"Itadakimasu."
"Itadakimasu."
"..."
Byakuya joined the Yoshimura family for dinner.
"How is it? Does it taste okay?"
Ukina asked.
"Mm, it's delicious."
Byakuya nodded.
"Of course Mom's cooking is delicious."
Eto added.
"What about you, Kuzen? I don't know if it suits your palate."
Ukina then asked Yoshimura.
"It's good."
Yoshimura said. "Though I'd never tasted the true flavor of human food before, now that my taste buds are normal, I finally understand what good food means."
"That's wonderful. Since you all think it's delicious, please eat up."
Ukina smiled warmly.
...
After dinner.
Byakuya sat on the living room sofa to rest.
"Byakuya, why don't you stay the night here?"
Ukina suggested.
"...That wouldn't be appropriate, would it?"
"Not at all. I'm sure little Eto wants you to stay too."
Ukina smiled.
"Don't put words in my mouth. When did I ever say that?"
Eto immediately objected.
"Are you saying it's not true?"
Ukina countered.
"Of course not. I would never say something so presumptuous."
Eto stated firmly.
Yet Byakuya didn't buy it for a second—he'd lost count of how many times Eto had been "presumptuous" with him...
"Alright then, Eto can walk Byakuya home later."
Ukina didn't continue bickering with her.
"..."
Eto had been about to say he didn't need her to walk him home, but thought better of it and kept quiet.
...
After resting for a while, Byakuya prepared to leave.
"You're really going to walk me home?"
Seeing Eto stand up with him, Byakuya asked.
"Yeah, Mom said so."
Eto responded evenly.
As if she was only doing it because her mother asked.
"Alright then..."
Byakuya smiled slightly.
As Byakuya and Eto stepped out the door, Ukina standing at the entrance whispered very softly, "Good luck, little Eto~"
Eto immediately felt embarrassed and didn't want to respond.
But of course, if Eto could hear it, then Byakuya definitely heard it too.
His expression showed no obvious reaction.
He could tell that both the Manager and Ukina-san were very pleased with him, and that Eto was unexpectedly forward with him as well—genuinely forward, not in a joking way...
Understanding Eto's feelings, Byakuya naturally wouldn't be too cold either. Otherwise, he could have simply used Kamui to teleport home...
...
After Byakuya and Eto left.
Only Yoshimura and Ukina remained at home.
"By the way, Kuzen, when I visited the café the other day, there seemed to be quite a few pretty girls working there?"
Ukina suddenly asked. "Do you know if any of them have feelings for Byakuya?"
"Well..."
Yoshimura found it hard to answer.
After all... it wasn't a matter of which one—all those girls at the café, and even girls outside of it, they all...