Just as Yuto was wondering what on earth was going on, Saitama nodded at him with a solemn expression.
The trio's dramatic behavior made Yuto feel like he'd done something incredibly shameful!
"You three... did you all forget to take your medication today?" Yuto smiled tightly at the trio and turned to leave.
The trio couldn't help but sigh at Yuto's dense behavior as they began whispering among themselves again...
"Kamisaka... sigh..." Ainz said, sounding somewhat helpless about his friend's lack of romantic awareness.
"Boss... sigh..." Rimuru echoed, equally resigned.
"Slurp—"
That was Saitama, aggressively eating his noodles and ignoring the drama!
Yuto returned behind the counter and looked at Reiko.
"Reiko, aren't you going to order anything today?" he asked with a gentle smile.
She hadn't ordered anything since walking in into the restaurant.
"It's not that. I just saw you were busy earlier and didn't want to bother you," Reiko replied, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
Yuto chuckled softly and shook his head slightly.
"Reiko, it's fine. I can handle it. Now that you're here, just tell me what you'd like."
"Then... a sandwich, please. Could you add some extra mayonnaise?"
"No problem at all."
After speaking with Reiko, Yuto turned to Shoko, who was sitting nearby swinging her legs.
He reached over and gently patted her head.
"Shoko, I'll make you some sweet fried meat skewers in a little bit, okay?"
As he spoke, Asuna emerged from the kitchen carrying a steaming plate of soy sauce stir-fried noodles.
The apron-clad girl had a few beads of sweat on her forehead, which shimmered under the warm lamplight.
"Looks pretty good," Yuto remarked, glancing critically at the noodles in Asuna's hands.
Though he noticed a few minor plating imperfections, he kept them to himself.
The girl was radiating such intense brightness and pride at that moment.
Why spoil her amazing mood with criticism?
"Kamisaka-kun, stop teasing me," Asuna said with a hint of playful exasperation.
This casual interaction caused Utaha, who was sitting nearby, to shake her leg even more violently under the table!
Shoko tilted her head in confusion.
'Why is she shaking her leg so much? Is she sick?' the little girl wondered.
"I'm not teasing you," Yuto replied honestly.
"You're already doing a great job, Asuna."
"Oh, stop it! I know my own skill level perfectly well~" Asuna deflected, but the happy curve of her eyes betrayed her true feelings.
Asuna approached Yuyuko's seat first.
"Soy sauce yakisoba. Please enjoy." She carefully placed the heavy plate of noodles in front of Yuyuko.
By now, Yuyuko's massive bowl of udon noodles was completely empty and licked clean.
Yuto gazed at the spotless bowl and couldn't help but marvel.
She really can eat.
"Thank you!" Yuyuko cheered and immediately began devouring the new dish with her chopsticks.
Asuna's expression instantly became tense, watching the ghost eat her food.
"Asuna, what about Rimuru's order?" Yuto gently patted the girl's shoulder.
Asuna flinched slightly, like a startled butterfly. "Ah! I'll plate it right away..."
"I'll take care of it," Yuto offered gently, understanding Asuna's intense nervousness.
He remembered how he felt when he served his first solo dish to a paying customer—his own anxiety had been no less intense than hers.
Asuna tightened her hands, clasped them over her chest, and nodded slightly.
"Thank you."
Yuto waved dismissively and headed back to the kitchen to fetch the second plate of yakisoba, which he walked over to Rimuru's table.
"Ah... you didn't make this one, Boss?" Rimuru asked with a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"Rimuru, do you know what I bought in Akihabara today?" Yuto asked with a smile.
The moment he said this, Ainz and Rimuru's eyes lit up with otaku fervor!
"What? What? What is it?!"
"Yeah, Kamisaka! Where are my light novels and manga box sets?!" Ainz demanded.
Faced with their eager questions, Yuto chuckled darkly. "Let Rimuru finish the yakisoba first."
Hearing this ultimatum, Ainz slammed his bony fist on the table.
"Rimuru! Eat faster!"
"Oh! Leave it to me!"
Rimuru immediately shoved his face into the plate and devoured the yakisoba.
"Ugh—this is nowhere near as good as the Boss's cooking..." Rimuru grumbled through a mouthful of noodles.
Having grown spoiled and accustomed to Yuto's culinary masterpieces, Rimuru naturally wanted to complain about this ordinary, human-made meal.
But before the slime could utter another word of complaint, Yuto clapped a hand firmly over Rimuru's mouth.
Strictly speaking, a slime's entire body is a mouth, but Yuto was merely stopping him from speaking loud enough for Asuna to hear.
"Rimuru... if Asuna asks you how it tastes later, do you know exactly what to say?" Yuto threatened quietly.
Faced with Yuto's dark, probing question, Rimuru suddenly recalled the trio's earlier gossip.
All three had speculated that Asuna and Yuto's relationship was much more than ordinary—perhaps even a romantic relationship.
Yuto's current protective behavior only deepened their wild suspicions!
Rimuru understood!
Ainz and Saitama understood too!
'The Boss was trying to impress his new girlfriend!'
"Don't worry, Boss, I get it!" Rimuru promised, giving a squishy thumbs-up.
When Rimuru earnestly declared this, Yuto felt a sense of unease.
He couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong, but he knew these idiots were misunderstanding something massive.
So he could only nod slowly and say, "Mm. Good that you understand."
Yuto gazed at Asuna's tense yet hopeful expression as a sigh escaping his lips.
He'd never been a harsh person.
Moreover, in his eyes, Asuna remained just an ordinary person who loved cooking.
Her profession wasn't even that of a proper chef.
There was no need to crush an ordinary person's confidence in something they were passionate about.
Besides... if the girl were truly discouraged... she'd probably cry, wouldn't she?
He glanced at Rimuru and in that instant.... their eyes met.
'Leave it to me!'
Yuto understood the message in Rimuru's gaze.
This felt somewhat magical to him.
'Is this... the legendary telepathic communication?'
...
Clink.
Yuyuko set down her chopsticks.
She'd finished eating. From the moment the stir-fried noodles were placed before her, she devoured them in just over a minute.
If you excluded the time she spent drinking water, the meal would've been consumed even faster.
Asuna nervously took a small step forward.
She clasped her hands before her chest, resembling a saintly maiden praying in a church.
Her beauty rivaled the idealized images of saints whispered about in legends, making the comparison fitting.
"Is something the matter?" Yuyuko asked, her gaze innocently fixed on Asuna's solemn expression.
"Um... how did it taste?" Asuna asked, her face a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Her movements betrayed the nervousness and hope of a young girl.
She genuinely worried about how others would judge her cooking.
At that moment, her heart trembled like she was walking on thin ice.
"Oh, it was alright," Yuyuko replied casually. "Just not as good as the Boss's cooking."
Yuyuko, being naturally unconcerned with such matters, didn't really care much about taste.
"I mostly care about the weight! Of course, if something tastes good, I'll choose that too!"
In Yuyuko's memory, Yuto's cooking was top-tier.
As for Asuna's... it was about on par with Youmu's, maybe a little better.
Hearing Yuyuko's words, Asuna's expression relaxed.
She knew her cooking couldn't compare to Yuto's.
Yuyuko's evaluation was more than enough for her. Still, she wanted to hear another person's opinion.
She turned to look at Rimuru, who was standing nearby.
Yuto's gaze also shifted to the Slime.
"Does it suit your taste—"
"OOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!! This is amazing!!! This soy sauce stir-fry is the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life!!! Seriously!!! I can still feel the aftertaste lingering in my body—it's just too delicious!!!"
Before Asuna could finish speaking, Rimuru burst into enthusiastic praise.
He understood!
He understands what the Boss means! Just praise her right?!
For whatever the Boss has in his hand, he's going to put on the performance of a lifetime!
Rimuru's body writhed violently, perfectly complementing his words.
Yuto's expression turned peculiar.
'Rimuru, is this what you call understanding?!' Yuto felt an overwhelming urge to kick Rimuru like a soccer ball!
"Rimuru, Rimuru..." Ainz noticed Yuto's strange expression and quietly tugged at the bragging Slime.
Rimuru twisted his head to look at Ainz, bewildered.
Why stop it now, when he's having so much fun?
"What's wrong?"
"You've gone too far, Rimuru. You're overdoing it," Ainz whispered.
Rimuru's Slime heart jolted.
He discreetly observed Yuto's expression.
'Hiss—something's definitely wrong!'
"Stay calm, stay calm. Don't say anything yet. Let's see what Asuna has to say first," Saitama advised.
Rimuru nodded solemnly and turned to Asuna.
Yuto watched the trio's hushed discussion from beginning to end.
Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, he hoped their words were at least somewhat sensible.
"Ahem, sorry, I got a little carried away." Rimuru cleared his throat and quickly regained his composure.
'Good thing I'm a Slime,' he thought.
'As long as I force myself to act calm, no one will notice what I'm really thinking.'
"Pfft—" Asuna couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.
Rimuru's earlier outburst had genuinely amused her.
The trio maintained their poker faces, with Rimuru's expression remaining unchanged.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh," Asuna quickly apologized.
Rimuru wobbled slightly, then said magnanimously, "Oh, it's fine!"
Asuna took a deep breath, her thoughts settling back into order.
She glanced at Rimuru, then at Yuto.
Instead of pressing Rimuru further, she simply smiled and nodded at him.
This caught the trio off guard.
"What does that mean? What should I say?" Rimuru wondered.
"Hmm... this is a bit confusing..." Ainz mused.
"I think we should just stay quiet," Saitama suggested.
"Agreed," Rimuru replied.
A quick exchange of glances confirmed their decision: Rimuru would remain silent.
"Kamisaka-kun, I think I should be going now," Asuna said, her gaze shifting to Yuto.
The girl's radiant smile seemed to glow.
"So early?" Yuto glanced at the clock.
It was only 7:50 PM, and Asuna had barely been at the restaurant for a while.
"Yeah, if I get home too late, Dad will scold me."
Asuna took off her apron but left her ponytail intact.
"Alright," He said.
Yuto could only smile wryly.
Asuna hung the apron on the wall, then pushed open the small counter door and walked straight to the entrance.
Whoosh— She slid open the restaurant door, stepping halfway outside before turning back.
"Kamisaka-kun, could you come out for a moment?"
---------
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