Chapter 133: Is It Okay If I Look Forward to It?

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Translator: Soafp

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“Here you go, sashimi.”

““Whoa…””

The moment the two of them saw the horse mackerel sashimi artfully arranged on bamboo leaves, a breath of awe escaped their lips.

They dipped it into the soy sauce that came with it and took a bite. Then, they turned to look at each other.

“So good!”

“Delicious.”

Hearing their reactions, the chef grinned before retreating to the back to prepare the next dish.

Ginji and Sora happily chatted about the flavor.

“It's got a strong aroma and great texture. Honestly, I wouldn't have guessed this was horse mackerel.”

“Yeah, it's totally different from what we eat at home. And the simmered soy sauce is great. I'd love to make it at home, but I always end up with too much.”

Sora had recently gotten into cooking, and she was now enjoying the meal from a cook's perspective too.

“You two eat really well. Young people don't usually go for fish, do they?”

The proprietress came over to refill their tea.

“We actually eat it a fair bit. We even fillet fish together sometimes—well, just the easy ones.”

“I can't really do the parts that need a lot of strength, so Ginji helps me out.”

“My, how impressive for young people. You two would make a lovely married couple.”

“…Thanks.”

“Ehehe… Thank you very much.”

Watching the two of them look a little pleased, the proprietress gave a deep nod and headed off to pour tea for the regulars in the back.

Sora leaned in closer to Ginji.

“She said we looked like a married couple.”

She whispered it softly, resting her hand against her flushed cheek as she looked up at Ginji with a dopey smile.

“Well, we are dating, so people are bound to say that kind of stuff.”

Ginji replied like it was no big deal. But Sora didn't seem satisfied with that answer. She leaned in closer.

“Is it okay… if I start hoping for that?”

Her eyes wavered for just a moment—but Ginji responded with a big, cheerful grin.

“Of course it is.”

“…I feel like I might get a nosebleed.”

“What? Why?”

Unable to contain herself, Sora started kicking her feet under the counter in embarrassment.

After that, more dishes were served, including the fried chicken (zangi) the regulars had ordered—apparently brought over for the two of them since they were young.

Chatting with the chef and proprietress now and then, the two thoroughly enjoyed their meal.

After leaving the restaurant, they both stretched and let out a satisfied sigh.

“I'm stuffed.”

“Same. Wanna take a walk to burn it off? Look, the sea view from here's amazing.”

“Whoa~ it feels totally different from seeing it from the train.”

Hand in hand, they walked down the hill, the sounds of cicadas buzzing all around them. They passed the bus stop.

“We've still got some time before we need to head to the lighthouse tonight.”

“Right. If we want to catch the factory lights, getting there around eight should be perfect.”

“Then how about we go somewhere to cool off a bit?”

“Back to the beach?”

“Nah—I've got a great spot in mind. You handled the lunch reservation, so it's my turn now.”

With a mischievous grin on his face, Ginji led the way through the town. Shops lined both sides of a river that flowed into the ocean.

“Did you know? There are a bunch of glass shops around here.”

“I've heard about that… Wait, this town was the one they were talking about?”

“Yeah… They tried to use it for a local revitalization project a while ago, but it kind of fizzled out. Still, since we're here, let's buy something.”

It was summer, so the glass shops had wind chimes lined up at the entrances, chiming gently in the sea breeze.

Outside the shops, marbles and glass figurines of cute animals were on display.

“Looking at glass in this heat really is soothing, huh?”

“Still hot though. Hey, check it out—they've got ramune bottles.”

“I want one!”

They took a chilled bottle from a fridge and sat under the eaves, sipping ramune as the marble inside clinked softly.

“This thing takes forever to drink…”

“If you tilt it just right, it flows easier. There's a trick to the angle.”

The two of them fumbled with the ramune bottles together.

“Let's buy matching chopstick rests! Ceramic ones are nice, but glass ones are perfect for summer.”

“There's a lot to choose from… What about this one?”

“This one's cute too… Ugh, maybe we should just get them all.”

“Pick just one, will ya.”

They ended up buying matching glass chopstick rests, and continued enjoying their date, taking breaks as they wandered around.