By the time Tianyi finally finished eating, it was also time for the three girls to leave.
Miku and Ling had only ordered one dish each, so they had finished well before Tianyi.
While waiting for their friend to work her way through the last of her food, the two had spent the remaining time chatting casually with Yuto.
"All right, we should get going too. Our little vacation is almost over."
Miku stretched lazily as she spoke, smiling toward Yuto.
As she raised both arms above her head, the soft curves of her figure became particularly noticeable, her slender body arching slightly like a delicate crescent moon.
"Eh? We're going back to work tomorrow?!"
Tianyi, who had only just swallowed her final mouthful, stared at Miku in complete shock.
Her expression immediately darkened.
Even so, a faint glimmer of desperate hope still remained in her eyes.
She was clearly praying that Miku was only joking.
"Of course we are. Luka-nee has already gone back to work, remember? We're starting again tomorrow too." Miku stared at her as though she were looking at an idiot. "Don't tell me you actually forgot."
Under normal circumstances, Tianyi would have become indignant the instant Miku looked at her like that.
Unfortunately, after learning that her vacation was ending tomorrow, she no longer had enough energy left to feel offended.
"She probably remembered nothing except the food and completely forgot that work existed."
Ling laughed from beside them, the teasing in her eyes unmistakable.
Tianyi, however, had already fallen into such complete despair that she could not even summon the motivation to argue back.
"All right, get up. Let's go." Miku sighed helplessly. "Tomorrow is going to be exhausting. A nationally famous girl idol group suddenly disappearing for several days without explanation... Our fans have practically turned the entire internet upside down."
They had certainly enjoyed their vacation.
The internet, on the other hand, had been anything but peaceful.
Otherwise, Luka would not have been spending today working overtime just to deal with the aftermath.
Tianyi reluctantly rose from her seat.
As she did, she continued muttering under her breath, and from what everyone nearby could make out, most of those complaints seemed to involve food in one way or another.
The others could not help laughing.
"Kamisaka-kun, thank you for the meal." Miku gave Yuto a slight bow with a smile. "I don't know when we'll be able to come again."
Yuto waved one hand, a warm smile appearing on his face.
"Whenever you come, you'll always be welcome."
"Oh, and there's one more thing."
Miku seemed to remember something just as she was preparing to leave.
"The next time you see Kaori, could you tell her that her violin performance was wonderful? Because of what happened afterward, I never had the opportunity to tell her myself, so I'll have to trouble you to pass it along for me."
"Of course. Leave it to me."
Miku nodded cheerfully, only to pause again as another thought suddenly came to mind.
A moment later, her expression brightened.
"And tell Kaori that, if she wants to... I would love to invite her to play violin at my next concert. I'm sure a lot of people would love her~"
She quickly added,
"Of course, I'm not trying to pressure her. It's only an invitation—a request between friends. Kamisaka-kun, make sure you respect Kaori's decision when you tell her, okay?"
Miku spoke with a playful smile.
The idea of inviting Kaori to perform at one of her concerts had only occurred to her moments ago.
If all she needed was a skilled professional violinist to accompany her onstage, there would never be any shortage of candidates.
But this was different.
This time, she simply wanted to indulge in a small selfish wish of her own.
Music had a remarkable way of allowing people to understand one another without needing words.
And Kaori's violin...
If that girl were given the opportunity to play on a proper stage, beneath the lights and before an audience waiting to hear her—
She would surely shine even more brightly.
"Got it. I'll make sure to tell her exactly what you said, so don't worry."
Yuto smiled and nodded.
Miku answered cheerfully before leaving the restaurant with Ling and Tianyi.
Once they were gone, Yuto gathered their bowls, plates, and utensils.
From across the dining area, Tohru watched him with an utterly pitiful expression while screaming inside her heart.
Those were supposed to be her jobs!
She did not want to keep sitting beside Kanna and dealing with mathematics!
Math was torture!!!
Inside the kitchen, Erina and Hisako were still busy preparing food for Yuyuko and barely even had enough time to greet Yuto anymore.
The faster Yuyuko ate, the busier those two became.
And somehow, the ghost princess's pace seemed to be increasing by the minute.
Yuto therefore washed the dishes himself.
He cleaned each piece carefully, wiped away the remaining water with a cloth, and returned everything neatly to its proper place.
The process was mundane and repetitive, but tasks like these were indispensable parts of running a restaurant.
Once he finished, Yuto stepped back into the dining area.
Yuuka, Saitama, Rias, and several others were currently seated along the counter, while farther away, nearly every table was packed.
The table occupied by Reimu's group was especially noisy.
It had somehow gathered together nearly everyone most capable of creating chaos in a confined space.
Reimu.
Marisa.
And Suika and Lucoa, who had now discovered perfectly compatible drinking companions in one another.
Every single one of them was exceptionally talented at making noise.
Compared with that group, Yukari's table seemed considerably quieter.
Though only relatively speaking.
Yuto looked across the crowded restaurant and, for some reason, suddenly felt a little emotional.
"It's unusually noisy tonight."
There was a faint trace of nostalgia in his voice.
"If you don't like it, I can make them quiet."
Yuuka spoke calmly from directly in front of him.
Her expression was perfectly composed.
And far too convincing.
Yuto had absolutely no doubt that if he nodded and said the noise bothered him, Yuuka would immediately take whatever action she considered necessary to solve the problem.
He laughed and shook his head.
Then he pulled a chair out from beneath the counter and sat opposite her.
At first, however, he did not look directly at Yuuka.
Instead, he rested one arm casually on the counter and tilted his head toward the lively dining area, a faint smile gradually appearing at the corners of his mouth.
"No, not at all."
He listened for a moment to the overlapping conversations, laughter, arguments, and clatter of dishes.
"Actually... I think I rather like this kind of noise."
Only then did Yuto turn back toward Yuuka with a smile.
Her bright, tranquil eyes resembled a lake untouched by even the slightest breeze.
Within them, he could clearly see his own reflection.
And somehow, even that reflection seemed unusually bright.
"Is that so..."
Yuuka answered quietly.
She broke eye contact first, lifted her teacup, and took a gentle sip.
"Sometimes, the noisier a place becomes, the more peaceful it feels."
Yuto smiled faintly.
Yuuka said nothing in response, merely giving a small nod.
"Yuuka, do you usually prefer quiet places or lively ones?"
Yuto asked curiously.
She glanced at him before giving a simple answer.
"Depends on my mood."
Yuto could not help laughing.
"That doesn't really give me a definite answer, but somehow, 'depends on my mood' feels unexpectedly perfect for you."
Yuuka raised one eyebrow slightly and looked into his eyes.
Her expression returned to normal almost immediately.
"Perfect for me?"
Her fingers rested loosely against the counter.
Against the reddish-brown wood, her pale fingers looked especially clean and elegant.
"Then what sort of personality do you think I have?"
The question left her lips as casually as a passing breeze.
Calm.
Light.
And strangely difficult to grasp.
Yuto fell silent.
He genuinely began to think about it.
And as he did, memories gradually resurfaced one after another.
Every encounter he had shared with Yuuka since she first entered the restaurant.
The early days when they had barely exchanged more than a few words.
The quiet meals.
The conversations that gradually became more natural.
And, of course, some of the more recent incidents that were considerably more embarrassing to remember.
The more Yuto thought about those moments, the more the corners of his mouth unconsciously began to rise.
Yuuka frowned slightly.
She had no idea what he had suddenly found so amusing.
"What are you laughing at?" She asked directly.
Yuuka had never been the sort of person who enjoyed unnecessarily suppressing her thoughts or hiding what she wanted to say.
Aside from certain matters she preferred to keep private, she generally lived with remarkable honesty.
"Sorry."
Yuto gave her an apologetic smile.
"I just suddenly remembered something embarrassing."
He might have mostly come to terms with what had happened when he became drunk, but asking him to bring the entire incident up again while sitting directly across from Yuuka was still asking a little too much.
Yuuka noticed the difficulty in his expression.
Although curiosity remained in her eyes, she chose not to press him.
Still, her instincts told her one thing very clearly.
Whatever Yuto had just remembered definitely involved her.
"But if we're talking about the impression you give me..."
Yuto rested his chin against one hand and looked thoughtful.
Yuuka's gaze sharpened ever so slightly.
She was clearly listening much more seriously now.
"Kind, I suppose."
Yuto spoke after a short pause.
"Yuuka doesn't talk very much, but you're actually an extremely considerate person. There have been plenty of times when I didn't know what to say or how to handle something, and you stepped in to help me without even being asked."
He smiled faintly.
"And when I asked you to help renovate the restaurant, you agreed immediately."
A touch of nostalgia entered his expression.
"I really was grateful to you back then, Yuuka."
His smile softened.
"And I still am."
Hidden beneath Yuuka's hair, the tips of her ears gradually took on the faintest shade of red.
Her expression, however, remained perfectly calm.
Only the fingers resting against the counter betrayed the slightest reaction.
Her index finger slowly began tracing tiny circles against the wooden surface.
The movement was so subtle that Yuto failed to notice it at all.
"But then there are other times when you feel incredibly intimidating."
He continued thinking aloud.
"You have this almost queenlike presence when you become serious. It's completely different from how you feel when you're being gentle."
The instant those words left his mouth, Yuuka's finger stopped moving.
A barely perceptible change passed across her expression.
"But that side of you feels incredibly dependable too."
Yuto continued without noticing.
"It gives me the impression that no matter what happens, if you genuinely decide to deal with it, everything will somehow work out."
He paused briefly, recalling several moments when he had seen Yuuka become completely serious.
"And when you look that focused..."
His admiration was completely sincere.
"It's genuinely captivating."
There were few things more striking than watching someone become completely absorbed in something they took seriously.
That sudden determination, the concentration visible in every movement, and the contrast between such intensity and their usual behavior could leave an unexpectedly powerful impression.
Yuto had genuinely been struck by Yuuka whenever she revealed that side of herself.
"Ahem."
Yuuka lightly cleared her throat.
For the briefest instant, a faint blush appeared across her face.
Then it disappeared almost immediately, so quickly that it might have been nothing more than an illusion.
Yuto saw it.
For a moment, he wondered whether his eyes had deceived him.
But another part of him did not want to believe that they had.
Because that fleeting sight...
Had been extraordinarily beautiful.
That momentary blush flashed across Yuuka's normally composed face like lightning splitting a clear night sky, and for one brief instant, Yuto genuinely felt as though something had struck directly through his chest.
Yuuka's quiet cough pulled him back to himself.
He gave her a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Sorry. I got a little carried away."
"It's fine. I don't mind."
Yuuka lifted her chin slightly and returned to her usual calm demeanor.
This time, however, her gaze seemed to avoid his just a little too deliberately.
"Anything else?"
She asked.
Yuto thought about it for another moment.
After a short pause, he spoke again.
"Actually, I think the strongest impression you've left on me is how much you've changed lately."
Yuuka frowned faintly.
Changed?
Had she changed somehow?
Even she did not immediately understand what he meant.
"What changed?"
She asked calmly.
"When you first came here, you barely said anything. You just asked me for flower cakes and sat there waiting."
Yuto smiled at the memory.
"Back then, the impression you gave me was... kind of solitary, I suppose."
He scratched his cheek, looking slightly awkward.
"To be honest, I even felt a little sorry for you at first. I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't dare. You really didn't give off the kind of atmosphere that invited casual conversation back then."
When Yuto had first met Yuuka, the restaurant had only recently opened.
Customers had still been painfully scarce, and she had been one of the very few people who visited with any regularity.
Naturally, he had genuinely wanted to talk with her.
Every customer had been precious back then.
Unfortunately...
Yuto had chickened out.
Yuuka froze slightly.
Looking at his awkward smile, she found herself remembering the first time she entered this restaurant as well.
Had she really been...
That frightening back then?
Surely not.
She distinctly remembered leaving the restaurant in an excellent mood that day.
The two of them had experienced the exact same meeting.
Yet the memories they carried from it were surprisingly different.
That happened more often than people realized.
Two people could stand in the same place, experience the same event, hear the same words, and yet years later, the memories they carried might contain entirely different emotions.
What changed those memories was everything that happened afterward.
Just as two people who eventually fell in love and married might someday look back upon the beginning of their relationship and remember those early days in completely different ways.
"And after that?"
Yuuka asked.
"After that?"
Yuto smiled.
"Well... this is after that."
He gestured lightly between them.
"The guy who didn't even dare talk to you back then is sitting here having a conversation with you right now."
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