When they reached the supermarket, Rias climbed down and immediately began telling Yuto how enjoyable the ride had been.
She had never experienced anything like it.
Moving freely through the crowds beneath the morning sunlight had felt wonderfully new.
Whenever they passed under the trees, the sunlight broke apart into countless shimmering patterns that danced around them.
The wind rushing past had seemed to carry away every troubling thought in her mind.
For the first time in a long while, she had felt free.
The heavy burdens pressing down on her no longer seemed quite so overwhelming.
She loved the feeling.
The moment she stepped off the bicycle, she could not stop herself from sharing her excitement with Yuto.
Seeing her so cheerful brought a faint smile to his lips.
One of the reasons he had invited Rias along was to help her relax.
It seemed to have worked.
"Let's go. We have quite a lot to buy."
Yuto smiled and entered the supermarket.
Rias nodded happily and followed.
At last, her footsteps had become light.
They moved through the various sections and bought several things.
Unlike Tohru, who immediately filled the cart with snacks whenever she visited, Rias mostly chose small accessories and decorations, such as hair clips.
Her presence attracted a great deal of attention.
However, when those curious gazes shifted toward Yuto, many people seemed to accept the situation with surprising familiarity.
That did not stop them from feeling envious.
Yuto had been shopping there for nearly three months and had become a familiar face to many customers and vendors.
No one found it strange that such a handsome young man had a beautiful companion.
What bothered them was that the beautiful companion kept changing.
Last time, it had been Tohru.
This time, it was Rias.
They could not understand it.
Did being handsome mean he could simply appear with a different beautiful girl whenever he pleased?
Yuto and Rias eventually reached Grandma Katou's vegetable stall.
The moment Grandma saw Rias, her gaze sharpened.
The hand holding her vegetable basket unconsciously tightened.
'Another one?'
No!
Megumi needed to act quickly!
Grandma immediately felt an even greater sense of urgency.
"Grandma?"
Yuto called to her again, finding it strange that she seemed distracted.
"Ah? Oh! Ahem, I was just lost in thought for a moment. Hehehe. Yuto-kun, who is this?"
Grandma hurriedly coughed to hide her unusual reaction before turning a warm smile toward Rias.
At the same time, her eyes quickly examined the girl from head to toe.
The more she looked, the more disadvantaged Megumi seemed.
In both appearance and figure, Rias appeared to have the advantage.
"She's a friend of mine. Her name is Rias. She happened to come along while I bought ingredients today."
Yuto introduced her with a smile.
Rias stepped forward and bowed politely.
Her flawless noble etiquette made Grandma's brows furrow even further.
Hearing that she was only a friend allowed Grandma to relax slightly.
But could Megumi truly compete with a girl like this?
For a moment, she began to doubt everything.
"That must have been troublesome for you. Is Tohru busy today?"
"Mm."
"Yuto-kun certainly has plenty of beautiful girls around him. The other boys must be terribly jealous."
Yuto smiled and waved the comment away.
He selected several vegetables and placed them in his basket.
The restaurant had spent the first half of the previous night attending Whitebeard's banquet, and few customers had come afterward.
There was no need to buy much today.
"Miss Rias, are you from overseas?" Grandma asked kindly.
Rias's behavior remained perfectly graceful.
Every word and movement reflected excellent manners.
"Yes."
She smiled gently.
"I could tell from your name. You truly are beautiful, Miss Rias. That red hair may be the loveliest long hair I've ever seen."
"You're exaggerating, Grandma. There are many girls much more beautiful than I am."
"You're too modest. I certainly don't agree. Look at all the men in this supermarket staring at you. They can't take their eyes off you."
"Well..."
Even faced with a question that was difficult to answer, Rias remained calm.
She covered her mouth and laughed softly, neatly avoiding the need to respond directly.
Grandma became even more wary.
After only a short conversation, she had already reached a conclusion.
Rias really did seem more impressive than Megumi.
Her appearance was flawless, and she carried herself with complete confidence and grace.
More importantly, Grandma had noticed the way she looked at Yuto.
There was obvious affection in her gaze.
Grandma's heart became restless.
'Don't lose your fighting spirit!' She shouted inwardly.
She could not afford to panic!
Rias might be exceptional, but that did not mean Megumi had no chance.
Romance was never that simple.
After encouraging herself, Grandma turned toward Yuto.
"Yuto-kun, don't forget that you're watching a movie with Megumi today. You're meeting at the station at eight-thirty, so make sure you arrive on time."
Grandma smiled warmly.
Yuto nodded.
"Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. Once I finish shopping and put everything away, I'll head over."
He smiled and tossed a tomato into his basket before placing it on the scale.
"That's good."
Grandma smiled with satisfaction.
...
After paying, Yuto and Rias left the stall.
Each of them carried two bags of groceries.
They barely managed to hang everything from the bicycle before setting off again.
After riding only a short distance, however, a question suddenly occurred to Yuto.
How had Grandma known they were meeting at the station at eight-thirty?
Had Megumi told her?
The small doubt remained in his mind for only a few seconds before fading since he needed to concentrate on the road.
Otherwise, he might get hit by a car.
...
By the time Yuto and Rias returned to the restaurant, Kanna was already awake and sitting at one of the tables eating breakfast.
Tohru sat beside her with her cheek resting against one hand, a faintly troubled look on her face.
The sound of the bicycle being wheeled inside caught both of their attention.
Yuto pushed it through the entrance while Rias followed behind carrying the grocery bags.
"Did Tohru make this?"
Yuto smiled when he saw Kanna's breakfast.
"Mm!"
Kanna nodded with complete seriousness.
The adorable little girl had already washed her face and brushed her teeth, and her hair had been carefully combed until it shone.
"This looks pretty good, Tohru. I'm pleasantly surprised. Why didn't you ever tell me you could cook?"
A faint blush appeared on Tohru's face.
"I've watched Boss cook so many times... I guess I slowly picked up a few things."
She spoke quietly, keeping her eyes lowered toward the table instead of looking at him.
The dragon girl was clearly still sulking.
"In that case, you must have a real talent for it. Maybe one day you'll even be able to replace me in the kitchen."
Yuto did not mention her mood. He simply continued speaking with the same gentle smile.
He then pushed the bicycle toward the backyard, since he still needed to put it away.
Rias placed the grocery bags on the counter and turned to Tohru.
"Miss Tohru, could I trouble you to put these away?"
"All right. Leave them to me."
Tohru stood and carried the bags into the kitchen.
She had helped Yuto organize the refrigerators before, so she already knew where everything belonged.
While she was putting away the ingredients, Yuto's voice came from the backyard.
"Tohru, come here for a moment."
She set down what she was holding and hurried outside.
"What is it, Boss?"
Tohru looked at him in confusion.
"This is for you."
Yuto took a wrapped box from one of the bags.
The front had a clear cover, allowing the red hair ribbon inside to be seen.
Tohru accepted it with a mixture of delight and uncertainty. Her gaze became slightly unfocused as her fingers traced the surface of the box.
"Boss, this is..."
"A present. You can also think of it as an apology."
Yuto smiled gently.
Surprise filled Tohru's eyes, though she still did not seem to understand what he meant.
She had always been a little slow when it came to reading his intentions.
Then Yuto continued, and her pupils visibly widened.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Grayfia. I was wrong. I shouldn't have hidden it from you."
He gave her a helpless, apologetic smile.
His gaze remained warm and calm, yet the words sent a storm of emotions through Tohru's heart.
"Boss... I-I'm fine!"
Her face turned bright red, and her reaction was far more agitated than usual.
"You've never been very good at lying, Tohru."
Yuto sighed softly.
Her body stiffened.
For a while, she said nothing. She struggled with herself, then finally lowered her head as sadness settled over her face.
"I'm not angry with you... and I don't hate you either. I was just... a little scared."
Her voice was fragile, like an autumn leaf drifting slowly from a branch.
"What were you afraid of?" Yuto asked gently.
Under his warm gaze, Tohru's eyes gradually began to redden.
"I understand why you kept it from me. You were probably worried I'd get worked up and do something reckless after hearing about it. Sometimes I really do lose my temper and act without thinking."
"I know I have that problem, so maybe you were right not to tell me."
She tightened her grip on the box.
"But being left in the dark still made me sad. You always call me silly, Boss, and maybe I really am a little stupid. I'm always making you worry."
"I was afraid that if things kept going like this... eventually you wouldn't tell me anything at all."
Tohru kept her head lowered, unable to meet his eyes.
That was what had truly frightened her.
If Yuto continued hiding things from her, perhaps the distance between them would slowly grow.
She desperately did not want that.
Speaking the words aloud eased some of the pressure inside her, but she still looked nervous and uncertain.
Yuto let out an affectionate sigh.
He had not expected the usually carefree Tohru to think about the situation so deeply.
Perhaps she had become more thoughtful.
Or perhaps she was still being a little silly in her own way.
"You really leave me with no choice."
He reached out and gently rubbed her head.
Her soft hair slipped pleasantly between his fingers.
"Mmm..."
Tohru made a quiet sound without thinking.
The familiar touch gave her a sense of comfort and safety.
"Don't worry. I won't hide things like this from you anymore, so stop overthinking it, all right?"
Yuto held her face gently between his hands and looked directly into her eyes.
"You're my most reliable employee. If you keep worrying like this, I won't be able to relax either."
Joy surged through Tohru's heart.
It completely filled the space where her fear had been, leaving no trace of the earlier sadness behind.
"R-Really...? You won't hide things from me anymore... and I'm your most reliable employee?"
She stammered, her face still bright red.
Yuto smiled.
"Mm. That's right. I won't hide something like this from you again."
His expression then became slightly more serious.
"But you have to promise me something too. From now on, you need to learn to control your emotions better. All right?"
"Mm!"
The moment he confirmed it again, Tohru seemed to regain all her energy.
She readily agreed to his condition.
Seeing her return to normal, Yuto finally released her and relaxed inwardly.
"Boss, does this look good on me?"
Tohru had already opened the box and replaced her usual white hairband with the red one.
The new color made her look even more lively and energetic.
Beautiful people really did seem to look good in anything.
The hairband was not an expensive designer accessory, but it looked remarkably charming on her.
"It's very pretty."
Yuto nodded with a smile.
His employee's moods came and went as quickly as summer rain.
Even so, she genuinely looked lovely wearing it.
"Then I'm going to wear this one from now on!"
Tohru made the decision immediately.
Yuto smiled helplessly and said nothing more.
"Help me carry these into the kitchen."
He turned toward the remaining bags hanging from the bicycle's handlebars.
This time, the dragon girl responded with all her usual enthusiasm.
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