Chapter 215: Concentration
“Nu-hahaha! Trying to beat me is a hundred years too early!”
“Ugh… it’s frustrating! Losing to Yato-sama is the most irritating!”
“That’s too bad! I’ll be your opponent anytime, so come at me whenever you like!”
Yato stretched her small body as far as she could, looking down at Isabella.
Even though Isabella was taller, so she couldn’t physically look down on her, the gesture seemed to have a strong psychological effect on her.
I had thought it might be a close fifty-fifty match, but as expected, Yato’s experience gave her the upper hand.
The matches were close in terms of content, but in the end, Yato won them all.
“I’ll get my revenge right away… Hey, Sato. Is Yato-sama the best at this game?”
“No, there are people even better than her.”
“Hey! Don’t reveal that!”
“So Yato-sama, who couldn’t even win one match, is considered below average. This really fires me up!”
Though Isabella looked extremely frustrated, her eyes were completely lit with determination—she had clearly gotten hooked on the game.
I had worried that she might not enjoy it, but it seemed she was having fun after all.
“You can play again after dinner. Others will probably want to play too, so there may be a wait.”
“If others are better, that’s perfect—it’ll be a good reference. My current goal is to beat Yato-sama.”
“I’ll also keep improving! Isabella will never catch up to me!”
Yato looked very pleased; her only real rival was probably Joel, so having a worthy opponent was exciting for her.
She wasn’t particularly bad at the game, but not living here meant her playtime was limited compared to the locals, naturally creating a gap in skill.
In that sense, Isabella was on equal footing with Yato, so she could become a strong rival in the future.
“Enough talking, let’s return to the villa… Rose, shall we start dinner soon?”
Although they had been loudly arguing, Rose ignored all the commotion and kept reading her manga.
I thought maybe she was fast because of her concentration, but since she was only on volume three, she was actually incredibly slow.
She seemed to be enjoying everything carefully, her expression still relaxed.
However, she didn’t respond to my call, so I decided to gently rub her shoulder to get her attention.
“Rose, dinner—”
“Hyah! …S-Sato-san! D-Don’t touch me suddenly like that, it scares me!”
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to touch you suddenly…”
Rose had let out a loud scream the moment I touched her shoulder.
I felt bad for startling her, but there was nothing more I could do.
“Rose-sama, I did call you first, you know.”
“…I-I see. I’m sorry for raising my voice.”
“No, I should apologize too. Dinner seems ready—shall we eat? You can read your manga again afterward.”
“…I can still read after dinner?”
“Yes, since you’re staying overnight, read as much as you like. But if you feel unwell, go to bed once the date changes.”
“You can read until the date changes… amazing.”
Her earlier fright was completely replaced by the joy of being able to keep reading after dinner.
I breathed a sigh of relief and led the three of them back to the villa.
The table was already set with dinner—Norman’s homemade Japanese dishes.
Tonight’s meal was tempura and soba.
The tempura used freshly harvested autumn vegetables, and the soba was a simple cold soba.
Tororo (grated yam) was also prepared, so those who didn’t mind the sticky texture could enjoy tororo soba.
“This time, noodles for dinner. But what unusual noodles!”
“…Strange-colored noodles. These look prettier and tastier.”
“This is tempura, and it goes very well with this soba. Please try it.”
“This is my first time eating this! It’s what Sato ate in the Dungeon Town, right?”
“You remembered that well. That was warm soba, but this time it’s cold. It’s mild and easy to eat.”
It seemed Yato remembered the instant noodles I had eaten in Dungeon Town.
Impressed by his memory, I let them try it immediately.
Yato handled chopsticks skillfully, while Isabella and Rose ate the soba with forks.
It’s unusual to eat soba with a fork, but it’s hard to pick up without one if you’re unaccustomed.
“Wow! Chewy and delicious!”
“…Refreshing and tasty! Sato-san, this is amazing.”
“It’s not me—it’s Norman-san who made it.”
“This tempura is also delicious! The vegetables taste surprisingly flavorful.”
“Tempura is good with the soba dipping sauce, and the dipping sauce is also good with added condiments.”
Since the soba had no strong flavors, it seemed they accepted it easily.
Yato, having eaten somen before, probably had even less resistance.
Watching the three of them happily eat soba and tempura, I joined them and enjoyed my meal.