"Cheers!"
"To celebrate Erina's new beginning!"
In a bright and spacious Japanese-style room, a group of people sat cross-legged around a table. Seeing this, Okabe was the first to raise his cup and clink it against the others'.
"Ahh! An ice-cold cola when you're thirsty feels so good!"
Alice Nakiri's furrowed brow completely relaxed the moment she swallowed the iced cola.
The cool liquid, carrying strong bubbles, washed over the tip of her tongue. The stimulating sensation, sweet with a hint of tartness, traveled all the way down, making every cell in her body relax.
"Can't deny that."
Leonora Nakiri had a look of pure enjoyment, wearing the same expression as her daughter.
The two of them, one big and one small, sitting side-by-side with identical expressions, was a rather striking sight.
"Speaking of which, why hasn't Aunt Mana come back? I haven't seen her all day. Logically, she should be here for something this important..."
Seeing the troubled look on Erina Nakiri's face, Alice Nakiri deliberately steered the conversation toward the absent Mana Nakiri.
On one hand, she was genuinely curious about it; on the other, she wanted to get Erina Nakiri's mind off Azami Nakiri.
That scumbag wasn't worth her making such an expression.
"Mana, she..."
Hearing Alice Nakiri's words, Leonora Nakiri's smile clearly stiffened. She then nudged Alice with her elbow, signaling for her to stop talking.
"What's wrong with Aunt Mana?"
Alice Nakiri tilted her head slightly in confusion. Beside her, Erina Nakiri, having picked up on the hidden meaning in Leonora Nakiri's voice, also looked over inquisitively.
"How is Mom? Has her health improved recently?"
Because her father had arranged a massive amount of work for her, the last time Erina Nakiri had seen Mana Nakiri was three months ago.
She had planned to visit her at the hospital after coming back this time, but then all this happened before she could.
"Erina, promise me you'll be strong, no matter what you're about to hear."
Seeing Erina Nakiri lift her head with an eager expression, Leonora Nakiri knew she couldn't hide it any longer. She took a deep breath, looked her in the eyes, and said this earnestly.
"After what happened with my father, I can handle anything. Tell me, Aunt Leonora."
She already had a bad feeling in her heart, but she forced a calm expression on her face. Erina Nakiri tightened her hand under her sleeve, waiting for what Leonora Nakiri would say next.
"Actually, one day about a month ago, Mana suddenly disappeared from her hospital room, leaving only a letter with just a few short words on it."
"What letter?"
Hearing Leonora Nakiri's words, Erina Nakiri's face paled slightly, and she pressed on, unwilling to accept it.
"'I'm fine. Don't look for me.'"
Leonora Nakiri recited the contents of the letter. At the time, Senzaemon Nakiri had ordered the news to be suppressed and told her to only inform Erina Nakiri if she asked.
She had originally planned to tell Erina at a suitable time after today was over, but she never expected Alice Nakiri to step on this landmine so precisely.
A mother knows her daughter's heart. She could more or less see what her daughter was thinking—trying to help Erina Nakiri distract herself and forget today's painful events.
If Mana Nakiri hadn't disappeared, this would have actually been a great way to do it.
But alas, the world isn't full of 'what ifs'.
"Mom disappeared, and she left a letter telling us not to look for her? How is that possible? Kidnapping! It must be a kidnapping! A criminal must have forced my mother to write this ridiculous letter!"
Understanding the full story, Erina Nakiri suddenly stood up and shouted emotionally.
"We thought so too at first, but after checking the hospital's security footage, we found out that Mana left on her own.
Afterward, the Nakiri family used all its connections to investigate secretly, but nothing came of it. The records show she last went to a secluded mountain forest and then vanished inside. We couldn't find her no matter how hard we looked."
Watching the agitated Erina Nakiri, Leonora Nakiri continued her account, and this news made Erina collapse to the floor.
"She left on her own..."
"Father was driven away, and now even Mom doesn't want me anymore..."
Thinking about Mana Nakiri leaving, Erina Nakiri bit her lower lip slightly. Perhaps because she had cried so much today, she couldn't shed any more tears.
"I'm sorry, Erina, I didn't mean to..."
Seeing Erina Nakiri in this state, Alice Nakiri was filled with guilt. She wanted to go and comfort her but didn't know what to say, ultimately standing beside her helplessly like a child who had done something wrong.
"It's okay. Since it already happened, I would have found out sooner or later. You just accidentally brought it up and made me find out a few days earlier, that's all."
Erina Nakiri gave a casual wave of her hand, not blaming Alice Nakiri. She knew this wasn't anyone's fault and that she had to bear and process it herself.
No one could have predicted her mother would leave without a word. If they had known, they would have definitely stopped her to ask why, instead of being left like this, completely clueless about her whereabouts, as if she had vanished into thin air...
"Hey, it's okay. My parents left not long after I was born, and I got through it just fine on my own. As long as you have friends by your side, you won't be lonely."
Seeing the girl's despair, a gentle, large hand patted her small back. Okabe frankly shared his own experience, trying to get her to empathize.
Because he had read the original work, he knew that Mana Nakiri would leave without a word around this age, so he wasn't too surprised to hear the news.
It was just that one piece of bad news followed another without any buffer in between. For Erina Nakiri, the blow was exponentially greater.
"She must have her reasons. After all, there's no mother who doesn't love her child."
"I was also shocked when I heard the news because I know she isn't that kind of person. If you don't mind, you can think of me as your mother."
"Eh?!"
Seeing Erina Nakiri with her head hung low, Leonora Nakiri's voice rang out. As she spoke, she opened her arms and hugged the small figure in front of her.
"Little Okabe, too. If you don't mind, you can think of me as your mom."
"Aunt Leonora, it's a bit stuffy!"
While hugging Erina Nakiri, Leonora Nakiri noticed Okabe beside them. Seeing him looking on eagerly, she pulled him in as well.
This immediately turned into a suffocating embrace.
Okabe's vision went dark for a moment, and he found it hard to breathe. Luckily, she wasn't holding him too tightly, and after a brief moment of suffocation, he was back to normal.
"Mom, what about me!"
Seeing Leonora Nakiri hugging Erina and Okabe on her left and right, Alice Nakiri couldn't help but pout and step forward. After all, she was the biological daughter.
"Alright, alright, Little Alice too. All three of you are my children."
Seeing Alice Nakiri walk towards her, Leonora Nakiri released her hold on Erina Nakiri and Okabe and hugged her, coaxing her softly.
After treating them all equally, she once again turned her gaze to Erina Nakiri and Okabe.
At this moment, Erina Nakiri's expression was still dejected, not having improved much despite the comfort.
Although she wasn't crying, she just sat woodenly on the tatami mat, seemingly in a daze. It was clear the successive events had hit her hard.
Okabe noticed this too. The atmosphere had fallen into an eerie silence. No one was even eating the potato chips on the table, and the cola had gone flat.
Hisako Arato watched this scene helplessly, wanting to offer comfort but not knowing where to begin. She could only sit on the tatami mat, looking at him with a look of utter despair.
Probably not even Alice Nakiri had imagined that a single casual question from her would bring the party to a grinding halt.
She had only wanted to get Erina Nakiri's mind off the matter of Uncle Azami, but her good intentions had backfired. Now she really didn't know how to salvage the situation...
They couldn't just end the party early, could they?
"Let's have a cooking duel, Erina."
Feeling the extremely awkward atmosphere, Okabe also felt uncomfortable. Seeing Erina Nakiri's listless and dejected state, he stepped forward and patted her shoulder.
"What?"
Feeling the force on her shoulder, Erina Nakiri raised her head, her expression filled with confusion and bewilderment. She clearly hadn't expected Okabe to challenge her at a time like this.
"Today's match was more of a duel between me and Azami Nakiri. You were just a proxy; that dish didn't contain your own thoughts."
"So I don't think the 'you' I defeated in that match was the real you. I want to compete with you again. Right here, in my kitchen, a cooking duel using whatever ingredients are left."
Since ordinary words couldn't comfort Erina Nakiri, it was time for action. Cooking can express a person's truest inner thoughts.
Okabe's idea was simple. If the party couldn't continue, they might as well do something else.
And for a chef, a cooking duel was clearly a great way to pass the time, and it would also leave no room to think about sorrow.
"Fine, I accept your challenge!"
Erina Nakiri responded loudly.
To be provoked so bluntly, if she remained indifferent, wouldn't that mean she was afraid of him? That was something she could not accept.
She could lose a match, but she couldn't be afraid before even fighting. That went against her principles!
______
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