Chapter 214: Gasai Yuno's Plan, Clow Reed's Friend
Although Hojo Miyoko was a strong-willed type of girl, it must be said that she was definitely a girl who truly understood life.
Life is not simply about how well you live on a material level, but about how you can fill your current existence with artistic conception and genuine appreciation. If you can't change your circumstances, you should try to improve them. Life, at its core, is an attitude.
Hojo Miyoko clearly understood this philosophy. She sat quietly at a sturdy wooden table directly facing the restaurant's front window, holding a delicate ceramic cup of steaming hot green tea between her calloused palms.
She fully embraced the golden hour sunlight filtering through the pristine glass, the gentle breeze slipping in through the cracked window, and the lazy, comforting warmth that enveloped the dining room. Even a simple cup of tea could bring about an entirely different kind of mood, washing away the stress of Totsuki Culinary Academy.
"Phew…" Miyoko let out a soft, contented sigh, the tension melting from her broad shoulders. "As expected, after eating such intensely spicy food, I really should drink a soothing cup of tea…"
The lingering, fiery numbness of the Mala spices still danced on her tongue, perfectly offset by the earthy, grassy notes of the fresh brew.
Ren wiped down the polished wooden counter with a clean cloth, the rhythmic motion accompanied by a soft smile. "I didn't expect you, Miyoko, to be surprisingly good at living a refined life~"
Hojo Miyoko was startled by the sudden compliment. She blinked, her fiery demeanor softening instantly as a warm smile graced her lips.
"Shopkeeper Ren, despite how I act in the kitchen, I am still a normal girl, after all~" she replied, her voice dropping a fraction of its usual commanding volume.
"That's true," Ren chuckled, leaning casually against the counter as he rested his chin on his hand. "Miyoko, if you were just a bit gentler and let your guard down more often, you'd be a very elegant girl~"
Hojo Miyoko's face, which rarely showed anything but fierce determination, suddenly flushed a vibrant shade of red. The unexpected praise caught her completely off guard.
She tightened her grip on the teacup, averting her eyes to the swirling green liquid. "Am I not gentle enough?..." she whispered to herself, her heart fluttering slightly.
Realizing she was getting flustered, she quickly shook her head, her dark ponytail swishing through the air.
"Never mind, never mind! Shopkeeper Ren! How much is it in total?"
Upon hearing that she was preparing to leave, Cerberus immediately perked up from her spot in the corner. The three identical silver-haired girls drooped their dog ears in perfect, disappointed unison.
"Ah? Miyoko is leaving already~" Cerberus whined, her three voices blending into one harmonious chord of sadness.
Hojo Miyoko turned to the triplet demon and smiled warmly, the flush still lingering on her cheeks. "Cerberus~ I'll still come back. There's nothing to worry about in this matter."
She stood up, smoothing out her immaculate uniform. "So, Shopkeeper Ren, let's settle the bill."
Ren tapped the glowing screen of his register. "One thousand two hundred yen~"
"Oh, oh… Eh?!" Miyoko gasped, her amber eyes widening in sheer disbelief as she quickly did the math in her head.
"So cheap! As expected of Shopkeeper Ren, can cooking purely as a hobby really be this amazing?!"
She hurriedly dug into her sleek leather coin purse, pulling out a crisp bill and a few shiny coins. She placed them delicately on the counter with a satisfying clink.
"By the way, Shopkeeper Ren!" Miyoko leaned over the counter, her eyes sparkling with competitive curiosity. "Who taught you how to play basketball like that?"
Ren effortlessly swept the money into the register with a casual flick of his wrist. "I just learned by playing naturally over time~"
Miyoko slammed her hands onto the wooden surface, leaning in so close that Ren could smell the faint scent of wok-hei and floral shampoo clinging to her hair. "Eh?! Shopkeeper Ren, can I become your disciple for this?!"
Looking at Hojo Miyoko's eagerness to become a disciple at every possible turn, Ren couldn't help but laugh heartily.
"I have to say, in a sense, Miyoko is a very interesting girl," Ren smiled, shaking his head gently. "Forget about becoming a formal disciple; you can just call me when you have some free time to play basketball~"
Miyoko's eyes lit up like stars. "Outside of school?"
"Of course," Ren shrugged lazily. "I definitely don't want to run all the way to Totsuki just to play a casual game of basketball."
"Mhm, mhm!" Miyoko nodded vigorously, a radiant, victorious smile plastered across her face. "Then, Shopkeeper Ren, here's the money.
I'll be leaving now. See you in a while~"
Just as Ren had observed, Hojo Miyoko was a strong-willed and decisive woman. When it was time to leave, her exit was sharp, purposeful, and incredibly neat.
Was there reluctance in her heart? Of course, there was a heavy reluctance to leave this cozy sanctuary. But she had duties to attend to back at the academy, and Ren also needed to prepare for the Shop's closing hours.
Since they both had to part ways eventually, it was better to be neat and tidy about it. Besides, walking out with confident strides made her seem much more dashing in his eyes~
The crystalline chime of the front door bell rang out, signaling her departure. Ren watched Hojo Miyoko's retreating figure disappear down the twilight-lit street and smiled fondly.
"It looks like there's going to be another regular customer here~" Ren mused aloud, picking up a clean towel to dry a freshly washed highball glass.
From her luxurious spot on the leather sofa, Lucifer grumbled under her breath. She swirled a glass of rich, ruby-red wine in her delicate hand, her crimson eyes narrowing in feigned annoyance.
"Tch~" Lucifer scoffed, crossing her slender, pale legs. "Who wouldn't become a regular customer after coming to a place like this?"
Ren paused his wiping and shot her a knowing look. "Maybe some won't return, right Cerberus?"
Cerberus was startled by the sudden question. The three girls blinked in unison, scratching their identical silver-haired heads as they dug through their shared memories.
They thought for a moment, their three pairs of ruby eyes lighting up simultaneously with realization. "Ah! Master is talking about that customer whose life was in absolute tatters!"
Lucifer tilted her head, her pristine silver hair cascading over her shoulder. She set her wine glass down on the mahogany table with a soft thud, utterly confused.
"In tatters? What the hell does that mean?" Lucifer asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. "Did someone on the verge of death come wandering in here?"
Cerberus nodded vigorously, all three heads bobbing up and down. "That's right, that's right! He was a melancholic magician from Another World!"
One of the Cerberus bodies hopped up onto the armrest of the sofa, gesturing wildly with her hands. "He also wore these weird, round glasses. He said he would bring a very important customer over soon!"
Another Cerberus body chimed in, her dog ears twitching. "And at that time, he even begged the Master, asking if he could let that specific customer stay here forever and sign a master-servant life contract!"
Lucifer was visibly startled by this revelation. She turned her sharp crimson gaze toward Ren, her expression a mix of bewilderment and deep curiosity.
Ren just kept smiling, his hands effortlessly polishing the glass until it gleamed under the warm ambient lights. "He didn't want to live anymore, but he desperately wanted his friend to live on safely."
He set the glass down with a gentle clink, his tone turning a shade more solemn. "At that time, I told him that whether that customer stays here after signing the contract will entirely be up to that person's free will."
Lucifer nodded slowly, processing the heavy, melancholic weight of the magician's request. She tapped her slender finger against her plush lower lip, thinking for a moment before a sly, teasing smirk spread across her face.
"If it's a great beauty being offered to you, and you just let her go..." Lucifer purred, her voice dripping with playful seduction as she leaned forward, exposing the tantalizing curve of her collarbone. "Don't you think that's a massive loss for you, Shopkeeper?"
Ren didn't miss a beat. He leaned across the wooden counter, his dark eyes locking onto her crimson ones with magnetic intensity.
"Of course not," Ren replied smoothly, his voice a low, resonant rumble that sent a sudden shiver down Lucifer's spine. "Some things don't just come simply because you want them to, so you can't ever force them."
He reached out, absentmindedly tracing the rim of a nearby plate. "Everything in this universe follows fate. Of course..."
Ren's lips curled into a devastatingly handsome smirk. "...if a beautiful delicacy is delivered right to my mouth and I still refuse to take a bite, that's just not normal. Am I right, Lucifer?"
Lucifer's breath hitched in her throat. The sudden, intense shift in his gaze and the heavy implication behind his words hit her like a physical blow.
Her usually pale face flushed a brilliant, furious shade of crimson, the heat spreading all the way down to the tips of her ears. Her heart pounded a frantic rhythm against her ribs, her demonic composure completely shattering under his confident aura.
"I-I'm never playing these stupid games with you again!" Lucifer whispered harshly, her voice trembling slightly as she awkwardly crossed her arms over her chest, trying to hide her racing pulse. "You're way too much of a scoundrel..."
Ren chuckled softly at her flustered tsundere reaction, deciding to spare the Queen of Hell from further teasing. He thought back for a moment, his gaze drifting toward the ceiling as he recalled past events.
"Actually," Ren said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, "I always feel like there's another specific customer who probably won't ever come back here again."
He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Because she should have finally found a new goal to continue living her life."
Lucifer's ears perked up instantly, her previous embarrassment evaporating as a sudden, sharp pang of jealousy pierced her chest.
"She?" Lucifer demanded, her eyes narrowing into dangerous slits. "Explain yourself clearly right now!"
Ren just smiled warmly, his lips sealed tight, choosing to say absolutely nothing.
Lucifer, however, glared angrily at the big scoundrel standing in front of her. She gripped the fabric of her skirt, her mind racing. It was definitely that woman from Another World—the one who visited before Lucifer had even started helping out at the Shop!
Lucifer's mind was now violently churning, entirely consumed by the mystery of who that girl was. Based on her extensive experience working here, absolutely none of the female customers who visited this restaurant were unattractive.
The terrifying ice general, Esdeath, who shamelessly offered herself to him for free, didn't even count in this equation. And then there was the even more outrageous and scantily clad Mai Shiranui, who practically threw herself at him.
Lucifer ground her teeth softly, her imagination running wild with scenarios. She truly didn't know who else this mysterious, absent girl could possibly be.
And just as Lucifer was imagining all sorts of scandalous things, in another dimension entirely, a girl whom Ren remembered very well was sitting alone in absolute darkness.
The only source of illumination in the suffocatingly grim room was the harsh, blue-white glare of a flip phone screen. The girl was holding the device tightly, her pale thumbs silently pressing the plastic keys with blistering speed, writing something completely unknown into the digital void.
It would be a somewhat peaceful scene, if one could somehow ignore the horrifying reality surrounding her. A small, lifeless child was already lying motionless on the cold floor, soaking in a massive, expanding pool of thick, dark crimson blood.
The heavy, sickening metallic stench of copper and rot hung thick in the stagnant air. The girl sitting amidst the carnage, utterly unbothered by the grotesque sight, was Gasai Yuno.
"Gasai-san, let's find a secure place to dispose of the body."
A trembling, anxious male voice echoed from the bottom of the rusted metal staircase. "Afterwards, we can find somewhere cheap to eat. Today, we desperately need to find the locations of the remaining diary holders."
Gasai Yuno clearly showed a visceral look of pure disgust the exact moment she heard that pathetic, wavering voice. Her empty pink eyes darkened, and her lips curled into a sneer of utter contempt.
But in the span of a single heartbeat, that horrifying expression vanished, replaced by a sickeningly sweet, innocent mask.
"Alright, Amano Yukiteru!" Yuno shouted back down the stairs, her voice dripping with melodic, bubbly cheerfulness that completely contrasted the blood splattered across her pristine school uniform.
After speaking, Gasai Yuno chuckled under her breath, a chilling, hollow sound that barely vibrated in her throat.
"That's three down now, Amano Yukiteru," Yuno whispered to the dark, empty room, her eyes locking onto the lifeless child on the floor with absolute apathy. "Keep up the good work for me. Help me become a god, hehe..."
Suddenly, the creak of rusty metal steps echoed through the hallway. Yuno tilted her head, her innocent smile perfectly fixed in place as the boy appeared in the doorway.
"Eh, Amano Yukiteru, why did you come all the way up here?" Yuno asked, tilting her head cutely, her pink hair falling perfectly over her shoulder.
Yukiteru gulped, his eyes darting nervously away from the gruesome, bloody mess on the floor. He squeezed his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.
"If one person handles it alone, there might be evidence left behind," Yukiteru reasoned, his voice cracking slightly under the pressure. "Let's do it together; it'll be much faster. Is there any new development on my side of the diary?"
Yuno shook her head gently, her eyes wide and overflowing with absolute, manufactured adoration. "Not at all, Amano Yukiteru. You've worked so incredibly hard today."
Yukiteru let out a long, shuddering breath, a weak, naive smile finally breaking through his fear. "It's fine.
Our diaries exist to help each other out. We'll definitely achieve the final victory together!"
"Mm!" Yuno nodded enthusiastically, her hands clasping together in front of her chest. "I believe in Amano Yukiteru with all my heart!"
Reassured by her sweet words, Yukiteru nodded and finally turned his back to her, moving toward the corner of the room to grab a plastic tarp.
The absolute second Amano Yukiteru turned around, Gasai Yuno's saccharine smile melted away into a terrifying sneer.
She stared intently at the back of his head, looking at Amano Yukiteru as if he were already a rotting corpse, utterly devoid of any human emotion, empathy, or love. He was nothing but a fragile stepping stone on her path to divinity.
In stark contrast to this suffocating madness, across the vast multiverse in a mystical, ethereal parlor, a man wearing round glasses approached a stunningly beautiful woman.
The air in this ancient shop was thick with the intoxicating, sweet scent of exotic tobacco and raw, thrumming magical energy. The woman was exceptionally tall, easily standing at least 1.85 meters or more, possessing a commanding, otherworldly presence.
[Akarin's Note: The tall woman is Yuuko Ichihara from xxxHOLiC and Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. She is known as the Dimension Witch. The 'unrealistic age' mentioned later refers to the fact that Clow Reed halted her personal time right before her death centuries ago, leaving her frozen in an ageless, immortal state.]
She was draped in exquisite, lavish silk robes that pooled around her feet. She leaned lazily against the edge of an ornate sliding doorway, taking a slow, elegant drag from an elongated wooden kiseru pipe.
She exhaled a thick cloud of fragrant smoke, looking down at the smiling man in front of her with absolute indifference. "What do you want to say to me?"
Clow Reed adjusted his glasses, a gentle, melancholy smile playing on his lips. "Do you remember that miraculous Restaurant in Another World I told you about a while ago?"
The timeless 'girl' instantly became interested. She slowly lowered her pipe, resting it against her hip as a soft, cynical chuckle escaped her crimson-painted lips.
"You really should stop talking about that boring, impossible joke," Yuuko said, her dark eyes narrowing slightly through the haze of smoke.
Clow Reed's smile didn't waver. He stepped forward, his magical aura perfectly calm and completely devoid of fear.
"No, I'm not joking about this at all. I came here today to tell you that tomorrow night, exactly at midnight, I will come and take you to that place."
Yuuko raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, her indifferent facade cracking just a fraction. "Are you actually serious? Does such a ridiculous place really exist across the dimensions?"
Clow Reed closed his eyes gently, his shoulders relaxing as he accepted his inevitable fate. "A dying man's words are always good and true, aren't they?"
Yuuko fell silent. She stared deep into the eyes of the greatest magician to ever live, searching for any hint of deception. Finding none, she let out a soft sigh that ruffled the heavy silk of her sleeves.
"Alright," Yuuko conceded, taking another slow drag from her pipe. "I'll believe you just this once. So, your long life finally ends the day after tomorrow?"
"The day after tomorrow, precisely at midnight..." Clow Reed confirmed, his voice barely a whisper against the mystical winds of the shop. "So I desperately want to take you there before I die."
He looked up at her, his eyes shining with a profound, unspoken sorrow and deep affection. "You can't die yet, and I also want to taste that incredible, miraculous delicious food one last time before I fade away. Oh, and you'll absolutely fall in love with the wine at that shop."
Hearing the mention of top-tier alcohol, Yuuko's eyes practically sparkled in the dim light. "Hmm? If you say so, I'm even more interested now.
Then, I suppose I will see you tomorrow night..."
Clow Reed gave a final, polite nod. His physical form began to fracture into brilliant motes of golden light, and within a single second, he vanished completely from the parlor.
He left behind only the tall girl, who stood alone in the suffocating silence. She smiled softly, tapping the ash from her pipe. "Hmm~ Let me see if you, a dying man, can avoid being utterly cunning for once..."
The breeze suddenly picked up from the open veranda, sweeping through the quiet room. A puff of sweet smoke was exhaled from her lips into the cold night air, and as the haze cleared, only a single, solitary leaf remained resting there on the wooden floorboards, nothing else...
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