Chapter 11 | At the Yakiniku Restaurant Launching

We are at Comiket.

We started to pack up around 3:00 p.m.

We thanked the staff members and temporarily disbanded.

“Hey, hey, good job!”

Saburo-san, who looked like a terminator, approached us with a smile.

“You had a great success today, too! You did a great job, Shinji-kun!”

“Un. I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. Thanks.”

“It was nothing! It was fun! And it made my pockets warm!”

I’m giving them their cut of the money.

We split it equally, including the staff.

“Splitting the fee equally? Is that right? You’re the one who works the hardest.”

“Yes! I think so, too. I’m feeling bad that I’m getting paid too much.”

Saburo nodded in agreement with Rika’s words.

“It’s okay. It’s just a hobby.”

“Hmmm…by the way, how much money did you make?”

When I told her the amount, Rika rolled her eyes.

“Really…? Did you make that much money? I think you should get a little more…”

“Is that so? Well, I’m indebted to all of you.”

Tanya-san and others are approaching.

“Saburo. Party. What time?”

“Party?”

Rika turns her head.

“It’s like a party to celebrate the end of Comiket. We’re going to have dinner at a nearby restaurant.”

“At 18:00! I made reservations at JOJO-En! Everyone come on time! Dismissed!” [TLN: Click here for anyone wondering what JOJO-En is. It’s basically a yakiniku restaurant.]

The staff members were dismissed at once.

“I made a reservation for Rika-chan too!”

“Thank you, Saburo-san!”

“You’re welcome!”

Rika was stunned.

“Aah! Oh, can I join in, too, the party?”

“Of course! Because you helped me!”

Rika hesitates, but…

“Then…I’ll be delighted to accompany you.”

Thus, Rika joined the party with us.

Saburo-san drove us back to the nearest station.

We then gathered at the restaurant.

““How did this happen…!””

I and Rika are facing each other, holding our heads in our hands.

We are at a yakiniku restaurant called “JOJO-En.”

We are alone in a private room.

According to Saburo-san, he said…

“Sorry, we’ve split up! Shinji-kun, please eat meat with Rika-chan alone.”

I heard that.

“Hey, that’s a nice assist, right? Good job!”

“Saburo. rare. Indulgent. rare. Shinji-kun. Good Luck”

I was told that.

I have to eat dinner alone with Rika…

“I’m so sorry to ask you to treat me to yakiniku at such a fancy restaurant.”

Rika said fidgetily.

“Oh, no. Don’t worry about it. It will come from today’s sales.”

“I see… I’m nervous, though…it’s my first time in such a high-class restaurant.”

Rika looks at me.

“You seem calm.”

“Really?”

I wonder if ……JOJO-En is such a high-class restaurant.

Yes, the courses are expensive, but I think there are many more expensive places.

I wonder if that’s why I’m so relaxed.

Soon after, a waitress wearing a kimono puts an appetizer on the table.

“Huh? Shin-chan, where’s the meat? The meat didn’t come yet.”

Rika looks around the table.

“The hors d’oeuvres come first. The meat comes last.” [TLN: Means appetizer.]

“Heh, heh… oh, hors d’oeuvres… even though it’s a yakiniku restaurant?”

“I’m not sure. The dishes come out one after the other, and the meat comes last.”

Rika murmurs in admiration.

As she eats a bowl of beef noodle salad.

“Shin-chan, this salad is delicious! It’s amazing!”

“Yes, it’s delicious!”

“The cabbage over here is… kind of amazingly delicious!”

Rika is eating cabbage with sparkling eyes.

It’s kind of cute, like a rabbit eating vegetables.

“It’s not good… I didn’t know hors d’oeuvres could taste this good…! What about the meat? ……”

“I think they’re coming. Oh, here they come.”

A plate is placed in front of us.

“This is JOJO’s meat! …It’s kind of small…”

The plate has a loin, ribs, negitan, and lobster on it.

“Anything else?”

“Eh, that’s all of it.”

“What? No way!”

Rika’s eyes widened and her mouth gaped open.

She looked at the plate and me again and again.

“No way, only this much meat? Three pieces of short ribs… and loin!? You can’t fill your stomach like this~”

It’s kind of amazing, her reaction is refreshing.

“I’m pretty full from the appetizers and such, so this is enough for me. I’m pretty full from the appetizers and such, so this is enough for me.”

“Eh…really?”

“Yes. Plus, it’s high-quality meat. Try it.”

“Ummm… okay.”

Rika puts the ribs on the grill.

The aroma of the meat is accompanied by a sizzling sound.

“Wait, Shin-chan, wait!”

“Hmmm? What’s wrong?”

Rika says, her mouth trembling.

“The smoke is… delicious!”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

Rika sniffs.

“Even the smell of the meat cooking is delicious! It doesn’t smell like charcoal, I mean …… there’s no burnt smoke at all! That’s amazing!”

The smoke tasting good is an amazing expression…

Look, it looks like the ribs are about to be cooked.

“Well then, let’s have a bite…”

Rika picks it up with chopsticks and eats the ribs.

“~~~~~~~~~~~~!”

“Patapata pata! Rika flapped her legs.”

“How is it?”

“Yummmm!”

Rika’s eyes shine like stars in the sky and her cheeks are flushed.

“What’s this? It’s so ～～～～～～～ delicious!”

Rika closes her eyes and puts on a happy face.

“The oil is so sweet! This… even without the sauce… it’s the most delicious!”

“I see. You should eat more.”

“Yes!

I can’t believe that Rika, who is usually a bit cool, is so excited about mere meat.

And the fact that she’s excited like a child…phew, she’s kind of cute.

‘Oh no! There are no more ribs! I want to eat more~……”

Rika’s shoulders drooped, and I handed her a plate.

“Eat mine.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes! I’m pretty full.”

“Is it okay? Are you sure? I’ll take it if you give it to me.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“Thanks~♡”

Rika received the ribs and ate them after grilling them.

She also flapped her legs in a cute… way.

I kept looking at Rika.

Soon after.

“Hah~…bliss~…♡”

Rika takes a sip of hot coffee and takes a breather.

The restaurant must have been very happy to get such a good reaction to mere grilled meat.

The store must have been very happy.

“Shin-chan… thank you.”

“Hmm? What’s so sudden?”

Rika smiled at me and said.

“I’m so grateful to you for allowing me to participate in the Comiket, which I’ve always wanted to do, and for allowing me to eat such delicious meat. Thank you.”

Rika bowed deeply.

“Umm! I thank you too. It was a lot of fun.”

When I think back, I have always participated in Comiket with adults.

I was always surrounded by adults when I was selling my products and when I was at the party.

This is the first time in my life that I have participated in Comiket with my classmate.

“I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much!”

“Thank you very much!”

We laughed without knowing it.

Oh, it was so much fun…

“Comiket is really a blast. There were so many people. The doujinshi ran out so quickly.”

“The number of people seems to be down from what it was at one time. They seem to be limiting the number of people.”

“Heh… I see… Fufu, it was fun…”

…I feel a bit of sadness at the atmosphere that seems to be the end.

This is the end…

Is that okay…?

I don’t like it.

“Rika, I’d like to ask you a question. Rika…if you want to. Will you help me again?”

“Eh?”

I was surprised.

I never thought I would be the one to invite someone to Comiket.

“Oh, uh! If you don’t want to, that’s fine! But, you know, the vendors were really helpful, and it was fun to go around the Comiket with you…”

Rika, who had been looking blankly at me, looked radiant. 

“Is that okay?”

Rika holds my hand.

Her smile, bright like the summer sun, was so dazzling that I couldn’t help but turn away.

“Of course. I mean, please do.”

Rika narrowed her eyes and shook my hand up and down.

“Yes! Yes! I’d like that too! Let’s do it again!”

I was surprised.

I’m a shy, gloomy, and reclusive person…

I can’t believe I asked a girl out on a date like this…

What’s wrong with me?

I don’t know myself.

But… but…

Seeing Rika’s smile kind of warms my heart.

I want to see more, I want to be closer to her…that’s what I think.

I wonder what this is…

What is this sweet tingling in my chest?

With this new self confounding me, Comiket came to an end.

---

It’s not mandatory but if you like my TLs and want to support me you can do it on Ko-fi and Patreon.