Chapter 36: The Ice Lady vs. Man of the Sun

In front was a simple and rustic exterior, reminiscent of a coffee shop in a country town, opening the aged wooden door you would be instantly dragged into another world.

Just a few moments ago, they were walking through the glittering illuminated downtown area of a big city, but now all they could see were the colors of nature.

Inside, the oversized chandelier in the center of the restaurant illuminated the dimly lit interior to its fullest with its unique presence.

It was like a ray of light shining into a deep forest.

A three star restaurant, Soleil Levant.

It had been a few years since he had been a customer at the French restaurant that he called his second home, and he felt nostalgic for the unchanged look of the restaurant, but his cheeks twitched when he found a man with a big smile on his face and a woman whose expression was completely unreadable in his memory.

“I pray that nothing will happen.”

As he sat down at the seat he was shown after giving his name, Asahi muttered quietly in a voice no one could hear.

“I’m going with a friend.”

Asahi replied briefly and straightforwardly, telling the truth as it was.

So there should be no misunderstanding.

First of all, there was no way they could leave their respective positions during the peak season of the year.

Asahi told himself this as he turned his gaze forward and saw a girl sitting in front of him, her eyes and neck were busy moving around and her glazed hair swayed from side to side.

The sight of Fuyuka looking around the store with innocent eyes was very much childlike.

“Nothing’s changed, right?”

“Yes… It feels so nostalgic.”

Her face, smiling thinly, showed no hint of concern.

If the past that she looked back on with nostalgia was a good memory, then Asahi was glad that he brought her here today.

So far, there was no sign of the development that he had feared to happen, and so Asahi could sit back and enjoy his meal.

“This is for today’s course.”

“Ah, Thank you very…much?”

Fuyuka’s words were unnaturally cut off as she bowed politely to the person who was approaching with the sound of his footsteps.

As for Asahi, instead of bowing, he looked up to the ceiling and sighed loudly.　

In his mind, Asahi swear that the flag was collected too quickly.

“…Why are you the one doing the serving, dad?”

“Eh..? Dad? Which means…”

“Hi there, I’m Kagami Kazuaki. Asahi’s father by profession and a chef as a side job.”

With a brief introduction, the tall man, who smiled and flashed his white teeth, was also wearing a pure white chef’s coat.

The waiter’s uniform was black, which made him stand out from the crowd, and since this was his restaurant, there was no way he could not stand out.

The ladies and gentlemen who had been elegantly sipping their glasses of wine were in an uproar at the arrival of the world-renowned chef, and the employees all stopped in their tracks, rolling their eyes.

“I’m sorry, everyone, for appearing so suddenly. My son has finally brought his girlfriend, so I couldn’t stay and ran out of the kitchen.”

“Hey, what are you―”

“I’ll go right back after a little bit of talk. Oh, you want a signature? I’m sorry, that’s not part of the course!”

The atmosphere in the restaurant, which was supposed to be a calm and mature space, changed drastically when a man as bright and hot as the sun appeared.

However, if you look around, everyone was equally smiling and no one was complaining.

This unusual and mysterious scene was proof of the great popularity that Kagami Kazuaki had.

“What’s your name miss?”

“I-it’s Himuro Fuyuka.”

“I see, so it’s Himuro-san. My son’s been in your care, hasn’t he?”

“No, it’s more like I’m the one who has been taken care off.”

“What a wonderful, young lady. Asahi, you’ve brought a wonderful woman with you. Now, the Kagami Family is safe and sound!”

The momentum of his dynamic laughter pressured Fuyuka to send a silent SOS with a puzzled expression on her face.

However, Asahi could only shake his head in silence as well.

Never before had he been able to stop his father from starting a fire.

Even when he decided to deviate from the path of a chef to take a different path, he could not convince this passionate man by himself.

“Dad, calm down.”

“I’m really sorry, but I got excited when you brought your beautiful girlfriend here.”

“Hey, don’t go off on your own tangent. We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“What are you embarrassed about, Asahi? Himuro-san is also pale red. Both of you are so fresh, it reminds me of my old days.”

Asahi tried to confront him, who was once again laughing hilariously, but it didn’t feel like he could stop him at all.

He thought that the “Ice Lady” could give him a run for his money, but instead of giving him a cold shoulder, Fuyuka turned her head and shivered.

As he thought, there was only one person in the world who could extinguish the fire in this state, he realized and gave up resisting.

“I’m sorry, Fuyuka. I think he’ll be back in the kitchen in a little while, so bear with it until then.”

“I-I understand…”

No matter how long you would estimate, he shouldn’t be able to leave the kitchen for more than five minutes.　

Right now, he was an annoying old man who didn’t listen to people, but he was definitely a top chef who ran a three-star restaurant.

There was only so much time he could spend on personal matters in the middle of this busy season.

However, those five minutes were tremendously long.

“What was it about Asahi that attracted you, Himuro-san?”

“Eh, that’s…”

“I’d also like to know how you two got together. I can’t help but be curious since Asahi never even had a girlfriend until now.”

“Um, about that…”

Kazuaki, who sat brazenly next to Asahi, asked Fuyuka a series of questions about things that were not even real.

Fuyuka, on the other hand, was trying to deny it somehow, but was completely overwhelmed by Kazuaki’s momentum.

‘Please, just leave.’

This was when Asahi made eye contact with Fuyuka.

“…Kazuaki, shut up.”

Asahi heard a woman’s voice echoing a certain wavelength in the store, where pleasant classical music was playing.

Looking at the owner of the dignified voice, Asahi had a complicated expression on his face, while Fuyuka looked puzzled.

Then, Kazuaki, who had been on fire, heated down at once.

“Ah, yes, I’m sorry.”

“Get back in the kitchen. We’re all in trouble.”

“Eh, give me atleast three more minutes…”

“What?”

“I’ll come right back!”

After a conversation in which the hierarchy was quite clear, Kazuaki returned to the chef’s sanctuary at once.

The back of his head looked so pathetic and unreliable.

It was funny to think that the hot flames from earlier would return when he returned to the kitchen.

However, it was not a situation where Asahi could actually smile.

The woman who extinguished the forest fire in an instant sat down next to Asahi, where Kazuaki had been earlier, and only moved her mouth without smiling.

“It’s nice to meet you. I am Kagami Touko.”

Asahi thought he heard a voice out of nowhere saying, “My day job is being Asahi’s mother, and a pastry chef on the side.”

Asahi glanced sideways at his mother, who had done a brief self-introduction of just her name.

She had a serious expression that made him wonder if her facial muscles were dying, and an emotionless, indifferent tone of voice.

The appearance of Asahi’s mother, who reminded him somewhat of Fuyuka from way before, caused him to sigh loudly again.