Chapter 559: Ishikawa IV
Following her lead, they arrived at a shop adorned with hanging lanterns which gave a unique appeal to the shop.
Most of its frame was carved with wood and the sliding tatami door further accentuated its ambiance. If one looked closely, one could see some silhouette on the door.
Atop the door, a board hung high with "Midnight Ramen" written in bold letters.
Under the faint glow of the moonlight, the Ramen shop was like a beacon of light. Even the fragrance outside the shop smelled ridiculously appetizing.
"Since, when did this place exist here?" Hiro couldn't help but ask in surprise.
Although he had spent quite a lot of time here, he hadn't been in this location. Also, the ambiance of the place was rather serene. For him to miss such an amazing place, he must have been living under a rock.
"Since before you were born," Ishikawa responded playfully.
Now, it made him even more curious. If the place existed even before he was born then why hadn't he encountered it till now?
If he combined the age from his both life, he'd be well above forty. Yet still, he hadn't heard of this place till now.
"Are you going to stay here and gaze at the shop all night?" Ishikawa asked after catching him staring fixedly at the shop.
Then she pulled him inside the shop.
There was already something ethereal about the shop when looking from outside but as they entered the shop, he found it even more amazing.
Colorful lanterns hung on the ceiling like stars in the sky, and the place was decorated with a few traditional paintings and flower vases. The paintings hung on the wooden wall made it seem as if they had entered an art exhibition instead of a ramen shop.
Judging from its appearance, one would expect it to be crammed with customers.
However, when Hiro swept his glance around, he couldn't find many customers there. Most of the tables were empty and the number of people could be counted on hand.
A shop of such stature receiving only that many customers, he couldn't help but find it rather strange.
'Maybe it's an exclusive shop' He thought.
In front of Hiro, he could see a rather old-looking man with a clean-shaven face and a face covered in wrinkles. From the appearance of the old man, Hiro could tell that the person before him was the chef.
While Hiro was analyzing the shop, wandering his eyes, Ishikawa walked to the counter.
"Grandpa Yoshida, how have you been?" she said cheerfully as she leaned closer to the counter.
The old man turned to look at her with a smile, "Oh, Sumire-chan. I am alright but where you busy with your studies? It's been a quite while since you last visited the shop."
Hiro seeing the two chatting, couldn't help but feel curious. So, he walked closer to the two. Judging from their interaction, Hiro could tell that Ishikawa was familiar with the old man.
"Yeah, I have been studying for the exams. So, I couldn't visit the shop much as of late. I hope you're not angry with me," Sumire said politely.
"Young people should focus on their studies. So, I'm glad that you are a diligent student," Yoshida responded with a delightful smile on his face. "Is he your friend?" he couldn't help but ask since Hiro had been standing right beside her for a while by now.
Ishikawa rolled her eyes to look at Hiro.
Then a mischievous smirk appeared on her face briefly before it faded away, "I don't know him, Grandpa. He had been following me for a while. So, so I walked here. But he must have followed me inside as well." she whispered on Yoshida's ear.
Yoshida, upon hearing that, his expression changed as he squinched his eyes to look at Hiro. An ominous light flashed past his eyes as he grabbed the pan before him.
Hiro, however, was unaware of it.
"Don't worry, I'll help you teach this stalker a lesson," whispering such, he walked out of the counter.
Pushing the cloth that hung on the door of the counter, he walked outside the counter and appeared before Hiro. Then he stood before him and glared at him.
'Why is this old man looking at me like I have done something wrong?' Hiro pondered as he stood before him.
Although he towered over the old man, still he couldn't help but feel uneasy when standing before him.
"Hey, you. Why are you bothering her?" Yoshida asked in an intimidating tone.
Upon hearing him, Hiro couldn't help but feel surprised. What was this old man talking about? When did he ever bother her?
Hiro felt confused by his words. For a while, he couldn't bring himself to understand what that old man was talking about.
Only when he witnessed the mischievous smile on Ishikawa's face did everything become clear to him. It seems like she was playing pranks on him.
At that moment, he couldn't help but wonder why she was so different from what he knew about her. She was like an entirely different person.
Perhaps, he hadn't known everything about her.
Immediately, Hiro tried to reason with the old man, "Grandpa, you've got the wrong person. I'm not following her."
"You brat, you look so young. So, why do you resort to such methods? If you're a real man, you shouldn't make a woman uncomfortable."
It appeared that he couldn't talk sense with the old man.
Seeing Hiro in such a predicament, Ishikawa burst into laughter, "Hahaha...."
Upon hearing her laugh, even Yoshida could tell that something was wrong, "Sumire, did you
set me up?"
"Sorry, Grandpa, I was just joking. He's a friend of mine," Ishikawa clarified while still
giggling.
Yoshida got a little angry at her for playing such awful pranks. Then again, he immediately composed himself to apologize to Hiro, "I'm sorry, kid. I must have scared you."
"No, it's alright."
Hiro didn't want the old man to apologize after all, it was Ishikawa who played the pranks.
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