I raised my leg, "..." My physician, Doctor Phlientiea, looked at me, examining me after my physical therapy session, "I'll speak with your personal doctor, Doctor Halcation. Though for now, we'll keep to having your therapy sessions; though I really can't say much for your condition."

  "... understood..." I knew I wasn't normal, but I still hoped that my condition would be better.

  "There has been improvement - but I still urge and recommend you not to overexert yourself." Doctor Phlientiea said as she wrote something down, "Do you have any concerns before we conclude today's therapy session Miss Teseia?"

  ... I tried thinking, but nothing came to... I shook my head, "No, nothing Doctor."

  "Then you are good - I will see you again at your scheduled appointment."

  "Thank you Doctor. Likewise, I will see you at my next appointment as well." I nod and courteously bow before leaving.

  Leaving and heading to the first floor, I look around the waiting area to see her - Cecelia.

  "Alicia!"

  "I'm back Cecelia." I smiled seeing her; she stood from her seat and walked towards me.

  "Yes, I'm back." I reply as Cecelia stands next to me. "Shall we get going?"

  "Unn!" Cecelia happily replied as she gave a nod. With that, we both left the hospital together.

  We didn't really have anywhere in mind. Cecelia decided that she wanted to come to my therapy appointment with me, and I didn't have any reason to decline. On our way here, I decided it would also be nice to take her out for once - though I didn't really have anywhere in mind.

  Regardless, seeing her as enthusiastic as she was, I felt like it was only right to let her enjoy herself.

  There was plenty to do in Thersia. Only problem was that despite us being closer now, I didn't know much about Cecelia. I could ask what she wanted to do, but I felt like it was a bit cheap to literally just ask and do what she wanted to do - I felt there wasn't much thought put into it besides acting on what she wanted.

  ... actually... An idea came to me. Back on a certain day - when she bought things to cook with, only for me to interrupt her during our—... troubled times. I didn't know exactly if it was something she enjoyed, but I figured it was worth going for. When in doubt, I could just cim our outing for lunch.

  With Cecelia, I took her to a pce I had in mind. It was in the Thersia Unity Shopping Mall, a somewhat rge multistory mall with quite a few shops and a rge dining area located a bit away from the station. Though there was really only one pce in the mall I had in mind; a casual, somewhat higher-end seafood family restaurant.

  It was something I saw before on the day I dealt with the girl who harassed Cecelia. I saw it but didn't really give it much thought, as there were other pces that caught my eye that day. Though now with Cecelia, the restaurant came to mind as something she might enjoy.

  Seeing Cecelia look around, I simply smiled. Her curious gaze looking around the streets of Thersia at the buildings was cute. The various small stores, restaurants, and cafes at ground level gave her plenty to look around at. I kept in mind her gazes, as she looked around at the storefronts as we passed by through the streets; soon enough we arrived at Thersia Shopping Mall together.

  "Anywhere you have in mind?" I ask, mostly wondering if there was somewhere she really wanted to go. If there was a pce she wanted to go to, I would take her.

  "No, I—um, where do you want to go?" Hearing that she didn't have a pce in mind, I smiled.

  "Just follow me then - I'll take you somewhere."

  The mall at Thersia, unlike the South Astoria Central Commerce Mall wasn't packed. The South Astoria Central Commerce Mall was... it wasn't packed, but it was busy. The Thersia Shopping Mall on the other hand was normal... by normal, there was a consistent flow of people in a manner that wasn't bustling during the middle of a business day.

  With that, I didn't have to worry too much about losing Cecelia as I guided her with me to the restaurant I had in mind.

  "... Huh—!" The restaurant came into view, and looking at Cecelia, it seemed she too realized my intentions, "We—you don't have to... Alicia..."

  "Take it as a treat from me," I smile, "besides, just accept it as thanks for being willing to accompany me today."

  "But—but... I... forced myself—,"

  "No buts—alright?" I cut off her thoughts, keeping my smile. Sensing my intentions, Cecelia simply goes quiet without fussing.

  Her tendencies toward self-doubt and self-bme were slowly going away, but not entirely gone. I did my best to help, but I needed to remind her at times. I tried my best not to be mean in that regard, but I made my point clear through what I hoped were friendly, yet slightly intimidating smiles to push my point across. So far, whenever Cecelia's self-bme tendencies resurface, my friendly-intimidating smiles have worked to convey my intention that she isn't to bme. She also hasn't argued or said anything with me with either, so I found no reason to change so far.

  "Anyways, let's go eat." Beaming a smile, I simply went ahead toward the restaurant. Gncing back, Cecelia followed behind me despite her reservations earlier.

  We both enter together, and speaking with the worker at the front desk I book us both seating together. There were others nearby - parents with their young kids. Despite this being a more upscale establishment, the pce was retively family friendly. Looking at our table, it appeared the ordering was done through a digital screen in the center of the table that showcased all the menu items. I looked at screen with all the list of menu items alongside Cecelia, looking if there was anything that caught my eye as well.

  "Anything you want?" I ask, gncing and seeing Cecelia's intent look at the screen.

  "..." Yet her stare at the screen was intent... Well, I figured so; I scrolled past the item I was sure she was looking at and saw her slightly slump her shoulders, seeming a little disappointed. I pretended I didn't see that and simply scrolled back up looking like I was browsing the menu; with the item she wanted on the screen we shared.

  "I'm going to pce an order here, just add whatever you want." I told Cecelia as I started adding things to order through the digital screen.

  Little did I know though, our order ended up being rger than I thought it would be. There were some things I saw that looked interesting, but I honestly doubted our ability to eat everything. We ordered four main dishes alongside desserts and drinks - though really Cecelia ordered three dishes and I ordered desserts afterwards. We could take the leftover food home, but still...

  I just smiled and accepted it for what it was. I'm sure Cecelia would love to have whatever she ordered, even if it was reheated at home.

  "Is that all?" I asked, seeing everything we ordered.

  "Unn." Cecelia nodded, and with that I pressed order on the screen. With that, we sat together and simply waited for what we order to arrive. "Um—Alicia, when did... everything with your leg happen?"

  "Well—," I thought back to my first gym css, "It was... It is a long story..." I went on to expin that particur day and my embarrassing situation - from myself, Kristiea, and Kaeu, and the events that unfolded that day. Honestly—I couldn't keep to expining that day without letting out a few sighs realizing how much more embarrassing it all was in hindsight. Finished expining, I then expined my general condition and how it impacted me now.

  "... sorry..." Cecelia said—, "Sorry for not... noticing, Alicia..."

  "It's okay... it was—,"

  "Your food is here." A waiter came with our food and drinks. Seeing the dishes id across the table, our thoughts drifted from our conversation to the food in front of us. "I'll bring your desserts in a few minutes once you two are done eating."

  "Thank you.""Th—thank you..." Both me and Cecelia thank the waiter as he left.

  It left us here with all our food in front of us. We slowly started organizing our food to who ordered it, which ended up with me with one dish and Cecelia with three. Beside our food were our drinks, water for me and soda for Cecelia.

  "Let's eat." Breaking the silence, we began eating with my words.

  My dish was simply pasta with seafood. Despite cooking pretty frequently, I wasn't that knowledgeable about food beyond simple home cooking. Cecelia had on her side a bunch of small cuts of breaded fish for one dish, one was a bunch of small balls of... something; I had no idea what the small balls were, but they did look good. Her st dish was a sandwich with a fillet of fish.

  With our dishes id out, I took a bite of my pasta. It was good, though I couldn't really do it justice - I was never really good at describing fvors or food. Looking at Cecelia who was munching away at the small cuts of breaded fish, she seemed beyond happy... She really was a simple girl in that regard, so much so I couldn't help but smile.

  I finished my dish soon enough, though looking at Cecelia, it looked like she had her fill by the time she finished her sandwich. She ate some of her sticks of breaded fish, but the balls she ordered were still untouched. "Ordered too much?"

  "... nn..." Cecelia uttered, seemingly full and unable to coherently respond. I simply smiled at the sight of her stuffed to the brim, seeing her for what she is and the foodie she is.

  "Hehe—we still have desserts, so don't think we're done." I said before taking a sip of my drink.

  "...!" Seeing her surprised, I smile, amused by her shock.

  I simply watch Cecelia as she writhe in her seat after her rge meal, waiting for our desserts to come. After some time, the waiter who served us came back with four small ptes. On the ptes were the desserts I ordered in pairs, a pair of chocote cake slices and a pair of ptes that had a few small, yet soft looking cookies on them. "Would you two like anything else?" He asked.

  I shook my head, "No, thank you. Though could we get a few trays 'to go'?"

  "Of course. I'll bring it to you alongside your tab when you both are done."

  "Thank you." I thanked the waiter who smiled before turning to leave. With him gone now, it was simply us two and our desserts together. "Are you okay to eat Cecelia?"

  "Un..." She nodded and sat back up straight, taking the spoon for the dessert in her hand.

  Taking my own spoon, I dug into the small slice of cake before bringing it to my mouth—it was pleasantly sweet, and the soft texture of the cake felt nice. Looking at Cecelia, it looked like she also enjoyed the cake judging by how her face began to soften.

  After finishing the piece of cake she had just eaten, her gaze met with mine, "Is—is there something on me?"

  I shook my head, "No, just admiring how you looked when you ate the cake."

  "I—... please don't stare so intently..." I smile at her before resuming to eat my own cake.

  Our desserts were quickly eaten. The cookies were good, but the cake was what I enjoyed the most. With everything done, I remembered the screen and pressed on it to request our dining tab. Soon enough our waiter arrived with the tab for everything we ordered.

  "Was everything good, you two?"

  "Yes, everything was good. Thank you." I thank the waiter politely as I look at our tab's receipt - 7731 Marks... I begin taking out the amount of Imperial Marks it cost, before putting it with the tab. "The tab should have everything."

  "Thank you very much." He said before taking the tab.

  With him gone, I hand the small containers over to Cecelia. "You can pack your food Cecelia." She nods and begins to pack her food into the containers.

  Soon enough, our waiter comes back, "Here is your receipt, I hope you both the best."

  I take the receipt and put it in my bag, "Thank you, you as well." I returned his polite farewell before looking at Cecelia who finished packing her food. "Ready?"

  "Unn!" She nods, standing with the bag of to-go containers.

  "Let's go." We leave the restaurant and head back home for the day.