"I take great pride in my Mexican cuisine."
The middle-aged owner confidently set down his dish, practically raising a flag. Eriri picked up a spoonful of Menudo and put it in her mouth.
Menudo was a famous Mexican dish for its spiciness.
She had eaten it many times before.
But this time—
"Uwah! It's so spicy! What the hell?! This isn't authentic at all!"
The spiciness hit her so hard that tears welled up in her eyes.
Hearing that, the middle-aged owner looked like he had just taken an arrow to the knee, utterly devastated.
He had specifically traveled to Mexico to learn authentic Mexican cuisine, hoping to return and showcase his skills.
Haruto picked up his chopsticks, took a bite, and then flicked Eriri on the forehead.
"Don't talk nonsense. This dish is excellently made; the flavor and heat are just right."
Eriri looked at him with teary eyes.
"But it's way too spicy! It's not as good as the one you make, Haruto."
Haruto shook his head.
"I always adjust the spice level when I cook for you. Authentic Mexican cuisine is meant to be spicy, the heat enhances the flavor."
Hearing that, Eriri finally understood.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged owner looked like he was about to cry from joy.
This was the first time since opening his restaurant that someone truly appreciated his cooking and gave such an encouraging review.
Previously, he had let Gabriel try his food. She had completely trashed it with harsh words.
As a result, he was close to developing PTSD from serving young customers.
"You, young man! Are you also a cooking expert?!"
The middle-aged owner asked excitedly.
Haruto shook his head.
"I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I've dabbled some dishes like this before so I'm more familiar with spicy cuisines."
Eriri suddenly spoke up.
"Then, Haruto, why don't you make a dish? I really can't eat this, it's too spicy!"
Haruto facepalmed.
Wasn't this supposed to be a date?
How did she end up sending him to the kitchen?!
The middle-aged owner was clearly on board with the idea and eagerly looked at Haruto.
Haruto gave Eriri a look.
"Eriri, I'm only doing this for you. Normally, who the hell goes to a restaurant and ends up cooking their own food?"
Hearing that, Eriri felt a wave of sweetness in her heart.
Hehe, Haruto is doing this for me!
For once, the golden-haired defeat dog didn't act tsundere and instead showed a genuinely happy smile.
With no other choice, Haruto headed into the kitchen.
He picked up a wok with practiced ease and began to stir-fry.
"Boss, Japanese cuisine tends to have a lighter flavor. Their tolerance for spice is quite low. If you want spicy foods to sell here, you'll need to adjust the spice level… by a lot."
As he flipped the ingredients in the pan, Haruto shared his advice with the owner.
The owner hesitated.
"But if I do that… it won't have the soul of Mexican cuisine anymore."
Haruto sighed.
"Rather than soul, adapting to the local palate is more important. Otherwise, you won't survive in the market."
Before long, a milder version of menudo was ready.
The owner took a taste and had a look of realization.
"Thank you! Young man, leave me your contact information. If you ever need catering or a banquet, you can come here; I'll make it free for you."
The owner made this generous offer.
Haruto smiled, agreed, and carried the dish back to the table.
Eriri eagerly took a bite and immediately showed a satisfied expression.
"As expected, Haruto's cooking is the best!"
Haruto smiled helplessly and ate the original spicy dish himself.
To be honest, it was rare to find such authentic foreign foods in Japan.
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(T/N: As yall can tell, the dish was made in China. I have to revise the food to a different one because some of you lots already crying when I didn't revise the food our boi made in the earlier chapter.
Personally, I have no beef to chinese foods because, you know, they're foods but the people living there/or the novels they make, is a different matter.
Extreme nationalism, young master syndromes, China #1, anyone not chinese is dumb, that's our territory, face slapping forever, cardboard 'villains', harem of brain dead gals, copy-paste storylines, rape artist MC's (I'm lookin at you Scum Che), most of cn MC's cultivate the path of slaughter in EVERY.SINGLE.FUCKING.LAND.CONTINENT.REALM.DIMENSION. or every fucking place they traveled into literally turns into slaughter fest.
That's some of the reason why I transferred on reading fics nowadays and not saying all the cn/fic they make is bad, but you need to dig in real deep in a fucking trash heaps to find gold.
I still read xianxia novels once in a while mind you, and some of you may not admit it, but once you ventured in too deep in the abyss of cultivation; the jade beauties there will put chains in your necks, using it to drag you back to the abyss you so thought escaped.
Anyways, back to reading.)
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After finishing their meal, they wandered around the school festival for a bit longer.
Then…
It was time for Eriri to leave.
"Eriri, my homeroom teacher just messaged me, asking me to submit my thesis. I need to go."
Haruto said this, ruffled her hair, and then bolted.
Eriri: "?!?"
Completely dumbfounded, Eriri just stared and blinked in confusion.
She really wanted to ask, weren't they just first-years in high school?
Why would he need to submit a thesis?!
But on second thought…
Maybe the requirements were just stricter at an elite school like Sobu High?
Sobu High: Don't call me out on this.
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"Target No. 3 has arrived at the main gate, proceed to meet them as soon as possible."
Shiro instructed through the earpiece.
Haruto quickly made his way to the front gate of Sōbu High School.
At a glance, he immediately spotted Annie, standing in the corner wearing a hoodie. Walking over swiftly, Haruto directly took Annie's hand.
"Annie looks really cute today, but… why are you still wearing a hoodie?"
This was already the third time today that Haruto had called her cute.
Even he felt like he was being a bit too much. But he distinctly remembered buying Annie a dress, yet he had never seen her wear it.
Hearing his words, Annie hesitated for a moment before asking,
"Is this… not good?"
Before heading out, she had struggled with whether to wear the dress Haruto had bought her.
But, since she had never tried it before…
And because she always felt that dresses, light and fluttery as they were, didn't suit her. So in the end, she didn't have the courage to change and stuck to her usual hoodie.
Was this outfit…
Not really fitting for a date?
Annie felt a bit nervous.
Haruto chuckled and shook his head.
"It's not that it's bad, I'm just really curious about how you'd look in a dress. You'd probably be very—"
Annie let out a small sigh of relief, but at the same time, she felt a little shy.
Was he really that eager to see her in a dress?
The two of them strolled into the academy.
Compared to the lively and noisy Nao and Eriri, Annie was much quieter.
Letting Haruto hold her hand, she walked through the academy grounds, occasionally glancing around, but more often than not, her eyes settled on him.
And Haruto, just as he always did, chattered on about everything around them.
"Do you want to try a candy apple? They're pretty sweet, but they can be tough on your teeth."
Haruto asked with a smile.
Annie shook her head.
Seeing this, Haruto looked a little confused.
"What's wrong? You don't seem to be in a good mood?"
Annie glanced at the bright red candy apples before speaking softly:
"It's just… I feel a little lost. You know, originally, I wasn't someone who had a future, so I never thought about what I wanted to do in the future."
She was referring to the curse of the Titans' power.
Those who inherited the power of the intelligent Titans only had thirteen years to live from the moment of inheritance.
Without Haruto…
Well, Annie had always thought she would die young, either on the battlefield or simply as a consequence of her fate.
Haruto didn't respond. Instead, he grabbed Annie's hand and led her forward.
Annie was puzzled but followed him without question.
Soon, they had left the festival streets of Sōbu High.
Haruto led Annie into a school building that was closed off for the festival. They climbed the stairs, eventually reaching the rooftop. At this moment, the sun was setting.
Darkness was slowly enveloping the academy.
"Look," Haruto pointed to the streets below.
From here, they had a perfect view of the scene below.
In the darkness, people moved about endlessly.
Annie looked down, confused about what Haruto wanted her to see.
And then—
Click!
A crisp electrical sound.
Right on time, the nighttime festival lights turned on.
In an instant, the dark streets were illuminated with colorful lights. Each stall lit up their neon signs, adding even more color to the streets.
As the lights flickered on, it was as if they also illuminated Annie's eyes.
Suddenly, she understood what Haruto was trying to say.
"Look at this, Annie. The future isn't just darkness."
Haruto pointed down, smiling.
"Besides, didn't I already promise you? No matter what happens, you'll always have a place by my side. Being lost for a moment is fine. The future… we can figure it out slowly. There's no rush."
Annie nodded firmly.
"Yeah, there's no rush."
A smile appeared on her face as she pointed to a stall in the distance.
"I want to eat that."
Haruto picked Annie up without hesitation, scanned the area to make sure there were no surveillance cameras—
Then, with a leap, the two of them soared through the night sky toward the stall in the corner of the street.
"Woooo~!"
Feeling the strong wind against her face and watching the festival lights blur past below, Annie let out an excited cheer.
Down in the streets, Eriri, who was wandering around, looked up in confusion.
Did she… just miss something again?
Weird.
Under the night sky, the festival seemed even more lively under the glow of the lights.
With her hesitation completely gone, Annie started pulling Haruto along, running around excitedly.
"Is that pie?"
Annie pointed at a nearby stall selling pastries, curious.
Haruto nodded.
"Want one—"
Mid-sentence, Haruto suddenly remembered something from the original story. Annie, after emerging from her crystalized state, crazily devouring pies.
For a moment, he couldn't hold back his laughter.
Annie really was destined to have a deep connection with pies, huh?
Seeing him laugh, Annie looked confused.
The story of Attack on Titan hadn't reached that late stage yet.
And in all the information Haruto had shared with her, he had, of course, left out the part about her pie obsession.
"Anyway… let's buy one."
Haruto said.
"Mmm… this is unexpectedly good."
Annie took a bite, speaking with her mouth half full.
Watching Annie chew, Haruto suddenly understood why Nao always carried a camera around.
Scenes like this were worth recording.
So, he took out his phone and snapped a photo of this rare moment.
Annie: "!"
"Delete it!"
"Nope!"
As their playful argument continued, the night deepened.
The festival wasn't an all-night event, and today's festivities were about to come to an end.
"Let's go home," Haruto said with a smile.
However, Annie suddenly stopped.
Haruto, puzzled, turned back to look at her. He saw Annie with her head lowered, her face flushed red, as if struggling with something.
Just as Haruto was about to ask, Annie spoke softly,
"N-no… I'm not going back to the apartment."
Haruto: "!"
That one sentence sent Haruto's mind racing with all sorts of thoughts.
But, to be sure, he cautiously asked,
"When you say 'not going back to the apartment,' you mean…?"
Annie took out a special ID card from her hoodie pocket. (Issued by the Foundation)
Haruto: "!!!"
Clearing his throat, Haruto discreetly removed his hidden earpiece and powered it off.
Shiro: "?"
Sitting at the computer, Shiro was bewildered.
"Is my bro not coming back tonight? Where's he going?"
Confused.jpg
"Come to think of it, the Foundation doesn't have a hotel business yet. I should remind them to buy one later."
Haruto remarked seriously.
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T/N:
OG author did not write a smut.
Sadge