Inside the small restaurant, Yuto and the girl sat facing each other across the counter.
After noticing her lingering at the entrance earlier, Yuto had exchanged greetings and invited her inside.
People who actually remembered the restaurant were few and far between.
The fact that this girl had managed to track it down all on her own made Yuto feel a deep sense of astonishment.
"I never thought you'd actually come," Yuto admitted, his voice a mix of quiet emotion and genuine surprise.
Asuna blinked lightly.
Her amber eyes held a gentle warm smile, glowing softly like polished yellow gemstones under the restaurant's warm lights.
"I'm a little persistent about the things I set my mind to," she replied.
As she spoke, Asuna tilted her head slightly.
The corner of her mouth curved into a slanted, playful smile.
It was a very cute, endearing expression.
"It's really unexpected that you managed to find this place," Yuto noted, taking a light breath.
His words carried a heavy double meaning regarding the restaurant's magical nature, but the girl sitting before him didn't catch the true implication.
Asuna sighed, a hint of weariness and helplessness bleeding into her posture.
"Yeah, your place is incredibly hard to find. I asked the people working in the nearby shops, but none of them could tell me where your restaurant was. They only know you, not your business. It's so strange."
Hearing her puzzled complaint, Yuto's lips curved into a faint smile.
He didn't offer an explanation, he simply chuckled softly and let the comment pass.
"But even though you managed to find me, it's a shame—it's closing time now," Yuto said with a light, apologetic laugh.
The girl's face instantly fell, heavy disappointment masking her features.
But she didn't get angry, nor did she insist or throw a tantrum.
She just let out a helpless sigh.
"Should I leave then?" Asuna lowered her shoulders.
Even her long, flaxen hair seemed to lose a bit of its energetic bounce.
"No need."
Yuto stood up calmly.
His sudden reversal left the girl looking puzzled. A glimmer of anticipation and curiosity rose in her amber eyes, warming them like golden sunlight.
"Even though the sign says closed, I can still cook a meal for someone who went through so much trouble to find this place," Yuto chuckled lightly as he walked around the counter.
He grabbed a fresh white apron and tied it around his waist.
He looked gently at the surprised girl.
"Welcome. What would you like to eat?" he asked softly.
Asuna's eyes lit up with sheer delight and excitement.
An unstoppable, radiant smile spread across her face!
"Then... could I have a bowl of meat stew?" the girl asked, looking at him with bright, hopeful eyes.
Hearing the heavy order, Yuto's expression froze for a second.
He looked at the girl sitting before him.
Her figure was slender and well-proportioned—the exact kind of delicate physique a typical, beautiful high school girl should have.
"Ahem! Kamisaka-kun, what exactly are you looking at?!" Asuna scolded, her face flushing slightly.
Since it was just the two of them in the quiet restaurant, it was easy to track the other person's gaze.
Asuna had clearly felt Yuto's eyes scanning her figure. Although she didn't sense any creepy or ill intentions behind his look, as a teenage girl, such direct attention was bound to make her feel incredibly shy and defensive.
"Ah! Sorry, sorry. I was just a bit surprised and impressed, that's all," Yuto offered a quick, apologetic smile, waving his hands defensively.
The girl's eyes flickered.
She instinctively tilted her head, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and lingering embarrassment.
It was an incredibly cute reaction.
"Huh? Why is that?" Asuna asked.
Yuto chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's just a bit unexpected that a girl with your figure would order a heavy meat stew."
The girls Yuto usually interacted with all seemed to have an inexplicable obsession with dieting.
Like Utaha, who usually only ate about half as much as a normal person when she visited.
Except on rare, stressful occasions when the writer would temporarily lift her own restrictions out of sheer frustration, she strictly controlled her portions.
However, Yuto had always harbored a dangerous curiosity.
How could Utaha, who ate so little, still maintain such a... plump and heavy figure? It was a question he knew better than to ask.
Asking would definitely result in the girl murdering him.
As soon as Yuto gave his honest reason, Asuna's expression stiffened.
It seemed he had accidentally poked a sore spot, her face twisted with intense, awkward conflict.
"This... this is just to replenish the massive amount of energy I used up looking for this place today! It's a perfectly reasonable order! Yes, very reasonable!" Asuna defended herself in an earnest, slightly panicked tone.
As she rambled, her voice gradually softened, turning into a quiet mumble of self-hypnosis.
Seeing the girl trying so hard to justify her appetite made Yuto chuckle softly.
He didn't tease her any further.
Instead, he turned around and walked into the kitchen to start prepping the heavy meal.
After Yuto disappeared into the back, Asuna let out a long sigh of relief.
She relaxed into her stool, her amber eyes slowly surveying the interior of the quiet restaurant.
She noticed the heavy wooden counter that seemed to blend seamlessly into the floorboards. She saw the vibrant flowers that appeared to grow naturally straight out of the ceiling and walls.
And she stared at the thick, twisted, magical tree branch supporting the main beam, which inexplicably possessed a profound aesthetic beauty.
Asuna felt a wave of deep surprise wash over her.
The restaurant's decor was clearly simple and rustic, yet it gave her a strange, overwhelming sense of being naturally formed by the earth itself.
If forced to describe it, she felt as if this small building had been coaxed into existence using some special, forgotten method rather than built with hammers and nails.
If Yuto knew what Asuna was thinking at that moment, he would certainly sigh with emotion.
'Girl, your guess is actually spot on.'
The initial surprise in Asuna's heart gradually subsided into a heavy, comfortable calm.
She no longer felt intensely curious about the magical architecture; instead, she just felt an inexplicable, profound sense of peace.
She sat quietly in the silent room.
From her stool, she could easily see the young chef busy at work.
The rhythmic, steady thudding of the kitchen knife against the wooden cutting board. The faint, calm sound of his breathing.
The soft friction of his shoes against the floor as he moved between stations...
These simple, domestic sounds gave Asuna a wonderful, soothing feeling.
It felt like lying down on soft grass to sunbathe on a perfect spring day, with the sunlight just right and a gentle breeze blowing.
Her usually stressed heart felt clear and empty, filled only with a touch of heavy warmth.
She was getting a bit sleepy!
Without realizing it, Asuna's posture shifted.
She crossed her arms on the warm wooden counter and rested her chin on them.
The girl gently closed her eyes.
'I'll just rest my eyes for a little while. Just a minute...'
...
Yuto was still in the back kitchen, entirely focused on prepping the stew.
He didn't notice that his lone customer had already fallen fast asleep at the counter.
He simply continued to cook with steady, practiced seriousness.
Meat stew isn't an inherently difficult dish to make, but truly mastering it is still a challenge.
All cooking is like that. Even the simplest plate of fried rice requires intense focus and precise heat control. Ingredients are incredibly sensitive, their core flavors can change in a fraction of a second due to minor temperature shifts.
Even a simple cucumber has massive distinctions in flavor depending on whether it's tender, young, or old.
Not to mention a heavy pot of stew that combines a wide variety of different meats and vegetables.
Yuto poured a measure of high-quality oil into the heavy iron pot.
He swirled it around slightly, coating the bottom, and waited for the metal to heat up.
When the faint wisps of steam rose and the oil temperature hit the perfect smoking point, Yuto tossed in the freshly cubed pieces of premium beef.
Each piece was cut to exactly one and a half centimeters.
The fresh, marbled red meat hit the hot oil with a loud, aggressive sizzle. Yuto tossed the pan, searing the outside of the cubes to lock in the juices.
Their color quickly shifted, developing a rich, golden-brown crust.
By now, the heavy, savory aroma characteristic of seared beef had already filled the kitchen.
Yuto splashed in a generous measure of cooking wine to deglaze the pan.
With a violent hiss from the evaporating alcohol, the meaty fragrance grew exponentially richer and sweeter.
Next, he added his blend of seasonings, pouring in a dark, fragrant soy sauce base.
The seared meat, which had already turned golden brown, took on a deep, appetizing reddish-mahogany hue as it absorbed the rich liquids.
Yuto stir-fried the mixture a few more times to coat everything evenly, then tossed in the chopped potatoes and cauliflower florets.
After stirring the vegetables slightly to blister their edges in the hot oil, he poured in several ladles of purified water and a scoop of rich bone broth.
He covered the heavy pot with a lid and lowered the flame to a steady simmer.
Ten minutes of slow braising would be perfect.
With the stew bubbling away, Yuto wiped his hands on a towel and walked out to the front counter.
Only then did he notice the girl.
Asuna had fallen fast asleep, her face resting peacefully on her crossed arms.
Her sleeping posture was incredibly calm.
Even squished face-down against the hard wooden table, she didn't lose an ounce of her natural, pretty charm.
'Another customer falling asleep without their guard up,' Yuto thought to himself with a hint of fond resignation.
He immediately thought of Utaha.
The tired writer was exactly like this!
She would crash and sleep whenever she felt like it in the restaurant. She simply didn't care whether the dining room was packed with noisy monsters or entirely empty, if she was tired, she slept.
Yuto looked at Asuna's exhausted, sleeping face.
He thought for a moment and decided not to wake her just yet.
To be able to fall into such a deep, defenseless sleep in an unfamiliar restaurant... she must be dealing with a lot of heavy exhaustion and stress in her daily life.
Besides, the restaurant wasn't officially open for business right now, and Yuto had nothing else to do.
He decided to let her rest for a few more minutes.
With a soft sigh, Yuto turned and walked back into the kitchen.
If he just stood there staring at a sleeping high school girl, he'd definitely look like a massive creep.
He returned to his station by the stove.
Thick, savory steam rose from the tiny gap between the heavy lid and the iron pot, dissipating into the air as a fragrant white mist.
A rich, heavy, mouth-watering aroma wafted through the entire building.
Out in the dining room, unseen by Yuto, a soft look of pure bliss and deep contentment bloomed on the sleeping girl's face.
Even trapped in deep sleep, the human body still instinctively reacts to the scent of incredible food.
Yuto glanced up at the wall clock. Only a few minutes left on the simmer.
He leaned back against the wooden doorframe and crossed his arms.
Looking at the sleeping girl, he couldn't help but recall the chaotic afternoon he spent in Shibuya with Utaha not long ago.
That was the day he first met Asuna.
Although Asuna had been incredibly determined to learn the name of his restaurant back then, Yuto hadn't held much hope that she would actually show up.
After all, he had conducted too many experiments regarding the restaurant's magic.
The people who actually retained their memories of 'Kamisaka's Diner'... were far too few.
The magic usually scrubbed their minds clean.
Because of that harsh reality, he hadn't taken the girl's determined promise to heart.
But he never expected this.
Asuna had actually spent her day actively searching for him.
She really did remember the restaurant.
Realizing she had beaten the magical odds brought a pleasant surprise to Yuto's heart.
Since she had fought so hard to find her way here, it was only fitting for him to prepare his absolute best meal for her!
Yuto always referred to this kind of rare, magical experience as 'fate'.
It was truly a special coincidence for a normal human to make it through the doors twice.