A Mejiro Family banquet—this one was a dinner held to discuss things with the Chinese Umamusume Association and confirm which plan they'd be using.
But whatever the original purpose was…
Fundamentally, it didn't have much to do with Yayoi Natural at all.
She was just a cook without feelings, so even if something happened at the banquet, it really didn't have much to do with Yayoi Natural either.
It's just that…
Looking at the person standing in front of her—the guest who'd come to the restaurant a few days ago...
The expression on Yayoi Natural's face started to crack.
Because going by what Mejiro Ardan had said, the person standing before her now was Mejiro Ramonu.
And once that clicked, Yayoi Natural simply shifted her gaze away in silence.
She had no idea why Mejiro Ramonu was staring at her.
But…
Not long after their eyes met, Mejiro Ramonu spoke.
"Yayoi, your cooking is excellent."
"Thank you."
After that simple reply, Yayoi Natural got to work, cutting the venison into chunks and plating it.
Since this was a banquet, there wasn't actually that much for her to prepare.
And in a setting like this, most people's conversation was pretty casual.
After all, whatever truly needed deciding had already been decided earlier—so the people here now were probably just here to announce that everything was settled.
That was why Mejiro Ramonu was standing in front of Yayoi Natural.
And by this point, Mejiro Ramonu had been staring at her for nearly two full minutes.
After being watched that long, it would've been strange if Yayoi Natural still hadn't noticed.
After Yayoi Natural thanked her, Mejiro Ramonu simply kept looking at her, then raised a new question.
"Are you interested in coming to the Mejiro Family as head chef?"
The blunt question made Yayoi Natural freeze for a second.
Under that gaze, she only stayed silent for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"Sorry. I can't do that right now."
After refusing, Yayoi Natural just kept working.
"Ramonu-sam, don't you need to go talk with them?"
"Them? There isn't much point."
As she said that, Mejiro Ramonu let her eyes drift over everyone present.
She wasn't particularly interested in this banquet, because she wasn't the main character this time.
Thinking that, Mejiro Ramonu turned her head slightly, then spoke again.
"There's nothing interesting about this banquet, so there's no need to overthink it."
As she spoke, her gaze returned to Yayoi Natural.
"By the way—since your cooking is so good, have you ever served as a chef for any other families? For example, the Symboli Family, or the SS line, or…"
Her eyes shifted, fixing on Yayoi Natural at a subtly angled, unnerving tilt.
"The Tokai Family?"
The question was far too direct. Yayoi Natural froze for a second.
"At the moment, I haven't been head chef for any other families. May I ask why you're asking, Ramonu-san?"
The act of playing dumb was, to Mejiro Ramonu's eyes, rather amusing.
Because from that alone, Mejiro Ramonu could tell that Yayoi Natural was completely in the dark about the current situation.
With that in mind, Mejiro Ramonu turned her head slightly.
"Then—what do you think about this collaboration between the Mejiro Family and China?"
A topic with no connection at all to what came before, tossed out from Mejiro Ramonu's mouth.
Hearing that, Yayoi Natural fell silent for more than ten seconds before answering.
"I don't know. It doesn't really have much to do with me."
Her words made Mejiro Ramonu say nothing. She only turned slightly, looking out over everyone present.
After watching them for a moment, Mejiro Ramonu turned back again. She looked at Yayoi Natural, a faintly dangerous light in her eyes.
"Yayoi-san, I want to know what you think of someone."
"Um… who is it?"
Even though she still didn't know who Ramonu was going to ask about, after several rounds of conversation already, Yayoi Natural was prepared.
Seeing her like that, Mejiro Ramonu went quiet for a few seconds before speaking.
"I wonder, Yayoi-san—what do you think of Symboli Rudolf?"
Staring hard at Yayoi Natural, Mejiro Ramonu waited for her response.
If the answer she got was interesting enough, then Mejiro Ramonu would…
Faced with that question, Yayoi Natural stayed silent for more than ten seconds.
Clearly, she didn't know how to respond.
But after that stretch of silence—just as Yayoi Natural was about to speak—
A voice cut in.
"Onee-chan, can I get another serving of dessert?"
The sound made Yayoi Natural turn her head.
"Mm. Sure."
Then she saw Gold Ship standing off to the side.
Yayoi Natural paused for a second, then picked up a dessert and placed it in Gold Ship's hands.
"Thanks, onee-chan. Oh—onee-chan, I think someone outside was looking for you just now."
With that, Gold Ship took her dessert and turned toward another direction.
"Want me to take you over there, onee-chan?"
At Gold Ship's pointed hint, Yayoi Natural blinked, then nodded.
"Yeah. Okay—thanks."
After that, Yayoi Natural followed behind Gold Ship and left the banquet hall.
Watching her go, Mejiro Ramonu fell silent for a second before stepping away from the temporary cooking station.
She knew—now that her question had been interrupted, she probably wouldn't get another chance to ask it later.
Once Yayoi Natural had been led out, Gold Ship finally looked at her.
"Auntie Natural, I did great, right!"
Seeing Gold Ship give her a thumbs-up, Yayoi Natural simply patted her on the head.
"Mm. You did really well, Gold Ship~"
After getting her head patted, Gold Ship just stared at Yayoi Natural.
"Um, Auntie Natural… later, can I—"
"No."
"Not even when I'm an adult?"
"By then, how old would I be? I wouldn't be right for you~"
Half-heartedly brushing her off, Yayoi Natural shifted her gaze slightly.
"Anyway, thanks for this time."
"So the main issue is 'not right for me,' huh…"
Watching Gold Ship look like she'd just had some sort of revelation, Yayoi Natural only let out a sigh, then turned around.
"I'm going back to work now~"
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T/N: GOLDSHIP IS THE GOATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!