The restaurant was probably going to close early today.
Goku had just eaten through almost all of the ingredients in one go, leaving only a few vegetables and no meat.
If the restaurant stayed open like this, it would be unfair to any new customers who came in, and Yuto didn't want to put them in an awkward spot because they had run out of food.
It was a little after five now, with more than an hour left before seven.
After deciding to close early, Yuto told everyone in the restaurant, and they all understood.
Hestia left first with Sakura.
Having come late tonight, they had stayed until now, and after going back, the two of them would probably sleep for quite a while.
Hestia usually didn't have much to do during the day anyway, after all, who would go looking for a useless goddess? The Hostess of Fertility also only opened at night, so daytime was when everyone rested.
After Hestia and Sakura left, Yuto looked at Ainz and Rimuru.
According to the original plan, he was supposed to go to the anime convention with them today.
The time he had agreed on with Utaha was nine in the morning.
Even though students still had normal classes today, Utaha had already taken the day off.
Her excuse was pretty casual, but with her grades, the teachers weren't going to make things hard for her.
It was still early, but Ainz and Rimuru clearly had no intention of leaving.
Once those two got into a game, it was hard to pull them away.
"You two aren't planning to stay here the whole time, are you?" Yuto asked helplessly.
Ainz and Rimuru both looked up at him.
"If I'm allowed to, then I'm fine with that."
"Same."
They answered one after the other.
Yuto sighed. "You should both go back first and talk things over with your people. When it's time, I'll come to your worlds and get you."
Ainz and Rimuru both looked unhappy with that answer.
"I really think Albedo and the others can manage Nazarick just fine while I'm gone!" Ainz said confidently.
"I think so too. Rigurd is someone I can trust completely!" Rimuru quickly agreed.
Yuto narrowed his eyes and looked straight at them, even if technically neither of them had eyes to look into.
"You two just want to stay here and keep playing games, don't you?" he said in a flat voice, sounding completely sure.
Ainz and Rimuru both shook a little.
"How could that be?! I only said that because I truly trust Albedo! Kamisaka, you're misunderstanding me! Maybe Rimuru is thinking that way, but I absolutely am not!" Ainz spoke in a righteous tone, and Rimuru nodded along automatically.
"Exactly, exactly. I also really trust Rigurd, that's why—hm?! Ainz!!! What are you even saying?!"
Halfway through agreeing, Rimuru suddenly realized something was wrong and whipped around to stare at Ainz.
His round slime body wobbled wildly, making it very clear he was upset.
"Rimuru, don't get hung up on the details. Let's stay focused on the bigger issue."
"Hey! How can I not care about that?!"
As Ainz and Rimuru got closer as friends, they had also started bickering more.
Yuto sighed again.
Bang!
He slapped the table and cut them off. "All right. We're doing it my way! You two go back and wait for me to come get you."
Once Yuto made it official, Ainz and Rimuru stopped trying to argue, but both still looked worried.
"Then don't be late, Kamisaka. Make sure you come get me early. I wouldn't mind if you came one or two hours ahead of time," Ainz held out his bony hand and spoke very seriously, even trying to gesture with it.
"Me too, me too! Don't forget to come get me either, Boss!!!" Rimuru bounced up and down excitedly beside him.
Yuto had way too many things he wanted to say.
'One or two hours early... Ainz, if you wanted that much time, why not just admit you wanted to stay here?'
"All right, all right. I definitely won't forget. But you two need to go back and deal with your own stuff properly too. And don't forget—you also need to disguise yourselves before going to the convention," Yuto reminded them.
Both of them promised confidently.
Looking at the serious skeleton and slime in front of him, Yuto felt a little torn.
In the end, he decided to trust them.
After that, Ainz and Rimuru each went back to their own worlds.
Before leaving, they handed their game consoles back to Yuto again.
They had no choice, the devices needed charging!
Once all the customers were gone, only Yuto and Tohru were left in the restaurant.
"Tohru, wipe down the tables and clean up," he ordered.
The moment he spoke, his cute employee grabbed a rag and got to work.
She had gone from being the princess of a great force of chaos to an obedient employee who listened right away.
Yuto had to admit that he deserved at least a little credit for that.
He then flipped the sign on the door to show they were closed.
Even though it was only a little after five, the sky was already starting to brighten. It still looked a little gray, though; after all, it was summer now, and the days were getting longer.
Yuto stood at the door and looked up at the sky for a moment.
In the gray early morning sky, a curved moon still hung there, visible at this hour.
The Ichinosuke Street above the restaurant, up the steps, was still a little noisy, but compared to around eleven or twelve at night, it was much quieter.
After all, it was past five in the morning now. The people who had come to have fun all had jobs of their own.
Yuto looked out at the street.
There were only a few people left walking around, and most of them had that half-dead, drunk look on their faces, appearing as though they hadn't fully woken up because they had overdone it the night before.
Yuto thought of Hanako.
He sighed to himself and went back inside.
There were still a few ingredients left in the kitchen.
If he was only cooking for one person, he could just barely make breakfast, so he decided to make something for Hanako.
The previous evening, he hadn't tried to comfort her with words, he wasn't the kind of person who was good at comforting others by talking.
He was much better at expressing himself through food, and sometimes, one hot meal worked better than a thousand words.
When he went into the kitchen and started cooking, Tohru noticed.
"Boss, who are you cooking for?" the dragon maid asked, sounding confused.
"For an older friend," Yuto said calmly.
He packed the breakfast after it was done and looked at the clock.
It was already close to seven. He couldn't help it; most of the time had gone into cooking the porridge.
He walked to the door, then turned back. "I'm going to drop this breakfast off and come right back. Watch the restaurant for me."
"Okay!"
Yuto went outside.
The sunlight felt a little warmer now, much better than it had been after five.
He walked up the steps. By now, there were barely any customers left on the street.
After greeting the other shops along the way, Yuto headed to Hanako's karaoke bar.
He chatted a little with the workers who were cleaning up, then went upstairs.
When he reached Hanako's office door, he knocked.
"Come in." Hanako's voice sounded tired.
She was getting older, and staying up all night to watch over the bar wore her out.
Yuto pushed the door open. Hanako looked surprised and happy when she saw him.
"Aunt Hanako, I brought you some breakfast." Yuto lifted the bag a little to show her.
A touched look appeared in her eyes, and she quietly called him over to sit across from her.
"The restaurant ran out of meat, so I only made a few vegetable dishes," Yuto opened the plastic bag and took out the food containers one by one.
There was porridge, cold side dishes, stir-fried vegetables, rich sauce, and a few dry side items.
It wasn't fancy, but it was a full meal.
Hanako had been tired all night, and now her weary eyes began to shine a little.
Sometimes, when people got older, even simple things could move them deeply.
"This is enough. More than enough. It's fine even without meat," Hanako spoke softly.
Her voice was gentle, but it trembled a little.
Yuto opened the porridge container for her, and a wave of hot steam rose up into her face.
Her eyes suddenly felt a little sore.
"Thank you, Yuto," Hanako smiled and spoke in a calm, gentle voice.
Yuto waved his hand, truly not minding at all.
Hanako drank a few mouthfuls of porridge and ate some side dishes too.
She was blinking a little faster than usual.
Then she took a deep breath and spoke in a voice that sounded calm only because she was forcing it to be.
"Yuto-chan, I'm planning to go home."