A gentle breeze blows into the store from outside the izakaya, giving it a slightly damp feel.

The owner of Kushima can't remember when he started.

Sit in this place like this and wait for the arrival of the guests.

It was probably a habit that suddenly appeared one day after Yuriko left.

But it's not quite accurate.

In the past, the izakaya was also run by himself and his wife, and the business became particularly hot.

It is also the place where the wife spends the most.

You can also see this location through the small window in the back kitchen of the izakaya.

Looking up after being busy, I looked at the figure of my wife walking around in the shadow of the sun.

Smiled at each other casually.

It is the tacit happiness of the two.

The owner of Kushima looked down at Udon, who was eating seriously at his feet, and bent down to gently rub his fingers against its head twice.

Udon licked his tongue and looked at him with round amber eyes on his little head.

Meow.

Gently rubbed his wide, rough palm.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't run our izakaya properly......," said the owner of Kushima softly.

"I'm such a useless person, I can't do anything without you."

"Even so, you choose to stay with me......"

I can't tell if it's for Udon or if it's Yuriko from another world......

The owner of Kushima withdrew his hand and stared at the front hall of the izakaya with his eyes intent.

Obviously, there was not a single customer in the store, and the early morning light did not climb all the tables.

But in his mind's eye, the room was filled with guests waiting to eat.

A young girl wears an apron and a bowl with the "Kushima Izakaya" logo printed on it, and shuttles around each table with a notebook.

Sweat soaked the hair on her forehead, her fair cheeks were slightly red, and she smiled tiredly and happily.

From time to time, he would shout a few times in the direction of the back kitchen.

The voice is not so loud, and it even sounds soft, but bright and loving.

It's like asking him for credit, so many diners who are in a hurry to eat can be left.

The boss of Kushima is distracted.

There are people who are dead, but they are still alive.

Some people are actually alive, but they seem to be living in the memories of the past.

"Is this the store?"

"I guess so. It seems to say so in the forum. ”

"The dark blue izakaya icon fits the contents of the book."

"Would you like to go in and have a look?"

“…………”

Suddenly, a sound from outside the house broke the momentary silence.

The boss of Kushima came back to his senses and turned his head to look at the young men who were making noises outside the izakaya.

A few people gathered around and said something quickly, and from time to time they all looked in the direction of the izakaya.

It doesn't look like a student, it looks like a few very young office workers.

I watched a few people standing outside the izakaya.

The boss of Kushima thought about it and stood up, walked to the door of the izakaya and shouted at the people.

"Guest, would you like to come in and get something to eat?"

The sudden voice and the rough-looking man startled the few people in front of the izakaya.

"Oh no, we ......"

"Hey, wait."

"What should I do......

"yes, can I order now?"

The men looked flustered, and each one said something different.

However, after a brief period of turmoil, the opinions of several people were quickly unified.

"Yes. We can also serve breakfast, but you can also order other main dishes. The owner of Kushima replied.

"Then, let's eat."

Then, a few people walked in from outside, seemingly with some restraint.

When he passed in front of the boss of Kushima, he bent down slightly.

A few strange and polite guests? The boss of Kushima thought to himself.

I didn't pay much attention to it, after all, there are so many strange people on the streets of Tokyo.

No matter what kind of people you meet, there's nothing strange about it.

The only thing that makes him curious.

That is, several people have a book in their hands, and it looks like the same book.

When a few people enter the izakaya and see the tanuki cat at the feet of the owner of Kushima.

They all stopped involuntarily, and their expressions moved back and forth between the boss of Kushima and the tanuki cat.

Seeing this, the boss of Jiudao subconsciously implied that several people were not afraid of cats.

"Are guests afraid of cats? I'll take it back anyway. The boss of Kushima said, bending down and taking Udon into his arms.

"No!"

"Don't be afraid."

“……”

Seeing this, several people hurriedly waved their hands and shouted.

The boss of Kushima looked at several people suspiciously.

"Udon?" One of them tentatively asked, "Is this cat's name Udon?" ”

"Huh?" The boss of Kushima looked at several people in surprise.

I don't have any impression of a few people in my memory, so I shouldn't be an old customer of an izakaya.

I didn't seem to be shouting Udon in front of them just now.

Although a little confused, he nodded.

"That's right, it's called Udon. How do guests know? ”

"Huh?! Is it really udon? ”

"That's it, right. Izakaya, tanuki, udon ......"

"It's so cute, exactly like what I said."

“……”

For some reason, the few people in front of them became excited again.

The look of excitement and excitement on his face was almost overflowing.

"Are you the owner of an izakaya?"

"Hmm."

"Great, finally found." One said excitedly.

"Found it?" The slightly rugged face of the boss of Kushima showed a look of confusion, obviously not understanding what they were talking about.

"Yes, I found it."

"Are a few of the guests really here for dinner?" The boss of Jiudao suddenly changed his tone.

"Sorry, sorry, we were so excited. To eat. ”

A few people sat down by the door, but their eyes still fell on the boss of Jiudao.

The owner of Kushima walked to the table with a notebook and a menu, and put the menu on the table.

"What do you want to eat?"

"Udon."

"Udon."

"I want udon too."

“……”

It's all udon.

The owner of Kushima wrote down the udon noodles in the notebook and marked a number directly, "Is there anything else the guest needs?" ”

Hearing this, several people looked at each other.

"Can you sign it for us?" As if pushed out by everyone in eye contact, one person pleaded with a book in both hands.

"Signature?!"

The boss of Kushima was completely stunned, he was sure now.

The few people in front of me are definitely not just diners who have come to eat.

He looked at the book in the man's hand, and the word "light object" was printed on the cover.

I always feel like I've heard this book somewhere......

"Hi. If you can, the trouble is signed in this place. ”

The man quickly opened the journal "Light Things" to the page of "Him and His Cat".

The boss of Kushima took the journal handed by the man and swept his gaze over the contents.

suddenly remembered why I thought the name "Light Things" was familiar.

I told him when the girl named Kimura Konoki came to the izakaya before.

Write your own story.

Tataro Tachibana.

That's right, that's the pen name.

I didn't expect it to be published in a literary journal.

It's pretty impressive.

The boss of Kushima laughed, both happy and happy that his story was liked by the girl.

"So that's it."

"Hi. We're all fans of this and really, really love it. I heard that there was a real person as the prototype, so I couldn't help but want to see it with my own eyes...... I didn't expect it to really exist, and I'm really, quite excited now. ”

The man spoke quickly, waving his hands excitedly in front of him.

The rest of the people also looked at the boss of Jiudao with burning eyes and nodded in agreement.

"You and Yuriko's love is so beautiful that we can't imagine it...... I really look forward to this kind of love...... Are you the orange cat teacher? ”

It's a strange feeling.

The boss of Jiudao looked at the young man in front of him who was so excited that he was almost about to cry, and he was in a trance.

There would be someone who was so moved by the love between himself and his wife.

"I'm not." The boss of Kushima returned the journal and shook his head, "Tachibana Cataro has someone else. ”

"I see." A few people seemed to regret it slightly, but soon looked at him with fiery eyes.

"Can you tell us a story about you and your wife? I don't know if it's going to be offensive. One asked cautiously.

"Where?" The boss of Jiudao pondered for a moment.

"Speaking of Miss Yuriko and you falling in love when you were in college, oh oh, and Yuriko's family is very opposed to it."

The boss of Jiudao nodded, and in the expectant eyes of several people, he smiled heartily.

"I'll make udon noodles for the guests first, and then I'll talk about it when it's done."

"Then please."

“…………”

It's hard to tell how you feel when you're cooking in the back kitchen.

Hot water vapor rises from the pot, blurring the vision.

He turned his head to look through the small window of the back kitchen at the people chatting in front of him.

Udon crouched on the ground not far away, dozing and staring boredly at the table of guests, as if he were watching them.

It was a group of people who knew their story with Yuriko.

This is probably the most active thought in the heart of the boss of Jiudao at the moment.

Is it the love that is longed for, the corners of the mouth of the boss of Jiudao unconsciously rose a curvature.

Maybe he didn't even realize it.

Until, a few steaming bowls of udon are served.

The boss of Kushima also sat at the table and chatted with a few people.

"Thank you for supporting that kid's work." The owner of Kushima thanked.

"Mr. Orange Cat has written a great book, this book already has quite a few fans, and we are only a small part."

"As for the rest of the story, maybe I won't talk about it until it's updated. Hope guests can understand. ”

Several people looked at the boss of Jiudao, and said in the next second.

"I know, after all, it's like a spoiler to ask the story directly."

"Yes, whatever you say, we're all willing to listen."

“……”

This kind of atmosphere made the boss of Kushima a little overwhelmed, but several people seemed to be more cramped than him.

After a few words, the topic between several people was gradually opened.

Even the boss of Kushima deliberately took out a glass of wine and poured it to the full, talking about some things in the past.

That's what it looks like.

Like an extremely old person, he always likes to pull people to talk about his unknown past.

As if to prove that there was once someone who existed in that way.

Hot steam rises from the udon bowl and floats on the faces of several people.

Their eyes widened and they listened attentively to the man in front of them.

Everything was as in the text, as if it came to life in the loud voice of the boss of the nine islands.

A meal down.

An izakaya owner and a woman named Yuriko remain in their hearts in an extraordinarily deep way.

When it was time to leave, several people left a copy of the latest issue of "Light Things" for the boss of Jiudao.

Although the boss of Kushima said that he wanted to give them the money for the book, several people refused.

After several people left, the sun outside the store was about to climb overhead.

The owner of Kushima returned to the store, looked at the latest issue of the "Light Things" weekly on the table, and reached out to hold it in his hand.

He flipped through the periodicals, looked for the pages in the catalog, and turned to the pages of "He and His Cats."

Just as he was about to take a closer look.

The sound of the door opening at the entrance of the izakaya was heard.

"Boss, let's have an eel rice."

There are new customers coming, but ordinary diners who come to eat at the restaurant.

Just when the owner of Kushima was about to go into the back kitchen to cook.

The door was pushed open again, and this time a crowd entered.

"Welcome to the Kushima Izakaya, guests want to eat something...... he didn't finish speaking, and he saw the familiar books in the hands of the men.

"May I ask if that tanuki cat's name is Udon?"

“…………”

Goo-goo-goo.

The water in the pot was boiling, and the boss of Kushima was busy walking around in the back kitchen.

The front hall of the izakaya was filled with more guests than every day of the day.

There are customers who eat on weekdays, and there are also customers who come to eat because they are admired.

It's like a reading exchange in an izakaya.

The guests who came because of Tataro Tachibana excitedly discussed the contents.

This made the other guests suddenly have a strange idea that they should also bring a book to dinner.

Why don't you come for a day......

The atmosphere of the shop is so elegant.

And Udon seems to be not afraid at all, and shuttles back and forth between the dining tables with his tail cocked.

At each table, I would sit down for a while, meowing and meowing twice.

That's going to turn everyone over like that.

Back kitchen.

While wiping his sweat, the owner of Kushima looked at the front of the izakaya.

It's busy.

But.

It's been a long time since I've been so lively.

The last time an izakaya did this was in ......

The boss of Kushima withdrew his gaze and looked at the journal on the countertop in the distance.

When I just came in, I was brought by myself.

The journal is opened and placed there, and the open place is the page on which it is published.

It's just that Fang Cai has been busy coming and going, and he doesn't even bother to take a look.

I guess it's no different from the journal where a few people asked him to sign it before.

But they signed themselves to the first issue of the weekly magazine, which was the latest.

The boss of Kushima put the noodles into the pot, and then glanced at "Light Things" on the side while washing the vegetables.

Just this glance made him suffocate.

His gaze was fixed, and the water vapor in the pot hit the corner of his eye.

[I've never won anything, but ......]

"I won the heart of a lovely lady. (End of chapter)