"Kamisaka-kun, I think something just hit the door."
Utaha pointed toward the shop's entrance.
Yuto had heard the sound as well. He was currently making a flower cake for her, his hands busy spreading red bean paste onto the cake base, so he couldn't easily step away.
"Utaha-san, sorry, but could you please do me a favor and see what that was?" his voice traveled from the back kitchen to her ears.
The young woman was more than happy to help.
"Alright."
Utaha got up from her seat. The hem of her light yellow dress swayed gently, and her black stockings shimmered with a faint yellow halo under the shop's lights.
She walked briskly to the entrance and pulled the door open.
A single sunflower stood quietly outside.
It was just a bit magical, the stem held it up, the blossom standing tall as if supported by some unseen force.
Not a single speck of dust sullied it.
Utaha wasn't surprised by this strange phenomenon, she simply considered it part of the small restaurant's cognitive revision.
"Kamisaka-kun, it's a sunflower," Utaha said, picking it up.
Girls have a natural fondness for flowers, and this sunflower was lush and extremely lovely, stirring a great sense of affection within her.
In the back kitchen, Yuto paused for a moment.
He had just been wondering when Kazami Yuuka would send the flower, and here it was.
"That belongs to one of our customers. Could you bring it in for me?"
His words made Utaha's expression visibly fall.
She had thought the flower was ownerless, but it turned out it wasn't.
She walked back inside and handed it to him, a trace of curiosity sparking within her.
"Kamisaka-kun, that customer is a girl, isn't she?"
Yuto subconsciously paused. "How did you know?"
"What man sends another man flowers?" Utaha looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"My mistake. The owner of this flower is indeed a very beautiful woman." Yuto chuckled, realizing his own foolishness just now.
It had been a completely subconscious reaction.
"Oh? What kind of girl is she?" Utaha's tone was a bit passive-aggressive, hinting at some ulterior motive.
"She looks like a young girl, but for some reason, she gives off an extremely mature feeling. It's hard to judge her by her appearance, but—she's truly beautiful."
An image of Kazami Yuuka appeared in Yuto's mind.
Of the many customers who came here, among the female ones, only Yuuka had left a particularly special impression on him.
It was a captivating kind of beauty.
Listening to his words, Utaha secretly gritted her teeth, her hands clenched tightly at her sides.
She was just a little bit annoyed.
Just a little bit!
"Also, why is your tone so passive-aggressive?" Yuto turned back, questioning the tone she had just used.
"Tsk, it's just a girl's curiosity. I didn't expect you to have such a high opinion of that girl, Kamisaka-kun. Could it be that..." Utaha first answered in a slightly high-pitched voice, then asked the next question with a teasing look in her eyes.
Even though she didn't finish her sentence, her meaning was perfectly clear.
"Are you... an idiot? Just because I say a woman is beautiful, does it have to mean that? You're very beautiful too. So, does that mean I also... toward you..." Yuto playfully teased her back before turning around and walking into the kitchen.
He still had to make a flower cake for Kazami Yuuka.
He just didn't see Utaha, who was frozen in place, momentarily stunned and flustered.
"By the way, why did she send you a flower?" Utaha took a few slow, deep breaths to calm herself down.
She sat back in her seat and asked again, feigning indifference.
"To make a flower cake. Oh, right, the fragrance you smelled in your sleep last night was from a flower cake made with sunflowers," Yuto explained as he plucked the petals from the bloom.
He tore the somewhat wide petals into fine shreds, which, spread out on the countertop, looked like strands of golden thread.
He had a new idea today and planned to try a different way of making the pastry. After tearing up the petals, he took a portion and placed them in clean water.
Then, he continued making the flower cake he was preparing for Utaha.
He layered the cake base with red bean paste and mung bean paste, carefully mixing in crushed rose petals.
Outside, Utaha looked a bit dazed, but then she grew puzzled again.
"You're making mine with roses, and hers with sunflowers. Can the flowers used in flower cakes be changed?" The girl simply didn't understand.
"Why can't they be changed? The flowers for a flower cake aren't fixed." The young man felt a bit helpless at her confusion.
The small restaurant fell quiet.
Utaha didn't speak again to disturb Yuto; she simply held her phone, chatting with the editor who was willing to accept her manuscript.
In the back kitchen, Yuto was quietly and intently making the pastries.
The flower cake for Utaha was already in the steamer.
Because her cake used roses and Yuuka's used sunflowers, they couldn't be steamed in the same pot; doing so would cause the delicate flavors to mix.
When he made the flower cake for Yuuka last night, he had just followed his usual method, but today, he didn't want to stick to the old routine.
Occasionally, he wanted to try something new.
He had already torn the sunflower petals into ribbon-like strands, dividing the floral threads into two halves.
One half would be used in the normal way.
For the other half, he first soaked it in cold water, then used the hot steam rising from the steamer to gently heat them until they became moist and tender.
He took some white sugar, dipped the steamed floral threads in it, and then wrapped them carefully around the flower cake.
It looked as if he was dressing the pastry in a skirt of golden threads.
Yuto kept an eye on the time. Utaha's cake was finally ready.
He lifted the lid of the steamer, and billowing steam rose like a cloud into the air, accompanied by the rich fragrance of the cake.
The aroma of rice and flowers blended together, filling the entire little shop in an instant.
Utaha, sitting outside, could no longer hold back.
If not for her self-awareness as a customer, she would have gone into the back kitchen to get it herself.
"Alright, here's the rose flower cake. It's very hot, so let it cool a bit before you eat." Yuto placed the dish in front of her.
Fresh from the steamer, it was still letting off wisps of white steam, like mist in a forest at dawn—distant and magnificent.
"It's beautiful!"
For a young woman, the taste of the food was sometimes not the key; its appearance was.
When Yuto made the cakes, he had taken their color and appearance into consideration. Flower cakes, as the name implied, had to be beautiful.
If they were ugly, they wouldn't be worthy of the name.
Utaha opened the camera app on her phone, she absolutely had to take a picture first!
Swoosh—
Just as Utaha snapped the first photo, the door opened.
"Welcome." Yuto looked up toward the entrance.
It was Kazami Yuuka.
However, there was someone else with her—a woman who exuded an air of splendor and nobility.
A natural charm was captured in the corners of her eyes and mouth, and a head of brilliant golden hair was draped over her purple and white Western-style dress.
On her head sat a very cute, short white hat tied with a red ribbon. Her figure was in no way inferior to her looks.
Her charm was so ostentatious that it radiated effortlessly; even Utaha was somewhat captivated at this moment.
"Kazami-san, please wait a moment for your flower cake," Yuto greeted Yuuka first, before turning to the woman beside her.
"And what would this lady like to have?"
"Oh my, so this is the little restaurant Yuuka has been coming to all this time." The woman didn't answer his question at first, instead casually sizing up the small shop.
A folding fan had appeared in her hand at some point.
She lightly covered her mouth and nose with it, a hint of a smile showing in her mysterious purple eyes.
Her attention was solely on Yuto.... she seemed very interested in him.
"Yakumo Yukari, you'd best behave yourself here." Yuuka's words held not a trace of friendliness.
On the contrary, the threat within them was painfully obvious.
But Yakumo Yukari paid it no mind to it at all. "I've always been very polite, you know."
Yukari smiled and walked up to the counter.
"Shopkeeper, could you make me the same dish as Yuuka?" She watched Yuto with a gentle, beaming smile.
Yuuka silently came to Yukari's side and sat down.
Yuto nodded. "It will take a little longer. Can you wait?"
"Of course." Yukari closed her fan, dusted off her skirt, and sat down next to Yuuka.
Yuto turned and went back to the kitchen.
Even though Yakumo Yukari was very beautiful, to him, she was just another customer.
"Mmm... what a wonderful smell. Countless times more fragrant than Ran's cooking. No wonder you've been coming here for over a month, Yuuka." Yukari smiled faintly.
If an ordinary man were to see a woman like her, it would surely cause a commotion.
Yuuka ignored her completely.
She and Yukari were old acquaintances; she naturally understood that one couldn't simply believe the other's words.
Moreover, she was still angry with her.
Just a moment ago in the sunflower field, Yukari had shamelessly pestered her and acted cute, insisting that Yuuka bring her along.
'Damn old hag! She has no self respect at all!'
"Here you are, two orders of flower cake." Yuto finally brought out the dishes.
The one for Yuuka was wrapped in sunflower threads that resembled golden silk.
The pale yellow cake was like the warm sunlight, and the layer of golden threads was like a young lady's sheer skirt.
The small flower cake was extremely cute.
The one for Yukari, however, was an ordinary rose flower cake.
Because the sunflowers Yuuka had provided were only enough to make one sunflower cake, Yuto had used roses to make Yukari's.
"Mmm... just smelling this fragrance whets my appetite, but seeing such a cute flower cake makes me reluctant to eat it." Yukari looked somewhat troubled.
"For a dish, eating it is the best way to enjoy it," Yuto smiled faintly.
"The shopkeeper is right, but... why is my flower cake different from Yuuka's?" Yukari's eyes curved slightly, her question posed in a roundabout tone.
Her gaze, like a child's envious glance, secretly peeked at the sunflower cake in Yuuka's hand.
The pale yellow sunflower cake was much prettier than the rose one before her, especially since Yuto had specially decorated it with flower threads today.
It made the petite sunflower cake appear even more exquisite and lovely.
When Yuuka saw the flower cake, which looked different from yesterday's, she didn't say anything, but the corners of her mouth curved up slightly.
Then, she gently picked up the flower cake with her fingers and brought it to her lips.
The moment the cake touched the young woman's lips, its shape deformed slightly.
Simply watching Yuuka eat the cake so quietly evoked a sense of yearning and tranquility, it was the very definition of a feast for the eyes.
"My apologies. It's because Kazami-san specifically gave me sunflowers to make the flower cake, so it's different from the ones in the shop," Yuto said to Yukari with a hint of apology.
The beautiful and charming woman simply rolled her eyes gracefully and let out a soft sigh, a mixture of helplessness and resignation.
"Alright, then."
She also took a gentle bite of the flower cake.
Unlike the calm Yuuka, her expression changed dramatically.
Her delicate features were all conveying a single message.
"So delicious!!!"
A slight smile touched the corners of Kamisaka Yuto's mouth.