Chapter 406: The Shadow of Vermouth and a Tailed Youkai
At that moment, even Yuuka Kazami and Saiki Kusuo were momentarily stunned. The incident that had just transpired was strange enough to be added to the running list of inexplicable phenomena that defined the little shop.
It was a list that included questions like where Ichihara Yuko's discarded kimonos vanished to, whether the figure Lucifer swore he saw that one day was truly Sadako, and just how many acquaintances Ren had that none of them knew about.
Lucifer, ever the inquisitive one, broke the silence. "Have we ever had a guest like that before?" he asked, his brow furrowed in thought.
Ren shook his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "No, never... But I have to say, while there's no rule that you have to stay for a meal, it feels like we've finally collected a full set of every possible type of guest."
"A full set... of guests?"
Lucifer looked at him, completely lost. Ren nodded, his smile widening with a hint of mischief. "Think about it. We have the normal patrons who come to dine. We have guests from other worlds. We have guests from other worlds who only stop here to rest before moving on. We have guests who walk in, take one look, and immediately leave. And now, we have her... It seems everyone who could possibly appear has finally done so."
Lucifer's eyes widened for a second before his confusion returned. "Eh? That's not right. I know about all the others, but who is this guest who just rests here temporarily before leaving? How come I've never heard you mention her?"
Ren's smile was gentle. "Of course you haven't. She came before your time. In all these years, I don't think she's visited more than five times..."
"Eh? Now I'm really curious. What kind of person is she? What's her name?"
Ren considered the question for a moment, then a nostalgic look crossed his face. "She calls herself... Vermouth."
"Vermouth? What kind of name is that... So strange."
"Vermouth is a high-proof distilled spirit," Saiki Kusuo stated flatly, his expression unchanging. "It has a distinct anise flavor, primarily derived from anise, fennel, and wormwood—a combination often referred to as the 'Holy Trinity'."
He paused, taking a slow, deliberate bite of the coffee jelly in his hand.
"The liquor is naturally green, but when diluted with ice water, it turns a cloudy, milky white. This is known as the louche effect. It is highly aromatic, with a light taste and a slightly bitter finish. The alcohol content is typically above forty-five percent."
Lucifer stared at him, bewildered. "How do you know all that?"
"I just looked it up."
A muscle in Lucifer's cheek twitched. Good heavens, could he at least show a flicker of emotion? What was with that perpetual poker face? And was that coffee jelly putting up a fight in his mouth? He'd been chewing that one bite for an eternity.
Yuuka Kazami's voice was a soft murmur, a smile gracing her lips. "A woman with a name like that... she must be utterly charming. Someone to be savored slowly, not consumed in a single gulp. Am I right, Ren?"
Ren nodded in agreement. "That's a fair assessment. She's fond of saying things like 'a secret makes a woman, woman,' but she's always flying all over the world. I never know where she'll turn up next."
Meanwhile, in a sun-drenched café in a distant country, the woman known as Vermouth ordered a cup of black coffee. She took a deep, contemplative breath, the rich aroma filling her senses. "It's been a long time since I've been to that place," she whispered to herself. "Should I make time to go for a drink? Hmm, perhaps not just yet..."
After finishing her coffee, she placed a few crisp banknotes on the table, picked up her wide-brimmed hat, and departed with a small suitcase in hand. No one knew her destination, but one thing was certain: she would not be appearing in Ren's shop today.
In another world, yet in a setting remarkably similar—a café—the blue-haired girl from before emerged from the restroom. She stared at her own cold, pale reflection in the mirror, her mind still reeling.
The memory of Ren's shop flooded her thoughts. 'Those people...'the girl, Kirishima Touka, whispered to her reflection.'Were they even human? And that light... what was that?'She splashed cold water on her face, a desperate attempt to ground herself, to confirm if the experience had been real. It was. The gentle warmth still seemed to cling to her skin, and the impossibly tempting aroma of food she had never known still lingered faintly in her nostrils, a scent she was certain she had never encountered before in her life.'Eh? I... why do I feel so strange?'
Suddenly, a thought pricked at the edge of her consciousness, but just as she tried to grasp it, a voice boomed from downstairs.
"Hey! Touka-chan! If you don't hurry, you'll be late!"
Kirishima Touka shook her head, clearing the fog. She washed her face one more time, forcing a measure of calm, then grabbed her schoolbag and hurried down the stairs. "I'm off," she said softly as she passed through the main room.
The few employees present and the manager, who was carefully wiping down cups, all watched her leave with puzzled expressions. A moment later, a woman gasped, a sudden realization dawning on her. "Oh no! Did Touka-chan leave without eating anything?!"
The manager sighed softly from behind the counter. "She was up all night doing homework. Didn't get any sleep. She ate her dinner this morning instead."
A collective sigh of relief filled the room. The woman who had spoken first shook her head with a helpless fondness. "That child... she must have gone out to deal with some troublemaking ghouls again last night. She really pushes herself too hard. And she still has to attend university..."
"All we can do is cheer her on," the manager said, his voice firm. "Now, everyone get a move on. It's time to open for the day."
Back in Ren's shop, the sky outside the window was slowly bleeding from inky black to a deep, velvety blue. Saiki Kusuo had already departed, taking with him this month's supply of coffee jelly, along with a few jars of chocolate spread and osmanthus honey.
Yuuka Kazami let out a soft sigh. "Well, I suppose I should be getting back as well. Oh, but there is one thing..."
"Miss Kazami, please, speak freely," Ren said warmly. "We're old acquaintances, after all."
Yuuka was momentarily taken aback, but then a faint, genuine smile touched her lips. "Although you are a rather cunning man, you're a significant improvement over those ancient crones I'm forced to associate with."
"Uh... ancient crones..."
Ren's gaze flickered over her, and Yuuka's smile instantly vanished. A vein pulsed at her temple. "Ren," she said, her voice dangerously low. "Who, exactly, are you looking at?"
She could feel his suspicious stare, the unspoken question of whether she, too, qualified as an 'ancient crone'. Yuuka had the sudden, overwhelming urge to scream, 'Look at this face! This figure! In what universe do I look like an old woman?! I'm only seventeen!' or something to that effect.
But she reined in her temper, taking a slow breath. "The matter I wished to discuss is related to one of them... She found out about this place, and then..."
"And then she's coming over as well?" Ren finished for her, his tone perfectly calm.
Yuuka's expression darkened visibly. Her hands, hidden by her long sleeves, clenched into tight fists, but she still gave a stiff nod. She could still picture it: that damned old hag, enduring her own sleepiness just to stake her out for over an hour, catching her red-handed as she returned. She had been forced to reveal the location of this place—her secret base.
For a fleeting moment, she wondered if she could provoke the old hag into causing trouble for Ren. Perhaps he would exorcise her, and the secret of his shop would be safe once more.
(A certain seventeen-year-old youkai let loose a string of curses only ever heard in Gensokyo.)
Ren simply nodded, his expression as gentle and welcoming as ever. "Of course. She is more than welcome."
Yuuka gave him a long, searching look, then turned her face away, her profile sharp against the growing light. "There's no need to welcome her."
"It's no trouble at all. I'm going back now."
Watching Yuuka Kazami depart with her signature parasol, Ren was left alone in the quiet shop. A small smile touched his lips. "It looks like quite a few interesting people will be arriving soon," he mused to the empty room. "And it's almost dawn..."
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