Unlike Hestia, Loki could not afford to be carefree.
She had many children under her, and tonight's outing was a private activity she had not told anyone about.
If she disappeared for too long, her Familia members would notice, and that would become troublesome.
After chatting with Yuto for a while, she left with Ais and Riveria.
Only Hestia and Sakura remained.
Since Loki's reminder, Hestia's expression had not looked good.
Even the smile she forced carried a faint heaviness.
Everyone understood the reason.
Sakura silently tightened her grip on Hestia's hand.
At that moment, a firm thought formed in the little girl's heart. But she could not voice it. If she did, Hestia would definitely refuse.
"If you really run into trouble, come to the restaurant and ask." Yuto pushed a cold drink in front of Hestia.
The "trouble" he referred to was naturally what Loki had mentioned.
Hestia was his friend, and Sakura was a child he was fond of.
He would not be stingy with his help.
"What trouble could there be? Don't worry, everything will definitely be fine!" Hestia showed an extremely reassuring smile.
But what the young goddess truly felt inside was something only she knew.
Seeing her like this, Yuto did not say anything more.
He believed Hestia had her own plans.
Although she was usually unreliable, when it involved Sakura, the goddess would not behave the way she usually did.
"Hmph. That flat-chested monster only knows how to say things to scare people. Honestly," Hestia spread her hands, her words filled with disdain toward Loki.
"All right, we'll head back for tonight. If Loki hadn't delayed us, we could have come earlier."
Hestia hurriedly stood up.
Compared to usual, the time she had spent in the restaurant was short.
Sakura said nothing. She simply stood up with her patron goddess.
Hestia said goodbye to Yuto, then turned and left while holding Sakura's hand.
"Don't push yourself too hard," Yuto watched Hestia's back and gave a helpless reminder.
The goddess waved casually. "I know already!"
After leaving those slightly annoyed words, she stepped out with Sakura.
Yuto sighed quietly, then shook his head.
He still believed in Hestia.
...
Moonlight spilled into Hestia and Sakura's room like water.
The two had always lived together.
If Sakura had not voiced her objections, Hestia would have wanted to sleep while hugging her.
After spending the first night that way, Sakura understood one thing: they absolutely had to sleep separately!
"Sakura, get some rest. How about I take you shopping tomorrow?" Hestia stood beside the bed.
She had removed the accessories she wore during the day, and her long black hair flowed behind her like a waterfall.
In the dark night, specks of moonlight shimmered over it.
"Mm." Sakura answered softly and slipped under the covers and the little girl closed her eyes.
Hestia looked at Sakura, who appeared to have fallen asleep.
A few traces of tenderness appeared on her face, but soon after, she let out a soft sigh.
Back in the restaurant, she had acted as if she did not care about Loki's warning at all.
But that had merely been to comfort Sakura, who had been tightly holding her hand at the time.
Of course she could feel Sakura's panic and unease.
As Sakura's goddess and sister, Hestia could not show the slightest hint of worry or fear.
Only now, in the silence of the night, did the calmness and composure she had forced herself to maintain finally fade.
How could she not be scared?
If Loki had not said those things today, perhaps she would never have thought so deeply about it.
Now that Loki had reminded her, the tension and worry were stronger than ever.
She had finally found a member of her own Familia.
She had finally found family.
If Sakura were truly taken away as Loki had implied... Hestia feared she would lose all reason.
What should she do? In truth, her mind was a complete mess.
Sigh...
Hestia let out another sigh.
She also slipped under the covers, but sleep would not come easily.
...
After an unknown amount of time...
Sakura, who should have been asleep, opened her eyes.
She quietly listened to the sounds inside the room.
Hestia's breathing had evened out.
She had spent the whole day working at the Hostess of Fertility, even if she had been unable to fall asleep at first, once exhaustion caught up with her, there was no resisting it.
Sakura quietly lifted the blanket.
She was wearing a cute pair of pajamas and had no intention of changing. If she did, the rustling of clothes might wake Hestia.
Softly, Sakura stepped onto the floor.
Being clever, she picked up her slippers instead of wearing them.
Bare feet made less noise, and she could always put the slippers on once she was outside.
Like a cat slipping into a house at night, Sakura moved carefully toward the door.
Her small hand rested on the doorknob, and she opened it bit by bit, controlling every sound until it was barely audible.
Hestia rolled over.
The goddess was sprawled out in bed with absolutely no dignity to her sleeping posture.
That movement made Sakura secretly let out a breath of relief. She slipped out of the room, then gently closed the door behind her.
Standing outside, the little girl's expression relaxed slightly.
Only then did she put on her slippers and walk toward a certain place.
Inside the room, under the moonlight, the goddess lay half-exposed beneath the blanket, sleeping soundly without a care in the world.
...
"Sleepy?" Yuto smiled as he looked at Erina and Hisako.
His body had been strengthened by Yuuka many times, and even his mind and spirit had become different from ordinary people.
Staying up for several days and nights in a row was nothing difficult for him.
As for Tohru, there was no need to mention her; the dragon maid was always full of energy.
Erina and Hisako, however, were ordinary girls.
Since they had stayed in the restaurant all night, Yuto was worried about them.
The two girls he was concerned about were slightly dazed.
After all, it was past three in the morning.
Normally, they would have gone to sleep long ago; the fact that they had endured until now was not easy.
"Don't look down on me! It's just staying up late, isn't it? Something this minor is nothing to me!" Erina, whose mind had been growing foggy, instantly woke up.
She absolutely could not show weakness now.
In terms of cooking, she knew where she stood, but when it came to something like this, she didn't want to lose.
Behind her, Hisako sighed helplessly.
To be honest, she was rather sleepy!
"I can still manage," she answered calmly.
Yuto looked at the two of them, especially Erina, and found it amusing.
The reason he asked was because he had already noticed the dazed look on their faces.
Erina forcing herself to act strong was entirely within his expectations.
"Since you can still keep going, then keep going." Yuto did not intend to expose Erina.
The fact that she could endure the night made him appreciate her a little.
His restaurant was special, it stayed open through the night.
How many ordinary people could handle a reversed schedule? Even Yuto had only endured it at first before gradually getting used to it.
Today was Erina and Hisako's first time helping in the kitchen. He had never expected them to last the whole night.
Staying up late was painful.
Especially for girls who cared about their appearance, staying up all night was torture. The fact that Erina and Hisako had held on without complaining was good enough.
Since that was the case, he did not mind rewarding them.
"You've both been busy all night. Do you want to eat something? I'll make it for you," Yuto smiled.
Erina's expression softened, and joy flickered in her eyes unconsciously.
As the owner of the God Tongue, many of her reactions were instinctive.
The happiness had only just begun to rise when she suppressed it again. She could not always "surrender" to Yuto's cooking.
She looked rather conflicted and torn.
Compared to her, Hisako was honest.
"Really?" The girl looked at Yuto in pleasant surprise.
"Of course. You two are my employees now, and I'm a caring and considerate boss." Yuto smiled and nodded.
Surprise and delight rippled through Hisako's eyes. In truth, she was terribly hungry!
"Then I'd like ochazuke, please."
"Just ochazuke? That's too simple. You can ask for more."
Hearing that, Hisako looked embarrassed for a moment, but quickly fell into thought.
"Then please add a serving of grilled fish too!"
Although it was not ideal to eat something oily late at night, she really was hungry.
Besides, compared to beef or pork, fish was lighter. It was a reasonable compromise.
"All right." Yuto agreed, then looked toward Erina. "Nakiri, what about you?"
Emotions flickered through Erina's eyes, as though she had finally made a decision.
She looked at Yuto with a serious, stubborn gaze.
That look made something stir in Yuto's heart as he sensed what was coming.
"I'm not eating. I want to have a match with you." Her words carried determination.
She acknowledged that Yuto was stronger than her.
But she had never competed against him!
She had once proposed a Shokugeki, only for Yuto to reject it. Although that left her frustrated, her obsession never disappeared.
Right now happened to be the perfect opportunity.
Her emotions had surged fiercely, and she decided to make one more request of him.
This time, it was not a Shokugeki.
The word she used was "match."
No stakes.
No outside conditions.
Just a simple comparison between their cooking.
It could be described as a spar, but to Erina, it was far more serious than that.
Yuto met the girl's determined gaze.
He could see how different she was now compared to when she had first challenged him.
Back then, the girl who asked him for a Food War carried messy emotions in her eyes.
But now, her gaze was clear and pure, completely different from before.
He laughed softly in his heart.
"If I don't agree, you won't give up, will you?" Yuto spoke with a faint smile.
"Mm." Erina nodded, her face a little red.
For some reason, this scene suddenly made her think of shoujo manga.
The heroine persistently chased after the male lead, and in the end, the male lead was moved... Ah, no!
What ridiculous nonsense was she thinking?!
Yuto was silent before letting out a helpless breath.
"All right."
Erina's performance tonight had satisfied him.
Add her current persistence to that, and he did not mind fulfilling the long-standing obsession she had carried for so long.
"Phew... I didn't expect you to actually agree."
Yuto's acceptance clearly made Erina sigh in relief.
To be honest, she had been nervous. If she had been rejected again... That would have been embarrassing!
"I only dislike the harshness of Food Wars. I never said a simple match was unacceptable." Yuto smiled.
Back when he had been learning to cook, the days he spent competing with fellow apprentices had been one of the rare beautiful periods of his life.
Even now, whenever he recalled that time, nostalgia and emotion would rise in him.
It was only later that his pride had grown.
He had come to love competing with others, using cooking as the stake in a gamble, and had destroyed the lives of many chefs.
If the world had not undergone such a drastic change, perhaps he would never have reflected on what he had done.
During the time he lived underground, he had repented for his past.
That was why he rejected Food Wars.
Behind the glory of a Food War, it was nothing more than a gamble. And he no longer wanted to gamble.
Erina watched Yuto's eyes change.
She could not understand why this boy would give off such a deep and distant feeling.
She was curious, yet for some reason, she also felt a faint sadness.
"Sorry, I spaced out for a moment." Yuto came back from his memories and smiled apologetically.
The girl's face flushed, and her gaze darted away.
"N-no... it's fine." Erina would never admit that she had been staring at Yuto the entire time!
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