Utaha, who had woken up from her drunken stupor in pain, was still slightly tipsy.
Yuto helplessly took some ice from the freezer and handed it to her.
"Put this on it."
Applying ice is very effective for both pain and bleeding.
"Ehehe, I want Yuto-kun to put it on for me."
Although the girl was only a university student, in that instant, her intoxicating charm was like that of a mature woman.
Yuto immediately bonk Utaha lightly on the head. "Don't talk nonsense when you're drunk!"
Unfortunately for her, Yuto wouldn't be captivated by the Utaha of this moment.
Having known this girl—who was sometimes innocent and sometimes mature—for over half a month, he could no longer be easily mesmerized by her.
He placed the ice in front of her.
Looking somewhat resentful, Utaha picked up the ice herself and placed it against her lip.
"Hiss—" The coldness touching her wound made her involuntarily suck in a sharp breath.
Yuto looked at her current state and shook his head helplessly.
He highly doubted she could get home by herself.
It was already approaching midnight, and the small shop was in a remote location right next to the red-light district, where delinquent youths would gather from time to time.
On top of that, Utaha was still drunk.
Anyone could tell it would be highly inappropriate to let her go home alone like this.
"Yuto-kun really doesn't understand anything, you got no common sense at all..."
Hearing the muttering whispers beside him, Yuto sighed.
"I can hear you," he said helplessly.
Utaha was startled, and the sudden movement pulled at the cut on her lip, causing her even more pain.
"Hiks.. It hurts..."
Kasumigaoka looked very cute right now.
At this moment, she completely lacked her usual cool beauty demeanor, instead, she was more like a fragile, ordinary girl...
"Let's go, I'll take you home," Yuto decided.
To avoid any further trouble, it was best to send her home first.
"Hehe, how did Yuto-kun suddenly get a clue?" Utaha gave a silly smile.
Although she was still beautiful like this, she was also much more troublesome.
"I shouldn't have let you drink today." Yuto truly regretted his decision.
But when Kasumigaoka Utaha had come to him earlier with red-rimmed eyes asking for a drink, he couldn't help but give her one.
The girl had looked so pitiful at the time, just like a little girl who had been wronged to no end.
He had only opened one bottle of beer for her, never expecting that she would get drunk after just half a bottle.
Hearing his words, Utaha fell silent for a moment.
The corner of her mouth twitched up slightly before returning to normal in an instant.
"Thank you, my merciful and enlightened Yuto-kun!" she said with a playful, teasing expression.
Yuto let out a soft, helpless breath. "Put this on first, then we'll leave."
Only when she heard him say this did Utaha notice the jacket draped over her shoulders.
The corner of her mouth twitched again.
"Tsk, I didn't think Yuto-kun knew how to be considerate of girls~"
Yuto ignored her.
He tidied up the shop, checked that everything was in order, and then turned off the lights in the back kitchen.
After changing his clothes, he walked back over to her.
"Let's go."
Utaha's eyes crinkled into a smile as she slowly followed behind him.
The two stood outside the shop. As Utaha watched Yuto lock up the doors, she wrapped the jacket around herself a little tighter.
Although it was already early summer, a slight chill would still occasionally drift by at night; after all, this country was an island nation.
Furthermore, she had been drinking, making her more susceptible to the wind.
"Zip it up. It's easy to catch a chill from the wind after drinking." Yuto noticed her discomfort.
He sighed and zipped up the jacket for her. His clothing was very loose on the girl's frame, and he pulled the zipper all the way to the top until it covered her mouth.
Like this, Utaha looked a bit like a penguin now.
Yuto couldn't help but smile.
In the dim light, he didn't see the glint in Utaha's eyes or the fleeting blush that crossed her face. What a pity.
That was one of a girl's most intoxicating sights.
"Where do you live?"
"On the moon~"
"Forget it, I'll just hand you over to the police."
"Yuto-kun is so cruel!"
...
Shinjuku is the most bustling area around Tokyo at night.
All sorts of entertainment venues choose to set up in Shinjuku, and even special establishments like red-light districts are mostly concentrated there.
The street where the small restaurant was located was called Ichinosuke Street.
It was no more than a hundred meters long, but along this short stretch were more than a dozen red-light establishments.
From private massages to adult KTVs, this place had it all.
Yuto's small shop was simply called "Kamisaka Shop," located in a small alley deep within Ichinosuke.
He rarely went out at night because that was when the district was at its peak.
Yuto had a cute and handsome appearance, and coupled with his young looks, a boy-toy-like youth could easily attract the attention of mature women.
Every time he walked down Ichinosuke Street at night, he would be teased by many 'big sisters'.
Even if he could maintain his composure, the overwhelming fragrance of women was always intoxicating. Moreover, those women were veterans at mingling with men.
Dealing with them was no easy task...
Just like right now.
Utaha walked ahead in sullen silence, while Yuto followed behind her with his head slightly lowered.
From time to time, a teasing remark would reach their ears.
"Yuto-chan, want to come sing a song?"
'No thanks, big sis. I'm still a minor, I can't go into an adult KTV.'
"Oh? Is this Yuto-chan girlfriend? She's quite pretty."
'No, no, no, she's just a drunken nuisance.'
"When Yuto-chan grows up, you can come find me, okay? I'll give you a half-price discount."
'Hiss— It's tempting, but I'd better pass.'
Yuto and Utaha walked the hundred-plus meters in a hurry.
The two said nothing along the way, and it was only after they finally left Ichinosuke Street that both of their faces were a little red.
"Why did you have to open your shop in a place like this, Yuto-kun?" Utaha seemed to have sobered up a bit, the effects of the alcohol dissipating considerably.
"Um... I don't know either." Yuto felt a little helpless.
When he arrived in this world, he simply found himself in possession of this small shop deep within Ichinosuke.
It wasn't as if he was given a choice.
"What kind of answer is that? How can you not know why you opened your own shop..."
Watching Utaha complain before him, Yuto sighed faintly in his heart.
'I'd like to know why, too...'
There were many things he wanted to know the reasons for.
For example, he had discovered the peculiar properties of his little diner a long time ago.
His small shop was fundamentally different from the outside world, anything unreasonable was considered reasonable inside the shop.
Whether it was customers who suddenly appeared or vanished, or scenes of giants three or four meters tall eating side-by-side with ordinary people, as long as these strange and magical events occurred within the shop, they would not cause shock or surprise to any other normal costumers.
As long as they were inside, the perception of everyone except Kamisaka Yuto would undergo a magical deviation correction.
Just like Kasumigaoka Utaha.
As an ordinary girl of this world, she had already seen many scenes in the shop that would be considered incredible.
Four-meter-tall giants, non-human creatures, customers who suddenly disappeared—but to her, when she came to this small shop, these incredible scenes were perfectly acceptable.
They existed in her perception as a kind of common sense.
Just like the common sense that people need to breathe and eat, she thought it was perfectly normal for all sorts of things to happen there.
Moreover, this correction of cognitive deviation was long-lasting.
Even after leaving the diner, Kasumigaoka still wouldn't have any strange doubts about her memories.
This magical phenomenon and the question Kasumigaoka just asked were both things that had once puzzled Yuto.
But since he couldn't figure them out no matter how much he thought about it, he decided to just let it be.
He had already gained an incredible advantage by living a second life.
Why bother with so many details?
"Actually, I think it's fine. Besides having fewer customers, there's nothing wrong with opening a shop there," Yuto said seriously.
"Although those ladies are in that line of work, they are all very good people."
He wouldn't discriminate against others because of their profession.
Many times, people's hands are tied.
Besides, people who are gilded on the outside but rotten on the inside are perhaps the majority in this society.
"But if you have fewer customers, doesn't that mean you have no business?" Kasumigaoka asked again.
Yuto thought for a moment.
Although he had few customers, many of them were big spenders!
Besides, he didn't open the shop to make money, but just to seek a bit of peace.
When he told Kasumigaoka what he was thinking, the girl couldn't help but smile.
"Really, you truly don't care, do you?"
"A peaceful life like this is good enough for me... there's no need to force anything else."