I Started Dating Someone By Taking Advantage Of Her Weakness, But I Was Actually Dating Her Mother - Chapter 31-32: The Second Date (Part 7&8)

“Tsukimizato-san, we’ve finished our business on this floor, so shall we have lunch soon?” 

“Huh? Is it that time already? Yes, let’s have lunch.”

Having left the women’s clothing department, Jin and Yoriko had returned to the front of the elevator. Before they knew it, it was nearly noon. Since restaurants near the station get very crowded on holidays, Jin thought they should finish eating before that time period. Yoriko understood his intention and agreed with his proposal.

“It seems like the top floor of this department store is a restaurant district.” 

“Oh, is that so…”

(I have the impression that restaurants in department stores are incredibly expensive. It would be bad if I keep having Kaneda-kun pay for everything, so I need to cover at least lunch. But considering my wallet situation, anything too expensive would be troublesome. A-anyway, I can’t make a decision without going to the front of the restaurants to check the prices first.)

From Jin’s words and actions, Yoriko thought he planned to have lunch at this department store. Since Jin had been paying for everything so far, she wanted to cover the cost this time, but decided to judge whether her available funds would be sufficient by checking at the restaurant fronts.

“Tsukimizato-san, shall we use the escalator to go to the restaurant district?” 

“Y-yes, that’s right. Taking the elevator makes us nervous, doesn’t it?” 

“I was thinking the same thing.”

Jin and Yoriko decided to take the escalator instead of the elevator to reach the restaurant district on the top floor. This was because taking the elevator made them nervous due to the excessive service. This was a mutual understanding between them.

“Wow, there are all kinds of restaurants here.”

“That’s right. Since it’s still early, none of the restaurants seem crowded.”

Yoriko and Jin arrived on the floor of the restaurant district. This floor had various types of restaurants lined up, including Japanese, Western, and Chinese cuisine. Since it was still before the lunch peak, none of the restaurants seemed to be busy.

“What would you like to eat, Tsukimizato-san?” 

“Let’s see… eek!”

Jin and Yoriko walked through the restaurant district thinking about which restaurant to enter. So far there were no touts or anything, and they were looking around at the restaurants in a calm state, but Yoriko was checking the food samples displayed and their prices in the brief moment she passed in front of each restaurant.

“We’ve looked around at everything, but have you decided what you want, Tsukimizato-san?” 

“Um, well, that is…”

After looking around in front of all the restaurants, Jin asked Yoriko what she wanted to eat.

(Wait a minute, the pricing here is crazy. Almost everything is four digits, and there are even some restaurants with five-digit prices!)

Yoriko was shocked by the prices she had surveyed. If she paid for both their meals with her available money, even though she had just received her salary recently, it would certainly have a major impact on the Tsukimizato family’s household budget and force them into an even more frugal lifestyle.

(Um, um, come to think of it, there was about one restaurant that didn’t display prices.)

Yoriko, whose thoughts had become confused, remembered that among the restaurants she had looked at, there was about one that didn’t display prices out front, and she turned her gaze toward that restaurant.

“You’re interested in that restaurant. Well then, shall we go in?” 

“Huh? That’s not why I was looking at it. Oh no, oh no!”

Jin noticed that Yoriko was looking at one particular restaurant and determined that she wanted to enter that one. Jin then took Yoriko’s hand and decided to enter the restaurant that didn’t display prices.

“Welcome! It’s quiet now, so please take any seat you like!”

When Jin and Yoriko entered the restaurant, a spirited chef called out to them.

“Is this seat okay, Tsukimizato-san?” 

“Y-yes!”

Yoriko followed Jin in a tense state. When Jin decided on a seat and sat down, she quietly sat in the seat next to him. This restaurant had no table seating, only counter seats, so Yoriko inevitably found herself sitting close to Jin’s side.

“Welcome. Excuse me from the side. Here are your tea and wet towels.” 

“Oh, thank you.” 

“Thank you very much.”

After confirming that Jin and Yoriko had taken their seats, a female server brought them tea and wet towels.

(This is a non-conveyor belt sushi restaurant, isn’t it? This is my first time entering a place like this.)

The restaurant Jin and Yoriko had entered was a sushi shop with a purely Japanese-style structure. There were no other customers inside and it was quiet, which made it seem even more like a high-class establishment to Yoriko, making her feel uncomfortable as someone who lived a frugal lifestyle.

“Do you have anything you can’t eat, Tsukimizato-san?” 

“Um, nothing in particular. Do you come to places like this often, Kaneda-kun?” 

“Hmm, usually it’s supermarket side dishes or convenience store bento. I don’t eat out very much. I don’t think I come to places like this often.” 

“I-I see. (I feel a little relieved hearing that.)”

Yoriko asked whether Jin frequently visited restaurants like this. Hearing from Jin that he didn’t eat out much and about his usual eating habits, she felt somewhat relieved.

“What would you like me to prepare, customers?” 

“Huh? Oh!”

(M-menu. There isn’t one! Nothing is written on the walls either, so how am I supposed to order?)

When the chef asked for their order, Yoriko looked for a menu to decide what to order, but couldn’t find one anywhere.

“Is the deluxe sushi set okay, Tsukimizato-san?” 

“Y-yes. Wait, d-deluxe?” 

“Would you have preferred something else?” 

“…That’s fine.”

Jin threw a lifeline to the troubled Yoriko. Since there was no menu, Yoriko couldn’t order and desperately agreed to Jin’s suggestion, but when she calmed down a bit, the word “deluxe” crossed her mind and she imagined it must be quite expensive.

“Chef, two deluxe sets please.” 

“Right!”

When Jin placed the order with the chef, the chef began making sushi with a serious expression.

“Here you go, two deluxe sets.”

As Jin and Yoriko watched the chef skillfully making sushi, the sushi arranged on wooden boards called “geta” was completed in no time.

“Here’s the soy sauce, Tsukimizato-san.” 

“Thank you, Kaneda-kun.”

In front of each of them was placed a geta with eight pieces of sushi topped with expensive-looking ingredients including tuna. Jin prepared a plate with soy sauce and placed it in front of Yoriko.

“Well then, shall we eat?” 

“Yes.”

(Huh? It’s fine to eat, but there are no chopsticks. In this case, I should mention that something is missing, right?)

When Jin told her to eat, Yoriko tried to eat but noticed there were no chopsticks and was about to tell the female server about this.

“Well then, let’s eat.”

(Huh? What? He’s eating with his hands? Come to think of it, I remember seeing a scene like this on TV long ago.)

Seeing Jin pick up and eat the sushi with his hands, Yoriko was shocked. She managed not to cry out, but having to use an eating method she had only seen on TV made her realize the difference in etiquette.