"Here you go, little sister, your pork rib ramen with an insanely spicy broth! Enjoy."
In a small ramen shop on the corner of a street in Japan, a young man and a young girl were sitting together. After the shop owner called out, a steaming bowl of ramen was placed in front of the girl, filled with a bright red broth that was obviously unbelievably spicy.
"Come on, eat."
Looking at the bowl of ramen, Yu took out a pair of disposable chopsticks from the side, handed them to Fujiwara Chika, and said with a smile.
"Okay."
Looking at the ramen in front of her, Fujiwara Chika absentmindedly took the chopsticks from Yu's hand. However, even after taking them, she remained completely motionless for a long time.
Fujiwara Chika was still completely confused and couldn't understand why she was here.
Just a moment ago, she had been thinking about giving Yu a proper farewell before going home alone, feeling lonely.
How had she suddenly ended up here, eating ramen together with Yu?
She was about to be sent into an arranged marriage, and yet... she was still sitting here eating ramen. Fujiwara Chika, Fujiwara Chika, what on earth are you thinking?
"What is it? Can't bring yourself to eat?"
Seeing Fujiwara Chika only staring at the ramen without moving her chopsticks, Yu raised an eyebrow and asked.
Yu was actually quite familiar with this ramen shop. He had brought Fujiwara Chika here before, but... it seemed that the owner had changed. The previous owner had been an elderly woman, while now the shop was being run by her husband.
That was why, as soon as they arrived, Fujiwara Chika skillfully ordered the ramen that she and Yu liked the most. She ordered pork rib ramen with an insanely spicy broth for herself, while Yu ordered the same ramen, but with tonkotsu broth.
"I can't eat food this spicy, so Fujiwara Chika will have to enjoy it by herself. Since you ordered it, you have to finish it. You have to be responsible for your ramen. That's what Fujiwara Chika said."
Twitching the corners of his lips, Yu said. He truly didn't like overly spicy food. Even though he was now a God Slayer, that didn't mean he had lost his sense of taste.
What was supposed to be spicy was still spicy, and what was supposed to be delicious was still delicious.
It was just that extremely spicy food simply didn't suit Yu's taste.
"It's not that I can't eat it... it just all feels so unreal."
Coming back to her senses, Fujiwara Chika gently shook her head while her slender fingers tightened even more around the chopsticks.
"Unreal? Well, I suppose it is. It hasn't been that long since we last met, yet Fujiwara Chika is already about to be sent into an arranged marriage."
Seeing that Fujiwara Chika had suddenly brought up the subject, Yu let out a quiet sigh and looked at her with a faint sense of helplessness.
"Nakano-sama, your ramen."
Just as Yu finished speaking, the shop owner brought over his ramen. However, after placing it on the table, he didn't leave immediately. Instead, his gaze shifted back and forth between Yu and Fujiwara Chika several times.
"Uncle, is something wrong?"
Noticing the man's gaze constantly moving between him and Fujiwara Chika, Yu asked in confusion.
"No, nothing in particular. It's just that the two of you look a lot like two customers my wife often talks about."
Gently shaking his head, the owner withdrew his gaze and replied with a somewhat apologetic smile.
"Oh?"
Hearing that, Yu immediately understood what he meant.
It turned out that the shop Fujiwara Chika had mentioned was actually the very same ramen shop where they used to eat together, and the middle-aged man standing before them was the husband of the previous owner.
Hearing his words, Fujiwara Chika raised her head and met Yu's eyes. She had just been about to say something, but the shop owner spoke before she could.
"Ah, it seems I really mistook you. My wife's business wasn't doing very well back then. How could Nakano-sama have come here to eat? I'm sorry, truly sorry."
After saying that, he turned around and returned to the kitchen without waiting for Fujiwara Chika to say anything.
Seeing that, Yu smiled silently, then looked at Fujiwara Chika and asked,
"So Fujiwara Chika really didn't recognize this shop?"
"...Of course I didn't..."
Hearing the teasing in his voice, Fujiwara Chika pursed her lips and quietly looked away, doing her best to avoid making eye contact with him.
"Hurry up and eat. The ramen will get soggy."
He didn't tease her any further and simply urged her to start eating.
Nodding, Fujiwara Chika said nothing. She obediently picked up her chopsticks and quietly murmured,
"Let's eat."
After that, she picked up several steaming hot strands of noodles with her chopsticks and put them into her mouth.
The moment the noodles touched her tongue, the unusually spicy broth coating them immediately assaulted her sense of taste with overwhelming intensity. After just a single breath, Fujiwara Chika's face turned completely red, as though flames might burst from her mouth at any moment.
Feeling her mouth burning, her eyes quickly filled with tears, while tiny beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.
Even so, she didn't spit out the noodles. She took several deep breaths to ease the burning sensation before swallowing them.
"Milk."
Seeing the state she was in, Yu, who had expected this from the beginning, pushed a glass of milk toward her to help lessen the spiciness.
The girl didn't hesitate. She immediately grabbed the glass and drank almost all of the milk in one large gulp.
"Tell me... does Fujiwara Chika know that she's going to be sent into an arranged marriage?"
Watching as Fujiwara Chika, the moment she finished the milk, was already about to take another bite of noodles, Yu didn't beat around the bush and asked the question directly.
At those words, Fujiwara Chika's chopsticks stopped.
She remained silent for several moments before smiling.
"...I know. I've always known. Isn't it great? I don't have to struggle to find a boyfriend. I'll just get engaged right away, and then I won't bother Yu anymore. If Yu ever feels lonely, just call me."
After saying that, Fujiwara Chika lowered her head. Her voice grew softer and softer until the final word completely disappeared into the steam rising from the bowl of ramen.
When had it started?
When she and Yu first met, they used to see each other often and always went out together. Yu took her to experience everything her family had never allowed her to.
It started five years ago, didn't it?
That was when she entered high school, and her responsibilities became much greater. Although she still kept in touch with Yu, they almost never went out together anymore.
And now she was about to be sent into an arranged marriage and would never see Yu again.
Without her... Yu probably wouldn't feel lonely, would he?
After all, there were so many girls around him that one less... probably wouldn't mean anything.
But... she didn't want that!
Why did it have to be her who had to leave?
Why... why did it have to be like this?
She knew perfectly well... she didn't want to leave at all!
A sudden wave of sadness filled Fujiwara Chika's heart. Her nose stung, and tears flowed down her cheeks on their own, dripping onto her chest and soaking the fabric of her clothes.
She didn't even want to cry.
Yu had clearly said that her smile was beautiful.
So why was she crying right in front of him now?
She clearly... didn't want to...
As Fujiwara Chika was overwhelmed by sorrow, Yu's calm voice rang out.
"Why would I call Fujiwara Chika? Wouldn't it be better if Fujiwara Chika came to me instead?"
"Huh?"
Hearing that, Fujiwara Chika looked at Yu in confusion, completely surprised that he had said such a thing.
"I don't want to travel that far just to look for Fujiwara Chika. It's much better if Fujiwara Chika stays by my side."
"So... stay, Chika."
The young man still wore that same gentle smile on his face, leaving Fujiwara Chika completely stunned, unable to utter a single word.
Only after a long while did Fujiwara Chika raise her hand, wipe away the tears that continued to stream down her cheeks, and respond to his plea in a hoarse voice.
"Okay!"