Arifureta After III The Hauria Came! Third
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Hajime smiled wryly while entering inside the restaurant with Myuu in his arms. Behind him, Shia also followed inside with the same expression.
「Oo! You guys! So all of you also came here!」
Carm who entered after them opened his eyes wide in surprise seeing his whole family gathered there and his face broke into smile.
In respond to that, one of the Haurias who was assigned to Kousuke & Emily team, “Creeping Decapitation” Jorgandr……――perhaps his name right now should have become something with even more gorgeous feel, so for the time being he was Jor――rushed toward Carm smilingly.
And then, without stopping,
「Die, chief!」
A sharp slash from creeping posture was unleashed! It seemed he was hiding a kodachi on his back.
「Naïve!」
Carm splendidly blocked it using the short sword stored in the holster on his waist.
*Kin-* High-pitched sound from the clash of metal resounded.
Furthermore,
「Go to hell-, Baltfeldt!」
「Hah! Is that all? Anikiii!」
A teenage Hauria around fifteen years old threw knives. The four knives cut through the air. Par intercepted them with quick draw of sling shot. He splendidly shot down all four knives with four simultaneous shots. It was truly a superhuman feat.
Right after that, Nea and Mina, and then Io too had fierce attacks from their comrades rushing at them. The three of them snorted while handling the attacks.
「WAIIIIITTTTT! Just what are you all doing in someone’s restaurant!」
In the place of Hajime and others who were dumbfounded with opened mouth, the one who raised an angry yell was this western restaurant Wisteria’s poster girl――Sonobe Yuuka.
She came out from deeper inside the restaurant wearing crimson apron, scarf, and limp hat. She stood with her hands on her waist and her eyebrows bristling on end. She looked pretty angry.
Jor who fired the first shot answered while locking sword with Carm.
「Chief who is in a good mood after being showed around by boss directly is irritating!」
「Are you a kid!」
Yuuka’s sharp tsukkomi. In respond to that the other Haurias who were launching surprise attack argued vehemently.
「However, Yuuka-dono! Did you see Baltfeld’s face!? That self-satisfied face! I cannot hold back!」
「That’s right! Besides, please look! That bag Neastadtrm is holding so carefully! Neastadtrm won’t make that kind of face if htat is something she bought by herself!」
「Minasteria too! In other words, those are undoubtedly a present from boss![
Correct.
「So what!?」
Yuuka who witnessed bloodshed suddenly occurred inside her restaurant raised her voice with extreme anger.
The criminals, no, all the Haurias inside the restaurant who were brimming with battle spirit declared「There is only one answer!」 in one voice.
「「「「We will take it away even if we have to kill them!」」」」
「DO IT OUTSIDEEEEEE!」
Vegetable sticks materialized from both of Yuuka’s hands. The celery and radish and cucumber and carror that were held between her fingers flew in the air with impossible trajectories like jet coaster.
The vegetable sticks that were thrown using throwing technique that could be called as godlike feat without any exaggeration flew into the mouths of Jor and others who were getting highly spirited and Carm and co who were preparing to meet the attack with a battle cry. It was direct hits to the throats.
‘Hogeeh!?’ Carm and others raised a strange scream and fell on their knees. Yuuka sent them a brief glance before taking out playing cards from her pocket and spread them out in fan shape like a magician.
Like that, she swung them in a horizontal sweep. All the Haurias who were about to advance in order to steal the “presents from boss” from Carm and co got the tip of their rabbit ears *slice-* cut off.
「「「「「……」」」」」
Rabbit furs fluttered midair inside the restaurant.
All the Haurias stiffened with a snap as though they had been frozen. Next *gigigi-* they moved their head toward Yuuka with a stiff movement……
Yuuka-san beautifully caught the playing cards that were making U-turn and returned to her. She then spoke with a grin.
「Quarrel is not allowed inside our restaurant. Will you all act as docile customers, or will you get thrown out with lopped off rabbit ears……choose which one that you like.」
The Haurias folded their rabbit ears flat on their head with a plop and slowly returned to their seats. They then sat down on their chair with straight posture like a new graduate coming for a job interview and silently stared at the cup before them.
Yuuka-san nodded in satisfaction. And then, her face turned toward Hajime in a snap. Hajime quickly averted his gaze.
Carm and others who somehow finished eating the vegetable sticks even while choking opened their eyes wide. They seemed to want to say「Boss averted his gaze!?」.
「Nagumo. How long you are going to stand at the door. How about coming in right away?」
「Yes ma’am. Excuse me.」
「「「「「!!!!?」」」」
Even more shock ran through the Haurias.
Respectful gazes were sent to Yuuka who was narrowing her eyes suspiciously at Hajime’s behavior. But, before Yuuka could notice it,
「Yuuka~? The cooking is done so please bring it ou~t.」
「Rogee~r!」
From inside, Yuuka’s mother――Yuuri’s voice resounded. Yuuka turned around to respond to that.
Hajime ran his gazes at Carm and others.
「You guys, sit wherever you like. Do that while offering your gratitude to Sonobe Yuuka who someday will become the owner of this Wisteria, the “holy land of us returnees”.」
「!? A, as boss command! You lot! I want to exchange information! Hauria clan is to gather over here! Don’t you dare do anything coarse to Yuuka-sama for the second time!」
「「「「YES SIR!」」」」
Hajime glanced at Carm and others who quietly gathered at the seats deeper inside before sitting beside Yue. Yue looked at Hajime as though she was looking at a slightly difficult person.
「……Yuuka-“sama”?」
「She settled down things right away from the start after all. I’m thinking to leave the disciplining――cough-, looking after the Haurias to her at least in lunch time.」
「Hajime-kun……don’t play stupid. You are planning to push everything to Yuuka-chan right?」
「Kaori, this too is within the category of serving customers. In other words, it’s Sonobe’s job.」
「Goshujin-sama. Do thy know that it looks like Yuuka were working hard to contact the regular customers because we suddenly made the reservation?」
‘That’s why, be kind to her’, Tio implicitly said. Shizuku, Kousuke, and even Shia nodded in agreement.
By the way Emily-chan, right after Yuuka shut up the Haurias, she sent a gaze that was filled with respect somewhere inside toward the kitchen while saying「Yuuka, oneesama……」.
Hajime nodded deeply at such gazes from Tio and others.
「It’s fine, there is no problem. In the end, that girl is a magical girl filled with love and dream and hope――」
「Just who are you calling magical girl」
*Gon-*, a large plate of potato salad was placed on Hajime’s head.
When Hajime looked across his shoulder while skillfully keeping the potato salad staying on his head, Yuuka-sama was there giving him a super reproachful look at him. She had three plates placed on one arm, while her other hand was placed on her waist.
Hajime brought down the potato salad while spreading open the menu. And then without any delay, he pointed at the picture of fluffy and melty egg decorated with this restaurant’s original ketchup and spoke his order with an extremely serious face.
「Give me a special omelet rice.」
「I’ll bring you food scraps if you don’t fix that screwing around attitude.」
「How can a restaurant employee say something like that.」
Yuuka let out a deep sigh「Haa」 at Hajime’s playful attitude while placing the plates safely. And then, her displeased expression toward Hajime changed completely into a soft smile and she asked「Have you decided what to order?」 at Shia and Myuu.
「Please give Myuu the special omelet rice! Nano!」
「Ah, I’ll also have the special omelet rice!」
After Myuu and Shia ordered energetically, even Carm and others all ordered the omelet rice perhaps because it was what Hajime ordered.
「Ahaha, today the omelet rice is greatly popular huh.」
Yuuka wrote the order on the sales slip while orally telling the head chef who was her father――Hiroshi the order.
Hajime’s attitude returned back and he smiled while speaking to such Yuuka.
「My bad, making reservation so suddenly like this. I didn’t think that everyone will come here.」
「Exactly right. Next time I have to give some kind of service to the regulars here in exchange.」
There were a lot of neighbors who became regulars here since a long time ago, so Yuuka knew their phone number. The number of customers who came late after two o’clock in the afternoon was limited, but even so it was painful to contact and told them that the restaurant would be used by a group that was quite large in number.
For the regulars who Yuuka didn’t know how to contact, she prepared a bit of her handmade sweets for them, even so as expected it was painful to make them go back after especially coming here.
Of course, a group suddenly visiting a restaurant which caused the regulars to be unable to come was something that happened to restaurant everywhere. Customer who would complaint about that was just selfish claimer.
In fact, at this time it seemed there wasn’t a single regular who was feeling dissatisfaction. Rather, their heart was feeling warm that Yuuka had expressly contacted them to let them knew or prepared sweets for them.
This consideration that normally wouldn’t be done was surely the reason why Wisteria was loved.
「But, you really saved us. After all I cannot think of any other place except yours where it’s possible to eat delicious food without feeling any mental fatigue.」
「……E, even if you praise me Nagumo, I’m not going to give you any service.」
Yuuka said coldly, but her fingers were playing with her scarf. Although she was averting her gaze, her lips kept twitching as though they would break into a grin.
The Haurias were staring with deep interest!
「No, I didn’t say that looking for anything. Rather, I need to pay you back somehow in return for the bother.」
「……It’s not like I’m thinking that it’s a bother or anything. I’m happy that you come to our place……ah, just now I don’t mean that I’m happy Nagumo is coming! Don’t misunderstand it!」
「No, I’m not but……. Well, anyway, I owe you one. Tell me if there is something that you want. If you like, I’ll even work part-time here for free when it’s busy y’know?」
「Eh? Nagumo working part-time here? Nagumo……working part-time…………here……」
In other words, Hajime was saying that he would wear Wisteria’s uniform and worked together with her? If that happened, the two of them would be in charge of serving the customers. The two of them would team up to take order, set the table, sometimes they would almost crash on each other and smiled in embarrassment to each other because of that, they would converse with only their gaze about who would be in charge of the cash register……
And then, finally when they closed, inside the quiet restaurant the two of them would sit side-by-side and sighed in relieve. No words would be said with only the sound of the clock’s hand resounding clearly.
Yuuka would brew coffee while feeling strangely embarrassed. Hajime would took the cup and took a sip, then he would only say a word「Delicious」 and thanked her with a smile.
They would spend a quite time once more then.
That time felt unbelievably happy……
「……Perhaps, this is the picture of the future of the two of them, Yuuka thought, the end.」
Storyteller Yue concluded with a triumphant look. It really looked like she wanted to say「How’s that? Right in the mark right?」.