#;; but have I mentioned I adore Kitchen Princess so much?? It's my top fav manga

[abrasife]

@unladielike * ✶ ❪ cont. from here┊☓ ❫

Prepared to turn around and leave since he had picked up Rachael's manga, Keith was pretty much ready to put this conversation to a close, especially since it seemed his apology fell on deaf ears for a good few (too long) seconds. If anything, he was quite resigned to have yet another attempt at forming friendships go down the drain. When would the pattern change anyway? He'd muck it up the moment he slipped out of being overly cautious and apprehensive about what he chose to share. Being honest hardly ever went in his favor. He was getting tired of the feeling of having to constantly apologize for nearly every outburst like this.

Then, Vivian finally broke the silence, accepting his apology with a sigh. Visibly baffled, the boy froze in his tracks like a deer in headlights as the girl browsed the shelf of shoujo titles. Breaking out of his disbelief, Keith tucked his book underneath his arm. He didn't think... he'd get this far. What was he even supposed to say to recovery from the sheer awkwardness that was salvaging a conversation like this?

❝ If it helps, I do this to almost everyone, siblings and family included, ❞ Keith replied in a low volume, unsure if the comment would actually make her feel better.

He turned his attention to the row of books in front of him, hoping that the art and the act of browsing would relief him of his apprehension. Was there a series he'd want to study the art of? Even if he wasn't super fond of the writing, the art was something to admire in ways with how detailed and cute it looked. It never hurt to expand his artistic horizons after all. It might make it easier to gain more clients as he dabbled more into digital art, considering many were into the anime and manga art styles.

At her question, he looked towards her with confusion on his face, only for his expression to shift immediately when he realized the misunderstanding, ❝ Oh, uh, both my sisters are older than me, ❞ he corrected her, ❝ and like I said before, Rachael likes these sorts of things—helps her feel happy. ❞

Noticing a thick volume of manga—an omnibus edition—that had an appealing title, Keith carefully pulled it off the shelf, flipping it over to the back side to read the summary—a cute cooking manga featuring a youthful female protagonist looking for the owner of a special spoon at a prestigious academy. As he opened the back pages, he saw a small collection of cooking recipes, igniting his interest immensely. Okay, he had to grab this one!

Keith scanned the shelves for the other volumes in the series, but it seemed that he would be unlucky in that regard. Maybe it was luck that he stumbled upon this considering how much older it was compared to these new releases on the shelf.

❝ I didn't realize there was cooking series like this, but I got to find the other volumes in this one and try out all the recipes. , ❞ he spoke aloud, not really sure how else to streamline his thoughts into the conversation. He briefly glanced back at Vivian, unsure if he should really ask her considering how she had mentioned shoujo wasn't her thing, ❝ Err, do you know of any other places I could potentially find the rest of this— ❞ Keith flipped the omnibus manga to the front cover to confirm the title, ❝ —'Kitchen Princess' series? ❞ If it wasn't obvious, he wasn't exactly a manga or book buyer connoisseur.