It was already midnight, and all the diners had left. Shinomiya Kojiro looked at this peculiar girl with interest.
Eating eight portions of a set meal designed for adults at once, no matter how you look at it, isn't ordinary.
"So what do you plan to use to pay the bill? Surely not a contract of servitude?" Shinomiya Kojiro said calmly, pushing up his glasses.
"Ew~ I didn't expect someone who looks so proper and cold-faced to have such dirty thoughts. What do you want to do to a five-year-old girl?!"
Of course, this was just a joke. Rin understood Shinomiya Kojiro's character: cold on the outside, warm on the inside, a typical 'knife mouth, tofu heart,' a pure chef. So, in front of him, there was no need to worry about revealing wealth or causing trouble.
Rin reached into her inner pocket, searching for the dimensional pocket she'd brought from home.
As long as an item's volume wasn't larger than the pocket's opening, it didn't need to be enlarged to be taken out.
Crystals were worthless.
There was nothing for it; although she'd taken all the jewels from her family, they only amounted to about thirty-odd pieces in total.
This would be the only time she'd ever squander them like this, using them to pay a bill.
Lost in thought, Rin withdrew her hand from her pocket.
"This should be enough, right?" she said, opening her palm.
Her small, jade-white hand presented a sapphire the size of a thumb joint, as if offering a precious treasure.
"Idiot! Put it away!" Shinomiya Kojiro froze for a moment when he saw the gem, then his expression changed, and he quickly covered Rin's outstretched palm.
Although Shinomiya Kojiro was a chef, that didn't mean he couldn't recognize valuable items.
On the contrary, as the first Japanese person to receive the "Plus Pur Medal," Shinomiya Kojiro frequently frequented various aristocratic high-end establishments when he was in Paris, France.
He could discern the quality of a gem at a glance.
Shinomiya Kojiro could tell that the gem Rin held was a top-tier "Kashmir" sapphire, with a pure, rich color, a deep ocean-like azure, and a transparent luster not inferior to a pure, transparent crystal.
Moreover, it was the size of a thumb!
"Come with me," Shinomiya Kojiro said sternly, pulling Rin into the lounge area inside the restaurant.
"Oh, oh, oh, you're taking me here. What do you want to do to a loli~" Rin maliciously joked in her mind about Shinomiya Kojiro.
In the spacious lounge, besides Shinomiya Kojiro, there was one man and two women.
The man was Yabuki, and the two women were Gao Wei and a short, blonde woman with some freckles on her face.
Rin remembered her name was Lucy Hugo.
In the original story, she was responsible for preparing meat dishes at Shinos, but since Gao Wei had been promoted from receptionist to front desk manager, there was no reason for Lucy Hugo to still be a chef.
Oh, so these are the core members of Shinos?
Lucy Hugo's eyes widened in surprise when she saw Shinomiya pull Rin in.
She exclaimed in shock, "Manager! You're not going to tell us you like this, are you! Even if this child is indeed very pret… Ow ow ow ow it hurts…"
Sure enough, as lively as a rabbit, it had to be Lucy Hugo, no doubt.
Shinomiya let go of the mischievous Lucy Hugo and turned back to Rin, saying seriously, "Tell me, Young Miss Rin, who exactly are you?
Such an item should not be in a child's hand."
As he spoke, the others in the room also looked at the sapphire in Rin's hand, all showing expressions of awe.
"Oh my goodness, such a beautiful gem! I've never seen one like it before."
"Wow! So beautiful, both the color and the cutting technique are impeccable."
"No matter how you look at it, it shouldn't be something a child possesses."
Rin could only silently complain in her heart about the trio's exclamations.
In truth, such gems were considered ordinary in the Tohsaka Family.
Every one of the more than thirty gems in Rin's hand was no worse than this one, and most were even superior.
This was also why Rin had preferred to work part-time rather than sell her gems before, because once sold, there was nowhere to buy more.
Alas, in this world, truly exquisite gems are all taken by Magicians and used as bombs.
What a sad truth that is… Rin said with a troubled expression, "Um, the question of who I am doesn't really matter, does it?
I can guarantee that this gem is absolutely legitimate, neither stolen nor robbed, and no one will come looking for trouble.
And, it should be worth 800,000 yen, right?
If not, I still have some money…"
Just like a rich second-generation heir who treats money as mere numbers, Rin, who used gems as bombs for experiments every day, was also completely ignorant of their true value.
She only knew they should be very valuable.
Shinomiya Kojiro pushed up his glasses and snorted, saying, "Not just 800,000 yen.
Five years ago, a sapphire of the same quality, less than half the size of the one in your hand, was auctioned for 6 million US dollars at the Paris International Auction.
A sapphire twice its size would be worth at least ten times more."
Holy cow! What do you want me to do then? Besides this, I only have crystals left, and those aren't worth anything!
If I pull out other gems, I'll scare you to death.
Now, Shinomiya Kojiro was completely convinced that Rin was a willful Young Miss Rin who had run away from home after a fight with her parents, stealing family treasures.
Ignorant of the importance of money, she could only use heirlooms for meal expenses.
Shinomiya Kojiro sighed faintly, then turned to Yabuki and said, "Contact the police station tomorrow.
We'll have her parents pay for the meal later.
Gao Wei, have her sleep with you tonight."
It must be said that Shinomiya Kojiro was a very upright person.
He had no intention of deceiving a child, nor did he harbor any greed for the priceless gem.
He even planned to send this willful Young Miss Rin back home.
Whether it be martial arts, magic, or culinary skills, to pursue the ultimate peak, one must clarify one's own being, remain unperturbed, and possess an unwavering belief that is not swayed by external factors.
Rin couldn't help but feel a heartfelt admiration for the man before her, but... being sent home was an absolute forbidden matter!!!
Rin immediately displayed the panic a child should, waving both arms wildly up and down, shouting, "No! I can't go home!"
Shinomiya Kojiro's face was cold, and he turned back impatiently, saying, "Children shouldn't be willful."
"It's not willfulness! I have a reason why I must leave home!" Rin loudly protested.
"What reason?" Not only Shinomiya Kojiro, but everyone else in the room looked at her.
Facing the four people's questioning and scrutinizing gazes, Young Miss Rin's thoughts raced like lightning.
Combining her own actual situation, she instantly formulated a story.
Rin lowered her head, her bangs covering her eyes, and she sank into a low mood.
"If I go back, my sister will suffer."
The four people from Shinos immediately grew even more curious.
"I am a child from an ancient family with a long heritage.
Our family has, since ancient times, signed an alliance with another ancient family.
If both main families have two descendants, they exchange one child to be adopted by the other, to maintain their cooperative relationship.
If one side does not have a second descendant, they must give the other side a portion of their family's interests."
"In my generation, there are only two girls in the family.
I am the elder sister, designated by my parents as the next heir since childhood.
According to the alliance, my younger sister must be adopted by the other family."
"They say 'adopted child,' but in reality, they are hostages exchanged between us.
I already know how they will be treated from the person who was adopted from the other family in the previous generation, the dark and dirty side of nobility.
I cannot let my sister face such a fate.
I begged my father to let me take my sister's place, and for my sister to inherit the family."
"But no matter how much I begged, it was useless.
A week ago, my father was going to discuss my sister's adoption with the other family head.
I knew that was just a negotiation to sell my sister!" At this point, Rin was already gritting her teeth, her voice escaping through the gaps.
Rin was desperately recalling the events of Sakura's adoption in the original story.
In the original story, Sakura was indeed like this.
Sakura was thus separated from the Tohsaka Family, changed her surname to Matou, and was never allowed to return to the Tohsaka Family.
The Matou Family paid a certain percentage of their family's income to the Tohsaka Family annually as compensation.
Isn't this just selling her off!
"Mother also reluctantly agreed.
I knew that no one would save my sister except me, so I made up my mind to run away from home!
Because if I leave, my sister will become the only child in the family, and the family, which values inheritance above all else, will inevitably designate my sister as the heir.
This way, that dirty transaction cannot proceed!"
"So I cannot go back! I absolutely cannot go back! I would rather wander in the outside world than return to that home! At least not now, not yet.
Only when my sister officially inherits everything of the family can I return to that home…"
Rin wiped away a tear, sobbing as she continued: "Please, I went through so much trouble to get here, far away from that home, don't send me back… (sniff) This gem is for you, consider it payment for this meal.
Your cooking is delicious, it's worth this gem (sniff)."
The most perfect lie is to tell the truth, just by embellishing the edges, she perfectly explained her situation.
And Rin did indeed run away from home to save her sister Sakura, though of course, she wasn't as pitiful and helpless as she made herself out to be.
As for the tears, that's simple! Just recall something sad, and the tears will flow. So, Rin remembered the scene in a game from her previous life where Sakura and Tsuchimikado kissed... Oh no, she couldn't stop crying!