Not long after going upstairs, Mochizuki came down wearing the staff uniform.
Seeing this scene, Teio pondered briefly, then turned toward Natural. “Um, Auntie?”
“What is it?”
“That outfit… do you have extras?”
The “outfit” Teio referred to was obviously the staff uniform Mochizuki was wearing now.
“Hmm, if you’re talking about the staff uniforms, there should be some more. Teio, do you want one?”
After a moment’s consideration, Tokai Natural glanced toward Mochizuki.
But hearing Natural’s words—
Teio answered loudly: “I do!”
Hearing this, Natural turned to Mochizuki. “Mochizuki, I’ll leave this to you.”
“Mm, got it.”
Having responded, Mochizuki looked over to Teio. “Come upstairs with me, Teio.”
“Okay!”
Watching Teio follow Mochizuki upstairs, McQueen tilted her head slightly, then turned her gaze toward Natural. “Natural-san?”
“Hmm?”
“I want this one.”
As she said this, McQueen pointed at a dessert on the menu.
The dessert had been added after Natural returned.
After all, she had worked at a French restaurant. It’d be strange if she didn’t know how to make desserts.
Thus, when the shop reopened, desserts naturally appeared on the menu—but no one had really ordered any.
The dessert Mejiro McQueen chose wasn’t particularly difficult.
It was just a classic soufflé.
But…
Since McQueen was the one who ordered it, Natural decided to make a small modification.
Thinking this, Natural turned toward the freezer hidden out of sight.
She took out some red bean paste and a few eggs, quickly preparing the basic ingredients.
At this moment, voices drifted down from upstairs.
“Mochizuki, stop touching me randomly!”
“Is this really your first time wearing something like this? Hold still!”
Listening to the sisters’ voices, Natural just shook her head and focused on the dessert she was about to make.
Not long after, a dessert was placed in front of McQueen.
“This is a soufflé?”
“To be precise, it’s called ‘Petite Elegant Soufflé.’ A spontaneous original—give it a try.”
With those words, Natural placed a spoon in front of McQueen.
Looking at the dessert, McQueen picked up the spoon and cut out a piece.
Only then did she notice where Natural had used the red bean paste from earlier.
Seeing the red bean paste sandwiched in the middle, the girl’s expression didn’t change much.
McQueen wasn’t the type to use many words.
At least, not yet. So after one bite, she quickly cut out another and continued eating.
Seeing McQueen’s reaction, Natural’s expression relaxed slightly.
Honestly, she’d created many original dishes over the years, but differences in tastes between countries still made Natural worry McQueen might find this dessert hard to get used to.
But seeing this, Natural finally felt at ease.
Just as McQueen finished her dessert, the other two came tumbling downstairs, pushing and shoving.
Unlike Mochizuki’s black uniform, Teio’s staff uniform was white.
Contrasting their styles side-by-side, they actually looked surprisingly nice.
Observing this scene, Natural’s expression softened further. “It looks good on you.”
“Eh? Th-thank you.”
Receiving Natural’s praise, Teio felt a bit embarrassed.
But she quickly recovered: “Um, we’ll be staying here for two days, right?”
“Actually, it’ll be three days.”
Natural paused briefly, then continued, “You’ll go to school on Monday, and Roman will pick you up afterward.”
Her words made Mochizuki fall silent for a few seconds.
Teio, however, nodded. “Ah, you’re right, it is three days.”
Saying this, Teio looked up at Natural. “Um, Auntie, please take care of me for these next three days.”
“…Mm.”
After responding, Natural added, “For the next three days, you’ll eat the same things as Mochizuki. Is that alright?”
“Okay!”
Teio didn’t object. She understood troubling others wasn’t good.
She wouldn’t nitpick over small details like that.
“As for a change of clothes, is it okay to borrow Mochizuki’s for now? Roman might’ve forgotten to bring yours.”
“No problem.”
Responding, Teio glanced around the shop. “But…there aren’t many customers, huh?”
“It’s because we haven’t been open for long,” Natural said helplessly with a shrug. “In another two weeks, things should improve.”
“We’ve been open less than a month, didn’t have any grand opening event, and we’re located in a shopping street. Customers here mostly rely on regulars, and building regulars takes time.”
Natural spoke with resignation.
Listening to this, Teio nodded half-understandingly.
Seeing Teio nod, Mochizuki stepped in with an explanation: “Simply put, people here won’t go to unfamiliar restaurants.”
“Oh!”
Mochizuki’s explanation instantly made sense to Teio.
Seeing Teio’s not-so-sharp comprehension, Natural couldn’t help but wonder briefly about her daughter’s brain…
Fortunately, before Natural could dwell too much on that, Teio asked a new question:
“Will running the shop be okay?”
Teio’s voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible hint of worry.
Hearing her, Natural shook her head. “Don’t worry about that.”
“Students from Tracen Academy often visit, so maintaining the balance isn’t a problem,” Natural reassured, placing her gaze back onto Teio. “But you really don’t need to worry about such details.”
“What Mom means is, grown-up stuff isn’t something kids need to fret over.”
As Mochizuki spoke, she pinched Teio’s cheeks, conveniently blocking her gaze towards Natural. “Now that you’re dressed, you’d better work hard.”
“I gowt iht alweady~”
Teio responded indistinctly through her pinched cheeks.
Watching the sisters’ interaction, Natural didn’t say anything more. She only hoped they’d continue to get along like this in the future.
—
This is a fan translation of 特雷森爱情保卫战 by D殇. Rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!
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