The story takes place on the third day after Geno and the others returned from the Crete Hollow.
After being rescued by Hoshimi Miyabi, although there were still plenty of unanswered questions, at least now there were some clues to go on.
After bringing the Mouse back to Anti-Air Section Six, Yanagi Tsukishiro took a brief rest and then began handling the work of the coming days.
And the reason she was so busy was that she had a very important appointment to keep.
Only, when she arrived at the scene, the atmosphere was not nearly as harmonious as she'd pictured in her mind.
"That's why I'm telling you, burgers are junk food. You really should cut back on them."
Number 11, arms crossed, looked across the table at Anby, who was pulling a burger out of a paper bag, and delivered the outrageous declaration above. Hearing this, Anby paused mid-bite and instead turned to fix Number 11 with a blazing glare.
"If burgers count as junk food, then ramen—that mixture of sugar, grease, and high purines—is the real junk food, wouldn't you say? Especially the kind loaded with a ridiculous amount of chili."
"I'd advise you to take that back!"
Hearing her absolute favorite food dismissed as worthless by Anby, Number 11 flared up on the spot, the veins throbbing at her temples making it clear she was genuinely furious now.
"That's exactly the line I should be saying."
Anby rose to her feet as well, her face still wearing that placid, blank 'three-no' expression, but her eyes made her stance perfectly clear. Number 11 >>>> electric current <<<< Anby
"Aah~ are the two of you just a pair of children?"
Nicole, sitting off to the side, stirred the parfait in her cup. Even though this whole affair had little to do with their Cunning Hares, true to her philosophy that any free meal was worth mooching, she'd brought Billy along anyway.
"Isn't this exactly how sisters are supposed to be?"
Geno chuckled. The way he saw it, this was just one of the ways sisters got along.
Just like the roughhousing between him and Twiggy.
"So—could you let go of me first? My dear Miss Twiggy~"
Geno, who'd had Twiggy clinging to his neck from the very moment they arrived at the restaurant, was by now starting to struggle for breath.
"Shut it! You brought this entirely on yourself! Who told you to go recording what I said back in the Hollow—and then post it to the whole staff dorm's intranet!" Twiggy gritted her teeth, savagely throttling Geno's neck.
The recording Twiggy was referring to was what she'd said earlier in the Hollow, back when she'd snatched Geno out of Dagalle's hands.
'So I said—I told you to let go of my man, are you deaf?! Huh?!'
'My man is mine and mine alone to bully! Who the hell do you think you are!'
Content like that had already, with the help of a certain young lady who preferred not to disclose her name, spread throughout the entire Silver Squad.
"Achoo! Sniff~~"
Belle suddenly let out a sneeze, and Wise, beside her, fussed over her with concern.
"Eat a little less—now you've gone and sneezed."
"But the sundae here is really, really good. Nom~"
Watching this utterly chaotic yet somehow reassuring scene, Yanagi Tsukishiro felt her previously tense mood settle into calm all at once.
Over on the other side, Asaba Harumasa—who was busy enjoying his slacking-off time—and Hoshimi Miyabi—so delighted by the exquisitely delicious melon she'd gotten to eat that her ears wouldn't stop twitching—had no time at this moment to spare for their dear deputy section chief.
"Little Soukaku~ want a bite? How about I feed you, hmm?"
"Nom~ thank you, big sister Nekomata~"
Following the logic that if Nicole could shamelessly show up to mooch a meal, his own people couldn't be left behind, Geno had brought Nekomata along too.
And then, for some reason, Nekomata ended up hitting it off with the rather simple-hearted Soukaku.
Just why was that? Geno couldn't quite figure it out, but he guessed it was probably because of their height.
Seeing all this, Yanagi Tsukishiro was somewhat gladdened that Soukaku could make new friends, yet she still couldn't help feeling an unavoidable hollow emptiness in her heart.
"Sheltering children under your wings forever isn't the only way to protect them. Sometimes letting them grow on their own is far better for their future."
Trigger had walked in from outside the restaurant door at some unnoticed moment, cradling a large paper bag in her hands.
Inside were red bean buns, all fresh out of the oven and steaming hot.
"Here—the red bean buns I promised to treat you to."
"Thank you. I never imagined you'd also be fond of this shop's special-edition red bean buns."
Yanagi Tsukishiro took the red bean buns Trigger handed over, instantly rather delighted.
Who would have thought Trigger shared the very same taste as her—and from the very same shop, no less.
"Of course. This shop's red bean buns taste especially good."
As she spoke, Trigger took one out of the paper bag herself, popped it into her mouth, and took a bite.
"What's more, red bean buns simply have to be piping hot to taste their best."
Well said! Beautifully said!
As Yanagi Tsukishiro bit into her red bean bun, the depths of her heart—hidden behind her lenses—brimmed with approval for Trigger.
"But regrettably, as time passes, a red bean bun's deliciousness fades along with it—which is precisely why reheating is an indispensable step."
"Mm, mm, indeed it is."
A kindred spirit! This is what they call a true kindred spirit!
Yanagi Tsukishiro forced down the corners of her mouth that kept threatening to curl upward, and the gaze she then turned toward Trigger was brimming with pleasant surprise and excitement.
She had even already planned out an all-night, heart-to-heart chat with Trigger on the subject of red bean buns.
"I once, after a mission was over, used a scalding-hot gun barrel to heat up a red bean bun and ate it."
Eh? Yanagi Tsukishiro's expression froze stiff.
It seemed she'd just realized something had gone wrong somewhere.
"A reheated red bean bun not only tastes great, it can also promptly replenish your stamina—it makes for an excellent emergency ration."
What on earth was this woman going on about?
"Miss Trigger, please take back what you just said."
"Hm? What's the matter? Was something I said incorrect?"
Watching Trigger still failing to grasp where she'd gone wrong, Yanagi Tsukishiro finally couldn't hold back and erupted.
"All of it. Forgive me, but I absolutely cannot agree with your views on red bean buns."
Yanagi Tsukishiro pushed up the frame of her glasses. The fact that Trigger so crudely treated red bean buns as an individual field ration was something she found utterly unacceptable.
In her eyes, red bean buns were a delicacy! A work of art! Red bean buns were absolutely not some consumable to be stockpiled in bulk!
And in the face of Yanagi Tsukishiro's insistence, Trigger's stubborn streak inexplicably welled up in turn.
"When carrying out missions such as infiltration, surveillance, and reconnaissance, a red bean bun—nutritionally balanced, generous in portion, and thoroughly filling—is without question the prime choice of food to take in; there are even records of this in the films and shows of the old civilization."
"If that's so, then I can accept it even less! A red bean bun ought to be a delicacy chewed slowly and savored at leisure—it is by no means the bulk consumable you make it out to be."
And so, over this rather extraordinary point of contention, Yanagi Tsukishiro and Trigger fell into an argument of their own.
Just like that, the two of them quickly melded right into the group, and the entire restaurant brimmed with a cheerful, lively atmosphere.
Yet even if quarrels inevitably broke out among them, the friendship they shared was precisely what deepened, bit by bit, through exchanges just like these.
Perhaps this, in the end, was the most precious treasure in all the world.
____
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