"Sorry for the wait."
One advantage of fast-food restaurants was that there was no need to worry about how quickly the food would arrive.
That was especially true of smaller establishments. Perhaps to squeeze out more space, the two-person seats by the windows offered an unexpected degree of privacy.
"Thank you."
Roland gave the rather attentive waitress a gentle smile. Only after she left with her cheeks slightly flushed did he examine the food before him.
A cheeseburger, French fries, orange juice, and a salad whose purpose was unclear.
Now that he thought about it, it really had been a long time since he had eaten proper fast food like this.
Ever since he became an adult, the burgers he remembered had been shrinking at a rate far outstripping his own growth.
So when he saw the enormous burger, clearly a size larger than the one in his memory and something that existed only in his childhood impressions, Roland even felt inexplicably moved.
Yet although his nose was already filled with the rich scent of blended seasonings, a peculiar fragrance still stood out among them.
It was a scent like honey.
When that fragrant impression overlapped with the glossy, suggestive, richly honey-colored hair of the girl opposite him, it made him unconsciously want a taste.
Beneath that honey-colored hair were features as exquisite as a doll's.
A petite face, a small, straight nose, and cherry-blossom lips pressed lightly together. Her slender legs, wrapped in stockings with spiderweb embroidery at the thighs, swung gently back and forth, lending her beauty even more charm.
And there were her shining pupils, dazzling like stars.
That was not a metaphor.
Although they did not shine as brightly as actual stars, the girl's pupils really did have the same shape.
Perhaps because she was so