My Childhood Friend Seems to be the Main Heroine. - Chapter 9

　Clack- clack-

　Saito and Riri are on the train.

　It’s the train on the other side of the line, which they had not intended to take.

　The scenery outside the window is, of course, very different from that of this morning.

　Buildings they had never seen before and parks they had never seen before passed by one after another.

　Anxiety about going to a strange place and curiosity about what is here? It’s not about that because Saito had more important things to worry about.

(The stalker is costing me a lot of money…)

　It was the train fare.

　The destination of this train is out of the range of the regular train.

　That is, he has to pay a few hundred yen to get off this train.

　Only a few hundred yen.

　But still, a few hundred yen.

　It may not be a big deal for a working person or a student with a part-time job.

　But for Saito, who is neither of them, the expense of a few hundred yen is a hardship.

　”My hamburger…” Saito lamented.

“Fufu, it’s almost lunchtime. Are you hungry? “

“I am. Are you okay?”

“We’re late.”

“My bad.”

　It’s probably because he was thinking more about hamburgers than about Riri.

　Saito apologized briefly to Riri, who turned away and fussed at him.

　He then put his hand on Riri’s head and patted it.

　In his experience over the years, this usually does the trick when she is in a bad mood.

　After a while, she turned her head to him and asked, “What should we have for lunch?”

　She seemed in a really bad mood since it took longer than usual.

“McD.”

“We ate it the last time we went out, so I’ll pass.”

“MOS.”

“No, it’s the same as McD’s.”

“Lotteria.”

“Not close to here in the first place. Or rather, you like hamburgers too much, aren’t you? Saito.”

“Hamburgers are the best food. It can’t be helped.”

　Riri sighed resignedly as Saito puffed his chest out, and she typed in nearby restaurants on her phone.

“How about this cafe? I hear they have good pasta and hamburgers.”

　After a minute of staring at her phone, Riri seemed to have found something that looked good and leaned closer to look at the screen of her phone.

　He looked at it and saw a picture of a stylish log house cafe and a delicious-looking hamburger steak.

“Looks delicious. But aren’t these places expensive? “

“I heard that you can have lunch for about 1,000 yen. And they offer free refills of rice and baguette.”

“Sounds great.”

“Then this is the place for you. We’ll get off at the next stop.”

　Free refills are great for students who are in the prime of their appetites.

　And the price is about the same as eating at McD or MOS.

　It’s a good place to eat lunch.

　The round-trip train fare is a pain, but it’s just barely acceptable.

(I was prepared to spend this much when Riri asked me to go out with her, so I don’t mind. I would have about 1,500 yen left over.)

　While he was thinking like that, she said

“Since you gave me trouble at the entrance ceremony, Saito will buy me a drink today, okay? “

“Ha?”

　Riri suddenly and mercilessly said to Saito as he was finishing his order.

　This blew up Saito’s wallet life gauge.

　When he asked her to explain what she meant, she said it was because she woke up Saito, who fell asleep during the entrance ceremony and took care of him afterward.

　To tell the truth, his memory is not so clear because he was asleep, but he thinks Riri woke him up.

　If so, she must be telling the truth.

　If she had not woken him up, he would have been embarrassed and be labeled as an idiot who sleeps around at the entrance ceremony.

　He is grateful for that, but the price is too high.

　Can’t something else be done? Riri’s expression does not change, and she only smiles at him.

(Ah, no. This is impossible no matter how hard I try.)

　Saito realized that he had no choice but to buy her a drink and sighed that he would have to live in poverty this month.

* * *

“It’s goodー! I love this hamburger steak that goes well with rice. Um…excuse me. May I have some more rice? “

“Yes, of course. One moment, please.”

“Fufu, you’re a good eater.”

　Riri’s mouth falls open as she sees Saito gobbling up the hamburger steak with gusto and relish.

　It’s a good feeling to see someone eating food from your favorite restaurant and excitedly saying, “It’s good!”

　Even if it’s a half-hearted attempt to have fun and enjoy yourself to the fullest, knowing you will run out of money later.

　It’s nice to be recognized for something you love.

　Riri introduced this restaurant to Saito as if she had found it by chance, but in fact, she had known about it for a while.

　Actually, she has known about it for a long time, but this is the first time in this life that she has been here.

　Her first encounter with this restaurant was before her time leap.

　When she was absorbed in her work after breaking up with her ex-boyfriend, she was on her way to a client when her eyes caught a glimpse of this place, and she stepped in on a whim.

　Clang- clang-

[ Welcome! Is the table for one person all right? ]

　When she opened the door, she remembered the bell rang, and a young man about her age greeted her with a friendly smile.

[ Ah, y-yes, that’s right. ]

[ Then, let me show you to your seat near the counter. ]

　The seat she was shown was the second one from the right of the counter.

　She had a good view of the kitchen.

[ Here are the menu and the cold drinks. When you decide what you want to order, please call us. ]

　He handed Riri the menu and a glass of water and began washing the dishes.

　Riri opened the menu and found the same pasta lunch and hamburger steak lunch with pictures as before.

　The prices were a little higher than now.

　Other than that, the menu was the same as now.

　When she was wondering which one looked better, the waiter asked her.

[ Are you in trouble choosing the food? ]

[ Yes. Both look delicious.]

　Riri feels strange about hiding the fact that she is worried, so she tells him frankly what is bothering her.

[ How about a hamburger steak lunch? It’s the manager’s specialty. I often eat it myself, and it’s really delicious. ]

　The waiter suggested the hamburger steak lunch.

　The fact that he immediately mentioned the name of the hamburger steak suggests that the hamburger steak is highly rated.

　This comment tipped Riri’s scales toward the hamburger steak lunch.

[ I see. I’ll have the hamburger steak lunch. ]

[ Okay. Which drink would you like? ]

[ Orange juice, please. ]

[ Orange juice. Can I bring it later together with the food? ]

[ That’s fine ]

[ I understand. Please wait a moment while we prepare it. ]

　The waiter then started to prepare the dishes familiarly.

　At this point, she realized there was no manager in this place but only this waiter at this time.

　There were no customers except Riri.

　In other words, she was alone with a man.

　Although this situation is unpleasant for Riri, who has not been comfortable with men since the incident with her ex-boyfriend, she is strangely not uncomfortable.

　Probably, it was because he treated me as a customer without giving her any animalistic glances.

　When she realized this, she unconsciously relaxed her body tension.

[ Thank you for waiting. Here is your hamburger steak lunch and orange juice. ]

[ Thank you ]

　Time flies as she fiddles with her phone, and the hamburger lunch arrives at Riri’s place.

[ Itadakimasu. Wow〜! ]

　After the pre-meal greeting, Riri quickly cuts the hamburger steak with a knife and is impressed by the juices pouring out.

　Riri had never expected such a delicious-looking hamburger steak from a restaurant that does not specialize in hamburgers.

　She cut the hamburger into bite-sized pieces with a knife, and as she put them in her mouth, the meat’s sweetness spread first, followed by the intertwining of the demi-glace sauce, creating an indescribable harmony.

　It is better than any hamburger steak she has ever eaten.

[ It’s delicious. ]

[ That’s good. ]

　The waiter beamed happily as Riri shared her impressions.

　Riri’s cheeks flushed slightly from the embarrassment of being seen eating, and she turned her head down and continued eating in silence.

[ Thank you for the meal.]

[ Yes. Thank you very much for coming today. Please come visit us again when you have free time. ]

[ Yes. I’ll see you soon. ]

　After paying the bill and taking a seat to get her stuff, the waiter went around ahead of her and opened the door to see her off.

[ Good luck with your work! I’ll work hard too! ]

　The waiter suddenly said to her at a certain distance from her.

　Riri waved her hand at the waiter, who waved back lightly and muttered [I’ll do my best… at least for today.]

　Since that day, this cafe has been Riri’s favorite place.

　Whenever she feels down or unmotivated, she comes here to eat something delicious to motivate herself.

　And sometimes, the manager and the staff would listen to her complaints about her work.

　She thinks she visited this restaurant about once a month.

(Come to think of it, where is that nice clerk? )

　I look around the store, but he is not there, and there is only the manager and a part-time worker whom she doesn’t recognize.

[ I’m twenty-six. I’m still a college student after some things that happened long ago… ]

　As far as she remembered, he was the same age as her.

　That means he is still a freshman in high school right now. Maybe he would not be working at this time of the year, right after the start of high school.

(I hope we can meet again someday.)

　If I see him again, I will tell you about this childhood friend of mine.

　The waiter and Saito are similar, so they should get along well.

　I’m sure he’ll like it.

　Thinking of this, Riri puts the hamburger in her mouth, and her cheeks relax.

“Ah, this is so delicious. Can they teach me how to make this hamburger steak? If I can make a hamburger steak like this by myself, it would be really nice.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think they’d tell the customers, would they? “

“I see. Then I guess I’ll just have to work here.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. If Saito works here, I’ll work here too.”