A youth story of a passerby at the end of the world

He suspected, however, that Chabashira Sae wasn't being careful, but rather just lazy.

For a normal person, hearing the sound of an unfamiliar car outside would already alert them to the possibility of a stranger visiting.

But when they came in, the other person was still lying on the table, not even bothering to peek out to check.

She resembled a lifeless salted fish, which was quite inconsistent with her temperament.

Are you hungry right now?

At that moment, Kiryuin's voice came from the kitchen, clearly addressed to him.

"Are you planning to make me something?" Although he wasn't very hungry, he wouldn't mind having a late-night snack.

"correct."

"Eh~" Uesugi Genshin sighed softly, resting his chin on his hands as he watched Kiryuin Kaeda, who was wearing an apron and busy in the kitchen.

Her current demeanor was completely different from her earlier belligerent state, and this contrast truly surprised him.

"I didn't expect you to be so cute."

"Oh, you're only just realizing that?"

Chapter 274: The 30-Year-Old Middle-Aged Woman

The layout of small izakayas is basically the same, with a row of seats facing the kitchen and individual small tables against the wall.

Sitting in the row of seats, Uesugi Genshin could clearly see her movements in the kitchen. Of course, that was all; because of the height difference, he had no idea what she was actually cooking.

Has anyone ever told you that you're cute before?

"No, you're the first." Spreading out her left hand and waving it up and down, Kiryuin Fuuka seemed to be saying that you could be complacent, and she herself also showed a proud look.

“Impossible.” Uesugi Genshin chuckled. “Your parents must have praised you for being cute when you were little.”

Normally, the first people to say "I love you" are your parents.

"Hmph~" she snorted coldly, "Are you looking for trouble?!"

"Sorry, sorry." Uesugi Genshin laughed heartily, taking off his coat and placing it on the seat to his right.

It's a bit chilly at the beach at night, but once you get away from the beach and into the house, it gets quite warm.

With the crackling sound of flames burning, the aroma of grease wafted out of the kitchen, reaching those sitting closest to the stove.

Suddenly, a loud knocking sound came from the door.

"Did you invite any guests?" Uesugi Genshin turned his head to look at the door, at the source of the voice.

“How could that be? There are occasional uninvited guests, but they can’t be called guests.” Continuing with her work, Kiryuin Fuuka briefly looked up and called to Chabashira Sae, “Sae-chan, go clean up.”

But Chabashira Sae made no move to get up; she waved the hand on her raised arm from side to side, indicating her refusal.

"Ha..." Kiryuin Fuka let out a sigh, deliberately letting her hear it, but she remained unmoved.

As if they had confirmed that someone was inside, the knocking outside became louder, more frequent, and more noisy.

This discordant noise appeared in what was originally a quiet environment.

"I'll go." There are three people in total, and Kiryuin Kaede can't leave, so he has to go by himself.

"That's really reliable," Kiryuin Fuka praised with a smile.

Uesugi Genshin drew his sword, held it in a reverse grip, walked to the door, stopped, and checked the sound outside to see if there was only one person.

Meanwhile, Kiryuin Kaede peeked out from the kitchen with great interest, watching his actions.

Open the door.

Push it out.

cut.

However, as he left, he closed the door behind him. Kiryuin Kaede shook her head helplessly and looked down at the dishes she had prepared.

After about ten seconds, the door reopened.

"I disposed of the body next door." After all, having a smelly corpse at the door while you're eating is a disgusting thing.

Uesugi Genshin sat back down in his seat; well, the seat was still warm.

He turned to look at the person next to him; Chabashira Sae was still lying there, looking completely indifferent.

Leaning back, you can see the weapon at her feet: an iron baseball bat.

That means she can also fight; most likely, she was the one responsible for clearing out the wandering zombies in the past.

After a while, Kiryuin Fuka placed the plate in front of the table, his portion together with that of the tea stalk Sae.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she said, using the words only a senior executive in the restaurant would say. "Salt-grilled saury."

"Fish?" Uesugi Genshin tilted his head in confusion.

"I'll get the rice in a bit." Kiryuin Fuka held up her finger, then turned to get the heated rice.

"Is fish all we have?" He remembered that the Advanced Education Institute also mainly fed fish.

He himself didn't seem to have any complaints.

With its crispy, golden-brown skin, this salt-grilled saury looks incredibly appetizing.

He just didn't expect that the other person had been eating fish at school for a month straight and still wasn't tired of it.

"Ha, because we've basically finished all the other ingredients." Kiryuin Fuka placed two bowls of rice on the table as well.

However, the two bowls were placed on his side, not on Chasashi Sakae's side, while the saury was still on top of Chasashi Sakae's.

"After all, we've been here for half a month. Apart from frozen goods, the ingredients at the izakaya are basically all delivered on the same day."

In other words, there isn't much fresh food stored here, and the meat from livestock was all eaten up a few days ago.

After saying that, she tapped on the table in front of Chabashira Sae in the kitchen and called out, "Chabashira-sensei, you should at least eat something before drinking."

Upon hearing Kiryuin's words, Chabashira Sae, who had been lying with her head down, slowly raised her head and took away her portion of saury.

She first shook the bottle, then held it in mid-air and waved it in front of Kiryuin to indicate that it was empty.

"Yes~yes~" Kiryuin Fuka sighed deeply, and took out another pot of sake from behind her. "It's already warmed up for you."

"Would you like a drink? Oh, come to think of it, I don't even know your name."

"......" Didn't he introduce himself?

He casually drew a few strokes of his name in the air, "Uesugi Genshin, and I don't drink."

There could be danger outside at any time, and he still has to go back, so how could he possibly drink?

"I see." Kiryuin Kaede nodded; she had only asked casually.

Uesugi Genshin picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of the oily fish, and ate it. It was hot and soft.

But he saw that the tea stalker next to him was picking up the fish's innards, which were very bitter.

When Japanese people eat saury, they don't remove the internal organs. Sometimes the saury meat is bitter because of these internal organs, but the locals believe that this bitterness is the "essence of saury".

As she put it in her mouth, her brows furrowed slightly.

It really is bitter! Just looking at Uesugi Genshin makes me feel bitter.

Chashiba Sae picked up her sake cup and took a small sip.

It seems she's treating liver as a snack with her drinks.

After taking a bite of rice, Uesugi Genshin looked at Kiryuin in the kitchen and asked, "What are you still busy with?"

Even though it was already prepared, he casually took down the portion that Kiryuin had made for her, which included saury and rice.

"Wait a minute, it'll be ready soon." She looked up and said, and the next second the kitchen was filled with the sizzling sound of frying.

After a while, she brought out two more dishes.

"Thick-cut fried ham," she announced the dish again.

Flour, egg wash, and breadcrumbs—coat everything with these three ingredients, and it will taste delicious no matter what you fry.

Then she took off her apron, walked out of the kitchen, and brought over two drinks as well.

"Since you don't drink alcohol, then have some oolong tea." Kiryuin Kaede placed a cup filled with an amber liquid on his table; her own was clear, probably water.

Should he drink oolong tea while she drinks water?

"..." Uesugi Genshin found it suspicious, or rather, he was very sensitive to the words "oolong tea".

After thinking for a moment, he turned to Chabashira Sae and said, "May I borrow a light?"

The other person glanced at him, then reached into their pocket, took out a lighter, placed it on the table, and flicked it across the table.

Having obtained the lighter, Uesugi Genshin lit it and circled it around the rim of the cup.

Yes, there was no fire.

It is safe.

"What are you doing?" With a look that seemed to say he was crazy, Kiryuin Fuka thought he wanted to smoke.

"I'm afraid this cup of oolong tea is flammable."

"Where would you find oolong tea that's flammable?" she laughed, as if she'd heard the biggest joke in the world.

Even Chabashira Sae couldn't help but look up at him.

"I'm gonna start now."

Even someone like Kiryuin Kaede would politely say, "Let's begin," which made Uesugi Genshin understand her a little better.

However, the thick-cut fried ham that followed, although it was a square cut into three triangles, looked very nice.

It was originally supposed to be a cuboid like luncheon meat, but it's not luncheon meat after all.

It's just a cube-shaped ham, no different in essence from a sausage.

"What's wrong? Is it not good?" Kiryuin Fuka asked casually as she watched Uesugi Genshin examine the fried ham for a while.

"It still tastes like ham."

“Because it’s ham!” Kiryuin Fuka thought he had asked a stupid question. “I think I did a great job, you see.”

She picked up a piece and placed it in front of Uesugi Genshin, "The cross-section is quite beautiful, isn't it?"

An orange exterior and a pink interior.

No! The point is to eat it! Uesugi Genshin disagreed.

The crispy edges are the most delicious, which speaks volumes. As long as you coat them with the three fried food ingredients, even fried slippers will taste good.

The ham in fried ham, as the name suggests, is actually a sausage, specifically a square-shaped sausage.

The most fundamental difference between it and luncheon meat is that luncheon meat has a meat content of over 70%, with beef and pork as its main ingredients and various spices added. The reason it can be stored for a long time is because it is sterilized at high temperatures to create a sterile environment.

Ham sausages, on the other hand, are much more casual. They are generally mostly made of starch, and their long shelf life is due to the large amount of additives they contain.

"There's no luncheon meat here." Kiryuin Kaede interrupted him with a chop to the neck, even though she was the one who cooked. "So, what would you do in this situation?"

"Let's fry it and then make it into fried rice," Uesugi Genshin said after thinking for a moment.

"Hmm, not bad." Kiryuin Kaede nodded appreciatively. "Make it for me sometime, whether it's with ham or luncheon meat."

"Hmm, maybe there will be a chance." Uesugi Genshin smiled, turning his head to the side.

During the meal, Uesugi Genshin put down his chopsticks and looked to his left. "Speaking of which, Chabashira-sensei, how did you and Kiryuin meet?"

Seeing her gulping down her drink and looking quite drunk, Uesugi Genshin wanted to say something.

Chashu Sae leaned back, making her full chest even more prominent, but that was all. She didn't say anything at all, whether she was drunk and didn't hear, or too lazy to answer.

"..."

"Hey~, Sae, someone's asking you a question," Kiryuin Fuka called out from the side.

Then Chabashira Sae turned her face this way, raised her chin, and pointed at Kiryuin Fuuka, indicating that she intended for Kiryuin to speak.

"Ha..." Kiryuin Fuka laughed helplessly, "It was just a chance encounter. I was looking for a place with relatively few zombies and some food nearby, and then I happened to run into Kosae."