Senzaemon remained for a little while longer, chatting with Yuto before finally preparing to leave.
"I have had Kamisaka-kun's cooking again today, so I am completely satisfied. I suppose it is about time I headed home."
He pushed his chair back and stood, giving Yuto a satisfied smile and a nod before turning his gaze toward Erina.
There was a certain meaning hidden in that look, and Erina's face immediately reddened again.
"I look forward to seeing you next time. Take care."
Yuto smiled calmly.
"The next time I visit will probably be after the Moon Banquet Festival. I have been extremely busy lately." Senzaemon stroked his beard and smiled. "Kamisaka-kun, make sure you come to the festival. I will personally show you around."
There was a faintly teasing note in his voice.
Yuto merely smiled and answered in kind.
Senzaemon then headed toward the entrance, with Erina and Hisako accompanying him outside.
The two girls escorted him all the way to the end of the alley.
Whatever happened during that short walk remained unknown, but when they finally returned, Erina's face was covered in a deep blush.
"The Moon Banquet Festival... I have heard that it is an incredibly extravagant food festival held inside Tōtsuki."
Utaha, who had remained quiet while Senzaemon was present, finally spoke after he left.
She rested her chin lazily against one hand, a faint trace of longing and anticipation appearing in her eyes.
"If Utaha-san would like to attend, I can arrange it for you."
Hisako offered with a polite smile.
Utaha immediately hesitated.
She genuinely wanted to go, but after considering the matter carefully, she ultimately shook her head.
"No. I would really like to attend, but our monthly exams are coming up soon. I have been so busy with my novel lately that I have barely studied at all. I need to spend some time cramming properly, or if my scores fall, my mother will nag me to death."
As an honors student who consistently ranked near the top of her school, Utaha held herself to extremely high standards.
She genuinely wanted to experience the Moon Banquet Festival, but the upcoming exams were more important.
They directly affected her own future, so she could not afford to treat them lightly.
"You really do take your studies seriously, Kasumigaoka-san."
Yuto smiled.
"Hmph. Of course I do. At the end of the day, I am still a student. If I cannot even handle the responsibilities directly in front of me as well as possible, how am I supposed to pursue anything else?"
"That was surprisingly profound."
Utaha narrowed her eyes.
"Was that meant to be a compliment?"
"If you do not deliberately twist it into something ridiculous, then yes, you can definitely consider it a compliment."
"How rare. I never expected to hear praise coming from Kamisaka-kun."
Her foxlike eyes narrowed slightly, clear delight shining within them.
She was obviously pleased.
Seeing that reaction, Yuto smiled helplessly.
He had not expected one casual compliment to make her this happy.
"All right! Since Yuto-kun praised me, I will start cramming tonight!"
Utaha stretched both arms over her head.
The movement naturally emphasized the mature curves of her figure, making it easy to forget that she was still a high-school student.
"Did my words somehow become motivational?" Yuto asked with a smile.
"Who knows?" Utaha lowered her chin slightly, her gaze flickering across his like firelight dancing over a wall—quick, elusive, and difficult to catch.
"Yuto-kun can interpret it however you like. I do not mind."
At that moment, there was a distinctly mature charm about her that made her actual age easy to forget.
She rose from her seat and smoothed the slight wrinkles from her skirt.
"Then I will head home as well."
"Starting your studying already? In that case, good luck with your monthly exams."
"Thank you, Yuto-kun."
Utaha walked toward the entrance, her black-stockinged legs moving with graceful, measured steps as the light reflected faintly across them.
If she changed into more mature clothing, few people would ever guess she was still a high-school student.
"Oh, Yuto-kun."
Just before reaching the door, she stopped and looked back.
Her long black hair swayed with the movement, glossy and flowing beneath the restaurant lights.
"Do not forget... our... appointment tomorrow..."
Her lips curved into a mysterious smile.
Leaving those words behind, she stepped out of the restaurant with all the air of an enigmatic witch disappearing into the night.
Yuto chuckled softly.
His memory was not so poor that Utaha needed to remind him again.
"Boss, what are the two of you doing tomorrow?"
Even from a distance, Tohru's curiosity remained completely unaffected by the homework in front of her.
While Yuto explained, Utaha was already walking away from the restaurant with a bright red face.
'Was there anything strange about the way I acted at the end?'
'Ah... Pretending to be that casual on purpose is so difficult...'
'...'
With doubts and embarrassment swirling endlessly through her mind, she continued down the street.
Without realizing it, her pace had become considerably faster than usual.
...
"Welcome."
Only a few minutes after Utaha left, a large group from Gensokyo arrived at the restaurant.
There were considerably more of them than on their previous visits.
Yuyuko, who had supposedly been buried beneath mountains of paperwork, had finally returned.
She wore the expression of someone who had suffered a terrible injustice and might burst into tears at any moment.
Beside her stood the ever-serious Youmu.
Princess Kaguya had also arrived with practically the entire Eientei household.
Despite normally carrying herself with almost absurd elegance, the shut-in princess was clearly struggling to suppress her excitement.
Yuto could already guess why.
She wanted to play games!
Yuuka and Yukari, both regular customers, were naturally present as well.
Reimu, Marisa, and the little oni who loved alcohol had come too.
Counting everyone...
There were thirteen people.
The residents of Gensokyo were probably the largest group of regular customers the restaurant received.
Whenever they arrived together, there were rarely fewer than six of them.
For a moment, Yuto found himself remembering the early days, when Yuuka had always visited alone.
Those evenings had been so peaceful.
"My, my. Have we brought too many people?"
Yukari covered her mouth and laughed softly as her gaze swept across the group.
Those unreadable eyes eventually settled on Yuto, carrying a faintly teasing and seductive glimmer.
Fortunately, Yuto had endured enough situations like this by now.
He could confidently say that he had developed a certain resistance to such looks.
"If you do not mind, you can use the tables over there. As the owner, I probably should not complain about where customers choose to sit, but if all thirteen of you crowd around the counter, it might become inconvenient for anyone who arrives later."
Yuto smiled.
"That is perfectly fine. If Kamisaka says so, then we will take the tables. It makes little difference to us anyway."
Yukari laughed gently.
One of her arms was still linked through Yuyuko's, making the two of them look suspiciously intimate.
"Then I absolutely refuse to sit at the same table as Yukari!"
Reimu immediately spoke up.
Her gaze briefly dropped toward the arm Yukari had wrapped around Yuyuko, and undisguised distaste appeared across her face.
"I am not sitting with her either!"
"Same!"
Marisa and Kaguya immediately joined Reimu.
Marisa had much the same reason.
Kaguya, however, clearly had something else in mind.
"Then let us split up," Suika suggested cheerfully. "Yukari and Yuyuko can sit together. Youmu and Ran are obviously going to join them anyway, so the rest of us can take the other table."
No one knew what the little oni was so happy about, but judging from the smell of alcohol surrounding her, she had clearly been drinking quite a bit before arriving.
"Fine with me."
Yukari nodded.
"I am not going over there. I will sit here." Yuuka spoke calmly.
There was absolutely no room for negotiation in her voice.
No one objected, although several people exchanged subtle smiles.
"Then tell me what everyone wants first. I will start preparing everything at once."
Yuto smiled.
That single sentence seemed to flip a switch inside Yuyuko.
She burst into tears on the spot.
"Waaah! I can finally eat again! I am finally free from Eiki! Kamisaka!!! I missed you so much! I missed your cooking so much!!!"
Her wailing left Yuto slightly awkward.
Fortunately, that last sentence clarified what she actually meant.
Otherwise, people could easily have misunderstood.
Yuyuko cried like a kindergarten child who had been forced to spend several days doing nothing but homework.
Tears poured freely down her cheeks, and not a trace of her usual elegance remained.
Or perhaps...
This was the real Yuyuko.
"Uh... You make it sound as though you have been tortured."
Yuto could not help laughing.
Yuyuko immediately seized upon his words.
"Exactly!!! Kamisaka, you understand me perfectly! Eiki was deliberately torturing me! I only neglected dealing with the ghosts for a little while, and she lectured me for five whole hours!"
"My head practically exploded! My mind was completely blank afterward! I even started wondering whether I was about to attain enlightenment! I heard that is what it feels like right before you pass on! Waaah! Eiki's lectures are terrifying!!!"
"And that was not all! Eiki forced me to work day and night for several days straight! Damn it!!! I want to rest too! I wanted to come back here and eat Kamisaka's food!!!"
"Every day... every single day, I could only eat the tiny portions Youmu prepared for me! Eiki even restricted how long I was allowed to spend eating! Waaah! I know I am already dead, but you could at least let me eat until I am full!!!"
"And another thing... Waaah—"
Just as Yuyuko became increasingly worked up, Yukari promptly covered her mouth.
Yuyuko immediately began flailing her arms and legs, creating an extremely ridiculous sight.
"Sorry about this, Kamisaka. Yuyuko has been under quite a lot of pressure from work recently, so she has become a little... dramatic."
Yukari winked at him.
"I am sure you understand, do you not?"
She looked exactly like a mischievous youkai deliberately trying to seduce someone.
Fortunately, Yuto had already endured far too many situations like this.
He could confidently say that he was immune.
"Well... if she really has been working that hard, I suppose this kind of reaction is understandable."
Yuto answered somewhat hesitantly.
"Let us order first. Anything is fine for me. As for Yuyuko, you already know how much she eats, so I will leave that to you~"
After saying that, Yukari dragged the still-protesting Yuyuko toward one of the tables.
Yuto then asked everyone else what they wanted.
Once he had written down all their orders, the rest of the group moved toward the tables as well.
Tohru and Kanna had already occupied one table for homework, while Yukari's group was large enough to fill another two.
That left only one table empty.
Yuto glanced toward it.
Perhaps the restaurant really did need to be a little larger.
Two more tables would certainly be useful.
"Erina, Hisako, come help me in the kitchen."
Yuto accepted a sunflower from Yuuka before heading toward the kitchen, with both girls following behind him.
At that moment, Princess Kaguya, who had only just sat down, walked over to Ainz and Rimuru.
The two gamers looked toward their fellow gaming enthusiast in confusion.
"Why are you not playing?" Kaguya asked curiously.
She had spent several days begging Eirin to let her return to the restaurant so she could play games.
Now that she had finally made it back, she discovered that neither Ainz nor Rimuru was playing at all.
That immediately made her confused and nervous.
Could it be that gaming was no longer allowed inside the restaurant?
The princess had already begun imagining the worst.
She was genuinely starting to panic.
"Oh, we have something to deal with tonight, so we are putting the game aside for now."
Ainz answered.
Kaguya immediately relaxed.
Then curiosity took over.
"Is it something serious? Do you need help? If we finish it together, everyone can start gaming sooner!"
Her eagerness to play was practically overflowing from every word.
"It is not exactly anything serious. It is just..."
Ainz and Rimuru briefly explained what had happened between Grayfia and Rias the previous night.
The expressions of everyone who heard the story immediately changed.
Yukari and Eirin, for example, wore intrigued smiles.
Yuuka, who had remained calm until now, frowned slightly.
"Ohh—so that is what happened?" Kaguya spread her hands helplessly. "Then this Satan really is awful! His own little sister does not want to do it, yet he still insists on forcing her. Nobles really are the same no matter what world they come from~"
After all, Kaguya herself had once been a princess of the Moon.
In terms of status, she was hardly inferior to Rias.
When it came to criticizing nobility, she certainly had the qualifications.
Rias, who had remained silent off to the side, lowered her gaze.
Her emotions were complicated.
Then—
Slide.
The restaurant door opened.
Everyone instinctively looked toward the entrance.
The moment Rias saw who had arrived, her expression tightened and her pupils visibly contracted.
Her entire body tensed on instinct, like a wild animal that had suddenly encountered its natural predator.
"So this is the place?"
The speaker was a tall, handsome man with red hair.
His bearing was extraordinary.
Even without deliberately exerting himself, he carried the unmistakable pressure of someone who had spent years standing at the highest levels of power.
Beside him stood a beautiful silver-haired maid.
Grayfia.
The same woman who had come to the restaurant the previous night.
That made the man's identity obvious.
The Satan—Sirzechs Lucifer.