Chapter 396: A Mere Trifle
“Senpai, isn’t this place a bit too grand?”
In a restaurant with a typical Italian style, the young girl stood by the luxurious European-style seats, her brow furrowed slightly as she looked at the opulent decorations and the candlestick roses on the table. She asked in a faint voice.
“No, no, Kazumi, please sit. The reviews here are quite good. It should be a restaurant that girls would prefer.”
The tall, black-haired young boy was already sitting in the opposite chair. His refreshing and clean appearance, clearly well-groomed before leaving the house, showed at first glance. He solicitously invited the girl opposite to sit down.
“Tsk… You’re spending too much.”
Looking at the enthusiastic young boy before her, Kazumi had no choice but to be seated. She sat on the excessively soft cushion, feeling quite unaccustomed to it. She opened the menu placed on the table, seeing that the price of a single dish was equivalent to her food expenses for two to three days, and couldn’t help but utter a surprised sound.
“Hey, hey – Noyoru senpai, how about we go over there?”
The young girl leaned her little face forward a bit, placing one hand over her mouth, and spoke in a quieted, flat tone.
“Over there?”
Following the girl’s delicate finger, Noyoru Yokota saw a yakiniku (barbecue) restaurant directly opposite the restaurant. From its exterior, it looked extremely approachable and cheap.
“Kazumi, do you want to eat yakiniku?”
“Umm, it’s not that. Let’s just change to another place. Don’t you think this place is too expensive? I feel quite sorry about it.”
After hearing Noyoru Yokota’s question, the girl tilted her head and thought for a few moments, then shook her head, rejecting the suggestion. She pointed at the long string of price numbers on the menu as she spoke.
“Hahahahaha, please! You helped me with something very important, so it’s only natural for me to treat you to a good meal, isn’t it? I’ve been saving money!”
Kazumi’s meticulous little appearance was incredibly cute in Noyoru Yokota’s eyes. Thinking that her intention was to help him save money, that special feeling surged even more. He quickly patted his chest and said.
“Come on, don’t waste your small hourly wage. Wait until you’re officially interning and have a salary. Then, let’s have this. I can’t eat too much, so you order a little less too.”
Reaching out, Kazumi marked a check on the cheapest set meal in the bottom right corner of the menu and handed the menu to Noyoru Yokota opposite her. She looked at the flickering flame of the red candle beside them and replied.
Actually, Kazumi wasn’t really worried about Noyoru Yokota’s money. Since he was willing, the more he spent, the happier he might be.
The main reason was that she, a common person, wasn’t accustomed to Western food. Another reason was the current intimate atmosphere of the small, two-person table. If it could be avoided, it would be better to avoid it. After all, there was a tiny bit of concern in her heart for the dog at home.
Of course, if he opposed it, there was nothing she could do. She couldn’t appear too willful when someone was treating her to a meal. So, she had to naturally disguise it as caring for him to bridge the relationship that seemed to need no further bridging, And casually order a smaller portion of food to expedite this boring date.
“Okay!”
The motherly advice sounded particularly heartwarming in Noyoru Yokota’s ears. This kind of conversation, imbued with a faint sense of everyday life, was more moving than any so-called sweet talk. It was as if they were a couple who had lived together for a long time, complaining to each other but filled with deep care.
In short… he had even thought of their child’s name.
After ordering a regular main course himself, and considering that girls generally liked sweets, he ordered a popular drink for Kazumi. Reaching out, he handed the menu to the waiter beside them. Noyoru Yokota looked at the cute little girl in front of him and asked with a smile.
“How has your internship been these past few days?”
“It’s been okay… Thanks to you, I don’t have to do that boring work anymore. Otherwise, I would have regretted interning here.”
As if asked about something she cared about, the girl’s usually cold expression shifted slightly. She picked up the water glass beside her and took a sip, speaking with a troubled expression.
“What, you don’t like this line of work? But if the Association wants to promote it, it will all be this more efficient work model in the future.”
Smiling as he looked at the troubled girl pouring out her woes, Noyoru Yokota could understand the reason for her distress. After all, this new model was completely different from the traditional agency model. Moreover, for someone who had just started working, the actual tasks were definitely different from what they imagined.
“What I’m doing now is okay, but that’s also because they discovered my potential talent for mental resistance and gave me preferential treatment. I see that my fellow interns are still doing clerical work.”
Shrugging, the girl spoke with a helpless expression. While playing dumb and lying low was quite satisfying, it didn’t mean she was a masochistic corporate slave willing to be exploited. If the hero agency work was like this, she’d rather go home and peacefully farm and develop her territory.
“Mhmm, thank you.”
“Yes, that’s your strength too, having a talent for mental resistance that others don’t have. In that case, there’s a possibility you could stay at the Muscle Agency.”
The speed at which the restaurant served food was faster than expected. While the two were chatting, some soup and small appetizers, like hors d’oeuvres, had already been served. Noyoru Yokota took the food from the waiter and continued to praise the girl.
“I still feel a lot of pressure. If possible, working at a small agency near my home seems pretty good too. At least the entry threshold wouldn’t be this high.”
Picking up a spoon and scooping a mouthful of the white soup in the small bowl in front of her, Kazumi abandoned the soup after one bite, finding the taste strange with a hint of mushroom. She picked up a piece of food with her fork and replied.
“I thought you would want to stay at an agency here, Kazumi.”
The girl’s answer surprised Noyoru Yokota a little. He stirred the soup spoon in the broth, saying with a hint of disappointment in his tone.
“It’s not that simple to stay here. Such a small talent isn’t enough for me to stay at such a top-tier agency, is it?”
The young girl’s delicate eyebrows twitched a few times. While taking small bites of the food on her fork, she explained her reason for not wanting to stay.
“No, I think you’re really amazing, Kazumi. Even if Uncle Crystal Grass doesn’t use his abilities, my strengthened self can’t resist it. On the other hand, you can. This is a rarer talent than a professional hero!”
As if his beloved idol had been desecrated, the boy, completely disregarding the girl in front of him as the person involved, spoke defensively with the conviction that no one understood Kazumi Shimizu better than him.
“Please, I just know for a fact that you won’t hurt me. Senior Crystal Grass also took me for relevant tests later, and the results showed mental talent superior to ordinary people, but I’m still just an ordinary person. It’s not a special skill that can provide help.”
Kazumi shook her head. Given the meager talent she had shown so far, it was indeed not enough to help her get a good position at the Muscle Agency.
Thinking of Noyoru Yokota’s rather good relationship with Crystal Grass Jian Mu, who was responsible for daily operations at the agency, the young girl chewed on the fried shrimp in her mouth while her thoughts drifted in another direction.
“But…”
Kazumi’s calm words slightly dampened Noyoru Yokota’s burning heart, but he was afraid of saying too much, so he paused, planning to organize his words.
“What, do you want me to be your exclusive tester?”
Unexpectedly, the girl who had been sitting opposite suddenly looked up, her jet-black eyes meeting the boy’s disappointed gaze. Her cold expression was replaced by a faint smile, and with a rare hint of playfulness, she asked.
“Okay… Ah… No… I just… If you could stay… it would be nice here…”
Being suddenly exposed, the boy, who had been feigning confidence, completely lost his composure. The girl’s direct gaze made him unable to look at her at all. He quickly averted their touching eyes, a blush creeping onto his suddenly flustered face. He stammered, trying to organize his words, but in the end, he only managed to utter a few unrecognizable words.
“Hehe—”
A light chuckle with a hint of teasing came from the girl opposite, as if amused by the boy’s simple action, or perhaps denying his overconfident thoughts. The gentle smile eventually turned into a silent understanding. The girl finally lowered her head, as if contemplating a refusal.
[It’s over.][Did I say something wrong? Did I express my thoughts too directly?][I look so pathetic acting like this. She’ll definitely think I’m someone who can’t talk.][Is it too direct to say it like this? Do girls dislike people who are too direct? Won’t she become disgusted with me because of this?][……]
The sudden coldness struck Noyoru Yokota, who was already somewhat fearful of interacting with the opposite sex, like a sledgehammer. Waves of negative thoughts constantly surfaced and shattered in his mind, and countless scenarios of unfavorable outcomes appeared before his eyes.
The familiar self-negation intertwined in the depths of the boy’s heart. However, relying on a more mature mindset than before, Noyoru Yokota suppressed the primal urge to flee and planned to apologize to the girl properly. After all, judging by Kazumi’s reaction, his subconscious response seemed a bit out of line.
But before Noyoru Yokota could even open his mouth to apologize, the boy, who had just looked up, saw the girl with a faint blush on her cheeks, her thin, pink lips pursed as she slowly uttered a heavenly sound.
“If I have the chance to work with you, senpai… I will definitely consider it!”
