At the Otherworldly Restaurant Suiren, located in a corner of Friendship City Hikari, the owner, Kaori, is at the cooking table in somewhat of a good mood.
It’s currently pre-opening time and there are no customers in the restaurant, except for one person. And the only customer before the restaurant opened wiped her hands with a hand towel in a somewhat refined manner before speaking.
[Sorry to bother you before you open the shop.]
[No, no, please don’t worry about it, Olivia-sama. It’s no trouble at all.]
[My gratitude. Somehow, I’ve been feeling a lack of interest in various things lately. While I do have knowledge about brewing tea, I lack the confidence to do it well, so I find myself relying on you. I do feel apologetic, but I can’t afford to waste the tea leaves graciously bestowed upon me by Miyama Kaito-sama, so I appreciate your assistance.][Please leave it to me! Well, though I say that, I don’t drink black tea often, so I’m not particularly skilled at it.]
[Still, you’re a lot better than me.]
The one who visited the restaurant is the Founder Olivia. Lacking confidence in brewing the original black tea blend given by Kaito, she relied on Kaori, who is skilled in cooking and has a close relationship with her.
As for Kaori, she already considers Olivia her regular customer and is quite friendly with her, so given that it’s Olivia’s request and Kaori’s inherent kindness, she agrees without any hesitation. After finishing her daytime business, she utilized the time until the evening opening to brew tea for Olivia.
[By the way, I’m sorry for my lack of knowledge, but is it evening prep work that you’re doing right now?]
[Eh? Ahh, no, I’m making confectionery tea cakes…… Although we don’t have cookies or scones, I was thinking of preparing something in Japanese sweets style using anko. After all, it would be nice to have teacakes with tea.]
[Japanese sweets? Fumu, so such a thing exists as well. I don’t remember seeing them on the regular menu……][They aren’t for set menus after all. No, if they’re available, I’m sure people who like them would order, but making them takes quite a bit of effort, and their ingredients are often unique.]
After hearing Kaori mention that she’s simultaneously preparing teacake sweets, Olivia nodded appreciatively at her efficient cooking scene, but then she curiously tilted her head.
[Oya? But does that mean you had the ingredients this time?]
[……Ahh, they’re ingredients I had prepared for myself. I like Japanese sweets and often make them at this time and eat them after the evening business is over. I have more ingredients, so please don’t hesitate to eat. I’m pretty confident of their taste!]
[I see, I’m looking forward to it then. Come to think of it, Mizuhara Kaori, I’d like to inquire about something for reference……]
[Yes?]
[What do you think is the most effective way to ask the opposite gender out on a date?]
[Fuahhh!? Ohh, dange…… safe…… W- What are you suddenly asking? That surprised me……]
Never expecting such words to come from Olivia-san, Kaori almost accidentally dropped the utensil she was holding, but with a surprised expression on her face, she asked back.
[No, in fact, by order of the outstanding Shallow Vernal-sama, I was given the important task of inviting Miyama Kaito-sama on a date and ensuring he has a good time. However, embarrassing it may be to say this, I lack knowledge and experience in that area, so I was feeling a little troubled. I did also arrange to seek advice from Duchess Lilia Albert, but I wanted to hear your opinion as well…… To put it simply, what is a date plan and an invitation that you think the opposite gender would really enjoy?]
[……If I knew that, I wouldn’t have been single……]
[Unnn? What does being single have to do with the question…… Ahh, I see, was my question misleading? This wouldn’t be for a marriage proposal, but for a normal date.]
[Ahh, this won’t do, she’s too serious for my words to get through…… H- How in the world am I supposed to deal with this hellish question……]
Kaori is single and at an age where she’s concerned about her marital prospects. Additionally, she’s one of those known as “no boyfriend since birth”. Well, in her case, she had quite a tumultuous life before being summoned into this world, and even after the Hero Summoning, she traveled around the world, opened a shop, and had no time for romance.
Rather, it’s because she has now settled down to some extent that she has started becoming conscious of such an aspect of her life…… So unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough experience or knowledge to provide a satisfactory answer to Olivia’s question.
However, facing Olivia’s expectant gaze, Kaori hesitates to outright refuse to answer her question. Thus, she could only desperately recall the knowledge from romance novels and magazines she had read in the past.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [This must be that huh, Lilia’s stomachache flag +1……]
? ? ? : [That’s considering there’s nothing tea-related on this matter after all……]
