Kazuto Yuyama and Sagiri Izumi followed the clerk upstairs. As soon as they got upstairs, Sagiri Izumi was the first to choose a seat.
It is located on the side close to the handrail, facing the giant painting of Shuten-doji hanging in the center of the entrance.
In the pattern, Shuten-doji is tasting fine wine with the demons under his command.
The color of the wine is dark red, but this does not mean that Shuten-doji and his companions were drinking wine. After all, there were no grapes in Japan during the Heian period when Shuten-doji lived!
This dark red color comes from the girl's blood.'
According to legend, Shuten-doji often transforms himself into a handsome young man to seduce young girls. Once the seduction is successful, he will kill the girl, drain her blood, and mix it with wine to taste.
If someone didn't know the historical allusion, they would think it was a group of unruly monsters drinking and having fun.
However, those who know the story of Shuten-doji will only feel a chill when looking at this painting.
"What would you like to order?" the waiter asked as he watched Yushan Kazuto and Izumi Sagiri sit down.
Izumi Sagiri opened the menu and ordered two drinks.
"Anything else you need?"
The clerk recorded the two drinks and continued to ask politely.
Although this is a restaurant, it seems inappropriate to come in and just order two drinks.
However, it was already past mealtime, and the shop assistants were already waiting to get off work. Yushan Kazuto and Izumi Sagiri only ordered two drinks, which made it convenient for them as it would be easier to clean up later.
After the clerk left, Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but glance at Izumi Sagiri.
Originally, Yushan Kazuto thought that Izumi Sagiri felt that the dinner provided by Hoshinoya was not very delicious, so she was going to come to the restaurant to eat something new.
But now it seems that this is not the case.
Izumi Sagiri only ordered two drinks, and it was obvious that Izumi Sagiri could not finish two drinks by herself, so one of the drinks must be for Yushan Kazuto.
In the past, it was always Yushan Kazuto who made decisions for Izumi Sagiri, but unexpectedly, today Izumi Sagiri actually made the decision for Yushan Kazuto.
This made Kazuto Yuyama feel a little strange. It seemed that it started from the time she cried while having dinner tonight... no, it started from the time she visited Onioshide-en Garden in the morning. Sagiri Izumi's behavior had always made Kazuto Yuyama feel a little strange.
Izumi Sagiri also knew that her abnormal behavior today might make Yushan Kazuto uncomfortable, but now was not a good time to explain it to Yushan Kazuto.
The two drinks were made very quickly, and they were served two minutes later.
"Please enjoy your meal." said the waiter as he placed the drinks on the table.
"Kazuto-brother, can you...can you come sit over here?" Looking at the clerk walking down, Izumi Sagiri spoke in a low voice.
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but blink slightly. He deliberately sat opposite Izumi Sagiri.
Firstly, the dining table is not big, and two people sitting on the same side would be a little crowded, which might make Sagiri Izumi feel uncomfortable.
Secondly, Yushan Kazuto didn't want to face the picture of Shuten-doji directly, so he chose to sit opposite him.
Although Yushan Heren is not afraid of these monsters and ghosts, he still feels a little disgusted when eating while looking at such patterns.
But since Izumi Sagiri had spoken, Yushan Kazuto had no choice but to stand up and sit next to Izumi Sagiri.
However, Sagiri Izumi silently pushed a drink in front of Kazuto Hayama, which she had specially chosen for Kazuto Hayama.
"There's no alcohol, right?" Yushan Heren blinked and said, he couldn't drink alcoholic beverages.
When Izumi Sagiri ordered the food before, Yushan Kazuto didn't see clearly what the other party ordered, so he had to ask now.
Izumi Sagiri shook her head. In fact, even if Kazuto Hayama and Sagiri Izumi ordered alcoholic drinks, the clerk would verify Kazuto Hayama's age.
Yushan Heren is only seventeen years old and still a minor, so it is naturally impossible for the restaurant to sell alcoholic beverages to Yushan Heren.
Not to mention Izumi Sagiri, just looking at her appearance, you can tell that she is still a little girl.
Yushan Heren then took a sip with confidence. It was a little sour, with a bit of a bitter aftertaste. It was a very "adult" taste, which he didn't like very much.
Izumi Sagiri also took a sip of the drink. Hers was relatively simple, just ordinary apple juice with a little bit of honey added to it. It tasted quite good.
"It doesn't taste good, right?" Izumi Sagiri asked softly.
"Uh..." Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but blink. From what Izumi Sagiri said, she knew that his drink was not tasty and she deliberately ordered it for him.
Could it really be because I made the other person cry during dinner, and then he was taking revenge on me?
"I drank a little bit, it was sour, astringent, and tasted very strange." Izumi Sa
Wu fell into memories again.
[Sagiri, drink something, don't choke. ]
Izumi Sagiri remembered these words again.
But after saying this, the mother put her drink near Sagiri Izumi's mouth, let her take a sip, and almost made Sagiri Izumi spit it out.
The warm memories seem to be mixed with some of the mother's bad taste.
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but blink slightly. He didn't order such a strange drink at noon, so how did Izumi Sagiri taste it.
Suddenly, Yushan Kazuto reacted: "Sagiri, have you been to Karuizawa before?"
Izumi Sagiri blinked slightly. She didn't expect that Yushan Kazuto had guessed the truth so quickly, but she still nodded slightly.
Since Sagiri Izumi has been to Karuizawa, it is normal that she has tasted this drink.
Although the restaurant is constantly switching themes and changing its menus, it is impossible to replace everything. If that were the case, the workload would be too large.
Every time the theme is changed, there are a few limited-time themed dishes and themed sets on the menu, which is actually a sign of sincerity.
Because of this, the restaurant still retains the original recipe of the drink that Sagiri Izumi and her mother drank here a few years ago.
Looking at the painting of Shuten-doji in front of her, Izumi Sagiri couldn't help but fall into memories again.
Chapter 1970: Mother must be in that starry sky too
“I was here a few years ago.”
After reminiscing for a long time, Izumi Sagiri finally spoke.
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but blink. If it was a few years ago, Izumi Sagiri should have come to Karuizawa with her mother.
"At that time, the theme of the restaurant was still the fragrance of flowers." After falling into memories, Izumi Sagiri seemed to speak a lot more generously.
Yushan Heren responded. In fact, he felt that the theme of summer flower fragrance was much better than the theme of One Hundred Demons Night Parade.
"At that time, the painting hanging in front of me was still a painting of lotus flowers."
Looking at the portrait of Ghost-devouring Boy in front of him, Yushan Kazuto found it hard to imagine it as a painting of lotus.
However, this also seems to indirectly illustrate that although the restaurant theme is constantly changing, there are not many changes in the overall design.
But this is normal. For a huge hanging painting like this, the hanging holes need to be set up in advance. It would be too troublesome to modify it.
"At that time, we were also sitting in this position and eating dinner." Izumi Sagiri continued.
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but look at Izumi Sagiri. No wonder the other party sat down directly when she saw the empty seat here.
Izumi Sagiri asked herself to sit next to her, probably to recreate the scene at that time.
"I was eating waffles and then my mom told me to drink something so I wouldn't choke."
"I was originally planning to drink my own drink, but my mother brought her drink to my lips and asked me to take a sip."
Speaking of this, Izumi Sagiri's body couldn't help but tremble.
Yushan Heren couldn't help but blink slightly. What the other party said was a bit similar to what he said at the dinner table.
However, Yushan Kazuto did not expect that Izumi Sagiri's mother had some bad tastes. He could not bear the sour feeling. Izumi Sagiri was probably only seven or eight years old at the time. How could she bear it?
However, Yushan Kazuto immediately reacted and realized that this seemed to be the first time that Izumi Sagiri formally mentioned her mother to him?
Although she had mentioned it a little bit before, she had never formally talked about her mother like this.
"Do you feel that she has bad intentions?" Izumi Sagiri said to herself.
Yushan Heren originally wanted to respond, but when he thought of the other party's identity, he did not speak.
"Actually, I also feel that she is quite mean and often bullies me." said Izumi Sagiri.
But when talking about this matter, a smile actually appeared on Sagiri Izumi's face.
"Is that so?" Yushan Heren said angrily.
"Brother Kazuto, do you remember when we were in Tama, you asked me to come downstairs to eat?"
Izumi Sagiri's thoughts seemed a little off, but Yushan Kazuto still nodded.
"In fact, she often uses that method. It's not very strong, but it makes me unable to resist."
Yushan Heren couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. He did seem to be bullying the little girl at that time.
"So... since then, I've felt that you two are somewhat similar. However, since I moved to Tokyo, Brother Kazuto has become more attentive to me. At the beginning, I was a little uncomfortable with it."
Yushan Kazuto also fell into deep thought. It turned out that it took Izumi Sagiri a long time to adapt to living in his house at first, and it was because of this incident.
"But gradually, I found that you two are different. Mother is not very good at cooking and can only make omelette rice, but you, brother Kazuto, are good at all kinds of cooking."
"Mother is a clumsy driver. No matter what kind of road she drives, she won't go faster than 40 mph. Even so, her car often brakes suddenly, stalls, or breaks down on the road. But you, my brother, are different. You drive fast and steadily."
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but scratch his head. Is he as good as Izumi Sagiri said?
"When I first said I was going to come to Karuizawa, I was a little scared."
After a moment of silence, Izumi Sagiri brought the topic back to Karuizawa's affairs.
Hayama Kazuto blinked. Izumi Sagiri and her mother had been to Karuizawa before. It was normal that the other party didn't want to revisit the place and add to the sadness.
"But, but I am worried that if you and Sister Mai go to Karuizawa alone, something unexpected might happen."
Yushan and others blinked. The probability of accidents happening is still relatively low.
However, when you think about the fact that Sagiri Izumi's mother and her stepfather had a car accident during their honeymoon, Kazuto Yuyama can understand Sagiri Izumi's mentality.
"But after arriving in Karuizawa, everything was so similar to that time, which made me even more worried."
Actually, this is normal. After all, there are only so many things to do in Karuizawa.
Even though Karuizawa is known as a world-renowned cultural and tourism town, it is just a small town after all. Its size is destined to have limited tourist content.
“But if you look closely at the details, there are some differences.”
"For example, my mother and I have never been to Onioshide Garden. For another example, there is no astronomical telescope in the room to observe the stars."
As Izumi Sagiri spoke, tears began to flow again.
Yushan Kazuto couldn't help but sigh, but now that he knew the reason why Izumi Sagiri was crying at the dinner table, Yushan Kazuto didn't know how to comfort her. He just took a tissue and wiped Izumi Sagiri's tears.
"
If the dead can become stars, then my mother must be in that starry sky!" Izumi Sagiri started to cry.
Fortunately, there were no other guests around, so Izumi Sagiri could vent her emotions.
These days, the worries in her heart and the memories of her mother are intertwined together. In fact, Izumi Sagiri is under a lot of psychological pressure.
Now that he was finally able to speak out, Yushan Kazuto chose to listen quietly.
"If... mother is in the starry sky, she will definitely bless us, right?" Izumi Sagiri murmured.
"It will definitely happen." Kazuto Hayama affirmed.
Izumi Sagiri blinked and stared at Yushan Kazuto. Originally, she seemed to be able to see the shadow of her mother in Yushan Kazuto, but now, that shadow gradually dissipated.
She knew that she might need to re-examine her relationship with Yushan Heren.
There is actually a big difference between Yushan Kazuto and his mother, but he just wishfully combined the two.
However, what is certain is that Yushan Kazuto, like his mother, is someone he can rely on.
After confirming this, Izumi Sagiri felt relieved.
Looking at the painting of Ghostly Boy in front of her, Izumi Sagiri leaned on Hayama Kazuto as if she was seeing the original lotus painting.
[Mom, Sagiri has found someone she can rely on, and she won't make you worry anymore. ]
Chapter 1971: Rock Can't Ward Off Evil Spirits
After speaking out her true feelings, Izumi Sagiri finally felt relieved and couldn't help feeling a lot more relaxed.
However, the next second, Izumi Sagiri realized that what she had just said seemed to be a little too much.
