Dressed in a black and white maid uniform with a perfectly practiced smile, the waitress from earlier crossed the central aisle of the restaurant carrying the cleared dishes.
But before she could make it back to the kitchen with the customer's plates, the already-moving Senpai, Yumiya Rakko, intercepted her path.
"My apologies, but we are still eating at our table."
Yumiya-senpai moved swiftly, reaching the center of the restaurant in an instant.
Her face wore a look of sincere apology as she bowed her head slightly. The waitress beside her quickly waved her hands, indicating it was no trouble at all.
"That was close, they were almost taken away."
Natsume Sonoko stared at Yumiya-senpai's actions, momentarily stunned, before letting out a sigh of relief, feeling immensely fortunate.
Yet, Sonoko felt a bit conflicted inside. So, Yumiya-senpai had this side to her too—completely different from her demeanor during Dark Side operations.
She was clearly a polite and cute girl, so why was she involved with the Dark Side?
Sonoko didn't know the specific reasons, and it wasn't her place to comment, but she just couldn't quite wrap her head around it.
Natsume Sonoko's impression of the Dark Side was pretty poor, largely because of that organization called 'ITEM,' which had even kidnapped Haruue and the others.
Although she didn't know why Yumiya-senpai, as a Dark Side member, had helped her last time, it didn't really matter if it was a mission or some other reason.
Her relationship with Yumiya-senpai would probably end with this dinner; it was simply a proper thank you for the previous help.
Maybe she also held a faint hope of helping Yumiya-senpai overcome some social difficulties or similar issues—consider it mutual aid.
Natsume Sonoko returned to the table. The several dishes that had been taken away were brought back, thoughtfully reheated by the waitress.
Honestly, reheating didn't make much difference to Natsume-san, but she still appreciated the family restaurant's service.
"I was at fault for today's matter, making you wait an extra half hour."
Sitting across from her, Yumiya Rakko slightly raised her head, her bangs falling and obscuring her line of sight.
"It's fine, Yumiya-senpai, please don't worry about it."
Drinking the sugar-laden black tea, Natsume Sonoko felt her whole spirit lift. 'So this is what it feels like to replenish energy,' she thought.
Truth be told, Sonoko could more or less guess the reason for Yumiya-senpai's tardiness.
If it wasn't because of poor grades leading to extra lessons with a teacher, then it was probably work related to the Dark Side.
To be honest, a certain bun-haired Judgment member was far too lax, leisurely drinking tea and chatting with a girl who worked in the Dark Side.
But strictly speaking, both the Dark Side and Judgment were organizations supported by Academy City, though their roles were worlds apart.
However, Natsume Sonoko didn't seem conscious of this issue and instinctively avoided talking about Dark Side matters. This was just a simple meal; she didn't even bring up the subject of that previous help.
"Yumiya-senpai, how's the pasta? Is it alright?"
Natsume Sonoko looked up, asking somewhat absentmindedly.
"Mmm, it's quite good."
Yumiya Rakko nodded, her response equally perfunctory.
The atmosphere felt a bit awkward.
Unlike the girls at other tables laughing and chatting, an inexplicable barrier seemed to exist around Natsume Sonoko and her companion.
This barrier might have been related to the difference between the public world and the hidden world, and it also had to do with Sonoko's inability to find a suitable topic of conversation.
"Um, Yumiya-senpai, do you have an older or younger sister?"
Suddenly remembering something, Sonoko finally found a decent opening.
She thought of Tokiwadai Middle School's third-year student, Yumiya Iruka-senpai. After all, the surname 'Yumiya' was quite rare.
"Does Natsume-san know about her?" A surprised expression appeared on Yumiya Rakko's face.
"I do have a younger sister. Speaking of which, Iruka is a third-year at Tokiwadai and the captain of the archery club."
Yumiya Rakko felt an inexplicable sense of relief inwardly; the somewhat stifling atmosphere had finally been broken.
"So it really is Yumiya Iruka-senpai! Her archery form is super cool."
Natsume Sonoko immediately perked up, her mind recalling the impressive figure that senpai cut at a certain archery exchange meet.
"Back then, I remember thinking that if I hadn't already settled on a club, I might have joined." Natsume Sonoko continued, putting on a serious face.
If it was just about hitting the target with an arrow, Natsume-san could easily achieve a hundred percent accuracy now. But archery required using a bow; using her ability would be cheating.
The conversation shifted to a certain Tokiwadai senpai, and the two finally found some common ground.
By the end of the meal, Natsume Sonoko had learned a few things about that previously unfamiliar senpai—an unexpected gain.
Dinner concluded, and the two left the family restaurant.
The cost at the family restaurant wasn't very high. Even though Natsume Sonoko had ordered quite a bit, it only came to five thousand yen in the end. The most expensive items were actually the two cups of black tea, because of the free refills.
"I ate a bit too much. I ended up drinking a lot more once I heard the tea was bottomless."
Stretching slightly, Natsume Sonoko rubbed her stomach contentedly, a pleased smile on her face.
This kind of life, eating out whenever she felt like it, really was pretty great.
"Thank you for the meal. Well, I should be going now."
Yumiya Rakko still kept her head lowered, as her gaze was fixed on a certain bun-haired girl.
Actually, after becoming more familiar with Yumiya-senpai, her initial social difficulties began to fade away. They could now converse naturally, almost like friends.
Yumiya-senpai wasn't lacking in communication skills; she just wasn't good at expressing herself to others, making it hard for her to make new friends.
"Bye-bye." Natsume Sonoko waved as she spoke. It was getting pretty late.
Walking down a narrow path, Yumiya Rakko followed an old alleyway into a building.
Yumiya-senpai's nose twitched slightly, catching a very familiar scent of perfume in the air.
"Come out," Yumiya Rakko said in a low tone.
"Rakko-chan, I'm not against you making friends. I'm just a little curious, that's all. After all, that person is Academy City's #8."
Gokusai Kaibi emerged from a corner, still wearing that evening gown—it seemed she had finished her part-time job.
As for why she was here… that was open for debate.
"You were following me." Yumiya Rakko couldn't help but frown.
"We do have a rule against unauthorized contact with other Espers, you know that, Rakko-chan. But maintaining good relations with non-hostile Espers isn't a bad thing, actually."
"And I was just passing by, not following you." Gokusai Kaibi said lightly, rubbing her shoulder.
"It's not what you think. We aren't friends. She was just thanking me for my help last time."
Yumiya Rakko let out a soft breath and shook her head.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.