This was already the second time having a meal with Senpai, but unlike the slightly awkward atmosphere from last time, it now felt much more harmonious.
This was probably thanks to a certain lady's consistently gentle questions.
Natsume, who had been eating by herself the whole time, finally managed to cut in. A little unhappily, she glanced at the two chatting enthusiastically beside her.
Even though she was the one treating, she'd been completely ignored—how annoying.
But Natsume wasn't a petty person. She actually quite liked the current atmosphere.
"Really? So little Rakko-chan is in the orchestra at school?"
A certain lady clasped her hands beside her chin, asking with clear interest. It seemed the topic had moved to that instrument case.
"Yes, I've always loved music."
Yumiya's eyes were uncharacteristically evasive, a trace of panic in them. With some effort, she steadied herself and nodded in reply.
Normally, she could mask her emotions perfectly—blending into crowds during missions, her demeanor and actions just like any ordinary passerby. But right now, she was visibly flustered.
That kind of expression, which clearly screamed 'something's wrong,' was impossible to hide from anyone.
"Actually, when I was in school, I was in the choir. I love music too."
Her face still holding a faint smile, as if she hadn't noticed the other's strange behavior, Tomoyo-san spoke reminiscently.
"Eh, not the literature club?"
"That was even earlier."
Faced with this interruption from the background character, the lady tilted her head and looked at Natsume.
"Rakko-chan, if possible, I'd like you to become friends with Sonoko-chan."
With a shift in topic, the situation changed. The lady suddenly brought up Natsume, her tone becoming a bit more formal.
"Eh, Mom, what are you saying all of a sudden?"
Natsume, who was sitting to the side, tried to interject, but seemed to be selectively ignored by the two beside her. She never imagined her mom had already seen through their relationship.
"So you noticed."
Yumiya Rakko's face flushed slightly as she spoke with sincerity.
Yumiya Rakko now was completely different from when she was working in the Dark Side.
The work in the Dark Side was just a job—one that let her lose herself in the hunt. Someone like her was naturally suited for the Dark Side.
But in her daily life, she was just an ordinary student, also yearning for attention and affection.
Academy City mass-produced people who wore two masks. Judging someone from just one aspect made it easy to mistake their true heart.
Environment often determined how a person survived, be it in the light or the dark. You could only see a person's true nature in the mundane, ordinary days of daily life.
Natsume always saw people in a one-sided way, but that was because she couldn't see their true hearts.
Aside from a mind-reading Level 5 like Shokuhou Misaki, anyone could only judge what someone was like based on their actions.
Just like how Natsume deeply despised Accelerator, yet he had a good relationship with Last Order. Perhaps it was because they had spent their ordinary days together.
"Although Sonoko invited you to eat together, it feels like there's a barrier between you two. She doesn't really talk to you, just eats by herself."
Tomoyo-san spread her hands parallel, as if measuring an invisible gate.
"So I wondered if Sonoko was still just thanking you for that help before."
Right in front of her own daughter, the lady got straight to the point.
Though she didn't know the specifics of the help, it must have been very important to her daughter—enough to leave a lasting impression. Even when introducing her earlier, she'd only mentioned the help.
"I'd like that very much, but Natsume-san, she…"
Halfway through her sentence, Yumiya Rakko hesitated.
What bothered her more were the words Gokusai Kaibi had said that day—they'd been weighing on her mind.
But facing the two strikingly similar faces before her, Yumiya Rakko's thoughts grew a little distracted, as if she'd returned to the day Natsume treated her to a meal.
"Of course, we can."
Natsume thought for a good while, then glanced at her mom and Yumiya-senpai before nodding firmly.
She actually did want to make friends.
Their previous distance was only because Yumiya-senpai had been avoiding her—similar to how she acted toward Accelerator, though the reasons seemed different.
Still, this would be Natsume's first friend from the Dark Side.
She didn't know how to handle their relationship, so she decided to just stop overthinking it. After all, that's how Natsume always operated.
If there was a chance in the future, Natsume still planned to pull her out of the Dark Side's abyss.
Come to think of it, this girl was pretty self-centered, always judging right and wrong by her own values—and incredibly stubborn about it too. Who knew where she got that hardheadedness from.
Back when she knocked out the Sisters to stop the experiment, their perspectives were completely different from hers.
But Natsume chose to ignore their opinions, firmly following her own resolve to stop them, destroying what they called their 'reason for living.' Looking at it that way, Natsume was practically a villain of the worst sort.
"That's wonderful. Don't be fooled by how Sonoko acts—she actually keeps a lot bottled up inside. She always needs friends to look after her."
The lady said with a smile.
"Look after her…?"
Yumiya Rakko was momentarily stunned, her thoughts stumbling.
"I understand."
But she quickly nodded. Yumiya-senpai's gaze drifted toward Natsume, only to find the bun-girl staring dumbly at her own mother, clearly thinking, 'How do you know all this?'
Yumiya Rakko's face, however, held nothing but sincerity—she wasn't just treating it as a polite remark.
"I took psychology electives in university, and besides—I'm your parent."
Blinking, a slightly playful expression on her face, the lady answered the question in someone's heart.
But this only made Yumiya-senpai even more fidgety. No doubt the lie she'd told earlier had been seen through as well.
The dinner lasted until evening. After saying goodbye to her new friend, Yumiya-senpai, Natsume finally headed with her mom toward a hotel near Central Square.
They didn't take any transportation, just walked at a normal pace—good for digestion after a meal.
Now that she thought about it, it'd been a long time since Natsume had taken a stroll with family like this. There was even a transparent suitcase floating mid-air beside them, giving her a taste of what it might be like to be a pilot.
And thanks to her meddling mom, her attitude toward that senpai had finally changed a little.
"Oh, I remember—I have some good news to tell you, Sonoko-chan." As they walked, Tomoyo-san suddenly turned back.
"What good news?" Natsume tilted her head.
"The Daidouji Group has already arranged to purchase a building in School District 15 of Academy City, to set up a branch here." Tomoyo-san said, sounding rather mysterious.
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.