Part-1 Ch-03 Ep-03

“Welcomeー!”

I call out energetically to the customers passing by through the rising steam.

Girls in yukata, water balloons bouncing at their wrists, flash bright smiles and give us peace signs.

“Two yakisoba, please!”

“Got it! Two yakisoba!”

“Yessir!”

I take their order, and Todoroki-kun swiftly packs the yakisoba he has been cooking on the griddle into plastic containers.

Inside the food stall tent, the air is dense with the heat from the iron plate and the rich aroma of sizzling sauce.

It is making even me hungry.

Today, Maki, Kagami-kun, and I came to the local festival in Todoroki-kun’s hometown. We are helping at the stall run by his relative.

Maki and I are handling the customers, Todoroki-kun is on yakisoba, and Kagami-kun is making okonomiyaki.

The uncle who hired us, Todoroki-kun’s relative, is expertly grilling yakitori.

It’s my first time working a part-time job, so my nerves are there, but being with the usual group puts me at ease.

And, honestly, I’m just having fun.

“Here you go!”

“Thanks! That’ll be 1,000 yen for two!”

I hand the food over in exchange for the money. The girls bow slightly with a “Thank you!” before heading off.

They seem to be walking toward the candied fruit stall.

How much are they planning to eat? But it’s a festival—of course you want to try everything. Smiling warmly, I watch them go, only to accidentally catch my foot on a gas canister.

“Whoops.”

I stumble, and Maki immediately reaches out from beside me to steady me.

“You okay?”

Her smooth, natural movement makes my heart jump.

Kyun.

…Kyun?

No no no no no, this is dangerous.

Why am I getting flustered by Maki? She pulls things like this sometimes, so I need to stay alert.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“Hm?”

“Yakitori, please!”

“Coming right up!”

A lively group of boys around our age line up in front of the stall and place their order enthusiastically. They’re holding cups overflowing with fried chicken, festival masks perched on their heads, looking like they’ve been having a great time.

“Yes! Uncle, one yakitori!”

“Gotcha!”

As the uncle places the yakitori into a paper cup, someone calls “Um” from the side. When I turn toward the voice, it’s the boys who ordered earlier. One of them asks, “Excuse me, are you high school students?”

The moment I reflexively answer, “Ah, yes,”

“Customer! Here’s your yakitori! That will be 500 yen! Thank you very much!”

Maki cuts in forcefully and hands over the food.

“Customers, how about some okonomiyaki too!?”

For some reason, Kagami-kun is uncharacteristically enthusiastic as well.

“Nah, we’re good…”

The boys walk off looking mildly disappointed.

At the same time, Maki lets out a small breath.

“Haah, so that’s how it is…”

Right then, she pulls me close and hugs me.

From the situation, I finally realize: oh, I was probably about to get hit on.

But she doesn’t need to worry that much over something like that.

“Maki, I’m fine. More importantly, we have customers waiting.”

“I’m the one who hates it.”

“Eh?”

“I hate it when other people hit on you, Mari. Just let me worry a little…”

The eyes she lifts to meet mine are slightly anxious, slightly unsteady.

I feel like I am about to be drawn into those unguarded eyes.

No no no, this is wrong, absolutely wrong!

I pull away from Maki with force.

“That’s why I keep telling you, that’s not it!”

“What are you talking about?”

As expected of the heroine, her destructive power is unreal.

Lately I feel like I’ve been abandoning rational thought more and more.

Once again, I shut down all unnecessary thinking and devote myself to calling out to customers.