An hour passed, and Tokai Shizen still hadn't seen the other party's parents appear.
And... looking at the girl sitting opposite her and Mochizuki sitting beside her, Tokai Shizen just shifted her gaze slightly.
The first day's turnover ended dismally, but it seemed...
"Mochizuki, what do you want to eat?"
"Hmm..."
Tokai Shizen's question made Mochizuki think for a few seconds.
Evidently, she couldn't figure out the question because she felt everything her mom made was delicious.
Mochizuki's reaction made Tokai Shizen sigh helplessly.
She had figured out that her daughter would likely agonize over this question for a very long time.
So, Tokai Shizen turned her head to look at the other party,
"What do you want to eat? It's free."
Tokai Shizen's words made the other party look up.
She looked at Tokai Shizen, "C-can I?"
"Yes, of course you can~"
Saying this, Tokai Shizen continued,
"Did you get separated from your mom and dad?"
"No... it's just, Dad told me to wait in the chair for a while, and then Dad never came back."
Her voice carried a hint of a hint of a sob; she didn't know why her dad hadn't returned after he left.
The Uma Musume's words made Tokai Shizen pause for a second.
Then, Tokai Shizen immediately reacted,
"I see, then just stay here with me for now. How about waiting for your dad to come later?"
Saying this, Tokai Shizen merely glanced at Mochizuki, who was still struggling with the question.
Tokai Shizen simply shook her head helplessly, then turned around and began to think about dinner.
Although Mochizuki's suggestions still needed to be considered, it was clear that what was needed now was to cook for another Uma Musume.
So, Tokai Shizen quickly made a decision.
After completely processing the remaining ingredients for the day, she began to prepare dinner.
Soon after, a meal entirely different from normal French cuisine was placed in front of the other party,
"Try it~"
Saying this, Tokai Shizen grabbed her daughter's head,
"If you don't decide soon, I'll just prepare whatever for you, how about that?"
"Hmm..."
Evidently, Mochizuki wasn't very satisfied with her mom's decision, but she also didn't know what to choose from her mom's pile of dinner options.
So, she finally turned her head to look at the Uma Musume sitting beside her,
"The same thing!"
"The same, I know, alright, alright, I'll make it for you right away."
Her hand released Mochizuki's head, and Tokai Shizen once again walked towards the kitchen.
What she prepared for that Uma Musume was just simple fried rice, but it was slightly adjusted according to the Uma Musume's taste.
As for Mochizuki... she preferred spicier foods, so in this situation, Tokai Shizen had to make a different flavor.
"Here's yours."
Tokai Shizen, placing a plate of fried rice in front of her daughter, actually had her attention on that Uma Musume.
There wasn't much fried rice left on the plate.
Seeing this, Tokai Shizen merely looked at the shop entrance.
No one was there...
Noticing this, Tokai Shizen simply turned her gaze back.
For most families, raising an Uma Musume was an almost impossible task.
This was a fact.
Because the resources required for an Uma Musume were simply too much.
So, sometimes, it would also happen...
The shop door was pushed open, interrupting Tokai Shizen's thoughts.
"Hello, welcome."
He ignored Tokai Shizen's greeting.
The heavily panting man's gaze swept over Tokai Shizen and finally rested on that Uma Musume,
"You're here, Mochizoku."
"Dad!?"
Turning her head to look at the man standing at the shop entrance, the child's voice was filled with surprise.
Watching this scene, the expression on Tokai Shizen's face also relaxed a little.
Because the outcome was not as she had anticipated.
The man, who quickly walked to his daughter, soon noticed the empty plate in front of her.
"Did Mochizoku eat here?"
"She had a meal here, but there's no need to pay; this meal is free."
Tokai Shizen, making this reply, merely looked at the other party,
"Next time, don't leave such a young child alone on the street; it's very dangerous."
"I had promised to spend time with her today, but something unexpected came up at the company. I thought I could resolve it quickly, so I asked Mochizoku to wait for me here. I didn't expect it to become more and more troublesome, so..."
The man's explanation was full of apologies,
"Anyway, I'm very sorry."
"Oh, it's alright, it's alright. Explaining this to me isn't quite right; you should explain it to someone else."
After making this reply, Tokai Shizen simply turned around and returned to the kitchen.
With Mochizoku now gone, the small restaurant had no customers.
As she tidied things up, she spoke the next words,
"If this happens again next time, something might go wrong."
"Thank you."
Saying this, the man was silent for a few seconds, then looked at Mochizoku,
"Mochizoku, we should go home."
"Mm!"
Saying this, Mochizoku jumped off the chair and took her dad's hand.
Tokai Shizen, tidying up the kitchen, paused for a moment when she saw this scene.
Then, she turned her head, looking for Mochizuki.
At this moment, Mochizuki had already jumped off the chair, quickly walked to Mochizoku's side, and was saying something to her.
This scene entered Shizen's eyes, and her hands, which had been tidying the tableware, gradually stopped.
Soon after, Mochizuki climbed back onto the chair and sat down, continuing to eat her fried rice.
"What did you tell Mochizoku?"
"A secret."
Her volume was loud, but her tone was calm.
"A secret, huh? Then Mama won't ask~"
Saying this, Tokai Shizen hung the cleaned tableware back on the hook,
"We'll go home after you finish eating."
"Mm!"
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Stepping off the plane, Speed Symbol didn't tell anyone about her return to Japan this time.
She didn't need anyone to welcome her.
Because for Speed Symbol, there was only one thing she needed to do upon returning to Japan.
Having completed that one task, Speed Symbol naturally had no intention of lingering.
Only after leaving the airport did she take out her phone.
Although the date had already automatically adjusted according to GPS,
a small pop-up message still caught Speed Symbol's attention.
"Please be careful."
This was a message from Tokai Shizen.
Looking at the message, Speed Symbol simply replied and put her phone back in her pocket.
-------------------------------
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