outfit is really nice. Oh, of course, that doesn't mean that Mr. Rudger is lacking!"
"I know. Have you heard anything else about Royal Street?"
Rudger wanted to hear how his Royal Street was evaluated from a third party's point of view.
"First of all, it is famous as a fashion street, but we can't ignore other parts, can we? The most famous one is called musical."
Musical?
Rudger remembered Pinion and knew that he was working hard, but work and effort is usually not proportional to performance. However, rumors say that the musical was well received, and that played a role in attracting people.
"In fact, even among other teachers, people are envious of those who get tickets for musicals."
"It's surprising that it's popular even among teachers."
"Oh, and it's worth seeing the streets of culture and art. Was it said that the street itself was a painting? I heard that students often come to watch."
Rudger nodded and suddenly questioned. Students come often? They didn't recognize him, did they?
* * *
Cheryl Wagner walked lightly along the street lit by the warm sun.
Now, before summer came completely, it was the most suitable weather to go around outside, so she couldn't go around like this unless it was at this time.
Cheryl visited [Royal Street] which is said to be popular among students recently.
Originally, I wanted to come out with Flora, but she couldn't.
The reason was that she rejected Cheryl's offer at once because Flora didn't like to go around outside Theon.
Cheryl came out on her own, feeling sorry, but she couldn't help it.
'Yeah, well, I'm going to enjoy myself and go back.'
It is also true that she is worried about Flora, who is left alone even if she says so.
Flora is a child who pretends to be blunt on the outside but is soft on the inside, so she probably thinks about Cheryl who went out alone.
'I'm going to buy a souvenir for Flora on my way back.'
Cheryl, who was walking on the street with that thought, stopped walking because she found a familiar person on the street where many people walked around.
'Teacher Merylda?'
Cheryl recognized Merylda at once.
As a second-year student, she had no contact with a first-year teacher like Merylda, but she couldn't help but know because Cheryl listens to all the stories inside Theon.
Merylda, wearing a hat, was staring somewhere, hiding herself under the streetlamp.
No matter how much Cheryl looked at her, she stood out.
'What the hell are you looking at?'
Cheryl followed Merylda gaze and saw the inside of a restaurant crowded with customers. She was familiar with two of them and her pupils dilated.
'Wow! It's Mr. Rudger and teacher Selina, right?'
There are many teachers in Theon, and there is always a big debate when asked to pick a famous person among them.
There were many prominent teachers however, there was no disagreement among new teachers, or among the most famous teachers recently.
Rudger Chelici as a male teacher and Selina as a female teacher, both were popular among students because of their looks and had outstanding skills.
Those two people are now sharing a meal together at a restaurant.
'What? What? What are you two doing? Date? This is a date, right?'
The kind Selina, who smiled at everyone, and Rudger, who always looked expressionless or cold, stood opposite each other.
However, looking at the two people sitting face to face like that, Cheryl felt like she was looking at a painting.
Selina, who talks with a bright smile like spring, and Rudger, who is silent but listens and nods his head.
She didn't want to admit it, but there was a strangely fitting part.
'Oh, my God. I can't believe I found such an interesting situation!'
Cheryl didn't want to miss this scoop because she was exposed to all kinds of rumors and information within Theon.
'Did the two teachers have that kind of relationship?'
Suddenly, Cheryl remembered something.
'Wait. What about Flora?'
Her friend Flora would not admit it, but Cheryl knew that she's particularly interested in things related to Rudger.
But if Selina and Rudger are like that, what about Flora?
Cheryl shook her head and shook off her anxious thoughts.
'No, it's not. I don't think so. They are just having a meal together as co-workers. I'm sure that's the case.'
However, Cheryl felt that her love sensor was responding violently from a while ago. She didn't know about Rudger, but for now, Selina's attitude was almost certain.
Looking at her eyes and her smile anyone could see that she was interested in Rudger.
'It's a big deal!'
Flora has a rival.
No, it wasn't just a rival, it was a very big barrier.
Selina has a pretty face, a good personality, and even a high enough position because she is a teacher of Theon.
Although she might be a commoner, what's wrong with that these days?
'I'm happy just to watch good men and women go around together, but Flora is more precious to me……!'
Cheryl thought that nothing was confirmed yet.
'I'm sorry from teacher Selina, but Mr. doesn't know how she feels yet, doesn't he? So there's still a chance.'
However, the important thing was that if the date was successful now, Flora could be at a disadvantage.
Cheryl came up with an answer after much thought.
'Let's just wait and see. If I think it's a little dangerous while watching, I can always interfere.'
Although it was for Flora, the biggest reason was that she thought it would be fun to be honest.
Cheryl immediately went into a nearby store and bought some clothes then changed into them to hide her identity and even wore sunglasses on her face.
Her disguise was perfect. Now she just had to wait and see how things would go but there was someone who watched Cheryl's appearance with an absurd expression.
'What's that?'
Hans, who was watching the situation through the newspaper, suddenly found it difficult to suppress his feelings when he saw the new person that was watching Rudger.
'She's a student, but why did she dress up as soon as she saw brother?'
She felt something was wrong with the student.
'Are they aiming for something from brother?'
Theon is the largest academy on the continent and even the students who attend there should not be seen as ordinary children.
Maybe that student knew something and was aiming for Rudger.
'Damn it. I'm in trouble. There's someone I need to watch, but I didn't expect another one to appear.'
It would have been better if the problems ended there.
Hans, who turned his eyes to Cheryl Wagner, opened his eyes when he looked at the restaurant.
"Oh?"
A familiar person just entered the entrance of the restaurant.
Hans did not have the ability to distinguish people by their backs, but the hair color that seemed familiar was clearly present in Hans' memory.
How could he not know that blue hair that was like the sky and the sea.
'The detective who followed brother three years ago!'
Casey Selmore and her assistant Betty entered the restaurant where Rudger was dining.
'It's driving me crazy!'
Hans felt dizzy.
* * *
Rudger drew information from several stories told by Selina and saw that the situation on Royal Street in the report was not an exaggeration.
In a sense, the content of the report was lacking compared to the real people's perception.
'Even so, I didn't know that not only students but also teachers would be interested.'
Rudger lent business ideas for success, and did not hesitate to invest. It was a choice made knowing that he would succeed, but he was a little dumbfounded by the much bigger achievement than he expected.
'I used my knowledge based on my memories of living on Earth, but it's much more than I expected.'
Come to think of it, he was far from cultural life and was mainly devoted to studying. It was the same in his past life, and nothing has changed much now.
As a result, he had knowledge of cultural life, but he couldn't calculate how much it would resonate with people.
'Should I say this is good or not?'
With such a large scale, the city of Leathervelk naturally had no choice but to pay attention.
Other aristocrats will notice the industry on Royal Street and try to copy it or take it away.
'The real purpose hasn't even started yet.'
This is just a basic step. In the future, Royal Street will expand its influence throughout Leathervelk's city.
It allowed children, the elderly, and women to take charge of the workplace and collect information faster and more reliably.
The heart of a huge information network made up of only members of society was the role this street will play.
By covering the entire city he'll know everything that happens.
'As a result, it's a good thing, so it's right to be happy.'
Rudger took a sip of the coffee that came with the meal and organized his thoughts. Then a new customer sat at the empty table next to him.
"By the way, Casey, why did you suddenly ask me to go here?"
"I'm here to eat because this is a famous restaurant these days."
"Then come alone. Why are you dragging me too? You know I can't eat anyway!"
"If you pretend to eat, it will be okay. Besides, how can a person eat alone?"
"You always do that when I'm not around since you don't have any friends."
"You're not going to be quiet?"
The voices of the two bickering women sounded familiar.
As Rudger naturally turned his eyes, his opponent was also turning her head this way.
"What?"
"What?"
"What?"
Just as Rudger recognized his opponent, his opponent recognized Rudger too.
Casey Selmore stared at Rudger with a look of disbelief.