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“Welcome! Are you on a date today?”

“Ehehe, does it look that way?” The young girl asked, smiling innocently. Her smile turned the air around them honey-sweet. As it seemed better not to intrude on them, Leena simply asked what they would like to order right after and then tried to excuse herself. But, she was stopped by the young girl. “Ah, wait a sec!”

“What is it?”

“I was wondering what happened to that stuff I gave you last time.”

“Aah, the potatoes? I’ve been testing them out in a lot of ways.”

“Whoa, really?! What did you make?”

The fact that she was very interested in those dishes was clearly written on the young girl’s face.

“…Um, if you’d like, would you like to try out a dish? Since they’re not dishes we can sell yet, they’re more like something for friends to have a test try. If my mom allows it, that is.”

“Friends…?”

The girl’s eyes widened. Witnessing it, Leena grew anxious, wondering if she perhaps wasn’t being overly familiar.

“Um, of course, it is up to you, though.”

“No, no. I’d be happy if you let me try it out as your friend!”

It seemed that she didn’t take any offense, she was just surprised. Relieved, Leena told her that she’d bring it right away and then retreated into the kitchen.

“Mom, one menu A and one menu B! Also, would it be alright for me to let the girl that gave me the potatoes to try out to have a taste of that dish?”

“The girl who gave you the potatoes for you to try out?”

“Did I not tell you that I got them at the supplier’s? The one who gave them to me was the shop assistant girl.”

“You told me, but … a shop assistant girl…?”

Regina started thinking about something. Leena was a little anxious that perhaps the dish wasn’t good enough, even for a taste test. But, she was able to wrestle the permission for it from Regina, who had come back to her senses.

Leena fetched the potatoes and began cooking one of the dishes she had tried cooking with them during these past few days. The recipe that was jotted down on the note that came with the potatoes was a simple one, consisting of an already existing dish that went well with the potatoes but with the addition of frying the cut potatoes in oil. However, Leena chose a dish of steamed potatoes with butter. She placed the vegetables in the steam cooker and let them steam properly. As she was arranging them on a plate together with the butter, she felt someone staring at her. When she raised her head, she saw Effy standing there, watching while holding a tray in hand.

“Is something the matter?”

“No, no. I’ve just learned something new from watching you!”

“Aww! If you had told me, I’d have let you watch from the side so you’d see more.”

“…Would that be alright?”

“Of course! Ah, I know! Let’s test out a dish together next time.”

Although Leena had been jealous of Effy in the beginning, fundamentally, she was a caring person. These days, she had been acting just like a big sister to Effy who behaved so modestly. She let Effy have a taste as per her request and then explained to her how to make the dish. While explaining all of this to Effy, Leena finished plating the food. She put the plate that she had finished arranging the food onto the tray and headed towards where the young girl was seated.

“I apologize for the wait! This is a trial dish: steamed potatoes with butter!”

“This is…”

As the young girl looked at the steamed potatoes placed onto the table, her eyes went wide. Then, with a startled expression on her face, she locked eyes with the boy seated opposite her .

“…Um, is something the matter?”

“No, no, it’s nothing. Then, I’ll dig right in.”

The young girl generously smeared a piece of potato with butter and then took a bite. Roughly at the same time, the young boy sitting across her also began to munch on the potatoes.

“Wow, they’re super delicious!”

“Really? Then, I’ll go all out with the testing and do my best so we can start selling the dish at the diner! Right, I also have to decide on a name! I wonder what would be a good name…?”

“Buttertatoes,” the young boy, who had kept silent up until that point, muttered casually.1

“Buttertatoes, was it?”

“Ah, no, that just kinda slipped out of my mouth. Please forget it.”

“No, I like it. Buttertatoes.”

It was a fitting name, sure to be popular with the customers, too. Just when Leena was thinking of consulting with her mom –

“Where’s the person in charge of this place?”

Suddenly, a high-handed voice boomed from the entrance. Three really tough-looking men were about to enter the diner. 

“U-um, I am the daughter of the owner, do you have any business with us?”

“Daughter? If so, you should do. Then, hand this over to your parents.”

“What is that?”

Leena scanned the document handed over to her. She couldn’t read complicated characters but she was able to glean that the document had something to do with debt

“It’s this store’s debt validation. If you don’t pay the entire debt back  within ten days, we’ll have you forcibly sell the shop to us.”

“Eh? W-wait here a moment!”

Leena flew into the kitchen in a panic, explained the situation to Regina and showed her the debt validation document. When Regina finished reading it over, her eyebrows knitted together.

“…Leena, are those people still inside the diner?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Alright.”

Bringing the document with her, Regina headed towards the front of the diner. Leena was told to wait in the kitchen but filled with worry, she ran after her mother. And so, while protecting Leena, the exchange between Regina and the debt collectors began.

“I apologize for the wait. Since my husband is bedridden due to an illness, I, his wife, will speak to you. We might disturb the customers if we talk here so could we please have this conversation outside?”

“What? Are you telling us that we should scram outside?”

“No, that’s not what…”

Intimidated by the debt collection, Regina looked a little scared. However, when Leena fleetingly entered her field of vision, Regina tightly clenched her hands into fists and opposed the debt collector. 

“Alright, let’s talk here. Then, what do you mean by saying that if we won’t be able to pay the debt within ten days, you’ll sell off the shop?”

“It’s just as it’s written down here. I’m saying that if you won’t be able to fully pay back the debt within the time limit, you’ll sell the shop to us.”

“But we are properly repaying with all the interest. Are you truly the money lenders who had lent us the loan, to begin with? I’ve never seen you before.”

“Like. I. Said, it’s all written in that document we gave you earlier.”

With this one preamble, the debt collector began his explanation. According to him, Regina’s husband’s loan was bought by their employer. On top of that, he demanded repayment of the debt within ten days.

“No way…then, you’re really-?”

“It’s just as it is written on this document. If you cannot repay the debt before the settled day, we’ll have you sell the shop. Ah, we will buy the shop at a fair price so you needn’t worry about that,” the man said and handed Regina another document. When she looked at it, Regina’s complexion turned as white as a sheet.

“H-hold on a second, we cannot sell it at such a price!”

“What are you saying? This is higher than the assessed amount.”

“That’s… true…but-”

She tried to negotiate with him but the debt collector remained firm. Left utterly helpless, Regina wasn’t able to argue any more than that. As Leena watched this exchange, a feeling of hopeless anxiety began to squeeze her chest. 

Just when the two of them were filled with despair-

“You’ve mentioned various reasons for it but in truth, you simply want this diner, don’t you?”

The girl emerged like a saintess who had descended to save those in need.

Thank you for reading! As promised, a double update this week! I will try my best to do a double update next week as well, since the last part of this side story seems quite short.

Any and all support on my Ko-fi is much welcome, too!

1. じゃがバター – ‘jagabataa’, ‘jaga’ comes from ‘jagaimo’ and means potatoes, and ‘bataa’ means butter. I switched the position around since that sounds a bit better in English. I tried lol.