Chapter 194: Unchanging Heart, Forever Young
Mana Nakiri clearly had many stories.
The silence in the room was heavy, but it was no longer the oppressive silence of a family torn apart. Instead, it was the quiet of a long-awaited reunion.
Mana sat with an elegance that felt almost fragile, her eyes tracing the grain of the mahogany desk in Senzaemon's office.
She clearly had no intention of sharing her burden just yet, or perhaps, the decade of isolation had made her forget how to speak of her own pain.
Just as Senzaemon Nakiri was about to say something to bridge the gap with his daughter, he saw Joichiro Yukihira take out his phone.
The wandering chef looked at the screen, a small, knowing smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
"Mana-sama, it's for you," Joichiro said, extending the device across the low table.
Mana was momentarily stunned, her hand pausing in mid-air.
She blinked, her long lashes fluttering in confusion as she looked at Joichiro's phone.
Why would a call for her end up on Joichiro Yukihira's phone?
Was it because no one could reach her own line?
Thinking of this, a sudden realization struck Mana Nakiri, causing her to pause.
Under the confused and curious gazes of everyone in the room, she began fumbling for her own phone.
She pulled it from her bag, her fingers moving with a sudden, frantic energy.
Everyone watched in stunned silence as Mana began tapping her phone screen repeatedly.
The sound was rhythmic and fast—tap-tap-tap-tap—like the rapid-fire heartbeat of someone in a trance.
She was tapping so fast and with such intensity that it seemed as if she were trying to shatter the tempered glass.
Her speed was almost supernatural, reminiscent of an automated clicker.
Gin Dojima scratched his head, looking completely bewildered by the display.
"Mana-sama, what exactly are you doing?" Gin asked, leaning forward slightly. "Why are you tapping the screen so much? You might break it."
Mana let out a long, heavy sigh that seemed to carry the weight of years of loneliness.
She didn't stop her fingers, which continued to dance across the interface.
"It's nothing, Gin-san," she replied softly, her voice tinged with a hint of embarrassment.
"I'm just releasing all the contacts from my phone's blacklist."
"Oh? You have a lot of people on your blacklist? You've been tapping for quite a while now."
Mana offered a faint, bittersweet smile, though she didn't look up from the screen.
"Of course. Because besides my official work phone, every single personal contact I possessed was on that list."
Upon hearing this, the mouths of everyone in the room twitched in unison.
A collective realization dawned upon them, a mixture of pity and understanding.
Good heavens, so this was the true reason why no one had been able to reach Mana Nakiri for so many years.
She hadn't just moved away; she had digitally erased the world from her life.
Case closed!
But for some reason, looking at her focused expression, they felt that perhaps not knowing the truth would have been less painful.
Mana felt the awkward atmosphere thickening and felt her cheeks flush with a bit of embarrassment.
However, she really hadn't wanted her family to see her in her previous, broken state.
Nor did she want friends and relatives to contact her during her darkest times.
Otherwise, she would have thought too much, and the crushing despair might have made it impossible for her to even function at work.
As Mana finally finished the last unblocking, her phone suddenly gave a low chime and then immediately froze.
The screen became unresponsive, glowing with a static image that wouldn't budge.
Mana stared blankly at the device, which began to vibrate continuously in her hand.
Lanterby, the youngest and most observant of the WGO group, immediately spoke up.
"Lady Mana, your phone has likely frozen because all the messages and missed call notifications are popping up at once."
"Eh? What should I do then?" Mana asked, looking genuinely lost.
"Nothing," Lanterby said with a sympathetic shrug. "You can only wait for the phone to recover on its own."
"But Lady Mana, given the sheer volume of messages you likely have, it might be frozen until tomorrow morning."
"Whatever you want to do on your own device, you'll have to wait until then."
Mana's mouth twitched, her eyes widening as she imagined the digital mountain of concern currently crashing into her inbox.
Just how many messages were there?
Thousands? Tens of thousands?
Yet, beneath the frustration of the broken technology, her heart felt a sudden, searing warmth.
Because she knew those messages weren't just data; they were messages of concern for her.
Even after all this time, even after she had pushed them away, people still cared.
It always felt good to be cared for, a sensation she had denied herself for far too long.
After Mana Nakiri sighed, she turned her attention back to Joichiro Yukihira.
"Saiba-senpai, who was that person looking for me just now? Do I know them?"
Joichiro smiled, the lines around his eyes crinkling in a way that suggested a deep, hidden amusement.
"My name is Yukihira now... never mind that," he said, waving a hand dismissively.
"You know this person. Of course you do. You should say you're very familiar with them."
"Alright, use my phone to call them back. They're waiting."
Mana nodded, taking the already dialed phone with a sense of trepidation.
She waited with a confused heart for the other party to answer.
It was clear the person on the other end was indeed waiting, as the line was picked up almost instantly.
"Is that Mr. Saiba?" a feminine voice asked, the tone laced with an elegant, European accent.
"Eh? Why is there no sound? Mr. Saiba? Is everything okay?"
Mana was completely stunned. Her breath hitched in her throat.
She recognized that voice instantly. It was a voice that brought back memories of sunlit kitchens and shared laughter from a lifetime ago.
She couldn't believe it. Joichiro calling her at this specific time was definitely not a simple coincidence.
Mana opened her mouth, her voice trembling as she whispered a single name.
"Leonora..."
The beautiful woman on the other end of the phone, dressed in expensive silk pajamas in her private study, instantly froze.
Leonora Nakiri became completely awake, her playful demeanor vanishing into a state of shock.
She looked at her phone in disbelief, confirming the number several times to ensure she hadn't dialed into a dream.
"Mana! Is that you? Mana!" Leonora's voice rose in an excited, joyous pitch.
Mana smiled, a tear nearly escaping as she nodded to the empty air.
"It's me, Leonora-san. I'm surprised you still remember my voice after all these years."
Mana's affirmation made Leonora jump up from her sofa in pure excitement.
She genuinely jumped up, her movements full of the youthful energy she was known for.
Mana and Leonora had once been the closest of friends, bonded by their roles within the Nakiri family.
Leonora had been deeply saddened for a very long time after she had learned about Mana's departure and her deteriorating condition.
"Wait, this is Mr. Saiba's phone!" Leonora said, her words tumbling out in a rush.
"Mana, did Mr. Saiba really find you? So, what he said before... it was true?"
"About a way to solve your God Tongue? About a chef who could reach you?"
Mana could feel the genuine warmth and desperate concern in every word Leonora spoke.
She smiled, leaning back into her chair as she looked at the steam rising from the tea on the desk.
"Of course it's true, Leonora-san," Mana said, her voice filled with a new-found strength.
"I'm already fine. In fact, I'm more than fine. I just had a full meal."
"I only realized today that breaking the 'curse' of the God Tongue was actually so simple."
"I even ate a dish that was... flawless. Absolutely flawless."
Leonora cheered directly into the receiver, a sound of pure triumph that echoed in the quiet office.
"That's great! It's really great! Mana! You're finally free!"
"How does it feel to eat delicious food again? Does such a dish really exist?"
"Mr. Saiba just told me he had a way, but he didn't give me any details! Mana, tell me everything!"
Mana didn't hide anything. There was no longer any need for secrets between them.
She used her expressive abilities as a Special Executive Officer of the WGO to describe the experience.
She spoke of the small restaurant on the quiet street corner, a place that seemed to exist outside of time.
She described Ren, the young Shopkeeper who moved with a calm that defied his age.
Mana closed her eyes, recalling the moment the dish was placed before her.
The aroma had been a complex tapestry of scents, each thread perfectly woven into the next.
When she tasted it, it wasn't just a physical sensation; it was as if her very soul was being nurtured.
The God Tongue, which usually acted as a harsh judge, had been silenced by the sheer perfection of the balance.
Leonora, on the other end of the phone, lay back on her sofa with a wide, mesmerized smile.
"Eh?! Really?! There's actually such a restaurant?"
"And the Shopkeeper... he can actually make a dish that satisfies you? Wait... did you say his name was Ren?"
"Yes," Mana replied, her voice soft. "What's wrong?"
Leonora thought for a moment, then reached for another phone sitting on her side table.
She scrolled through her messages from a few days ago, her eyes lighting up as she found what she was looking for.
"I knew it sounded familiar!" Leonora laughed, her voice bubbly.
"Alice went to Shopkeeper Ren's place before! She even messaged me about it!"
"She said it was the most incredible place she had ever been and that she'd take me to try it the moment I visited Japan."
Mana smiled, a sense of pride for her niece swelling in her chest.
"Alice-chan has become so sensible now. She truly has a keen eye for talent."
"Alright, let's not talk about it for now, Leonora-san. I still have to finish these few documents."
"Things might get very busy for me recently now that I've decided to... come back."
"Isn't this kind of life more interesting than hiding away?" Leonora asked.
"I really envy your attitude towards life," Mana admitted with a soft chuckle. "Let's chat when we have more time."
"Okay! I'll be waiting for your call!"
Looking at the hung-up phone, Mana Nakiri felt a sense of peace she hadn't known in a decade.
Joichiro Yukihira smiled, leaning back against his chair with his hands behind his head.
"Mana, I didn't expect Leonora to actually be calculating the time to look for you."
Mana waved her hand dismissively, though her eyes were shining.
"Let's talk about this when we meet again. Oh, by the way, Saiba-senpai..."
"Don't you have any thoughts of finally settling down?"
Joichiro leaned against the back of his chair and let out a long, contemplative sigh.
"I originally planned to settle down," he admitted, his gaze drifting toward the window.
"I even opened a small diner, and life was honestly pretty good."
"I originally planned to wander around for a few more years after sending Soma to Totsuki."
"And then, I thought I'd come back and live out the rest of my life peacefully as an old man."
Senzaemon Nakiri, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up with a small smile.
"But now that you've eaten that kid's dish, you don't want to stop, do you?"
Joichiro Yukihira's expression shifted, a hint of an expectant, hungry smile playing on his lips.
"I once told Shinomiya that while you're still young, you should do whatever you want."
"I feel that my cooking... it can still continue to improve. There's a mountain I haven't climbed yet."
"I'm not old yet, right Gin?"
Gin Dojima smiled, his eyes reflecting the same fire that drove his old friend.
"You make me, someone who has already settled down, feel like I'm already ancient."
"However, Joichiro, you are indeed still very young at heart."
"That's for sure!" Joichiro laughed, reaching for the bottle of sake on the table.
"One more?"
"Absolutely!" Gin replied, holding out his glass.
Clink...
The sound of the two wine glasses clinking together was crisp and pleasant, echoing through the room.
Amidst the clinking glasses and the faint sound of spilled wine, that crisp note rang out like a bell.
Never mind the past, never mind the burdens of their titles.
In this moment, they chose to drink heartily.
They drank to their passionate past selves, the youths who had once dominated the Totsuki kitchens.
They drank to their burning present selves, still seeking the ultimate flavor.
And they drank to their even more perfect future selves, inspired by the young man named Ren.
As long as the original intention remains unchanged, wherever you go, you are forever young.
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