The ‘I Love Him’ Aura

Riichi Ōtaka had the unmistakable air of a craftsman, with his dark-brown hair tied back, a beard on his chin, and brown-framed glasses. Despite being only twenty-eight, he looked mature beyond his years, yet there was still a boyish spark in his eyes. Yūha found the contrast somewhat unusual.

“Let me introduce you. This is the manager, Riichi Ōtaka-san.”

“Hello. I’m the manager.”

Riichi smiled gently and gave a brief introduction. Just from the sound of his voice, Yūha could tell he was a kind person.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Yūha Sanjō.”

“I heard you’re Roku’s little sister. I’m looking forward to having you here.”

“Yes. I’ll do my best!”

Yūha straightened her back, and Riichi said,

“Well, you don’t need to tense up so much. Just take it easy.”

“Understood.”

“Good. Then let’s head inside right away. There are some forms you’ll need to fill out. Did you bring your personal seal?”

“I did.”

Yūha hadn’t known about it, but apparently Rokurō had prepared one for her properly. Holding a seal engraved with “Sanjō” somehow made her feel as though she had stepped into the adult world herself.

Since the restaurant was closed for the day, the interior was dim, with only the lights above the counter turned on. Seeing this behind-the-scenes side of the place made Yūha truly realize that she was going to work here.

“Read through these documents, and if everything looks fine, sign and stamp them. On these ones, you’ll need to write things like your address and phone number.”

There were more sheets of paper than Yūha had expected, and she nodded repeatedly in acknowledgment.

“Ask Misuzu if you’re unsure how to fill in the details. I’m going to check on the field for a bit.”

“Leave it all to me! While I’m at it, can I explain the dining-floor work too?”

“Sure. You know more about that than I do by now anyway. The uniforms are in the changing room too.”

“Then I should be able to handle everything from here.”

“All right. I’m counting on you.”

“See you later!”

Once he finished explaining, Riichi headed outside. Misuzu waved until he disappeared from view, then quickly turned toward Yūha. The girl with semi-long hair apparently had something she wanted to ask.

“Does the manager grow crops too?”

“There’s a field behind the restaurant where he grows herbs and things.”

“Oh. That’s impressive.”

“Right? Riichi-san is amazing. We sometimes go pick them ourselves too, so I’ll show you later.”

“Okay.”

When someone praised the person you loved, it made you happy too. Seeing Misuzu react like that soothed Yūha once again. She was older than her, but Yūha thought she was rather cute.

“All right! Time for some strict training!”

“Please do.”

A little after lunchtime, Misuzu had finished explaining most of the work.

“That’s about it. You’ll learn the rest while working. Any questions?”

“No.”

Yūha nodded while checking the notes she had scribbled down. Misuzu looked them over and clapped her hands together.

“All right, then we’re done for today! Let’s go get Riichi-san!”

They left the restaurant and headed toward the field on the same property. Roughly three hours had passed while Yūha was being taught everything. Perhaps he had already finished his work, because Riichi was nowhere to be seen.

The field was about the size of a convenience store. It was small for a farm, but far too large to be called a home garden.

The only crop Yūha recognized at a glance was the tomatoes planted near one edge. She had only ever seen herbs at supermarkets, so she knew little about what they looked like while growing.

“This is Riichi-san’s stylish little field. What do you think? Amazing, right? Cool, right?”

“I don’t know if I’d call it cool… but it’s very neat.”

“Ehehe. He takes care of it every day.”

Misuzu said it proudly and turned her head in a wide circle. Sure enough, Riichi was nowhere within sight.

“If he’s not here, maybe he’s at home. He might be making lunch for us. Want to go check?”

On the opposite side of the restaurant, beyond the field, stood a Japanese-style house. It had apparently been renovated recently, and its beige walls gave it a stylish appearance. It had a tiled roof, but otherwise showed very little sign of age.

Without even ringing the doorbell, Misuzu opened the door.

Yūha’s heart skipped for a moment, but she quickly convinced herself that this was simply normal in the countryside.

A delicious aroma drifted toward them from farther down the hallway. It was a Western-style fragrance, with the sweet scent of milk and eggs mingling with bouillon.

“Riichi-saaaan. We’re finished for today!”

She called out toward the back of the house while smoothly slipping off her shoes and heading inside.

(If she was going to come inside anyway, couldn’t she have waited until then to say it…?)

Yūha kept the thought to herself and followed Misuzu. She felt hesitant about entering someone else’s house without explicit permission, but it would also feel awkward if they later asked, “Why didn’t you come inside?”

When they entered the dining room, Yūha spotted a head of dark-brown hair.

“Ah, perfect timing. I made lunch, so eat before you head home.”

“Yes! Riichi-san’s cooking!”

“Misuzu, you practically eat my cooking every day.”

“That’s staff food. This is home cooking. Even if they’re both food, the meaning is completely different-saurus.”

“Different-saurus, huh.”

Riichi simply repeated the nonsensical ending and nodded to himself. Apparently, he had no intention whatsoever of questioning it.

“Yūha-san, can you eat stew? You don’t dislike green peas?”

“No, I can eat both stew and green peas.”

“Good. Misuzu, could you dish out the scrambled eggs?”

“Roger-roger, dekaja-tal-kaja-maharaku-kaja~”

“You remember that well. Did I lend you that game a long time ago?”

“I remember every single memory I have with you, Riichi-san!”

“That makes me happy.”

The two prepared lunch together while exchanging what sounded like an incomprehensible spell to Yūha. Even from an outsider’s perspective, they were perfectly in sync and made a good pair.

With an eight-year age gap, their appearances certainly did look somewhat mismatched, but the overwhelming “I absolutely love Riichi-san” aura radiating from Misuzu erased that impression entirely.

Even the way she spoke and the tone of her voice were different from when she was dealing with Rokurō.

There was no way Yūha could insert herself into their effortless coordination, so she ended up standing around uncertainly.

“Yūha-san, you can just sit down.”

“Ah, sorry. Thank you.”

She gave a small bow and sat in the chair directly in front of her.

This is a little awkward, she thought, but Misuzu immediately started showering Riichi with a relentless stream of words. Once their attention shifted completely away from her, Yūha relaxed a little.

Five minutes later, stew, bread, and scrambled eggs were arranged on the table.

The three of them gathered around it for a late lunch.

“““Thank you for the meal.”””

Yūha took a spoonful of stew with a wooden spoon. Her eyes widened at how delicious it was. She quickly glanced to the side and met Misuzu’s eyes.

“Good, right?”

Yūha nodded repeatedly and swallowed.

“It’s really delicious.”

“I’m glad.”

Riichi nodded in satisfaction and took a bite himself. Then he closed his eyes and quietly sank into thought.

Yūha wondered what was wrong, and Misuzu spoke to her.

“He’s probably thinking about how he can make it taste even better. He always does that, so don’t worry about it.”

“Okay.”

Despite telling her not to worry, Misuzu was staring fixedly at Riichi.

Her gaze practically screamed that this was her chance to burn the sight of him into her memory, so Yūha said nothing and quietly took a bite of bread.