The Letter From A Long Time Ago (2)

We stopped at a roadside food stall selling a variety of noodle dishes. We entered what looked like a tent and sat on a stools made of white iron. Even so, this is quite soft and comfortable to sit on. And in front of us, a burly old man wearing an apron stood behind the counter tables that surrounded him. 

There is also a dining table in front of us that is set up similarly to a counter table, this place looks like a food stall that usually exists in the East Continent. That's what the old man told when we came here for the first time.

"Look who's here if it's not my two religious customers." He spoke to greet us at his stall. What we saw first when that old man spoke was His purple hair in a flashy—punk style.

"Your business looks successful, Tenchou— You will go bankrupt any time soon!" Yohan replied to the man's. 

Tenchou isn't his real name, we just called him that because he asked for it. But if interpreted, then 'Tenchou' means 'shop owner'. That was also what he told us.

This place was indeed full of the wind that constantly blowing from the outside and the silent voice of a non-existing customer.

"HA—! Look who's a tall—ker now." Tenchou replied to Yohan's satire and adding a little pun in his words.
"You were about at the level of my stomach only yesterday, and now you're almost at the level of my shoulders. The church must have nurtured you well." Apart from his bizarre appearance, he also speaks with a distinctive accent.

"Of course, Sister Nemela was very kind and dexterous in taking care of us." Yohan proudly replied so.

"So, what do you lads want to ingest in this dreary weather? OH— First, allow me to say, there is no discount for today—!"

When he speaks, his moustache always sways, and we try not to laugh about it. But, sometimes we made fun of this old man and made him yell at us so we could see his moustache fluttering violently.

"What!? No wonder your shop is desserted!"

"HAH— they just don't know what real shit tastes like." Yohan's complaint was refuted by the old fella.

"Tsk, Then give me Dandanmian and Ramen to him as usual."

"Holy—you always order the same dish every time you come here, how come your stomach isn't full of pigshit."

"The nicest cuisine you can cook is just Dandanmian!"

“BAH—! I can make you something better than this, brat.” The old man immediately tightened his apron and started cooking.

When I heard the two of them always yell everytime they spoke, it made me giggle a bit. From my perspective, they seem like a father and his son. After all, someone as good as that old man was hard to come by in this city. Despite his intimidating appearance and the way he talks, he frequently helps us when we were in Yurisia. 

"Starting to feel a little more at ease?" Yohan's question broke me short in the middle of my little mirth.

"…”

"You're just being you, huh—" He complained to me.

That's something I can't tell him. I don't want to let him down. I treated him as if he were my own little brother. I didn't want to replace his childish laughter with sadness.

"So, that's how it is— No wonder Lilac looked so sullen these days." What he said was something unexpected.

"Huh?" 

My worries turned to confusion.

"Don't put on a stupid face like that. You must have had a quarrel." 
"You— especially that loud girl are weird!"

He must have misunderstood something.

"I know you two are on quarrel. On the night of the banquet I saw Lilac coming out of your room quite annoyed."
"Y'know, I can read you like an open book because we've been together when we were still chewing thumb until now. But— I'm no fortune teller, I can't know exactly what is between you two. So tell me, what is happening between you and Lilac?"

I was getting more and more silent, not knowing how I should answer this idiot. But— somehow, I feel a little relieved.

"I know—! Lilac must have confessed, right!?"

"Huh—?!"

A tingling sensation ran down my cheeks as soon as he said that.

"W—What nonsense are you saying!"

"Your face says it all!" With a smug face he spoke confidently.
"Who do you think I am~ I can know everything, HAHAHA—!"

He had just uttered the exact opposite of what he had earlier!

"It's not like th—"

"So, are you two making out?"

I'm sure his words made my face red right now.

"What?! No Way—!"

"Hmm... That's right, that doesn't explain why Lilac came out with a sour face."
"EH—!? Don't tell me you leave her hanging?!"

He is now even making strange accusations against me. I think it would be better to be qui—

"I know you've never been in a relationship before. You cannot, however, do that!" He spoke loudly and gave my shoulder a fairly strong shake.

"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" He was forced to stop shocked by my scream. He was stunned, but I was equally as surprised since I didn't think I could scream so loudly as well.

"So, what's the reason you don't get along?"

"Ughh..." I averted my eyes from him while thinking a plausible reason.
"Well, We just had a little fight..."

"The reason is?"

"She just forced me, a little, to show up at the banquet..."

"Huh? Just because of that?"

"..." I didn't answer, I'm also not very good at lying, I just hoped that he could be deceived.

"Hmm... I understand. So this little man is now in heat—" There were already two bowls of the noodle dish we ordered on our table, while thrusting the chopsticks, Tenchou interrupted our conversation.

"It's not like that!"

"HOHOHO— What a joy life of the youth." He laughed out loud showing his bloated stomach.

Then he stop laughing  and said:
"Hurry up and eat! Talk about your love affairs later, don't speak about it in front of this lonely old man, brat!"

We laughed softly at the old man's expression.

I lifted my chopsticks and started sucking the noodles out of my ramen bowl. On it I could see chunks of scallion accompanied by chunks of browned beef, I could also see hard-boiled eggs that had been split in half with a glistening, melted yolk. My tongue is spoiled by the taste of this dish. I can feel the thick and rich gravy when the droplets enter my mouth along with the noodles I eat.

While in Yohan's bowl, I could see the gravy was so red. The yellow noodle balls were drowned by the red gravy with pieces of red chili which was very intimidating to the tongue. A few pieces of pak choy were also submerged and the top was covered by a diced pork topping.

"But, what if she suddenly confesses her feelings to you?"

I coughed when I heard that. Moments later, the cough subsided.

"Where did it come from?" I blushed once again. 

"No, just curious."

"I nearly died of choking!"

"Hehehe, sorry."
"So, how will you respond?"

"Agh— I don't know!"

"Haha, look you're straight up red, Mr Tomato. You must be really into Lilac."

"Shut up! Look at yourself, you too are totally smitten to Sister Nemela!"

"Hmm, it's true tho. But I'm not denial like you."

"Now then, what if she suddenly confesses her feelings to you?" I speak in a sarcastic tone.

"That wouldn't be possible. Because I will confess my feelings to her first. Ha ha ha ha—!"
"—After we finish this task." He continued his words after laughing confidently.

I accidentally dropped the chopsticks I was holding and made a small tapping sound on the table due to the chopsticks landing on it. I was dumbfounded by Yohan's confidence.

"I accidentally dropped the chopsticks I was holding and made a small tapping sound on the table due to the chopsticks landing on it."
"W—What if she rejects you?"

"Hmm, you're right. However, I have made up my mind. The matter of being rejected or not is a later matter.
"Even if rejected, I will still admire her, that's what is called true love, Hehehhehee—"

He said that with a smile. At a glance, what happened that night came back to the surface of my memory. Should I tell Yohan?

"..." I paused for a moment waiting for him to stop laughing.
"Hey, Yohan?"

I furrowed my brows, my eyes looking down into the almost empty bowl of ramen. When Yohan fell silent after laughing, I could feel his gaze filled with question marks.

"The tru—"

"STREYN!!!" 

Before I finished my words, I heard a familiar voice calling my name loudly. Along with that, I could also hear the sound of very loud footsteps like people running over.

"THIS IS URGENT. QUICK, FOLLOW ME NOW!!" That's Kayne. With panting breaths he forced his vocal cords to speak very loudly.

Why does he look so panicked?

Did something bad happen—!?