When I told Kaori-san how we are currently traveling around and gathering information in search for the possibilities of baby castellas, her face is, well, how should I describe it…… It looked as if the subject of space had been suddenly dumped in front of her.
Well, I guess it’s understandable. I may have been infected quite a bit by this topic, but in the first place, talking about new possibilities for baby castellas isn’t something that makes sense.
[……H- Hmmm. In short, you’re asking for an ingenious way to make baby castellas more delicious, right? Hmmm, just like salted caramels, how about putting a little salt in baby castellas that are daringly made sweet to emphasize their sweetness……]
[Fumu fumu, that sounds interesting. By daring to combine two opposing flavors, you can enhance one of them. However, finding the right balance would probably be difficult, right? I guess it’s a matter of trial and error then……]
If you just listen to what she said, it sounds like she’s making use of a serious idea…… but considering her previous results, how she produced dark matter out of baby castellas, using such a technique makes me uneasy. It’s like, I feel like she’d go about it the opposite way. Sprinkling sugar on salty-seasoned baby castella, I’m scared of how she’d seriously do something extreme like that.As I thought about such things and we finished our orders, Kaori-san seemed to have suddenly remembered something and spoke.
[Ahh, that’s right. Kaito-kun, you mind if I reserve the seat next to yours?]
[Unnn? You mean here?]
[Unnn. Olivia-sama will be here soon, so I thought it would be better to have her sit next to you.]
[Ah, Olivia-san will be here today huh. I’m alright with it…… However, if you’re saying she’s coming soon, I guess she’d always perfectly come on a certain time?]
[Unnn. Olivia-sama will come at exactly 12:00 noon. Incidentally, there’s not even a minute difference in each of her arrivals.]
Well, Olivia-san certainly seems to be extremely punctual. Since 12:00 noon is really only about 5 minutes away, I guess our timing really is just right.[I haven’t seen Olivia-chan since the Festival of Heroes~~ While we’re at it, let’s ask Olivia-chan about baby castellas too!]
[H- Hmmm…… Well, we might as well just ask her.]
To be honest, I can’t imagine Olivia-san voicing her opinion about baby castellas. I mean, in the first place, has Olivia-san ever eaten baby castellas?
While I was thinking about this, at the exact moment 12:00 came, just as Kaori-san said, the door to the restaurant opened and Olivia-san, dressed in a priest’s robe, appeared.
Incidentally, it seems like she changed into casual clothes at first, but now that she’s already recognized as a regular, she just decided to come wearing her usual clothes.
Olivia-san entered the store, looking quite familiar with the place, approached the counter, and upon noticing us, she flinched in surprise.
[Miyama Kaito-sama and Underworld King…… What a coincidence.]
[Good afternoon, Olivia-san.]
[Long time no see, Olivia-chan.]
She was surprised, but after bowing lightly, she checked the reserved seating tag, and saying “Excuse me” to me, she took her seat.
[Olivia-sama, are you fine with the grilled eggplant set meal today?]
[Yes. I’ll have that.]
[Understood. It will be ready soon.]
According to Kaori-san, unless there’s a seasonal menu, Olivia-san orders set meals in a sequential order from the top of the menu, so Kaori-san already knew what she was going to order and was ready to serve the set meal in advance. It seemed like she had really become a regular customer, as Kaori-san herself didn’t seem too nervous around her and instead looked quite familiar with her.
[It really was a coincidence.]
[Yes. However, I am very happy to have met Miyama Kaito-sama in this way. Even though I’m feeling awe-inspired, being able to sit next to you is a great honor.]
[Even so, it’s refreshing to meet Olivia-chan outside of the Cathedral~~]
[Indeed.]
Olivia-san still looked very serious, but even still, her expression seemed to have softened a bit compared to when I met her the first time.
[I had heard about it from Kaori-san, but it seems like you really have completely become a regular.]
[Yes. Since the time Miyama Kaito-sama brought me here, I have been visiting as much as possible. Thanks to this, I feel that my interest in food has increased compared to before. This too is thanks to Miyama Kaito-sama who brought me to this restaurant. Miyama Kaito-sama’s words are like an oracle bestowed upon me, guiding me to the path I should lead. Yes, describing it this way should be no exaggeration.]
[Nope, you’re exaggerating there.]
Olivia-san, who looks at me with glittering eyes brimming with respect, is still over-the-top in a strange way.
Thereupon, Kuro spoke to Olivia-san with a bright smile.
[Olivia-chan also likes Japanese food? I eat them a lot too.]
[Is that so.]
[……Your reaction sure is totally different from when you’re talking to Kaito-kun.]
The moment Kuro talked to her though, it was like she turned into Founder Mode, or rather, it’s like her expression changed to that of a cold-hearted, indifferent person. If you ask me if it’s just like Olivia-san to act like that though, I guess that really is like her.
<Afterword>
Olivia
Kaito speaks → Switch On → Talks eloquently with sparkling eyes
Kuro speaks → Switch Off → Responds with an expressionless face
※ It’s not that she hates Kuro, she just doesn’t know how to talk to her because they haven’t talked that much. Just like with Kaori, if they met and talked to each other on a regular basis, they would be able to talk to each other to some extent. The only exception to this is Kaito…… One could say she has some kind of communication disorder.
