After quite a bit of explanation, the girl finally stopped looking quite so openly wary of everyone around her.
Even so, caution remained ingrained in every movement she made.
That alone was enough for Yuto to guess that she probably did not come from a particularly peaceful environment.
Someone raised in ordinary circumstances would rarely develop habits like these at such a young age.
And the real sword hanging at her waist certainly was not something people normally carried around during peaceful times.
"Would you like something to eat?"
Yuto gave her a warm, approachable smile.
The girl stared at him silently for a while before finally giving a small nod.
Yuto had already noticed that she was not particularly talkative, so he did not try to force a conversation.
He simply turned around and headed into the kitchen.
...
A few minutes later, Yuto stood behind the counter with his arms folded, a faint smile on his face as he watched the girl eat.
The satisfaction appearing on her face was subtle, but unmistakable.
Even the most hardened person would inevitably soften a little in front of good food.
Once she finished, the girl finally seemed willing to speak.
"Another serving."
She stared directly at Yuto.
The request was simple and straightforward, but the longing in those purple eyes was impossible to miss.
Yuto smiled.
"Of course."
So he made her another serving of exactly the same dish.
It was nothing particularly extravagant.
Just an ordinary plate of tamagoyaki.
Yet judging from the way she had eaten the first serving, one might have thought she had just tasted some priceless delicacy.
Tap.
Yuto gently placed the new plate in front of her, the bottom of the dish making a soft sound against the counter.
The girl immediately picked up her chopsticks.
Yuto had already cut the tamagoyaki into four pieces, and she carefully picked up one of them before placing it in her mouth.
The moment the soft rolled egg touched her tongue, her expression visibly relaxed.
The tension around her eyes and cheeks faded, and after a moment, the faintest curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
Watching her, Yuto smiled inwardly.
He had deliberately made this batch of tamagoyaki slightly sweet.
Sweetness was one of humanity's most instinctive sources of comfort.
Combined with the soft, tender texture of the egg, that gentle flavor spread across the tongue in a way that seemed almost made for soothing an exhausted heart.
"Is it good?" Yuto asked softly.
The girl nodded almost instinctively.
Compared with when she first stepped through the restaurant door, she was already far more relaxed.
Perhaps even she had not noticed the change.
Just as food disappeared quietly once eaten, the comfort brought by a good meal often settled into someone without them realizing it.
Now seemed like a much better time to talk.
...
After a simple conversation, Yuto finally learned the girl's name.
Tsuyuri Kanao.
"So, Kanao, what do you usually spend your time doing?"
Yuto smiled as he asked.
Looking at the tiny girl sitting in front of him, it was difficult not to treat her like a child.
She really was small~
"Training." Kanao answered calmly.
As she spoke, one hand unconsciously moved toward the sword at her waist.
It was a beautiful weapon.
The hilt was white, while the sheath was black, and both the guard and scabbard bore distinct plum-blossom patterns.
Yet beneath that elegant appearance, the blade carried a faint chill that made Yuto instinctively pay closer attention.
There was also something unusual about it that he could not quite identify.
This probably was not an ordinary sword.
"And after training, what do you do?" Yuto asked.
"Kill demons."
Kanao answered with exactly the same calmness.
This time, however, several people nearby reacted.
Reimu frowned faintly.
Yukari continued smiling, though she said nothing.
The most obvious reaction came from Suika.
The oni slowly lowered her sake gourd.
The drunken haze vanished from her eyes almost instantly.
In a matter of seconds, she looked completely sober, as though she had not touched a single drop of alcohol all night.
Her full attention had shifted toward Kanao.
Yuto noticed immediately.
He gave Suika an extra glance and understood why those two words had affected her so strongly.
Because...
Suika herself was an oni.
"I've already stayed here for quite a while. I should leave. Goodbye."
Kanao evidently had no intention of lingering.
She stood, calmly said goodbye to Yuto, and walked out of the restaurant.
After stirring up everyone's curiosity with only a handful of sentences, she simply left without caring in the slightest.
Yuto gathered the dishes she had used.
On his way back toward the kitchen, he glanced at Suika again.
The oni was no longer drinking.
She simply sat there, lost in thought.
What Kanao had said about "killing demons" had clearly left her unable to remain completely calm.
In Gensokyo, oni were practically extinct.
Only a tiny handful still appeared before others.
Oni might naturally love fighting, but that certainly did not mean they felt no attachment to their own kind.
Suika had searched for a very long time.
Yet she had never managed to find another unfamiliar oni.
And now...
A girl from another world had casually spoken about "demons" as though their existence were completely ordinary.
Naturally, that stirred something inside Suika.
If Kanao had not left so quickly, she probably would have started questioning her immediately.
Now she could only wait until the girl came back another day.
...
Not long after Kanao returned to her own world, a young woman came looking for her.
She was beautiful, with a lively and youthful air about her, but at the moment her face was filled with obvious reproach.
"Kanao, where did you just go? We searched everywhere and couldn't find you! You scared me half to death! Onee-san was frantic too!"
"I'm sorry, Shinobu-nee..."
"You'd better explain yourself properly to Onee-san later. She really was worried."
"Mm."
The two walked away together, one following behind the other.
Behind them, the moon shone bright and cold, its pale light spilling across the ground like rippling water.
...
"Come to think of it, Kaguya... your brother showing up at the banquet tonight—will that have any effect?"
The restaurant was still filled with laughter and lively conversation.
Even Yuyuko had temporarily stopped demanding more food, finally giving Yuto a chance to rest.
Standing behind the counter, he looked toward Kaguya with genuine concern.
As her friend, he naturally cared about what happened to her, and Oko's sudden appearance at the banquet had left him feeling somewhat uneasy.
Kaguya smiled calmly.
Her expression remained relaxed and composed, without the slightest trace of concern.
"There may be a few minor effects, but nothing will change. The overall outcome has already been decided."
She spoke as casually as though discussing what she planned to eat for breakfast.
And this was not empty arrogance.
Her confidence came from the actual balance of power.
At this point, roughly eighty percent of the Shinomiya family's influence was already under Kaguya's control.
Large and small families throughout the surrounding circles had also begun quietly lowering their heads and showing goodwill toward her.
The balance had tilted far too heavily.
A dramatic last-minute reversal from an overwhelmingly disadvantageous position was the sort of thing that happened in television dramas.
This was reality.
"You should still be careful."
Yuto smiled somewhat helplessly.
He simply could not shake the feeling that Oko's appearance tonight had been far less casual than it seemed.
After saying that, his gaze unconsciously shifted toward the maid standing quietly beside Kaguya.
Hayasaka noticed.
Her body tensed almost imperceptibly.
Her heart tightened at the same time, and several uneasy possibilities immediately surfaced in her mind.
For a moment, Hayasaka found it difficult to remain calm.
Fortunately...
Yuto only looked at her once.
Then, without drawing any attention to it, he calmly shifted his gaze away.
He said nothing.
That tiny gesture made Hayasaka secretly release the breath she had been holding.
"Mm. I know." Kaguya nodded. "Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. If I lost everything I've built because I became careless at the final moment, I wouldn't forgive myself."
She had not noticed the subtle exchange between Yuto and Hayasaka.
Yuto nodded.
Since Kaguya was already mentally prepared, there was little reason for him to worry excessively.
"Oh, right. Erina didn't seem to attend the banquet tonight. She said before that she was planning to go."
"She's probably busy preparing for Tōtsuki's Moon Banquet Festival."
"I see." Yuto thought for a moment. "Are you going to the Moon Banquet Festival too, Kaguya?"
"Erina did invite me, but I'll have to see how things look when the time comes. I've been quite busy lately too."
After taking control of most of the Shinomiya family's power, Kaguya now had to consolidate and reorganize everything she had acquired.
That was hardly an easy job.
"That's true. Things haven't exactly been easy for you lately either."
Kaguya looked at him.
"What about Kamisaka-kun? Are you going?"
"Mm. I already promised I would."
"Really?!"
Kaguya froze.
Yuto nodded.
For a moment, she fell quietly into thought.
The Moon Banquet Festival...
Suddenly, Kaguya felt that perhaps...
Making time to attend might be considerably more necessary than she had originally thought!