Yuto delighted in such scenes, and even more so in hearing his customers' gasps of amazement and praise.
He didn't have grand ambitions, just hearing someone say his food was delicious was enough to satisfy him.
"Today's flower cake is quite excellent."
Rarely taking the initiative to speak, Yuuka seemed very pleased at the moment.
"I tried a small innovation, and it appears to have been successful," Yuto replied gently.
Suddenly remembering the physical changes he had experienced recently, he felt a shock in his heart.
He had almost forgotten to ask about that matter.
"Kazami-san, I'd like to ask you something..."
He then proceeded to describe the changes he had experienced since she gave him the green light.
Yakumo Yukari, listening nearby, had shifting expressions in her eyes—sometimes surprise, sometimes mischievous malice.
"That's right. What I gave you was a bit of my youki essence. It will enhance your physical functions. Since you were previously an ordinary human, the changes feel particularly significant," Yuuka stated plainly.
The trace of youki essence she had parted with yesterday was actually no more than one hundred-millionth of her total power.
It was like taking a single drop of water from an endless ocean.
To her, it was utterly ordinary, but for an ordinary human, it was a priceless treasure.
However, Yuto's face fell upon hearing her words.
Yuuka felt somewhat dissatisfied with his current expression.
'How dare he be displeased with my gift?'
"Kazami-san, does this mean I'm no longer human?"
Hearing the term youki essence, Yuto immediately felt he had lost his humanity.
Was he destined to evolve into a youkai? No way—he still wanted to remain human!
Yuuka's beautiful eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing his question.
Her clear, captivating eyes showed a trace of helplessness and bewilderment.
'So he was worried about that...'
"No, you can think of it as pure energy crystallization. It only strengthens your body without altering your fundamental nature."
Her identity as a youkai was inherently special.
Ordinary youkai were born from bloodline mutations or through slaughter.
But she was different—she was a being nurtured by nature over countless eons.
Though others labeled her as a youkai, she was actually a spirit of nature, a princess of the earth.
Her youki essence was essentially a crystallization of natural power: noble and pure.
Yuto's expression relaxed considerably upon hearing her explanation.
"I was really panicking there for a moment," he smiled sheepishly.
Yuuka said nothing more, having finished her meal.
It was time for her to leave.
She produced a 500 yen coin from the void with her fingertip.
"No need, Kazami-san. You don't need to pay for flower cakes from now on. You've already given me your precious youki essence—money is unnecessary." Yuto gently pushed back the hand offering payment.
He spoke sincerely, that trace of essence was already an immensely valuable thing to him.
In the mundane world, it might not be obtainable even for tens of millions or hundreds of millions dollars.
He truly had no face to accept her money.
Yuuka looked into his eyes.
They were filled with sincerity and clarity.
"Fine," Yuuka simply said, withdrawing the coin from her fingertip. "Yakumo Yukari, settle the bill! We're leaving!"
She turned her head, her expression instantly turning icy cold as she let out a clear shout toward her companion.
"Hey—Manager, how about I give you my youkai essence too, so you won't charge me from now on, okay?" Yukari cooed softly, her eyes glimmering faintly under the light.
They sparkled like amethysts.
"This..." Yuto was momentarily at a loss.
"Stop fooling around!" Yuuka frowned slightly, scolding with clear displeasure.
"Yuuka is bullying me..." Yukari muttered like a child, looking utterly adorable.
...
The two youkai eventually left.
When they first arrived, Yukari had left Yuto utterly captivated. But her antics as they were leaving truly left him feeling helpless.
In the end, the incredibly powerful youkai was dragged away by Yuuka, who pulled her by the collar just like an unruly child.
Silently putting away the 800 yen on the table, Yuto let out a small sigh.
He still felt a bit puzzled. Why did someone who appeared so noble have such an eccentric personality?
"Whew~ They're finally gone." Kasumigaoka Utaha let out a long sigh of relief.
She placed a hand over her chest, as if to soothe her nerves.
"What's wrong?" Yuto was somewhat confused.
Why would she say something like that about them leaving? Could it be that she disliked them? But in his memory, there was nothing to suggest that.
"I was so nervous just now."
"Why?" Yuto grew even more puzzled.
"That Yakumo woman seemed so noble. Sitting here, I kept feeling like I was dining with some princess from a foreign country—I didn't even dare to make a sound." Utaha exhaled softly and spoke quite frankly.
Yuto recalled Yukari's behavior from earlier.
At first, he too had sensed her nobility, but by the end, her behavior had struck him as amusingly childish.
"Fair enough," he replied briefly.
Though he didn't entirely agree with Utaha's words, he couldn't say so outright, so he simply nodded quietly.
"Whew~ That young lady who came back then is completely incomparable to her. They're not even on the same level."
Yuto knew exactly who the girl was referring to.
In response, he simply smiled faintly and didn't reply.
He rinsed his hands, which were covered in soap suds.
The plates used by the two youkai had already been washed.
Just as he dried his hands with a towel, the shop door slid open once again.
It was someone he had just met earlier today.
Utaha's eyebrows twitched slightly, and she felt a bit flustered inside.
'Hopefully they didn't overhear what I just said...'
"Welcome, Nakiri-san, Nakiri-san, Arato-san." Yuto was slightly surprised by the arrival of the three but quickly regained his composure.
It seemed the morning's incident didn't prevent them from coming here to eat.
"Kamisaka-kun, could you make me some tamago tofu?" Senzaemon slowly took a seat at the table.
His burly body made him resemble a reclining silver lion as he sat there.
The tamago tofu he ordered was a simple traditional dish.
Like fried tempura, it was a highly popularized dish in this country.
"Of course." Yuto nodded and then turned his gaze to Hisako and Erina.
"Onigiri, is that okay?" Hisako asked.
"Of course. What would you like inside?"
"Umeboshi."
Hisako stated what she wanted to eat.
Knowing she would come here in the evening, she hadn't eaten much during the day.
After tasting Yuto's cooking, she had little interest in other foods.
Finally, it was Erina's turn.
Under Yuto's gaze, she eventually spoke up somewhat awkwardly about what she wanted to eat.
"Tamagoyaki."
She chose the same dish as before.
"Alright, please take a seat and wait a moment." Yuto turned and disappeared into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Senzaemon and the other two sat in a row.
Senzaemon sat with his eyes closed, silent.
Erina wore a complex expression, while Hisako was filled with anticipation.
Each of the three had their own thoughts, but that was none of Yuto's concern.
At the moment, he was focused solely on preparing their dishes.
None of the three requests were particularly difficult, in fact, any homemaker could make these dishes.
Their flavor profiles were also quite similar.
Yuto took out the tamago tofu, a special kind of "tofu."
Despite its name, it was actually made from eggs and contained no soybeans at all. It was purchased in tube form and simply sliced when ready to cook.
The simplest way to prepare it was to slice and pan-fry it, which was the most common method.
Since Senzaemon hadn't specified any other conditions, this method was assumed.
The knife slid through smoothly, shaping the tamago tofu into uniform slices one by one.
Each slice was about half a finger thick, with no variation in thickness. After slicing, it was time to coat them in flour.
Without flour, the surface would burn directly during frying, losing the simple texture of the ingredient.
Yuto placed the slices into the prepared flour mixture and lightly tossed them.
Once perfectly coated, it was time to start frying.