"I thought you were taking me to some grand place, but here?"
The place was a bakery in front of the academy.
It was a bakery that Rie and Luna often visited, so I was familiar with it.
"Is that not okay?"
"There's nothing wrong with it."
"Shall we decide where to go next, then?"
Yuni said with a bright smile.
I looked at Yuni, licking my lips.
"So, what's your wish?"
"Ah! I just remembered there's a place I want to visit!"
"What is your wish?"
"How about the restaurant in front of here? My sister and Luna said it's delicious."
"......"
Even when I asked, Yuni didn't respond.
She just smiled broadly, saying only what she wanted to say.
I sighed.
Eventually, she would talk on her own.
For now, I thought it was best to just go along with Yuni.
"What restaurant is in front?"
"You know, the restaurant we went to for your birthday."
"Oh, that place?"
She was talking about the restaurant we went to during our first year, reserved by Astina.
Thinking about it, this bakery was also one that I had visited with Rie.
I prefer going to places I know.
"I'll make a reservation."
Since there was still some time left until dinner, I decided to make a reservation and look around the area.
As I was about to get up, Yuni grabbed my arm.
"Where are you going?"
"I said I'm going to make a reservation."
"Tsk! Where are you wandering off to alone! If we're going, we should go together!"
Yuni spoke as if she was scolding a child.
"So, what now?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})You couldn't dine at that restaurant without a reservation.
It was a busy restaurant and, due to its policy, reservations were absolutely necessary.
"Why not go together? Why do you want to go alone?"
"......Alright."
I nodded with a puzzled face.
I thought she would prefer it if I said I'd go alone...
Considering Yuni's usual reactions, her response left me bewildered.
"But let's go slowly, okay?"
"Alright."
There was still time until dinner, so it seemed okay to take it slow.
However, that was a mistake.
"I'm sorry. The reservations are fully booked, so it might be difficult to dine today. Would you like to book for tomorrow or the day after instead?"
We headed to the restaurant after eating what we ordered at the bakery, but we couldn't make a reservation.
The restaurant was so famous that the reservations were filled up before dinner time.
I sighed and looked at Yuni.
"I want to eat here today."
Yuni spoke to me as if there was no problem at all.
"What can we do if it's already fully booked?"
"Just mention your name, right? No, should I mention mine?"
I sighed again.
"Then someone else won't be able to eat."
"Tell them to eat tomorrow."
"Can't we eat somewhere else? There are plenty of other restaurants."
"No, we can't."
Yuni was firm.
She had been smiling all day, but now her expression was serious.
I really didn't want to do this...
I turned my head and looked back at the restaurant.
"Um..."
"Ah, yes. Have you decided?"
"Is there... no one you can call immediately, no special anniversary today? I'll pay 5 times... no, 10 times the amount, so could you please push the reservation to tomorrow..."
"......What?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})"I really can't help it... Is there no way?"
The staff member looked at me, flustered.
Then, a man walked out from inside the restaurant.
"What's going on! Hurry up and come inside to help!"
"Ah, Master."
Since they called him Master, he must be the chef of the restaurant.
"What? What's the problem?"
The chef stood in front of me, looking annoyed.
"This customer wants to make a reservation. But we're fully booked right now..."
"The reservations are closed, what do you want to do? Today's reservations are..."
"But, they asked if it's possible to make a reservation even if they pay 10 times the amount."
Then, the chef furrowed his brows.
"......10 times?"
"Yes, 10 times the amount would be paid to whoever changes their reservation for us. We'll pay a similar amount to the restaurant as well."
Hearing my words, the chef furrowed his brows.
"......Is it for one person?"
"No, for two."
The chef looked at me and then at Yuni, who was standing a little behind.
Suddenly, the chef looked resolute.
"We have to change it......"
"......What?"
The chef put his hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye.
"Let me handle this, I'll change the reservation somehow. This could last a lifetime if we mess this up. I have to... ahem. Anyway, let's change it right away."
"Ah... Thank you."
I smiled awkwardly.
If he's going to step up like that, it works out for me.
"Could you tell me your name?"
"......My name?"
"Yes, I need to write it in the registry."
I hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"Rudy Astria."
"......What?"
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Both the chef and the staff member looked at me with incredulous faces.
"That... the one we know?"
"Yes, that's right... Please don't tell others."
I preemptively spoke up, worried my name might be used to snatch away someone's reservation spot.
The chef nodded vigorously.
"Of course. We will definitely make room. For the peace of the empire...!"
"......?"
Was this really about the peace of the empire...?
Regardless of the reason, I was grateful they made room for us.
"We'll make room somehow, so just come at dinner time."
"Ah, yes. Thank you. Ahaha..."
I nodded and turned back towards where Yuni was.
"Senior, what happened?"
"Ah, they said they'd make room. No need to worry."
"You should have just said your name earlier."
"It's not because of my name. They just decided to make room out of consideration."
At that, Yuni made a pouty face.
"Senior, you're so stubborn about weird things."
"It's called having a conscience."
"Anyway, let's look around. I have a few things I want to see."
"Things you want to see?"
I followed Yuni.
The place Yuni went to was a small market.
Not a place with luxury items, but a cheap street market.
Is there some kind of romance to this place?
"Senior! Look at this! Fish!"
"My, what a pretty lady. Miss! I'll give you a discount, buy some!"
"Really? Senior! He said he'll give us a discount!"
"What are you going to do with it?"
"Umm... Maybe it'll be useful somewhere?"
"No, it won't. Let's go. Sorry, hope you sell a lot."
"Eh~~."
I led Yuni away to another spot.
As we moved, Yuni's eyes sparkled.
She looked at everything in the market as if it were fascinating.
"Is this your first time here?"
"Yes, what would I have to do here? Have you been here before, senior?"
"......Maybe once?"
This was my second time visiting the market, as I usually went to the same places.
I had been attending the academy for two years, but every day had been busy.
I think the last time I came to the market was to buy a birthday gift for Luna.
I'm pretty sure I bought a robe.
Which Rie ended up burning in a joint exercise...
"Senior! Look at this! This!"
"Yeah, yeah."
While I was pondering, Yuni might have interpreted my response as disinterest because she quickly moved on to looking at other things.
Yuni, excited, pulled on my sleeve.
"Senior, please buy this!"
Yuni pointed at some skewers in front of us.
They were skewers emitting a pleasant aroma.
Normally, I would happily buy them, but...
"Hey, we're going to eat later. If you eat that now, you'll be too full for dinner."
"Eh~. That's not how it works. That's that, and this is this."
I narrowed my eyes and looked at Yuni, then licked my lips.
"Two, please."
"Thank you!"
I bought two skewers and handed one to Yuni.
"What's this? You say that and yet you're eating, senior."
"I'm fine. I was worried because you don't eat much."
"I could eat a lot if I really wanted to."
"Sure, you could."
I bit into the skewer.
The sweet sauce soaked into my taste buds.
"Delicious, isn't it?"
"Is it?"
At my words, Yuni took a big bite of her skewer.
"Mmm!!! Delicious! Is this what commoners eat?"
Yuni exclaimed in admiration as she continued eating her skewer, which disappeared in no time.
"Let's try other things too! More!"
"......"
Aren't we really going to miss our dinner at this rate?
I was worried since we had made a reservation at a restaurant by paying 20 times the original price.
But thinking that Yuni might not have this kind of experience again, I started buying all the food she wanted.
"Senior, this too! And this!"
"Got it. Here you are."
I paid for everything Yuni wanted.
"......Hmm?"
In the midst of this, I sensed a strange presence from an alleyway nearby.
I saw a person in a hood looking at us and then hiding deeper into the alley.
I laughed at the sight.
Looks like they've come.
"Senior!"
"Ah, okay."
I smiled and moved back towards Yuni.
"......Senior, I can't eat a single thing."
"You said you could eat. Force it down."
"If I eat all this, I might actually die."
I sighed.
Yuni only nibbled at the appetizers and left the rest of the food untouched.
We had eaten too much at the market.
"And it doesn't taste good. I was so looking forward to it because I heard it was delicious."
"When you're that full, nothing tastes good."
I said, shoveling the food into my mouth half-heartedly.
I was quite full too, but leaving all the food felt rude, so I was stuffing it into my stomach.
"Senior, are you a pig? How can you eat all that and still eat more?"
"......I'm so full I could die, but I'm forcing it down."
"Why? Let's just leave if we're full!"
"Right, let's do that."
Even the smell of food was becoming unbearable. Apologies to the chef, but leaving the food seemed like the right thing to do.
Although we couldn't eat much, I made sure to thank the chef before we left.
Yuni and I then left the restaurant without having properly eaten.
Outside, the sun was setting, casting shadows everywhere.
I escorted Yuni to the front of the academy.
As we arrived near the academy, Yuni walked ahead with her hands clasped behind her back, then suddenly spun around to face me.
"Senior, today was really fun."
Yuni said with a bright smile, which made me smile too.
"As long as you had fun."
Hearing my response, Yuni grinned mischievously.
"So, can I tell you my wish now?"
At this, I chuckled.
I had somewhat expected this, given that she hadn't answered when I told her to mention her wish earlier.
"Go ahead, tell me."
As I readily encouraged her, Yuni wrinkled her nose.
"Eh, what's this? You're supposed to get angry and say, 'That wasn't your wish?'"
Yuni mimicking my voice somehow felt cute to me.
I put on a conceited smile to tease her.
"I've already figured out all your moves."
"Ah, no fun. Then I'll have to try harder to be unpredictable."
"Do that. So, what is your wish?"
"My wish?"
Yuni stepped closer to me with her hands clasped behind her back.
"Senior, I like you. Will you go out with me?"
Yuni said this with a playful expression.
"Is that your wish?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
How many times have I heard those words?
It's been the same since I became the student council president.
What kind of joke is she trying to pull this time...
"But this is real."
"......What?"
"I really do like you, senior."
"......"
Just minutes after claiming I had figured out her actions and wouldn't be surprised, I was faced with the most startling confession.
"You..."
"I know. My sister likes you too~ Luna senior likes you, and Astina likes you. I know I have three competitors."
Yuni took a step back and smiled brightly.
"Even so? I like you, senior. Now that I've got a wish, why not give it a try?"
"......"
"But, I don't think this feeling will change. It's been a while since I started feeling this way. At first, I thought it was just a crush, but it's not. I just really like you, senior. A lot."
"Yuni."
"So, I told my sister. Now she and I are competitors. I might give up the throne, but I didn't want to give up on Rudy.
But now, I'm equal to my sister. I've been everywhere she went with you. And starting today, we're dating, right?"
Yuni said this and waved at me.
"Ah! It's gotten quite late. I might miss the dorm curfew. So, starting today, is it day one? Senior?"
With those words, Yuni ran towards the academy.
It was too dark to see clearly, but I felt like Yuni's face was flushed red.
"......"
I blankly stared at the place where Yuni disappeared.
Rie, Luna, Astina... and now Yuni...
I took a deep breath.
Right, what can I do?
Once all this is over...
I somewhat collected my thoughts and looked behind me.
"Come out now. There's no one here."
A woman in a hood emerged from the darkness.
"Did I come at a bad time?"
"Well, yes. But that doesn't mean I'm going to turn back, does it?"
The woman lifted her hood and looked in my direction.
Or rather, she turned her head towards me.
She couldn't see in front of her because a black cloth covered her eyes.
It was Saint Haruna.
"Then let's talk."
Haruna said with a smile.
