Asano Kiyoshi looked at the plates of brightly colored, juicy fruit before him, smiled at Kirio Hikifune, then picked up a fruit resembling a mandarin orange and said with a smile:
"Since Miss Kiryu says so, I'll gladly accept."
With that, he peeled the mandarin orange and ate it. Watching Asano Kiyoshi eat it, a faint smile appeared on Kirio Hikifune's plump face as she asked:
"How is it? It tastes pretty good, doesn't it?"
The moment the mandarin orange entered his mouth, a faint coolness spread through it. Once that slight chill faded, a fragrance enough to fill his entire mouth burst forth. Like firecrackers exploding in the night sky, it enveloped the tip of his tongue. In that instant, Asano Kiyoshi even felt the mandarin orange's fragrance seep into his body.
Savoring the taste that seemed to cleanse his very soul, Asano Kiyoshi's lips curled upward. He said to Kirio Hikifune:
"Thank you very much for the hospitality. This is the best mandarin orange I've ever eaten."
Seeing the sincerity on Asano Kiyoshi's face, Kirio Hikifune nodded, then brought over several more plates of food and said:
"Hahaha, I'm glad you like it. Come on, there's plenty more here. Don't be shy."
However, Asano Kiyoshi did not accept the food from Kirio Hikifune this time. He smiled and said:
"Miss Kiryu, I'm not very hungry right now. May I ask what your main purpose in coming to see me is?"
Looking at Asano Kiyoshi, Kirio Hikifune knew that he was not refusing because of hunger. He simply did not want to owe her a favor, nor did he want this meal to force him into making concessions during the negotiations that followed.
Having understood Asano Kiyoshi's intentions, Kirio Hikifune smiled and said:
"What a cautious man. Still, that