"Please accept my sincerest apologies!!!" Before Shizuka Hiratsuka could say anything, Taihei Doma had already slipped skillfully into apology mode—rising from his seat and bowing ninety degrees. "This must have been arranged by my otouto. That guy has always wanted to see me make a fool of myself, and this time he even dragged Ms. Hiratsuka into it. I'm truly sorry!"
Shizuka Hiratsuka: "..."
She finally understood the joy of always having someone to take the blame, no matter what happened!
"It's fine. As long as we know who's behind this, I don't mind. Since this was arranged by Sogo, should we cancel it?"
"We can't cancel it..." Taihei Doma, speaking from experience, refused.
Shizuka Hiratsuka asked in confusion, "Hm?"
"This is one of Sogo's usual tactics. When you think you've seen through his obvious little tricks, that's when you need to be even more cautious..." As he spoke, Taihei Doma, a seasoned victim, asked the head waiter, "If we were to cancel this set meal..."
Before he could finish, a flash of delight passed through the head waiter's eyes. Seeing that expression, Taihei Doma formed a few suspicions and abruptly changed his tone.
"Wouldn't that mean wasting my otouto's thoughtful intentions? Since it's already prepared, go ahead and serve it."
A fleeting look of regret crossed the head waiter's face. This time, even Shizuka Hiratsuka noticed something strange about him. However, before she could say anything, the waiter bowed and stepped back. "Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment. We'll arrange the meal for the two of you right away."
After saying that, the head waiter withdrew.
"If I'm not mistaken, those waiters seemed rather disappointed just now..." As soon as the waiters left, Shizuka Hiratsuka couldn't help saying.
"You're not mistaken! It looks like Sogo's setup has already been