“Two servings of takoyaki, please.”
Ryosho stood before a street stall with a sign reading “Daiban Takoyaki” and ordered two servings from the vendor behind the counter.
Fortunately, he had taught himself Japanese while in Greece.
Otherwise, even communicating with Saori Kido and the others would have been a problem.
Saori Kido stood beside him, acutely aware of the looks from passing pedestrians.
She felt terribly self-conscious.
She was the young lady of the Kido family and the heir to the Graad Foundation, yet here she was ordering takoyaki from a street stall.
If word got out, she would have no idea how to face her friends.
“Two servings of takoyaki.
That’ll be 700 yen.”
Ryosho took out his wallet, pulled out a 1,000-yen bill, and handed it to the vendor.
“Here’s your 300 yen change.”
“Please come again.”
Ryosho accepted the change and held one serving of takoyaki out to Saori Kido.
“I…
I don’t think I’ll have any.”
Saori Kido waved her hands, her face flushing.
She felt as though countless eyes were fixed on her, leaving her deeply uncomfortable.
She could almost hear people whispering, “What is the young lady of the Graad Foundation doing here?” and, “So even the young lady eats takoyaki?”
“Take it.”
Ryosho ignored her refusal and placed the takoyaki in her hands.
Then he opened his own box, speared one with a bamboo pick, and popped it into his mouth.
He had wanted to try it for a long time.
Back in his original world, he had only ever seen anime protagonists fighting over takoyaki.
He had never tasted it himself.
Was it really that good?
He still remembered Kero and Suppi fighting over the last takoyaki in Cardcaptor Sakura.
Hmm…
The outside was crisp, while the inside was soft and tender.
The salty-sweet flavor of the rich sauce blended with the savory taste of seafood, and every bite burst with hot, fragrant juices.
It was surprisingly good.
Ryosho speared another one and put it into his mouth, an expression of enjoyment appearing on his face.
Grrr…
Watching Ryosho eat with such relish, Saori Kido’s stomach growled despite herself.
She was so embarrassed she wished she could disappear, but the sight had also awakened her appetite.
Was it really that delicious?
She stole a glance at Ryosho.
Seeing that all his attention was focused on the takoyaki, she gritted her teeth, gathered her courage, opened the box, speared one with a bamboo pick, and placed it in her mouth.
“Hot, hot, hot…”
She parted her small, cherry-red lips and blew out quick breaths, while her slender hand holding the bamboo pick fanned frantically in front of her mouth.
The sight was incredibly endearing.
From the corner of his eye, Ryosho glanced at Saori Kido, who was displaying a rare girlish side of herself.
The corners of his lips lifted in amusement before he continued eating heartily.
One serving was not quite enough, so he ordered another.
Before long, snowflakes began drifting down from the sky, and the temperature suddenly dropped several degrees.
The glittering flakes resembled strands of flower garlands as they gathered thickly toward one location.
Ryosho popped another takoyaki into his mouth and narrowed his eyes at the snowy sky, warm steam escaping his lips.
Snow?
No.
This had to be Hyoga’s power.
What was this about?
They could not possibly think he had abducted Saori Kido, could they?
Sure enough, it was not long before Hyoga, Shun, Jabu, and Tatsumi appeared on the street, rushing toward them while shouting for the young lady.
At that exact moment, Saori Kido had just speared another takoyaki and was about to put it into her mouth.
Five pairs of eyes met.
Everyone fell silent, and the atmosphere became painfully awkward.
Shun and Hyoga were embarrassed because they had rushed over in such force, only to discover that the young lady was simply eating takoyaki with Ryosho at a street stall.
There had been no abduction like Tatsumi claimed.
At the very least, the scene before them did not resemble a kidnapper and his captive in the slightest.
They looked more like…
a young couple on a date.
Saori Kido was embarrassed because she, the dignified young lady of the Kido family and heir to the Graad Foundation, had disregarded her image and stood on the street eating takoyaki from a roadside stall, only to be caught in the act.
She would probably remember this humiliating moment for the rest of her life.
As for Jabu, jealousy was written across his face.
An inexplicable emotion rose inside him, making him wish he could trade places with Ryosho.
It was the feeling of wondering why he was not the one standing beside the young lady.
Tatsumi, meanwhile, was beside himself with rage.
Not only had Ryosho taken the young lady away right under his nose, he had even brought her to the street to eat something so cheap and unsanitary.
It infuriated him, but he did not dare rebuke Ryosho directly.
“Oh, you’re all here.”
Ryosho casually popped another takoyaki into his mouth and raised a hand in greeting.
Shun’s face instantly turned red, even redder than Saori Kido’s.
Shame filled his heart.
This was not the first time he had embarrassed himself in front of Ryosho.
It had happened once at the arena, and now it had happened again.
He felt that he had wronged Ryosho terribly.
He should not have misunderstood him, much less believed Tatsumi and Jabu and rushed over with such a commotion.
“Young lady, why did you come to a place like this with this brat?” Tatsumi stormed over like an angry crab, shattering the heavy, awkward silence.
“And why are you eating this junk?”
“If you wanted takoyaki, I could have hired the finest chef to prepare it for you.
Why would you come somewhere like this?”
Saori Kido was already embarrassed enough.
After hearing Tatsumi shout like that, she wanted to crawl into a hole.
But Saori was still Saori.
After a brief moment of embarrassment, her expression immediately turned stern.
“Tatsumi, didn’t I tell you to wait for me at the arena entrance?”
Watching Saori Kido turn cold and take control of the situation, Ryosho could not help but admire how neatly she had turned the tables.
He tossed the last takoyaki into his mouth and spoke as though nothing had happened.
“Now that you’re here, I’ll leave Saori-san in your care.
It’s time for me to go.”
He then looked at Saori Kido and added with a smile, “Saori-san, please think carefully about what we discussed earlier.
Should anything come up, you can find me at the Machishita Inn.
Goodbye.”
…
On his way back to the inn, Deathtoll emerged from the Spirit Tablet Space and floated in midair.
“That method of yours isn’t going to work.
Why not just steal it and be done with it?
There’s no point wasting your breath.”
Ryosho shrugged indifferently.
“It’s not too late to steal it now.
I have a job for you, Deathtoll.”
“What is it?”
“Follow Saori Kido.
If she decides to hand the scepter over to me, come back.
If she refuses and hides it instead, find out exactly where she puts it, then return and tell me.”
“You brat.
You planned to do this from the beginning, didn’t you?”
Ryosho shrugged.
He was merely preparing for every possibility.
Truthfully, he did not want to steal it unless there was no other choice.
After all, stealing was an easy way to lose someone’s trust, and he really did not want what little trust he had left to fall to zero.
In the future…
he was still counting on the Goddess to give him a buff.
…
Inside a dilapidated warehouse, a Saint wearing the Phoenix Cloth appeared before several shadowy figures.
“Ikki-sama will make his move during tomorrow’s Galaxian Wars.
When that happens, the Bronze Saints will undoubtedly pursue him.
That will be your best opportunity to strike.”
“However, Ikki-sama said that Saori Kido and the other Bronze Saints are his prey.
No matter what happens, you are to leave them to him.”
“Go back and tell Ikki that we understand.
Ahahaha!”
Wild laughter echoed through the warehouse, startling a crow perched on one of the rafters.
It cawed twice before disappearing into the night.