"Will you two stop bickering...? Weren't we supposed to be eating?"
She voiced her dissatisfaction as well. They had finally come out for a meal, yet the two of them were still trading barbs.
"..."
The moment Ei heard her complaint, she fell silent and instinctively picked up the menu beside her, casually looking through it.
"Miko, hurry up and order... I'll pay for the meal."
The Shogun looked toward Miko on her left and urged her.
"Oh? Really? You're being so generous~?"
Miko raised an eyebrow at her.
"Haa... It's not like we eat together often. What's wrong with treating you once in a while?"
She sighed and answered.
"Shogun, the more you indulge her like this, the more often she'll come looking for free meals in the future."
Ei kindly reminded her.
"Ahem~ What kind of person do you take me for~? Ei... Don't look at me with such prejudice. In that case, I won't let the Shogun treat me. I'll treat both of you instead. How does that sound?"
Miko sounded somewhat aggrieved by Ei's words and made the suggestion.
"Is that really okay?"
Those words don't sound like something Yae Miko would ever say. Is this really the Yae Miko I know?
The Shogun grumbled inwardly.
"Then we'll trouble you..."
This time, Ei accepted without the slightest hesitation.
"..."
She turned and gave her mother a helpless look. Ei noticed her gaze and curved her lips into a barely perceptible smile, making it clear that she had done it on purpose.
"Owner, we'd like to order."
Miko did not say anything else. She simply picked up the menu, glanced over the dishes, then called out to the nearby proprietor.
"Coming~!"
The middle-aged man surnamed Okazaki, who was also the owner of the restaurant, immediately emerged from the kitchen upon hearing the familiar voice.
The moment he saw Miko, he instinctively put on the smile he reserved for regular customers. Then his gaze shifted toward the two people beside her, and his expression instantly froze. Leaving aside the one in the middle, wasn't the woman beside her the Shogun?!
Good heavens, what an honored guest! Shogun-sama had actually come to dine at his Uyuu Restaurant today?! This was an extraordinary honor.
"Oh! Isn't this Shogun-sama? Have you come to dine at my humble establishment?"
He walked over respectfully and asked.
"Indeed. I came at a friend's invitation. I hope we are not imposing."
Ei answered Okazaki before her in a modest tone.
"Oh, not at all, not at all~! Having you dine here is an honor for this establishment. Here... whatever you'd like to eat, we have it."
Okazaki hurriedly brought over the menu and let them order.
"However, let me make one thing clear. We will be paying."
Ei interjected.
"Eh? Y-Yes, of course."
Okazaki froze for a moment. He had not intended to charge them at all. Hearing this, he instinctively wanted to object, but when he met the Shogun's gaze, he swallowed the words back down.
"Then I'll start ordering~? Hmm—let's have a plate of grilled fish first, then... tempura, fried tofu, stewed tofu soup, and a small assorted side dish platter..."
Miko ordered with practiced ease. Half of what she chose consisted of her own favorites, while the other half consisted of dishes the mother and daughter beside her liked. In particular, she knew Ei enjoyed tempura, so she had deliberately ordered it for her.
"Got it~!"
Okazaki wrote everything down.
"As for drinks, Ei, what do you want—"
Miko had just been about to order alcohol, but before she could decide, she turned to ask Ei.
"No alcohol... Bring us three cups of milk tea."
The Shogun immediately frowned and cut Miko off, then spoke to Okazaki.
"Ah..."
Okazaki froze for a moment before instinctively glancing toward Miko.
"All right, all right~ Just do as she says."
Miko gave her an indulgent look before instructing Okazaki.
"Got it."
After confirming the dishes with them once more, Okazaki returned to the kitchen and began preparing the food.
"...I was actually hoping to drink a little."
After the owner left, Ei murmured softly.
"No drinking~!"
The Shogun puffed out her cheeks and cutely forbade her.
Drink what? All you ever think about is drinking...
"All right, all right. No drinking..."
Ei compromised, both helpless and obedient, with a trace of indulgence in her tone.
But truthfully, she really was craving alcohol. It had been a long time since she had drunk any. But if her daughter would not allow it, what could she do? Forget it. Milk tea was fine too. At least it was sweet.
"Pfft... Ei, even you have a day when someone keeps you in line. There are people in this world who are henpecked by their wives, so what does that make you?"
Miko teased her with a laugh. Seeing Ei being controlled by the Shogun like this was somehow amusing. But after thinking about it, she also felt somewhat emotional. She was seeing another side of the formerly stubborn and rigid woman—the side of her that was a mother.
Miko had already gotten a taste of it during the previous incident. Being a mother really was hard work. Looking at Ei now, she almost felt discouraged from ever trying it herself.
"..."
Ei narrowed her eyes and stared at her speechlessly.
"Haa~ I was only joking... Don't look at me like that."
Miko immediately backed down and changed her tune.
At that moment, a shamisen player appeared in a corner of the restaurant. Perhaps he was a musician employed here. Sitting down on a stool, he began playing a leisurely tune. The gentle sound of the shamisen filled the surroundings at just the right volume, relaxing the customers as they ate. For a time, the atmosphere became exceptionally peaceful.
"Haa... Mm..."
Listening to the melody in the background, the Shogun started to feel sleepy and covered her mouth as she let out a cute yawn. Come to think of it, she had not slept at all last night. She had stayed up the entire night because of the Test of Courage.
"Sleepy?"
Ei asked with concern upon seeing this.
"Mm... A little. Didn't I go without sleep last night?"
She asked.
"Indeed... You should rest early tonight."
Ei nodded and gently reminded her.
"Mm..."
She obediently nodded.
Several minutes later, the freshly prepared dishes were brought to the counter one after another, and the three of them began eating.
The Shogun truly was not very hungry, so she only took a few bites of food from time to time and occasionally sipped the sweet milk tea. During this time, she glanced at Ei and noticed that her mother really was hungry. Although her eating remained orderly and graceful, without the slightest hint of impropriety, the frequency with which she reached for food made it obvious. Miko, on the other hand, ate at a perfectly normal pace.
The three of them ate rather quickly. Unusually, they did not talk much during the meal. Once they were more or less finished, they did not get up and leave immediately, instead remaining seated for a while to relax, or simply enjoying their milk tea.
Slurp~
Ei took a sip of milk tea through the straw held between her delicate lips. The rich sweetness spreading across her tongue made her narrow her eyes in enjoyment.
"Shogun, you barely ate anything."
Miko looked at the younger sister beside her and said this. Although nearly all the food that had been served was gone, most of it had been finished by her and Ei. The Shogun had eaten only a few bites.
"Mm... I don't really feel like eating."
The Shogun glanced at her and gently shook her head. The straw was still between her lips, and she habitually bit down on it with her teeth, flattening the tube.
"Are you watching your figure?"
Miko teased.
"My figure? My body shouldn't be able to gain weight, right?"
The Shogun froze for a moment before instinctively looking toward her mother.
"Correct. You won't gain weight. After all, you have the body of a puppet."
Ei nodded. At the time, she had also taken into account her own habit of eating, so she had not added troublesome functions like gaining body fat. No matter how much the Shogun ate, she would never gain weight. The same was true for Ei herself. Her current physical body had been manifested from Musou Isshin, so she would not gain weight either.
"See... That's how it is."
The Shogun gave Miko a helpless look.
"Haa, having a body like yours really is wonderful. I'm honestly jealous. Do you have any idea how many girls dream of something like that?"
Miko sighed. Even she was a little envious.
"..."
Hearing this, the Shogun thought for a moment and finally understood why Ayaka sometimes deliberately controlled how much she ate during meals. So that was the reason... From time to time, she would see Ayaka standing barefoot on a scale by herself to check her weight. Every time she saw the number, Ayaka would look visibly relieved. That was the expression she wore whenever her weight had remained unchanged.
What was amusing, however, was that one time when the Shogun visited the Kamisato Estate, she happened to walk in while Ayaka was weighing herself. Ayaka had immediately turned red with embarrassment, then slowly stepped off the scale and started talking to her as though nothing had happened.