Tokyo: To reiterate, this is not a dating system.

83. Sunset, Clouds, and Moon

Since it was still quite early, there weren't many people in the barbecue restaurant yet, and the environment was fairly nice.

From the moment he entered, Genji Aoyama observed Saki Izumo's condition—she didn't react much, only slightly furrowing her brow before returning to normal.

The seven people were divided into two tables with four seats each.

Suzuki, Shibuya, Sugiura, and Takahashi formed a group of four, while next door was a group of three consisting of Aoyama Genji.

Aoyama Genji also spent a little money today – in addition to the premium set meal, each table also ordered some high-end ingredients separately.

The four people next door had already started chatting, and the air was filled with laughter.

Meanwhile, across the narrow passageway, the subtle atmosphere continued.

"Shall we have a drink first?" Before the food even arrived, he picked up his cola, smiled, and looked at Izumo Saki and Minatsuki Haruka sitting opposite him. "It's a way of celebrating the successful conclusion of the performance."

Neither of them raised their glasses, and the atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Genji Aoyama glanced at Haruka Minatsuki, whose expression was somewhat resentful, and then at Saki Izumo, whose cheeks were slightly puffed out—she seemed to be bothered by not being able to sit next to him earlier.

"At least give Young Master Qingshan some face," he muttered under his breath.

After the words were spoken, the two beautiful girls seemed to remember something and suddenly laughed, one elegantly and the other brightly.

"Well, young master Aoyama..." Haruka Minatsuki tilted her head slightly, smiling gently as she picked up her cup. "Would you like Haruka to serve you in a moment?"

"Um--"

Saki Izumo made a sound of dissatisfaction. She glanced at Haruka Minatsuki beside her, then stared at Genji Aoyama. She didn't say anything, but her feet were kicking Genji Aoyama's shoes restlessly under the table.

"Please let me go!" That was all Aoyama Genji wanted to say.

"Grilling meat yourself is part of the fun. If I could, I'd like to serve myself, or... if I could serve two beautiful girls, I wouldn't mind at all," he said with a smile.

"You can't say such frivolous things to girls." Haruka Minatsuki narrowed her eyes slightly, her face still bearing her usual smile.

After she finished speaking, she still clinked glasses with Genji Aoyama.

Saki Izumo snorted and lightly stomped on his foot, but after meeting Genji Aoyama's slightly helpless gaze, she reluctantly clinked glasses with him.

"Hmm...does it feel like I said something wrong?"

While we were reflecting, the dishes were served one after another.

"Would you like us to grill it for you?" the clerk asked.

If possible, please do this.

But thinking about what he had just said, he shook his head.

They probably took Aoyama Genji's joke seriously, because neither of the two people sitting opposite them intended to make a move; in fact, they were even giving orders.

"Let's give it a try... Aoyama-kun, could you please grill some Wagyu beef?"

"Genji-kun, please give me some vegetables, thank you."

"You two," Aoyama Genji said, somewhat incredulously, "we were just joking, are you really going to order me around?"

There were three people present, including two beautiful girls, who were all smiling at him.

Genji Aoyama could only pick up the tongs and start laying out the ingredients on the grill: green peppers, potatoes, corn, king oyster mushrooms, premium beef, and then he grilled some for himself, along with some marinated beef tongue, shrimp, and scallops.

He didn't mind, but then he thought about it and realized he did.

Privately, one of them doted on him, and the other was also very clingy to him. It was clearly two people's happiness combined, so why did it turn out like this?

Aoyama Genji didn't understand.

His train of thought was blocked, but the rich aroma of roasted meat wafted over his nose, making him a little hungry. He decided to eat first.

As he flipped the ingredients over, he muttered to himself:

"Should we serve the rice first?"

Before she could finish speaking, Haruka Minatsuki had already raised her hand, and a shop assistant quickly came over: "How can I help you?"

"Could you bring out the rice from the set meal in advance? One serving will do."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

"...Thank you," said Genji Aoyama.

The beef cooks very quickly; even before the rice is served, the slices of meat are already shrinking, making a soft sizzling sound, and the edges curl up from the heat, turning a golden brown color that looks very tempting.

When the meat was almost done grilling, Genji Aoyama quickly used scissors to cut it into three even pieces. When he took it out, both sides were sizzling with oil.

"It smells so good." He swallowed it in one gulp, the rich aroma of butter bursting in his mouth, hot but incredibly delicious.

"Genji-kun, you can eat a little slower." Minatsuki Haruka looked at Aoyama Genji with a gentle yet helpless smile on her face.

"I couldn't help it, I was really hungry."

While they were talking, Genji Aoyama was also watching Saki Izumo. Both of them put meat on their plates, but Saki Izumo seemed a little resistant.

After picking up the meat with her chopsticks, she only sniffed it, her little eyebrows furrowing adorably, before putting the meat back aside.

"I really can't eat anything too greasy," she said with some distress, her hand seemingly pressing on her stomach.

"Would you like me to order some steamed dishes for you?" Haruka Minatsuki asked Saki Izumo.

"Thank you," Izumo Saki shook her head, her expression a little unnatural, but she smiled. "The appetizers and salad were pretty good, and the vegetables should be fine too, so don't worry about me."

After saying that, she propped her head up and blinked at Genji Aoyama.

"Why--"

Aoyama Genji sighed almost imperceptibly.

Some miscalculations occurred.

The celebration banquet was scheduled before Izumo Saki took her medication; he never expected the side effects to be so severe.

"Um?"

Izumo Saki looked at Aoyama Genji, "Aoyama-kun, do you think it's a bit of a waste? Well..."

As she spoke, she used her chopsticks to place the meat into Aoyama Genji's plate.

"..."

Then Aoyama Genji saw that Minatsuki Haruka, who was next to Izumo Saki, also picked up a piece of grilled Wagyu beef and looked at Aoyama Genji with a sigh: "I also think it's a bit greasy and I don't really want to eat it, Genji-kun... I originally wanted vegetables."

"..."

As a result, there were two more pieces of meat on Aoyama Genji's plate.

wonderful.

He almost burst out laughing.

Just then, the rice was served, and Aoyama Genji simply ignored the two beautiful girls opposite him who had inexplicably started arguing, and started shoveling rice into his mouth while putting meat in his mouth.

and many more!

After taking two big bites, he suddenly realized that neither of them had used serving chopsticks.

This deserves severe criticism!

He looked up and saw that Minazuki Haruka and Izumo Saki seemed to be mirror images of each other—Minazuki Haruka, sitting on the inside, was supporting her head with her left hand, while Izumo Saki, sitting on the outside, was supporting her head with her right hand.

Both of them were looking at him.

"Why are you looking at me?" Genji Aoyama put down his chopsticks. He glanced at the nearly cooked food, then shifted his gaze back and forth between the two of them. "It's ready to eat. If you keep grilling it, it'll burn."

The two remained motionless.

"Ladies," Genji Aoyama sighed, "please spare me."

"Hmm—it seems like Aoyama-kun is enjoying his food very much, and I've become quite engrossed in watching him."

Haruka Minatsuki picked up the serving chopsticks first, then picked up the golden-brown beef tongue from the grill, her slender arm crossing the table once again.

Not to be outdone, Izumo Saki also started serving food to Aoyama Genji.

Under the table, Aoyama Genji was stepped on again, not too hard, not too soft.

He had no interest in arguing about who stepped on it.

A moment later, Aoyama Genji looked up at the ceiling as if he was tired.

At first, he joked that he would serve two beautiful girls, but now why has it turned into him being served by two beautiful girls?

Even the people at the next table kept glancing over, their eyes devoid of sympathy or pity, completely watching the spectacle with amusement and laughter, probably thinking this person was having a great time and enjoying himself.

If possible, Genji Aoyama would like to clarify something.

He felt no joy at all, only bitterness.

wrong.

If you hold such thoughts, even food will taste bad—Genji Aoyama recalled the lesson he had learned from Shizuka Yoda's words.

"The two of you."

After finishing the meat on his plate with rice, he looked up again at the pretty girls who were nibbling on vegetables: "Could you grill some scallops for me? And if possible, grill some beef short ribs too, thank you."

After saying that, he crossed his hands and rested his chin on them, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Oh my, Genji-kun is bolder than I thought." Haruka Minatsuki laughed, her eyes filled with an indescribable meaning, but her hand reached for the clip.

However, Saki Izumo, sitting on the outside, had an advantage in this regard; she used tongs to place the foil dish containing scallops on the grill.

Immediately afterwards, with a "sizzle" and a puff of steam, the beef ribs fell to the ground.

"Is there anything else you want to eat?" Izumo Saki asked with a smile, gently stepping on his foot under the table.

"It will be all right,"

Genji Aoyama began eating the grilled beef tongue, saying, "I'll eat anything."

It's hot, but crisp, tender, and chewy, and bursts with rich meat juices when you chew it.

"It smells so good."

He couldn't help but admire it.

With a hearty appetite and a strong urge to eat, Genji Aoyama couldn't resist taking a bite of rice and then a sip of soup.

"You mean that child...?"

Hearing conversations coming from next door, Genji Aoyama, who was immersed in a sense of contentment and happiness, listened while watching the scallops that hadn't yet started bubbling.

Kanna Takahashi's voice revealed a hint of trouble and distress, but also a sense of helplessness: "The situation is a bit complicated. It's a high-functioning... something, a little complicated. In short, it's not very good at communicating with others."

"Huh—?"

"I've never heard Takahashi-senpai mention this before!"

"It's a distant relative's child. To be honest, I never expected that they would let that child attend Baihe High School. It shocked me at the time."

"It's as if Baihe High School is some kind of terrible school."

"That's the councilor's child! Hmm... how should I put it, she went to a girls' school for junior high, but it seems like she didn't attend school much."

"Wow, is a relative of Takahashi-senpai a member of parliament?"

"They're just distant relatives, the kind we've never met before."

Is gossip an innate human trait?

Genji Aoyama felt he didn't have any particular fetishes, yet he would still be briefly drawn to things he was inexplicably or even uninterested in.

Saki Izumo seemed curious as well, even turning her head slightly to listen intently to the conversation at the next table.

"Perhaps it's because that girl chatted with Shizuka Yoda?"

Genji Aoyama speculated.

A light touch came from the instep of the other foot, and judging from the direction, it was probably Minatsuki Haruka stepping on it.

Coming to his senses, he looked at Haruka Minatsuki across from him.

"What are you thinking about, Genji?" She was also looking at him, her eyes seemingly tinged with resentment.

"It's nothing," Genji Aoyama said with a smile. "I just think it must have been a bit tiring for Genji-kun... oh no, young master Aoyama to eat almost all the food by himself."

As soon as he finished speaking, a new round of feeding began.

The beef ribs, grilled to a golden brown, and the scallops, bubbling away, were kept being served onto his plate by two pretty girls under the pretext of "try this" and "this is good too."

……

After the celebration banquet, the exhausted young master Qingshan had a stomach that was almost completely full.

The meal cost 90,000 yen. Young Master Aoyama roughly estimated that he himself spent about 30,000 yen.

In the elevator going downstairs, Genji Aoyama declined Saki Izumo's offer to have the driver take him home—

He was so full that he wanted to take a walk outside.

When the elevator 1F indicator light came on, the elevator door opened and Genji Aoyama stepped out of the elevator.

"Hmm... I suddenly feel like taking a walk, a stroll." Haruka Minatsuki's voice came from behind. "Goodbye, everyone."

Genji Aoyama turned his head and first met Haruka Minatsuki's gaze, and then, before the elevator doors closed, he saw Saki Izumo's cheeks puffed up slightly in dissatisfaction.

The streets were bustling with people, and there were many workers who had just finished get off work. The two strolled along the tree-lined path, their shadows stretched long by the setting sun.

"I'm so full—"

Aoyama Genji couldn't help but unbutton two buttons on his uniform and even take off his tie.

"When you're out and about, you should dress more appropriately." Haruka Minatsuki just looked at him, her eyes showing dissatisfaction.

"I remember when Ms. Haruka first met us, she said the same thing," Genji Aoyama said, looking at the distant sky. "Back then, you even buttoned up my shirt and tightened my tie."

"I want to do that now too." Haruka Minatsuki was still looking at him.

"...Never mind, I feel like I'm going to burst from being so full."

"Hmm—I thought Genji was enjoying himself while eating."

When Aoyama Genji heard Minatsuki Haruka's inexplicably melancholic tone, he suddenly felt like laughing.

"Who do you think caused this, Ms. Haruka?" He smiled and raised his hands. "Me, the complete victim."

A warm breeze rustled through the trees, and a few leaves drifted down between the two.

"Is that so~"

Haruka Minatsuki's tone carried an elusive quality.

The station was very close, only about a ten-minute walk away. After digesting it a bit, Genji Aoyama felt at least less uncomfortable now.

The two stood outside the tram stop. Genji Aoyama looked at Haruka Minatsuki and asked, "I'm taking the tram back. Where are you, Haruka-san?"

Haruka Minatsuki didn't answer the question. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face, then she suddenly laughed:

"Aomori, I bought a ticket for the day after tomorrow."

Genji Aoyama looked up at the sky—

As the sun sets, it dyes the clouds on the horizon crimson, while on the other side of the sky hangs an almost full moon.

"Okay," he said.

◇

He walked along the same route to the tram stop where he was to get off, and Aoyama Genji took her back home before returning to his apartment.

Several messages have already been sent to my phone.

[Saki: Teacher Yoda suggested that I travel and relax during Golden Week.]

[Saki: So, may I make a small request to Aoyama-kun?]

[Saki: Yeah, consider it a reward we agreed on beforehand...]

Genji Aoyama responded quickly.

[Aoyama: Okay, Saki, you speak.]

[Saki: I want to go on a trip with Aoyama-kun]

[Aoyama: Could you wait a moment?]

Saki Izumo has read the message but has not replied.

Genji Aoyama stared at his phone, lost in deep thought.

If I leave on Friday, I probably won't be back this weekend...

Thinking of this, he opened his chat with Yuko Asahi and quickly sent her a message.

[Aoyama: Let's go out together during Golden Week!]