Vincent blinked as he tried to process what she was saying. He glanced at the cup of coffee.

"This? This smells like death?" Vincent asked. He didn't even know deaths had a scent.

Gloxinia nodded.

"It's the scent I always smelled whenever I encounter death," she said. She wasn't particularly fond of the strong scent, but she was so curious about this mysterious water that she leaned forward to sniff some more.

"I had no idea…" Vincent trailed off as he stared at his cup of coffee.

So that was how Gloxinia recognized him as an angel of death as soon as they met for the first time.

The waitress came back with Gloxinia's food in tow. While she was placing down the dish, Vincent stood up.

"I'm going to the washroom for a bit. Go ahead and eat," Vincent said. Gloxinia nodded before returning her attention to the food in front of her.

She never tasted a katsu sandwich before, but its photo was so appealing that she decided to choose it. She was not disappointed. The real thing looked as tasty as it looked on the menu.

A lean cut of meat coated with crispy breadcrumbs fried until it turned perfectly golden brown, sandwiched in between two loaves of bread and cut into two pieces. On its side was a mountain of golden fries and a variety of sauces to dip the sandwich and fries into.

At least that was how the waitress explained it to her.

The waitress then left again while saying that she would bring over the dessert once Gloxinia was finished with her meal. When Gloxinia placed Vincent's phone down to start eating, it rang.

It was an incoming call from Dead Daddy.

Feeling like she shouldn't pick it up carelessly, Gloxinia just watched it ring for a few seconds before the rings stopped. She was going to turn her attention back to her food, but it rang again.

Maybe it's important, Gloxinia thought.

She grabbed the phone and picked up the call, then pressed the phone against her ear.

"Hello? Vincent is away at the moment," Gloxinia said.

[ Ah, ] a voice of a young man said from the other side of the call. The man let out a small chuckle.

[ Hello, child, ] he said again in a gentle tone, as if he was coaxing a child.

Before Gloxinia could respond, the phone was suddenly snatched away from her.

She looked up and there was Vincent, standing by her side, with an annoyed expression.

"Hello, I'm here," Vincent said into the phone with his eyebrows knitted. He was avoiding Gloxinia's gaze.

Gloxinia then hung her head down and just stared at her food. Was it her fault he was annoyed? Should she not have done that?

She could hear the unknown man's voice through the phone at times, but she couldn't discern what he was talking about. Vincent wasn't reacting to whatever he said, that much she knew.

"...Understood," Vincent said before he hung up.

He took a seat while leaving his phone on the table. He then noticed that Gloxinia was looking glum as she held the fork and knife in her hands, leaving her food untouched.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked.

Gloxinia glanced up at his face after hearing his voice. He didn't look angry, but he didn't look like he was particularly pleased either.

"Sorry for picking it up without your permission," Gloxinia said.

Apologizing was one of the things Lilly would always emphasize on. Because Gloxinia knew that it wasn't right to pick up a call not intended for her, she didn't hesitate for a second to apologize.

Seeing her apologize to him so directly with her eyes looking straight at his, Vincent was a bit taken aback. After more than a hundred years of existing, Vincent was used to seeing people hesitate to apologize because they didn't want to admit what they did wrong. Humans were unchanging in that aspect.

Gloxinia, on the other hand, directly admitted her wrongdoings and apologized before he could even bring it up.

Seeing that somehow brought a little smile to his face.

"It's fine…" Vincent paused for a second, then continued. "Just be careful to not do it again."

Gloxinia nodded firmly. She would definitely keep it in mind. She would never want to offend Vincent.

Feeling a lot better after apologizing, Gloxinia then started to chomp down on her katsu sandwich. Thankfully, it hadn't cooled down much yet.

---

Shopping bags hanging on both arms.

She was carrying so many, just like what one would see in comics or movies. One would think she raided an entire store if they saw her.

"..."

Vincent was rendered speechless. He glanced at her expression—she had a look of satisfaction on her face, as if she just won a battle.

"They all looked good," Gloxinia said before Vincent could even say a word.

After leaving the cafe, they went back to the clothes store they went to earlier to pick up the stuff Gloxinia asked them to keep. It turned out to be a surprise for Vincent.

He thought she would only buy one set she could wear immediately. He would never have thought she would actually buy a bunch.

Vincent observed her. She didn't look like she was struggling with carrying them, but she did look uncomfortable with the amount of bags.

They were now at the front door, waiting for Gloxinia's taxi to arrive to get her home. She was only standing, but she felt her excitement popping off the charts.

Gloxinia turned to look up at Vincent.

"Thank you for accompanying me," she said while grinning.

Vincent stared at her for a while. Since he wasn't saying anything, she tilted her head in confusion. The little gesture seemed to jolt Vincent into reality.

"You're welcome," he replied.

Just then, the taxi came and Gloxinia boarded on it with Vincent helping her with the shopping bags. He closed the door for her and she waved at him inside the car.

He couldn't hear them inside the car, but the driver looked like he said something to Gloxinia since she turned her head to him with a confused look. The window in front of her then rolled down and Gloxinia gasped in surprise.

Her eyes twinkled, like a kid discovering something amazing. She looked up at Vincent while pointing at the window repeatedly.

"Did you see that?" she asked.

Seeing her, Vincent chuckled with his hand covering his mouth.

"Get home safely," he then said.

"Mhm! See you at school!" Gloxinia said. The taxi then started moving, but she was still waving at him. Vincent could faintly hear the driver scolding her to not stick her body out of a moving car as they drove away.

When the car was out of his sight, Vincent turned around and headed towards the side of the mall where not many people were around. As he walked, his shirt gradually changed into a black blazer with a black trench coat draped over his shoulder. His hair was slicked up, revealing his forehead, and black gloves were covering both of his hands.

He took out his phone and dialed a number.

It rang for a second before the other side picked up.

"The details please, Sir," he said into the phone.

[ Done with your date already? ] Vincent's superior, the self-proclaimed Dead Daddy, said in a teasing tone.

"..." Vincent stayed silent.

[ Okay, okay. Geez. I'm sending them to you as we speak, ] the superior said after feeling Vincent's silent fury even from a distance.

[ Aaand, done. ]

Just as the superior said that, a glass sphere in the size of a palm appeared in front of Vincent. He reached out to the sphere before it landed on his hand that was not holding the phone.

"Thank you," Vincent said as he stared at the sphere.

[ Okay, go on. Death does not wait for anyone! ] the superior said cheerfully, as if he was just cheering for Vincent in a sports competition.

"...If possible, can you please assign someone else starting from next week? I have finals in two weeks," Vincent said.

He was well aware of how ridiculous he just sounded. Even his superior went silent at that.

[ Pfft. Yeah. Okay. Sure. Study hard, son, ] the superior said. He tried to sound like a cool adult advising his child, but Vincent could hear very clearly that he was holding back his laughter.

This is punishment in the first place, Vincent repeated in his mind. This is punishment.

He hung up before he had to listen to any more of his superior's ramblings, then turned his attention back to the sphere.

The sphere reflected a young boy on a hospital bed, looking like he was very much in pain.

Vincent closed his eyes.

"...I wonder if I'll smell like coffee again," he muttered before walking off.