A regular customer cancels their order. Nagomu's father, Irino Heigo, is furious with him, thinking that Nagomu has done something again. Heigo and Nagomu go to apologize to their regular customer. There they find out that the cancellation was actually connected to someone else who works at Ryokushou, Seto Saki.

On a day off from work, Itsuka and Mitsuru run into Nagomu's ex-girlfriend, Matsukaze Kanoko, in town. Mitsuru and Kanoko haven't met before, though Itsuka knows them both. The three decide to have lunch together. Mitsuru and Kanoko both get excited talking about Nagomu while Itsuka is perplexed by the unusual atmosphere between the two women.

The new year begins, and as Ryokushou welcomes it they sell a sweet called hanabira mochi. They only made enough to accommodate their advance orders, but a man without a reservation suddenly appears. After hearing the man's feelings toward his late mother, Nagomu makes a decision to... Later, everyone from Ryokushou goes to Yamakuni Jinja for hatsumode—the first sacred visit of the year.