Arato Hisako seemed to realize she couldn't change Yuto's mind.
So she stopped pressing further. She sighed helplessly.
Then she also took a sip of her coffee. When she looked up, she noticed Yuto was watching her.
"Is something wrong, Kamisaka-kun?"
"Don't you think this coffee tastes a lot like instant coffee?"
Hearing this, Hisako tilted her head slightly.
It made her look kinda cute!
"I'm sorry, I've never had instant coffee before."
Hiss—
The girl's reply left Yuto at a loss for words.
'As expected, people from big families don't drink instant coffee.'
Yuto felt a momentary sense of disparity.
"By the way, Arato-san, I saw Nakiri-san in Shibuya the day before yesterday. She was hosting a cooking competition." Yuto suddenly remembered this matter...
Hisako's eyes showed a slight surprise before quickly returning to calm.
"Yes, that's because the Nakiri family just reached a cooperation agreement with the Shinomiya Group, which is why Erina-sama appeared there." Hisako said quietly.
"No wonder I haven't seen Nakiri-san recently. Has he been busy with this matter?" Yuto had been wondering why he hadn't seen Nakiri Senzaemon these past few days.
Now he had his answer.
"Yes." Hisako nodded.
The coffee in Yuto's cup was already finished.
He let out a soft sigh.
"Is there anything else, Arato-san?" Yuto looked at Hisako and asked.
Hisako was momentarily stunned by Yuto's sudden question. But she still gently shook her head.
"Nothing else."
Hearing Hisako's words, Yuto nodded and said, "If there's nothing else, then I'll be leaving."
"How did you get here, Kamisaka-kun?"
"By train."
"Then why don't I give you a ride?"
Yuto looked at Hisako with slight surprise.
The girl smiled softly, her meaning was already quite clear.
...
Once again sitting in the luxury car, Yuto leaned back in the seat.
The last time he sat in a luxury car was also when Hisako gave him a ride home. He never expected it would be the same this time.
"Why didn't you use a driver this time?" Yuto asked.
Hisako, who was driving in the front seat, instantly blushed.
Seeing Hisako's expression through the rearview mirror, Yuto pursed his lips.
"I understand." He smiled at the rearview mirror.
Seeing Yuto's smile made Hisako's feelings even more tangled and complicated.
'You understand? What do you understand?!'
When they arrived and got out of the car, Yuto smiled and said to Hisako, "Arato-san, reading shoujo manga isn't that embarrassing!"
After saying this, he smiled meaningfully.
The girl's face immediately turned red, by the time she wanted to explain anything, Yuto had already turned and walked away.
Looking at Yuto's retreating figure, the girl sighed softly before driving away.
...
The morning in Akihabara took about three to four hours.
Rimuru and Ainz had a lot of things to buy, and Yuto had to move from one store to another, which was quite time-consuming.
He took the opportunity to wander around.
Although he felt a bit uncomfortable when he first arrived, he surprisingly grew accustomed to the atmosphere after staying for a while.
It was actually quite pleasant.
By the time Hisako brought him back, it was almost noon.
Around this time, everyone on Ichinosuke Street would buy some food and eat together.
The brothels were open but not in operation yet.
After the meal, they rested until five in the afternoon when they began preparing for business.
As Yuto passed by Hanako's karaoke room, he ran into her wearing a black kimono.
He was shocked!
A black kimono wasn't a garment you wore casually. Black held a special meaning in this country—it represented silence, stillness, the endpoint of all colors.
Because the silent endpoint of life is death, black became synonymous with it.
"Yuto-chan! Where have you been?" Hanako smiled when she saw him.
Her hair was tied up today, held in place by a simple wooden hairpin.
Her makeup was much lighter than usual.
Yuto could tell the makeup around her eyes had been touched up afterward.
She had been crying.
"Aunt Hanako, I just got back from Akihabara." Yuto maintained a respectful demeanor as a junior.
Hearing his words, Hanako softly hummed and nodded. "Do you like Akihabara, Yuto-chan?"
"Not really, I just bought some things for friends."
"Mhm, that's good. It's better for you not to get obsessed with those virtual characters. You should focus on reality and pay attention to the people around you."
Listening to Hanako's advice, Yuto felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he were being lectured by an elder from his past life.
The words sounded very similar!
This brought a sudden tinge of bitterness and helplessness to his heart. They were all reminders for him to strive and improve. The admonitions that once filled his ears had now turned into elusive breezes.
Looking back now, even if he had grown tired of them, there was no chance to hear them again.
"Mhm, I know." Yuto nodded.
He looked at the black kimono she was wearing and wanted to ask about it, but didn't know how.
Hanako noticed his unease.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly, carrying a hint of weariness and emotion.
"Today is my mother's memorial day," she spoke up first.
Yuto's eyes filled with surprise.
He had only been in this world for a little over two months and knew very little about Hanako's past.
He didn't expect that her mother had already passed away.
"Aunt Hanako, I'm sorry." He felt at a loss.
But Hanako didn't mind as she smiled softly. "It's alright. It's been over twenty years now."
Yuto's heart tightened.
'Over twenty years... that meant Hanako lost her mother when she was just over ten years old.'
A trace of deep respect rose in his heart for the woman standing before him. Losing everything at an age when she should have been enjoying a mother's love—how difficult must the rest of her life have been?
Although he was curious about her past, he didn't pry.
"Why don't you go home, Aunt Hanako?"
On days like these, most people returned home to pay their respects.
A faint, sorrowful smile tugged at her lips. "I don't have a home. My home was my mother. When my mother left, I had no home."
She said it with a smile, but Yuto sensed an immense, desolate pain behind the words.
Behind that smile lay deeply suppressed anguish.
Listening to her, he couldn't help but picture a woman who was both fragile and strong.
She stood alone from her youth through middle age, persevering through hardship and sorrow.
Holding onto a karaoke bar, who knew how much she had sacrificed behind the scenes.
And even now, she remained alone.
"Aunt Hanako, you've been through so much." Yuto was silent for a moment before he managed to say it.
"It's alright. It's all in the past." Hanako smiled and patted his head.
She seemed to have let go of everything.
There were still many things Yuto wanted to ask.
What about her father? Did she have no siblings? Were there no relatives to help when she was left alone all those years ago?
But looking at her smile, he couldn't bring himself to say a word.
He just felt powerless.
After saying goodbye to Hanako, Yuto walked down the street. The sun shone down on him, yet he didn't feel its warmth.
He suddenly recalled a passage that abruptly surfaced in his heart.
'They say God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers.'
'Even at a mother's age, a mother's mother remains her guardian angel.'
'Just uttering the word "mother" feels like a lump in the throat.'
Yuto softly murmured the words to himself.
A gust of wind blew by, scattering them into the breeze unknown to anyone.
'Mother...'
When Yuto reached the mouth of the alley, he looked ahead and saw a girl standing in front of his restaurant.
A look of surprise crossed his face.
'She... actually remembered?'
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