Part 2

Wow, what a beautiful silhouette…! It looks so elegant, like wedding flowers!

Indeed, it has a beautiful bow shape. The balance with the greenery is elegant and beautiful. I’m sure the customers will be pleased.

I’ll never forget the compliments I’ve been showered with today… Actually, the two of you have oasis-level information absorption. Oh, by ‘oasis’, I mean the sponge used in floral arrangements…

Oh, that’s right. I wanted to ask you for advice. I’m thinking of creating a new menu item that uses flowers.

I’d love to know if there are any edible flowers that work well in cocktails.

…Oh, I happen to have something like that on hand.

I was holding onto these for Astaroth. These are called ‘phlox’.

They’re so small and lovely.

Not only do they smell good, they’re also a charming garnish for cocktails. They mean ‘cooperation’, ‘unity’, and ‘harmony’.

So, it means ‘to gather’, right? With all these little flowers gathered together, it fits perfectly.

(Besides that, phlox is sometimes used for marriage proposals, but…)

(That’s pretty obscure knowledge, so there’s no need to mention it.)

Great. Now that work’s done, let’s try making a cocktail that would be perfect for that flower.

I made a tropical-themed cocktail with pina colada as the base. I’d love to hear what you think.

Thank you!

Mmm, it’s sweet and delicious! The coconut flavour makes me feel like I’m having dessert…!

It looks like flower petals scattered on a sandy beach. It’s so stylish it makes me tremble…

This seems promising. I’m also thinking about using butterfly peas—

Ah~, the alcohol tastes great. This is so much fun.

So there’s this dude who always waits for three hours until his laundry is done, but, oh, first of all, I apologise for calling a customer ‘dude’, it’s incredibly rude, I’m so sorry…

Oh my, perhaps I gave you both one too many.

Are you two alright? Would you like me to call a taxi?

No no, we are… A-OK…!

Now, Hachinoya Nagi will be returning home.

Ahh, I feel great. It’s the kind of night that makes you want to skip.

Okay, Nagi-kun. Let’s play Gluco¹, then head home.

Gluco?

It’s the game where you play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins gets to move a number of steps. The first one to reach the finish line wins.

Mhm, mhm.

For example, if you win with paper, the assigned word is ‘pineapple’, so you get to take nine steps.

What about rock and scissors?

For scissors, it’s nine steps for ‘shortcake’, and for rock, it’s five steps for ‘Gluco’!

The problem is that ‘Gluco’ gives you way less steps than the others. I see, this requires a strategy.

Hehe, let’s start?

Mm, let’s start.

Rock, paper—

Scissors!

Ah, you won, Shunin.

Yaaay! I won with scissors, so it’s ‘shortcake’. S-H-O-R-T-C-A-K-E.

The loser gets a negative pineapple…

Stay right there!

Oh, ah, I see.

You can win and catch up too, Nagi-kun!

Alright.

Okay, rock, paper—!!

G-L-U-C-O.

S-H-O-R-T-C-A-K-E.

P-I-N-E-A-P-P-L-E.

……

(What do I do? I can’t seem to win at all. Shunin is getting further and further away… it’s difficult to even see what he is playing…)

…...

Nagi-kun~! Listen up. I’m going to throw rock next!

Huh?

It’ll be a rock, so here we go~!

Ah, o-okay.

Rock, paper—

Scissors!

Oh… finally.

Yay, Nagi-kun! You won with paper, so it’s ‘pineapple’!

P-I-N-E-A-P-P-L-E…

Amazing… I’m catching up.

Mhm! I’ll do rock again!

…Haha, okay.

P-I-N-E-A-P-P-L-E.

I’ve finally caught up to you.

Good job! …Come to think of it, we didn’t decide on a finish line, did we. Well, then, this is it!

Yay.

Now, here’s a present for you, Nagi-kun, for reaching the finish line. Here you go.

Huh…? Phlox?

I thought it was such a cute flower, and before I knew it, I’d slipped it into my pocket.

Phlox flowers stick together, right? So even if your steps slow down a little, I’ll wait for you, Nagi-kun.

So don’t worry, okay?

(Besides that, phlox is sometimes used for marriage proposals, but…)

(That’s pretty obscure knowledge, so I don't need to mention it.)

……………………

(No, no. Shunin didn’t give it to me with that intention.)

(I could never refuse Shunin’s kindness, so I should just accept it for what it is.)

Nagi-kun?

Th-thank you.

Then, I’ll also… here you go. Pink carnations.²

Wow…! Thank you, Nagi-kun! I'm always getting flowers from you, I wanted to try giving you one too!

(Yep, Shunin still doesn’t know. It turned into a regular flower exchange.)

We’ve enjoyed playing Gluco, so let’s walk home now.

Mm, let’s walk back together.

Fufu, yes, together.