"Cooking is mostly a matter of practice. If you make the same dish often enough, you will gradually get closer to a result you are satisfied with."
"Mm. It looks like I will have to work harder, then."
Beside the deeply aggrieved Mr. Miyazono, his wife continued chatting happily with Yuto.
Somehow, watching the two of them converse so pleasantly only made him feel even more wronged.
After a little more small talk, all three members of the Miyazono family placed their orders.
From the moment Yuto began cooking until the dishes were finally served, Kaori continued waiting expectantly for Miku to arrive.
However, no matter how long she waited, Miku still did not appear.
Instead, Fafnir arrived.
And today, he was not alone.
Walking beside him was Lucoa, who had been absent from the restaurant for several days.
The moment Tohru saw her, her expression immediately brightened.
She completely ignored Fafnir, who simply collected a gaming headset and walked away without ceremony, and hurried over to greet Lucoa instead.
"Lucoa! Why haven't you come by lately?"
Lucoa wore the same relaxed smile as always.
Her clothing was every bit as revealing as usual, and no matter how many times Yuto saw her, he still found himself marveling at her truly oceanic... generosity.
"There was a gathering of gods on Mount Olympus recently. They invited me over, and before I knew it, I ended up staying there and having fun for several days~~~"
Lucoa stuck out her tongue with a slightly sheepish expression.
On an ordinary girl, the gesture might have looked merely playful.
On Lucoa, however, that playful behavior combined with her mature charm in a way that was dangerously eye-catching.
"They actually invited you?!"
Tohru looked genuinely shocked.
Lucoa rested her cheek against one hand and thought about it for a moment.
"Well, I have known them for a very long time~"
She smiled as though it were nothing particularly remarkable.
Lucoa might normally appear to be nothing more than a mature, easygoing woman, but her true identity could never be ignored.
Her full name represented one of the highest-ranking divine beings found in mythology.
She simply happened to be retired now.
"By the way, what are you and Kanna doing over there?" Lucoa asked curiously. "Why aren't you sitting with everyone else? And Kanna looks like she is... rather angry."
She had barely finished speaking when—
Snap!
The pencil in Kanna's hand broke cleanly in two.
The little girl's expression had become frighteningly dark, and when she slowly looked toward Yuto, the resentment in her eyes practically overflowed.
Lucoa glanced strangely at him before tilting her head.
"Um... well..." Tohru smiled awkwardly. "Kanna has homework today. Since I am her guardian, I have to stay beside her while she works. It is better that way."
She was far too embarrassed to admit that both she and Kanna were currently being punished by Yuto.
That would be unbearably humiliating.
"Oh... All right, then."
Lucoa nodded thoughtfully.
She could clearly tell that Tohru was not telling the entire truth, but she decided not to press the matter.
To be honest, Tohru and Kanna looked rather entertaining like this.
Perhaps watching quietly would be even more amusing.
"Good luck, you two."
Lucoa clenched one fist in encouragement toward Tohru and Kanna before turning toward Yuto without the slightest hesitation.
Tohru's face immediately turned gray.
For one brief moment, she had been hoping Lucoa might somehow rescue her from this miserable fate.
Apparently, that dream was already dead.
"Kamisaka-kun, give me a huge mug of alcohol! Fill it all the way to the top!"
Lucoa smiled brightly while gesturing enthusiastically with her hands to emphasize just how large she wanted the mug to be.
"Sure. Anything besides alcohol? What would you like to eat?"
"Barbecue, obviously! Nothing goes better with alcohol than meat!"
"The same order as always, then."
"Hehe. Sometimes, sticking faithfully to tradition is a form of dedication~"
Lucoa laughed.
She had clearly meant it as a joke, yet somehow the words sounded surprisingly reasonable.
Yuto filled an enormous mug and handed it across the counter.
Lucoa immediately lifted it with one hand, tilted her head back, and began drinking.
Glug, glug, glug—
She drained the entire mug in one uninterrupted breath.
Her drinking style was unbelievably bold, carrying the spirit of someone who could swallow mountains and rivers together with the alcohol.
"Ahhh~~~ That really hits the spot! Drinking here is much more enjoyable!"
Lucoa placed the empty mug directly in front of Yuto.
The meaning could not have been clearer.
Another one!
"Was drinking at the gathering of gods not enjoyable?"
Yuto teased as he picked up the empty mug.
Lucoa rested her head against one hand and looked faintly troubled.
"I would not say it was unpleasant. It is simply that drinking here feels more satisfying." She sighed with genuine feeling.
"Ah... perhaps that is the restaurant's magic."
"If you keep saying things like that, I am going to start becoming proud of myself."
Yuto laughed while already refilling her mug.
The alcohol poured steadily into the cup with a continuous glugging sound, and a thick layer of foam gradually rose across the surface like densely packed clouds.
"I am only telling the truth!"
By the time Lucoa finished speaking, another full mug had already appeared in front of her.
Her face immediately brightened.
She eagerly grabbed the handle and was preparing to empty the second mug just as quickly as the first when someone suddenly interrupted her.
"Hey! Lucoa! Don't drink by yourself! Come drink with me!"
The little alcoholic sitting at one of the tables shouted excitedly toward her.
One glance at Suika's already half-drunken expression made it obvious that she had consumed quite a lot before Lucoa even arrived.
"Ah! Suika, you are here too! This is perfect~~~ Ah~~~ Having someone to drink with makes me so happy~~~"
Lucoa immediately stood and happily made her way toward Suika's table.
Yuto watched her leave before returning to the kitchen and beginning to prepare her barbecue.
Halfway through cooking, the restaurant door slid open again.
This time, the person a certain girl had been waiting for finally arrived.
The instant Kaori saw Miku and the others enter, a brilliant smile spread across her face.
"Miku-chan!"
She called out loudly.
Miku's own expression immediately brightened when she saw her.
"Kaori!"
Although the two girls had only met once before, that single meeting had apparently been enough for them to become friends.
Sometimes, friendships between girls formed remarkably quickly and for reasons that were difficult for anyone else to explain.
"I brought my violin~"
Kaori lightly patted the case resting beside her seat.
There was even a slightly smug smile on her face, as though she were proudly presenting proof that she had remembered her promise.
...
By the time Yuto came out of the kitchen, Miku and the others had already taken their seats and were chatting happily with Kaori.
Only Miku, Tianyi, and Yuezheng Ling had come today.
Luka, who usually accompanied them, was nowhere to be seen.
"Luka did not come today?"
Yuto walked over and asked curiously.
"Mm. We accumulated quite a lot of work during the holiday, so Luka-nee went to take care of it."
Miku looked up at him with a smile.
"Oh?" Tianyi immediately turned toward Yuto with a teasing grin. "Boss seems unusually concerned about Luka-nee. Could it be that you and Luka-nee... hehe~"
"Sorry to disappoint you, but you are thinking far too much into it. I only asked because things looked different from usual."
Yuto answered helplessly.
"Tianyi, do not joke about things like that!" Miku immediately scolded her. "Be careful, or I will tell Luka-nee what you said when we get back!"
Tianyi puffed out her cheeks.
She clearly wanted to argue, but the moment she remembered how strict Luka could be, every word she had been preparing died in her throat.
"Hahahaha! Tianyi really never learns."
Yuezheng Ling laughed freely beside her.
Combined with her neat and stylish clothing, that uninhibited laughter gave her an especially carefree air.
"Ling is bullying me! Hmph!"
Tianyi pouted and complained at her friend like an immature child.
That only made Yuezheng Ling laugh even harder.
Once the girls finally settled down, Yuto smiled and asked,
"So, what would everyone like to eat tonight?"
"Hmm... Tonight..." Miku thought for a moment before suddenly raising one hand with enthusiasm.
"I feel like having curry. Chicken curry!"
"As for me..." Yuezheng Ling considered her choice for a little longer. "I am craving sweet-and-sour pork tenderloin. You can make that, right, Boss?"
"Of course. No problem."
Compared with Miku and Yuezheng Ling, who at least took a moment to consider their choices, Tianyi was far more decisive.
"I want both chicken curry and sweet-and-sour pork!"
She raised her hand enthusiastically.
"And make both portions extra large!"
After writing down their orders, Yuto suddenly became curious about something.
It had nothing to do with the dishes themselves.
His attention had shifted toward Tianyi.
"Do idols not usually have to pay close attention to their figures? Are you really all right eating that much?"
Yuto looked at her curiously.
His gaze instinctively traveled over her figure, as though he were genuinely trying to determine whether she had gained any weight recently.
Tianyi immediately became irritated.
"Do not look me up and down like that!" she protested. "I might eat a lot, but I exercise all the time too! Maintaining my figure is not something I need to worry about!"
The longer she spoke, the prouder she became.
Unfortunately for her, the two girls sitting beside her immediately exposed the truth.
"Oh? Is that really true?" Miku blinked innocently. "Aren't you only eating without restraint because we are on holiday right now? And Tianyi... when exactly have you ever exercised?"
On the other side, Yuezheng Ling looked equally puzzled.
"Yeah, Tianyi. When do you exercise? How come I have never seen it either?"
Their perfectly coordinated attack left Tianyi completely speechless with embarrassment.
Her face rapidly turned an impossibly deep shade of red.
"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!!!"
She cried out like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.
That only caused Miku and Yuezheng Ling to burst into laughter together.
"You should probably still eat a little less, though," Yuezheng Ling eventually advised more seriously. "If you gain weight later, losing it again will be miserable."
Tianyi hesitated.
For a moment, the conflict on her face was obvious.
Eventually, however, she reluctantly nodded.
"Then... no extra portions. Normal servings are fine..."
She looked deeply unwilling as she said it, almost as though someone had just forced her to make an unbearable sacrifice.
Yuto could not help smiling.
"All right. Please wait a little."
He then returned to the kitchen.
Erina and Hisako were still busy inside, continuing to prepare one dish after another for Yuyuko.
From the moment the ghost princess had started eating until now, her mouth had practically never stopped moving.
Naturally, that meant Erina and Hisako had barely stopped working either.
Yuto could already see fine beads of sweat gathering across their foreheads.
After noticing how busy they were, he decided not to assign them any additional work.
He would prepare the chicken curry and sweet-and-sour pork himself.
Compared with the curry, the pork tenderloin required more time because it needed to be marinated first.
Yuto therefore sliced the pork into suitable pieces, placed them into the marinade, and set them aside before turning his attention toward the curry.
A dish such as chicken curry was relatively straightforward to prepare.
Once the vegetables and meat had been stir-fried properly, all that remained was to add the curry and allow everything to simmer together until the flavors fully blended.
As long as the heat was controlled carefully, there was very little chance of anything going seriously wrong.