After school on Monday, Tokai returned to the restaurant alone.
She looked at Mochizuki, who had returned by herself, with a somewhat dejected expression.
Clearly, she wanted to spend more time with Teio.
Noticing her mother's reaction, Tokai glanced around the shop, and seeing no acquaintances inside, she finally spoke: "Mom, if you really want to live with Teio, why don't you just find an opportunity to tell her?"
"No, I can't tell Teio about this yet."
Tokai rejected Mochizuki's suggestion.
This was only natural.
Because Tokai knew very well that even though Teio was very close to Mochizuki now, if she were to tell her the truth directly, Teio probably wouldn't be able to accept it.
Mochizuki, unaware of her mother's concerns, didn't say much after hearing her mother's words.
She wasn't really in the mood for reading comprehension right now.
So, she turned and walked upstairs.
Then,
She came back down.
"Mom? Where's my staff uniform?"
"Teio took it."
"Really?"
Regarding her mother's words, Tokai, noticing that there wasn't a single staff uniform, stared intently at Tokai.
"She said she wanted to take a staff uniform, and then she took yours. But since you're sisters, it shouldn't be a problem for you to wear one she's worn, right?"
Tokai casually explained, looking at Mochizuki as if to ask: Is there a problem?
Seeing Tokai's reaction, Mochizuki realized her mother had probably taken the clothes to wash and was just teasing her, so she didn't expose her, directly continuing: "Okay, I understand. Then, Mom, buy new ones."
"Eh?"
"Mom, you took them to wash, and they're still drying, right?" Tokai's overly direct reaction allowed Mochizuki to gleefully expose her mother's teasing lie: "Even if she took one, it's impossible she took both."
After speaking, Mochizuki then asked Shizen a new question: "Are they dry?"
"Not yet…"
"Then I'll just wear my casual clothes today. Mom, remember to wash my casual clothes tomorrow."
"Mm, okay."
As she spoke, Mochizuki walked upstairs once more.
Not long after going upstairs, Mochizuki, dressed in her casual clothes, returned to Tokai's presence.
Looking at Mochizuki in her casual clothes, Tokai scrutinized her up and down before concluding: "Mochizuki, you look better in casual clothes."
"It's a pity I can't wear them often in Japan."
Mochizuki, not dwelling too much on the clothes, looked at the situation in the shop, then continued: "How was business today?"
"It was pretty good, I guess. Quite a few students from Tracen Academy came, and then…" Tokai paused for a few seconds, then said: "I'm planning to hire someone."
"Are you too busy during the day?"
As she said this, Mochizuki noticed that there was still a table with some leftover plates and chopsticks.
Noticing this, Mochizuki immediately collected them and placed them in front of Tokai, then spoke the next words: "It might be necessary to hire someone."
"When there were fewer people, I didn't notice, but now that there are more…"
Tokai, with a hint of helplessness in her voice, continued: "But I still need to look at this month's revenue before I can consider what to do next."
Looking at Tokai's sighing expression, Mochizuki finally averted her gaze slightly: "Mom, you…"
"Hmm?"
"No, it's nothing."
Mochizuki swallowed the question she had originally wanted to ask—why she wasn't remarrying—and shifted her gaze to the table where Representative Chiaki and Maruzensky often sat.
Based on her observations during this time, Mochizuki could pretty much confirm that these two were interested in her mother.
However… it was clear that her mother seemed oblivious.
Of course, it was also possible that she was deliberately avoiding such issues.
Thinking of this, Tokai no longer felt much urge to press the matter.
So, she chose to redirect the conversation back to hiring: "Mom, what kind of person are you planning to hire?"
"I don't know. Maybe an Uma Musume, maybe a student, or maybe I'll just grab someone directly from the Mejiro Family's chef team."
"Hmm?"
Hearing Tokai's nonchalant tone, Mochizuki's face was filled with confusion.
She understood the first two points, but what kind of operation was that last one—grabbing someone from the Mejiro Family's chef team?
"The Mejiro chefs have always wanted to learn my techniques, but last time, they didn't learn much before I had to stop due to my health issues." Seeing her daughter so confused, Tokai didn't let her remain puzzled and directly explained the reason: "Now, they should be able to come over, especially since I was invited back before."
"It's just…"
At this point, Tokai's words got stuck.
Every time Shizen reacted this way, Mochizuki, as her daughter, realized that her mother was probably feeling embarrassed.
Of course, if it were her, she might also feel embarrassed, so she proposed a solution: "Mom."
"Hmm?"
"If Teio is also home…"
"What are you thinking? You two go to and from school together, how could a situation where you two can help happen?" Before she could finish, Tokai directly told her daughter that she wasn't being practical.
But Mochizuki ignored what her mother was trying to say. She just continued her previous thought:
"Mom, what I want to say is, if Teio is there, Aunt Roman should be there, right?"
Mochizuki's explanation made Tokai realize: "Roman, ah, she really can help."
"But it's not time yet, I told you, didn't I?"
Just as when Mochizuki had brought up questions related to Teio earlier, Tokai responded with "it's not time yet."
This response didn't make Tokai continue on this issue. She just nodded: "Mm, I understand."
Seeing that Tokai was no longer dwelling on the issue, Tokai also stopped.
She looked at Mochizuki's sensible demeanor, thought for about ten seconds, and then spoke again:
"Um, I plan to resolve Teio's matter during the summer break."
"Summer break?"
"Yes, during the summer break, aren't we going to the Tokai Family's training and recuperation base with Teio?"
"What does that have to do with it?"
"I gave birth to you two there, so I'll make things clear there."
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