The three of them stood up and picked their glasses. As Ilaya looked at her wine, she's still uncomfortable from the color, but it's not that worse compared to before. Ilaya was ruminating when she heard Mars speak
"Then, now that we have our drinks, let's have a toast! To Ilaya's successful recovery! Cheers!"
Ilaya felt her face burning from Mars' cheerful announcement. It's a different matter if there's only three of them, but with a visitor with no connection to her whatsoever, having that guest celebrate her recovery feels really odd and embarrassing
'It seemed that Nicole's training in removing my shyness was not that effective!'
Ilaya secretly sighed as she raised her glass and lightly bumped it into the glasses of the others. Then, she saw them smile and took a sip of their wine. She also taste it and it's kind of good, but she didn't like it
'As I thought, I like sweet beverages the most. Tea and liquor are not for me'
Mars turned to her and asked
"What do you think of the wine Ilaya? Is it good?"
Ilaya smiled to her and replied
"Yes, it's kind of sweet, but there's a slight burning in my throat when I swallow it. It felt somewhat satisfying"
Then, owner poured himself another serving of wine as he said to Ilaya
"That's the charm of the liquor. There's a different taste and feel from each one of them. Here, let me pour you some"
Ilaya held out her glass as she watched the red wine poured into her glass. Then, the owner also gave Mars and Michizugawa another serving before saying
"Of course, the liquor is the best when there's some food to accompany it so let's eat"
Ilaya felt her tummy grumble when she heard that. She's really hungry now and her mouth watered when she saw all kinds of food on the table. Ilaya followed the owner's movement and picked her plate as she put all kinds of food in it
She felt it's a chore to return to the table if she eat it one by one, so she just put all kinds of food in it all in one go
'Saves me from the trouble'
She nodded to herself as she looked at the mountain of food on her plate. Mars beside her said to her teasingly
"Ilaya, my little sister. Are you sure you want to eat that much? You're gonna gain some weight you know? Many suitors will not come to you if you get fat"
Ilaya looked at Mars strangely as she said
"You remember that I'm exercising right? This much calories will be burned in no time at all"
'Especially about the thousand swinging and from the spa- no beating'
Mars pouted as she replied
"I envy you. I want to eat so much too, but I can't risk getting fat since I don't exercise"
Then, Mars stopped putting food in her plate as she murmured to herself
"Hmm. If I exercise, can I eat as much as I want?"
Ilaya heard her words and she said to her exasperatedly
"Nee-chan. That's not how exercise works. You're just like putting poison in your body, and removing it using a painful method. Then, rinse and repeat. There's just no point"
Ilaya looked at Mars pitifully and said to her
"Just go on a diet. Maybe it's effective. I don't go on a diet so I'm not sure. Somehow, my body always stayed the same whenever I eat so much"
Mars became irritated as she laughed dangerously at Ilaya
"Hoho. So that's how you treat your big sister huh? I didn't know that you're like that Ilaya! You're even showing off your excellent constitution! Come here you!"
Mars held her plate in one hand as she pinched Ilaya's cheek with the other. As she saw that Ilaya is tearing up, she let go and pet her head
"You're really cute my little sister! Now let's eat"
Ilaya rubbed her cheek as she looked at Mars. She felt the unbearable pain in her heart and the pleasant mood that she had vanished. She forcefully controlled her emotion as she couldn't let out as much as a peep to ruin their celebration
She walked towards the chair as she sat beside Mars and started eating their food. Then, she started her plan of getting to know them better as she asked Mars
"Nee-chan. Do you have a family?"
Mars stopped chewing and looked at Ilaya. She swallowed the food and said to her
"Yes. I have. But they're in the countryside. So I'm living all alone in this city"
Ilaya became curious about her family as she didn't have one. She ask curiously
"Do you have a father and mother? How about siblings?
Mars became excited as she replied cheerfully to Ilaya
"Yes! My family in the countryside has a farm and vegetable garden, so they're making enough money for their living. I also have a little brother and sister! They're so cute! I missed them already"
Ilaya put a food in her mouth as she thought
'How nice. I wonder what it felt to have a loving family? Mother who's caring for you. Father that strict outside and sweet inside. And siblings that will annoy you but still smile at their silliness'
Ilaya smiled as she said to Mars
"It seems that you have a loving family. Did they visit you in this city? Or have you visited them sometimes?"
Mars suddenly froze and that detail didn't escape Ilaya's attention. She suddenly became worried that she had touched a sensitive matter. Mars didn't speak for a bit before saying to Ilaya
"Well, me and my family had some conflict in the past. That's why I decided to come here in Tokyo to finish my studies years ago. But, I didn't managed to visit them all this time"
Mars became sullen and Ilaya cursed herself in her mind
'Me and my big mouth'
Ilaya worked her mind to make Mars happy again and she saw her gift in her wrist. She suddenly had an idea and she said to Mars
"Nee-chan. The bracelet really suits you. Look! We're matching!"
Ilaya smiled at Mars as she brought out her bracelet. Then, Mars looked at her bracelet and remembered when she saw Ilaya's blood in it. She became sad and she said to Ilaya
"Yeah. It's so pretty. I should've bought you a gift. It's your celebration anyway"
Ilaya noticed the sadness in Mars eyes and she couldn't help but think
'Why? Why did she become sad? Did I say something wrong?'
As Ilaya was really confused, the owner said to her across the table
"Ilaya. Are you doing okay in where you're staying?"
The owner poured wine into her glass as he asked her
"Do you want to stay here? In this place?"
Mars and Michizugawa looked at Ilaya. Waiting for her answer. Ilaya heard his questions but didn't know what to say. She also wanted to spend the rest of her remaining life here, in this place, in this home. But her debt to the others prevented her from agreeing to his offer
Ilaya grabbed her glass and took a sip to have some time to think what to say to the owner
'I can probably live here until my time runs out. But I will not be able to repay the people I owe. Kyora especially will not let me go that easily. But…'
Ilaya put her glass in the table as she said to the owner hesitantly
"Owner. Can you give me more time to think? I need to sort my mind a bit more. I'm really confused right now"
The owner smiled at her as he nodded. Then, he said to her
"Alright. Take your time. This place will always be open for you"
Ilaya felt relieved by his words as she continued to eat her food while listening to their conversation