The warm, cozy decor gave off a welcoming vibe, and even with only two customers, the family restaurant didn’t feel overly empty.
Its popularity clearly went beyond just sticking a little flag in the rice of the kids’ meal.
“You’re close with them? Your organization’s staff doubles as part-timers?”
Instead of looking at the menu, Yuu Kagami ordered the same meal as Kotori.
Propping her elbow on the table, she rested her chin on her hand, sipping warm water through the transparent glass, her gaze lingering on the girl across from her, slightly distorted by the cup’s curve.
When the spacequake alarm blared, people who didn’t evacuate and kept working weren’t ordinary civilians.
Kotori Itsuka didn’t hide this.
Her familiar, commanding tone while ordering made it easy for Yuu to deduce.
“No distinction between internal or external. As long as they’re under Ratatoskr’s command and my jurisdiction, of course I know them. What parent forgets their kids’ faces?”
“Such a bold way to put it…”
Yuu’s pinky tapped the table silently as she set down her untouched glass of water.
Staring at Kotori, she licked her lips with a delicate tongue.
“Twisting pride into possessiveness… isn’t that called… tsundere?”
“Huh? What nonsense are you spouting? I’m just—”
“Oh? Not warning me to keep my hands off the subordinates you see as family?”
The purple-haired spirit wagged her finger, her gaze drifting.
The image of Kotori fighting fiercely for her brother was still vivid.
Yuu didn’t doubt that if she intentionally troubled these makeshift managers and waiters, Kotori, the self-proclaimed parent, would issue a warning immediately.
Kotori hadn’t considered this.
Her response was offhand, as she saw no reason for Yuu to target her people now.
“…Think what you want.”
No need to argue.
If that’s how Yuu interpreted it, Kotori didn’t care.
But that clearly wasn’t the case.
The staff’s words about preparing Kotori’s meal weren’t empty.
They’d even started a third portion in the kitchen as a backup.
Since Yuu ordered the same kids’ meal as Kotori, it didn’t take long for the commander’s favorite deluxe kids’ meal to arrive.
“Com… Commander… to go this far for us…”
The middle-aged waiter, dressed as a server, was moved to tears by the conversation, though unintended.
In another setting, it might’ve been touching, but during service, it was just awkward.
“Go on, shoo. What’s with the waterworks?”
Kotori waved him off helplessly, pushing the extra meal the waiter brought toward Yuu.
A small cup of soda sat to the side, a half-filled plate of fries, a small dish of ketchup, and a bed of lettuce topped with fried chicken nuggets, meatballs, two fried shrimp balls, and a large hamburger patty.
At the center, a flower-shaped mound of rice bore a cartoon-patterned flag, with an unopened pudding cup on the plate’s edge.
Even someone unfamiliar with kids’ meals could grasp the “deluxe” appeal.
The portion was enough to satisfy a child without overwhelming them, sparking anticipation for the next visit.
Deluxe kids’ meal… She’s still a kid herself, yet she’s a commander leading subordinates and earning their loyalty.
Meanwhile, what am I doing?
Yuu’s gaze retracted, settling on her own kids’ meal.
Apart from a different flag pattern in the rice, it was nearly identical to Kotori’s.
…Wait… on closer look, there’s a bit more rice.
“I’m digging in.”
Kotori clapped her hands together, not immediately questioning Yuu.
Perhaps the food was more enticing than the spirit.
She removed the cartoon flag from the rice, carefully placing it where her arm wouldn’t knock it, then started with a fried shrimp, biting into it.
Her posture was relaxed, her eating casual.
Perhaps realizing this spirit wasn’t easily handled, or still miffed about the two stolen Double Chupa Chups, Kotori seemed uninterested in engaging Yuu until she finished eating.
Yuu only needed to stay in sight.
The priority was Shidou, so Fraxinus’s support was focused there.
Only Reine Murasame, Kotori’s most trusted analyst, maintained a personal line with her.
…No questions, huh…
Wasting a rare chance to ask felt like being underestimated.
This manifestation had about five hours left… plenty of time.
Watching Kotori scoop a spoonful of rice with an expression of delight, Yuu stood and reached out.
“What’re you doing all of a sudden?”
Kotori’s spoon, mid-bite, was pulled away.
She frowned, looking up at the hand covering her fingers with displeasure.
“I haven’t yet entrusted my trust to your so-called Ratatoskr.”
A lie.
After seeing Kotori protect her subordinates and the waiter’s tearful gratitude, Yuu had concluded Ratatoskr was marginally trustworthy.
“So?”
“An exchange.”
Without giving Kotori time to object, Yuu lifted her own untouched meal tray, pulled Kotori’s half-eaten one to herself, and placed her own in its place.
“…She hasn’t touched her water since we started, and she was just staring at you eating, Kotori. It makes sense if she’s checking for poison,” Reine’s summary came through the earpiece, easing Kotori’s frown.
…I see.
She’s still wary of us.
Sitting here is already a compromise…
Fine, her portion was untouched.
Two extra shrimp and half a hamburger patty weren’t bad.
“Whatever.”
Understanding Yuu’s caution, Kotori raised her spoon again, only for her wrist to be grabbed once more.
[What now?]
She didn’t get to voice it.
Yuu deftly took the used spoon and, for good measure, grabbed Kotori’s chopsticks too.
“…Hey…”
Those are mine…
But that was exactly why Yuu took them.
A vein pulsed on Kotori’s forehead as she exhaled slowly.
Right, no choice. It’s her wariness.
Can’t let a small thing like this ruin contact with a spirit.
Convincing herself, Kotori gently picked up the purple cartoon flag from her rice, turning to place it with her own red one.
Then she noticed the spirit, half-standing, her fingertips brushing Kotori’s red cartoon flag.
“No way! If you’re worried about poison, don’t touch it!”
Lightning-fast, Kotori snatched the flag, shielding it behind her. She loudly scolded Yuu’s actions.
“Hm? But I kinda want it. It’s pretty cute.”
Another lie.
Yuu had little interest in cartoon flags. She just wanted to tease the girl.
And the result…
“No means no!!!”
Quite successful.