"Don't be so nervous."
Kaito made her a cup of black tea, comforting her, "Just treat it like your own home."
He had a good impression of Miss Togawa.
Clearly in dire straits, unable to even get enough to eat, and yet still able to summon the courage to extend a helping hand to a stranger on the roadside.
This kind-heartedness was rare and precious.
Without a doubt, Togawa Sakiko was a good person.
And good people should be rewarded.
Seeing that staying here would only make Miss Togawa uncomfortable, Kaito chatted with her for a bit more, then excused himself to handle the ingredients and turned to enter the kitchen.
Only after he left did Sakiko finally let out a breath of relief.
Come to think of it, for a delicate girl like her, meeting a strange boy for the first time and entering his home was actually quite a dangerous thing.
But after some hesitation, Sakiko still agreed.
And the thing she hesitated about wasn't even concern for her own safety. Rather, she was worried about causing trouble for him.
The reason was simple.
'With Kaito-senpai's looks…'
'If he really wants a girlfriend, the number of girls lining up to apply would probably stretch from Ikebukuro to Mount Fuji, right?'
Togawa Sakiko even seriously considered, 'Compared to the possibility of Kaito-senpai having ulterior motives, the chance of me, myself being seduced by his looks seems even higher.'
And that was exactly the case.
Kaito personality was just like his appearance. He could only be described as beautiful and kind.
Not only that, he was also an excellent cook.
Even ordinary high-end ingredients, once handled by him, became visually appealing, aromatic, and delicious, and seemed to faintly glow with golden light.
But Sakiko chalked that up as a hallucination from her hunger.
By the time she came back to her senses, she realized her stomach had already been filled up.
Satisfied, she rubbed her bulging belly. The girl's amber eyes sparkled—visibly happy.
"Thank you so much for the meal!"
"As long as it suited your taste."
"Dinner was delicious!"
Togawa Sakiko pressed her palms together, looking at him very seriously, "That was the most delicious meal I've ever had. Despite being around the same age as me, to have such amazing cooking skills—Kaito-senpai, could you be from a legendary chef family?"
"No, it's just a little hobby of mine."
To be precise, Kaito had developed this cooking skill not long after joining the Courting Death Sect.
At that time, he had just started cultivating and hadn't reached the stage of fasting, and since there were no other forms of entertainment, he had no choice but to delve into cooking as a way to pass time.
Later, as his cultivation grew, so did his understanding of detachment from emotions.
It had been a long time since Kaito last picked up the familiar pots and pans, but luckily, the skill hadn't rusted.
"Ah, it's already almost eleven!", Glancing at the wall clock, Togawa Sakiko was startled, and immediately lost the interest to keep chatting with Kaito. She'd been too happy eating just now and had forgotten that that bastard of a father was still home alone.
So she hurriedly said goodbye.
Kaito didn't try to keep her, nor did he have any intention of asking Togawa Sakiko to stay the night.
Since it was a brief encounter, it was enough to leave it at that. If the girl misunderstood and thought he had other intentions, that wouldn't be good.
He simply handed her the small shoulder bag she had left on the sofa, "Your thing."
"Thank you very much."
Sakiko smacked her head in annoyance, 'How can I be this careless? So impolite.'
Then she gave Kaito a slight bow, once again expressing her thanks, and finally turned to leave.
———
She was once again walking alone down the quiet street.
But Sakiko's mindset was completely different from before. Now filled with life, full of hope.
"Kaito-senpai really is a wonderful person."
The girl couldn't help but think, 'He isn't just unmatched in looks, even his personality is so gentle.'
If she were still that carefree girl of the past, perhaps she would've fallen for him and never gotten out.
But…
Things had changed. She was no longer that naive young lady. She and Kaito-senpai were people from two different worlds.
He was a stunningly handsome boy from a well-off family.
And she was just a nobody working part-time in Tokyo.
The gap between the two of them was as wide as the heavens.
"That bastard old man still hasn't had dinner…", She sighed, no longer thinking about these meaningless worries, and turned her attention to another problem.
Though she had just been treated to a full meal by Kaito-senpai…
Out of pride, she absolutely couldn't ask for a takeaway portion.
But the money in her pocket was pitifully little. She couldn't even afford a half-price pork cutlet bento.
Originally, if she hadn't run into Kaito, Sakiko had planned to use all her money to buy a bento for that bastard father.
As for herself, she'd already gone hungry for a whole day. Missing another meal wouldn't matter.
As long as she held on until tomorrow's payday, everything would get better.
But after being treated to dinner by Kaito, Sakiko, though full and satisfied, also felt guilty for enjoying the food alone.
After hesitating for a moment, the girl still walked into a nearby convenience store, planning to see if there was any cheap food she could afford. She couldn't let that bastard starve.
After carefully picking through, she finally found a fully vegetarian bento, just within her budget.
"One set, 98 yen. Thank you for your patronage."
The young store clerk scanned the item skillfully and then looked up, only to find the customer staring blankly at his shoulder bag for some reason.
"Miss? Miss, hello? Are you ready to check out?"
Helpless, he waved a hand in front of the blue-haired girl.
"Eh? Sorry, I spaced out," Togawa Sakiko finally snapped out of it. After hurriedly paying, she left the convenience store.
When she got home, she opened the shoe cabinet at the entrance and habitually called out "I'm home", but naturally received no response.
The dim living room light wasn't turned on. A middle-aged man in a wrinkled dress shirt was lying on the floor, snoring like thunder, surrounded by toppled beer cans.
"You bastard old man, here's your dinner," With a cold face, Sakiko tossed the shopping bag at the man she was supposed to call "father," then headed straight for her bedroom without looking back.
Leaning wearily against the wall, she slowly squatted down, staring blankly at the five ten-thousand-yen bills in her hand.
She had found them in her shoulder bag. At some point, someone had secretly tucked them into the side pocket.
'Didn't we agree, after one dinner, we are even?'
'And yet, he still took it upon himself…'
'Is it charity? Or pity?'
She clearly hated being treated like a weakling. She had even refused Komugi's help.
Yet at this moment, a strange and unprecedented feeling stirred in her heart.
A little sour… and a little sweet.
She blinked hard, not wanting the tears to fall.
But the emotions surged like a tide, like a rock rolling down from a mountain, once it started, it was hard to stop.
Sakiko thought she was strong.
When her parents divorced, she didn't cry.
When her father was kicked out of the Togawa family, she didn't cry either.
When her father turned into a useless drunk, when she lost her carefree rich girl life, when she had to maintain her studies and bear the burden of life, even under the suffocating pressure, Sakiko still didn't cry.
She just clenched her teeth, telling herself: just hang in there a little longer, just a little longer, and it'll get better.
But now, just a few bills, bills that once meant nothing, completely broke Sakiko's emotional dam.
Like a young man who just got fired pretending everything's fine while reporting to family, only to completely fall apart at a single "come home if you're tired" from their mother, heart shattered in an instant, no longer able to pretend.
The suppressed sobbing lasted a long, long time.
When Sakiko finally composed herself, she gently smoothed out the bills, making sure there wasn't a single crease.
Then, she carefully tucked them into her most treasured diary, like hiding a one-of-a-kind treasure.
The tidy bed was soft, lifting the girl's exhausted body.
Her sea-blue hair spread out like coral, and she held the diary tightly in her arms, as if she were holding the entire world.
Outside the window, the moon hung high. The spring night breeze brushed gently, unexpectedly soft.
In the pin-drop silence of the room, only a faint whisper echoed.
"Kaito-senpai…"
"Good night."
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