"Is this the place?"
"Yup."
The three girls looked at the old-fashioned "Izakaya" before them. It was rather old as if it were the last remains of the Showa Period, but even so, it tickled their adventurous hearts, as it would be their first time entering the "Izakaya."
Moreover, as Mizuto had chosen this place, there should be something special about it.
"Come on."
With Mizuto as their lead, the three of them entered the "Izakaya" after him.
"Welcome!"
As it was still too early, it could be seen that the place had just been opened. There weren't any guests except for them. In this place, the only people were the middle-aged woman proprietress who seemed to be kind and gentle, welcoming them.
Nevertheless, Mizuto could see this proprietress didn't seem surprised when they entered.
Was it common for a high school student to enter?
Still, as expected, his charm also worked for the proprietress, as she was in a daze when she saw him.
"Is there a seat for four?" Mizuto asked calmly.
"Ah, yes. Please sit over there." The proprietress said politely, but her eyes never looked away from him.
Usually, Yume, Akatsuki, and Reina would do something, but they were distracted by this "Izakaya" as it was their first time to enter this kind of place. Old fashioned. It was the only way to describe this place. It was rather cramped but strangely comforting. Moreover, they could imagine that someone who worked hard from morning to night would come to this place, drinking silently on the counter as that person smoked and drank something, enjoying a simple and short joy.
"Let's sit down."
However, they quickly woke up when they heard Mizuto's voice, and they sat on the seats pointed by the proprietress. As usual, Yume sat by his side, but unlike when they were on the train, Reina sat in front of him, and Akatsuki sat in front of Yume.
"What's to eat here?"
Looking around, they felt pretty curious.
"It seems to be yakitori." Mizuto looked at the old paper on a variety of menus, most of which were "yakitori (a grilled chicken stick)."
As they looked around, the proprietress came with hot towels in their hands. "Please use these."
"Thank you."
All of them thanked the proprietress, took the hot towels, felt the warmth on their hands, and wiped their hands.
"What would you like for a drink? But since you all are high school students, I can't serve you alcohol, so there is only oolong tea, soda, and calpis."
"Then, I will take a calpis," Mizuto ordered, then looked at everyone. "What about you?"
"Ah, I will take a calpis too!"
"Me too."
"I am the same."
"...." Mizuto wondered why they loved to follow him. It felt like he was somehow a mother goose instead of a boyfriend, but it didn't matter since he knew that they just trusted his tastebuds.
"What kind of yakitori do you have?"
"Chicken and onion, cartilage, skin, grizzard, chicken wings, liver, chicken balls. All seasoned with salt."
Mizuto wondered why it felt like this proprietress often seemed to say those lines.
"All are salted?"
"Yes."
Mizuto thought for a moment, then said, "Okay then, all of them and once each, please."
"Okay." The proprietress nodded, and then Mizuto looked at the three girls. "What about you guys?"
"To be honest, it's my first time eating yakitori."
"Is the portion a lot?"
"It should be okay. You three should be able to eat those seven types of yakitori with ease." The proprietress smiled at the three girls and said, "So, what about it? Do you want to order like him?"
They knew nothing about this yakitori "Izakaya," so they just followed Mizuto's lead and tried to order like him.
"Okay, please wait for a while. I will prepare the order right away."
When the proprietress left, Reina looked at Mizuto and asked, "Have you been here before, Mizuto?"
"No."
Yume was speechless by Mizuto, who could order a menu without hesitation. She sighed and said, "You are as brave as ever."
If it was someone else, they would hesitate to order what kind of food in the new restaurant, but this guy ordered like he was a regular.
"What's there to hesitate about?" While they were amazed by him, Mizuto wondered why they could be amazed or hesitate to order. "But smell this scent carefully. I am sure that those yakitoris taste great."
Hearing his words, they quickly smelled the chicken fat that was grilled on the top of the charcoal, causing them to feel hungry.
"Ugh..."
Yume held her belly, trying to hold the sound made by her hungry belly. Reina and Akatsuki weren't much different. Fortunately, the proprietress brought their drinks first so they could ease their stomachs.
Sipping the sweet, slightly sour, and milky cold calpis, they let out a happy sigh.
"It's rare of you to drink something unhealthy." Akatsuki looked at Mizuto as her small lips never left the straw, playing with it, like it was playing with something, but as expected, as it was the straw was a bit too small, she was quite unsatisfied and wished to get the real thing that was hard and huge.
"I have some urge to do something bad somehow."
Mizuto had been doing something good for the past week, so he wished to do something slightly naughty, such as drinking an unhealthy soda.
"...your example of doing something bad is too childish," Yume laughed, but Akatsuki and Reina couldn't laugh since they knew what kind of devil this guy was.
Fortunately, soon, their order came, and seven kinds of yakitori were presented before them.
*Gulp!*
Mizuto never hesitated and took one stick before taking a bite in his mouth. The sound of cracks from the cartilage was heard by the three girls, but for him, the fat of the thigh meat of the chicken burst into his mouth, and the salt-tasting chicken was strangely comforting.
"Hmm... delicious."
Hearing his words, the three didn't hesitate and tried the yakitori.
Still, among all those types, the meatball was the most delicious.
By then, the four of them had a feast. When they were with him, they had a new experience every day. Moreover, as his hobby was foodie, it was something that could be enjoyed by everyone, and the good food made everyone happy.
As they ate, many guests came slowly.
While they became the center of attention due to their status as a high school student, everyone minded their own business and hardly interrupted each other.
"This fried rice is nice."
"Yep, it's kind of sour from the ume, but it's nice."
While they tasted his fried rice, Mizuto wanted to order something again, and his eyes noticed a green bell pepper on the display. "Mam, why do you have a bell pepper there?" He recalled that there was no menu with bell pepper in this "Izakaya."
"Oh, you eat it with the meal ball yakitori. Do you want to try it? It is good, you know?"
The proprietress smiled sweetly at Mizuto, and her eyes looked at him as if hinting at something.
"..."
Mizuto's lips twitched, and he thought that whether men or women, they were all the same. When they see a beautiful woman or handsome guy, they become silly. However, even though he liked a mature woman, the proprietress wasn't like Nami, Rinko, or Miyabi after all, so he had to apologize and pretend that he didn't see this hint.
"...then, I will take another three meatballs yakitori and a bell pepper."
"Okay~!"
Akatsuki was in doubt as she looked at Mizuto. "Do you think it will taste good?" After all, she couldn't imagine the taste of a meatball being stuffed into a raw bell pepper. If it was cooked, it might be different, but it was raw, after all.
"I am not sure. If it isn't good, then that's it."
Mizuto was never afraid of challenges.
"Your order is here."
As the proprietress came with Mizuto's order and was about to send it to him, Yume accepted it first. "Thank you." She showed an impeccable smile, was a perfect girl, and was also one of the most popular in the school.
"...." The proprietress.
Mizuto ignored this exchange and took the cut bell pepper before he stuffed one of the meatballs on top of it, then ate it like a cracker with a topping. The sound of bell pepper biting his mouth was heard once again, and they saw him eating the raw bell pepper with a meatball with an understanding expression.
"...is it good?" Yume asked in doubt.
Mizuto didn't answer, just stuffed another meatball into a raw bell pepper, then looked at Reina. "Open your mouth."
"Ahh..." Yume opened her lips and let him feed her, biting the raw bell pepper and meatball.
"....." Akatsuki and Reina.
"How is it?" Reina asked.
"It's bitter... it's bitter, but it's delicious." Somehow, Yume felt like she could appreciate the taste.
"..." Mizuto, Akatsuki, and Reina.
Once again, probably because Yume had often tasted something bitter, this was nothing. Moreover, it was the same for Akatsuki and Reina, as they greatly enjoyed this raw bell pepper.
Still, the time the four of them spent together was enjoyable, and they wished for this to continue forever.
However, before that, Akatsuki and Reina knew if they wanted this relationship to continue, they had to do something with Yume, who knew nothing about everything.