madnovel Chapter 17 A Luxurious Lunch
Chapter 17 A Luxurious Lunch
Back at the bank, I composed myself.
Kiryu Yaya put down his briefcase and headed straight for the cafeteria.
He hadn't forgotten that a free lunch was waiting for him.
This is what he earned through his hard work, and he absolutely cannot be absent from it.
Kiryu Yaya pushed open the glass door of the cafeteria, and the air during lunch break was filled with the aroma of miso soup and fried pork cutlet.
He glanced at the row of seats closest to the beverage counter.
Mizuna Yayoi was already sitting there.
Unlike yesterday, there was no cafeteria tray in front of her.
On the table was a dark blue cloth bag, with the untied knot lying to one side, revealing two neatly folded bento boxes inside.
Mizuna Yayoi was staring down at her knees, her hands gripping the hem of her dress, her lips moving slightly as if she were silently reciting something.
If you get a little closer, you could probably hear her reciting things like, "The kabayaki sauce wasn't sweet enough," "The tamagoyaki seems a little undercooked," and "Are the figs too sour?"
She read it over and over again, until Kiryu walked right up to her without her noticing.
Kiryu Yaya walked over and sat down opposite her.
"Have you been waiting long?"
"S-Senpai!"
She suddenly raised her head, and the tips of her ears were visibly red.
He instinctively tried to stand up, but his knee hit the table leg, causing him to sway. He quickly grabbed the edge of the table to steady himself.
Then she took a deep breath, picked up one of the lunch boxes with both hands, and placed it neatly in front of him.
"Today... I made my own bento box!"
When she said this, her voice was two octaves higher than usual.
Kiryu Yaya looked down.
The lid of the bento box was already half open.
Inside, there was neatly arranged grilled eel, crab meat omelet, sesame-dressed asparagus, and two red wine-soaked figs, cut in half with the cut side facing up.
A few black sesame seeds were sprinkled on the rice and arranged in a small triangle.
Kiryu Yaya was stunned.
Are you kidding me? Why are you making it this luxurious?
He quickly went over it in his mind.
The eel costs at least 1,000 yen, the crab meat in the crab meat omelet can't be cheap, the asparagus is in season, and the figs are imported.
The cost of the ingredients for this bento box is at least 3,500 yen.
That's enough for him to eat in the cafeteria for a month.
Kiryu Yaya raised his head and looked at Yayoi Mizuna.
She was staring intently at his expression, her hands clenched into small fists and resting on her knees, her shoulders slightly hunched, as if she were awaiting a verdict.
"Yesterday, my senior asked me to cover lunch, but after thinking about it, I realized that just treating him to meals in the cafeteria wouldn't be enough. He's taught me so much; how can cafeteria food be considered a way of repaying him..."
As she spoke, she opened the lunchbox in front of her, which contained the exact same contents.
"So...you made this this morning?"
Kiryu Yaya's tone was somewhat complicated. These two bento boxes must cost five thousand yen in total, right?
It was one-sixth of his previous savings.
Rich people are really annoying.
But then again, if it's food for him, Kiryu Yaya has no objection at all.
"Um."
She nodded, her ears turning even redder.
Kiryu Yaya looked at the bento box and remained silent for two seconds.
Putting aside the price of the materials, the sentiment behind it is indeed quite profound.
He picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of grilled eel, and put it in his mouth.
The sauce has a perfect balance of sweet and salty, the eel melts on your tongue, and the aroma of the oil mingles with the steam from the rice.
"tasty."
Just two words.
It wasn't an exaggerated compliment, nor was it just polite small talk; it was simply stating a fact.
Yayoi Mizuna's shoulders relaxed instantly. She had been holding her breath for who knows how long, and the moment she let go, she felt several pounds lighter.
Her eyes shone like the ginkgo leaves of Midosuji illuminated by the midday sun, and then she began to chatter on and on:
"That's great... I was worried the kabayaki sauce would be too sweet. My mom taught me a Kanto-style recipe, with a 3:1 ratio of soy sauce to mirin, but I wasn't sure what kind of flavor you liked..."
Her voice trailed off as she spoke, and realizing she was rambling on, she quickly buried her face in her bento box. The tips of her ears were still sticking out, red like two small tomatoes.
The two ate quietly for a while.
The noise in the cafeteria acted like a blurry background sound, enveloping their little corner in a strange tranquility.
After finishing half of her bento, Yayoi Mina put down her chopsticks and began to speak earnestly:
"Senior, I used everything you taught me yesterday this morning. I submitted three sets of materials, and not a single one was returned. Section Chief Takei even praised me for my progress!"
When she said that, there was a hint of pride in her tone, but then she realized that pride was inappropriate and quickly added:
"—It's all thanks to the excellent teaching of our seniors."
Kiryu Yaya smiled and said:
"That's great."
Mizuna Yayoi chuckled for a while, then suddenly remembered something:
"By the way, senior, at our sales department's morning meeting this morning, the section chief said something in front of everyone."
Kiryu Yaya looked over and asked:
"What is it?"
With an exaggerated expression, Yayoi Mina slowly said:
"I'm saying that in your financing department, there's a new employee who joined at the same time as us. He hand-drew a cash flow chart and exposed a company's loan fraud. Even the branch manager was alarmed and specifically asked to see his evaluation report."
When Mizuna Yayoi said this, her tone was filled with undisguised admiration, as if she were recounting a legendary story she had read in a news report:
"The section chief told us, 'We're all new employees who joined in April, how can there be such a big difference?'"
As she spoke, she suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling.
"By the way, senior, you're from the financing department, right? Do you know him? That newbie must be incredibly talented, right?"
Kiryu Yaya paused for a moment with his chopsticks.
How should I respond to that?
If I tell her now that that person is me, how am I supposed to explain why she's been calling me "senior" for so long? It's so awkward.
It's too complicated to explain.
Moreover, hearing someone praise you to your face is a situation that even the most thick-skinned person would find hard to resist.
Kiryu Yaya sighed and had no choice but to cover it up:
"Huh? There are such talented newcomers? I've never heard of them before."
Mizuna Yayoi let out a soft "Ah," a hint of regret in her voice.
"That's a real shame. I was thinking that since he's in the financing department, he must know him. I'll definitely ask him next time I have the chance, how can he be so amazing so soon after joining the company..."
Kiryu lowered his head and ate his rice, pretending not to hear the last sentence.
As they chatted, the two finished cleaning up their bento boxes.
Kiryu's portion was especially clean, with not a single grain of rice left, and he used the last bite of rice to soak up all the eel sauce.
Yayoi looked at the empty bento box he had eaten, and a more satisfied expression appeared on her face than when she had been praised for "deliciousness" earlier.
During their lunch break, the two went to the office of the financing review department.
Kiryu continued the lesson, and today's topic was ticket classification.
Yayoi had already prepared her notebook, pen tip resting on the paper, waiting for his first words.
Kiryu spoke slowly and deliberately, from payment commitment type to commission payment type, from promissory notes to bills of exchange, pausing after each concept to wait for her to finish taking notes.
Yayoi's pen moved quickly across the notepad, occasionally glancing up to ask, "Is this related to the seal we talked about yesterday?" After asking, she would quickly lower her head again, as if asking questions required courage.
As the lesson ended, Kiryu put away his ballpoint pen and reminded everyone:
"Oh, by the way, the bento box doesn't need to be so elaborate tomorrow. Something simple will do."
Yayoi Mizuna picked up the bento box, looked at Kiryu Yaya, and suddenly bowed deeply, saying very seriously:
"I'll prepare a bento for you as usual tomorrow!"
After saying that, she turned and ran towards the sales department, her short ponytail swaying behind her.
Kiryu watched her retreating figure and smiled helplessly.
The point of that sentence was clearly "be more ordinary," but she probably only heard "continue tomorrow."
Then he sat back down at his workstation and suddenly realized that he could get this kind of lunch in exchange for giving her a few pointers every day. Was this the most worthwhile deal he had ever made in his life?
……
Lunch break is over.
Kiryu sighed, picked up the can of Red Bull, and took a swig.
He heard familiar footsteps and looked up.
Chihaya Yuri sat down in her seat and said without looking up:
"Kiryu-kun, come here for a second."
Kiryu Yaya walked over and stood beside her table.
"sit."
Chihaya Yuri then took a form from the drawer and pushed it in front of him.
That was a "Departmental Allocation Request Survey".
Kiryu Yaya lowered his head, his gaze falling on the words "Financing Review Division" in the upper right corner of the form.
"I just went to see the section chief."
"Job rotation is a mandatory course for new employees. Under normal circumstances, you will spend at least six months in the financing review department, then rotate for six months each in the sales department and the planning department, and finally be assigned by the human resources department based on the evaluation of each department."
Her voice was very concise.
"But the section chief said that rules are rigid, but people are flexible. As a newcomer, there's no need for you to go through all the procedures step by step."
Kiryu Yaya looked at the form and didn't know what to say for a moment.
"You don't need to think too much."
Chihaya Yuri seemed to sense his hesitation.
"This isn't special treatment; it's recognition of your abilities, but it also means higher expectations are placed on you."
"Staying in the financing review department means you'll be dealing with more than just documents and reports; you'll also be dealing with all sorts of complex clients, increasingly difficult cases, and real responsibility."
She paused for a moment and placed the last option in front of him.
"If you feel the pressure is too much, you can refuse now. We'll still keep the job rotation route open for you."
Kiryu Yaya reached out and picked up the form.
He read it over, then picked up a pen and neatly wrote the five words "Financing Review Section" in the "Personal Desire" column.
Chihaya Yuri watched him finish writing the last word, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
"Then it's settled. The section chief has already spoken with the HR department, and the official announcement will be made next week."
She put away the form and then picked up a folder from the desktop and handed it to him.
"This is Fuji Metals' case closure report template. You write the first draft and hand it to me before you leave work."
Kiryu Yaya took the folder, applying slight pressure with both hands.
"Yes, Section Chief Chihaya."
Review report on the financing application of Fuji Metal Industries, Ltd.
Kiryu Yaya laid the folder out on the table, picked out the smoothest-flowing ballpoint pen from the pen holder, and wrote the date in the upper right corner of the manuscript paper:
April 19th, Heisei 3 (1949)
Then he stopped, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed everything he had seen at Fuji Metals that day.
The workshop was filled with the roar of machines, the workers' tired and numb eyes, the customer-supplied materials with mislabeled labels on the shelves, and the reddish and rusty scraps in the corner.
And there's the slightly trembling figure of Kenichiro Nomura kneeling on the cement floor.
He opened his eyes and began to write.