Picking up a skewer of chicken and green onions, Naruse took a bite and felt that it tasted good, and looked at the other food on the plate.

They ordered a lot of grilled items such as yakitori, grilled mackerel, and grilled mushrooms, as well as fried chicken nuggets and squid whiskers, and although they didn't have alcohol, they also ordered snacks such as cold slaves and edan beans, and a variety of foods were on the table.

Because there are five people, and there are special ones to eat, so you don't have to worry about running out of food.

Click!

"Haven't you finished filming yet?"

Facing the golden fried tempura in front of him, the starfish took another picture before putting down the phone.

"I took a picture of all the food just now, and now I'm taking it individually."

"Is there any difference?"

"Yes."

She picked up the tempura and took a bite of it.

"Hmm~"

Naruse also picked up the Calpis in front of him and took a sip.

After all, this is an izakaya, and there are only a few kinds of non-alcoholic beverages, such as calpis, juice, cola, and ginger ale, so the choice is not very rich.

He put the cup down, and Naoko picked it up again and took a small sip.

"Sure enough, Calpis is a little better."

"I'll order another drink."

"No, I'll just drink a little bit."

"Naoko has already drunk half a cup."

She puffed out her mouth and looked at each other.

Naruse took her ginger ale.

"Let's swap."

"Uh-huh."

Morimi glanced at the two of them, and tilted his head to the outside again.

"It seems to be lively outside."

"This is the time when the izakaya is at its busiest." Naruse said.

"I've heard that office workers in Tokyo go for a drink every day after work. ”

"It's not that much, but it's not much worse."

"Because there's too much pressure at work?"

"Probably."

"So ......"

Hikaru Takikawa raised his glass, "It's better to stay in the country." ”

Morimi smiled, just touched her glass, and didn't answer.

Several people continued to eat.

And after getting his wish, Hikaru Takikawa finally chatted with Naruse about going to the training center together tomorrow.

"Let's just ride over."

"The training center is on the other side of Ishiwa, guess." Morimi said, "It feels like it's a long way off. ”

"It's only about twenty minutes by bike, it's very fast."

"Hmm." Naruse nodded.

The first time I went there, of course, it would be more convenient to have someone who was more familiar with that side to lead the way. After that, he had to go to class again, and he had to go over on his own.

"After that, Chunhai wants to go to the teaching center to learn to drive, just come to me." Hikaru Takikawa said again.

Naruse was stunned and shook his head, "That's too troublesome, I'd better take the bus by myself." ”

"It's really troublesome to take the bus. There are no direct buses, and it takes at least an hour to transfer twice from Aoyagi. Hikaru Takikawa said.

"Anyway, I don't have anything to do, and when Chunhai is free, I must be free."

Naruse thought for a moment, "Okay, then I'm going to trouble you." ”

She smiled slightly, and took the initiative to ask for a return: "In return, Chunhai only needs to invite me to dinner once a week." ”

"Is it the gas bill for me?"

"Haha, almost. You don't have to go to any good stores, just like today. ”

Naruse nodded, "No problem." ”

"Can I bring my friends along?" Hikaru Takikawa asked again.

“……”

Naruse glanced at the two friends sitting to her left.

"Preferably a friend I don't know."

"Don't do that."

Naruse looked at Naoko, and she took another sip of Calpis.

"Then once a week."

"It's Friday night." Hikaru Takikawa continued his words and said, "After eating, everyone can go and play together." ”

Naruse looked at Naoko again, "Then my date with Naoko can only be postponed to the weekend." ”

She put down her cup, "You can also advance it a day." ”

"Okay."

"I think it's nice to have dinner with everyone once a week."

"Well—everybody's happy, so decide. Let's have a toast, everybody. ”

Hikaru Takikawa raised the glass in his hand.

"Cheers!"

Five people clink glasses.

After putting it down, she asked again:

"What were Chunhai and Naoko doing when they were dating?"

Morimi and Starfish both looked over with different expressions.

The two looked at each other, and Naoko spoke: "Eating, shopping, that's pretty much it." ”

"Aren't there any other activities, like going to karaoke or something?"

"You love singing too much, too."

Naruse shook his head.

"But Tsumae is such a small place, except for karaoke and other places, there is nothing to play if you really want to."

"When Chunhai gets his motorcycle license, he can go to a slightly farther place to play on weekends."

"We'll talk about it then."

Several people continued to eat and drink, slowly eliminating the food piled up on the table.

"I just saw that there is chazuke in this izakaya and I kind of want to eat it."

"Isn't that enough, are you sure you can finish it on the table?"

"I just want to taste it."

“…… Point it. ”

A few people came at about six o'clock, and by the time they finished eating and were ready to leave, it was almost eight o'clock, and it was completely dark outside.

Naruse settled the bill, and Morimi glanced at it from the side, "We ordered so many things, just a little money is enough?" ”

"It's a good deal." Hikaru Takikawa leaned over and said.

"Hmm. With a small amount of money to fill your stomach and you can numb yourself with alcohol, it's no wonder that office workers like to come to izakaya. ”

“……”

Naruse glanced at her, and then at Hikaru Takikawa: "Your friend is really disappointed." ”

"Haha."

Coming out of the izakaya, Hikaru Takikawa asked, "Which karaoke do you want to go to?" ”

"You and the starfish go a lot, it's up to you to decide."

The two looked at each other.

"Song of the Stars?"

"Okay."

The karaoke shop they mentioned was nearby, and it only took seven or eight minutes to walk there.

Hikaru Takikawa took Naoko to ride slowly in front, and the three of them followed behind.

The evening breeze blew, and Morimi brushed his hair and looked up at the night sky.

"It's a pretty good feeling."

"What?"

"It's like having dinner together and having fun together after school on Fridays."

Naruse looked at her, then at the starfish, "If that's all it takes, that's really good." ”

Mori frowned when he looked over, "What do you want to say?" ”

"I want to ask, what do you want to do?"

The two stared at each other in silence, both guessing what the other really thought.

“……”

Starfish looked left and right blankly, not understanding why the atmosphere between the two had suddenly dropped to freezing.

"It's going to turn ahead—" Hikaru Takikawa reminded back.

"Hmm." Naruse answered, looking away first.

Morimi stared at him, only feeling inexplicable.

The Song of the Stars is soon here.

"It's Friday, are there any empty boxes?"

"I'll ask."

Hikaru Takikawa walked to the front desk, and after a while, he turned back and made an OK gesture.

"Need something to eat?"

"I just finished eating ......"

"It's going to be a long time coming."

"Then let's have some of it."

"Come over to Harumi."

Naruse went over to take a look, and Hikaru Takikawa pushed the three girls to go to the box first.

"Chunhai, wait a minute, don't make a mistake."

"Got it."

Naruse really didn't have much appetite, so he asked for a french fries, which he couldn't order again anyway.

As for drinks, they are free to drink.

"Haven't you ordered it yet?" Morimi is here again.

"Asked for a pair of fries. Do you want anything else? ”

"No, I can't eat it."

"So be it."

The two walked towards the box, singing left and right.

"What did Naruse want to say just now?" Morimi suddenly spoke.

Naruse looked at her.

"Now was supposed to be the time for me to go on a date with Naoko."

"Hmm."

"Let Hikari convince Naoko and join in with the starfish, it's Morimi's idea."

She stopped, pushed down her glasses, and looked at him as well.

"Yes."

"What does Morimi want to do?"

"What do I want to do......"

Morimi frowned, and suddenly understood.

"You probably misunderstood something.

Let Hikari convince Naoko, it was indeed my idea.

But before that, Hikari came to me first and asked me how I could keep everyone together. ”

(End of chapter)