The flower cake required a long steaming time, and after preparing so many other dishes, it was finally ready.
Yuto lifted the steamer lid, and a cloud of steam billowed into his face.
Fortunately, he wasn't bothered by it anymore.
As the steam cleared, the sunflower-shaped cake in the center of the steamer looked perfectly done
Yuto gently pressed the cake with a clean chopstick.
Sshh—
The cake yielded softly under the pressure.
Yuto nodded.
That was the sign it was ready. He carefully lifted the cake with the chopsticks and placed it on a plate, then instinctively glanced at the counter.
Kazami Yuuka had been waiting there quietly for a long time. She was already an exceptionally beautiful youkai, rivaling even Yakumo Yukari.
Her current quiet demeanor truly suited her name, Yuuka, which evoked a sense of subtle fragrance.
"Boss, please be careful."
Youmu knew this sunflower cake was for Kazami Yuuka.
Otherwise, no human or youkai would dare eat a sunflower in front of her. The righteous gardener recalled the legends surrounding Kazami Yuuka.
Youmu had always stayed in the Netherworld, so her memories of Yuuka were from a long time ago.
The image of that brutal and terrifying figure still lingered in the half-spirit girl's mind.
She offered the warning out of concern for Yuto.
"Hm? Careful of what?" Yuto turned his head, asking in surprise.
Just as Youmu was about to say the name "Kazami Yuuka," she froze in terror.
From behind the counter, Kazami Yuuka's gaze had already fallen upon her!
That brief eye contact told Youmu all she needed to know.
"No, it's nothing."
The half-spirit girl's palms were slick with sweat, yet she forced a smile.
Yuto's brow twitched with a mix of confusion and resignation.
'Forget it. I won't ask.'
He picked up the flower cake and walked out.
Approaching Kazami Yuuka, he offered her a gentle smile.
To him, Kazami Yuuka was slightly different from his other customers.
It wasn't just because she had twice gifted him her essence. More significantly, their first meeting had been the first time Yuto had ever been truly stunned by beauty.
No matter how many beautiful women he met afterward, none could compare to that breathtaking first glimpse.
"Here, Yuuka. Your flower cake."
"Mm."
Yuto spoke with a light chuckle, and she responded with a soft hum.
Even this simple exchange drew a wave of shocked and disbelieving stares from everyone in the restaurant.
'He... he called her by her first name?!'
Reimu, Marisa, Suika, Shameimaru, Youmu, Ran—the entire group stared in utter astonishment.
Only Yukari remained calm, her eyes crinkling with a serene smile.
Last night, Kazami Yuuka had been the last of the Gensokyo group to leave.
So, the others didn't know that Kazami Yuuka had given Yuto permission to call her by her first name.
Their shock and astonishment were understandable.
"Is something wrong, everyone?" Yuto felt their gazes fixed on him.
He looked at the group, puzzled.
As he turned to face them, Kazami Yuuka also swept her gaze across the room.
When her calm eyes fell upon them, the stunned expressions smoothed into placid ones.
"Ahhh~ It's nothing~"
"Reimu, look! There's five yen over there!"
"Where?! Where?!"
"Sake... it's a wonderful thing!"
The blatant and awkward attempts to change the subject made Yuto chuckle.
When he turned back to Kazami Yuuka, her eyes were already on him.
"Everyone seems a bit strange today."
"Don't mind them. They're never normal," Yuuka said coolly before taking a delicate bite of her flower cake.
Her serene face was marred only by the slight puff of her cheeks. It was a surprisingly cute contrast.
Yuto couldn't help but smile at the sight.
Kazami Yuuka's eyes narrowed slightly in displeasure, but she said nothing and continued eating her flower cake.
The onlookers, who had been watching intently, fell silent once more.
Fortunately, the opening of the restaurant door broke the silence.
Oh, it was Saitama.
...
Today, Saitama's bald head was as shiny as ever!
The moment he stepped into the restaurant, he glanced around with surprise.
He sensed that the atmosphere was... off.
It felt as if he had just shattered some kind of heavy silence.
Ever since he began his self-imposed training regimen, his perception of his surroundings had grown sharp.
"Is something wrong?" he asked Yuto, his expression calm yet tinged with a vacant air.
Yuto chuckled.
He hadn't gotten used to the recent silence in the restaurant, so Saitama's arrival, which broke the tension, was a welcome relief.
"It's nothing. Have a seat, Saitama."
"Oh."
Saitama sat down with a blank expression.
He was dressed differently today.
Usually, he wore normal clothes, but today he had on a yellow jumpsuit. His hands and feet were covered in red leather gloves and boots.
A white cape hung from his back, looking a bit like a curtain. The entire outfit made him look comical and old-fashioned.
Yuto felt a sense of resignation and sighed.
'It's rude to mock someone's clothes,' he thought. 'Saitama must have his reasons for dressing this way.'
"Saitama, what's with the outfit?"
Mocking was out of the question, but asking was fine.
Hearing Yuto's question, Saitama scratched his head and gave a simple, honest smile.
"This is my custom-made hero suit. I saw that all the heroes on TV have their own costumes, so I figured since I'm a hero too, I should have one of my own."
Saitama grinned.
Yuto nodded with a smile. He didn't want to ask why Saitama had chosen this particular design.
After all, taste is subjective.
What looked tacky to him might look cool to Saitama.
"But isn't it hot wearing a leather suit like this in the summer?"
"Of course not. After enduring three summers without air conditioning, I can't feel the heat anymore."
Yuto was a little surprised.
He had a strange feeling that the Saitama before him could no longer be described as human.
'Has he evolved through training?' Yuto's imagination ran wild for a moment.
"Kamisaka, the usual."
"Right away." Yuto smiled, nodded, and headed into the back kitchen.
Saitama's "usual" was, of course, udon noodles.
'The person who used to eat noodles with him... is now just a pile of bones...'
The thought brought a sudden wave of sadness.
Yuto shook his head. 'Cooking comes first right now.'
"Youmu, thank you for your help. I can handle it from here," Yuto said to her.
The girl had come for her master, and the curry for Yuyuko was nearly finished.
There was no need for two people anymore.
So, Yuto decided to let Youmu go rest.
"If you need me, Boss, I can keep helping."
"No need, Youmu. Go get some rest." Yuto smiled and urged the half-spirit girl again. She looked a little conflicted but nodded anyway.
"Then I'll be heading back. But if you need any help, Boss, please don't hesitate to call on me!"
"Alright."
Youmu hugged her half-spirit and left.
Yuto let out a sigh of relief.
The curry base still needed time to rest, so he turned his attention to making taiyaki for Hestia and Sakura.
He took out the taiyaki mold and gave it a quick rinse.
Next, he placed the mold on the stove. Yuuka's flower cakes had finished steaming, freeing up the burner.
With that done, he began preparing the batter.
Making taiyaki also required letting the batter rest to meld, which created a window of time to prepare the udon.
About seven or eight minutes after serving Saitama his udon, Yuto added the curry roux to the pot of beef, potatoes, and onions that had been resting.
He then turned on the heat and began to simmer the curry. For now, that pot could be left unattended.
Yuto started grilling the taiyaki. From the beginning, he had been juggling three dishes at once—methodical, well-organized, and never falling behind.
By the time the taiyaki were grilled to perfection, the curry had simmered down just right.
Yuto first served the taiyaki to Hestia and Sakura. As for the curry, he didn't bring it out immediately. Instead, he grilled two more taiyaki.
Youmu had helped him, and he couldn't let her efforts go unrewarded.
Once they were done, he placed the taiyaki on a cutting board, then lifted the lid off the simmering curry pot.
A cloud of steam from the thickened curry wafted up, warming Yuto's face.
Gurgle, gurgle... Chunks of beef and potato bobbed up and down in the earthy-yellow curry sauce.
Yuto found a bucket. It stood about as high as his calf. He poured the curry from the pot into it with a loud slosh.
The bucket filled almost to the brim. Yuto eyed the quantity.
'This is definitely enough for ten people! Even fifteen!'
For some reason, the sloshing sound of the curry being poured reminded Yuto of feeding pigs back in the village.
'The déjà vu is so strong, I swear I'm not intentionally dissing Yuyuko!'
Achoo!
"Lady Yuyuko!"
"Ah, it's nothing, it's nothing... How strange. That's the second time I've sneezed today..."
The Undead Princess was puzzled. 'I have the constitution of an undead spirit. Can I even catch a cold???'
Thud—thud—thud—
Just then, Yuto approached, his heavy steps steady as he carried two lidded buckets.
Perhaps because the buckets were heavy, his footsteps were heavy too.
"Yuyuko, your meal is here!"
The moment Yuto said this, Yuyuko's eyes lit up.
'Finally, time to eat!'
The Undead Princess didn't care that her meal was being served in two buckets.
Yuyuko couldn't care less about such things. 'Food! Food! All that matters is the food!'
"Boss, please put them here. I will serve Lady Yuyuko."
Yuto placed both the curry bucket and the rice bucket beside Youmu.
Then he returned to the kitchen, grabbing an empty plate and bringing out the taiyaki he had grilled for Youmu.
"Youmu, this is a thank you for your help."
"Boss, this... Please, you don't have to!"
Yuto could see through Youmu's polite refusal.
He placed the taiyaki in front of her.
The half-spirit girl accepted, thanking him with deep gratitude.
Meanwhile, Yuyuko had grabbed a spoon and begun to eat.
The pace, the speed... Yuto had only ever seen one creature capable of eating at such a speed while maintaining an elegant posture, it was Yuyuko!
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