After returning to the restaurant, Yuto tidied up briefly before starting on a large batch of braised snacks.
He would be attending the Yuuki family's banquet that evening, which meant he would not be able to open the restaurant himself on time.
Even so, he had no intention of delaying business hours.
Too many customers had grown accustomed to the restaurant opening at the same time every night, and suddenly changing that routine without warning would only make them worry.
After operating for so long, the restaurant had already become more than simply a place to eat for many of them.
So Yuto decided to leave everything in Tohru's care for the first part of the evening.
If anyone arrived and asked where he was, she could explain that he had been invited to a banquet and would return later.
The braised snacks were meant as a small apology.
Tohru could hand them out for free to anyone who arrived expecting to see him.
That way, Yuto would feel a little less guilty about disappearing during business hours.
By the time everything was ready, it was already past five in the afternoon.
During that time, Tohru had also gone out and brought Kanna home from elementary school.
Yuto called Tohru over and carefully explained everything she needed to keep an eye on while he was gone.
The Yuuki family's banquet began at seven.
Considering Tokyo traffic and all the other unpredictable problems that could appear along the way, leaving early was obviously the safer choice.
Yuto changed into the formal suit he had bought earlier that day, washed his face, checked himself one final time, and prepared to leave.
Kanna immediately tried to follow him.
It took quite a while to persuade the little girl that she really could not tag along this time.
Only after finally convincing her to stay did Yuto step outside.
This was the first time since opening the restaurant that he had ever left just before business hours.
The sky was already approaching dusk.
Muted crimson blended with the fading gold of evening, while Ichinose Street gradually came alive as one nightlife establishment after another prepared to open.
Quite a few people stared when they saw Yuto dressed so formally.
Several women practically had stars in their eyes.
When he passed Hanako's nightclub, he found Hanako standing outside and directing people as they worked.
Even though her return was only temporary, Chiko had immediately handed control of the club back to her without hesitation.
The moment Hanako saw Yuto, her eyes lit up mischievously.
"Well, look at you. Which young lady are you going to meet dressed up like that?"
Yuto laughed awkwardly.
Then he immediately kept walking.
There was absolutely no chance he was staying around to continue that conversation.
If he gave Hanako even a little encouragement, she would tease him until he wanted to disappear.
...
By the time Yuto reached the Yuuki residence, it was already close to seven.
Fortunately, he had not arrived late.
The Yuuki family lived in an affluent residential district in Minato, an area filled largely with wealthy families who had risen to prominence relatively recently.
The Yuukis were no exception.
Outside the residence, a large number of so-called high-society elites had already gathered, dressed in expensive suits and elaborate evening gowns.
Judging from the sheer number of influential guests, word had almost certainly spread that Kaguya Shinomiya would be attending tonight.
Almost everyone present carried considerable status.
And for many of them, the Yuuki family was not the real reason they had come.
Some possessed far more power and influence than the Yuukis themselves.
For people at that level to deliberately attend merely to curry favor with Shouzou Yuuki would have been ridiculous.
There was only one person important enough to draw them all here.
Kaguya Shinomiya.
What had been happening inside the Shinomiya family recently was no secret among Japan's upper class.
The little sparrow whom nobody had once taken seriously...
Had transformed into a phoenix soaring far above everyone else.
At this point, it no longer mattered how shocking or unbelievable her rise seemed.
All anyone needed to understand was that getting on her good side was now extremely important.
Tonight, these so-called elites were the sparrows.
Yuto's arrival naturally attracted more than a few looks as well. His appearance and bearing made him difficult to ignore, but no one immediately approached him.
They were observing.
Assessing.
Trying to figure out who he was and whether he was worth knowing.
Yuto paid no attention to any of them.
He walked straight to the entrance, handed over his invitation, and went inside.
As far as he was concerned...
The sooner he dealt with tonight's banquet and returned home, the better.
He still had a restaurant to run.
...
The moment Yuto entered the main hall, he found himself a quiet corner beside the wall and stayed there.
It was a dim spot where none of the lights shone directly, noticeably darker than the center of the banquet hall and far enough from the main flow of guests that hardly anyone paid attention to it.
At gatherings like this, most people deliberately positioned themselves somewhere visible.
They wanted to be noticed.
Which was precisely why no one bothered with a dark corner.
For Yuto, however, it was perfect.
He leaned casually against the wall and let his gaze sweep across the crowd.
Almost immediately, a strong feeling of not belonging rose inside him.
Everyone here was smiling.
But compared with the smiles he saw every day on Ichinose Street, the expressions in this hall felt cold.
They were certainly nowhere near as warm as the laughter inside his restaurant.
The smiles here reminded Yuto of laying a brightly colored newspaper over a sheet of ice.
From a distance, everything looked vivid and beautiful.
But the moment you reached out and touched it... all you would feel was cold.
Yuto silently sighed.
He felt uncomfortable from head to toe.
Apparently, he simply was not destined to become one of these "upper-class elites" in this lifetime.
He would much rather be back at the restaurant chopping vegetables.
At that moment, the direction of everyone's attention suddenly shifted.
Yuto followed their gazes toward the front.
The hosts of tonight's banquet had finally appeared.
Although Yuto had never met Shouzou Yuuki in person before, identifying him was not difficult.
Asuna was standing beside him.
She wore an elegant evening gown and followed the middle-aged man through the hall, so the man beside her was obviously her father.
Shouzou greeted the arriving guests with a polished smile.
Quite a few families present were more powerful than the Yuukis, so he made sure to shake hands and exchange courteous words with each of them.
Whenever appropriate, he also introduced his daughter.
Asuna followed beside him with a helpless smile.
It was clearly forced.
She politely greeted guest after guest and went through the motions expected of her, but whenever she found a moment, her eyes quietly wandered across the hall.
She was searching for someone.
The one person she genuinely wanted to see tonight.
Unfortunately, there were far too many guests.
She could not spend long looking without risking her father noticing, so she could only steal brief glances around the room between introductions.
After several failed attempts, Asuna reluctantly gave up for the moment.
If her father noticed what she was doing, that would only create another headache.
From his quiet corner, Yuto noticed her wandering gaze.
He briefly considered walking over and calling out to her, but after seeing how many people surrounded the Yuuki family, he decided to wait.
Once the crowd thinned, he could approach her without causing unnecessary attention.
Yuto reached into his pocket and took out a necklace.
He studied it briefly before putting it away again.
He still remembered what Asuna had told him.
Tonight's banquet was also her birthday celebration.
And that necklace was his birthday gift.
It had been made from one of the gemstones Gilgamesh had previously given him.
Tohru had handled the cutting and polishing herself.
With her ridiculous strength and equally absurd precision, she had literally used her bare hands to grind a complete gemstone into a collection of smaller, perfectly shaped stones before threading them together with a cord made from special material.
Measured by ordinary human standards...
The pale-blue gemstone necklace was genuinely priceless.
After a while, Asuna was finally freed from her duty of greeting guests.
Shouzou went off to continue speaking with people on his own, which gave his daughter a small window of freedom.
The moment she was alone, Asuna immediately began searching the hall again.
And this time, she found Yuto.
Her entire expression blossomed.
The joy that appeared on her face was so immediate and genuine that it almost seemed as though her heart had leaped like a little deer suddenly breaking into a run.
Quite a few guests noticed.
Curious, they followed her gaze.
At that moment, Yuto was lightly waving toward her from his quiet corner.
The same question immediately appeared in the minds of everyone who noticed.
Who was that young man?
And among several of the younger men present, curiosity was quickly joined by jealousy.
Asuna was beautiful, accomplished, and came from a wealthy family.
Naturally, she attracted plenty of attention.
But before anyone could act on those thoughts, a sudden commotion erupted near the entrance.
Every head in the hall turned.
Even Asuna, who had been preparing to hurry toward Yuto, stopped when she saw who had arrived.
Yuto also looked toward the entrance.
The entire hall fell silent.
Almost everyone wore a strange expression, as though they were preparing themselves to face some terrifying existence.
Yet the person standing before them looked like nothing more than a delicate young girl.
And somehow...
That seemingly fragile girl overwhelmed every so-called elite in the room.
Her expression was calm, neither warm nor cold.
Her wine-red eyes carried an indescribable aloofness.
As her gaze slowly swept across the hall, everyone she looked at seemed to feel cold sweat gathering along their backs.
Yuto smiled.
So...
Kaguya Shinomiya had arrived.
Hayasaka stood beside her with an indifferent expression.
She looked completely different from the delinquent girl Yuto had encountered that morning.
Her fitted black-and-white formal dress was neat and sharp, while every movement she made was clean, precise, and controlled.
There was even a faint sense of danger surrounding her.
At that moment, Hayasaka resembled a leopard hidden silently in tall grass.
"Welcome, Miss Shinomiya! It is an honor beyond words that you would lower yourself to attend! Please enjoy tonight's banquet to your heart's content. If there is anything you require, please don't hesitate to command me!"
Standing at the front of the crowd, Shouzou Yuuki bowed a full ninety degrees.
He did not dare lift his head.
His gaze remained firmly fixed on the floor, while at some point during the greeting, nervous sweat had already soaked through the back of his clothes.
This country placed enormous importance on status and hierarchy.
To ordinary people, Shouzou Yuuki was already an incredibly successful man.
But before the truly top-tier powers, he was little more than roadside grass.
At best, somewhat thicker roadside grass.
He understood perfectly well that in front of the girl standing before him, his own influence was barely worth mentioning.
The name Shinomiya alone was enough to crush practically everyone in this hall.
"Thank you for the invitation you entrusted Asuna to deliver, Mr. Yuuki." Kaguya spoke with a faint smile.
"There is no need to be so formal. Tonight, I am here as Asuna's friend."
One finger curled lightly beneath her chin.
Her entire bearing carried such nobility and untouchable dignity that she seemed almost separate from everyone around her.
Compared with the rest of the hall... she might as well have been standing in the heavens!