"Ah... wasn't it because I prepared a gift for Sakura before...? I didn't have enough money, so I promised Hephaestus I'd help whenever she needed it. Ah... please don't ever make me do this kind of blacksmith work again!"
Tears start to fill Hestia's eyes.
Just thinking about today's miserable experience made her feel awful!
It was one thing to hammer metal, but Hephaestus had laughed at her the whole time while she was doing it!
That was just too cruel!
But if Hestia had to say all that to Hephaestus's face, she would never dare.
After all, she had accepted a lot of help from her before, back when she had nowhere to go, she had survived thanks to Hephaestus's support.
Hearing the explanation, Sakura's face filled with surprise and guilt.
She reached out and held Hestia's hand. "Goddess Hestia, I'm sorry. This is my fault..."
"Eh? No, no, Sakura, don't think like that. I already owed Hephaestus a lot anyway. It doesn't really have much to do with you," Hestia got flustered, becoming clumsy and panicked.
Seeing the scene, Yuto couldn't help smiling.
At another table, Lucoa had just finished yet another cup of mead, and it was finally time for her to leave too.
She swayed as she stood up, though not because she was drunk.
After saying goodbye to Yuto, she dragged Fafnir away by force—because even after she called his name several times, Fafnir was still completely absorbed in his game.
He hadn't even noticed her!
That made Lucoa a little annoyed, so she simply picked him up with one hand.
Fafnir was angry about being interrupted in the middle of his game, but he didn't say much, after all, he couldn't beat her.
Before leaving, he reminded Yuto once again.
"VR. Don't forget."
After saying just those words, he was dragged out by the back of his collar by Lucoa.
Ainz and Rimuru even waved goodbye to him.
For men, one fast way to become friends was to play games together!
Even though they had only played with Fafnir for a short time, Ainz and Rimuru had already started treating him as bestfriend!
"Tohru, bring the mead inside." The barrel Mia and the others had brought was still sitting outside the counter.
Tohru easily picked it up and carried it behind the bar.
Yuto decided to put it against the wall inside the bar for now.
The barrel had a tap, making it easy to pour drinks, and Tohru had pressed the lid Mia had opened earlier back in.
Since it had been a gift, Yuto didn't plan to charge anyone for it, but starting with the next barrel, he would.
Clatter—
A little while later, the restaurant door opened again.
The moment Rimuru saw who had come in, he got excited at once.
It was Miku!
"Miku-chan! Miku-chan! Miku-chan!" Rimuru instantly turned into a fanboy!
Ainz acted calm, but the red lights flickering in his eyes showed how shaken he really was.
By now, he had become very good at pretending.
Miku was wearing a different outfit today: a pure white top and a black short skirt.
Her black thigh-high socks and high-heeled boots had not changed.
No matter what she wore, clothes were not the most important thing about her charm.
Faced with Rimuru's excited, almost fanatical reaction, Miku didn't look uncomfortable at all.
After all, she was already a star and was probably used to fans like him.
Miku smiled and nodded at him, instantly making the slime go weak like ice cream melting in hot weather.
Yuto was honestly starting to wonder if Rimuru was about to drip onto the floor.
He could only feel helpless.
No matter what, Rimuru was still the leader of a whole region, so why was he still so bad at keeping calm? At least he could pretend a little, like Ainz!
Yuto glanced at Ainz.
Even the old skeleton's hand was shaking a little as he held his game console.
It was obvious he wasn't calm either, but at least his act was pretty solid.
After nodding to Rimuru, Miku looked at Yuto with a lovely smile on her cute little face.
If Yuto hadn't already gotten used to seeing all kinds of beautiful girls every day, he really might have been stunned by her right then.
Miku was different from the others, maybe because she was a star, she always seemed to shine with a light of her own, making her naturally eye-catching.
"Boss~, I'm back again~" Miku's voice was playful and cute.
Her bright eyes, like blue crystals, blinked lightly.
Any normal person would feel better just from looking at such a cute girl.
As for Rimuru, he was basically about to melt into a puddle of slime.
Yuto was handling it better.
"Welcome back, Miku," he said gently with a faint smile.
At this point, the only people in the restaurant who did not know Miku were Hestia, Sakura, Saitama, and Genos.
The night Miku had first come was the same night Hestia had barged in with Sakura.
That night, Miku had shown up not long after Hestia left, and Saitama had also gone home early, completely missing her.
"Boss, who is she?" Hestia asked, puzzled, looking from Miku to Yuto.
"Hello, my name is Hatsune Miku. Nice to meet you."
Before Yuto could introduce her, Miku stepped up to Hestia, gave a polite little bow, and introduced herself.
Hestia stiffly nodded.
Yuto couldn't help laughing a little.
"Miku is an idol. She's an amazing singer you know," he smiled.
The moment he said that, Rimuru reacted right away.
"That's right, that's right! Miku-chan's singing is the best I've ever heard! Miku-chan is the greatest! Miku-chan is the best!"
Even though this was only his second time seeing her, Rimuru had already evolved from being an ordinary slime to one of her crazy fan.
Maybe because he was no longer human, his emotions were even more direct and intense now.
"Yes, she is," Ainz spoke like some guy trying to look cool in front of a girl.
He lowered his voice and said it in a calm tone, which made Yuto judge him hard on the inside.
'Wow, Ainz. You look like a clean white skeleton, but deep down you're totally that kind of guy, huh?'
"Oh? A big star? That's impressive," Saitama said blankly, sounding a little surprised.
"So, are you strong?" Genos asked Miku calmly.
His question instantly made her freeze.
"Huh? Strong? Um... well... I'm just a normal person," Miku awkwardly shook her head, her twin tails swaying as she moved.
"Hey! Don't ask weird questions like that for no reason!" Rimuru said angrily to Genos.
Ainz also felt a little unhappy inside.
"If she's just a normal person, then never mind. To me, only someone as strong as my sensei deserves to be called an idol!" Genos's words made Saitama awkwardly scratch his head.
He really had no idea what to do with this guy sometimes!
Miku forced a stiff smile.
Luckily, having already dealt with plenty of weird situations before, she quickly calmed down.
"Miku-san is amazing." Sakura stood nearby, looking at Miku with sparkling eyes.
Seeing the cute little girl, Miku smiled softly. "I'm really not as amazing as everyone says. I just really like singing."
Even though she looked young, her personality was unexpectedly mature, maybe that had something to do with being a star.
"So, what would you like to eat tonight?" Yuto asked with a warm smile.
Miku turned her attention back to him.
Lightly touching her chin with one finger, she made a cute thinking pose.
"Vegetable salad," she said after a moment, her face and voice clearly sounding a little sad and helpless.
It was already past midnight.
To stay healthy and keep her figure, Miku could only eat something like vegetable salad.
More importantly, she still had to prepare for her upcoming concert and couldn't just eat whatever she wanted.
Tonight, she had actually sneaked out!
Seeing the cute girl's slightly disappointed face, Yuto smiled a little.
He softly answered her, then went into the kitchen to prepare the salad.
Honestly, he felt like it would have been nice if she had come the next day instead, so he could have served her canelés.
"Thank you, Boss!" Miku said with gratitude, pressing her hands together in front of Yuto.
The vegetable salad he had just made for her was sitting on the table.
She hadn't even started eating yet, but she thanked him first anyway.
That was just part of her good manners!
"It's nothing. Go ahead and eat."
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