Infinite Possibilities of Ice Cream 5
“Wow, I’m so excited! Why do I feel so thrilled?”
Perhaps her first school rule violation got her excited, she happily bounced around while making a playful voice.
“Let’s get away from here quickly. Getting caught here would be the worst.”
“Oh, okay.”
While teachers usually turn a blind eye to eating outside, it’s a different story if you get caught in the act.
Shoulder to shoulder, we head at a slightly brisk pace towards the shopping street with many eateries.
“By the way, do you have anything specific you want to eat?”
“Request! Junk food!”
Asking, she immediately replied.
“I haven’t eaten that kind of stuff much.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously. I’ve been to a hamburger shop with Miki-chan and others, but only a few times. When I told my parents that I wanted to eat hamburgers, they either made them at home or took me to delicious famous places. So, I haven’t had much experience with typical fast-food chain restaurants. I haven’t tried other junk foods much either.”
“Your parents really dote on you.”
It seems like her parents are really fond of her.
“But, I see. If you’ve been to a hamburger shop, what about a beef bowl restaurant?”
Beef bowl, too, is one of the representative junk foods alongside hamburgers.
“That sounds good! I’ve never been to a beef bowl restaurant.”
“Then it’s decided.”
They aim for a beef bowl restaurant in the middle of the shopping street.
The shopping street was quite bustling during lunchtime.
There were many people shopping for regular purposes, and office workers coming out from nearby office buildings to have lunch were also walking around.
It was a familiar sight for Sōma, the habitual escape goer, but for Chika, it seemed fresh.
“There are more people than I thought. Somehow, there seem to be more people than in the evening.”
“In this area, there are a lot of adults who work in offices, so many lunch places are their targets. In the evening, salarymen either go home or go for a drink, that’s the difference.”
“I see.”
Listening to Sōma’s explanation, she nods repeatedly in understanding.
After that, while walking through the crowd, she occasionally nudges Sōma’s shoulder.
“Sōma-san, Sōma-san!”
“What’s up? We need to hurry; otherwise, office workers will take the seats, and we’ll have to wait.”
“Since there are so many people, could you hold my hand? I might get lost.” she said, extending her right hand.
“H-hand…?”
Taken aback, I closed the distance between us.
“Yes, let’s hold hands. I’m not familiar with this area, so it would be troublesome if I got lost.”
“There are a lot of people, but it’s not like you’ll easily get lost.”
In the midst of so many people, he couldn’t possibly do something so embarrassing.
He hid his hand behind his back in refusal.
“You saw what those upperclassmen did earlier, right?”
“You mean those guys?”
His expression turned sour at the thought of something troublesome.
“That wasn’t for preventing getting lost. So, there’s no need to imitate them.”
“I see… That’s a pity.”
Chika looked a bit disappointed as she gazed at the hand he didn’t hold.
“Come on, let’s hurry and go.”
“Yes.”
He urged Chika and headed towards the beef bowl restaurant.
Inside the restaurant, it was about 80% full. Although it was quite crowded, there were still some empty seats.
He was relieved because he was afraid it would be completely full.
“Now, what should I do?”
Chika, visiting the beef bowl restaurant for the first time, looked around, unsure of what to do.
“You buy a meal ticket at that vending machine over there, then take a seat and give the ticket to the staff.”
“I see. Oh, speaking of which, don’t beef bowl restaurants have certain ‘incantations’ they use often? When should we use those?”
“Incantations?”
Chika said something strange while feeding a 1000 yen bill into the vending machine.
“You know, like ‘negi-daku’ or ‘tsuyu-daku’.”
“Oh, I see.”
(TN: ‘Negidaku’ and ‘Tsuyudaku’ are Japanese phrases commonly used when ordering at a beef bowl (gyudon) restaurant.
‘Negidaku’ comes from ‘Negi’ (green onions) and ‘daku’ (a lot). When you say ‘negidaku,’ it means you want a lot of green onions in your bowl.
‘Tsuyudaku’ comes from ‘tsuyu’ (soup) and ‘daku’ (a lot). So, when you say ‘tsuyudaku,’ it means you want a lot of broth in your bowl.)
It seems like she wants to try ordering with the secret or special terms that are sometimes used at beef bowl restaurants.
However, unfortunately, Sōma has never placed such a peculiar order before.
“I’m not an expert on beef bowl restaurants, so I don’t know.”
“Aww, I’m disappointed with Sōma-san.”
“Don’t have strange expectations of me. Just order normally since you’re a beginner.”
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“Okayy.”
Chika bought a ticket for a regular beef bowl and a salad, while Sōma purchased a ticket for a large beef bowl, a salad, and miso soup.
They took seats at the counter, sandwiched between adults in business attire, and handed their meal tickets to the staff.
“Somehow, the atmosphere feels a bit uneasy here.”
While observing the busy staff cooking and the office workers hastily devouring their beef bowls, Chika whispered to Sōma.
“It’s because lunch breaks are short.”
“Ahaha, I see…”
Their ordered dishes arrived in about two minutes.
“Let’s eat.”
“Yes, let’s eat.”
As they began to eat, they both generously piled red pickled ginger on top of their beef bowls.
“….”
If she were her usual self, she would have expressed her impressions and talked cheerfully.
However, perhaps influenced by the quiet and busy atmosphere around them as everyone ate their beef bowls, she silently continued to eat hers.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“Thank you for the meal.”
Though they didn’t plan it, they finished eating almost at the same time.
“Let’s head back to school.”
“Ah, yes.”