Ch.9393. Peach Blossom and Vine (6)

“Boss! This is so delicious! Give me more!”

Yuri quickly devoured all the sushi on her plate and urged the owner for more.

“Alright, alright. I’ve got plenty of fish to use up today anyway, so don’t worry.”

“Boss, I’m sooo hungry today, you know? Hurry up and give me more!”

Her childish whining made me wonder if this was really appropriate behavior for someone who insisted I call her “unni”…

Well… I already knew what she was like…

“Unni… please don’t bother the owner too much. Can’t you see he’s having a hard time?”

“Whaaaat? No way! The boss can handle this much easily!”

“Why are you the one deciding that… *sigh*.”

I picked up a piece of sushi from my plate.

A light dip in soy sauce mixed with a bit of wasabi.

Then into my mouth in one bite.

“Mmm. Wow… How can sushi have such a harmonious flavor? I’ve truly never had sushi like this before. Unni, I’m not sure if I deserve to eat something this good…”

The rice grains melting in my mouth, the subtle sweetness rising from the fish, and the soy sauce and wasabi adding just the right kick to stimulate the tongue.

“Haha. I’m glad my customer is enjoying the food. Looks like my shop won’t be going out of business today.”

“Pfft. Boss! Bine doesn’t have any sushi left! If you don’t want to go bankrupt, get back to work! And give me more too, okay?”

“Yes, yes. Wait a bit. I’ll bring out some different fish.”

I quickly finished the sushi in front of me, barely registering the conversation between the owner and Yuri.

Then the owner stepped away.

“Bineee. Was it that delicious?”

Munch munch… gulp.

“…Yes. It’s delicious. Really…”

But there’s no reason for her to stare at me so intently while I’m eating…

Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I could feel my face heating up.

“Hehehe… you’re so cute, really. This place is really good, right? The owner is someone I really like, you know. I mentioned earlier that we’re close, right? That’s actually because I come here so often.”

“I see. Well… it makes sense. But, can we talk about… that here? With you, I mean.”

“Oh, that? The owner here doesn’t mind. And… well, if things get really serious, we can always ask him to step out. This place has good soundproofing.”

“Ah… I see.”

“Besides, it’s not time to talk about that yet, right?”

For a moment she seemed to turn serious, but then Yuri returned to her usual blank expression.

Actually, I had planned to have serious conversations here.

…Since she wanted it.

Otherwise, there would have been no need to book a restaurant away from me.

Going far away to make phone calls, knowing the range of my hearing.

“…Yes. Let’s focus on eating for now.”

“Yeah, yeah. Oh, Boss! Oh! What meat is that?”

“Oh, this? The owner specially aged sea bream and mackerel, and various other things? Oh, you’ve finished everything? Wait, I’ll quickly make some for our Yuri and my villain customer.”

“Yes! I’m super excited, you know? Hurry!”

“Okay, okay. Wait.”

“Hehe…”

They interact so casually with each other that I wonder if this is really a customer-restaurant owner relationship. Or perhaps it’s the familiarity between a long-time regular and an owner.

“By the way, as I heard earlier, she really is cute. And it seems she takes good care of Yuri too.”

As I was watching him make sushi, the owner suddenly started showing interest in me.

I thought he was just going to tease me by calling me a villain and only talk with Yuri.

“Are you talking about me…? Has unni told you about me before…?”

“Yes, she said you’re the one who stays in her mind the most, cute enough to put in her eye without feeling pain. And what else did she say?”

“B-Boss?! W-why are you suddenly saying that…? W-weren’t we supposed to keep that a secret…?”

Yuri, nearly spitting out the food in her mouth in surprise, tried to stop the owner, but…

“Ah, right. She called you ‘my most precious little sister,’ I think?”

“Uh, uwaah, uwaaah…! B-Boss…! D-don’t say things like that…!”

“Why? I think Bine is cute too.”

“No, nooo…!”

Yuri pounded on the table and kicked her legs in protest against the owner.

Perhaps she was upset that the owner was revealing her secrets. Or maybe she was embarrassed that I heard those secrets.

But hearing such things made me embarrassed too…

“O-Owner… D-did she really say such things about me…?”

“Yes. Sigh. She bragged so much. My ears hurt from all the praise she gave you. But I can see why now. I might even forgive our customer a little if she were to destroy the shop.”

“What? Wait, why are you saying I would destroy this place, Owner…?”

“According to Yuri, our customer is a villain who has done many bad and wicked things, right?”

“Ugh… that’s true… b-but… now…”

“Right. I heard that now you’re living with Yuri and not doing bad things anymore.”

“No, if you know I’m not doing villain things anymore, then why…”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s because Yuri…”

“……”

Yuri, who had stopped flailing and was now eavesdropping on our conversation.

I stared at her intently.

“……Nom. The owner is the best! This is so delicious!”

“Yuri. Stop evading and explain what’s going on properly.”

“Um, weren’t you going to call me unni…?”

“Do you want me to go back to using an even more distant form of address? I’m asking for an explanation.”

“…”

“Then, why did you need to go outside to make that phone call?”

“Because I couldn’t talk about someone right in front of them…?”

“Talk about someone?”

“…Like how cute you are, or how I want to bite you…”

“That’s not the kind of information I’m asking for right now.”

“…A-and, um… that you’re fun to tease…?”

“This person…!”

Unfortunately, I couldn’t flip the table.

There were too many expensive-looking dishes on it.

“Bine! Bineee! Your hair tips, your hair tips are turning purple! Isn’t that necklace supposed to prevent that?!?!”

“No, this necklace is working properly. If it weren’t, we would already be fighting in the middle of ruins by now.”

“Bine, Bineee! Sorry, I’m sorryyyy! Forgive me, okay? J-just let it go this time, okay? Okaaay?”

“Why should I forgive you?”

“Sorry, sorryyyy! L-loosen up! And calm down! You’re going to collapse again! Okay? U-unni admits she was wrong…!”

Haah…

Ugh, really…

Sigh.

Sheesh.

“…”

“Hmm? I really did wrong. Okay? B-but I brought you to a delicious place, right? F-forgive me for that, p-please, for the owner’s sake…!”

“Hmm…? Me…?”

“O-Owner…! S-save me…! Bine is scary when she’s angry…! A-and you were the one teasing her…!”

“It was you who told him, so it’s your fault. Don’t drag innocent people into this.”

“No, nooo! I-I’m sorry!”

Well, my irritation had already subsided.

But I couldn’t let go of my indignation, so I was teasing her a bit.

Did my hair tips really turn purple?

I’m sure they didn’t change last time.

In the hospital room, when I got angry at that red-haired person.

She didn’t say anything then…?

That’s strange.

Well… it’s good for me if my powers are returning.

“…Sigh. Unni.”

“Y-yes…!”

“I’ve done plenty wrong to you too, so I’m not in a position to say much. But a little… haah…”

“S-sorry! Hehe… W-want to eat this and feel better?”

And Yuri tried to appease me by putting one of her sushi pieces into my mouth.

“Aung. Nyam, gulp. Phew… Since today is a day with unni, I’ll let it slide this time, but if you do this again, I won’t stay quiet next time, okay?”

“S-sorry… hehe…”

“Fine. Let’s just eat. Owner, I apologize for the commotion.”

Somehow, I almost destroyed the owner’s shop right in front of him.

Um…

“Nah, it’s fine. This wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t brought it up. And since I was the one teasing you with that, I’m sorry, customer.”

“Well… you were just falling for a bad magical girl’s tricks, Owner.”

The owner then made lots of sushi for us, saying we should eat delicious food to feel better.

And so, without any serious talk, the atmosphere grew warmer with casual chatter.

It was peaceful and pleasant to see the scene of a good restaurant with a good owner and his regular customer.

In the good atmosphere, the owner got excited and brought out things he had been saving.

And what he brought out, saying it was essential for a day like this, was…

“Here. My favorite sake. How about it, want to try some?”

“Alcohol, you mean.”

“Alcohol… Bine, do you drink?”

“Well… I can drink. Despite my appearance, I am an adult.”

When the government created my identity, I had to be an adult to be punishable. So, although my birthday was arbitrarily decided, I was forcibly made an adult.

“Really? You were an adult? I thought I couldn’t sell alcohol to customer Bine.”

“But you brought alcohol? Were you trying to get your business suspended, Boss?”

“Come on. There aren’t any other customers besides you two anyway. A secret drink or two won’t hurt, right?”

“No waaay. That can’t be right? Well, be thankful that Bine is an adult, Boss.”

“Alright. Wait. If I’m bringing out such good alcohol, I should make sushi with meat that matches its quality.”

“Ooh! You were still hiding something? Bring it out quickly!! I’m still hungry, you know?”

“Okay, okay. Our Yuri’s appetite is something else, I tell you.”

Well, drinking moderately should be fine.

Back when I was in Eden, I enjoyed wine too.

As long as I drink just enough to feel good, it should be okay.

Probably…?