Hearing his question, Asuna nodded. "I can. My family environment emphasizes elite education, but as long as I complete the study tasks my parents assigned, I have some free time. Personal relaxation is technically considered part of maintaining an 'elite' schedule."
"About what time can you get here?" Yuto asked.
"I'll try to come as early as possible. I should be able to get here right around seven, but I have to leave by eight," Asuna estimated. In Tokyo at this time of year, it got completely dark around eight o'clock. Once it was dark, she'd need to head back to the estate.
Yuto nodded, doing the math in his head. From seven to eight.
That was a solid one-hour window.
He thought about the times his regular magical customers usually arrived—that specific hour should line up perfectly.
"Is something wrong?" Asuna asked curiously, watching his gears turn.
"No, it's nothing," Yuto smiled, shaking his head.
He decided it was better not to say anything for now. Why not give her a surprise later?
Asuna gave him a slightly odd, suspicious look, but slowly nodded anyway.
The two cleaned up the kitchen and chatted for a while longer until it was past one in the afternoon.
Realizing she'd already spent nearly two hours in the restaurant, Asuna prepared to say goodbye.
She still had a massive mountain of coursework to get through today.
"Kamisaka-kun, thank you again," she said, bowing slightly near the door.
Yuto chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.
Now that they were friends, there was no need for such stiff formality.
"See you tonight, Asuna."
As she stepped out the door, Asuna playfully tilted her head at him, full of youthful liveliness and cheer.
She looked just like a bubbly young idol, honestly even cuter than most.
Yuto waved back as they bid each other farewell.
Watching her slender figure disappear at the end of the alley, Yuto sighed softly and walked back into the empty dining room.
His grand plan was to have Asuna temporarily take over the kitchen for him tonight.
Tonight's head chef would be a high school girl, just for a short one-hour shift.
Although surprising his customers with an amateur chef might seem a bit impolite, Yuto had already made up his mind.
He'd just use Rimuru and Ainz as the guinea pigs!
It was perfect.
Consider it payback for the intense, soul-crushing awkwardness they forced him to experience in Akihabara today.
What could they possibly do? Refuse to eat? If they complained, he'd just threaten to burn the mountain of light novels and manga he was currently holding hostage for them.
'Wait... Ainz can't eat anything in his current state.'
Yuto paused, rubbing his chin.
He'd almost forgotten that the Overlord was a literal skeleton lacking a digestive tract.
After a moment's thought, he came up with a new candidate.
Saitama.
It had to be Saitama.
Though he felt a bit sorry for the bald hero, it should be fine.
Knowing Saitama's laid-back, cheapskate personality, as long as the food was free, he probably wouldn't mind who cooked it.
Yuto returned to the kitchen.
He noticed that the pots and plates they'd used earlier had already been scrubbed spotless and put away by Asuna while he wasn't looking.
Her quiet diligence and polite behavior always gave him the impression of a very mature, traditional Yamato Nadeshiko.
'A sweet, hardworking girl like her must have a terrifying amount of suitors at her school,' he thought with a hint of emotion.
After sighing to himself, he walked back out and glanced around the dining room.
With the recently expanded floor plan, the space looked much more comfortable and spacious. Sixteen new seats had been added.
'This should easily prevent any overcrowding issues for a while, at least in the short term!' Yuto thought to himself with a fair amount of confident optimism.
After Asuna left, Yuto closed the restaurant door and went upstairs.
He bought a pile of light novels and manga, and out of curiosity, decided to take a look at them himself.
After all, both Rimuru and Ainz had recommended them.
Most of the light novels he bought were about reincarnation in another world or transmigration.
Even though he didn't know much about the light novel market, he got a rough idea from these bestsellers. Isekai stories are the big trend these days—all these best-selling light novels focus on other worlds.
Yuto flipped through the pages, feeling a bit bored.
It wasn't that the authors wrote poorly, but his customers included actual people from other worlds.
Hearing Rimuru, Ainz, or even Tohru and Hestia recount their firsthand experiences was much more vivid and engaging than reading a book like this.
"Ah—"
He sighed, rolling over lazily on the bed.
The afternoon sunlight streamed in, weak but still warm.
Yuto flipped through the light novel in his hand again—I Became a King in Another World.
The story seemed tailored to appeal to male fantasies.
At first, the protagonist was wise and just after becoming king, but gradually descended into depravity.
Every girl who appeared was... well, the more Yuto read, the more astonished he felt.
He admired the protagonist but this guy was just too much!
He also admired the author.
With such writing skills, they could probably make a fortune as an adult doujinshi writer.
But Yuto was also puzzled.
How could a book like this be openly published? Many scenes went far beyond what minors should see.
In his previous life, a book like this would've been reported and banned on the spot.
Yuto couldn't help but think of Rimuru and Ainz, who were actually reborn in another world.
One was a Slime, genderless, stuck like that for life.
The other was a skeleton, all bones, occasionally needing to be forcibly calmed down when emotions ran high.
Comparing these two to the king protagonist, Yuto sighed.
Both reborn in another world, yet why are those two so unlucky?
Yuto skimmed through the book and let out an amazed sigh by the end.
From the second volume onward, the rest was basically a patchwork of physical descriptions.
This author had all sorts of tricks up their sleeve.
For the first time, Yuto felt the terrifying creativity of literary authors.
He put down the light novel and imagined Rimuru and Ainz reading it.
What would those two actual transmigrators think?
He picked up a manga instead—a recent hit about several cute characters being adorable.
Yuto flipped through it, his expression calm at first.
By the end, a faint, unconscious smile appeared on his face. Only after finishing did he realize he'd gotten immersed in it.
He felt a bit surprised.
It was just ordinary daily life manga, yet it felt relaxing.
How did that happen? Still, this manga left a much better impression on him than the light novel.
Yuto stretched lazily on the bed, suddenly remembering Utaha.
The way the girl asked him last night if he'd read her work was still fresh in his mind.
Yuto took out his phone.
He remembered her book was still being serialized online, so he'd need his phone to read it.
'Name... what was the name again?' Yuto couldn't quite remember.
He paused for a moment before sending a message directly to Utaha via LINE.
Yuto: [Hello, Kasumigaoka-san, are you there?]
He didn't expect an immediate reply.
After all, no one is glued to their phone all the time.
But he didn't expect her to respond as soon as he sent the message.
Utaha: [What's up, Kamisaka-kun? Is something the matter?]
Yuto: [I wanted to ask the name of your light novel.]
Utaha: [Tsk, Kamisaka-kun still doesn't know the name of my light novel? I'm so sad. (crying.jpg)x3]
Yuto: [...You never told me!]
Utaha: [? I thought Kamisaka-kun would take the initiative to pay attention to me...]
Yuto: [Kasumigaoka-san, I just think you're overthinking it.]
Utaha: [Hmph!]
Yuto: [Stop huffing, what's the name of your novel?]
Utaha: [Are you going to read it?]
Yuto: [Of course. Didn't you complain that I haven't read your work? I'm making up for my mistake now. (smile.jpg)x3]
Utaha: [Tsk, I'll take that as Kamisaka-kun's sincere words. The name is "Love Metronome." Also, please stop sending that smiley face.]
Yuto: [Okay. (smile.jpg)x9]
Utaha: [??? Ugh!]
Yuto: [I'm going to read your book now, goodbye.]
Utaha: [Wait, don't go yet.]
Yuto: [What is it?]
Utaha: [You better read it carefully! I'll ask for your opinion on my work tonight!]
Yuto: [Got it. (smile.jpg)x3]
Utaha: [Ugh!]
After ending the chat, Yuto searched for her work.
He was surprised to find her novel was among the top-ranked in clicks on the library website.
Does that mean she's popular?
He clicked on the title and began reading.
The male lead was named Akami Misaka, and the female lead was Kurato Yuko.
The plot was a sweet school romance, and the first volume wasn't very long. The overall reading experience was quite pleasant.
Utaha portrayed the subtle, sweet happiness of youthful love very movingly.
Yuto couldn't help but marvel—was this the advantage of a female author?
The writing was truly delicate!
...
Utaha lay in bed.
It was her day off, and she'd been lounging around all day.
Now, she tossed and turned, seemingly a bit excited.
A faint blush colored her cheeks, though no one knew exactly what she was thinking.
She opened her phone and reread her novel several times.
As the original author, she naturally skimmed through it quickly.
After reading it a few times, a slight smile finally curled at the corners of her lips.
Her heart was filled with excitement and anticipation—she couldn't wait for evening to arrive!
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