Chapter 63: Life can be lived anyway!

Even though it was a rare summer vacation, Ishikawa Yuka felt terrible.

Ever since the closing ceremony when Kurohara Masahira said those things to her, she had lost her motivation for everything.

Lately, even Toraiwa Takeomi scolded her every time.

Ah, but being scolded by Sensei was already the norm…

But the current severity couldn’t be compared to before.

In the past, she was corrected for executing techniques poorly during training, which was part of a teacher’s job.

But recently it was different; the reason for Sensei’s anger had escalated to issues prior to the training content.

Sensei must have noticed her distraction as well.

Being unable to immerse herself and unable to focus—these were her own problems.

She understood… of course she understood, but she was just powerless to change it…

She had thought time would dilute her emotions, but there was no improvement… she kept thinking about the same things repeatedly.

“……-san? …Yuka-san?”

“Eh? Ah… yes… I’m sorry, Naoko-sensei.”

Even when attending summer classes at the Chika Association, her mind was absent.

Lately, she had been frequently reminded by Akagi Naoko.

“Let’s take a short break.”

“Eh? I’m fine.”

They had just started not long ago; what was with this sudden break?

She was about to continue looking at the textbook when Naoko-sensei closed it without waiting for an explanation.

“Take a break.”

“……Alright.”

Being requested again, she could only nod.

During summer vacation, the Chika Association’s classes were tightly scheduled, especially since she had to participate in a family trip, causing her lessons to be compressed forward.

Her current life consisted almost entirely of commuting daily between Toraiwa Style martial arts training and summer classes.

But her mind was absent in both places, leading to this miserable state.

She had caused quite a bit of trouble for both Naoko-sensei and Toraiwa-sensei.

Although she thought she had to do something about it, she didn’t know what to do.

“Then let’s go.”

“Eh? Um?”

Naoko-sensei stood up and grabbed her hand, leading her outside.

They walked straight out of the Chika Association building.

Where exactly were they going?

“Naoko-sensei?”

“Don’t ask, just follow me.”

“……Okay.”

Yuka obediently let herself be led.

In an ordinary residential area not far from the Chika Association, a building that looked like a shop stood alone.

At first glance, the exterior looked like a regular house; only from a few items placed outside could one vaguely sense it might be a store.

There was no signboard and no menu; one could only tell the subtle differences from a regular residence by a few small decorations and arrangements.

Naoko-sensei pushed the door and walked right in.

“Welcome.”

So it really was a store…

From the outside atmosphere, she could indeed guess it might be a shop, but without knowing for sure, she wouldn’t have dared to enter.

It wouldn’t be unreasonable to call it a regular house with a decorated yard.

If it were up to her, she definitely wouldn’t have the courage to enter rashly.

Behind the counter stood a woman who looked quite young and had a beautiful appearance.

Although there were tables and chairs for customers as well as counter seats, it was currently empty.

At first glance, it looked like a cafe, but it wasn’t clear exactly what they sold.

“Yuka, is the counter okay?”

“Eh? Yes…”

Any seat was fine.

An ordinary high-class young lady might not sit at the counter, but she had sat there often in her past life and didn’t mind.

“Madam, the usual for me. And then… Yuka, you’ll probably have black tea, right? Plus two orders of the recommended sweets.”

“Um…”

Without seeing a menu or communicating with the woman called “Madam,” Naoko-sensei made the decision for her order on her own.

And Yuka hadn’t brought any money at all.

“Naoko-sensei, I didn’t bring any money…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine, this is my treat.”

From the atmosphere of the shop, it didn’t look very expensive… but there was no reason to suddenly have Naoko-sensei treat her at a cafe…

While she was confused, the Madam had already begun preparing the order efficiently.

It was too late to say “I don’t need it” now.

During the preparation, both Yuka and Naoko-sensei remained silent.

The Madam was also preparing in silence.

She was probably in her late twenties or early thirties?

She looked like a beautiful young lady, but she shouldn’t be that young anymore.

From their generation’s perspective, it wouldn’t be strange to be a mother at that age.

Yuka had an older brother at home, so her mother was a bit older, but if she were the eldest child among her classmates, having parents in their early thirties would be quite normal.

……This Madam’s technique was very practiced.

Since she was in this line of business, it was only natural, but her movements were indeed neat and skilled.

She spaced out, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Naoko-sensei as they silently watched the Madam work.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you.”

The black tea was placed in front of her.

Naoko-sensei seemed to be having coffee.

There were also cookies served on small saucers, three pieces for each person.

“I will partake.”

“……I will partake.”

Seeing Naoko-sensei say this, she followed suit and then picked up her teacup.

First, she smelled the aroma… hmm? An unfamiliar scent.

She considered herself to have tasted and remembered quite a few varieties, but she couldn’t distinguish the type from this aroma alone.

Taking a sip, it was also an unfamiliar taste.

……No, it was very similar to a taste she had known a long time ago.

Could this be…

“……Is this instant tea?”

“Yeah?”

Ah… it seemed she had accidentally blurted it out.

To actually say this in front of the Madam who brewed it and the Naoko-sensei who treated her…

But Naoko-sensei was drinking her coffee with an expression that said, “Isn’t that obvious?”

Could the cookies also be store-bought and just plated?

Thinking this, she observed them closely and found that the shapes were a bit irregular, so they probably weren’t commercially available.

She tried a piece.

“Mmm… this is homemade, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. Making sweets is a hobby of mine.”

This time, the Madam answered.

She more or less understood.

In other words, the concept of this shop was for the Madam to make sweets as a hobby and serve them in a cafe.

Therefore, the main focus wasn’t the drinks, which were just handled with simple instant products.

What the Madam wanted to do was let people taste the sweets she made by hand.

“Yuka must be thinking about something profound… but this shop was just opened by the Madam to kill time; it has no special purpose or meaning, you know.”

“……Eh?”

Wasn’t it opened to serve homemade sweets?

Then why…

“Although I occasionally serve homemade sweets, it’s not always like this. Sometimes I just put out store-bought sweets.”

Hey… Madam… can you say that in front of a customer?

The drinks are instant, and the tea snacks are sometimes store-bought—doesn’t that defeat the purpose of coming here specifically to spend money…

“Yuka, this shop might be hard for you to understand. No clear concept, no purpose, no local specialty, no selling point.”

“You must be wondering why a shop like this even exists, right?”

“Isn’t that a bit harsh?”

The Madam interjected with a wry smile at Naoko-sensei’s words.

“But you know, we do get customers here. Although it’s empty right now, sometimes when I come, it’s full and I can’t even get in.”

Isn’t that just neighborhood socializing?

A nearby resident opens a shop, and people visit out of friendship.

But a shop can’t survive on that alone.

Many such shops close down due to sluggish sales.

Acquaintances and neighbors certainly come at first, but running a business isn’t that easy.

“Yuka, you must be thinking about breaking even, creating a selling point for the shop, and how to increase sales, right?”

“Sigh……”

That was only natural.

Doing business means wanting to make money.

Isn’t it natural to think about how to increase sales and make a profit?

“But no one here thinks about those things.”

“The customers just drop by casually, and acquaintances gather to chat.”

“As for the Madam, as long as the sales can keep the shop running, making a profit is actually secondary.”

“I see……?”

Well, some people indeed treat business as a hobby.

That wasn’t incomprehensible.

If the goal wasn’t sales and profit, but wanting a gathering place for acquaintances where everyone could be happy…

Although continuously taking a loss and affecting one’s life would be problematic, if the shop could be maintained without going bankrupt and one’s livelihood was secure, such people and shops indeed existed.

“There’s no need to overthink it. ‘Just giving it a try’ is fine too.”

“The Madam here is a housewife who wanted to try opening a cafe because she had too much free time. It’s okay if she fails.”

“You don’t need to think deeply about it; ‘just trying it out’ is perfectly fine too.”

“…..”

Yuka listened seriously to Naoko-sensei’s words.

She finally understood why her teacher had brought her to this shop.

“This shop might have been fine initially, but gradually only regulars will remain, the regulars will decrease, and eventually, it might close its doors for good.”

“It would be troublesome if it led to financial hardship or debt… but people can do such amazing things even if they only have the thought of ‘just giving it a try.'”

“Talking about closing down and being amazing, that’s quite a way to put it…”

The Madam smiled wryly again.

But she didn’t seem angry.

“I don’t know what Yuka is worrying about… but you don’t need to overthink it. You know, life can go on even if you act on a whim or do as you please. Right? So don’t think too much.”

“Okay… Thank you very much.”

It seemed even Naoko-sensei was worrying and going out of her way for her.

Although she couldn’t suddenly become enlightened just because of those words… she understood the meaning.

She had been too obsessed with avoiding failure and pursuing perfection.

She was seeking meaning too much.

But isn’t that what life is?

Doing silly things even knowing they are silly, trying even knowing you might fail.

Not everything has to have a meaning, and it’s not true that one can never fail.

Because she possessed memories of her past life, she always tried to act smart to survive.

But wasn’t her past life also a series of failures and mistakes?

She had grown up amidst them.

So in this life too…

“I finally did something teacher-like, didn’t I? I haven’t done anything teacher-like for Yuka before.”

“That’s not true. Naoko-sensei has always helped me.”

An ordinary prep school teacher might only be responsible for lecturing.

But Naoko-sensei genuinely cared about her.

Nowadays, when even school teachers are full of irresponsible and even criminal individuals… her gratitude toward Naoko-sensei was beyond words.

“Wow! The Madam is actually forty…”

“Aaalright. Stop there. You can’t say any more.”

She was stopped by the Madam with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

She had just smiled wryly at all the harsh things Naoko-sensei had said, but her expression changed suddenly at the mention of her age.

It seemed age was a taboo for the Madam.

However, to be nearing forty looking like this…

“What are you thinking about?”

“Eek!”

I’m not thinking about anything! Please forgive me!

“How is it? A shop with instant drinks, sweets made by an amateur as a hobby, or just store-bought sweets isn’t bad either, is it?”

“Yes…”

Chatting with Naoko-sensei and the Madam made the time pass especially quickly.

The drinks were instant, and the food tasted ordinary, but that was fine too.

This was exactly that kind of casual, easygoing little shop.

She had become familiar with the Madam as well and was being called “Yuka” directly.

Although the Madam probably didn’t know who she was…

To a student of Ōka Academy, the surname “Ishikawa” might be special, but on an ordinary street, “Ishikawa” was nothing more than a somewhat old-fashioned surname.

“By the way, you two… given the time, can you stay much longer?”

“…..Ah”

After being reminded by the Madam, she checked the time…

She found that it was already past the time today’s class was supposed to end.

Putting her aside, Naoko-sensei should have a class with the next student.

“We-We have to go back!”

“Thank you for the meal.”

Letting Naoko-sensei pay the bill, the two hurried back to the Chika Association building.