Chapter 104: No Money to Pay?
The Human Village, a street-side noodle shop.
By the door, a precarious tower of empty bowls and plates had been stacked into two small hills, each half a person tall. Haruto slurped down the last of his noodles, leaving not a single drop of soup behind. He leaned back with a deep, satisfied sigh, slumping into his chair in utter contentment.
"Time to settle the bill."
He directed the comment to Kaguya, who sat across the table from him.
"I have no money." Kaguya delicately turned her head away, her gaze fixed on some distant point outside the shop. "This concubine is always the one paying. It is your turn this time."
A flicker of embarrassment crossed Haruto's face. He coughed into his fist, puffing out his chest with an air of manufactured dignity. "As I said before we came back, I had to deal with some second-hand goods. All my cash went toward buying talismans from Reimu."
He paused, adding a tempting carrot on a stick. "When my ghost coins from the instance come through, I'll buy you the latest model Ghost Phone. Then you can buy whatever you want."
Kaguya eyed him with suspicion. After a moment of scrutiny confirmed that he was, in fact, completely broke, she shrugged. "This concubine only brought a bit of pocket money. There is truly none left."
"Have our two guests finished their meal? Would you like to order anything else, meow?"
The shop was run by a pair of cat-eared girls. One of them, the waitress, padded toward their table.
"What else would you like, meow?" she asked, tilting her head. Behind her, a fluffy tail swished back and forth in a happy rhythm.
Kaguya's eyes met Haruto's, then flickered meaningfully toward the door. The unspoken question couldn't have been clearer: Should we make a run for it?
Haruto's expression stiffened.
The young master of the Yakumo family.
Dining and dashing?
If word of this got out, could he even call himself a youkai anymore?
No!
Absolutely not!
He shot her a look of stern refusal. Kaguya's gaze turned gloomy, her expression brimming with resentment.
"Please bring us four more servings of beef ramen," Haruto said to the waitress, his voice smooth.
"Okay, meow! Four servings of beef ramen, coming right up!"
The moment the cat-eared girl turned and walked away, the two of them deflated, letting out simultaneous sighs of relief.
Kaguya lowered her voice. "If we are not running, then why not simply say we forgot our money and will pay next time? Are you not familiar with everyone in the Human Village?"
"Familiar or not, these two seem to be new arrivals; I don't recognize their faces. Besides," Haruto hissed, "would I, a member of the esteemed Yakumo family, openly admit I have no money? What would be left of my reputation? I feel like if I actually did that, my sister Yukari would personally smack me to death with a pillow thrown at two hundred miles per hour. And you're a princess, aren't you? Would you be okay with that?"
"This concubine does not care." Kaguya waved a dismissive hand. "At worst, I will simply not leave Eientei for a few decades or centuries. I will wait for these people to pass away, and then no one will remember."
Haruto's eye twitched. Was she even speaking a human language?!
"Then... one of us stays here and keeps eating, while the other goes back to get the money?" Kaguya suggested.
Haruto was just about to agree when Kaguya had already risen from her seat. "You stay here. This concubine will go back for the money."
"No!" Haruto forcibly pressed her back down into the chair. "Why don't you stay here, and I'll go get it? It's just a matter of asking Ran for a bit more pocket money."
"Because Eientei is closer," Kaguya said with a perfectly straight face. "This concubine can return faster."
"Dare you touch your conscience and say that again?"
Based on his understanding of Kaguya, Haruto knew she would probably never come back—or at least, not until she'd had her fill of teasing him.
Kaguya raised an eyebrow, placing a jade-like hand over her chest. "I have touched it. So what? It is quite large."
Haruto's mouth twitched violently. Just as he was about to argue further, a familiar figure suddenly passed by the shop's entrance. His eyes lit up as if he'd just seen his savior.
"Youmu!"
Youmu Konpaku was carrying a bamboo basket, with the green leaves of fresh vegetables spilling out from the opening. In her other hand, she held two large bags filled with rice.
Hearing her name, she turned. Her youthful face bloomed with surprise, and she quickly walked toward the shop.
"Haruto-sama!"
"Come on, come grab a bite to eat." As soon as Youmu stepped through the door, Haruto eagerly pulled her over, slid out a chair, and sat her down.
By a stroke of perfect timing, the cat-eared waitress was already approaching with a tray holding four steaming bowls of beef ramen.
All four bowls were pushed in front of Youmu.
"...Thank you."
For a half-human half-phantom who often underwent high-intensity training, a large appetite was only natural. In what felt like a blink of an eye, the four bowls of beef ramen were completely empty.
"Check, please!" Haruto waved to call for the bill.
The waitress zipped over to their table, respectfully tearing a small slip of paper from her notepad and handing it over.
Haruto didn't take it. Instead, he gave Youmu a pointed look. Youmu froze, stunned.
"Who will be paying?" Seeing the three of them remain motionless, the waitress's voice grew panicked. Even her constantly swaying tail stopped wagging, drooping weakly to the floor. If this bill was skipped, their last two days of work would have been for nothing.
"I-I'll do it." Youmu finally understood. She took the bill, glanced at it, and silently counted out the corresponding number of silver coins from her bamboo basket, handing them over.
The cat-eared girl, who had already braced herself for a dine-and-dash, was stunned. The tears that had been welling in her eyes abruptly retreated, and her face broke into a radiant smile.
"Thank you for your patronage!"
The three of them walked out of the noodle shop.
They hadn't gotten far when Haruto was about to speak, but Youmu suddenly spun around. Her delicate body was trembling as she looked at him and Kaguya. She bit her lower lip, her youthful face a mask of distress, and even the half-phantom floating beside her drooped in sympathy.
Haruto and Kaguya's hearts simultaneously lurched.
"Youmu, you..."
Before Haruto could finish, Youmu suddenly threw herself into his arms, her voice choked with sobs.
"I'm sorry... it's all my fault! You must have given all your money to me, and that's why you can't even afford to pay for a meal..."
Seeing the tears streaming down her face, Haruto quickly explained. "What nonsense are you thinking? I did give most of my money to you, but I kept some. It's just that I used it all yesterday to buy talismans from Reimu."
He pulled a paper talisman from his sleeve. "See? This kind. I'm even making a profit by reselling them."
Hearing this, Youmu finally understood, and her tears slowly subsided.
"But..."
"No buts," Haruto interrupted her, his tone helpless but fond. "Do you really think I could ever be short on money? If I were truly broke, I could just ask Ran for more pocket money or borrow some from Shiki Eiki. How could I possibly be in a bind?"
He pinched her youthful cheeks with both hands, pulling them gently from side to side. They were soft and squishy; it felt great.
"Would you like to join us for a proper meal later?"
"Mm." Youmu nodded gloomily, assuming it would be just like before—a quick meal at some restaurant in the village...
Meanwhile.
Kamishirasawa Keine was selecting ingredients at the market, with Fujiwara no Mokou following close behind her.
"Keine," Mokou noted, a hint of curiosity in her voice, "you seem to be in an especially good mood today."
"Yes, because we have guests coming to eat with us tonight." Keine smiled gently. She was already holding three full bags of groceries, but it still wasn't enough. Humming a little tune, she continued picking out more.
Fujiwara no Mokou helped her select a few items, a knowing guess already forming in her mind—the only person who could put Keine in such a good mood was most likely that kid, Haruto.
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