After spending half an hour reading the contract, Yuto found no issues with it.
Perhaps because she was a new editor, the contract Machida provided was quite standard, with no designed traps.
Utaha then signed the papers. From this point on, her identity could be considered that of a light novel writer!
Though for now, she was just an extremely, extremely humble one.
"I have high hopes for Kasumi Utako-sensei's work. Let's work hard together!"
Being a newcomer herself, Machida's words were not only meant to encourage Utaha but also to boost her own morale.
After parting with the editor, Utaha seemed to breathe a massive sigh of relief.
"Feeling relieved?" Yuto looked at her with a smile.
This vulnerable side of the girl was rarely seen in daily life.
"Yes, finally getting on track," she replied, her tone carrying both relief and deep emotion.
Her words were tinged with the hardships and sorrows of the past; those bitter experiences had finally nurtured a bud.
"Kamisaka-kun, thank you." She offered him a very formal bow of gratitude.
"It has nothing to do with me. This is all your own effort." Yuto waved his hand dismissively.
He hadn't really done anything but cook some meals and offer some common-sense advice that everyone knows.
"No, I say it does matter," the girl smiled, refuting his humility.
Her eyes curved slightly, a flicker of joy dancing within them.
Yuto chuckled softly and shook his head. He might as well go along with her wishes.
"Kamisaka-kun, will you accompany me for a stroll?" The girl's expression shifted subtly, now looking at him with an eager and delighted gaze.
"Can I refuse?"
"Of. Course. Not."
"Then it seems I have no choice but to agree."
"Mhm!"
Yuto was pulled along by the hand as the girl dashed into the distance.
Her youthful, energetic demeanor drew frequent glances from many around them.
...
After accompanying Utaha along Shibuya's main street, the girl led Yuto to a spot where a massive crowd had gathered.
Some kind of event seemed to be taking place.
"What's going on here?" Utaha tapped the shoulder of a girl in front of her to ask.
"It looks like some kind of limited-time cooking competition. Quite a few people are participating, and I heard the organizers even specially invited a judge from Totsuki."
Yuto glanced ahead.
On a raised platform, several cooking stations were set up and a crowd of people was jostling to sign up.
"Kamisaka-kun, it's a cooking competition!"
"Yeah."
"Don't you want to give it a try?"
"Nah."
The girl looked a bit disappointed upon hearing his refusal.
Yuto was puzzled, what was there to be disappointed about?
"I wanted to see you dominate the competition, Kamisaka-kun."
For a moment, Yuto was at a loss for words.
Since when had the girl developed such a preference? He lightly tapped her on the head.
"Please stop with your unrealistic fantasies."
"Oh..."
"How about we stand here and watch? I'm actually quite curious to see what this limited-time cooking competition is like." The girl had never seen such an event before, so she was very intrigued. Yuto nodded.
He didn't mind either way—it was still early, and watching for a while wouldn't hurt.
The two found a suitable spot to observe.
Soon, waves of contestants took the stage to introduce themselves.
After the host finished introducing the participants, they respectfully invited the judge to the stage. Reportedly, the judge was a major figure from Totsuki.
As soon as that person appeared, Yuto and Utaha were momentarily taken aback.
It was Nakiri Erina.
Yuto found it rather strange to see a young lady like Erina appearing here at a public street competition.
As soon as she stepped onto the stage, she was met with enthusiastic cheers from the crowd below.
But the host's introduction wasn't over yet.
"Let us extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Shinomiya Financial Group for their tremendous support of this timed cooking competition! Without the Shinomiya Financial Group's assistance, our event..."
The host rambled on and on.
To Yuto, it sounded like nothing more than shameless flattery. It was so over-the-top that even Yuto felt a little embarrassed for him.
But despite the lengthy spiel, the Shinomiya Financial Group only sent out a mid-level manager as their representative.
The disparity was just too glaring: on one side, you have the young lady of the Nakiri family, and on the other, just a manager.
The Shinomiya Financial Group—Yuto was no stranger to that name.
He had encountered numerous enterprises under their umbrella: banks, schools, drinking water, insurance, heavy industry.
He had heard people discuss their influence, though he wasn't sure if the rumors were true or not.
Rumors claimed their wealth reached 200 trillion yen, which meant they possessed roughly 1.9 trillion USD.
At the time, Yuto was stunned. 1.9 trillion USD was enough to buy several small countries.
...
On the stage, chefs were preparing their dishes one after another.
They were given a strict time limit of ten minutes.
Yuto wasn't particularly surprised by this timeframe; he had once participated in a timed cooking challenge like this himself.
Though back then, he only had three minutes.
"This one isn't good either. He paused several times while flipping the wok, so the heat control must be off," Yuto quietly explained to Utaha beside him.
She was just there for the spectacle, the intricacies had to be explained to her.
"Really? I didn't notice that at all," Utaha was a bit confused.
Yuto had already pointed out issues with several chefs, but she simply couldn't detect the problems he mentioned.
Yet every time those chefs had Erina taste their dishes, her conclusions always matched exactly what Yuto had said!
This left Utaha with a sense of inadequacy, but at the same time, she felt a deep admiration for him.
"Excuse me, may I ask you a question?"
A voice suddenly interrupted them.
They both turned to look at the speaker. It was a very beautiful girl with long flaxen hair cascading down her back.
Her moist, expressive eyes seemed to speak volumes and she looked at Yuto with a pleading expression.
Though he found the girl's question a bit odd, he nodded.
"Do you also understand cooking?" The girl's attitude was very respectful, clearly a young lady who had received a proper upbringing.
Yuto nodded again.
"I was listening nearby just now and heard you continuously critiquing those dishes. Every point you made was spot on, so I became curious."
Yuto had been so focused on the competition earlier that he hadn't noticed someone listening behind him.
"Is something the matter?" he asked, puzzled.
"It's nothing, I was just wondering why you aren't going up to participate in the cooking competition."
"I don't want to."
"Eh?! I feel like if you joined the competition, you'd definitely amaze everyone."
"No need."
"That's truly a pity," the girl sighed with regret.
This gave Yuto a strange feeling, was there something wrong with him not wanting to join the competition?
"Ah! Please don't misunderstand, my sigh was only for myself." The girl had probably received an elite education since childhood, making her quite skilled at reading people.
She immediately noticed his change in expression and promptly explained herself.
Yuto examined the girl briefly.
It seemed this child really wanted to participate in the cooking competition herself.
"Do you want to join this competition very much?"
The girl was slightly taken aback, but then nodded.
"Then why didn't you sign up?"
When Yuto asked this, her expression visibly darkened.
Realizing he had said something wrong, Yuto didn't press further. "If you can't participate, then let's watch together."
The girl nodded.
The three of them resumed watching the competition, only this time, Yuto wasn't just explaining to Utaha—he also explained things to this unfamiliar girl.
He could see in her eyes a genuine love for cooking.
The way she watched the competition reminded him exactly of how he used to be: full of passion, full of love.
Explaining things to her wouldn't hurt.
After an hour, the event finally ended, and Yuto and Utaha stood together bidding farewell to the girl.
"Um... do you have your own restaurant?" Facing the girl's question, Yuto nodded.
"That's great! Could you please tell me the location and name of your restaurant? I'd like to visit sometime and try your cooking."
"It's just a small shop." Even if he told her, Yuto knew she would forget it soon enough.
That's just how the diner's cognitive magic worked, it was better not to say anything.
"Please, you must tell me."
Facing such a persistent girl, Yuto felt somewhat moved.
He had been like that too back in the day, going out of his way to seek out and taste famous chefs' dishes.
"Alright." Since she was so persistent, he might as well tell her, though he didn't hold any hope that she would actually remember.
"Ichinosuke Street, Shinjuku. Kamisaka Shop."
The girl silently repeated it twice.
Seeing this, Yuto couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
'Child, no matter how well you remember it now, you'll forget it soon enough.'
"I've remembered it, thank you!" The girl thanked him very seriously.
"Then, goodbye... um..."
"Asuna. Yuuki Asuna." Just as Yuto was struggling with how to address her, the girl offered her name.
"I'm Kamisaka Yuto. Goodbye, Yuuki-san."
"Just call me Kasumigaoka. Goodbye."
"Kamisaka-kun, Kasumigaoka-san, goodbye."
The three parted ways. When Yuto and Utaha had walked a bit further, Yuto asked a question.
"Were you a little angry just now?"
"Huh? Kamisaka-kun, why would I be angry? And how did you know I was angry? What do you mean by asking if I was angry or not?"
"As I thought..."
"As you thought what? Hmph! Kamisaka-kun, let me tell you, I'm not angry!"
Yuto fell silent.