It was already evening, and the restaurant had opened for business.
Customers were gradually arriving, and it did not take long for Vitamin to become the center of everyone's attention.
As the newest member of the restaurant, the puppy naturally attracted an entire crowd of curious onlookers.
Vitamin himself, however, looked rather frightened by all the attention.
Perhaps there were simply too many people surrounding him, or maybe his animal instincts could somehow sense that most of the customers in this restaurant were anything but ordinary.
The little puppy stood timidly in place, turning his head from side to side as though he had no idea where to look.
What he really wanted was to find Yuto.
Unfortunately, Yuto was currently busy cooking in the kitchen.
"Whine... whine..."
Vitamin could only make a few quiet, nervous sounds.
"So cute!"
Marisa immediately scooped him into her arms.
The energetic witch happily stroked Vitamin's head while the puppy cautiously poked his face out from her embrace and looked around at everyone in the restaurant.
To his eyes, however, the world was far less colorful than it appeared to everyone else.
Dogs perceived colors differently from humans, so whether he was looking at the glamorous and elegant Yukari or Saitama sitting nearby with his usual blank expression, everything appeared in a far more muted range.
Vitamin blinked several times, looking thoroughly confused by all the unfamiliar faces.
"Hey, Marisa, be careful with him. You're always so rough. Don't hurt the poor thing."
Reimu sounded genuinely concerned.
Marisa immediately looked offended.
"Don't make things up! How am I rough?! I'm obviously the most careful person here, DA☆ZE!"
She glared at Reimu before immediately returning her attention to the puppy in her arms.
"I never expected Kamisaka-kun to get a dog."
Yukari sounded mildly amused.
Just then, Yuto emerged from the kitchen carrying Saitama's udon.
He placed the bowl in front of him, exchanged a few casual words with Saitama, then walked over toward the Gensokyo group.
Stopping beside Marisa, he reached out and gently stroked Vitamin's head.
Compared with Marisa's enthusiastic petting, Vitamin clearly preferred Yuto's much softer touch. He gave a quiet whine and narrowed his eyes contentedly.
Yuto smiled.
"I wasn't planning on getting one either. He just appeared outside the restaurant this morning. I asked around, but nobody nearby recognized him, so for now I'm looking after him."
That answered Yukari's question.
Everyone seemed amused by the coincidence.
"Maybe it's fate!" Marisa declared, suddenly lifting Vitamin high above her head. "Fate brought him and Boss together!"
The unexpected trip into the air made the puppy tremble nervously, so fortunately, Marisa lowered him again before he became too frightened.
"What breed is he?"
Saitama asked curiously after slurping another mouthful of udon, the overhead lights gleaming brightly off his perfectly smooth head.
Yuto studied Vitamin for a moment.
"Judging by his features, probably an Akita. Although it's hard to imagine someone casually losing an Akita puppy. They aren't exactly cheap."
He took Vitamin from Marisa's arms.
Akitas were among the more popular dog breeds in the country, and a purebred puppy could easily cost hundreds of thousands of yen.
For most people, losing something worth that much was not exactly the kind of thing they would simply shrug off and forget about.
"So he's an Akita?" Saitama asked. "Then why is he so dark? Aren't Akitas usually orange?"
Yuto smiled helplessly.
"Akita puppies often start out darker like this. As they grow, their coat changes and the orange coloring becomes much more obvious. He's just still very young."
"Ohhh..."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
"Does he have a name?"
"Of course he does. His name is Vitamin. Pretty healthy-sounding name, right?"
Everyone stared at Yuto in speechless disbelief.
Well...
It certainly sounded healthy.
But somehow, it still felt completely wrong for a dog.
...
The restaurant door slid open, briefly drawing everyone's attention toward the entrance before their conversations naturally resumed.
It was little more than an instinctive reaction whenever someone new came in.
"Welcome."
Yuto smiled toward the newcomers.
The proud and dazzling King of Heroes strode inside with his usual arrogant smile, while Siduri walked quietly on one side of him and Enkidu accompanied him on the other.
"Kamisaka, bring this king the usual."
Gilgamesh sat down with the effortless confidence of someone who behaved as though every place he entered naturally belonged to him.
Yuto then looked toward the other two.
Enkidu ordered the same thing as Gilgamesh, while Siduri asked for ochazuke. After confirming all three orders, Yuto headed back into the kitchen.
Only then did the newcomers notice Vitamin.
At the same time, the puppy stared curiously back at them.
Gilgamesh immediately raised his chin with supreme confidence and gave a faint, satisfied chuckle.
"Hmph. It seems even you cannot ignore this king's brilliance."
Enkidu rubbed their forehead helplessly, while Siduri looked equally embarrassed.
Gilgamesh was exceptional in almost every respect.
Unfortunately, every now and then, his ego seemed to take control of the entire conversation.
...
Once Yuto finished cooking and brought their food out, he began chatting casually with Gilgamesh.
He asked why Gilgamesh had not come to the restaurant the previous night, and the King of Heroes briefly explained what had happened.
Apparently, two people from the future had traveled through time and found him.
They belonged to an organization called Chaldea, and Gilgamesh had spent most of the previous day dealing with the situation.
Yuto could not help being impressed.
Traveling through time itself was still an incredible concept, even by the standards of the restaurant.
"Oh, right. This king may bring those two here someday. You wouldn't object, would you?"
Gilgamesh asked after taking a sip of wine.
Yuto merely shrugged.
Why would he object?
If they wanted to come, they were welcome.
A while later, Iskandar and Professor El-Melloi II arrived as well.
Before long, the Heroic Spirits and their companions had gathered off to one side and started talking among themselves, while Yuto returned to chatting with the Gensokyo group.
During the conversation, he mentioned Kaguya's plan to visit the beach on either Saturday or Sunday and asked whether they wanted to come along.
Everyone from Gensokyo agreed almost immediately.
It was not as though most of them had much else to do back home.
Their days generally consisted of holding banquets, sleeping, drinking, or finding something entertaining enough to occupy themselves with.
Actual responsibilities were rather scarce. ╮(╯▽╰)╭
The prospect of going to the beach made them even more excited because Gensokyo had no ocean.
There were lakes, certainly, but the sea was something else entirely.
As the night wore on, more than half the customers eventually left.
Yuto sat quietly behind the counter, waiting to see whether anyone else would arrive.
Vitamin had already fallen asleep in one corner of the restaurant.
It was deep into the night, and he was still only a puppy, so there was no way he could stay awake for hours like most of the restaurant's regulars.
Yuto had prepared a simple bed for him using an unused mattress from one of the rooms upstairs.
It was certainly better than leaving the thing lying around collecting dust.
Compared with the mattress, Vitamin looked almost comically tiny.
Perhaps once he grew bigger, the size would suit him better.
Tohru sat on one of the stools beside Yuto, and her unhappiness was painfully obvious.
Strictly speaking, she had been upset ever since Yuto announced that they would temporarily keep Vitamin, and the mood had continued for quite some time.
"Tohru?"
Yuto called her name with amusement in his voice.
She had not openly complained, but he could more or less guess what was bothering her.
The memory of Tohru lying flat on the floor earlier that day, locked in an intense staring contest with Vitamin, surfaced in his mind and made him laugh.
Tohru looked at him in confusion, a faint crease appearing between her brows as the clearest sign that she was still sulking.
"Boss, what is it?"
"Nothing. I just remembered something funny."
That immediately made her curious.
"What?"
Yuto chuckled.
"A certain idiot lying on the floor and trying to stare down Vitamin."
Tohru's cheeks puffed out.
Watching her reaction, Yuto shook his head helplessly.
"Is it really worth getting jealous of a puppy?"
Tohru paused for a moment before nodding with complete seriousness.
Yuto briefly found himself at a loss for words.
In that sense, Tohru was surprisingly similar to a certain King of Heroes.
Most of the time, both of them were perfectly wonderful people, but every now and then, their thought processes took such a baffling turn that Yuto had no idea how he was supposed to respond.
...
Across the restaurant, Gilgamesh suddenly sneezed in the middle of his conversation.
"Achoo!"
His brows immediately furrowed.
Why would this king sneeze?
For a moment, Gilgamesh seriously wondered whether some insolent mongrel was talking about him behind his back.
The possibility irritated him almost instantly.