Tohru happily finished the rest of the hangover soup, and Yuto also took the fish body he had cut off earlier and turned it into pan-fried fillets for her, making sure absolutely nothing went to waste.
Naturally, Tohru was delighted.
When closing time finally arrived, Yuto went over to wake Ainz and Rimuru.
The two had remained completely absorbed in their game all the way until the end of business hours, and when Yuto dragged them back into reality, both of them looked genuinely dazed.
It was not until he told them that the restaurant was closing that they finally seemed to understand what was happening.
"Eh?! Already?!"
"I didn't even notice the time passing..."
They both sounded genuinely amazed.
After seeing Ainz and Rimuru off, Yuto flipped the sign outside the restaurant over and switched off the small light beside the door.
While doing so, he suddenly remembered something.
He had promised to take Kanna to the amusement park.
Maybe today would be a good day to finally do it.
As for school, perhaps she could simply take the day off.
He could bring Shouko along as well and let the two girls spend the day having fun together.
Yuto was still considering the idea when his phone suddenly rang.
He pulled it out with a puzzled expression and glanced at the caller ID.
Erina.
Yuto, Erina, and Hisako had exchanged phone numbers a long time ago.
After working together for so long, it would have been stranger if they had not.
"Hello, Nakiri. What's up?"
He answered the call and raised the phone to his ear.
Erina's voice immediately came through from the other end.
"The Moon Banquet Festival officially starts today. Kamisaka-kun, you said before that you were coming, right? When do you think you'll be free?"
Her words made Yuto pause for a moment.
The entire reason Erina and Hisako had taken leave from the restaurant in the first place was to prepare for the Moon Banquet Festival.
So it had finally begun.
"I don't really have anything else planned today. Let me take care of a few things at the restaurant first, then I'll head over."
"Would you like me to arrange a car to pick you up?"
"No need. Oh, right—can I bring a few more people with me?"
"Of course."
"Great. Then I'll see you later."
"When you arrive, please make sure you call me first. I'll come to the entrance and meet you."
"Sure."
After ending the call, Yuto smiled faintly.
Perfect.
There was no need to insist on going to the amusement park today anymore.
Instead, he could simply take Kanna and Shouko to the Moon Banquet Festival.
There would be plenty to see, plenty to eat, and probably more than enough entertainment to keep the two girls happy.
"Tohru, go wake Kanna up and have her wash up. We'll all go grocery shopping together in a little while."
Tohru stared at him blankly.
"Eh? Isn't Kanna supposed to go to school today?"
"She can take the day off. I already promised I'd take her out to have some fun, and I don't want to keep putting it off."
"Oh, I see."
The moment Tohru understood, her expression immediately brightened. Her tail began swaying happily behind her as she looked at Yuto with obvious anticipation.
"Boss, Boss, where are we going?"
"Somewhere you can eat a lot of delicious food."
That was all Tohru needed to hear.
Her eyes lit up, and she hurried upstairs at once.
Before long, she came back down with Kanna at astonishing speed.
The little girl still looked dazed and half-asleep, clearly having no idea what was happening.
However, the instant Yuto told her that she would not be going to school today and that they were going out to have fun instead, every trace of sleepiness vanished from her face.
Kanna came alive almost instantly!
The three of them left the restaurant together and headed over to Shouko's home, where Yuto explained the situation to Yaeko Nishimiya.
When Yaeko heard that he wanted to take Shouko out with them for the day, she agreed without much hesitation.
Part of that was because she trusted Yuto, and part of it was simply because Shouko was still only an elementary-school student.
Taking one day off was hardly something that required serious concern.
Shouko was delighted when she heard the news.
With that settled, Yuto and Tohru took the two little girls grocery shopping with them first.
Kanna and Shouko chatted cheerfully throughout the entire trip, and whenever they spotted something strange or interesting, they would often react at almost exactly the same time.
Watching the two girls point things out to each other with matching excitement was almost unbearably cute.
By the time they returned to the restaurant, it was already past eight.
Yuto put away everything they had bought, changed into a fresh set of clothes, straightened his collar, and then left with Tohru, Kanna, and Shouko for Tōtsuki.
As they passed Hanako's nightclub on Ichinose Street, Yuto casually glanced inside and noticed Hanako speaking seriously with Chiko.
He had originally intended to stop and greet them, but the atmosphere between the two women was clearly solemn, so he abandoned the idea.
He would check on Hanako after returning later.
After everything she had gone through yesterday, it was probably better to give her some time.
And besides, Yuto could not entirely separate himself from what had happened.
He was the one who had found Morishita, spoken to him, and eventually brought Hanako to that hotel.
Even if Morishita's final choice had been his own, Yuto still felt some responsibility for the way everything had unfolded.
...
The last time Yuto visited Tōtsuki, he had ridden there in a Nakiri family car.
Hisako had personally come to pick him up.
And the entire situation had originally begun because of Erina's stubbornness.
Thinking back on those early days, Yuto could not help smiling.
Back then, the Nakiri heiress had been unbelievably arrogant toward him, carrying herself with the confidence of someone who had never once considered the possibility that he might refuse her.
Who could possibly have imagined that the same girl would eventually work willingly as an assistant chef inside his restaurant?
Fate really was impossible to predict.
And somehow, that unpredictability was exactly what made life so interesting.
Tōtsuki Academy was located in Tokyo's Chiyoda district.
The closer their taxi got to the academy, the worse the traffic became.
Yuto looked through the window at the road outside and saw cars packed together so tightly that the entire street resembled a bathtub with its drain completely clogged.
Nothing was moving.
Even the driver could not help complaining.
"All these cars are probably heading to Tōtsuki's Moon Banquet Festival. Man, I'm jealous of people who actually have time for this stuff."
That caught Yuto's attention.
"Is traffic always this bad during the Moon Banquet Festival?"
"Every year. It's always this lively." The driver sighed. "Damn it, I want to go too, but I've got work."
"I heard the festival lasts several days. You could pick a day when you're free and go take a look."
"That's true."
The driver glanced at them through the rearview mirror.
"Wait, are you guys going to the festival too?"
"That's right."
"Ah... Youth sure is nice..."
Yuto could only smile at that.
They continued chatting casually until the taxi finally reached Tōtsuki's main entrance.
After getting out, Yuto looked toward the gates and could not help letting out a quiet sigh of appreciation.
The last time he came here, the entrance had felt imposing and solemn, carrying the unmistakable atmosphere of an elite institution that expected everyone stepping through its gates to understand exactly where they stood.
Today, however, the entire place had been transformed.
Decorations had been added everywhere, banners hung across the entrance, and the normally severe atmosphere had softened so much that the academy almost seemed welcoming.
The flow of people entering and leaving was astonishingly dense.
Erina had once mentioned that the previous year's Moon Banquet Festival had attracted nearly eight hundred thousand visitors in total, and looking at the crowd in front of him now, Yuto had no difficulty believing that number.
Tohru, Kanna, and Shouko were already staring at the bustling scene with obvious excitement and anticipation.
Yuto turned toward the three of them with a smile.
"Let's head inside too."
Erina had specifically told him to call when he arrived so she could come meet them at the entrance.
But after seeing the crowd and the lively atmosphere surrounding the academy, Yuto changed his mind.
If Erina came personally to escort them inside, it would probably take away part of the experience.
A festival was supposed to be entered through the front gates with everyone else, surrounded by noise, food stalls, crowds, and people excitedly deciding where to go first.
Blending into that atmosphere was part of the fun.
So rather than calling Erina immediately, Yuto simply led Tohru, Kanna, and Shouko toward the entrance with the rest of the crowd.
That was how something like this was meant to be enjoyed.