Everything afterward was kept simple.
Hanako did not arrange anything elaborate.
She contacted a funeral home directly and had them send people to collect Morishita Ihito's body. Once it arrived there, he would be cremated.
There were certain procedures and ceremonies that would normally have accompanied a death like this.
Hanako declined all of them.
Yuto had no idea what she was feeling as she made those arrangements.
Her expression remained calm throughout the entire process.
Too calm.
So calm, in fact, that everyone around her instinctively lowered their voices and avoided saying anything unnecessary.
Once the funeral-home staff had taken Morishita away, Hanako finally turned toward Yuto.
"Yuto, I'm going to the funeral home. You should head back first."
Her voice was steady.
After speaking, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly as though she were trying to reassure him.
The faint smile disappeared almost immediately.
"Mm."
Yuto nodded.
Hanako turned and walked away.
Her steps remained steady and composed as she pushed through the hotel doors, hailed a taxi, and climbed inside.
And just like that...
Her figure disappeared from Yuto's sight.
He remained standing in the hotel lobby for a while, watching the place where the taxi had vanished.
Then he drew in a deep breath and slowly let it out.
A reunion that never happened.
A farewell without a single word.
Sometimes the cruelest things in life were not grand tragedies at all.
They were simply moments missed by a little too much hesitation, a little too much fear, or a little too much bad timing.
Yuto stood there silently until the tangled thoughts in his mind finally settled somewhat.
Then he decided to return to the restaurant.
Before leaving, he called over the man in black and asked him to handle things properly with the hotel.
Morishita had died inside one of their rooms.
No hotel would be comfortable dealing with something like that, and Yuto did not want the staff dragged into unnecessary trouble because of what happened.
The man immediately agreed.
Only then did Yuto leave.
...
By the time he returned to Ichinose Street, it was already afternoon.
The businesses lining the street had begun opening their doors and preparing for the coming evening.
Yuto answered the familiar greetings directed his way as he walked.
When he passed Hanako's nightclub, Chiko immediately called out to him.
"Yuto! Where did Hanako-san go?"
Yuto paused.
He had no intention of being the one to explain everything.
"Aunt Hanako will be back later. You can ask her yourself then, Chiko-san."
Before Chiko could press him for details, Yuto was already moving again.
"Hey—!"
He escaped.
Chiko stared after him in irritation before kicking a nearby stone.
Hiss—
She immediately sucked in a sharp breath.
She had kicked it far too hard.
Pain shot through her foot, leaving her hopping awkwardly in place while glaring at the innocent stone as though it were somehow responsible.
...
Before long, opening time drew near.
Kanna and Shouko were both inside the restaurant.
Shouko had come back with Kanna after school today so the two could play together, and they were happily discussing all the interesting things that had happened in class.
Tohru, meanwhile, was giving the restaurant one final cleaning.
Whenever Tohru seriously worked, she somehow created an atmosphere of overwhelming activity.
Even though she was the only person cleaning...
It felt as though an entire crew was hard at work.
The sight was strangely impressive.
Yuto stood leisurely outside the restaurant and enjoyed the final few minutes of peace before business began.
Once the doors opened, he would become busy almost immediately.
Especially during the first half of the night.
There would hardly be another opportunity to simply stand outside, look toward the fading evening sky, and enjoy the breeze.
Yuto raised his head.
The last warm yellow glow of sunset blended with the deep blue-black of the approaching night, while layers of clouds stretched away from the setting sun like waves rolling toward some distant horizon.
The alley was too narrow to give him a complete view of the sky.
But even that small glimpse was enough to imagine how beautiful the full scene must be.
A gentle summer breeze drifted past.
There was still a trace of warmth in it.
It was midsummer, after all.
Even the evening wind was supposed to be warm.
Yuto glanced toward the street beyond the alley.
There were already plenty of people coming and going.
He stretched both arms toward the sky.
All right.
Time to open.
Yuto flipped the sign over to OPEN.
Then he walked back inside.
...
By the time the Gensokyo group had settled into their usual seats, Kaori arrived as well.
She was carrying her violin.
Judging from that alone, it was obvious she intended to play.
Yuto gently asked what she wanted to eat before heading into the kitchen.
Not long after he began cooking, the sound of Kaori's violin drifted through the restaurant.
The soft, winding melody flowed through the room like a clear stream passing through a green meadow.
Without anyone quite noticing when it happened...
The music quietly slipped into everyone's hearts.
Once Yuto finished preparing Kaori's food, he did not immediately carry it outside.
Instead, he leaned lightly against the kitchen doorway and watched her play.
Kaori's eyes were closed.
A bright smile rested on her face as her bow moved smoothly across the strings, while her golden hair swayed with each light movement of her body.
At that moment... Kaori seemed to shine.
Yuto remembered the last time she had performed inside the restaurant.
But this time was different.
This time, there was no fear that the music would suddenly stop because her body could no longer keep up.
No fear that she might collapse before finishing the piece.
Her movements were light now.
Almost as though she were dancing with the wind itself.
The final note eventually faded.
Applause immediately filled the restaurant.
Only then did Yuto carry her food over.
Kaori greeted him with her usual bright smile.
"Boss, do you think Miku will come tonight?"
Yuto shook his head.
"I don't know."
Whether customers visited the restaurant was entirely their own choice.
His role...
Was simply to wait for them.
Kaori looked slightly disappointed before asking another question.
"What about Lucoa-san? Do you know when she might come?"
Yuto could only shake his head again.
He did not know that either.
So...
Kaori decided to wait.
She wanted to thank Lucoa personally for what she had done.
And if Miku happened to arrive as well, Kaori wanted another chance to talk about music with her.
...
Ainz and Rimuru also appeared later that night.
This time, however, neither of them seemed interested in immediately going back to work on conquering worlds.
According to Ainz...
Tonight was a temporary celebration.
Rimuru's world had now been completely unified.
That alone was worth celebrating.
At the very least, it proved their ridiculous plan actually worked.
Neither of them was in any hurry to start gaming either.
Rimuru wanted to eat first.
It had been quite a while since he last tasted Yuto's cooking.
And he genuinely missed it.
...
Time passed quietly.
The Gensokyo group was the first to leave.
They did not stay especially long tonight, and once they were gone, the restaurant suddenly became much quieter.
Not long afterward asuna arrived.
Yuto smiled and greeted her.
But almost immediately, something struck him as strange.
Tonight... asuna kept avoiding his eyes.
Yuto watched her curiously.
Had he done something?
"Long time no see, Kamisaka-kun."
Asuna forced herself to smile calmly.
Yuto laughed.
"Didn't we just see each other yesterday? I don't think it's been long enough to say that."
"Ah! R-Right..."
Asuna's face reddened.
"I suppose that's true."
Her hands fidgeted awkwardly beside her thighs.
Her gaze wandered everywhere except toward Yuto, while obvious embarrassment lingered across her expression.
Now Yuto was genuinely curious.
"What's wrong with you? Did something happen?"
Asuna froze.
For the briefest instant, she looked as though time itself had stopped around her.
"Ah, um... Nothing. Kamisaka-kun is just imagining things."
She forced another smile.
Yuto stared at her for a moment before helplessly shrugging.
He could clearly tell that something was bothering her.
But if she did not want to talk about it...
He was not going to press.
"Then have a seat. Want something to eat? I'll make it for you."
He gestured toward an empty stool at the counter.
Asuna hurriedly sat down.
"Rice with butter, please."
"All right."
Yuto turned and headed into the kitchen.
The moment his back disappeared behind the doorway, Asuna let out a helpless sigh.
The reason she was behaving so awkwardly...
Was mostly because of the conversation she had with her father after last night's banquet.
Once all the guests had left, Shouzou Yuuki called Asuna aside for a private discussion.
Most of it revolved around one person.
Yuto.
Shouzou had become extremely curious about the true identity of a young man capable of behaving so casually around Kaguya Shinomiya.
Asuna briefly explained how she had first met Yuto.
Then she told her father something even more important.
The only reason she had been able to become friends with Kaguya in the first place...
Was because of Yuto.
After that, Asuna specifically emphasized the relationship between Yuto and Kaguya.
Shouzou had been utterly shocked.
He had already realized during the banquet that Yuto was probably not an ordinary person.
But after listening to his daughter...
He understood that his previous assumptions had still been far too conservative.
From the way Asuna described their relationship, Yuto and Kaguya were extraordinarily close.
Far beyond the distant, carefully measured kind of friendship people in their social circles usually maintained.
That fact alone carried terrifying implications.
In this country now...
Anyone capable of establishing a genuine connection with Kaguya Shinomiya had effectively secured a grip on the future.
Even if Yuto possessed no impressive family background, political influence, or wealth of his own, his relationship with Kaguya alone would be enough to let him move through much of the country virtually unhindered.
And the moment Shouzou reached that conclusion...
His thoughts immediately shifted toward one question.
How could the Yuuki family build a closer relationship with Yuto?
Fortunately...
His own daughter was already Yuto's friend.
As far as Shouzou was concerned, that was almost too perfect.