A gentle breeze blew into the restaurant from outside the izakaya, bringing with it a slightly damp feeling.

The boss of Jiudao no longer remembers when he started.

Just sit here and wait for your guests to arrive.

It was probably a habit that suddenly appeared one day after Yuriko left.

But I’m not sure.

The former izakaya was also run by himself and his wife, and the business became extremely prosperous.

This is also where my wife spends the most time.

This location can also be seen through the small window in the back kitchen of the izakaya.

While he was busy, he looked up and looked at his wife's figure walking around reflected in the shadow of the sun.

They looked at each other casually and smiled.

It was the tacit happiness between the two of them.

The boss of Jiudao looked down at Udon, who was eating seriously at his feet, and bent down to gently rub its head twice with his fingers.

Udon licked his mouth with his tongue and raised his little head to look at him with amber-like round eyes.

Meow.

Gently rubbed his broad, rough palm.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't run our izakaya well..." the owner of Jiudao said softly.

"I'm such a useless person. I can't do anything without you."

"Even so, you still choose to be with me..."

I can't tell whether I'm telling it to Udon or Yuriko from another world...

The boss of Jiudao took back his hand and stared at the front hall of the izakaya with his eyes.

There was obviously no customer in the store, and the early morning light did not creep onto all the tables.

But in his mind, the room was full of guests waiting to eat.

A girl wearing an apron and a bowl belt with the "Kyushima Izakaya" logo on it was walking around each table holding a book.

A trace of sweat soaked into the hair on her forehead, and her fair cheeks were slightly red, filled with a tired and happy smile.

From time to time, he would shout at the top of his lungs in the direction of the kitchen.

The voice wasn't that loud, it even sounded soft, but it was clear and loving.

It was as if he was taking credit for being able to keep so many anxious diners behind.

The boss of Jiudao was in a trance.

Some people are dead but still alive.

Some people live in real life, but they seem to be living in memories of the past.

"Is this the store?"

"It seems so. It seems to be said in the forum."

"The izakaya icon printed in dark blue matches the content in the book."

"Want to go in and have a look?"

"........."

Suddenly, a sound came from outside the house, breaking the brief silence.

The boss of Jiudao came back to his senses and turned to look at the young people making noises outside the izakaya.

Several people gathered around, talking quickly, and looking in the direction of the izakaya from time to time.

They don't look like students, they look like a few young office workers.

Look at several people standing outside the izakaya.

The boss of Jiudao thought for a while and stood up, walked to the door of the izakaya and shouted to the people.

"Guest, do you want to come in for something to eat?"

The sudden voice and the rough-looking man startled the people in front of the izakaya.

"Ah no, we..."

"Hey, wait."

"What to do..."

"Yes, can we order now?"

Those people looked very flustered, and everyone said something different.

However, after a brief period of confusion, several people quickly unified their opinions.

"Yes. Our store can also provide breakfast, and of course we can also order other staple foods." Jiudao boss replied.

"Then, let's eat."

Then, a few people walked in from the outside seemingly a little cautiously.

When he passed by the boss of Jiudao, he still bent down slightly.

A few strange and polite guests? Boss Jiudao thought for a while.

I didn't take it too seriously, after all, there were so many strange people on the streets of Tokyo.

No matter what kind of people you meet, there is nothing surprising.

The only thing that made him curious.

That is, several people are holding a book in their hands, which looks like the same book.

When several people entered the izakaya, they saw the tabby cat at the feet of the boss of Nine Islands.

They all stopped involuntarily and moved their eyes back and forth between the boss of Jiudao and the civet cat with expressions of excitement.

Seeing this, the boss of Jiudao subconsciously asked whether the few people were afraid of cats.

"Are the guests afraid of cats? I'd better take it back." Boss Jiudao said, bending down to hold Udon in his arms.

"Need not!"

"Not afraid."

"..."

Several people saw this and waved their hands and shouted.

The boss of Jiudao looked at several people in confusion.

"Udon?" One person asked tentatively, "Is this cat's name Udon?"

"Huh?" Boss Jiudao looked at several people in surprise.

There is no impression of these people in my memory. They should not be regular patrons of the izakaya.

It seems that he didn't call Udon in front of them just now.

Although he was a little confused, he nodded.

"Yes, it's called Udon. How do guests know?"

"Eh?! Is it really Udon?"

"This is the right place, right? Izakaya, civet cat, udon..."

"It's so cute, just like in the novel."

"..."

For some reason, the people in front of them became excited again.

The excitement on his face was almost beyond words.

"Are you the owner of the izakaya?"

"Ah."

"Great, I finally found it." One person said excitedly.

"Found it?" The boss of Jiudao had a look of confusion on his slightly rough face, obviously not understanding what they were talking about.

"Yes, found it."

"Are these guests really here to eat?" Boss Jiudao suddenly changed his tone.

"Sorry, sorry, we were too excited. We need something to eat."

Several people sat down near the door, but their eyes still fell on the boss of Jiudao.

Boss Jiudao walked to the table with the book and menu and put the menu on the table.

"What would the guest like to eat?"

"Udon noodle."

"Udon noodle."

"I want some udon, too."

"..."

It's all udon.

The boss of Kushima wrote a number directly after the udon noodles in the notebook, "Does the guest need anything else?"

Hearing this, several people looked at each other.

"Can you sign your name for us?" One person begged, holding a book in both hands, as if being pushed out by everyone in the eye contact.

"sign?!"

Boss Jiudao was completely confused, he was sure now.

The people in front of me are definitely not diners who are just here to eat.

He looked at the book in the man's hand. The word "Light Object" was printed on the cover of the book.

I always feel like I have heard of this book somewhere...       "Hi. If you can, please sign at this place."

The man quickly opened the journal "Light Things" to the page "He and His Cat."

The boss of Jiudao took the journal from the man and scanned the contents.

Suddenly I remembered why I thought the name "Light Things" looked familiar.

The girl named Kimura Shinki told him before when she came to the izakaya.

I want to write my own story into a novel.

Orange Cat Taro.

Yes, that's the pen name.

I didn’t expect it to be published in a literary journal.

It's pretty awesome.

The boss of Jiudao laughed. He was happy that he had successfully published a novel for the girl, and he was also happy that his story was liked by others.

"So this is it."

"Hi. We are all fans of this novel. We really, really like this novel. I heard that it is based on a real person, so I couldn't help but want to see it with my own eyes... I didn't expect it to really exist. I really feel like it now. Yes, quite excited.”

The man spoke very quickly and waved his hands rapidly in front of him excitedly.

The rest of the people also looked at the Nine Islands boss with burning eyes and nodded in agreement.

"The love between you and Yuriko is so beautiful, it's beyond our imagination... I really long for this kind of love... Are you Mr. Orange Cat?"

A very strange feeling.

The boss of Jiudao looked at the young man in front of him who was so excited that he was almost crying. He felt a little dazed.

There are people who are so moved by the love between themselves and their wives.

"I'm not." Boss Jiudao returned the journal and shook his head, "Tachibana Cat Taro has another person."

"So that's it." Several people seemed to feel a little regretful, but soon looked at him with burning eyes.

"Can you tell us a story about you and your wife? I don't know if it will be offensive." One person asked cautiously.

"Where does the novel go?" Boss Jiudao pondered for a moment and asked.

"Talking about Miss Yuriko's love affair with you when she was in college, oh, and Yuriko's family is very opposed to it."

Boss Jiudao nodded, and smiled heartily in the expectant eyes of several people.

"I'd better make udon noodles for the guests first, and wait until they're done."

"Then please."

"........."

It's hard to explain clearly how I feel when I'm cooking in the kitchen.

Hot steam rose from the pot, blurring his vision.

He turned his head and looked through the small window in the back kitchen at the people chatting animatedly in the front hall.

Udon squatted on the ground not far away, dozing off and staring at the table of guests in boredom, as if he was monitoring them.

That's a group of people who know their own and Yuriko's stories.

This is probably the most active thought in Boss Jiudao's mind at the moment.

Is it the kind of love that others look forward to? The corner of Jiu Dao boss's mouth curled up unconsciously.

Maybe he didn't even realize it.

Until, several bowls of steaming udon were ready and served.

Boss Jiudao also sat at the table and started chatting with a few people.

"Thank you all for supporting that child's work." Thanked the boss of Jiudao.

"Teacher Orange Cat's writing is great. This novel already has quite a few fans, and we are only a small part of it."

"As for the story behind the novel, I may not tell it until the novel is updated. I hope the guests can understand."

Several people looked at the boss of Jiudao and said the next second.

"I know, after all, asking directly about the story behind it is like a spoiler."

"Yes, you can say whatever you want, we are willing to listen."

"..."

This kind of atmosphere made the boss of Jiudao feel a little overwhelmed, but several people seemed to be more embarrassed than him.

After some words, the topic among the few people gradually opened up.

Even the boss of Jiudao took out a glass of wine, filled it up, and talked about some things in the past.

That way.

Like an elderly person, he always likes to talk to others about his unknown past.

As if to prove that someone once existed in that way.

Steam rose from the udon bowl and floated on several people's faces.

They opened their eyes wide and listened carefully and attentively to what the man in front of them was saying.

Everything was just like the words in the novel, and seemed to come alive in the loud voice of the boss of Jiudao.

One meal down.

An izakaya owner and a woman named Yuriko stayed in their hearts in a particularly profound way.

When they were leaving, several people left a copy of the latest issue of "Light Things" for the boss of Jiudao.

Although the boss of Jiudao said that he would give them the book money, several people refused.

After everyone left, the sun outside the store was almost climbing overhead.

The boss of Jiudao returned to the store, looked at the latest issue of "Light Things" weekly on the table, and reached out to hold it in his hand.

He opened the journal, looked for the page number in the catalog, and turned to the page where "He and His Cat" was published.

Just when he was about to take a closer look.

There was a sound of the door being pushed open at the door of the izakaya.

"Boss, please have some eel rice."

There are new customers arriving, but they are regular diners who come to the restaurant to eat.

Just as the boss of Jiudao was about to enter the kitchen to cook.

The store door was pushed open again, and this time a group of people came in.

"Welcome to the Nine Islands Izakaya. What would the guests like to eat..." Before he finished speaking, he saw the familiar books in the hands of those people.

"Is that tanuki cat called Udon?"

"........."

Gumbling.

The water in the pot was boiling, and the boss of Jiudao was busy walking around in the kitchen.

The front hall of the izakaya was filled with customers, more customers than usual.

There are customers who dine on weekdays, and there are also guests who come to eat because of the novel.

It's like a reading exchange meeting in an izakaya.

Those guests who came because of Tachibana Cat Taro's novel excitedly discussed the contents of the novel.

This made other guests suddenly have a strange idea that they should also bring a book to eat.

Why don't you come one day...

The atmosphere in the store became elegant.

Udon, on the other hand, seemed not to be afraid at all, walking back and forth between the dining tables with his tail raised.

Every time he goes to a table, he will sit for a while and meow twice.

That look will make everyone look cute.

back kitchen.

While wiping off his sweat, the boss of Nine Islands looked towards the front of the izakaya.

Very busy.

but.

It hasn't been this lively for a long time.

The last time an izakaya was like this was...

Boss Jiudao withdrew his gaze and looked at the journal placed on the table in the distance.

When I just came in, I took it over by myself.

The journal was left open, on the page where the novel appeared.

It's just that I was so busy just now that I didn't even bother to take a look.

It was probably no different from the journals that several people asked him to sign before.

But they asked themselves to sign the first weekly issue of the novel serialization, and this is the latest issue.

The boss of Jiudao put the noodles into the pot, and then glanced at "Light Things" aside while washing the vegetables.

Just this glance made his whole body suffocate.

His eyes were fixed, and the water vapor in the pot was in the corner of his eyes.

[I've never won anything, even though I say that...]

[I won the heart of a lovely lady. 】(End of this chapter)

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