Hisako did not lie to Yuto.
In the morning, the Totsuki ingredient truck had arrived on Ichinosuke Street, they just couldn't find the exact location of the Kamisaka Shop.
Because of the restaurant's special nature, Yuto had to go out and carry in the many ingredients himself.
With ample ingredients at his disposal, his braised stew preparation was even more comprehensive.
Besides just meat, he also marinated a large variety of vegetables.
Now, the last pot of marinated food was finally ready.
No more than ten minutes had passed since Kasumigaoka Utaha entered the shop.
The girl had already been sitting at the counter for a while.
She didn't order anything, just played on her phone, seemingly chatting with someone.
Yuto lifted the heavy pot full of marinade and walked steadily toward the backyard.
He was about to open for business, and there was no room in the back kitchen to store such a large pot.
The former Kamisaka Yuto might have struggled to lift it, but now, he did it with absolute ease.
He carried the pot, set it down against the outer wall of the kitchen, clapped his hands clean, and walked back inside.
Today, he had made several dozen pounds of braised food.
Normally, a restaurant specializing in braised stew would prepare over a hundred pounds of ingredients, but Yuto's shop was small and had few customers.
Truthfully, even making a few dozen pounds was probably a little too much.
He glanced at the round clock hanging on the wall; there were still a few minutes until opening time.
He was already used to Utaha coming here and not ordering anything.
The small restaurant was never full anyway, so it didn't matter if she occupied a seat.
Leaning against the doorframe that separated the front counter from the back kitchen, Yuto watched the girl engrossed in her phone.
At this moment, Utaha's expression was filled with a bit of excitement and joy.
It seemed she had finally escaped from yesterday's gloom.
"Yay!" The girl let out a sudden cheer, her excitement bubbling over.
She looked up at Yuto.
"Kamisaka-kun, an editor wants me!" Her words were filled with joy and relief, her elation on full display.
"That's really great," Yuto smiled faintly.
He and Utaha were friends, so he was genuinely happy for her. Although they occasionally traded barbs, he never lacked care for her well-being.
"But this editor seems to be a newcomer too. Well... I guess that makes sense. If they weren't a newcomer, why would they want me?" Utaha said with a hint of helplessness and self-deprecation.
As she spoke, a faint air of melancholy began to emanate from her once again.
"Knock, knock."
Yuto gently tapped the counter in front of her with his knuckles.
Utaha subconsciously looked up at him.
"Be more confident. What if this is your last chance?"
His encouragement made the faint melancholy surrounding the girl recede.
"Well, I'll just take it one step at a time." Utaha leaned back slightly, propping her chin on one hand, her gaze calm as she looked straight at him.
"So... to celebrate, would you like to eat something? In light of today's news, I can give you an extra discount!" Yuto said with a light laugh.
Utaha brushed away the long hair scattered around her neck, her expression a little disdainful and reproachful.
"Honestly, can't you just say it's free? What a stingy man!" she grumbled, clearly a little annoyed.
"Nope." Yuto wagged his finger gently.
"Hmph, I knew it. But I'm in a good mood today, so I won't hold it against the stingy Kamisaka-kun! I want to eat that really fragrant thing you made for someone else yesterday!" Utaha let out a delicate huff before immediately stating what she wanted.
She looked a little cute like this.
She wanted to eat the dish with the fragrance she had smelled in her dream yesterday.
She only remembered that it smelled so, so incredibly good.
She had even accidentally bit her own lip in her sleep.
But she didn't know what it actually was, because at the time, she had been drunk and sleeping with her head on the table.
Yuto thought for a moment, then glanced at his watch.
"Flower cake? Sure."
With a little thought, he knew exactly what she was talking about.
Yesterday, Kazami Yuuka had said she would send over the sunflowers in advance, he just didn't know when in advance would be.
"Um... is that expensive?" Utaha was a bit embarrassed.
Her funds recently were truly a little tight.
But she didn't want to eat at home; she liked staying here. Even if she didn't eat, just quietly watching Yuto work was wonderful.
"Don't worry, I'll give you a discount." Yuto waved his hand and walked to the shop's entrance.
He flipped over the hanging sign from Closed to Open.
Then, he pulled the light cord.
A warm, yellow light illuminated the small shop's entrance.
The little shop had officially begun its business for the day!
....
This place was an exceptionally beautiful field of sunflowers.
Golden blooms stretched for thousands of meters; as far as the eye could see, the only things between heaven and earth were the white moon and the setting sun in the sky.
And on the ground, aside from the distant, verdant mountains, there was only this boundless, golden sea of flowers.
The setting sun hung on the horizon, the last trace of the afterglow's warmth lingering on the golden petals.
A gentle breeze blew, and every sunflower seemed to dance.
Yet such a beautiful place was a forbidden zone of life.
Few living beings who entered ever left alive, and beneath each and every sunflower lay endless bones and blood.
In the center of the flower field stood an exquisite Western-style mansion.
But even more exquisite than the mansion, and more beautiful than the flower field itself, was the woman sitting quietly in front of it.
Kazami Yuuka.
She was the master of the four seasons' flowers, and also the tyrant feared and hated by countless youkai.
She was very beautiful; even comparing her to a flower felt somewhat inadequate.
She was the incarnation of nature, a spirit representing the earth itself.
Throughout the endless years, countless humans, onmyoji, youkai, and gods had wanted to possess her.
But in the end, they all simply became nutrients for the sunflowers.
Those long-ago struggles were events from many, many years ago.
Ever since she became famous, nothing had existed that could stir her heart.
Many things were no longer even worthy of being remembered by her.
'What a dull eternity.'
Yuuka had thought that time would just continue to pass so tediously.
Until that day—over a month ago.
A door appeared before her. An ordinary, simple door, without any decoration or patterns. Just a plain door. But this simple door caused a ripple in her heart.
The uncontrollable urge to push it open brought a smile to her face that hadn't appeared in a very long time.
She had initially thought it was a provocation from some being.
But she... when had she ever known fear?!
Even when besieged by hundreds of onmyoji, she had still laughed maniacally.
Even when battling a god on a stormy, thunderous night, her heart had felt only joy.
Even when countless youkai, casting aside grudges of life and death, wanted to devour her, she had worn the most ruthless of smiles as she personally twisted off their leader's head.
Now, regardless of whether this door was someone's provocation or prank, she would gently inform the other party—you're dead!
'Since you succeeded in stirring my heart, don't even think of ending this so easily!'
Click—
To this day, Yuuka still remembered what it was like when she first pushed open the door and saw Kamisaka Yuto.
His hands were covered in flour, and there was a bit of white powder on his face too.
When he saw her, he just gave a very gentle smile.
She had also forgotten why she had so calmly sat down back then, but the tranquility that had filled her heart at that moment was still etched deep in her memory.
"What would you like to eat?"
'A restaurant?'
She hadn't eaten anything in a very long time.
The endless years had worn away all her desires; besides battle, nothing else could stir her emotions.
But for some reason, upon seeing the flour-dusted young man, she felt an inexplicable desire to eat something.
"What are you making right now?" Her voice was cool and flat, but the young man before her was completely unaffected by it.
"Flower cake. Want to try some?"
Flower cake... Fine, she would play along a little.
But Yuuka never expected it, with that one taste, she could no longer stay away.
In her long and boring years, besides battle, something else had appeared that could bring her satisfaction.
She now sat quietly, the gentle afterglow sprinkling on her body.
The golden sunlight, passing through her hair, was refracted into slivers of fragments that spread across her supremely beautiful face.
"He should be just opening for business now."
Yuuka gently twirled a finger, and from the earth before her, a small sunflower grew.
It was called small only in comparison to the other sunflowers in the field, after all, the regular flowers here were all two to three meters tall.
Her fair fingers plucked the bloom.
She had to fulfill her promise.
With a slight tap of her finger, the sunflower slowly flew towards a door standing in the sea of flowers.
The door was entwined with flowering branches and vines—a disguise she had made for it. She had no desire for that old woman who always pretended to be young to come knocking; that would be trouble.
The vines pulled the door open. On the other side of the door was still a door—the door to the small shop.
The sunflower flew straight through and landed directly on the shop's door. Through the glass, Yuuka could see the blurry figure inside get startled.
The corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
With a wave of her hand, she closed the door in the sea of flowers.
But the next moment, her brow furrowed.
'Trouble' had arrived.