Yuto had only just finished cleaning up after Rias and Akeno when the restaurant door slid open again.
This time, the customer stepping inside was the "delinquent teenager" who had visited once before—Kujo Jotaro.
But he was not alone tonight.
Three other people accompanied him.
The first was an elderly man wearing a hat.
His hair and beard had already turned completely white, yet his eyes remained sharp and clear, filled with far too much vitality for an ordinary man his age.
Beside him stood a young man with pink hair and a long green coat.
At first glance, he carried himself with the calm, polished air of a well-mannered young nobleman.
The last member of the group was a bronze-skinned man whose appearance initially made Yuto assume he was Indian.
Standing together, the four gave off a strangely oppressive presence.
They were all tall.
And judging by their builds... Every single one of them seemed unusually muscular.
"Yo, Boss. I'm back."
Jotaro greeted Yuto with the same indifferent expression as before.
His overwhelmingly delinquent appearance had not changed in the slightest.
Black coat.
Large gold chain.
Cap pulled low over his eyes.
Even his cold, clipped way of speaking remained exactly the same.
Yuto could only laugh helplessly to himself.
No matter how many times he reminded himself that Jotaro was supposedly still a high-school student, he simply could not connect the man in front of him with that idea.
This teenager was far too mature.
Jotaro and the other three took seats at the counter.
The elderly man removed his hat, finally revealing his full appearance.
His beard had been trimmed with extraordinary care, and his silver hair was styled so neatly that not a strand seemed out of place.
Every detail of his appearance quietly reflected the background he came from.
Only a genuine gentleman would pay this much attention to his grooming.
"So this is the mysterious restaurant you were telling us about, Jotaro?"
There was unmistakable wonder in the old man's voice, though his expression remained mostly composed.
Jotaro pulled the brim of his cap slightly lower and gave a faint snort.
"Don't underestimate this place. It may look ordinary and unremarkable, but Boss's cooking is damn good."
Yuto's expression became slightly awkward.
That...was supposed to be a compliment, right?
"If Jotaro speaks that highly of it, then I'm looking forward to this."
The young man in the long green coat folded his arms and smiled calmly.
The bronze-skinned man nodded as well.
"For Jotaro to praise a place like that, I'm sure it won't disappoint us."
He even raised one finger as he spoke, treating the matter with surprising seriousness.
Jotaro merely gave another quiet snort before leaning forward against the counter.
"Boss. I'll have beef fried rice again."
After placing his order, he leaned back and folded his arms, immediately returning to his usual unapproachable posture.
Fortunately, Yuto had already seen Jotaro's peculiar style once before.
He simply nodded before turning toward the other three.
"And what would the rest of you like?"
"For me, something light will be enough." The elderly man rested both white-gloved hands on the counter.
"I'm getting old, and eating anything too greasy this late at night isn't exactly kind to the stomach."
By "something light," he clearly meant a simple meal in a smaller portion rather than any particular dish.
People who paid close attention to their health often preferred that sort of thing.
"Then I'll have a fruit salad. Do you have cherries?"
The young man in green asked.
"We do."
"Then please add some cherries to the salad. Thank you, Boss."
His expression relaxed slightly as he politely nodded.
"As for me..." The bronze-skinned man thought for a moment. "Chicken curry will do."
Somehow, curry suited his appearance remarkably well.
"Understood. Please wait a moment."
After memorizing everyone's orders, Yuto headed into the kitchen.
None of the dishes required especially complicated preparation.
He began with the fruit salad, taking out several kinds of fruit and deliberately selecting a few extra cherries.
His knife moved swiftly.
Fruit sliced.
Arranged on a plate.
Dressing added.
Everything mixed through.
The entire process took barely a minute.
Yuto called Tohru over and asked her to carry the salad out before immediately moving on to the other dishes.
Tohru gently placed the fruit salad in front of the man in green.
His expression became slightly surprised.
"That fast...?"
"It really is quick," the bronze-skinned man complained. "Back in my country, even a simple fruit salad would take at least five minutes to come out. The chefs in the kitchen always seem to take their sweet time."
By then, the man in green had already taken his first bite.
His surprise deepened.
Jotaro noticed and gave a quiet snort.
"Well, Kakyoin?"
"It really is unusual." Kakyoin rested a hand beneath his chin, genuinely puzzled. "This tastes completely different from any salad I've had before. Is it because of where the fruit came from? Or is it the dressing?"
While Kakyoin tried to analyze the flavor, the elderly man's attention had shifted elsewhere entirely.
He was staring at Tohru.
More specifically...
At her horns and tail.
"Th-This... What in the world is going on?!"
He pointed at her in complete astonishment.
"Oi. Don't be rude, old man. She's just an employee here."
Jotaro spoke flatly.
The elderly man stumbled over his reaction and hurriedly tried to compose himself.
"Did she surprise you? Sorry. Tohru isn't human. She's a dragon."
Yuto emerged from the kitchen at that moment carrying the old man's light meal.
The tray held a small sandwich and half a glass of milk.
His tone was perfectly calm and friendly.
Unfortunately...
The people listening were not nearly as capable of accepting the statement so casually.
...
By the time all four meals had been served, Yuto returned to the counter and finally exchanged proper introductions with Jotaro's companions.
The elderly man was Joseph Joestar.
Jotaro's grandfather.
The young man in the long green coat was Noriaki Kakyoin, who, just like Jotaro, was apparently still a student.
The final man was Muhammad Avdol.
He was Egyptian.
Not Indian, as Yuto had initially assumed.
People from the two regions could occasionally be a little difficult to distinguish at first glance.
Two "students" who looked absolutely nothing like students...
Plus two adults from completely different countries.
It was certainly an unusual group.
"Whew~ Boss really does know his way around a kitchen." Joseph wiped his mouth with a handkerchief and sighed in admiration.
"I didn't expect someone who looks as young as you to make food this good. I really misjudged you at first."
Avdol and Kakyoin both nodded in agreement.
Yuto smiled.
"Just practice."
He casually waved off the praise.
"Oh, right." Joseph suddenly looked at him more seriously. "Jotaro told me you can see Stands too. Is that true?"
Yuto blinked.
"Stands?"
He looked genuinely confused.
"The thing I called an 'evil spirit' before," Jotaro explained. "Its actual name is a Stand."
As he spoke, something appeared behind him.
Yuto had seen Jotaro's strange "evil spirit" once before, but only for a fleeting moment.
This time...
He finally got a proper look.
The Stand floated directly behind Jotaro.
It was an extraordinarily imposing humanoid figure whose entire body seemed built for battle.
Dense muscle covered its frame, each line so hard and defined that it almost looked as though it had been cast from solid steel.
Its face was calm and solemn, revealing no obvious emotion.
Yet simply looking at it inspired a faint sense of awe.
Yuto could not help letting out a quiet exclamation.
Kakyoin immediately noticed his reaction.
"So you really can see Stands. Does that mean you're a Stand user too?"
Yuto shook his head.
He did not even know what a Stand user was.
The most likely explanation was that the restaurant itself allowed him to perceive things that ordinary people normally could not.
"Now that really is bizarre." Joseph pressed one hand against his forehead and shook his head.
"Someone without a Stand can still see one? That completely overturns what I thought I knew."
"With a place as strange as this restaurant already existing, Boss being able to see Stands doesn't seem that difficult to accept."
Avdol adapted considerably faster.
After thinking about it for a moment, he calmly nodded.
The others considered his point.
Soon enough, they accepted it as well.
From there, the conversation gradually moved on to other things.
And through that discussion, Yuto finally learned how such a strange group had ended up traveling together.
They were part of an expedition formed to save Jotaro's mother.
Their objective—
Defeat a vampire named DIO.
Tonight's meal was essentially their final dinner before setting out.
Yuto could not help feeling impressed.
Judging by everything they described, this DIO sounded much closer to the conventional idea of what a vampire should be.
Cruel.
Terrifying.
An unquestionably evil villain.
Nothing like the vampires Yuto had met before.
For example...
Someone like Remilia.
Yuto had absolutely no doubts about Remilia's actual combat strength.
But whenever he imagined her seriously fighting an enemy...
He could not shake the feeling that the opponent might die of cuteness before the battle even started.
"Come to think of it, Jotaro..." Yuto suddenly remembered something. "After you left last time, another customer came into the restaurant. He looked surprisingly similar to your Stand."
That customer's name...
If he remembered correctly...
Jonathan.
Jonathan Joestar.
Joestar?
Yuto suddenly froze.
Wait.
Was this another case of people from the same world appearing at different points in time?
Before Jotaro could even react to the first comment, Yuto immediately turned toward Joseph.
"Mr. Joseph... do you know someone named Jonathan Joestar?"
Joseph froze.
Then blinked.
"Eh? That's strange. Boss, how do you know my grandfather's name?"
The moment those words left his mouth...
Yuto had no idea what expression he was supposed to make.
Joseph noticed.
His own expression tightened with disbelief.
"Oh, my God! Don't tell me my grandfather has eaten here too?!"
Yuto nodded helplessly.
Joseph immediately pressed both hands against his cheeks, his face freezing in pure shock.
The other three reacted with varying degrees of disbelief.
"The old man's grandfather?" Even Jotaro's normally flat voice carried a rare trace of surprise. "You mean the guy who originally fought DIO?"
"That's right!" Joseph exclaimed. "The Joestar family's hundred-year destiny with DIO began all the way back then! OH—NO!!!"
Whatever gentlemanly composure he had displayed earlier disappeared completely.
Joseph shouted dramatically, every word and movement exaggerated to a ridiculous degree.
"To think Mr. Jonathan has actually visited this restaurant too..."
Avdol clasped his hands together, visibly shaken by the revelation.
Jotaro's expression had also become unusually serious.
And as though fate had deliberately waited for precisely that moment...
The restaurant door slid open.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the entrance.
The instant Joseph saw the two people standing there, his entire body went rigid.
Yuto, meanwhile, smiled.
He raised one hand in greeting.
"Welcome, Mr. Jonathan. And this lady... would she happen to be your wife?"
One of the two newcomers was indeed Jonathan Joestar.
The beautiful blonde woman holding his arm looked gentle, graceful, and kind.
Jonathan escorted her forward with a warm smile, and an unmistakable air of old-fashioned British nobility surrounded both of them.
"Yes. This is my wife, Erina."
Jonathan looked toward her as he spoke.
The affection in his smile was impossible to miss.
He practically adored her.
Erina returned his gaze with exactly the same depth of love.
The sight alone was enough to make anyone envious.
Perhaps this was one of the most beautiful forms love could take.
Joseph, meanwhile... was even more stunned than before!
His hands remained pressed against his cheeks.
He had not lowered them once.
His lips moved faintly as though he were whispering to himself.
"Erina... Grandma..."
The man was already well past sixty.
And yet now he stood staring at the young married couple before him as though he had suddenly been transported back into childhood.
For some reason...
Heat began gathering behind his eyes.
Especially when he looked at Erina.
Joseph's expression trembled with emotion, even the muscles in his face twitching faintly as feelings surged through him like the Pacific Ocean caught in the middle of a violent storm.
There was no possibility of mistake.
No chance that he had somehow confused her with someone else.
That was unquestionably the woman who had once spoiled him, protected him, and loved him more than almost anyone in the world.
"Erina... Grandma..."
Joseph whispered the words again, so softly that it almost sounded as though he were calling out to a fragile dream that might shatter if he spoke too loudly.