Between World Restaurant

DXHaseoXD

Описание

It was a door that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and behind that door was...

A restaurant in the middle of nowhere, but there were all kinds of different creatures in this restaurant.

Just what was this place?

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First Meal - Baked Potato (1)

At the very top of a tower that was made completely of steel, there was a person who was currently bent over a table.

Based on the clothes that he wore and the equipment that he used, it was clear that he was a researcher of some sort.

As he looked into his microscope, he couldn't help knitting his brows as he muttered to himself, "It's still not giving me the reaction that I want. Just what is wrong with this?"

After looking in the microscope for a bit longer, the scientist could only give a sigh as he stopped leaning in to look into the microscope and sat up, stretching himself out in the process. It had already been more than twelve hours since he had started working and he was getting quite tired.

While he was stretching, his stomach suddenly gave a gurgle that reminded him of its existence.

As he heard this, the scientist couldn't help muttering, "When was the last time that I ate?"

After being reminded of this fact, he went over to one of the cabinets that was beside his lab bench and took out a tube of something. On the front of the tube, the words written read "Potato Flavoured Meal Paste".

Inside of the drawer that he had pulled this out of, there were several other tubes that all had the words "Meal Paste" on them.

As he was about to squeeze this meal paste into his mouth, there was a sudden glow that came from the center of his laboratory.

It wasn't too bright, but it was definitely eye-catching in this rather dark laboratory.

The scientist turned in the direction of the glow that appeared, but all he found was a door that was standing right in the center of his lab.

The scientist was confused by this and didn't understand what had just happened, but that still didn't change the fact that there was a door that was just standing in the middle of his lab.

After a moment of silence, the scientist said, "Jenny, scan it."

There was another moment of silence before a robotic female voice rang out in the lab saying, "No matching results. Unknown item detected."

The scientist was even more surprised, but his curiosity came over him in the end. He walked over from the cabinet that he was standing in front of and came over to where the door was just standing there.

After coming to the door and looking at it closely, he found that there was nothing that this door was attached to. It was just a simple wooden door that was standing in the middle of the lab with a picture of a dog's paw on the top half of the door inside of a circle.

Finally, he couldn't help himself and he reached out his hand towards the handle of the door. After a slight pause, he turned the handle and pulled back the door, but what he saw on the other side wasn't the other side of his lab.

Rather the first thing that came through was the sound of chatter that came from the other side. After that was the bright light of whatever was on the other side.

Since the researcher kept his lab dark in order to control the amount of light that his experiments were exposed to, it was quite blinding when he opened the door. However, his eyes slowly adjusted and he was able to see what was on the other side.

It was a very simple space, but it was without a doubt a restaurant. Though, it had been a long time since he had ever gone to a restaurant to begin with.

There were quite a few people in this restaurant already enjoying their food and the moment that the door opened, there were a few that looked over to see what made the sound that they had heard. After they saw that it was just the door opening, they lost interest in the person who was standing at the opened door.

However, that wasn't the case for the person standing at the door. The moment he looked more closely at the people eating in the restaurant, he couldn't help being shocked because there were many people who he had never seen before, but had heard in legends.

There were the people who had sharp ears who were clearly elves, there were people who were bipedal lizards who were the famous lizardmen, and there were the famous orcs that he had only seen before in his night time reading materials.

In a daze, he couldn't help moving forward until he came over to the table of a female elf who was currently eating some spaghetti.

He just stood there looking her over which clearly made her uncomfortable as she couldn't help moving a bit to the side.

Seeing this, the orc that was sitting at the table next to her stood up and took the researcher by the shoulder and said, "Hey buddy, don't you think that you're getting a bit too close?"

When the researcher saw who it was that grabbed his shoulder, he couldn't help moving back while flailing his arms since the orcs that he had always read about were quite aggressive. Seeing that this orc was standing right over him, with how much taller he was and how fierce he looked, naturally the researcher couldn't help panicking even more.

After taking a few steps back, he reached into his pockets and pulled out a pistol that he aimed right at the orc and shouted, "You stay back! I know what you orcs are capable of!"

The orc had an awkward look on his face, but he still moved away from the researcher.

When the people in the restaurant saw what the researcher did, a few of them spoke up.

"Hey buddy, you should put down the weapon. No one here wants to hurt you."

"Right, you should put it down before you get hurt."

"Uh oh, looks like trouble is coming."

"Yep, it seems like it's too late for him."

The comments in the end had a strange tone to them. Instead of being afraid of the person who had just pulled out a gun, it was almost as if they felt sorry for him.

When the researcher heard this, he couldn't help turning his head to look in the direction that those comments came from. The moment he turned his head, he saw that there was a girl who looked to be in her teens that was walking over.

This girl had jet black hair and pure white eyes where even the pupil and the iris were white, but a different shade from the sclera of her eyes. She was dressed in a tight fitting black maid outfit that perfectly accented her figure that had a perfect ratio, except that the skirt was considered a bit too short.

In short, she was a perfect woman that even the researcher who normally was too busy with research couldn't help being stunned by when he saw her.

But before he could come back to his senses, her leg had already come up in a sweeping manner. The first kick knocked the gun out of his hand and the second kick which was a spin kick that was even stronger than the first one knocked him into the wall.

His breath was knocked out of him the moment he slammed into the wall and he almost blacked out from lack of oxygen.

The maid came over to where the gun was and picked it up before throwing it onto a table by the door that was covered in various weapons.

Then she turned back to the researcher who was on the floor leaning against the wall and said, "This is your one and only warning. If you do anything stupid like that again, you're banned from this place."

The orc who had actually scared the researcher into pulling the gun was the one who came over to help him up. The researcher was confused why the orc was helping him at first, but after talking to him, he realized that he had the completely wrong idea about the orc.

The orc in front of him was nothing more than a simple farmer, not the kind of orc that he imagined at all.

The orc explained to him that this place was the Between World Restaurant, it was a restaurant in another world. The door that appeared in his lab was a magical door with a will of its own that appeared in many different worlds. It had also appeared in this orc's world, but it had appeared inside of a remote cave that this orc had found by accident while it had been out hunting.

However, even if this was another world, the orc also guaranteed that the food that this restaurant served was all delicious. He even tried to recommend his favourite dish, but that was also when that dish had been served.

The orc immediately forgot about this researcher and went off to enjoy his meal.

The researcher who had been left alone looked around the restaurant to see everyone enjoying their meals and he couldn't help feeling curious. He couldn't understand the allure of food since his world was one where food had long gone obsolete.

His world was a world of science where food had long been replaced with meal paste and tablets. There was no need for food when you could get all the nutrients that you needed from these pastes and tablets which freed up people to get much more things done.

However, he couldn't help being enticed by the fragrance of the dishes around him. When he had watched the people around him enjoy his food, the way they acted almost seemed like they were being drugged, but he knew better than that.

After all, if it really was drugs, then someone out of all these people would have noticed already. Especially since there were people that had powerful magic here from whom he could sense mana fluctuations that far surpassed his own.

Being enticed by the smells, he picked up the menu and started going through it. There wasn't a single thing that caught his attention until he saw one certain item on the menu.

First Meal - Baked Potato (2)

The item that he was looking at wasn't one of the specialties of the store, it wasn't even one of the regular menu items.

It was something that was listed on the side as an appetizer and was something that most people would gloss over when looking through this menu.

The item that he was looking at was a baked potato.

This baked potato wasn't even one of the main items on the menu, it was an item that was off to the side because it was considered an appetizer that one could order before their meal.

However, the moment that the researcher looked at this menu, his eyes were immediately drawn to it.

For him, potatoes always had a special place in his heart because he had grown up on a potato farm, so for the first eighteen years of his life, potatoes were all that he knew. It had once been his favourite food, but after moving away from the farm, he had completely forgotten about them once he had gotten wrapped up in his research.

The ironic thing was that his research had been what had destroyed his family farm in the end which had created a rift between him and his family in the end. When it had all been over, he no longer had a home to return to since his family no longer accepted him.

However, in his mind, he had never forgotten the one thing that his mother made for him whenever he had been down.

She had always had time to make him a baked potato no matter what and that in turn would always cheer him up because he knew that this baked potato represented her love for him.

However once he had been kicked out of his family, he had no longer been able to savour that taste anymore.

But seeing it now, he couldn't help thinking of his mother once again and all the things that she had done for him.

With a gulp and a moment of hesitation, the researcher suddenly raised his hand to call the waitress who was Yami standing on the side.

Yami came over and gave the researcher a dirty look which made him reveal an awkward smile, but she still asked him, "Can I take your order?"

The researcher pointed at the baked potato on the menu and said, "Can I get one of these?"

Yami looked at where he was pointing and she raised a brow as she asked, "Are you sure that you only want one of those? The baked potato that we serve is just an appetizer, it definitely won't be enough to fill you up by itself. Are you sure you don't want to order some entree with it?"

However, to her surprise, the researcher immediately shook his head in a determined manner before saying, "I just want this."

Yami looked at the researcher for another few seconds with a look that clearly said that she thought he was crazy, but she still took his order in the end before saying, "Please wait a moment. I'll go submit your order."

The researcher nodded before turning back to look around this restaurant.

In the direction that Yami walked off in, he could see the open kitchen which was a strange concept to him, but he could see that based on the chef cooking inside, he really was a skilled person. After all, he could only see that single chef that was cooking and it seemed like he was cooking for the entire restaurant alone.

This restaurant was by no means small since there were easily over fifty tables that were in this restaurant and almost all of them were filled. For one single chef to make all these meals, he must be some kind of superhuman.

While the researcher had been looking around the restaurant, Yami had come back with a pitcher of water and a glass, along with several napkins for the table. Yami placed the glass on the table before pouring a glass of water out and then also leaving the pitcher on the table.

When the researcher saw this, he immediately knitted his brows as he said, "I didn't ask for this. Please take it away."

Yami was surprised once again since this was a complimentary service that they offered, most people didn't even think twice about this.

Seeing that Yami was just standing there, the researcher was a bit afraid since he remembered what had happened before. So instead of the sharp tone he used before, he spoke in a much more gentle tone as he said, "I didn't order this, so please don't charge me for this."

Hearing this, Yami understood why the researcher wanted her to take the water away, but she didn't do it in the end. Instead, she just said, "It's free."

Then without even turning back, Yami went back into the kitchen.

The researcher was taken aback because this had never happened before in his world.

His world was one where food had been replaced with pills and pastes, so since stores couldn't charge people for food, they took to charging people for the second thing they needed most after food. They started charging people for the water.

There were many stores that had done the same as this store where they brought water and charged you for the water after the fact. That was also why the researcher had been so firm when he denied the water earlier.

Looking around, he saw that no one had said a thing in response to this and they were all happily drinking the water provided to them. It seemed like the culture in this other world really was different from the culture in his world.

After that, the researcher looked back at the pitcher of water that was in front of him and couldn't help looking at the yellow fruit wedges that were floating in the water.

He wasn't unfamiliar with these yellow fruit wedges that floated in the water because they existed in his world, however, he was unfamiliar with the concept of putting these yellow fruit wedges in water.

In his world, the yellow fruit wedges were known as lumos and they were famous for how sour they were. But even with how sour they were, they had discovered that these lumos were a good source of vitamin C, which was a very important vitamin in human metabolism.

Back in the age before food pills and pastes were made, there were many times where sailors would mysteriously contract a disease named Sailor Rot. It was a strange disease which almost seemed like the sailors were rotting from the inside out.

It had puzzled doctors for many years before they finally discovered the existence of vitamins.

They learned that vitamins were an important part of human nutrition and severe lack of one vitamin was enough to cause serious problems with the body, namely the lack of vitamin C.

To counter this problem, they took the lumoses that were high in vitamin C and created an extract pill from the essence of these fruits. This pill contained high amounts of vitamin C from the extract, but it also concentrated the sourness of the lumos fruit, so it was too sour for most people to eat.

If it wasn't for the fact that they would die if they didn't eat them, most sailors would have preferred not to eat these lumos pills.

Now they were using these lumos fruits to make water

Still, as a scientist, he couldn't hold back his curiosity for the cuisine of this world, so he poured a cup of the lumos water and hesitantly took a sip.

When the water passed through his lips and down his throat, the scientist couldn't believe the taste that was in his mouth.

He had had lumos pills before, so he knew just how sour they were, but this water was completely different from the taste that those lumos pills had. He had been prepared to spit out the water the moment the sour taste filled his mouth, but he found that he couldn't help taking a second sip.

It was the exact same taste as the first sip, but for some reason, this second sip seemed even more refreshing compared to the first sip.

This lumos water didn't have the intense sour taste that he had been expecting, but rather it was nothing more than a hint of sour that was dispersed among the water, which actually made it even more refreshing. The more he drank of this water, the more it felt like his throat and tongue was waking up.

After just a few glasses, his stomach couldn't help gurgling as it demanded food.

The scientist's face instantly turned red when this happened and he quickly looked around, but he saw that no one had noticed to which he let out a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that no one had noticed, but this was something that everyone was used to after coming to this Between World Restaurant. There was no one that hadn't been subdued by the food here before.

After he finished off the entire jug of water, the scientist couldn't help looking back at the kitchen to see if his food was done yet.

When he turned his head, coincidentally, there was Yami who was coming out of the kitchen with several plates in a server tray. She moved through the restaurant and placed the other dishes on the other tables before coming over to the table of the researcher to put his dish down.

This was the dish that the researcher had been staring at the entire time while she had been moving through the restaurant. It was a potato that had a fork sticking out of it that was releasing steam the entire time.

When it had been placed right in front of him, he couldn't help giving a gulp when he smelled the scent that came from it.

With his appetite being stirred by the lemon water that he had just drank, he really couldn't hold back any longer.

Without any hesitation at all, he pulled the fork out of the potato and poked at it a few times to break off a piece of the golden brown baked potato. Looking at the perfect sheen on it, he couldn't help giving another gulp before putting that one bite into his mouth.

The moment that one bite of potato touched his tongue, he immediately swallowed it without even chewing even though there was a burning sensation that came from his throat.

As soon as he had that first bite, he couldn't help looking down at the baked potato in front of him in a daze as he muttered, "What is this?..."

First Meal - Baked Potato (3)

Looking down at the baked potato in front of him, he could see some things with it that he recognized.

There was a golden sheen over it that he recognized as melted butter which was one of the reasons why he had ordered this dish in the first place.

When he had been younger, his family wasn't rich since they were a family of farmers, but his mother had always made sure that they would have enough extra crops to allow them to raise a cow. This cow was the secret to her baked potatoes that had been the favourite of this researcher for the first eighteen years of his life.

That secret was that she always used the milk to make cream which she turned into butter.

When the butter was spread over the potato while it baked, it gave the potato a rich and creamy texture along with a hint of saltiness after it was finished baking.

Butter wasn't a rare thing, but for poor farmers like them, it was not something that they could have regularly.

His mother had always made sure that there would be butter for his baked potatoes and he knew just how hard she had worked to make sure that there would be butter available, so it had always created a warm feeling in his heart whenever he had her baked potatoes.

Even the neighbours all praised her baked potatoes when they shared them on special occasions which always created a sense of pride in his heart. After all, as his mother's son, naturally he would be happy when his mother was praised.

These were the parts of the baked potato that he could understand, but there were also parts of the baked potato that he couldn't.

The part that he had taken from the potato was a piece from the side which only had butter infused into it, but there was a part right in the center of the potato that had things that he couldn't make up.

There was a pile of white creamy substance right in the center and atop that pile of creamy substance were some pieces of pink meat.

He could naturally tell that the white creamy substance was cream, but that confused him even more.

The cream that he knew of was a sweet tasting dessert that was made by whipping the higher fat layer of milk after it was skimmed off from the rest of the milk. It was very sweet and had no place being baked with a potato at all. Rather, just thinking about the mix of the savoury taste of the potato and the sweet cream almost made him want to vomit.

However, when he took a sniff of the cream, there was no sweet smell at all which surprised him. All he could smell was the savoury smell that came from the baked potato itself.

The more he looked at the cream that was placed on the baked potato, the more he became curious as to what it really was.

Finally, the researcher couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore as he took a big piece of the baked potato with the cream and a few specks of the meat on it.

Speaking of the meat, that was another thing that had confused the researcher.

Meat was something that he was familiar with since it was the one thing that still hadn't been replaced by pills and pastes yet. So it was the one thing that he was still studying in his lab.

However, since he worked with meat, he was very familiar with how raw meat looked like.

The pieces of meat that were on the potato were just as pink as raw meat, but the texture didn't seem like that of raw meat which made him doubtful.

As a scientist, he naturally had the curiosity of one and he couldn't endure that curiosity in the end as he decided to take a bit of these strange ingredients. He scooped some of the potato underneath, making sure that there was also some cream and meat that was placed atop it before bringing it up to take a bite.

He tried taking a sniff of the contents in his spoon, but the only thing that he could smell from it was the scent of the meat. It was a strong meat scent along with the smell of salt.

This was something that he had smelled before, it was the scent of jerky, which was dried and salted meat. However, as far as he knew, jerky didn't have this kind of texture or smell.

Even if most food had been replaced with pills or pastes, meat was one of the few things that hadn't been replaced. However, to make it more accessible for most people, the only meat that was usually available was meat that had been processed into jerky since it was easier to store.

However, when the meat had been turned into jerky, it turned into something that was brown and hard without much taste to it, which was why most people didn't enjoy it. Still, it was better than the alternative of eating pills and paste made of beans that tasted like sand, which was why people still ate jerky.

But this meat was completely different from anything he had ever seen before.

That smell, he couldn't help giving a gulp before putting it in his mouth.

The moment that he did, he found that there wasn't the sweet taste that he had expected from the cream, but rather there was a slight sour taste that complimented the rich taste of the potato with melted butter atop it.

The more he chewed, the more the flavours spread across his mouth.

However, with the third chew, he noticed that there was something else that was added to the mix. It wasn't a bad taste, but rather it elevated the overall taste to another level.

It was the taste of the meat that had been present. The moment that he chewed into the meat, it released its juices.

Yes, the meat was juicy!

It wasn't like the jerky that he had tried before, rather it was a meat that was filled with umami and saltiness that complimented the full taste of the potato. It was like an explosion of flavour had just appeared in his mouth.

He couldn't understand it at all.

After all, normally when you make jerky, it was made by letting the meat dry in the sun. Sometimes they would rub salt over it to make it dry faster, but the jerky would turn out dry and hard in the end no matter what.

He had never seen meat that had been preserved like this before

However, his confusion wasn't enough to stop him from continuing to eat.

After that first bite, he couldn't stop himself as he took a second bite with the same amount of cream and meat atop it. It was the same as before, but somehow it was different as well.

As he continued to chew, he realized that it was because of the first bite. The lingering tastes in his mouth helped enhance the taste of the second bite, making it even more delicious.

He continued like this, stuffing more and more bites of the baked potato into his mouth, but as he ate, he started stuffing the bites into his mouth faster and faster. He went so fast that he accidentally burnt his tongue and he couldn't help taking a sip of the water beside him.

When he did, he realized something.

The water, the lumos water, wasn't just to help clear the palate before the meal and increase one's appetite, it was also to help rinse the mouth of any residue taste to allow the diner to enjoy the full taste of the dish.

He never thought that the juice of the lumos fruit would have this kind of effect, but the moment that he took a sip of water, he felt the residue taste in his mouth disappear. The next bite that he took after that sip of water gave him the same taste as his first bite, allowing him to fully enjoy the taste of the baked potato again.

It didn't take long before he finished off the entire potato.

The way he ate created quite a bit of noise, but no one around him minded at all because they could all remember their first time eating at this restaurant.

When he finished, he couldn't help looking down at the plate in front of him before raising his hand to call the waiter.

When Yami came over, he said, "Can I get one more, no two more baked potatoes?"

Seeing the excited look on the face of the researcher, Yami couldn't help revealing a smile before saying, "Alright, please wait a minute. I'll put your order in now."

The researcher gave a nod before turning his head back to the menu.

The dishes listed on the menu had ingredients listed under them, so he wanted to see just what the cream and meat used in the baked potato were.

Sour cream?

Parma ham?

What were these things that he had never heard of before?

The main reason why the researcher had never heard of these terms was because of the difference in food research in these worlds.

For example, take the jerky in the researcher's world versus the ham in this world.

In the researcher's world, they had only developed dry curing the meat instead of continuing to develop their techniques until they came up with wet curing. Dry curing would be enough to store the meat, but it also made the meat lose all of its juices unless there was a marinade added that would help give it flavour. It wasn't like wet curing where the moisture was kept in the meat to a certain extent.

It didn't take long before another two baked potatoes were brought out to the researcher at the same time.

He didn't mind this at all since he wanted both of them at the same time because in the end, there really wasn't much to each baked potato since it was just a single potato each time.

He quickly finished off the two baked potatoes and then leaned back in his chair since he had stuffed himself.

As he sat there leaning back in the chair, there was a sparkle in his eyes as if he had just discovered a whole new world. It didn't take him long before jumping out of the seat and heading towards the door, but he was stopped by Yami before he could leave.

Yami glared at him as she said, "Are you trying to dine and dash?"

The researcher was surprised at first, but then he realized his mistake and quickly shook his head as he said, "No, no, no, I just forgot. How much is my bill?"

Yami looked at him with a bit of doubt before saying, "It's eight silvers in total."

The researcher looked at Yami with a confused look on his face for a bit before saying, "Silvers? I only have Rubis on me? Do you take that?"

Yami repeated, "Rubis?" Then after thinking for a bit, she said, "Alright, come up to the counter with me and we'll take care of that."

The researcher was surprised to hear this, but it wasn't like he could just run without paying. Especially after he had seen what Yami could do when he had first entered the restaurant.

He followed her up to the front where there was only a single register waiting.

Yami went behind the register and tapped a few buttons on it before a figure appeared.

"9000R."

Now this was a figure that the researcher was more familiar with, but when he saw it, he couldn't help being surprised.

"It's only nine thousand Rubis?"

He wasn't surprised because it was expensive, but rather because it was too cheap.

The ingredients used would be worth at least twenty thousand Rubis and if it was back when they still had restaurants, cooking at this level would be worth at least a few hundred thousand Rubis.

To put it into perspective, when converted into Earth currency, nine thousand Rubis was only around eight dollars. Each baked potato cost around two fifty and then adding in tax, it was around eight dollars.

Yami didn't say anything in response to this and just waited for the researcher to give her the money.

After a short period of being surprised, the researcher took out several bills with the denomination of one thousand on them and handed them over to Yami.

She just put the bills into the slot on the side of the register and then they disappeared with a ding before a receipt was printed out.

She ripped out the receipt and handed it to the researcher before saying, "You're all settled up. Please come again."

The researcher turned to leave in a daze, but then he turned and asked, "What is that door that appeared in my lab? Why did it appear there?"

Yami gave a shrug and said, "Our door appears wherever it wants to, but once it does, it'll appear once a day."

The researcher revealed a pleasantly surprised look as he said, "Then I can have the baked potato again?"

Yami revealed a smile when she heard this and she said, "Yes, you can have the baked potato again." But then she pointed at the table by the door and said, "But next time, don't do anything dumb like that. Also don't forget to take that with you."

The researcher turned to look in the direction she was pointing in and saw his gun on the table. He couldn't help shaking his head with a bitter smile, but he still said, "I won't next time."

Yami gave a nod before saying with a smile, "Then we look forward to your next visit."

The researcher gave a nod with a smile in return before picking up his gun and walking out the door to appear back in his lab.

After the door closed behind him, it started fading until it disappeared without a trace, as if there had never been a door in his lab.

The researcher stared at where the door had been in a daze for a bit before turning to sit down at his lab bench, losing himself in his thoughts.

After a while, his eyes suddenly lit up again as he muttered to himself, "Maybe there is something special about food after all."

Without another word, he stood up and headed out the door into the bright sunshine.

It was said that from that moment forth, there was a gourmet revolution that swept across the land of Mechol.

It was from that moment forth that the father of food pills, Louis Pasteur gave up the study of food pills and started studying different ways to prepare and preserve food.

Second Meal - Golden Egg Fried Rice (1)

The sun was rising on the horizon and bathing the land beneath it with golden sunlight.

As the sunlight came across the land, it also went into the window of the hunter's hut that stood alone in this forest.

The sunlight that came through the window fell at just the right angle that it fell onto the face of the man sleeping in the bed.

As the rays of the sun hit his face, the man slowly opened his eyes and woke up to face the new day.

He didn't hesitate at all to get out of bed since this was already routine for him. Even on cloudy days, he would still wake up around this time.

After getting up, he quickly took a slice of bread off the table and grabbed the bow from the stand by the door before heading out.

For a hunter like this man, it was second nature to head out early in the morning since that was when his prey was most active.

As soon as he entered the woods, he found the tracks of a deer on the ground and he immediately started tracking it.

It didn't take him long to follow the deer to a lake.

This deer was currently drinking by the side of the lake, not paying any attention at all to its surroundings. This was perfect for the hunter who nocked his bow with a faint smile on his face.

In one swift motion, the arrow created a perfect arc in the air before impaling itself into the deer.

The deer staggered when the arrow hit it, but to the hunter's surprise, the deer didn't fall. Instead, the deer stood firm on its legs and after a second of pause, it suddenly started running forward.

"Damn!" The hunter cursed under his breath before quickly putting his bow on his back and chasing the deer.

However, even if he did swear, he wasn't actually that worried.

He knew that this was nothing more than a last struggle from the deer since he could see how much it was bleeding out. He knew that it wouldn't take long before it collapsed, so all he needed to do was follow it.

The deer would normally be faster than the hunter, but with an arrow in its side, that wasn't the case.

The only problem would be if the deer's blood drew out other predators which would bring more dangers to him. However, the hunter also knew that there wouldn't be any predators that would appear during this time.

So the hunter was able to chase the deer all the way into a cave that was near the lake.

The deer ran straight into the cave before collapsing.

The problem was that it was too dark in the cave and the hunter wasn't able to scout out the cave properly. There was a chance that there were other animals in the cave and if that was the case, the hunter would need to be careful.

So he carefully came up to the cave and lit a match that he casually tossed in.

As the match flew through the air in an arc, the faint light that it gave off allowed the hunter to see what was inside the cave.

He could make out the deer on the ground with the arrow sticking out of it and he could confirm that it had indeed run out of energy as it just laid there.

But the most shocking thing that he saw was the door that just stood in the middle of this empty cave.

This was a door that didn't seem to be attached to anything. It was a door that seemed to just be floating in space.

There didn't seem to be anything special about this door, but when the hunter looked closer, he found that there was a picture of a dog hanging on the door.

After confirming that there was nothing else in this cave, the hunter couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore and moved towards the door to check it out.

He lit another match to give him a bit more light to see the door, but the sudden sound of this match being lit woke up the deer.

The deer suddenly jumped up off the ground and with its last burst of strength, it charged at the door.

The moment its antlers hit the door, the door suddenly opened on its own.

The hunter had been caught off guard by this and in his panic, he immediately charged forward after the deer. As he charged forward, he followed the deer through the door.

The cave had been very dark, so his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, but the place behind the door was very brightly lit.

The hunter couldn't help squinting his eyes when he was hit with this sudden change in brightness, but when his eyes adjusted to this brightness, he was shocked by what he saw.

It was a restaurant, but the layout was much different from any restaurant that he had seen before.

There were many different objects that he didn't recognize that were scattered all over the restaurant.

But he could tell that it was still a restaurant since he could see people that were currently eating food inside of this place.

Though the scene inside of the restaurant was very different from normal.

After the deer had burst through the door, everyone inside of the restaurant had been shocked by the sudden appearance of this deer.

This deer wasn't even able to see anything from its loss of blood, so the only thought that was on its mind was to run forward as much as it could in hopes of escaping. Which was exactly what it did as soon as it burst into the restaurant.

The people in the restaurant had been eating their food when they suddenly saw this deer bursting in. The one that was the most unlucky was the one man who was at the table right in the path of the deer.

Everyone tried moving out of the way of the deer, but that one man who was at the table right in front of the deer reacted slowly and wasn't able to get out of the way in time.

However, right before the deer could run its horns right through this person, there was a black shadow that dashed right past this person at the deer.

There was also a black arc that formed in the air before a single maid shoe fell down right on the deer's neck. With the force of this drop kick, the deer was slammed right into the ground, but to everyone's surprise, the floorboards weren't shattered at all.

The deer just laid there in a pool of its own blood as it was dazed by the sudden kick that fell onto it, unable to move at all.

As it breathed its last, it still couldn't understand what had hit it.

Yami stood over the deer with one foot still raised, but that foot quickly came down before she turned to the man who had been sitting at the table in that path of the deer. She asked in a concerned voice, "Dear customer, are you alright?"

The man who had been sitting at the table was shocked by the deer charging at it, but he wasn't surprised to see Yami suddenly appearing in front of him. This person was a regular of the store, so he was already used to seeing this kind of thing from Yami.

After a moment of being dazed, that man just waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright. It's always amazing seeing Yami like this, plus I got to see something quite interesting." As he said this, he couldn't help revealing a sly smile.

Yami glared at him when she heard this which made him turn away with an awkward smile, but she didn't do anything else.

She knew that he was just teasing her since that was the special way that the regulars teased her, he didn't actually mean anything by this. Otherwise, the next one to be lying on the floor would be him.

So she ignored him after glaring at him and turned her attention to the deer on the ground.

After staring at the deer for a bit, she couldn't help clicking her tongue and saying, "This really will be hard to clean out of the floorboards"

One of the other waitresses came forward and said, "Boss lady, I'll take care of it!"

Yami looked at her and then suddenly thought of something as she said, "I'll be counting on you then, Anna!"

Anna gave a nod and then raised her hands towards the blood on the ground. As she raised her hands, there was a white glow that suddenly appeared around them.

The white glow became stronger and brighter until it suddenly shot out towards the deer. Once the corpse of the deer started glowing, it didn't take long before the glow disappeared along with the pool of blood that was on the ground.

Now the only thing that was left was the corpse of the deer on the ground.

Yami looked up after seeing that the floor was clean and her eyes fell onto the hunter who was currently standing at the door. She immediately raised her hand and pointed at him as she said in a stern voice, "It's you isn't it! You're the one that let the deer into the restaurant!"

The hunter had come in just in time to see Yami drop kicking the deer to the floor, so when he saw her pointing her finger at him like this, he couldn't stop himself from trembling.

He tried taking a few steps back, but his back hit the door that had closed behind him. He had walked out far enough into the restaurant that the door had automatically closed behind him.

But before Yami could come forward to beat up the hunter, there was an orc that suddenly stood up and came in between them.

This was the orc that had talked to the researcher last time.

The orc raised his hands and said, "Boss lady, boss lady, please calm down! I'm sure that he didn't do it on purpose!"

Yami had already raised a hand to send out a punch, but seeing the orc suddenly appear in front of her, she stopped moving forward. She looked up at the orc and raised her fist up to threaten him before moving away to help other customers.

Seeing that the scary lady in black was letting him off, the hunter let out a sigh of relief before turning to thank the orc.

However, the moment that he saw the face of the orc, he couldn't help revealing a stunned look and spurted out, "It's the Destruction Orc King!"

Second Meal - Golden Egg Fried Rice (2)

The orc who had just been called the "Destruction Orc King" was taken aback when he heard this.

However, after a moment of being surprised, he recovered to say, "Ah, so you're from my world."

The hunter couldn't help repeating after him, "Your world?"

The Destruction Orc King stroked his chin to think for a bit before turning to call out, "Hey Croquette, this one's yours. He's one of your humans, so it wouldn't be right if he sat with a bunch of orcs."

The one that the Destruction Orc King called "Croquette" was a large man who had blazing red hair, but was dressed in a simple magician's robe.

When he had been called out, Croquette turned around to look at the hunter before saying, "Oh." Then after that, he waved his hand for the hunter to come over.

Seeing this, the Destruction Orc King no longer paid any attention to the hunter and returned to his own table where there were three other orcs waiting for him.

The hunter was confused about what was happening, but since Croquette was calling out to him, he decided to play along to get more information.

But after taking a single step, he suddenly realized something.

He looked at Croquette, blinked, rubbed his eyes, and blinked again before suddenly pointing at him and shouting, "The Great Sage Zweit!"

Naturally his loud shout attracted the attention of the other customers.

After hearing the shouting from the hunter, many of the customers that were familiar with Croquette looked over and pointed at him while laughing.

When Croquette saw this, his face couldn't help turning a bit dark before he waved his hand at the hunter.

There was a layer of ice that suddenly appeared over the hunter's mouth before he pointed at the chair beside him and said, "Sit down and be quiet, you're disturbing the other guests."

The hunter was shocked at being able to personally see magic performed by the Great Sage Zweit, so he stood there in a daze for a few seconds. However, seeing the way that Croquette was looking at him, he quickly sat down beside him and remained silent.

Seeing this, Croquette waved his hand and the ice that had been covering his mouth disappeared.

Croquette then said, "This place is the Between World Restaurant, it's basically a restaurant in another world."

The hunter once again revealed a shocked look and said in a loud voice, "Another world? This place is another world?"

With how loud he was, even Yami's attention was caught.

She looked over at them and the two of them immediately felt a chill run down his spine. Croquette felt it much more than the hunter since he was very clear on what she was capable of, so he quickly waved his hand and covered the hunter's mouth with ice again.

Then he bowed to Yami and apologized before she finally looked away.

Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief.

Like the hunter had said, he was the Great Sage Zweit of the human race, the greatest magician that had ever existed. It was said that his power even surpassed the greatest heroes and demon kings of the past and he was recognized as the strongest man in his world.

But in this place, he knew that he was nothing special compared to Yami

After all, he had already been taught a brutal lesson by her the first time that he came here

Once she was gone, he turned back to glare at the hunter who hadn't learned his lesson yet and slapped him on the back of the head.

The hunter just revealed an awkward look, but he didn't resist since he knew that it was his fault. After all, he had seen how that lady in the black dress had just drop kicked that deer to the ground

He definitely didn't want to be at the receiving end of that kick.

After learning from his mistake the first time, Croquette didn't release the magic that was covering the hunter's mouth this time.

Instead, he continued, "This is a place where you can eat cooking from another world and I can guarantee that each item on the menu is very delicious. As long as you have money, you can buy anything you want to eat." After a pause, he asked, "You do have money, right?"

The hunter tried to speak, but realizing that his mouth was still covered, he just gave a simple nod as a response.

When Croquette saw this, he waved over at Yami who came over with a menu for him and he handed it to the hunter before saying, "Look through this and see if there's anything that catches your eye."

The hunter took the menu and started looking over it, but he was completely confused by the items on it.

It wasn't that he wasn't able to read the menu, but rather the items on the menu didn't make any sense to him at all. There were many different names that he had never heard of and if it wasn't for the descriptions of the dishes that came on the menu, he wouldn't have had a single idea of what these things were.

However, there wasn't anything that particularly caught his eyes until he saw the daily special.

The daily special was something that the chef chose to feature each day and it would always be at a reduced price. However, it wasn't because of the reduced price that the hunter's interest was piqued.

Instead, it was because of the description of the meal that the hunter couldn't help being interested.

Today's daily special was actually quite simple, it was just golden egg fried rice. It was simply fried rice that had an egg mixed in and nothing else.

However, when the hunter saw that it was just this, he couldn't help giving a gulp before he started sinking into his memories.

Even though he was a hunter now, he hadn't always lived this life.

Before becoming a hunter, he had once lived on a farm with his family. His family farm was actually one that had been passed down for many generations and they had specialized in farming chickens.

In the end, the farm had been passed down to his older brother, so he went off to become a hunter because that was the life that he had always wanted for himself.

But he could never forget about his days growing up on the farm. Those were the happiest days of his life, growing up on the farm with his family.

However, since they were a farm family, that meant that they didn't really have much money. So when it came to their meals and their clothing, they made do with what they had.

One thing that they enjoyed regularly was eggs because they raised many chickens on their farms. But since they were poor, it was a regular treat that they enjoyed once a week.

This had left a deep impression on the hunter and his favourite food had become the egg.

Now there was a dish that had nothing other than rice and egg, so he couldn't help being curious about it.

He had enjoyed many dishes that used eggs in his life since he now made decent money as a hunter, but he had never seen a dish as strange as this. Would a dish that only used rice and egg really taste that good?

As he thought about this, he couldn't help becoming more and more curious about this egg fried rice.

Seeing the way that hunter looked at the menu, Croquette revealed a smile as he remembered his first time coming here. He had been the same as the hunter, especially after he discovered the new love of his life, the croquette.

After watching for a bit, Croquette asked, "Did you find something that you like?"

The hunter was jolted from his thoughts when he heard this and he tried to say something, but realizing that his mouth was still blocked by ice, all he could do was give a nod.

Croquette gave a nod in response before saying, "Point it out and I'll order it for you."

The hunter pointed to the daily special.

Croquette couldn't help being surprised as he asked, "Really, you just want this egg fried rice?"

The hunter gave a strong nod.

Croquette looked at the hunter with a raised brow like he thought he was strange, but he still called out to Yami to get the order in.

She just gave a nod and wrote it down on a notepad before heading to the kitchen.

Since there was still time before both their meals came and Croquette was feeling bored, he decided to release the gag over the hunter. However, to make sure that the same mistake wasn't made again, he said, "I'm going to remove your gag now. Remember to keep your voice down, do you understand me? Blink twice if you do."

Croquette made sure to stress the second part because to him, it was very important.

The hunter took a look at Yami who was walking around before giving a nod and blinking twice.

With a wave of his hand, Croquette removed the layer of ice from the hunter's mouth.

After it was removed, the hunter couldn't help looking at Croquette with a strange look and asking, "You are the Great Sage Zweit, right?"

Croquette revealed an annoyed look when he heard this, but seeing the way that the hunter looked at him, he gave a sigh and responded with a nod, "Yes, I'm the Great Sage Zweit." Then after a pause he added, "But make sure that you call me Croquette here."

The hunter had many questions after this, such as why he was called Croquette, but there was another burning question that he had to ask first.

He turned over to look at the orc who he talked to earlier and looked at him for a few seconds before turning back to ask, "That is the Destruction Orc King, right?"

Croquette once again replied with a nod, "Yes, that's him."

A normal hunter might not be able to recognize these two, but this hunter was someone who prided himself in being knowledgeable. He had taught himself how to read and he made sure to buy the newspaper whenever he could to keep up with the news, regardless of how expensive it was.

From the pictures printed in the paper, he came to recognize the important people of his world, which naturally included this Great Sage Zweit and the Destruction Orc King.

The Great Sage Zweit was the greatest magician in the human race, the one that led them in their struggles against the demons. It was even said that without his magical power, the humans would have already become the slaves of the demons.

The Destruction Orc King on the other hand was one of the Four Demon Kings of the demon race, his prestige among the demons was unmatched.

These two leaders of the opposing human and demon sides, how could they just calmly sit here and eat their meals?

Moreover, there was the way that the Destruction Orc King had addressed the Great Sage Zweitit was almost as if they were friends!

If this news was spread, there was no doubt that it would cause chaos in their world.

Even a fool would be able to understand what he wanted to ask, let alone a wise Sage like Croquette.

He looked at the Destruction Orc King too for a few seconds before saying, "That orc and I, we have our own circum"

But before he could finish, a server had come over with their food.

A plate of croquettes and a plate of egg fried rice.

Seeing that their meals were here, Croquette said, "Let's talk later. For now, let's eat."

The hunter still wanted to talk, but hearing the tone in Croquette's voice, he knew that it was useless. So all he could do was give a nod of agreement.

He turned to look at their meals and he was surprised that Croquette's meal arrived at the same time as his. After all, Croquette's meal looked much more complicated than his.

But the reason for that was that Croquette had ordered his food much earlier than the hunter. He had already ordered before the hunter even came into the restaurant.

So that delay made their meals arrive at the same time.

After looking at Croquette's meal for a bit, the hunter finally turned his attention to his own meal.

He was shocked the moment that he saw his own meal.

That was because there was only a single yellow mound in front of him.

When he looked closer, he found that it was a large mound of egg fried rice, but it was different from any egg fried rice that he had seen before.

That was because when he looked more closely, he saw that each grain of rice was actually completely surrounded in egg instead of just pieces of egg stir fried with rice.

The more he looked at it, the less it seemed like a mound of egg fried rice and the more it seemed like a pile of gold

"Just what is this place?" He couldn't help muttering to himself.

Second Meal - Golden Egg Fried Rice (3)

But even if he was doubtful about the meal, he couldn't stop his scent of the food from drifting into his nose.

The smell was a delicious smell that he had never smelled before and he couldn't help giving a gulp as he looked down at the rice in front of him.

After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't resist it anymore as he picked up the spoon and picked up a spoonful of those golden grains.

The smell was even stronger as he brought the spoon closer. That smell of steaming hot rice with fresh cooked eggs invoked the hunger inside of him, making his stomach grumble and his saliva run.

Before he could take a bite, he wouldn't help giving a gulp.

The moment that the spoonful of rice entered his mouth, it was as if the grains of rice melted.

No, it wasn't the grains of rice that melted, but rather the egg that was wrapped around each grain of rice.

This egg fried rice wasn't made with just stir fried eggs, but rather each grain was coated in a layer of egg that was still a bit raw. This smooth taste of egg slid right down his throat without him being able to control it and he couldn't help swallowing the rice in one gulp.

By the time he came to his senses, the hunter realized that he had already swallowed the whole thing.

But just that single mouthful was far from enough for him.

Without hesitation, he picked up the plate from the table and brought it to his mouth. He raised the spoon at the same time and started shoveling the egg fried rice in his face as quickly as possible.

However, while he quickly shoved the egg fried rice in his face, he was also careful with how he did it. He made sure that he didn't spill a single drop of the egg fried rice, making sure that every grain of it went in his mouth.

He couldn't afford to drop a single drop, that was just how delicious it was.

Croquette had a smile on his face when he saw this as he remembered his own first time here.

It had been the same for him, but the dish that he had eaten was naturally his darling croquettes.

Everyone around him also couldn't help revealing the same smile because they had all experienced the same thing when they first came to this restaurant. That was just the effect that the food here had.

It also made them turn back to their food and start eating with the same gusto as the hunter.

As for the hunter, he continued shoving the egg fried rice down his mouth until he came close to choking. With this, he had no choice but to stop and take a sip of the water beside him.

That sip of the water surprised him since he never expected the strong taste of the water.

This wasn't just water, but rather water that had a hint of a sour fruit to it. While it was sour, it wasn't bad because the slightly sour taste actually helped cleanse his palate a bit after it had been covered in that sticky egg yolk.

After he stopped himself from choking, the hunter shoveled another spoonful of the egg fried rice into his mouth before suddenly stopping.

He looked down at the egg fried rice in front of him before turning to look at the glass of water.

This was

He stopped after that mouthful of the egg fried rice and picked up the water to take another sip.

With that sip, he felt his palate being cleansed and the residual stickiness of the egg yolk was cleared out.

When he took another spoonful of the egg fried rice into his mouth, he could taste the perfect taste that he had tasted the first time. That feeling of the egg fried rice almost melting in his mouth was perfect that he once again couldn't help swallowing.

But the hunter had learned his lesson and alternating the water and the egg fried rice, he finished off the entire bowl. Of course, there was much more rice than water, so he had to refill his water several times during his meal.

By the end of it, he couldn't help giving a burp as he was surprised by how full he was with just a single bowl of egg fried rice.

The problem was that he didn't understand that rice would expand in his stomach when he drank excess fluids, so this was what caused his stomach to be so full. It wouldn't take long before he was hungry again, but that was a problem for later.

After the hunter finished his meal, he couldn't help looking down at the empty bowl in front of him.

He didn't understand how this worked.

It was nothing more than a simple bowl of fried rice with eggs, there wasn't anything special about it at allSo why did it taste so good?!

He really wanted to have another bowl, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to finish it, so he had no choice but to stop for now.

As he settled, he turned his attention back to the restaurant.

Just what was this place?

As he remembered, he came through the door that had been in the middle of the cave and then he appeared in this place

Could it be that the door was teleportation magic?

That did make sense since the Destruction Orc King and the Great Sage Zweit were both here. So was this a special restaurant that was hidden somewhere in their world?

Croquette had finished his meal at this time and he noticed that the hunter was looking around himself at the restaurant. It didn't take much for him to guess what the hunter was thinking since he had thought the same thing when he had first come to this place.

He said in a calm voice, "This is another world."

The hunter jolted when he heard this before immediately turning to look at Croquette with a look of disbelief, "Another world? You're saying that the door brought us to another world?"

He turned back to look at the door that led out of the restaurant before asking, "Can we go back?"

If this really was another world, then the first thing that he was worried about was if he had been trapped here.

Croquette pointed at the door and said, "Just go back through that door and you'll appear where you came from. That's how the magic of the door works."

The hunter revealed a confused look as he asked, "But where did that door come from?"

Croquette gave a shrug before saying, "Even I don't know that. I've tried studying the door many times, but I've never been able to figure out the magic behind it. All I know is that it likes to go to random places and it creates many copies of itself, almost as if it's trying to bring more people to this restaurant."

The hunter was even more confused when he heard this, but since Croquette had said that he didn't understand how it worked, he wasn't able to ask anything else.

Croquette seemed to remember something and added, "The door will appear once a day, so you can come back here for a meal every day."

This was the most important thing for the customers of the restaurant since they were no longer able to live without the food from the restaurant anymore. It was almost like a drug that they were completely addicted to.

It was the same case with the hunter as he let out a sigh of relief when he heard this.

If he wasn't able to have this egg fried rice again, he really didn't know what to do with himself.

Since he wasn't able to ask anything about that door, he snuck a peek at the Destruction Orc King before asking, "Is it really alright for you to be here with him at the same time?"

Croquette wasn't surprised to hear this question again because anyone with a bit of knowledge in their world would ask this.

He shook his head and instead of answering, he asked, "Why do you think that it's not alright for me to be here at the same time as him?"

The hunter revealed an awkward look before slowly saying, "Well, you're one of the leaders of the human race and he's one of the Four Demon Kings, so"

Croquette then said, "All that means is that we're on different sides because of our positions and our statuses, but does that say anything about us as people?"

The hunter couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.

Croquette continued, "While we have to fight because of our obligations, that doesn't mean that we want to."

The hunter was even more shocked by these words. Were these really things that one of the leading figures of the human race should be saying?

Croquette could see the confused look on the hunter's face, but he didn't try to explain himself. After all, this was just how it was when one gained power to rise above the rest.

Only those at the same level would understand how they felt.

As the hunter stared at Croquette, he started to understand what he meant a bit better.

To put it simply, it was most likely what it felt to have a rival.

After a moment of silence, Croquette suddenly said, "Do you know why I'm called Croquette?"

Hearing this, the hunter immediately gave an interested nod. This was a question that had been on his mind for a long time now.

Croquette pointed at the empty plate in front of him and said, "The thing that I was eating, it's called a croquette. All of us use nicknames based on the dishes that we love the most here. So you would be named Egg Fried Rice."

He then revealed a mischievous smile and pointed at the Destruction Orc King before saying, "Do you know what his nickname is?"

The hunter looked at the Destruction Orc King before turning back to shake his head.

The smile on Croquette's face grew wider as he said, "It's Parfait."

The hunter revealed a confused look as he asked, "Parfait? What's a parfait?"

With the same smile, he pointed at the Destruction Orc King again, but this time he pointed at what was in his hand, "Do you see the glass that he's holding? The one filled with those different colours?"

The hunter turned back to look in that direction and nodded when he saw it.

Croquette then asked, "Isn't it funny seeing such a large orc eating something so small and delicate?"

The hunter shook his head after a pause before saying, "Everyone's free to eat what they want. There's nothing funny about it."

Croquette's smile froze on his face before he said with a sigh, "You're no fun at allBut you are right. That is a good mentality to have here since you'll be able to try all the delicious foods that others wouldn't dare to."

The hunter nodded before suddenly realizing something, "What time is it?"

Croquette pointed at the clock on the wall and said, "That clock tells the time not just in this world, but our world."

The hunter looked over and found that it was already noon, "It's already this late? I have to hurry back or I won't be able to make it in time before the market closes!"

As he was about to turn and run, Croquette reminded him, "The bill."

The hunter's feet stopped as he suddenly remembered that as well. He waved his hand at one of the waiters who came over with his bill.

"One silver? It's that cheap?"

Though he said this, he still quickly dropped a silver in the tray that the bill came in before turning to rush off.

As he was leaving Croquette added, "Remember, the door will appear once a day."

The hunter nodded before waving goodbye to Croquette.

But before he could take two steps, there was a voice that rang out, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The hunter stopped since he recognized this voice and he turned back with eyes that had a bit of fear to look at the source of the voice. He found that Yami was standing there, holding the deer by one of its antlers.

The hunter revealed an awkward smile when he saw this and he said with a nod, "Right, that is mine"

He took the deer from Yami before heading to the door again.

When he passed by the Destruction Orc King's table, someone suddenly said something.

"Come back and give this parfait a try. I'm sure that you won't regret it. You're at least open minded enough unlike a foolish sage."

The hunter was once again surprised, but he gave a nod in agreement.

Holding the deer, the hunter went out the door with the dog on it and reappeared in the cave that he was in before.

After the door closed behind him, it disappeared into thin air as if nothing had been there before.

The only sign that what he had encountered was real was the deer that was still in his hand. As well as a grain of rice that was still on his face.

He took that grain off and put it in his mouth, savouring that taste once again.

Maybe he would go back there again tomorrow.

Third Meal - Steak (1)

The moon was high up in the sky.

"The Moon Goddess blesses our feast tonight!"

This voice rang out clearly in the old cathedral before it was followed by a resounding applause.

Right after that, there was the sound of nibbling and the sound of sucking that rang out along with the sound of goats crying out.

The goat cries slowly became weaker and weaker until they faded away completely.

The ones that had been sucking at the goats stood up with blood dripping from their mouths, but all of them had refreshed looks.

But before any of them could do anything, there was a door that suddenly appeared in front of them.

This was a normal looking door and the only thing special about it was the dog's paw on it.

As soon as it appeared, the male adult stood in front of the rest and raised one hand up as if he was protecting the rest.

One of the children peeked her head out and asked, "Papa, what is that?"

The man shook his head to show that he didn't know.

After a minute of silence, they slowly let down their guard.

The man had the adult woman take care of the children as he slowly made his way to the door.

Once he reached the door, he carefully went around it to see what was on the other side, but he found that there was nothing there at all. This was just a door that was floating in space, a door that wasn't connected to anything.

Just where did it come from?

The kids behind the woman clearly looked interested in this door, but the man wouldn't let them come any closer.

After making sure that there was nothing strange about this door, the man turned around and said, "Stay here. I'll go in and see what this is."

The woman said in a worried voice, "Dear, be careful."

The man nodded before turning the handle of the door.

The door slowly creaked open. The moment that a sliver of the door was open, there was a bright light that shined through that dazzled all of them.

It made all of them raise a hand to their face to try and block the light.

After a while, they slowly got used to the light that came from the door and were able to look at it from the side. However, the light was still too bright for them to look at it directly, so they weren't able to see what was behind the door.

Seeing that this was the case, the man turned around to give one last nod to the woman and the children before walking through the door.

As soon as he came through, the light that hit him once again made him narrow his eyes and cover them with one of his hands.

His eyes slowly adjusted to the level of light in this new place and he was able to see what was there.

He saw the various tables with many different kinds of creatures sitting there eating things. He saw the service staff walking around with strange dishes on their trays. He even saw someone being thrown by one of the waitresses in black, but the person being thrown had a smile on their face.

But then he saw the window and was shocked.

That was because there was natural sunlight that was coming through this window.

Natural sunlight was the natural weakness for a creature like him, so he immediately raised his cape to block himself from the natural sunlight. As he did this, he also attracted the attention of the people sitting near the door who all looked at him with strange looks.

After standing there like this for a minute, he realized that he wasn't getting burned by the sunlight here.

He couldn't help slowly peeking out at the window from behind his cape, but he found that there was nothing special about it. The only thing that was different was that even though the sun fell onto him, he didn't feel any pain at all.

What was going on here?

For one of the bloodkin like him, he should be burning in this sunlight. So why wasn't it happening?

As he stood there in a daze, the waitress in black that he saw throwing someone earlier came over.

Yami had seen everyone was staring at this person, so she decided to come over and help him before he caused a scene.

The man didn't notice her walking over since he was still looking at the window, so he was surprised when he suddenly heard her voice say, "Hi, welcome to the Between World Restaurant. Can I get you a table?"

The man suddenly jumped back when he heard this and he narrowed his eyes to look at Yami. After staring for a bit, he said, "What is this strange place? Who are you?"

Yami wasn't fazed by this at all since this was a rather normal reaction for a first time customer. She just calmly explained, "This is the Between World Restaurant, a restaurant in another world. The door you just took led you to another world."

The man turned back to look at the door before turning back to Yami and saying, "Another world? Are you crazy? How could a random door lead me to another world?"

He then started looking around himself and frantically saying, "I don't know what kind of illusion magic you've used here, but you won't fool me! Reveal your true appearance or I will"

The man had been raising his hands in a threatening gesture as he said this, but then he suddenly froze as he felt a pressure fall onto him.

This wasn't a normal kind of pressure, it was a pressure that came from the very bottom of his soul. It was a pressure that came from the essence of his blood.

Another waitress came up from behind Yami and said, "Boss lady, it seems like it's one of mine. I'll take care of this one."

Yami looked at her and gave a nod, "Alright Anna." Then she just walked off without looking at the man again.

But Anna had seen that her fist had been clenched.

If she hadn't intervened, it would be hard to say what would have happened to the man.

The man looked at Anna with a terrified look, but that look also had a bit of confusion to it. It was as if he recognized this person, but he also couldn't remember who she was.

But just looking at her made his blood tremble as if he felt a sort of innate fear towards her.

After seeing that Yami was gone, Anna's face turned cold as she looked back at the man and said, "You're Vlad's kid aren't you?"

The man trembled when he heard this, but he gave a nod in response.

Anna continued in her cold voice, "Do you want to die? You think that you're immortal just because you're a bloodkin?"

The man couldn't help trembling again as he shook his head.

He had been in a daze since he had heard her name since he felt like he had heard it somewhere beforeBut it seemed like it had been a long time since he had heard this name

He didn't know where it was from, but he felt that it was important.

After a long silence, he finally said, "Annabelle Bloodvein!"

Anna's face immediately turned red as everyone started looking in their direction after hearing the shout from the man. To the side, Croquette couldn't help revealing a bitter smile and looking at Anna with a sympathetic look because this was what he had experienced last week

Anna didn't hesitate at all to land a blow to the top of the man's head which immediately sent him to the ground. Then she said in a cold voice, "Do you want me to kill you myself?"

The man once again felt a pressure that came from deep inside of his blood, but this time he knew why he felt this way.

This woman in front of him was the progenitor of all the bloodkin, the one true vampire, Annabelle Bloodvein!

But what was she doing here?

It was said that she had been chosen by the Moon Goddess to serve by her side!

Then if she was here, could it mean that this was the temple of the Moon Goddess?

The man quickly shook his head and covered his mouth.

After Anna made sure that Yami wasn't looking over, she finally said, "What are you doing here?"

The man lowered his voice and explained what happened.

Anna looked at the door and said, "Like the boss lady explained earlier, this is the Between World Restaurant, a restaurant in a different world. The door likes to appear in random places and it chose to appear where you were, so you're quite lucky."

The man couldn't help looking around himself before muttering, "This really is another world? But if Miss Annabelle is here, then that means that this must be the realm of the gods"

Anna couldn't help putting her face in her hand when she heard this, but she also said, "No, this isn't anything like that, this is just a normal restaurant. Also, call me Anna, stop calling me Annabelle. I left that name behind a long time ago."

The man quickly nodded and said, "Yes, Miss AnnabMiss Anna."

The way that he acted, it was almost like looking at an obedient puppy.

Anna couldn't help shaking her head again before waving her hand at him and saying, "Come with me, I'll show you to a table."

The man nodded once again before following behind her.

Anna brought him over to an empty table before putting a menu down and saying, "Here's a menu. Take a look at it and tell me what you want."

The man hesitantly took the menu and looked through it, but as he did, his expression couldn't help becoming more and more strange.

After reading the menu for a bit, he peeked his head out from behind the menu and asked, "Miss Anna, isn't this a menu full of human food? Is there anything delicious about human cooked slop like this?"

There was a tiny flame of anger that appeared in Anna's eyes after she heard this.

This restaurant was the place that had taken her in when she had nowhere else to go, so naturally she wouldn't allow anyone to speak ill of it.

As the flames of rage appeared in her eyes, the man suddenly felt another cold chill fall over him. He knew that he had said something wrong, but it was already too late. He was so scared by this chill that he wasn't even able to form proper words.

Anna looked like she ran out of patience as she took the menu and said, "So I'll order for you, is that alright?"

Even though she asked this question, the tone of her voice made it clear that she would allow no argument.

The man could only give a nod in response.

After Anna left, the man couldn't help feeling dejected as he didn't know what fate was waiting for him. But judging by the way that she had left, he knew that it wouldn't be anything good

Third Meal - Steak (2)

Since he didn't know anyone here, the man had nothing to do while he waited.

He poured himself a glass of water from the pitcher that had been brought to him and he took a sip.

When that water entered his mouth, he was surprised to find that it had a different taste than the water that he normally drank. It was much more refreshing than the normal spring water that he drank with a hint of sourness to it.

He couldn't help looking at the pitcher to see what was in it that gave this water this kind of taste.

There were these slices of a strange yellow fruit that were floating inside of this water that he didn't recognize, but he could tell that it was this thing that gave it this hint of sourness.

As he waited, he also looked around at the different people sitting at different tables around him.

He could sense traces of magic coming from quite a few of them, but there were also people where he couldn't sense a single trace of magic.

As he looked around, he couldn't help wondering how these people were able to sit together and eat like it was nothing. After all, in his world, people without magic were treated as second class citizensno, it was better to say that they were treated as slaves.

Those without magic could only work the lowest of jobs and could only scrape by a living.

Without magic, it was impossible to change their lives, to change their social standing.

But it seemed like that didn't matter here as people with magic and people without magic ate together without a care.

Why was this?

Was it because of the food?

As he looked around, naturally he noticed all the different dishes that the people around him were eating.

There were many different strange dishes that he didn't recognize at all, but the smell that came from them was more than enough to make his mouth water even though he was a bloodkin. Normally, he wouldn't even eat solid foods like this and would only drink blood from other creatures, but he couldn't help drooling over these delicious smells.

If only whatever Annabelle brought him would have the same fragrance as these dishes, that would be enough for him. He didn't even need the food she brought to taste good

But he knew that it was impossible based on the tone of her voice when she left.

It was clear that he would have to face the punishment for what he had said.

If only he had learned to keep his big mouth shut

It was just too late for regret now.

However, when Anna came back, he was surprised by the dish that she brought with her.

That was because compared to the meals that the other customers were eating, the fragrance coming from this dish was something that ignited his appetite even more. It even had a bit of a familiar smell that he could have sworn that he had smelled before.

After Anna set the dish down along with the cutlery to eat with, she said, "Here's your rare steak, please enjoy."

The man couldn't help revealing a confused look as he asked, "Steak? What is that?"

Anna calmly replied, "It's seared beef meat with a mushroom and onion sauce."

When he heard the word "beef", the man couldn't help revealing a disappointed look as he repeated, "Beef? You said beef, right?"

He had his hopes brought up when he had smelled the fragrance coming from this dish, but after hearing that it was beef, those hopes hit rock bottom. That was because in his world, beef was completely inedible.

Cows were valuable creatures that could be used for a variety of jobs and provided milk, so the only cows that were slaughtered for meat were the ones that were in their old age. After all, no one was foolish enough to slaughter a precious cow, that was like putting the carriage before the horse.

So all the beef that the humans ate in his world were as hard as shoe soles, or at least that was what he had heard.

So when he heard that this was beef, it was impossible for him not to be disappointed.

The smell was good, but it was clear that this was a trap.

As long as he tried eating this "steak", his teeth would be cracked.

Anna just revealed a smile and didn't explain anything as she said, "Well, you'll know once you have a taste."

Without even giving the man a chance to answer, she walked away to help another customer.

The man looked down at the "steak" in front of him.

He couldn't help giving a gulp because of the smell of the steak, but he really didn't want to eat it knowing that it was beef. But since it was something that Annabelle had brought him, he had no other choice but to eat it or he would suffer a fate worse than death

So he hesitantly lifted the knife and fork that had been provided for him and brought them towards the steak. Then he pierced the fork into the steak, but to his surprise, he found that the fork easily went into the steak.

It didn't have the resistance that he was expecting, it was almost as if he was piercing into jelly with how soft this steak was.

With this doubt, he brought the knife down as well and he found that it cut through it like a hot knife through butter. There was almost no resistance at all as the knife easily made its way through the steak.

As soon as he cut through it, the smell that was familiar became even stronger.

He looked down at the cut that he made to find something red dripping out of the steak.

He knew that it was familiar and now he knew what it was.

It was blood.

This beef seemed like it was cooked on the surface with how it was browned, but he found that under the surface, the beef wasn't actually cooked that much. It had only been a light searing of the meat and the rest of it hadn't been touched by the heat at all.

As he saw this blood dripping out, he couldn't help giving a gulp.

So he cut a piece of the meat off from the rest of it and slowly brought it to his mouth, feeling both hesitant and excited to try it.

When he took that first bite of this meat, he found that this beef wasn't like any of the rumours that he had heard. This beef was so soft and tender that it almost melted in his mouth.

At the same time, the first bite of the beef released a strong taste of blood into his mouth which made his taste buds dance.

This was different from the usual blood that he drank straight out of animals, this was a lighter taste and was much juicier compared to just drinking blood.

With each chew of the meat, he could feel the juices of the meat squirting into his mouth and dancing on his tongue. It was as if each chew would release more and more flavour into his mouth.

But eventually, he had to swallow as he had chewed until there was nothing left.

Without hesitation, the man immediately cut off another piece and put it into his mouth, but he found that this time, the taste was different.

It wasn't that the taste was worse, but rather it became even better.

He couldn't help wondering why this was and immediately looked down.

He found that the piece that he had cut before was from a part that wasn't touching the sauce that Anna had told him about before. The piece that he had just put into his mouth was one that had been soaked in that sauce.

He found that this sauce didn't take away from the taste of the steak, rather it added even more depth.

It gave it a richness that just the steak alone didn't have. As it mixed with the juices of the meat, it was like getting punched in the taste buds with how heavy the delicious taste was.

After swallowing that mouthful, he cut off another piece of the steak. This time, after dipping it in the sauce, he also put one of the brown vegetables that had been soaking in the sauce onto the piece of meat.

When he put this bite into his mouth, there was once again another new taste that filled his mouth.

This brown vegetable had an earthy taste on its own, but when it was wrapped up in this sauce, it created a very strong umami taste that could even rival the taste from the steak. Then when it was paired with the steak, the strong taste came together in perfect harmony that once again punched him in the taste buds.

There was also a strange white vegetable that was like white strips that was in the sauce as well.

When he ate these white strips along with the meat and sauce, it was another strong flavour. It wasn't the same strong umami taste, but rather there was a hint of sweetness to it this time that helped mellow it out a bit, while also still making it delicious.

This difference in taste with just a few ingredients made the man completely fall in love with the taste of the steak.

Not to mention how tender it was.

It didn't have the toughness of a shoe sole like the rumours said, instead it was like biting into tender jelly with just the right amount of resistance for his teeth.

It didn't take long before the man finished off the entire steak, but even then, he still didn't feel full. So after hesitating a bit, he waved his hand at one of the waiters to get their attention.

However, that waiter didn't come over to take his order, but rather called Anna over for him

The man had been trying to avoid Anna since he was terrified of her, but since she had already been called over, he had no choice but to face her.

Anna came over with a ghost of a smile on her face as she asked, "How was it?"

The man revealed an awkward look before honestly saying, "It was delicious."

This time, Anna revealed a normal full smile since this was the answer that she wanted.

She didn't really want to torture this man since he was technically part of her family. She was just angry that he had insulted the food of the store that saved her, so she wanted to show him just how delicious the food was.

As long as he understood, she didn't really care about making him suffer.

After another moment of hesitation, the man asked, "Can I order another portion?"

Anna said with the same smile, "I already expected this and ordered it when you were halfway done. I'll get it for you now."

The man revealed a surprised look before that surprised look changed to a look of expectation.

He had been completely conquered by the taste of the steak, so he naturally couldn't wait to eat more.

In the end, the man was only satisfied after he had polished off four steaks.

The customers around couldn't help being impressed by how many he had eaten in the end. After all, the man had a thin frame, so they were curious where he was packing it all in that body.

When it came to paying the bill, the man took out a few pieces of silver to pay with which Anna took over to the register before bringing back a receipt.

Before leaving though, he hesitated for a while before asking, "Miss Anna, are you not coming back?"

Anna looked at him with an understanding gaze before asking a question instead of answering his question, "How is your dad doing?"

The man thought about it before saying, "He gathered up a lot of us bloodkin and created a city just for us. It's taken over a few of the empires and we control half the continent right now."

Anna gave a nod before saying, "I have a reason for staying here." As she said this, she looked at Yami who was serving another customer.

The man couldn't help sneaking a peek at Yami as well.

His time interacting with her was short, so he didn't really pay much attention to her. However, when he looked at her closely, he couldn't help feeling a strange feeling coming from her.

It was almost as if he recognized her from somewhere.

After thinking for a bit, he suddenly thought of something and said, "The Moon Goddess!"

He knew that he had seen her somewhere and he had finally remembered. This was the Moon Goddess whose statue that he worshiped!

It was no wonder miss Annabelle wasn't willing to leave this place!

This place was the sanctuary of the Moon Goddess and she was serving the Moon Goddess herself!

This place was the sacred place of their entire bloodkin race!

Anna couldn't help revealing a strange look when he said this, but before she could say anything, the man had already stood up and prepared to rush out of the store.

As he ran off, Anna didn't forget to remind him, "The door opens once a day, don't forget that."

The man waved his hand to show that he heard her before running through the door.

Seeing this, Anna shook her head before getting back to work.

When the man came out of the door and appeared in front of his family, he immediately told them about everything that happened before they all rushed off.

They had to spread the news that the Moon Goddess was real and that they had found her sanctuary.

He had to bring as many of his brethren to this place and let them eat the sacred food known as "steak".

Just like this, Dracula, son of Vlad, the vampire king became the new pope of the Moon Goddess religion that became the main religion of the vampires.

Anna would never know that the statue of Yami that she had carved after the first few times she went to the store would be taken as the statue of a goddess.

If she knew that this was what had inspired a new religion in her previous world, she really would have wanted to dig herself into a hole and hide forever

Fourth Meal - Sashimi (1)

As Finn swam through the sea, he couldn't help knitting his brows.

The scene in front of him was just too tragic.

It had started two years ago, but there had been constant tsunamis that had hit their city and had caused large scale destruction. The fish farms that they ran had been completely destroyed and the city was now in the middle of a famine.

The destroyed buildings, the people weakly lying on the ground, and the rubble scattered all over, all of it pierced right into his heart.

As the son of King Triton, the current ruler of the mermaid kingdom, seeing his people suffer like this was naturally a very painful thing for him.

Swimming behind him, his childhood friend Amphi also revealed a pained look.

She knew the troubles that Finn faced, but she couldn't do anything to help him which made her feel even more pained.

After all, this was a disaster that even the entire mermaid kingdom couldn't handle, there was no way that just the two of them could solve this.

Finn clenched his fists as he looked at the scene in front of him before suddenly closing his eyes and swimming out of the city. With a flip of his hand, there was a trident that suddenly appeared as he charged forward with this in hand.

Amphi knew what he was planning on doing, so she quickly sent a message back to the palace with her magic before following behind Finn.

Finn was planning on going outside of the city to see if he could hunt some fish for the starving people. Only by doing something with his own two hands would he feel like he was being useful.

Unfortunately, it wasn't safe outside the city right now.

The tsunamis were still ongoing and while they weren't strong enough to reach the city, they were still strong enough to throw the sea into chaos.

If Finn were to rush out there now, it was certain that he would be hurt by the raging waves.

But Amphi couldn't stop him, so the only thing that she could do was go out with him and try to keep him safe with her magic.

However, as expected, the waves immediately caught them and threw them across the ocean.

They were lucky enough that the waves deposited them into a cave far away from the city that shielded them from the waves. As long as they were in this cave, they would be safe from the tsunamis outside, but the problem was that they were stuck there.

It wouldn't be a problem if they were stuck there for a day or two, but if it was longer, then they would eventually starve to death.

No one could predict how long this tsunami would last and as long as it was there, they wouldn't be able to leave this cave.

Finn had calmed down after being thrashed by the waves of the tsunami and he was fully aware of the situation that he had gotten them in. Looking at Amphi, his heart filled with guilt.

He clenched his fists again and said, "I'll find a way out of this."

Then he was about to charge out into the waves of the tsunami again, but Amphi quickly stopped him by grabbing his hand and saying, "Don't! If you go out now, who knows if you'll even be able to come back, let alone return to the city. If you're gone, what will I do?"

Finn looked back at Amphi and he couldn't help feeling a pained feeling in his heart seeing her look at him like this. So he could only give a sigh before moving back beside her and saying, "Let's explore this cave and see if there's anything inside. Hopefully we can find some food here."

Amphi wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and nodded in response.

Finn gave her a pat on the head before taking her hand and leading the way.

While he was facing forward, Amphi revealed a hidden smile.

The tears just now were naturally fake. She was the daughter of the top general of the mermaid kingdom, so she was raised much tougher than this. But as Finn's childhood friend, she naturally knew how to manipulate him.

She had done it to keep him safe and from charging out to kill himself, but there was a small part of her that was happy about spending time alone in a cave like this.

Wasn't this how almost every romantic novel she read went?

Maybe this would be her lucky day?

As she thought this, her face couldn't help turning a bit red.

It was at this time that Finn turned around to check on her.

When he saw that her face was red, he couldn't help asking, "What's wrong? Are you sick?"

He immediately turned around and put his hand on her forehead, but all that did was make her face even more red.

He was even more worried and was about to pick her up to hold in his arms, but Amphi recovered at this time and waved her hands as she said, "I'm fine, I'm"

Her voice trailed off as she said this and instead of that red shy look, her face revealed a shocked look as her chin dropped.

Finn was confused why she would reveal this kind of expression and he couldn't help turning in the direction she was looking in.

When he saw what she was looking at, his chin dropped just like hers did.

That was because in the center of this empty cave, there was a door that was just standing there.

This was a very normal looking door and the only thing special about it was the picture of the dog's paw that was hanging on the door.

But that didn't make any sense.

This was a random cave in the middle of nowhere, so where did this door come from?

Not to mention that there was nothing behind it, so where did this door even lead if it even led anywhere?

Finn couldn't help letting his curiosity take over and he started floating towards the door, but before he could get far, Amphi grabbed his hand and said, "Be careful. There are some strange magic energy fluctuations coming from it."

Finn was raised as a warrior since he was talented with the trident and Amphi was raised as a magician since she had shown her talents with magic when she was younger. So between the two of them, Amphi was indeed better at sensing magic.

Since Amphi said that there were strange magic energy fluctuations coming from it, then Finn believed her and raised his trident as he carefully approached the door. However, when he got close, he found that there was nothing special about it.

He went around the back and found that there was indeed nothing hidden behind it.

So what was this random door doing at the bottom of the ocean and in the middle of this random cave?

As his curiosity filled him, Finn couldn't help reaching out towards the door.

However, before he could grab the handle, Amphi grabbed his hand and stopped him. She looked at him with a pleading look and said, "Finn, let's ignore it, alright? This seems too suspicious"

Finn looked at her, but he shook his head and said, "We don't have another choice. If we just stay here, there's nothing we can do." He pointed at the cave around him and said, "You can see that there's nothing else in this cave, so if we just sit here, we'll starve to death. At the very least, we can try and see what is hidden behind this door. Maybe it's a way out."

Amphi still had a look that didn't seem like she was convinced, but she knew that Finn was right.

She could also see just how big this cave around them was and she knew that there was nothing for them to do if they didn't investigate this door.

At the very least, this door represented a hope of escaping this place

So after a long period of silence, she let go of Finn's hand and gave a nod.

Finn gave a nod of reassurance back to her before turning to the door again.

Slowly, he grabbed the handle and slowly turned it before pulling back on the door.

The door opened and released a bright light from behind it that forced them to close their eyes. But it didn't take long for them to adapt to the light and they were able to see through the door.

They found that there was a restaurant that was in front of them, but they could also see that there was no water in this restaurant.

Looking closely at the door frame, they saw that there seemed to be a layer of magic that kept the water around them from entering the door.

Finn looked at Amphi and she gave a nod before waving her hand to create bubbles of air around their midriff. This allowed them to float forward and remain floating even after leaving the water.

The door closed behind them as soon as they walked through.

They turned back in surprise, but seeing that the door was still there, they turned again to look around the restaurant.

As they moved forward, Finn raised his trident cautiously just in case they were attacked while Amphi had her hands slightly raised and covered in magic, so she could use her magic to protect them if anything happened.

But before they could float forward a few feet, there was a woman with pitch black hair and a dark waitress dress that came forward.

Slapped the trident out of Finn's hand and gave a glare to Amphi before saying, "No violence in here."

Feeling the chill running down her back and remembering how he was unable to react to her movement, both Amphi and Finn gave nods to show they understood.

With a wave of his hand, Finn's trident disappeared into bubbles and Amphi lowered her hands and released the magic energy that she had gathered.

Seeing this, Yami gave a nod before explaining to them what this place was.

Both of them said in shocked voices at the same time, "A restaurant in another world?"

They couldn't help looking around the restaurant, but they couldn't really see it as another world. After all, many of the things that they saw were similar to things that they saw in their own world.

One of the few different things was the lights above them.

Instead of being lights powered by magic, these lights were powered by something else that they couldn't understand and they were much brighter than lights powered by magic.

Still, they slowly came to accept that this was another world since there were creatures here that they didn't see in their world. Such as those large green humanoid things, those were definitely not things from their world.

After staring for a bit, they realized that this place was a human restaurant and they were the only ones floating there with fish tails. Seeing this made them feel a bit awkward, so Finn gave a nod to Amphi and she started using her magic to change them.

This was a transformation spell that would allow her to change their tails to human legs, giving them the same appearances as humans.

However, after casting her spell, Amphi realized that she had forgotten about something. Finn also realized it at the same time as her.

Clothes!

They had forgotten to put clothes on their lower half!

Once this spell finished, their lower half would be completely exposed!

It was fine normally since mermaids and mermen didn't have any shame about revealing their tails that hid their private parts, but it was different with human legs. After all, human bottom halves didn't have something hiding their private parts!

Yami gave a sigh when she saw this and with a wave of her hand, there was a skirt and a pair of pants that appeared on Amphi and Finn's bottom half respectively.

Seeing this, both Amphi and Finn let out a sigh of relief as they landed on their human legs covered in these human clothes.

Yami just said, "It's not the first time we've had mermaid and merman customers."

Amphi and Finn were both surprised when they heard this.

Fourth Meal - Sashimi (2)

Yami ignored their surprised looks and turned around, waving her hand at them to follow her.

Since it was quite crowded in the restaurant, she brought them to the bar facing the kitchen which had a few seats together open.

After sitting down, both Amphi and Finn couldn't help looking at the kitchen through the bar window where they found three people cooking in there.

But their attention was quickly pulled away from the kitchen as Yami handed them menus and then she said, "You can order whatever you want, just call me when you're ready. Also, it's free refills for the water, so take your time."

Without waiting for a response from them, she headed off to serve another customer since they were quite packed today.

Finn and Amphi didn't have time to react before Yami was gone, but since she was gone, there was nothing that they could do except look at the menu that she had brought them.

When they read through them, they found that there were a lot of strange dishes that they had never heard of before. The few dishes that they had heard of were the ones that they had heard their parents mention.

These weren't dishes of the mermaid kingdom, but rather dishes of the human kingdom on land.

But according to what their parents had said, the dishes that the humans on land ate were made from creatures that were found on land. They didn't suit the mermaid taste palette, so it didn't taste good to them.

Since they had already heard this, they decided to ignore these dishes and continue looking through the menu.

Only when they reached the part of the menu that was about fish dishes did they stop.

After all, fish was the main diet of the mermaid kingdom.

But to their surprise, they hadn't heard of any of the dishes that were on the menu.

Especially the ones that were recommended the most, the raw fish dishes.

Raw fish was a concept that they were unfamiliar with because they had never eaten raw fish before. It was a concept that had been tried before, but the ones that ate the raw fish said that there was no real taste to raw fish, so there was no point eating it raw.

But in this place, they actually had dishes that were just raw fish

They couldn't help wondering what kind of taste the raw fish of this world would have

So both of them couldn't hold back their curiosity and decided on one of the raw fish dishes.

After calling Yami back, Finn ordered the sashimi plate for the two of them.

Yami just quickly took their orders and then headed to the kitchen.

While they were sitting there, they had nothing to do, so they decided to check the water that Yami had brought for them.

As mermaids, they had a high standard when it came to water. They needed it more than humans to survive, so they only accepted the best and purest kind of water.

This water that Yami had brought them, they couldn't help being surprised by how pure and clear it was.

Though there was one thing about it that confused them.

The yellow fruit that was floating in the middle of the water, what was that for?

"It's a lemon."

A gruff voice rang out from beside them that surprised the two of them that had been focused on the jug of water in front of them. But after being surprised, they turned to see a rough looking middle aged man sitting beside them with a smile on his face as he looked at them.

The two of them revealed embarrassed looks before calming themselves down. Then Finn asked that middle aged man, "What is this lemon?"

The middle aged man explained, "A lemon is a fruit from the land that has a sour taste to it. Since you mermaids live under the water, it isn't surprising that you haven't heard of it before, but I can guarantee that it makes the water taste better."

Finn and Amphi looked at each other before thanking this middle aged man for explaining this to them.

Then they both poured a cup of this "lemon" water for themselves and hesitantly took a sip. But after that first sip, they immediately chugged the rest of the water for themselves.

This taste was something that they had never tasted underwater before. This water was pure and delicious, but what made it even more delicious was the "lemon" that was put in it.

It gave it a slight sourness, but it also left a refreshing taste in their mouths, almost like the magic potions that they drank to purify their innate magic.

Then to their surprise, after drinking that cup, they felt the impurities in their body disappear.

This feeling, it was indeed like the magic potions that they took!

They couldn't help pouring a few more glasses and in no time, they had completely finished off the jug of water.

The two of them looked at the empty jug with hesitant looks as they wondered whether they should get another jug or not.

But while they were debating this, one of the other waitresses didn't give them that chance.

Seeing that they were out of water, she came over and took the jug away before coming back with another jug filled with the same lemon water.

Seeing this, the two of them looked at each other with bitter smiles before only drinking another cup. Drinking that much water was getting to them even if they were mermaids and they could feel their stomachs filling up.

It wasn't good for them to fill up on just water since they still had food coming.

They didn't know how long they would be trapped in that cave, so they needed to have some food at least.

Seeing them not chug the water for once, the middle aged man gave a laugh before saying, "It seems like you've had your fill. I felt full just watching the two of you drinking the water."

Both Finn and Amphi revealed faint blushes as they remembered what they had done before.

However, Finn was raised by the royal family and he had the manners of a royal, so he gave a slight bow to the middle aged man and said in a grateful voice, "Thank you for telling us about the lemon."

The middle aged man just waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, it's just a little advice for someone new. So how did you like the water?"

Finn gave a strong nod as he said, "It was delicious."

The middle aged man gave a laugh as he said, "It was delicious even for mermaids? Then that really is saying something about this restaurant's water."

Both Finn and Amphi couldn't help smiling in response to this.

The middle aged man then asked, "It really is rare to see mermaids since they don't make contact with humans in my world. Do you want to talk for a bit while waiting for our food?"

Finn and Amphi couldn't help asking, "Your world? Aren't you from this world?"

The middle aged man waved his hand again and said, "No, I'm from a different world from you, but I still came from the door just like you. That door not only connects to your world, but a bunch of other different worlds as well. Almost everyone in this restaurant is someone from another world, though there are also plenty of people from the same world."

Finn and Amphi couldn't help looking around the restaurant with shocked looks.

Indeed, when they looked more closely, they found that most people were wearing different styled clothes from each other. It was clear that they came from different worlds, or at least from different cultures.

Both of them couldn't help giving sighs as they realized that their worlds had suddenly been expanded countless times. There were all those different worlds out there other than their own

They really couldn't help feeling like they were frogs at the bottom of the well.

The middle aged man revealed a smile when he saw this. He had felt the same way the first time he had been here, but slowly he had adjusted to it and had accepted this fact.

After thinking for a bit, he suddenly asked, "Are you royals?"

Finn was surprised, but he gave an honest nod in response before asking, "How could you tell?"

The middle aged man revealed a warm smile and said, "Well, it's pretty obvious based on the way you act and the way you dress, but you could also say that birds of a feather flock together."

Finn revealed a confused look, "Birds? What are those?"

The middle aged man's smile turned stiff before he remembered who he was talking to so he explained, "Well, birds are creatures that live above ground that can fly in the sky. They have something on their bodies called feathers and they come together in flocks based on the type, so the saying means that people who are alike come together."

Finn gave an understanding nod before saying, "Oh, so you're also a royal?"

The middle aged man gave a nod and said, "You could say that." Then after a pause, he asked, "I can also see that there's something troubling you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Finn hesitated a bit before giving a nod.

It was hard to find someone that could understand the troubles that he was facing. He could tell that there was something special about this middle aged man and that he was similar to him, so it was very likely that he was a human ruler.

So he was indeed someone that he could talk about his problems with.

So Finn took a deep breath and explained the situation with the mermaid kingdom.

After he finished, he asked, "What should I do?"

The middle aged man answered the question with a question, "Do you know why the tsunamis started?"

Finn was confused why he would ask this, but he answered honestly and shook his head.

The middle aged man didn't give him an answer, but instead asked, "Who do you think benefits the most from the mermaid kingdom being hit with these tsunamis?"

Finn fell into deep thought when he heard this and after a long period of thought, he slowly said, "You're saying thatsomeone deliberately created thesetsunamis? But why would anyone do something as terrible as that?"

The middle aged man didn't say anything as he let Finn think this through on his own.

Finn muttered to himself, "Benefits from thisThe only ones who would benefit from this would be the humans, but we have a peace treaty and an alliance agreement, so why would they do this?"

The middle aged man said with a sigh, "Humans are more sinister than you think, but that can't be said about all humans. At the very least, I can tell you that you should trust humans less."

Finn knitted his brows, but after a while, he gave a sigh and said, "I understand. There are good and bad humans and the ones that we're dealing with are bad ones. I'll have my father investigate the humans once I get back."

The middle aged man just gave a nod without saying anything else since anything further than this would no longer be considered advice, but rather direct interference.

But then Finn asked, "What about the problem of the starving people? How do I solve that?"

The middle aged man knitted his brows when he heard this.

He really didn't have a good suggestion for this because he didn't know the situation of the mermaid kingdom. Even if he did, he would need a lot more data than just the situation since he didn't know anything about the terrain or anything.

But before he could say he didn't know, Yami came back with their food.

So he just said, "The food's here. Let's eat first and then talk."

Finn gave a nod before turning his attention to his dish. After all, he was curious how people could eat fish raw.

But when he saw the plate placed in front of him, he was shocked because this was unlike any fish that he had seen before.

In front of him was a plate of jewels that had been served to him.

Fourth Meal - Sashimi (3)

It was almost so bright that he couldn't stare at it directly, but when Finn looked closer at the dish, he found that it was indeed fish.

It wasn't any kind of fish that he had seen before, but he could tell from the smell and the appearance of it that it was fish.

There was also a strange plate of black liquid, a ball of something green, and a few pieces of something white that wasn't fish that was provided along with it.

As he looked at the dish, he was confused about all the different things that had come with it.

Still, he focused his attention on the fish.

The way it glistened, it was almost as if it was telling him just how delicious it was.

He couldn't wait to put the fish in his mouth.

He picked up a piece of red fish meat and put it into his mouth.

The moment that this piece of red fish touched his tongue, it almost melted as the fatty taste spread across his tongue. This was unlike any fish that he had eaten before, it had a much richer taste that hit his tongue like a truck.

Even the best cooked fish in the palace didn't have the same amount of flavour as this fish did.

Finn looked down at the other pieces and was about to put another piece in his mouth, but before he could, Yami said, "Use the soy sauce and wasabi as well, it'll make it even better."

Amphi had been in the same state as Finn and both of them were surprised to suddenly hear Yami's voice. But they stopped themselves and looked down at their dishes before Finn asked, "What is soy sauce and wasabi?"

Yami came over and pointed first at the black liquid, "This is soy sauce." Then she pointed at the green ball, "This is wasabi, but be careful with the wasabi since it is spicy."

"Spicy?" Finn and Amphi asked again.

Yami looked at them and then said casually, "Well, you'll know what it tastes like once you have a taste. I recommend that you only use a little bit at first to get used to it."

Finn and Amphi looked at each other with confused looks, but they still followed what Yami said.

They both only took a small part of the green ball and put it onto a piece of fish before putting it in their mouths.

Both of them couldn't help suddenly pinching their noses as a strong stinging sensation filled their throats, going all the way to their noses.

However, that feeling quickly passed and there was a sweet residual taste that filled their mouth. This sweet taste helped mask some of the fishy taste of this piece of fish, but it brought out the umami contained within, making it even more flavourful.

They didn't even need to chew as the residual tastes blended in their mouth, making it even more powerful until they couldn't help swallowing.

So this was the spicy taste that she had mentioned

It was definitely different from anything they had tasted.

Finn liked it because it added a kick to his foot that he had never tasted before. Amphi on the other hand didn't like the stinging taste, but liked the sweet residual taste it left.

There was still the soy sauce that was left, so they picked up another piece of the fish and dipped it into the soy sauce before bringing it to their mouths.

As soon as they put it in, they felt another wave of flavour hit them.

It was different from the stinging feeling of the wasabi, this was a powerful umami flavour that had a hint of sourness to it which helped pull out the taste of the fish. The soy sauce by itself already had a strong taste, but when it came together with the fish in their mouth, it drew out the richness of the fish more.

To put it simply, it was like an explosion in their mouth.

Amphi liked this soy sauce taste much more than the wasabi taste, so she put the wasabi aside and focused on the soy sauce.

However, for Finn, he couldn't help looking between the wasabi and the soy sauce.

Seeing that he wasn't moving, Amphi couldn't help asking, "What's wrong?"

Finn didn't say anything as he reached his hand out to pick up a small dab of wasabi that he put on a piece of pink fish that was the same as the first one he ate. Then he picked up this piece of fish and then dipped it into the soy sauce.

Amphi couldn't help being surprised since she didn't think that putting the soy sauce and the wasabi together would be good. After all, the taste that they had was just too different.

But before she could stop Finn, Finn put that piece of fish in his mouth.

Just one chew was all it took before he couldn't help swallowing.

After swallowing the fish, he couldn't help shaking.

Amphi looked at Finn with a worried look as she asked, "Finn, are you alright?"

Finn didn't say anything as he lowered his head while still trembling.

Seeing all of this just made Amphi more and more worried, so she raised her hand and gathered some magic energy as she prepared to cast healing magic on him.

However, before she could use her magic, Finn suddenly raised his head and shouted, "This is it! This is the taste that I wanted!"

Everyone couldn't help looking at Finn when he suddenly started shouting, but they also quickly revealed smiles on their faces as they saw someone walking over towards him.

Finn continued, "The stinging of the wasabi and the fullness of the soy sauce, this is what perfection is!"

Before he could say anything else, he suddenly received a slap to the back of the head that knocked him onto the counter in front of him.

Finn was surprised by the sudden slap to the back of the head. After a bit of a daze, he suddenly sat up again and looked around himself to find the one that slapped his head as he said, "Who did that! You dare slap the crown prince of the mermaid king"

Before he could finish, he suddenly saw Yami who was standing over him with a fist raised.

Just by standing there, he could feel the pressure that was coming from her and he immediately closed his mouth.

He could tell from this pressure that even if he went all out, he would still have no chances of winning.

On the side, Amphi also felt this pressure and covered her mouth as well.

Unlike Finn, she was actually able to sense the magic energy fluctuations coming from Yami. She could tell that even if the entire army's magic division were to be added together, it still wouldn't be able to match Yami's magic power.

This was a monster that was beyond monsters, one that could end the world by themself if they wanted to

Yami raised her fist to give them another warning before heading off to serve a customer.

Both Finn and Amphi sat there with awkward looks on their faces which was made even worse when they saw the way that everyone was looking at them. It was like they were looking at kids who were excitedly having their first meal in a restaurant.

Both of them apologized and bowed their heads to everyone else around them before turning back to their plate of sashimi.

Wasting no time at all, they quickly finished off the plates of sashimi with the wasabi and the soy sauce.

Each plate of sashimi had five different types of fish pieces, but there wasn't a single one that they didn't like. Each type had their own specialty, but one thing that they had in common was that they were all delicious.

However, just this plate wasn't enough for the two of them, so they immediately ordered another plate. Then after that, they ordered one more.

Only after they polished off these three plates of sashimi did they feel full.

After relaxing for a bit, Finn suddenly remembered something and turned to wave his hand to Yami.

Yami came over and without being able to say a thing, Finn immediately asked, "What kind of fish are these? I've never had anything that was as delicious as this." As he asked this, his eyes sparkled as if he had thought of something.

Yami was surprised by this question, but she said, "We use tuna, octopus, halibut, salmon, and yellowtail for our sashimi."

Finn revealed a confused look since he had never heard these names before, but he didn't give up as he asked, "Do you know what they look like?"

Yami was taken aback by how aggressive he was being, but she waved at another one of the waitresses and had her use her phone to look up some pictures of these fishes. She would have done it, but she didn't like having her phone in her pockets while she was working since it got in the way of hermore violent actionsnamely her kicks

The first reaction Finn had was shock as he said, "What are these square magic items? How can they show such clear images?"

Both the waitress and Yami revealed bitter smiles when they saw this.

This was what happened when they showed technology to people from worlds that had a lower level of technology than their own. It had been a while since it had happened, so they had forgotten about this.

Still, there was no time to explain this as Finn focused on the pictures of the fish.

As he looked carefully at them, he couldn't help revealing a confused look.

That was because these fish did indeed exist in their world, but he had already tried them before. When he had tried them, he had been certain that these fish tasted nothing like the fish that he had eaten at this restaurant.

They had been as bland as the rest of the fish that they had eaten raw and certainly not full of flavour like the slices of fish on his plate.

So he couldn't help asking, "Are you sure that this was what you served me earlier?"

Yami said with a nod, "These are the only types of fish that we serve during this season since that is all that we can get right now."

Finn deeply knitted his brows when he heard this and he couldn't help asking, "But when we eat these fishes back home, they taste nothing like the fish that I had here!"

Yami thought about it before suddenly saying, "Ah, that's probably because we dry age our fish here."

"Dry age?"

Finn couldn't help repeating these words that sounded like a magic spell.

Fourth Meal - Sashimi (4)

Yami just said with another nod, "That's right, we dry age our fish here before serving it."

Finn couldn't help asking in a very confused voice, "What is this dry age that you speak of?"

Yami looked at Finn and thought about it before saying, "Dry age means letting the fish sit for a bit so that it loses a bit of its water."

Finn couldn't help being surprised as he asked, "But doesn't that make the fish rot? Also, that would make the fish very hard, wouldn't it?"

Yami shook her head and explained, "Dry aging allows the fish flavour to mature because the fish flavour comes from the oils of the fishes. By letting some of the water of the fish evaporate, it helps concentrate the taste of the fish since there's less water to dilute the taste." Then after a pause, she added, "Of course, there's the risk of it rotting if it's not stored properly, but we store it at a low temperature that prevents bacteria from forming, so there's no problem with it rotting."

Finn revealed a look that was completely confused by the words that Yami said.

He couldn't understand many of the things that Yami had said because it used terminology that he had never heard before.

What was this bacteria that she mentioned and how was it related to food rotting?

Yami could see that confused look that he had, but she didn't bother explaining since she knew that it would take just too long for her to explain everything to him.

She just simplified it all by saying, "In short, we pat down the fish with towels to remove some of the water and then we store it in a place that is cooled so that it doesn't spoil. We do that for several days before eating it. Sometimes we also use things like sugar and salt to help us drain the water."

Finn still didn't fully understand what she meant, but he could get the gist of it from this simplified explanation.

After thinking for a bit, he turned to Amphi and asked, "Could we reproduce a similar effect with our magic?"

Amphi was surprised to hear this from Finn, but she still thought about it before giving a nod and saying, "We can use magic to isolate the fish from the water and dry out the fish meat. We can also use a bit of ice magic to cool it so that it is frozen like she said."

Finn nodded before saying, "What about the sugar and salt that she mentioned, do we have anything like that?"

Amphi thought about it before saying, "Sugar and salt, those should be those things that we received from the humans. However, they dissolve right away under the water, so we have to be careful with how we use them and any supply that we have is rare since they need a special storage method. I don't think that we'll be able to get them in the hands of the citizens with this."

Finn gave a sigh before saying, "I would say it's the same with the wasabi and the soy sauce as well. They seem to dissolve in water, so we won't be able to use them either" Then after a pause, he suddenly looked up at Yami and asked, "Where does the wasabi and soy sauce even come from?"

Yami had the other waitress come back and look up the wasabi root and soy beans for her before explaining, "Wasabi is this root here. We grind it up until it becomes a paste and that's what's used for our sushi. As for soy sauce" She paused before giving a simple explanation, "We steam these beans after washing them and then ferment them with some bacteria. After leaving it for some time, we crush it into paste and the liquid that's squeezed out of that paste is soy sauce."

This was a very simplified explanation of what soy sauce was, but Yami really didn't know what else to say.

At the same time, she couldn't help cursing a certain someone in the kitchen.

If it wasn't for this person, then she wouldn't have had to put herself in this awkward situation of having to explain how soy sauce was made.

Finn nodded before saying, "It seems like soy sauce is out of the question, but this wasabi root" He looked carefully at this root for some time before suddenly turning to Amphi to ask, "Wasn't this the root that was presented as goodwill from the humans last time? The one that everyone said was disgusting?"

Amphi was surprised to hear this, but after taking a close look at the picture, she gave a nod of agreement as she said, "That's right! This was the one that my dad said had a very stinging taste to it."

Finn revealed a wide smile as he said, "If we have this, then we can solve our food problem!"

Amphi was very much confused about everything that Finn had done and said, so she couldn't help asking, "Finn, what do you mean? How can this solve our food problems?"

Finn grabbed Amphi by the shoulder which made her face blush a bit before saying, "Amphi, think carefully. Haven't you seen those fish before?"

Amphi knitted her brows to think and after a while, she said with a nod, "That's right! We've seen those fish swimming around the capital before, haven't we? But if they're so delicious why haven't we eaten them before?"

Finn revealed a bitter smile as he said, "We have actually eaten them before?"

Amphi said with a surprised voice, "We have? When have we eaten them?"

Finn explained, "Not 'we', but me and the guards. We caught them before and tried them to see if they would taste good raw, but they didn't taste good at all. That's also the reason why no one eats them since everyone thinks that these fish are disgusting and have no nutritious value."

Amphi revealed a shocked look, "But they really were delicious weren't they?"

Finn nodded before saying, "They are, but that's only after they've been 'dry aged'." As he said this, he couldn't help saying dry aged in a strange way. After a pause, he continued, "As long as we bring this method of preparing the fish back with us, we will be able to prepare these fish for everyone to eat."

Then as if he was realizing something, he turned to ask Yami, "Uh, do these fish have nutritional value?"

Yami gave a soft snort and said, "Everything we serve here has nutritional value."

Finn revealed an apologetic look before turning to Amphi and saying, "As long as we can bring back this new method of preparing fish, we'll be able to create a new source of food for our people! That will solve our food problem!"

Amphi wasn't as excited as Finn, but she could see the potential in his idea.

If everything that he said was true, then it was indeed possible to solve their food crisis like this. But the problem was that they needed to research and develop all the magic that was needed to process and store the fish, as well as finding people to catch these fishes.

All of it would take a lot of manpower and time before they could use it to solve their problems.

So after thinking about it, Amphi gave a nod and said, "We should hurry back then."

Finn nodded before taking her hand and heading to the door, but before he could take more than two steps, there was someone that grabbed him by the back of his collar.

Finn already knew the power of the ones in this restaurant, so he didn't dare speak in an angry voice. Instead, he said in an anxious pleading voice, "What are you doing? Please let me go, this concerns the fate of my entire kingdom!"

Yami, who held him by the collar, just calmly said, "This customer, I have to remind you that this is a restaurant."

Finn, who had been struggling at first, suddenly stopped struggling as his chin fell down and his face was covered in a blush.

That was right, this was a restaurant that he had just eaten in

So what he was doing now was called dining and dashing!

He had completely forgotten about paying the bill in his excitement and he had tried to run off without paying it.

So Finn stopped struggling and looked back to ask, "Uh, how much is the bill?"

Yami was about to say something, but then realized something else that made her stop. She waved her hand to have Finn follow her to the register and then tapped a few buttons on the register that made a number and a strange symbol appear.

When Finn and Amphi saw this, they couldn't help saying at the same time, "It's this cheap?"

The currency that the mermaid kingdom used were coral coins, coins that were crafted from coral.

The conversion rate was 1:1 with silver.

"Only 10 coral coins? Isn't this too cheap?" Both Finn and Amphi couldn't help saying this when they saw the price on the register.

Yami just reached her hand out and waited for them to pay.

Finn waved his hand and a big piece of coral appeared. This was a large coral coin, it had a value of ten coral coins.

After putting the large coral coin in, Yami gave a nod and said, "Alright, you're all rung up. You're free to go now."

Finn and Amphi wasted no time to head out through the door, but only after it closed behind them did they remember that they were trapped in this cave because of the tsunamis.

They should have gotten some more food before leaving the restaurant just in case

At least they had heard that the door would appear once a day, so they weren't too worried. However, Finn felt bad that he would cause Amphi to starve tonight because of his headstrong personality

But to their surprise, they found that the tsunamis had stopped and they could leave the cave.

So without hesitation, Finn and Amphi swam back towards the capital city.

As they were swimming, Finn couldn't help muttering to himself, "If only if big brother was here"

Amphi revealed a sad look and a look like she wanted to comfort him, but she couldn't say anything in the end.

Finn was the crown prince, but he was actually the second prince.

The first prince had suddenly disappeared one day

Back at the restaurant, Croquette who was sitting beside the middle aged man couldn't help asking, "Your majesty, why did you help that young man? Did you know him?"

The majesty that he referred to was the middle aged man who in their world was the emperor of the largest human empire. He was the man who had united the various human kingdoms under his own kingdom to form the empire that could fight against the demon race.

He was known as the Golden Emperor, Heinrich the First.

In their world, even a second of his time was worth its weight in gold countless times. Yet he was willing to give this time to that young merman.

Before Heinrich could reply, there was a plate of menchi katsu that was put in front of him by a man from the kitchen. This man gave a nod to Heinrich and said, "Thanks, Menchi Katsu."

Heinrich nodded back with a smile before asking, "Do you miss your home?"

The man looked at the door the two had gone through, but he then turned without saying a thing.

Heinrich just took the plate of menchi katsu placed in front of him and started eating it, but he almost spat it out when he couldn't hold back his laughter at Yami's words.

Yami's words also made the man who gave it to him reveal a bitter smile.

"That's coming out of your pay cheque."

Croquette also couldn't help smiling when he heard this as he realized what happened. As a regular, he naturally knew the story of this man who worked in the kitchen, but he never thought that Finn would be related to him.

This man who worked in the kitchen looked very similar to Finn. He was almost a grown up version of this young prince.

As for his identity, he was the missing first prince of the mermaid kingdom, Prince Percy.

Fifth Meal - Sweet and Sour Pork (1)

"Are you seriously telling me that you haven't gotten any information at all?!"

The man in the black suit and sunglasses being yelled at couldn't help revealing an awkward look because there was nothing he could say.

If he admitted it, he would be yelled at.

If he denied it, he would be yelled at.

So the only thing he could do was awkwardly stand there in front of his boss.

But even this was a wrong option.

Seeing him stand there awkwardly made his boss even madder.

The boss picked up the folder that the man in sunglasses had presented to him and threw it at his head as he roared, "If you don't get me any new information by the end of the week, you're fired!"

The man in sunglasses just revealed a bitter smile, but he knew better than to say anything. If he did say something, all he would do was anger his boss and he would suffer more.

It was better to just let the boss vent his anger because he was also facing pressure from the upper brass for new information.

The various other countries had all made different technological announcements during this period and their country was the only one that hadn't made a new announcement, so it made them look very foolish.

So naturally all of this fell onto their heads since they were the ones that had contact with that restaurant.

After he finished venting, the boss looked at the time and said, "Go, the restaurant's about to open." Then as the man in sunglasses was about to leave, the boss added, "Watch out for those people from China and Japan, they really are good at getting information from that place. If it seems like they're about to get something good, make your way in and take that information from them."

The man in sunglasses revealed a bitter smile when he heard this, but he still waved his hand to show that he had heard his boss.

After leaving the building that their offices were in, the man walked a few blocks before arriving at a restaurant that had a dog's paw on the door.

This seemed like a very normal restaurant, but once he went through the door, it was like a completely different world. After all, there were all kinds of creatures here that he had only read about in fantasy novels and had never existed on Earth before this restaurant became famous.

As for how this restaurant became famous

It was a very strange story.

It happened one day when there was a story on social media about a restaurant that had elves and orcs. There were even pictures that came with that story, so naturally it piqued everyone's interests.

Soon, more and more people went to that restaurant and confirmed that indeed, there were elves and orcs that were at that restaurant. But it wasn't just that, there were many other fantasy species that were also in that restaurant.

With this kind of draw, it didn't take long before this restaurant became famous to the point where even the mainstream media was covering it. They received reports that were broadcast on national and international news.

Once this kind of coverage was reached, it attracted the attention of governments of different countries.

The governments weren't interested in the novelty of fantasy races, but rather something much more different. They were interested in the practical use of magic that these fantasy races controlled.

In the different reports, there were many examples of the different fantasy races using magic to do things that would be considered impossible in this modern world.

This kind of power naturally piqued the interests of the various governments and they wanted it for themselves.

So they started sending spies to this restaurant to see what kind of information they could get.

At the same time, they banned normal people from entering the restaurant and even sent the military to blockade it so that normal people couldn't enter during normal business hours.

With the decrease in customers, it was hard for the restaurant not to notice and soon they started kicking out the spies that made things difficult for the other customers.

The countries that these spies were from were furious that a small restaurant like this would dare do something like this, so they started moving in the dark. They began using their influence to impose all kinds of sanctions on this store that would make it almost impossible for this store to keep operating.

Their logic was that if they couldn't get the secrets of this store, they would make sure that no one else could get them.

Not to mention that if they forced the store to the brink of closing, they would be able to swoop in and take over. They didn't believe that they would be able to make contact with the fantasy world races if the owner wasn't there.

But in the end, this store was still around to this day.

So how did that happen?

It was very simple and it only took a single night that was later known as the Dark Night.

The entire world suddenly fell into darkness, but it wasn't an eclipse that did this. It was as if something had suddenly blocked out the sun and thrown the entire world into chaos.

Many people even thought that it was the end of the world, but nothing happened to the world.

Instead, it was the leader of every government and army in the world that disappeared in a single moment.

No one knew where they went, but when they came back after five minutes, they all had this strange black collar around their neck.

None of the people that were kidnapped were willing to discuss what had happened, but after the Dark Night ended, all of the governments stopped sanctioning the restaurant. They withdrew all their troops and only sent a single spy to the shop each day as if they had an unspoken agreement.

Anyone that knew anything understood immediately what happened

This restaurant had enough power to threaten all of the world's governments and military bodies at once

Just what kind of background did this restaurant have?

Skipping forward a few years and coming to the present day, this man in sunglasses was one of the spies sent by one of the countries and it was his job to get information from this restaurant.

Through the years, with the information that they've gotten, the many different countries have been able to develop all kinds of new technology.

While they still haven't figured out how to harness magic energy yet, they were getting closer with each passing day as they gained more and more information with the people from the restaurant.

As for the things that they've made, they were all things that were for pedestrian use. There wasn't a single thing that they've invented that was for military use.

That was because there was a rule in the restaurant and the otherworlders followed that rule.

As the man in sunglasses came in, he couldn't help giving a sigh seeing the spy from Japan happily talking to the cute elves and mermaids and the spy from China talking to cute cultivator girls. He was filled with envy the moment that he saw this, but he couldn't do anything about it

China and Japan were filled with novels that were from this genre, so they had a lot of materials to draw on. Those countries brought together their best writers to devise all kinds of possible scenarios to talk to these otherworlders.

As for the other countries, while they slowly adopted the cultures of these countries later on, they still didn't have enough skilled writers to give them enough material to work with. So most of the spies of the other countries fell behind the spies of China and Japan when it came to gathering information.

But this couldn't be blamed on them.

They were professional spies that were trained for espionage, not in reading fantasy novels, so it was hard for them to fit into this crowd.

After he finished staring at the other spies, the man in sunglasses made his way over to his usual table where there were other lonely dogs waiting for him.

One was a man in a lab coat who was hunched over a baked potato, another was a well dressed man who had sharp teeth that was biting into a large steak, and the last one was a handsome young man in full armour and a large sword on his back that had a large pizza in front of him.

Well, not all of them were single dogs since the well dressed man was someone with a family.

It was just too bad that his family, namely his wife and daughter had abandoned him to go talk to the friends that they had made at the restaurant. So it wasn't that wrong to call him a single dog right now.

Seeing the man in the sunglasses come over, the three of them all waved at him.

During his time here, these were a few of the friends that he had been able to make.

Of course, the main reason that they had been able to become friends was because they were all single dogs that didn't have a girlfriend.

Baked Potato was too engrossed in his research to find someone, Rare Steak was abandoned by his daughters and wife, and Chicken Caesar Pizza might have been a handsome young man, but he had problems talking to women and could never approach them.

They found comfort in each other's loneliness and had become quick friends.

After greeting them, the man in sunglasses sat down and gave his order to Yami.

"Sweet and sour pork, please."

As he gave his order, there was a strong tone of reverence in his voice.

That was because while others didn't know, he knew since he was a high ranking government official.

The one that had caused the Dark Night incident was none other than this girl in the black dress that was currently taking his order.

Only after Yami was gone did he finally let out a sigh and relax.

He turned to his friends and asked, "How has it been going lately?"

Chicken Caesar Pizza was the first to speak as he gave a sigh and said, "I tried talking to another woman today, but before I could say anything, her boyfriend came and I just froze up. They looked at me with strange looks that I couldn't take and I had no choice but to walk away"

Sweet and Sour Pork couldn't help looking at him with a sympathetic smile.

Even though this young man was very handsome, his inability to talk to women had completely destroyed his self confidence. It really was a waste of this perfect appearance that he had

From time to time, Sweet and Sour Pork couldn't help cursing Chicken Caesar Pizza for his handsomeness.

But he still comforted him by patting him on the shoulder and saying, "Chicken Caesar Pizza, it's alright, there's always next time."

Chicken Caesar Pizza looked up at him with a tearful look and said, "I've already failed a thousand times, how could the next time be better?"

Sweet and Sour Pork revealed a wise look and said, "We have a saying in this world. There are plenty of fish in the sea."

Chicken Caesar Pizza revealed a confused look, "What does fish in the sea have to do with this?"

Sweet and Sour Pork revealed a smile before explaining, "It just means that there are plenty of other girls, so you shouldn't give up."

Chicken Caesar Pizza looked at him with a doubtful look, but it did feel good having a friend to confide in, so he gave a nod and said, "I will keep trying."

Sweet and Sour Pork was about to give him some more tips, but before he could, his food had come.

It was a steaming hot plate of sweet and sour pork with a bowl of rice on the side.

Fifth Meal - Sweet and Sour Pork (2)

The moment that Yami put the plate in front of him, the fragrance of the dish made him start to drool.

No matter how many times he had had this dish already, he couldn't get enough of it.

He had only tried it for the first time because he was curious how Chinese food tasted, but the moment that he had this sweet and sour pork, it was like he had received a baptism.

It wasn't that he loved sweet and sour pork, he had had sweet and sour pork outside of this restaurant before, but it never tasted as good as the one that he had here. The one that he ordered in this restaurant was unlike anything that he had ever tasted before, it was as if it was cooking from another world.

Once it had been placed in front of him, he couldn't wait any longer as he picked up a piece of the sweet and sour pork and popped it right into his mouth.

That sweet glaze over the deep fried pork seemed to blend with the fat as he chewed into the pork itself. This gave it a strong umami taste that hit him deep in the taste buds.

It was a kind of taste that he never experienced when eating pork before.

It was almost as if this pork came from another world

Then after taking that first bite of the sweet and sour pork, he took a bite of the rice.

He normally didn't eat rice with his meals, but he never missed out on this rice whenever he ate this sweet and sour pork.

This rice was what held the whole dish together.

If it was just the sweet and sour pork, he would have gotten tired of eating it eventually, but with this rice as a padding, it created a perfect harmony. It was like how everything beautiful needed a tiny flaw to make it perfect.

With the mix of the sweet and sour sauce, the umami of the pork, and the earthy and clean taste of the rice, it was like he was seeing the perfect balance of the universe.

It didn't take long for Sweet and Sour Pork to finish off this plate of sweet and sour pork, but he didn't stop at just that first plate. Right after he finished that first plate, he immediately ordered a second plate.

But it took a while to cook it, so he took this time to talk to his friends who had also finished eating.

After listening to Chicken Caesar Pizza complain a bit more, he turned his attention to Baked Potato and asked, "What have you been up to lately?"

Baked Potato didn't hesitate as he said, "I've been so focused on my research lately that I really haven't had time doing anything else."

Sweet and Sour Pork revealed an interested look as he asked, "What have you been researching?"

With the topic changing to his research, Baked Potato didn't hold back at all as he went into his ranting mode, "It really is the most interesting thing! I've been studying how genes affect the different crops and how they can make them grow more. If we can harness this, we'll be able to grow all kinds of super crops that taste much better and grow faster than normal crops."

Sweet and Sour Pork had a trace of disappointment flash in his eyes when he heard this.

He knew that Baked Potato was a researcher, but hearing the things that he was researching, it was natural that he would be disappointed.

After all, this was something that they had discovered a long time ago through the works of a monk called Mendel.

The crops on Earth were genetically modified already to give the best yield, so there was nothing that he could gain from Baked Potato's research. But he still said with a smile, "It seems like you're having fun."

Baked Potato nodded and said, "Of course, it's not every day that you get to inject magic into different crops and see how that affects the genes. It really was hard getting the funding and clearance for this.'

When Sweet and Sour Pork heard this, he couldn't help taking a double take before asking, "You're using magic to modify genes? You're not using selective breeding?"

"Selective breeding?" Baked Potato couldn't help repeating before he suddenly realized something. He stood up and put his face right in Sweet and Sour Pork's face as he said, "What is this selective breeding that you've mentioned? I have some ideas, but it's clear that it's related to the gene study that I'm doing."

Sweet and Sour Pork revealed a bitter smile.

He was supposed to be getting information from other worlds for his country, but now he was going to share his knowledge with the otherworlders.

But seeing how excited Baked Potato was, he had no choice but to tell him the basics of selective breeding that he knew from his high school biology classes.

During this time, Baked Potato had even held his breath as he listened, as if he was afraid of missing even a single word.

When Sweet and Sour Pork finished, his meal had been brought over and his attention had been diverted.

He already lost interest in Baked Potato's research since he didn't feel like he could gain anything from it, so he turned his attention to his food. However, Baked Potato was completely lost in the things that he had explained.

After a while, Baked Potato said, "It really is interesting, I never thought that there would be such a way. It almost makes the magic crystal research that I've been doing seem silly."

Sweet and Sour Pork had been lost in his food, but the moment that he heard the words "magic crystal", he immediately turned back to look at Baked Potato. After staring at him in a daze for a bit, he couldn't help asking, "What is this magic crystal technology that you mentioned?"

Baked Potato was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard this. After hesitating for a second, he explained the magic crystal technology to Sweet and Sour Pork.

After all, Sweet and Sour Pork had given him a key clue to his research.

As he listened, Sweet and Sour Pork's face filled with more and more shock.

That was because this "magic crystal" technology was something that he had never heard of before.

The information that they had received from the other countries was that people had to be able to manipulate magic energy with their bodies to be able to use it. That was why the people of Earth hadn't been able to make much progress with this since they lacked this ability.

The people of the other worlds used magic naturally, so even they couldn't explain how they used magic to the people of Earth.

So the people of Earth were unable to use magic at all.

However, this "magic crystal" technology was completely different.

This didn't rely on the human body to manipulate magic power, but rather it used machines to gather magic energy in the air into magic crystals that could be used for many different things. So even if one couldn't control magic power with their body and mind, they would still be able to use magic power.

This was the breakthrough that they had been looking for the entire time!

If Sweet and Sour Pork was able to get this technology for his country, that would mean that his country would have an edge over every other country. He could already imagine the different uses that they could have for this technology.

The most important thing was naturally that it was most likely a source of clean and reusable energy!

This was the dream of every civilization!

So he tried to keep his voice calm, but there was still a slight tremble in it as he asked, "Can you tell me how to make magic crystals?"

Baked Potato could hear the strange tone in his voice and he looked at him with a strange look.

Magic crystal was something that was the most basic of all technologies and was something that even children knew how to do. So he was surprised to hear that this friend of his didn't know about this at all.

But his friend had helped him with the clue that he needed the most, so naturally he wouldn't be stingy with this friend.

So he took a napkin and started drawing the blueprint for the most simple magic crystal creation machine that he could.

As Sweet and Sour Pork watched him, his eyes couldn't help trembling in excitement and shock.

As a spy, he naturally had some knowledge in certain fields. This allowed him to have a basic understanding of the blueprints that Baked Potato was currently drawing for him.

But of course, it wasn't important that he understood it since there were more qualified people to take care of that.

The most important thing for him was whether they would be able to reproduce a machine like this with Earth's current level of technology. And what his limited knowledge told him was that this was definitely possible!

As long as he took this blueprint back, he was certain that their scientists would be able to whip up a working prototype in just a few days.

So that was why he was shaking with excitement.

After he finished, Baked Potato said, "Sorry, this is the most basic one that I can give you. I would give you something more simple, but this is the most simple one that I can remember. It's not my field of research, so I can't really do anything else for you."

Sweet and Sour Pork grabbed his hands and shook his head as he said, "No! This is plenty!"

Baked Potato was a bit scared when he saw Sweet and Sour Pork like this, but he still gave a nod in response since this was his friend.

After obtaining this, Sweet and Sour Pork didn't have any intentions of staying any longer. He wanted to bring this back to his boss as soon as possible, so they could start working on this.

So he quickly paid his bill and also paid Baked Potato's bill.

Baked Potato revealed an awkward look as he said, "Brother, you've already given me an important clue to my research. It really puts me in an awkward position if you do this."

Sweet and Sour Pork waved his hand and said, "You can just treat me next time!"

Then without waiting for a response, he ran out with the napkin in hand.

Baked Potato watched him leave with a bitter smile on his face, but he didn't stay any longer either since he was also excited to try out these new concepts that he had learned.

Both Chicken Caesar Pizza and Rare Steak were left there, but neither of them minded since this was just how this restaurant was.

Everyone here came from a different world and had their own circumstances, so they didn't judge.

They just knew that they were friends bonded over the delicacies of this restaurant.

Sixth Meal - Fugu (1)

"Ah! You're finally here!" A young man shouted when he saw that young elf girl running over to his table.

The young elf girl quickly ran into his embrace and said, "I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't get away from my father, he just wouldn't let me go."

The young man shook his head and said, "It doesn't matter! As long as I can see you, I will wait until the end of time!"

The young elf girl looked up at the young man and said in an emotional voice, "Ah San"

The young man looked into her eyes and said in a loving voice, "Flora"

All around them in the restaurant, the other customers looked at them with varied expressions.

The couples looked at them with smiles on their faces as they felt warm seeing these two like this. The single dogs all cursed them under their breath for being fed dog food like this. Then there were the rest that were indifferent to this and looked at them with indifferent gazes.

These two really didn't understand that concept of PDA and when not to display it.

But of course, they didn't get to remain like this for long since there was someone who maintained the rules in the restaurant and she was heading right for them.

The chill that ran down their spines quickly pulled them out of their own world. They looked at Yami with awkward smiles before quickly sitting down and stopped disturbing the other customers.

Yami narrowed her eyes to look at them before she placed a menu on their table.

Of course, the two of them didn't even bother looking at the menu since it wasn't their first time here. So both of them said at the same time, "The fugu sashimi dish!"

Yami gave a nod and took the menu before heading back.

Once they were alone, the two of them fell into their own world again.

Flora asked, "Ah San, how have you been all alone during this time?"

Ah San revealed a bitter smile before saying, "I've been trying to cope by sinking myself into my work, but it really is hard without you."

Flora looked up at Ah San with a loving look and said, "Ah San, it really has been hard on you."

Ah San looked back down with a smile and said, "As long as I get to see you again, it's all worth it."

There were groans that came from around them as many people put on sunglasses. They really couldn't take the dazzling light that this couple was letting off, it really made them go blind.

As for how this couple came to be, if it wasn't for the Between World Restaurant, naturally it would have been impossible.

Ah San had been just a normal young man on Earth, but when he saw that story on his Twitter about the restaurant with elves, his life had completely changed. The moment that he met Flora, it was like his world had been suddenly filled with colours.

He had actually been lost since he had just graduated from university and didn't know what he had wanted to do with his life.

But the moment that he saw Flora, he knew where his life was leading.

So he took that chance and said to her, "Please marry me."

After he had said this, he realized his mistakeHe had completely put his foot in his mouth.

His plan at first was to use a pick up line, but in his nervousness, he had said the only thing that had come to mind. In his nervous state, he had proposed without a single thought.

Flora had only been to the restaurant a few times at that time and was shocked when she heard this proposal. However, when she saw the person that had spoken to her, she couldn't help revealing a smile.

As for the reason she found it funnyit was plain and simple, he was too nervous!

He looked like he was about to throw up or faint just from talking to her, but she wasn't insulted at all. She found it quite novel since there had never been anyone that had acted this way around her.

There was no lack of men around her when she had been in her own world because her father kept introducing men to her.

Flora was currently a hundred and twenty five years old, which when converted to human lifespan meant that she was in her mid twenties. She was considered quite old among elves that hadn't married yet, so her father kept introducing people to her since he was worried that she would never marry.

But those elven men that her father found for her were all the type that she didn't like. Every single one of them was self conceited and prideful, so whenever they talked to her, they always talked in almost an arrogant tone.

Not to mention that all they did was talk about themselves, which she clearly wasn't interested about. And whenever she tried changing the topic, they wouldn't listen and keep going on about themselves.

She really couldn't stand people like that

So when she met Ah San, it was like a breath of fresh air.

Still, she couldn't just marry someone that she had just met, so Flora said, "I'm sorry, I can't marry you."

When Ah San heard this, there was a crushed look that appeared on his face which made a tinge of regret and pain fill Flora's heart. She quickly said, "While I can't marry you, how about we be friends first?"

Ah San's face immediately lit up and he nodded like a bobble head. After hesitating a bit, he pointed at the chair beside her and asked, "Can I treat you to a meal?"

Flora was surprised to hear this since this was her first time meeting a man like this.

It was also from that moment that her life had completely changed.

She spent more and more time coming to the restaurant and soon she would spend almost the entire day here without caring what her father said. Most of the time, she even ran away from home just so she could spend time here.

Of course, she made sure that her family never found out about the door to this restaurant, or she would never hear the end of it

However, there was still another problem that stood between them.

They were from completely different worlds

Ah San was from Earth and Flora was from Elvenar, it was impossible for them to be together forever unless they stayed in the restaurant forever.

In a way, it was like Romeo and Juliet, but instead of feuding families, it was their different worlds that kept them apart.

This was what led to them sharing the same love for fugu sashimi.

One day when they were together, Ah San was telling Flora some stories from earth and he stumbled upon the story of Romeo and Juliet.

Seeing how their story was similar to that story, Flora was inspired to drink some poison herself.

Of course, Ah San couldn't just let her drink poison, which put him in an awkward situation.

Yami, who had been passing by at the time, had recommended to them the new fugu sashimi dish that they had just added to the menu.

While Flora didn't know what fugu was, Ah San knew since it was a famous dish on Earth. Just a single bite of this dish was enough to poison a person to death if it wasn't properly prepared.

It definitely fits the description of a poison dish, but

He wasn't willing to risk his life over something so trivial as a story!

However, he also wasn't willing to let Flora downso with no other choice, he asked to see the certification of the store to serve fugu.

On Earth, any store that wanted to serve fugu had to have a license showing that they had a chef that could prepare it without a problem. So if they had this license, it would at least put his mind at ease about eating the fugu that they made.

Yami had no problem with showing them the license since she already expected this.

After seeing that it was indeed a real license and double checking on the internet, he finally decided to try the fugu dish.

Once they tried that dish, they weren't able to turn back. Even for Ah San who had been from Earth, he had never tasted anything like this.

As they were chatting, their fugu sashimi plate finally arrived and they turned their attention to it. No matter how many times they ate this, they could never get enough of it.

Of course, neither of them were willing to take the first bite.

It wasn't that they were afraid of the poison, but rather because they both wanted the other person to have the first bite. They both loved seeing each other's happy faces when they ate this fugu, so they couldn't bear taking the first bite and wanted to share the happiness first.

But this created a situation where both of them had a piece of fugu in their chopsticks that they were trying to force into each other's mouth.

Once again, it created a large dazzling glow that forced the other patrons in the restaurant to put on sunglasses.

Still, they wouldn't be able to eat their food like this, so they eventually compromised by allowing themselves to both feed each other at the same time. That way, they would both have the first bite of the fugu and be able to enjoy the happiness together.

The moment that they bite into the fugu, there was a very faint seafood taste that filled their mouth that had a hint of sweetness to it.

While the fugu didn't have a strong taste by itself, it had a nice chewiness to it that gave them just the right amount of resistance in their mouth. They could chew on it for a long time without getting tired of having that feeling in their mouth.

But after a while, they had no choice but to swallow since there was nothing left for them to chew.

As for the second bite, they both dipped the fugu slice into the ponzu sauce that came with the sashimi.

This bite was different from the first bite as this time it had the taste of ponzu mixed in with the taste of fugu. The ponzu gave them a nice tart taste that went well with the faint taste of the fugu, bringing out the full power of the umami contained in the fugu.

Unlike the first bite, this second bite was like a punch in their mouth with its nice tart taste and umami kick.

This contrast between the first and second bite was exactly why they couldn't get enough of this. It was like the two sides of a mirror that almost represented them.

But the main thing that they couldn't get enough of was the slight stinging feeling on their tongue after eating the fugu. They didn't know where it came from, but whenever they ate this fugu, it always left this slight tingle to their tongue as an aftertaste.

While the two of them were enjoying their dish, the door to the restaurant suddenly opened and there was a stern looking male elf that walked in. Even though he had a stern look on his face, he was still very handsome.

With his age, it made him look like a gentleman instead of making him look strict.

This middle aged elf looked around the store before his eyes fell onto Flora and Ah San sitting there enjoying their fugu.

As he walked over, his brows couldn't help narrowing as that stern look became more and more prominent on his face.

Anyone that looked at him could tell that trouble was about to come, but for some reason, Yami didn't stop him at all.

The middle aged elf came up behind Flora and while she was distracted by the food, he grabbed her by the shoulder and said, "There you are! I finally found you!"

Sixth Meal - Fugu (2)

Flora had been fully lost in the taste of the fugu, but she was pulled back into the real world when she felt that hand fall on her shoulder.

She immediately looked back at that person and when she saw who it was, she said with a stuffed mouth, "Dad? What are you doing here?"

The middle aged elf tapped her on the forehead and said, "I should be the one asking you that question, shouldn't I? I already said that you can't go and look at youyou still ran off to this restaurant!"

He narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Ah San who also had a surprised look. There was a trace of disdain that appeared in his eyes as he looked at Ah San before saying, "I bet you were the one that tricked her into coming here."

Ah San revealed an awkward smile before saying, "Father, I didn't trick anyone into coming here. Flora just came because she wanted to have a meal, nothing more, nothing less."

The middle aged man gave a snort and said, "Who said that you can call me father? I still haven't accepted you yet! Also, just a meal? You know that her body is weak right now and you dragged her all the way here! What will happen if she collapses on the way?"

Ah San's awkward look became more awkward as he couldn't refute Flora's father.

But Flora didn't hold back at all as she stood between the two of them and said, "Dad, I'm fine. I already rested for so long that if I didn't come out for a walk, I would have gone crazy being cooped up inside."

Flora's father revealed a worried look as he said in a softer voice, "But darling, you're still recovering. You can't just run off like that."

Ah San gave a nod and said, "That's right, you shouldn't move around that much right now. You need to rest before you can do anything else."

The two of them being on the same page like this made Flora reveal a smile.

This fight that seemed like a father disapproving of the boyfriend that his daughter had quickly turned into what seemed like a friendly family squabble. It was like the friendly banter between a son in law and a father in law.

But that was normal since that was how it was.

A story like Flora and Ah San's would normally end in tragedy since they were from two different worlds. A love like theirs would be normally impossible to bloom into meaningful flowers since it was impossible to bridge that gap.

However, luckily for them, they met at this restaurant.

This restaurant was a restaurant that created miracles and in this case, it had created a miracle with their love.

They would normally never have a chance to come together since they wouldn't be able to break the barrier with their love. But with the restaurant as a gap, they had slowly fallen in love.

Then when they had fallen in love, the restaurant had provided them with a solution.

It was very simple, Flora would leave her world and live in this world from now on.

As long as they were in the same world, it would solve all of their problems.

Well, not all of their problems. After all, there was the problem of Flora's family back in her old world. Once she came to this world, she wouldn't be able to contact them again.

But that problem was still easily solved by the restaurant.

After all, there was still the door that was connected to the restaurant that Flora used and other doors in their world. As long as they used these doors, they would be able to come and see Flora whenever they wanted.

The one who gave them this offer was Yami, who had already experienced something similar to this before.

She was also someone who didn't come from Earth and had come to it from another world. But she gave up on that other world and decided to stay on Earth, living a happy life with the owner and head chef of the restaurant.

She had proven that it was possible, so she offered this same chance to Flora and Ah San who were in the same situation as herWell, it wasn't exactly the same, but it was similar enough that she felt pity for them.

So it took a lot of convincing, but Flora was eventually able to convince her family to let her migrate to Earth.

After arriving on Earth, she started working at the restaurant.

They were the ones that were responsible for bringing her here, so naturally they would be responsible for watching over her.

Even if Flora was only in her early hundreds, she was still an elf with powerful magic. There was no way that they could let her run around without any supervision since it was unknown what kind of things she would get into.

If there was any destruction caused by her, they would be indirectly connected.

So they kept an eye on her by having her work in the restaurant.

But right now, she wasn't working becauseshe was on maternity leave.

That was why she had been in her home world again, she was being taken care of there by her family after giving birth.

That was also why the two of them were so worried about her getting her rest.

In any world and to any race, giving birth was a very trying time. After Flora gave birth, her body had weakened quite a bit and there were even worries that she wouldn't pull through.

But she did in the end and both the mother and child were fine.

However, the two of them and everyone from their family were worried about her body. They wanted her to rest in a place that was comforting and soothing to her, so she went back to her home on Elvenar.

Ah San was especially betrayed because he had heard that she was fine which was why he had met up with her at the restaurant for a meal. But hearing what his father in law said, he knew that she had lied to him to come here.

He could even start to see how pale her face looked and his heart was filled with pain.

Hearing the two of them nagging her, Flora pouted her lips and said, "I was getting cooped up staying in the castle all day. You can't blame me for wanting to come out for a walk once in a while."

Both of them felt their hearts ache when they saw this, but they steeled those hearts right after to continue scolding her for coming out on her own.

But then Flora's father suddenly noticed something.

He knitted his brows to look at Flora and then reached his hand out to take her arm. He put his fingers on her wrist and took her pause before revealing a surprised look, "Your body is much stronger than before! What medicine did you take?"

Flora revealed a confused look because she didn't remember taking any medicines.

It was Yami who explained everything by saying, "The food that we serve is filled with nutrition, so it's good for her body. Not to mention, it also helped her recover some of her magic that was spent, so her self healing has become stronger."

Flora's father looked at Yami with an amazed look before turning back to Flora and examining her. He found that Yami was right, the food had helped her recover her magic and her body was now healing itself.

He couldn't help looking at Yami with a strange look, but he found that she had already walked away.

Seeing that she wasn't willing to talk to him and with the lingering fear that he had towards her, he turned his attention back to Flora.

Yami walked over to where the kitchen window was and where there was a man standing there.

This man didn't look that special and if one saw him on the street, they wouldn't pay any attention to him. That was just how normal looking this man was.

However, this man was also the owner of this store and the head chef, Lin Fan.

As well as Yami's husband.

Yami came over to him and instead of her usual cold appearance, she revealed a warm smile. She stood by his side and put her head on his shoulder as she looked at the three of them.

She said in a soft voice, "When do you think it'll be our turn?"

Lin Fan just revealed a smile and said, "It'll come when it comes, we can't force this."

There was a trace of sadness that appeared in Yami's eyes, but she gave a nod to show that she agreed.

This was completely different from the normal strict and serious expression that she had on her face.

It was only in front of Lin Fan that she had this kind of expression and this was enough to make Lin Fan a legend among the customers.

There were many of them that had asked Lin Fan how he had done it, but his answer had always been the same. He would walk away with a mysterious smile before Yami appeared behind them to smack them on the back of the head.

However, no one could ever get angry with him.

His food was just that good.

After scolding Flora a bit longer, the two of them finally settled down and Ah San turned to Flora's father to say, "Father in law, please be assured. I've already prepared everything on this side."

Flora's father narrowed his eyes, but he still gave a nod in the end.

As for what preparations Ah San had made, naturally it was the nursery. However, the nursery that he had prepared was nothing like a normal nursery. Rather, it was like a complete hospital ward that had doctors and nurses on staff twenty four seven just in case anything happened to their baby or the mother.

How had he been able to afford this?

Ah San might have been a poor university graduate in the past, but after getting together with Flora, he had been able to learn some of the technology that the elves had. He had used this and patented it in this world, creating a company that was now a Fortune 500 company.

He had gone from a poor university graduate to one of the richest men in the world.

That was also how he had been able to convince Flora's parents to allow him to marry her.

Thinking back, he couldn't help feeling that it had been a very long and hard road.

However, looking at Flora and his father in law still arguing, he couldn't help feeling that it was worth it.

Seventh Meal - Gratin (1)

The world had been in chaos for the longest time with the invasion of the demons.

Humans had been driven to the brink of extinction until the appearance of the heroes.

The four heroes of light rose up against the demon king and fought for the future of the human race.

Even though they had been severely outnumbered, they were able to create miracles again and again, pushing back the forces of darkness.

Eventually, humans were able to reclaim their lands and push the demons back to their original territory. However, that didn't mean that the demons were done for just yet.

They had retreated, but that didn't mean that they were finished since there were still the four demon generals and the demon king waiting in the demon territory.

The four heroes of light gathered up their courage to bravely head out into the demon territory to finally put an end to this war.

It took a long five years, but by the end of it, they were finally able to defeat the four demon generals and the great demon king. But that victory had come at a cost

One of the heroes sacrificed themself to take out the demon king and they both disappeared from this world forever. He was regarded as the greatest hero and a living legend, but that still didn't mean that he was coming back.

However, his friends, the other heroes never gave up hope and prophesied that the fallen hero would be back one day.

The first hero of light was Angela, the saintess of the holy church.

After the war, she devoted her life to saving as many people as she could and continued on as the saintess of the holy church. There were many legends of her wandering the land and curing those that needed her help.

The second hero of light was the Dwarf King, Gondor Firebeard.

He had only been the prince back when he became a hero and had ascended the throne as the king after the war was over.

Even though he was a dwarf, he fought alongside the heroes and was regarded as a hero by humans and dwarves.

The third hero of light was Elsie the Sage.

She was a half elf magician who received the title of sage after the war was over. She was the most powerful magician ever seen in the history of this world and she had terrorized the demons with her magic.

After the war, she devoted herself to her research and to this day, she never stopped her research even though twenty years had already passed.

As for the topic of her research, it was always spatial magic for an unknown reason.

She was also a firm believer that the fallen hero was not deadPerhaps that was why she was so devoted to studying spatial magic.

The fourth and final hero of light was the fallen hero, Kai the Warrior.

He was nothing more than a young boy who had picked up the sword after his village had been slaughtered by the demon army. He had fought alongside people that were much stronger than him, barely surviving battles after battles until he became strong enough to be known as a hero.

With this power that he obtained, he cut down the four demon generals and opened the path to the demon king's castle.

But in the final fight, he had no choice but to sacrifice himself, taking the demon king with him and finally bringing peace to this land.

Thus he became known as the fallen hero.

However, there were those that believed that he was still alive and were finding a way to bring him back.

"El-chan, are you really still trying to find a way to bring Kai Kai back?"

Elsie looked at the beautiful face with blond hair in front of her and gave a sigh before saying, "We only know that he disappeared when he struck down the demon king, we don't know if he's dead yet."

Angela looked at her and gave a sigh before saying, "It's been twenty years, perhaps it's time for you to give upI know how you felt about Kai Kai, but"

Elsie couldn't stop the tears from forming in her eyes when she heard this, but she quickly squeezed her eyes together to push them away. Then she took a deep breath and said, "You might have given up, but I'll never give up."

Angela looked at her friend on the screen and couldn't help shaking her head while giving another sigh.

While she was still a beautiful young girl with green hair and piercing green eyes, while she didn't age because of her elven genes, Angela could see that she was very tired. It was clear that she got very little rest as she sank herself into her research. It pained her heart to see her like this, but she understood why she did it.

Kai was her first love and this first love had never even come to fruition before it had ended.

So naturally she wouldn't give up until she was able to find Kai againor at least find some clue that he had already perished.

This was the last hope that she had

Angela was about to say something, but before she could, there was a sudden flash of light that came from the screen. She couldn't help squinting her eyes when this flash of light appeared, but then she quickly said, "El-chan, what happened? Are you alright?"

However, that green haired figure had her back to her, so all she could see was the long flowing head of green hair.

On the other side, Elsie was staring at something that had appeared in the center of her research lab. This was something that didn't make any sense at all and if it wasn't for the fact that she could see it with her eyes, she never would have believed that this was possible.

It was a door that was standing right in the center of the room.

This was a simple looking door and the only defining feature that it had was a dog's paw engraved in the center of it.

There was nothing that this door was attached to, so it didn't make sense how it was just floating there in space.

She could also see behind the door and see that it didn't lead anywhere. The only thing that was behind this door was the same lab that had always been there.

But she couldn't help feeling a strange attraction to this door

It wasn't because the design was special or because of the fact that the door was just floating in space.

It was because she could feel traces of spatial magic coming from the door.

This was a feeling that she had never felt before and she could tell that it was different from all the spatial magic that she had studied before. If she was able to integrate this new kind of spatial magic into her research, she was certain to make new breakthroughs.

So she hung up on Angela who was still shouting at her and started moving towards the door.

After being hung up on, Angela still couldn't help being worried and made several calls to different people.

She was currently on a completely different continent, so she couldn't go and help Elsie. However, she was the saintess of the church, so she also had plenty of connections.

On Elsie's side, she slowly approached the door until she was right beside it. She had made sure to go slow just in case there were any traps here, but that didn't seem to be the case.

When she was right beside the door, she started releasing her own magic power to check the door. However, she found that no matter what she did, she wasn't able to find anything.

It was almost as if this was nothing more than a normal door.

But how could that be possible?

Would normal doors really just appear out of nowhere like this?

Even with magic, this was something that would never happen. After all, this was her lab, which was an isolated space that had a barrier around it to ensure that all conditions were constant.

Even if someone wanted to send this door here or make this door appear, it would be impossible with the barrier in place.

This was a barrier that was created by the Sage Elsie, it could be considered the strongest barrier in the world. Unless there was someone that had a greater understanding of magic than her, it would be impossible for them to make this door appear.

By last count, that was indeed impossible since there had been no one more skilled in magic than Elsie in the history of this world.

So after checking the door with her magic, she slowly stood up and came up in front of the door.

She knew that she wouldn't be able to figure out the secrets of the door by checking it since she wasn't able to crack through whatever barrier was protecting it. If she used force, she might even break the door and lose the chance to study the spatial magic that she was sensing from it.

The only option that she had was to play along and see what this door wanted.

But of course, she wasn't going to risk her life doing so.

She changed into full battle gear and covered herself with multiple barriers just in case anything happened before slowly reaching her hand out towards the handle.

With a slow turn, the handle fell down and the door opened up in front of her.

When the door opened, there was a bright light that came from it that forced her to close her eyes. At the same time, there was a faint bell jingle that came from above her.

She immediately jumped back and raised the staff in her other hand, preparing for something to jump out at her. However, nothing came out of the door in the end.

The light also faded quickly and she was able to see what was behind the door.

A restaurant, just a simple restaurant.

Her chin couldn't help dropping when she saw this, but there was nothing else she could do because that was all that there was.

There were many different races sitting at different tables eating. A few of them had looked over at her, but they just turned back to their food after taking a simple glance.

It was almost as if they were already used to seeing someone acting like this, which of course they were since it happened a lot of the times when people came to the restaurant for the first time.

Elsie just stared into the restaurant for a minute before slowly walking forward.

She could feel the spatial magic coming from this restaurant, so she couldn't stop her curiosity.

She walked through the door frame and she entered the restaurant. When she did, she felt the strong spatial magic energy around her that made her look all over, trying to figure out what it was.

However, after she walked through the door, it closed behind her and all the spatial magic energy disappeared.

She turned back to the door, but she found that there was no trace of spatial magic left.

Seeing that someone new was here, Yami came over to greet her, "Hello, welcome to the Between World Restaurant."

Elsie jolted when she heard this since she was surprised by this sudden voice, but at the same time, she felt that this voice was a bit familiar

As if she had heard it somewhere before.

She slowly turned around and the moment that she saw Yami, her chin dropped again and she pointed at her as she said in a stuttering voice, "YouHow could it be you?!"

Seventh Meal - Gratin (2)

Yami revealed a confused look as she looked at Elsie, but she couldn't seem to recognize her.

But it was very clear by the way that Elsie acted that she recognized Yami.

Elsie quickly raised her staff and shouted, "How did you survive?! Kai even sacrificed himself to take you down!"

When her voice rang out through the restaurant, everyone couldn't help looking over.

While they knew Yami through the restaurant, many people didn't actually know Yami's backstory. Now that there was someone here that seemed to be from her past, they naturally couldn't help being curious.

Of course, not a single person came forward to help her.

They knew that she was much stronger than all of them combined, so they weren't worried about her.

Yami narrowed her eyes to look at Elsie because Kai was a name that she was familiar with.

After a long period of thinking, she suddenly hit the palm of her hand with her other hand as she said, "Oh, that's right, you're that little half elf girl who used to be in the hero party."

Elsie narrowed her eyes as she said, "Now you recognize meAre you going to kill me? I'll let you know that I'm much stronger than I was before! You won't be able to take me down like you did last time!"

As she said this, she started gathering magic energy in her staff, preparing to cast her strongest spell from the beginning.

But before she could lower her staff and release the spell, she found that the magic energy that she had gathered had scattered and the staff had disappeared from her hand. In the blink of an eye, the staff had appeared in Yami's hand and she stood there with her hands crossed.

Elsie's chin dropped down when she saw this.

Even though she was known as the strongest magician, she had no idea what Yami had done just now. Never mind her grabbing her staff away, she never thought that it was possible to scatter a person's magic energy like this.

What had she just done?

Yami looked at the staff in her hand before looking at Elsie and giving a sigh. She then said, "Look, I know that we've had our past, but that's all in the past now. I'm a different person and I don't do all that fighting anymore."

She then waved her hand around the restaurant and said, "This is a restaurant, so please have some manners."

Elsie was shocked when she heard this, but she couldn't help herself as she pointed at Yami and said, "Is that really what the demon king that once tried to take over the world should say?!"

As she said this, she could have sworn that she heard stifled laughter coming from around her, but that didn't last long. They all stopped immediately as if there was something that had forced them to stop.

Yami's lips twitched, but she still maintained the calm expression on her face. As for her aura, that was a completely different story.

Every single person who had secretly laughed felt a chill run down their back and killing intent filling them, as if there was someone placing a knife at their necks. So they immediately stifled their laughter and even didn't dare look in her direction.

But their ears were a different story as they all piqued their ears, waiting to hear more.

Yami just casually said, "That was in the past, I already told you that. There's no need for you to get all worked up, is there?"

Elsie trembled when she heard this as her eyes started misting over. She looked up at Yami with those strong eyes and said, "There's nothing for me to get worked up over? There's nothing for me to get worked up over?"

As she said this, Yami couldn't help feeling a strange feeling from her.

Elsie pointed her finger right at Yami and shouted, "If it wasn't for you! If it wasn't for you, then Kai wouldn't have had to sacrifice himself!"

Yami raised a brow and repeated, "Kai?"

Hearing this, Elsie was filled with even more anger and she shouted, "That's right! The hero of light Kai! He was the one that sacrificed himself to take you out!"

Yami revealed a bitter smile when she heard this before shaking her head. She said with a sigh, "Well, to say that he sacrificed himself is a bit too much."

Elsie started trembling with rage after hearing these words. She pushed her face right in front of Yami's and shouted, "You can say what you want about me, but I won't let you disrespect Kai!"

Yami grabbed her by the shoulder and pushed her back down before saying, "I'm not disrespecting him and I'm telling you to calm down first."

But seeing how Elsie looked, she knew that her words wouldn't work.

So she turned to the kitchen and said to Lin Fan who was peeking out to check what the situation was, "Dear, can you go and get Kai from the bakery?"

Lin Fan looked at the short half elf girl who looked like she was about to explode from anger and gave a nod before heading out.

Turning back to Elsie, Yami said, "Look, can you just wait a few minutes? I promise that it'll completely change how you feel about this situation, alright?"

Elsie just glared at her like she wanted to bite her.

Yami knew that if she hadn't been holding her down, she would have charged at her even if she couldn't use her magic.

Seeing that this was the case and knowing that her words wouldn't work, she had no choice but to use force.

So she released her aura and let it fall onto Elsie.

Elsie felt like there was a mountain that fell onto her. It was like weights had been tied to every limb and no matter how she tried to move them, she couldn't lift her limbs at all.

She wanted to speak and ask Yami what she was doing, but even her facial muscles refused to follow her will. She couldn't move a single part of her, as if her body no longer belonged to her.

Yami gave a sigh and said, "Just wait here for a bit. You'll get all the answers that you want soon."

Elsie didn't listen and just kept glaring at her like a mad dog.

Yami gave a shrug before lifting her up and putting her to the side. After all, she couldn't just leave her in the middle of the restaurant like that, she would bother the other customers.

After putting Elsie on the side, she went back to her job of serving the customers.

When Elsie saw her serving customers, she couldn't help being shocked once more.

The mighty and proud demon king was actually lowering herself to serving other people meals

This really was a large blow to her who had only ever seen her as a powerful enemy to defeat.

At the same time, it also blew away a part of her anger. Still, there was a small part that remained.

That was until she saw who Lin Fan brought.

After around ten minutes, Lin Fan came back to the restaurant with someone following him.

This person had a very confused look since Lin Fan hadn't explained much to him on the way here. He had just told him that there was an acquaintance here for him, but he didn't remember any acquaintances.

After all, this person also wasn't from Earth and was from another world.

He knew very few people in this world, so all the acquaintances that he should know were people that were already from Lin Fan's restaurant. But there would be no reason for Lin Fan to bring him here to meet them since they all knew where his bakery was.

If they wanted to see him, they could have just come and see him.

So why did Lin Fan come all this way to find him?

When Elsie saw the person that came in with Lin Fan, she couldn't help being stunned. While this person looked a bit unfamiliar, she would never forget this face and those eyesShe was certain that this was the person that she had been looking for.

When that person also saw Elsie, he couldn't help being surprised.

He never expected to find that the acquaintance that Lin Fan mentioned before was actually his old childhood friend Elsie that he hadn't met in over twenty years now.

It wasn't hard for him to figure out how she came here, but it certainly was a surprise since he never expected her to come to this restaurant.

As for who this person washe was Kai, the fallen hero.

Seeing that Kai was here, Yami released the restraints on Elsie.

When she regained her movements, she couldn't help taking a step forward and pointing at Kai as she said in a trembling voice, "Are you? Are you really?"

Kai gave a nod with a smile and said, "Elsie, it's really been a long time, hasn't"

Before he could finish, she suddenly received a flying kick to the stomach. While it didn't even faze him, it still caused him to stop talking as he was surprised by this sudden kick of hers.

He couldn't help looking down at Elsie who was hugging her foot and asked, "What's wrong? Why did you suddenly kick me?"

Elsie was bent over hugging her foot. When she had kicked Kai right in the stomach, she felt like she had kicked a steel plate. For a magician like her who had low physical prowess to begin with, this really was painful.

Kai was about to bend over to check on her when she suddenly raised her hand and said, "Don't come near me!"

Kai was surprised to hear this, but he respected her wishes and stayed away from her, waiting for her to slowly recover.

Once Elsie had finally recovered, she stood up and looked at him with tearful eyes as she hit him again with her fists. Of course, this time she had learned her lesson and didn't hit him as hard.

While crying, she asked, "Why? Why didn't you come back if you were alive?"

Kai revealed an awkward look since he knew that this was coming. He had tried to soften the blow by acting friendly and casual, but it seemed like it didn't work.

All he could say was, "Sorry."

It took a while for Elsie to slowly calm down, but eventually she had calmed down enough to wipe her tears and say, "It's just good that you're still alive." Then she turned to Yami and said, "Now we can take down that demon king together."

Kai once again revealed an awkward look as he said, "While I would like to do that, that's not the situation now. We live in peace in this world and I can't really do anything to my saviour's wife."

Elsie looked at Kai with a confused look as she muttered, "Saviour?" But then she realized something different about his tone and asked, "Kai, are you saying that you're not coming back with me?"

Kai hesitated a bit before giving a nod and saying, "That's right. The world over there is at peace and it doesn't need me anymore. Not to mention, I have my own reasons for staying in this world."

As soon as his voice dropped, there was a voice that rang out, "Dear, what's wrong? You suddenly took off with Lin Fan earlier."

"Dear?!" Elsie said with a shocked look.

Kai gave a nod and said, "Yes, that's my wife."

Seventh Meal - Gratin (3)

The look of shock on Elsie's face became even stronger as she said in a trembling voice, "Wife?"

Kai just gave a nod before waving at the woman who had appeared in the restaurant.

That woman came over to his side and after being introduced, she greeted Elsie, "Hello, it's a pleasure meeting one of my husband's dear friends. I've heard all about you from him."

Elsie just stared at the two of them in a daze.

Everyone around could see the heartbroken look in her eyes. In fact, they could even hear the sounds of her heart cracking.

That was everyone except for Kai who still didn't understand what was happening.

Even his wife could see the brokenhearted look in Elsie's eyes

After a long period of silence, Elsie suddenly grabbed the staff from Yami and gathered her magic power.

This time, Yami didn't stop her and just waved her hand to create a barrier around the two of them. She had also used her magic to bring Kai's wife away at the same time, pulling her out of the barrier.

Kai still had a confused look, but facing the magic of the Sage Elsie, he couldn't just resist it with his body.

With a flick of his hand, the bracelet on his wrist suddenly disappeared and in its place, there was a giant sword that appeared in front of him. He didn't swing out with this sword, but rather placed it right in front of him to block Elsie's spell.

The sword had no problem facing the dark flames that Elsie released from her staff, scattering them as they made contact. As for the scattered flames that flew out around him, they hit their barrier and were dissipated.

No one in the barrier was hurt at all by the dark flames.

Kai quickly said, "Elsie, what are you doing? I don't know why you're so angry, but there are innocent people here. You can't just throw these kinds of spells like this!"

But Elsie wouldn't listen at all as she threw more flames at Kai.

Kai could only block those flames with a helpless look on his face as he waited for her to calm down.

After throwing flames for a full five minutes, Elsie finally said with an aggrieved look, "Why am I so angry? How can I not be angry when you broke our promise like this!?"

"Promise?" Kai asked with a confused look on his face.

Hearing this, Elsie's face was filled with rage again as she started throwing even more flames at him.

Kai just blocked the flames as he turned to Yami and said, "Hey, stop watching and help me already! Isn't this your restaurant? Aren't you afraid that she'll destroy it?"

Yami just calmly looked at him and said, "You deserve it, so I'm on her side."

"Huh?" That was all Kai could say.

Elsie heard this and couldn't help looking at Yami with a grateful look even though she was filled with rage. She then turned back at Kai and threw more and more attack spells at him until she was completely out of mana.

With no choice, Kai could only take the spells that she threw at him.

While she threw her spells, she did hold back in the end since it wasn't as if she wanted to hurt him, she was just angry at him. So while she gathered all her mana for the spells, she had toned them down at the last second so that they would only deal minor injuries if they hurt him.

Kai had been a hero as well and after coming to this world, it wasn't as if he had suddenly lost his powers.

This was a person that had been a hero for a long time and was at the same level as Elsie, so it was easy for him to block her attacks without suffering any damage at all. Of course, the one that bore the brunt of this attack was the Sacred Sword Schral.

This was a holy armament from their world, only used by the strongest of heroes. This wasn't something that could break easily, so it was able to easily dispel the spells that were thrown at him.

Once she was out of mana, all she could do was sit there on the ground and cry.

Seeing this, Yami dispelled the barrier around them with a wave of her hand.

Kai just stood there with an awkward look on his face as he didn't know what to do. To his surprise, it was his wife that suddenly came forward and took Elsie in her arms, patting her on her back as she let her cry on her shoulder.

Elsie was too emotionally distressed to care who came to comfort her, she just wanted someone to comfort her

So she buried her head into Kai's wife's shoulder and just let out all her tears.

As for the other customers in the storethey weren't boorish enough to stare at a young girl as she cried like this. Even without Yami glaring at them threateningly, they all tactfully turned away from the scene.

After all, it wasn't in their tastes to watch this young girl cry like this

Though, she wasn't actually a young girl. She just looked young because of her half elf heritage.

It took half an hour before Elsie was finally able to calm down.

During this time, Kai just stood there with an awkward look on his face, not knowing what to do at all. At the same time, Yami also stopped working and stood by them watching everything since this was also related to her.

When Elsie finally calmed down, her eyes were completely red and her voice was hoarse as well.

Yami handed a bag of ice to Kai's wife who used it to dab her eyes to help them cool down and reduce the swelling.

When she was calm, Elsie looked up at Kai again with a sad look, but she asked, "Do you really not remember our promise at all?"

This was the last hope that she had.

It was possible that Kai had lost part of his memories when he came to this world. If that was the case, it made sense that he had forgotten about his promise to her and that was why he married.

Kai revealed a confused look as he asked, "Promise? Did we make a promise?"

Elsie nodded and said, "You promised that we would safely return from the demon king's castle hand in hand. When that time came, you and I would live happily together forever."

Kai revealed an awkward look and said, "I know that I couldn't keep my promise, but is it really that big of a deal? We were able to stop the demon king and that's all that matters, right?"

Elsie's eyes started tearing up again as she said, "But why did you have to get married? I was waiting for you the entire time because I never believed that you were dead! I waited for twenty years!"

Kai revealed a confused look as he asked, "Waiting? Why would you be waiting for me? Also, what does getting married have to do with breaking our promise?"

Elsie revealed a look of complete shock and disbelief.

On the side, Kai's wife revealed a sympathetic look as she knew exactly what had happened. She had already guessed it earlier when she heard the interaction between the two of them, but she didn't say it because she was afraid that she would hurt Elsie even more when she was emotionally unstable.

But now that Kai had said it right to her face

Elsie revealed a look of distress after this as she muttered, "But we promised to be together"

Kai's wife patted her on the back before turning to her husband and saying, "Dear, sometimes you really are too dense for your own good."

Kai was shocked when he heard this. He turned to look at Yami and Lin Fan who had come out to see what was happening.

Both of them nodded in agreement to her statement.

Kai's look of shock filled with even more shock as he muttered to himself, "I'm dense? What do you mean by that?"

He looked around the restaurant, looking at the friends that he had made over the years for some kind of help.

However, there wasn't a single person in the restaurant that was on his side.

All of them looked at him like he was an idiot and also looked at Elsie with looks of sympathy.

Kai stopped looking around and closed his eyes to think long and hard about it. After a few minutes, he finally hit his palm with his fist and said, "Oh!"

Then his eyes opened wide as he looked at Elsie and said, "Oh! You mean! You were!"

As he stuttered these words out, unable to form a complete sentence, his face filled with more and more shock and disbelief. Finally he was able to compose himself, but his voice had become much smaller as he asked, "You're saying that you were confessing at that time?"

Elsie looked like she was about to completely collapse.

She had thought that she had made her feelings clear over the years that they had traveled together. She had thought that he had felt the same towards her and that they had promised to live happily ever after together.

But it turned out that it had all just been an illusion.

He had never felt that way about her and had always only thought of her as a friend.

As the wave of emotions hit her, she couldn't hold back the tears once again and she burst into tears once more. She grabbed Kai's wife and threw herself into her embrace as she cried more and more tears.

At this point, there was already a wet spot on Kai's wife's shirt from all her crying. It was already at the point where she was worried that she might dehydrate herself from all this crying

But she kept patting her on the back and comforting her.

That was because she knew exactly what she was going through

When she had met Kai, she had suffered through the same denseness. It had taken her a long time and a lot of effort before she was finally able to break through that dense mind of his. It really was a long road to reach the point where she was now.

Kai just helplessly stood there once again, not knowing what to do with this situation.

Finally, he said with a sigh, "Alright, can we please just talk about this? I can't say that I can accept your feelings right now, but at least we can have a proper talk about it, alright?"

When Elsie heard this, she immediately stopped crying and looked up to give him a nod.

At the very least, she could see some hope of this ending the way that she wanted it to end.

At this point, there was no time to care about her own pride

Seventh Meal - Gratin (4)

After sitting down, they sat there in silence for a few minutes as they enjoyed their water.

During this time, Kai's wife had been taking care of Elsie, helping her fix her clothes, dabbing her eyes with the ice, and giving her some honey lemon tea that Lin Fan had prepared.

When she was finally ready, Elsie said, "What should we talk about?"

Kai looked at her with the same awkward look that he had on his face the entire time, but he took a deep breath to calm down before saying, "Can you tell me why you liked me? I want to at least know everything so I know how to respond."

Elsie's heart trembled with pain when she heard the word "liked". It was almost as if he was implying that she didn't love him, but rather was just infatuated with the thought of reuniting with him.

But she was certain that this was never her intention.

From the first moment that they had met, she knew that she would be with him for the rest of her life.

So after taking a deep breath herself, she started describing everything, starting from the very first moment that they had met.

Kai's wife listened carefully on the side since this was a story that she had never heard about before. She had heard about Kai being from another world and the reason why he had been sent to this world, but she rarely got to hear about his past in the other world.

That was because he never talked about it with her and whenever she asked, he would always avoid the conversation.

So hearing about his childhood now, she was deeply invested.

Kai's eyes also revealed a strange look as he heard this because this time, he was hearing about these events from the other side. A side that he never imagined existed, so it was very strange for him.

It turned out that Elsie had indeed loved him from the beginning.

They were childhood friends, so they knew each other since they were young.

They had grown up together in the same village, but Elsie had left the village early on to learn magic at the capital when her talent for magic was discovered.

Kai had always thought that they had parted ways normally, but it turned out that the misunderstanding had even begun back then.

Before leaving for magic academy, Elsie had already confessed her love and had made a promise with him to meet again one day. However, Kai had been too dense to realize this and had agreed without understanding what she had meant.

As for how this had all begun, it had been when Kai had saved Elsie from the local bullies at the river. When he knocked them down, he had appeared as a shining hero in front of her, which had made her heart fall.

Of course, just this child infatuation wouldn't be enough to sustain her for all this time.

Their story continued afterwards when Kai's village had been destroyed by the demons. Elsie had heard about this tragedy and immediately went back to the village to see if there were any survivors.

After all, it wasn't just Kai's village, but also her village.

Her parents were still in that village.

However, when she arrived, she found the village completely destroyed. When she asked the soldiers that had come to take care of the demons, she had also heard that there were no survivors.

In the end, she had to bury her parents and that created a burning hatred for the demons in her heart.

Her parents, her childhood love, they were all dead because of the demons!

She vowed that she wouldn't rest until she eliminated the demons.

Luckily, she was a genius, so she had already qualified to graduate from her school. So she applied for early graduation and began wandering as an adventurer, fighting any demons that she could find.

What she didn't know was that Kai had survived and had also started wandering as an adventurer.

It wasn't until much later, several years after the incident that they met again. They had both grown and changed and no longer recognized each other.

However, the feelings that should come couldn't be suppressed.

As they travelled together and fought together, Elsie fell more and more in love with Kai. Kai also felt a more and more impressionable feeling towards Elsie, though it couldn't be considered love.

Later on, at the drawing of the Holy Sword Schral, both of them received the glowing symbols that marked them as heroes along with Angela and Gondor.

From that moment on, they were inseparable as the hero party.

They travelled deep into the demon's territory and fought many powerful demons, but they came out on top again and again.

There were many times that Kai saved Elsie and many times that Elsie saved Kai, which only furthered her feelings.

It all came to a climax when by accident, they found out that they were childhood friends.

During their journey, there were many times where they had to camp out. During one of these trips, they had accidentally entered the same lake at the same time for baths.

It was there that they found

Each other's birthmarks.

Kai had a star shaped birthmark on his butt and Elsie had a heart shaped birthmark on her butt.

As kids, they had often taken baths together since they didn't know better, so they had often seen each other's birthmarks.

After discovering that they were indeed childhood friends, or rather that this man that she was falling in love with was her childhood lover who she had promised herself to one day, Elsie's feelings also reached a climax.

Star crossed lovers!

That was the only way to describe them!

They were fated to be together, there was no other possibility!

She hung even closer to him from that day forth, making it so clear what she felt about him that the other two members of their party felt like large third wheels.

But this story ended in tragedy.

Elsie made a promise and Kai couldn't keep it, so they were in their current situation.

When Elsie had finished her story, there were two people with two different reactions.

Kai's wife couldn't stop the tears from coming out of her eyes. She had always known that Kai's past must have been tragic since he never talked about it, but she never thought that it would be this tragic. At the same time, she couldn't help feeling sad for Elsie after everything that she had suffered.

Kai on other handhad an awkward look on his face.

While Elsie had been telling her story, from time to time, he had been muttering to himself.

The things that he said were

"That was what it meant?"

"Wait, so she was interested in that?"

"Those two, why didn't they tell me about this?"

After Elsie finished with her story, she just sat there looking at Kai, waiting for him to say something. However, he was completely lost in his thoughts and didn't say a single thing as he kept muttering to himself.

Kai's wife saw this and wiped the tears from her eyes before nudging him with her elbow. She then said, "Dear, I think it's your time to say something."

Kai jolted as he was pulled out of his thoughts.

After taking a moment to come back to his senses, he gave a nod and started telling her the story of what happened after they defeated the demon king.

After sinking his blade into the demon king, she had used a special technique to run away. It was an ancient space and time spell from a god that would allow her to teleport to a random location, regardless of any restrictions that had been placed on her.

She had saved this for her final moment, just in case that the unthinkable happened and she was defeated by the heroes.

Kai, who had his sword plunged into the chest of the demon king at the time, was also caught up in this spell when it was used. The spell wrapped the two of them in spatial energy before sending them off.

Unfortunately, for both Kai and the demon king, they didn't know that this spell was actually a spell for sending people to other worlds.

That was how both Kai and the demon king had appeared on Earth.

They were thrown into the ocean together during a storm and after being tossed around by that storm, the two of them were thrown onto a beach. After being battered like that, neither of them had any strength and could only weakly lay there, waiting to die.

Luckily for them, Lin Fan had been passing by on his way to work.

Back then, Lin Fan was still a teenager and he had been working at a beach snack shack during the summer.

When he saw the two of them lying there like they were dead, he immediately ran over to help them. Then seeing their strange clothing and the way that they laid there without any strength, he decided to take the day off work to help these two.

Of course, since he couldn't find any documentation on the two of them and the fact that they looked like foreigners, he couldn't just bring them to a proper hospital. So he asked a doctor family friend to take a look at the two of them.

The doctor was surprised to find that the two of them were just hungry and out of energy.

Even though it was clear that they had undergone a stressful situation of being stranded at sea, they weren't injured at all. The only thing that was wrong with them was that their stomachs were empty.

The most important thing was that both the demon king and Kai had used their magic to keep themselves safe while they had been stranded at sea, which was why they hadn't been injured at all. But keeping that magic barrier up around them consumed a lot of energy, which was why they were now starving.

Lin Fan thanked the doctor friend before sending him off. Then he headed into the kitchen to prepare something for the two sleeping beauties.

When the two of them awakened, they woke up at the same time. Both of them were surprised by the strange environment that they woke up in since it was just as small as a dungeonthough this was just Lin Fan's bachelor apartment.

But the moment that they saw each other, they immediately put on a stance like they were about to fight.

It was just too bad that neither of them had the energy to actually fight since both of them were starving.

Lin Fan heard the commotion that they caused and came out of the kitchen to see what was happening.

However, seeing the two of them sitting there holding their stomachs with hungry looks on their faces, he couldn't help shaking his head with a smile. He then said, "Just stay there for a bit, the food's almost ready."

Both of them were surprised to see Lin Fan, but seeing that he didn't have any hostile intentions towards them, they just nodded in a daze.

They were just too hungry to care at this point.

When Lin Fan brought out the food, both Kai and Yami couldn't help saying, "This is"

Seventh Meal - Gratin (5)

Over the next period of time, Lin Fan helped the two of them adjust to this world.

They both knew that this wasn't the world that they had grown up in and this wasn't a place where they could go wild without knowing anything.

So they lived with Lin Fan and slowly adjusted to this new world.

It was during this time that Yami and Lin Fan also slowly fell in love with each other, which made Kai feel like a third wheel.

Hearing this, Elsie couldn't help giving a sigh.

He could recognize other people falling in love, but he couldn't recognize someone being in love with him?

Just how dense was he?

Kai revealed a bit of confusion on his face when he heard this sigh, but his wife patted his hand with an understanding look before telling him to continue the story.

As they adjusted to this world, Yami completely lost the desire to take over the human lands. That was because in the first place, there weren't any demons in this world, so she had no reason to do so.

As they lived together for some time, Kai slowly learned more and more about the demons.

He realized that the war between their races was no one's fault and it was just a matter of survival.

Before he had been born, the demons were the weaker race and had been pushed back by the humans. They were pushed to the worst possible lands by the humans, but the demons still endured.

That was until the humans even wanted that land and were about to completely push the demons out of the world. They even wanted to capture the demons and turn them into their slaves.

So with the birth of the demon king, she rallied the demons and trained them up until they were able to attack the humans. The humans had gone soft from being the dominant race for a long time, so they were easily overwhelmed by the well trained demons.

In the end, it was just a matter of survival of the fittest.

There was also a period of time where Kai started questioning his own role as a hero.

But of course, on Earth, there were many animes and mangas that had already considered all of this.

So after reading them, Kai realized that there was no one to blame for this and there was no reason for him to blame Yami either. It was just something that they couldn't stop and they had both been tools used by their respective races.

So instead of holding onto those grudges, it was better to live a new life on Earth.

As time passed, Kai knew that he couldn't keep imposing on Lin Fan now that Yami and Lin Fan had started dating. So with the bit of money that he had saved up from working part time jobs, he was able to get a loan and start a bakery.

As for the legal documents required for that, it was quite the easy problem to fix with magic.

After they came to this world, neither Kai or Yami had lost their magic, so they were able to do many things that the humans of this world couldn't do.

His dream to become a baker came from his childhood where his family had run a bakery together. It was what he thought that he would become and a way to return to a simpler time.

As time passed, his bakery became popular and famous as the bakery that provided the bread for Lin Fan's restaurant. At the same time, the governments of the world discovered his connection to Lin Fan, and more importantly, to Yami

There were many times where they had pestered him for help with their magic studies, but he had turned them all down.

He just wanted to be a simple baker.

Once Kai had finished with his story, Elsie who had been silent the whole time couldn't help looking at him with a complicated look.

It seemed that he was finally at peace here, something that he couldn't accomplish when they were back in their world.

For her to force him back to their world like this after he had accomplished his dreams would be too cruel.

But it wasn't as if she could just give up on him like this!

Then she couldn't help asking, "How did the two of you meet?"

It was Kai's wife's turn to tell the storybecause Kai was too shy.

Elsie didn't know this, but Kai was actually quite a shy person when it came to lovey dovey stuff. That was made even worse with how dense he was

Kai's wife's name was Elena, she was a beautiful blonde haired young woman with a fine figureThe only flaw would be that her chest was a bit flat

It was clear what kind of preferences Kai had.

After meeting her, Elsie couldn't help looking down at her own figure and feeling a bit better. At least she knew that it wasn't because of her appearance that made him unable to accept her.

As a half elf, she had a more childish appearance. She really couldn't live with herself if it was her appearance that drove him away

As for how Elena and Kai met, it was a fairly normal story.

Kai was a random handsome young man back when he was younger, so he attracted a lot of attention from girls that came to his store. A handsome young baker, that was something that people wrote romance novels about.

For Elena, it had been love at first sight.

But of course, with how dense Kai was, he had never accepted anyone's confessions because he didn't understand that they were confessions. And there were plenty of confessions for this handsome young baker back then.

Elena was among one of those that had confessed as well, but she was one of the few that hadn't given up.

There were also a few others that didn't give up, but they couldn't take how dense he was in the end. She was the only one that had persevered to the end and had won his heart.

It took several hundred confessions, several dozen dates, and finally she just had to kiss him out of nowhere to get him to look at her. This level of denseness could really win a world record.

But after making her way into his heart, he never let her go.

Kai was someone who always dreamed about starting a family one day. Because he had lost his family as a child, he valued family more than anyone would.

On the day that the two got married, he promised that he would love and cherish Elena more than anyone in the world. Of course, he had also kept that promise which was why they were so happily married.

Once the story was over, Elsie fell into a long silence again

She didn't know what to say because this story just cut a deep hole in her heart. She had thought that this story would belong to her, but someone else had taken it away from her.

However, she couldn't even be mad because she could see that this woman had made the man she loved genuinely happy, which was all she wanted to see. But the fact that the woman that made him happy wasn't her completely crushed her spirits.

After this long period of silence, Elsie suddenly looked up at Kai who was surprised to see this.

Perhaps she might have given up after learning this, but there was something special about the world that they lived in.

In their world, polygamy was legal.

It was a medieval world, so it was hard to predict what would happen to you. To preserve the family line, it was better to leave behind as many children as possible.

One spouse would make it hard for this to happen, so there were people that were allowed to find many spouses. Of course, that was on the premise that they would be able to provide for more than one spouse.

Obviously no one would want to get married and have children with someone that wasn't capable of providing for them.

There were also women who took advantage of this to have more than one spouse, which went against the fundamental principle that it was established for. But these women were women that had plenty of money and power, so they could distort these laws.

So for Elsie, it wasn't a problem for her to become Kai's second wife!

After all, she made plenty of money and she had plenty of influence as a sage, so it didn't matter what others thought. As long as she was happy, she could make everyone accept her as Kai's second wife.

But the most important thing was that she didn't want to lose him again after finding him.

While she was unhappy that Kai already had a wife and she didn't really want to share him with another woman, she knew that if she didn't do this, there was no chance for her.

She would rather share him than to not have him at all!

So she said, "I will be your second wife!"

But this wasn't what Kai or Elena wanted.

Elena was from Earth, so monogamy was the norm here. She had been completely caught off guard by Elsie's sudden outburst before looking at Kai with a confused and somewhat angry look.

Kai was also caught off guard by this.

He could guess what Elsie was thinking since he knew that polygamy was legal in his old world. However, he had also stayed on Earth for a long time and had gotten used to monogamy being the norm.

Not to mention that he didn't want to have a wife other than Elena in the first place.

He had already promised that he would love and care for her for the rest of their life, so he wasn't about to break that promise.

Kai decisively shook his head and said, "No."

It was just one simple word, but it was incomparably firm.

Elsie started tearing up again as she looked up at him and said, "Do you really not want me that badly? Am I really that bad?"

Kai couldn't help revealing an awkward look when he heard this.

This was his childhood friend and the girl that he had been closest to before coming to Earth. It would be a lie to say that he didn't feel anything towards her. Of course, that didn't mean that he was in love with her.

He just didn't want to hurt her.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Elsie raised her staff and started gathering her mana again as she said, "I don't care what it takes, but you are marrying me."

Kai also slowly raised his hand to pull out his sword as he raised his other hand to protect Elena.

But before they could do anything, there was a plate that was suddenly put down on the table that made both of them jump in shock.

Elsie looked at Yami and her hand holding the staff immediately froze. Yami had a look like she would kill her at any moment and she still remembered what she did before Kai arrived.

There was still that instinctual fear that she felt towards this demon king.

Yami said in a cold voice, "Settle down."

Both of them nodded and lowered their weapons.

Seventh Meal - Gratin (6)

Seeing that they both calmed down, Yami said, "Eat this and have a proper discussion. Don't do anything to bother other people."

Then without a care, she turned to head back to her job.

Elsie looked down at the dish that she had brought and was surprised by it.

This was a potato gratin, a dish that she hadn't eaten in a long time.

Kai had ordered this while they were telling their stories, but because of how long it took and how long their stories went, he had completely forgotten about it.

As for the reason why he had ordered it

That was because this was the dish he and Elsie had eaten when they were younger. This was the dish that Elsie's mother was best at and she would make it for them whenever she had time.

So this was a taste of home for them.

He felt that she would need it after everything that had happened and it would allow them to have a proper talk, but now he felt that it would be a bit too insensitive. So Kai said, "I'll take it if you don't"

Before he could finish, Elsie put the gratin in front of her and started digging in with the spoon that had also been provided.

Seeing this, Kai couldn't help revealing a smile since she looked just the way she did when they were kids. Whenever Elsie saw her mother's gratin, she would plop it in front of her and start digging in like this.

With the first bite, Elsie was already lost in the gratin.

It tasted like her mother's gratin, but at the same time, there were some minor differences. After all, this was a restaurant and her mother wasn't a professional cook.

Her mother's gratin was always simple, only having a thin layer of cheese and a bit of cream in the potatoes, but this one was much richer and bolder.

The moment that she put the first bite of gratin in her mouth, she was hit with a wave of flavour.

This gratin not only had the taste that she was familiar with, but also a taste that was much richer than anything that she had tasted before. This kind of taste was completely different from any gratin that she had eaten before.

The first thing that hit her was the richness of the cream that was mixed with the potato.

Instead of only containing a bit of cream, this gratin was filled with a cream mixture that coated the potatoes, giving it a much stronger taste. The richness of the cream came together with the smoothness of the potato to create a taste that enhanced one another, coming together like a perfect dance on the tongue.

She didn't understand why this worked so well, but when the flavour of both the potato and the cream danced on her tongue, she couldn't help unconsciously swallowing.

But that just made the flavour disappear, so she quickly scooped up another spoonful.

She had gotten mainly potato and cream in that first bite, but this time she got more of the cheese that covered the potatoes.

As soon as she put this bite in her mouth, the flavour of the cheese hit her.

It added a tart taste to the creamy and smooth taste of the potato filling, but it wasn't a taste that was bad. It helped create a contrast with the smooth taste, bringing out the best of both worlds as they melted together.

It was still smooth, but that tart taste gave it a bit more of a kick which hit her taste buds even stronger.

At the same time, as she chewed through the potatoes, she realized that there were little salty bits that were inside of the potatoes. As she chewed, she realized that these were little bits of bacon that had been added to the inside of the gratin.

These sour bits once again clashed with the smooth and creamy taste of the potatoes, but it didn't taste bad. It accented the smoothness by adding a hint of sourness to the taste, which made it even more delicious.

It also helped to add to the richness of the gratin overall as the umami from the bacon had seeped into the potatoes, giving it an even stronger taste.

After the first taste, she couldn't stop herself as she shoved more and more of the gratin into her mouth. This was a taste that she had never had before, but at the same time, it was a taste that reminded her of home, so she just couldn't stop herself.

Mostly becausestuffing her face like this was helping her with her heart break.

She was just trying to eat away her feelings at this point.

After demolishing three gratinswhich Kai had ordered for all three of them, she finally was able to settle down.

But of course, she didn't give up on her idea.

So she looked Kai right in the face and was about to speak, but there was an alarm that suddenly rang out on Kai's phone.

Both Kai and Elena were surprised because they had lost track of time, but it was currently the afternoon. Elsie had arrived in the restaurant in the morning, but after talking for so long, it was already the afternoon.

Kai was about to stand up, but Elena stood up instead and said, "She's your friend, you should stay here and talk to her. I'll go pick up Angel."

Kai looked at her with an unwilling look, but seeing the way she looked at him, he could only nod in response.

The look that was on her face, that was the look that she gave him whenever she wanted him to clean up his mess. It was clear that she was angry with this mess, but she couldn't blame Elsie after hearing her story.

So she chose to blame everything on Kai and she was forcing him to clean up his own mess.

Kai might have been a hero in the past, but now he was nothing more than a husband who listened to his wife.

After Elena left, Elsie couldn't help asking, "Who's Angel?"

Hearing this, Kai suddenly revealed a happy smile as he took out his wallet and pulled out a bunch of pictures. He placed them all over the table and picked out his favourites as he said, "She's my daughter. Isn't she just the cutest?"

He kept telling her all kinds of different stories about his beloved daughter.

The customers on the side all revealed bitter smiles when they saw that he had started.

Kai was considered a regular customer at this restaurant, so the customers were all quite familiar with him. He was also good friends with Lin Fan, often finding time to drink with him at nights, while also being "acquaintances" with Yami.

So he was actually at the store more regularly than a normal customer.

These customers had all made the mistake of asking him about his daughter and they had all suffered the fate of having to listen to him ramble on about her.

If there was an example of a doting parent, then it would be Kai.

But they had to admit that his daughter really was beautiful. She was just like her name, a little angel.

At the same time though, they couldn't help looking at Elsie with a look of pity.

To have to hear the man she loved talking about his beautiful daughter that he had with another womanwas there a greater pain than that?

There were a few people that had the urge to beat Kai up, including Yami who was secretly listening on the side.

While she didn't exactly like Elsie because of their past history, she could sympathize with her.

She had also changed after coming to this world. She had become much more patient and much more caring compared to before when she was the demon king that solved everything with her fists.

Elsie's head was down during the whole time that Kai had been talking about his daughter until she finally couldn't take it anymore. She suddenly raised her hands and slapped them on the table as she shouted, "I don't care anymore! You're going to marry me and have a daughter with me too if it's the last thing I do!"

Kai was so shocked that his mouth immediately shut and he didn't know what to say anymore.

However, Elsie could see the unwilling and hesitant look in his eyes which just pierced her heart even more. She couldn't take him looking at her like this, so she pulled out her staff and started gathering her mana again.

Seeing this, Kai's first reaction was to turn to Yami for help.

However, he found that Yami had already set up a barrier around them and did nothing else.

Yami saw him look over and said, "Deal with your problem yourself."

Kai had a look on his face like he wanted to cry, but had no tears when he heard this. So without a choice, he pulled out his sword again to hold in front of him to block the spells that Elsie was about to shoot.

But to his surprise, she didn't actually shoot any.

All she did was point the staff in his face as she opened and closed her mouth, as if she was hesitating over something.

Kai had a confused look on his face, but he waited for her to speak.

Finally, as if she had suddenly worked up the courage, Elsie said, "I like you! Will you go out with me?"

She realized that she had never actually confessed to him, so she decided that she would make it clear enough for this dense idiot.

Kai's chin just dropped as he once again didn't know what to say.

But after a minute of silence, he still said, "I'm sorry, I can't. Elsie, you're a dear friend, but I'm already mar"

Elsie lifted the staff and said, "I don't care, I don't care! You will marry me and we will build a happy family together!"

Kai's lips couldn't help twitching when he heard this

He had always thought that Elsie was a calm and rational person, but now

It was like she was a crazy ex-girlfriend that wouldn't give up no matter what he saideven if he was already married and had a daughter.

Then Elsie shouted, "I'll stay in this world and force you to marry me if you say no! I don't care how long it takes, I will get you to marry me!"

But this time, before Kai could answer, the barrier around them suddenly disappeared and Yami appeared in front of Elsie.

Elsie was shocked to see Yami suddenly appearing in front of her, but before she could react, Yami had already grabbed the staff from her hand and suppressed her mana like she had done when she first came into the story.

Elsie looked at her with a shocked look as she asked, "What are you doing? Didn't you support me?"

Yami gave a sigh and said, "I do support you, but I can't let you stay in this world. Your powers will imbalance this world and put it in danger, so I can't let you stay here without getting approval and going through the proper procedures."

Elsie looked at her with a devastated look as she stuttered, "II"

Yami cut her off again as she said, "You can come back every day to see him, the door will open once a day. If you come, I'll go and drag him here for you. But until everything is taken care of, I can't have you causing trouble."

She reached her hand out and grabbed something from Elsie which she threw at the register. The register's tray popped out to catch it and closed before opening again to shoot something at her hand.

She caught this and put it in Elsie's hand before carrying her to the door.

She opened the door for Elsie and then basically threw her out of the restaurant before she could even do anything.

After Elsie landed, the only thing that she could do was stare at the door that disappeared behind her in a daze.

Back at the restaurant, Yami walked over to Kai and looked at him before saying, "Coward."

Kai revealed a bitter smile, but he didn't say anything to refute this.

That was because he had indeed acted like a coward near the end by letting Yami take care of his problems for him.

After a long silence, he gave a sigh and said, "I'll talk to Elena tonight and try to come up with a solution."

Yami just gave a snort before heading off.

Lin Fan stood by the window of the kitchen and waved his hand at Yami, which made her obediently come over.

He said with a smile, "Don't make it too hard on him. You know that everyone has their own circumstances." Then he reached his hand out to pat her on the head.

Yami just let him do it before giving an obedient nod. Then she leaned in and whispered to him, "We should also try to make a child tonight. It's already been long enough."

Lin Fan gave a cough before walking back into the kitchen.

He really couldn't take this side of her. She really was just too cute.

It was too bad that it was only in front of him that she acted this way.

Eighth Meal - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (1)

"Senior brother, wait for me!"

"Ha, ha, ha, you're too slow!"

Two cultivators flying on swords sped through the bamboo forest at breakneck speed.

These two were disciples of the Heaven Piercing Sect, the greatest sword sect in the land.

They were currently running away from their master's lesson since it was justtoo boring!

So instead of sitting through their master's lecture, they decided to come out for a quick fly through the bamboo forest. The loser of this race would have to help their master with gathering up the sword puppets after their practice.

They were only Foundation Realm Cultivators, so they weren't actually flying that fast since they had just started learning how to fly. But since it was a race, they were pushing their max speed as much as possible.

It was just too bad that their control wasn't able to keep up with this speed and soon they lost control of their swords.

The two of them suddenly slammed into each other as they lost control and then slammed into the side of a wall.

If it wasn't for the senior brother reacting in time and using a talisman to deploy a barrier, it might have turned out bad for them. However, that talisman was only able to help them so much, it wasn't able to stop them from being injured.

The two of them tumbled down the mountain, getting all kinds of bumps and bruises before finally landing on the ground.

But when they landed, they looked at each other before breaking out in laughter. Neither of them cared at all about the injuries that they had just suffered and they just laughed like this was the funniest thing in the world.

They might be cultivators, but they were also talented geniuses, so these two were actually quite young.

The senior brother was only eighteen and the junior sister was only sixteen.

As they laughed, they also looked at each other, moving closer and closer until they were just a few inches away from each other.

Their clothes were quite loose from their tumble, so if the senior brother looked down, he would be able to see

While the junior sister was still developing, her figure was quitecurvy.

Both of them immediately revealed blushes when they saw the ambiguous situation that the two of them were in and they turned away. As they sat there looking away from each other, the junior sister couldn't help peeking at her senior brother's bottom half.

After taking a look, she couldn't help revealing a disappointed look.

The senior brother had also been peeking back at her, so he had seen the disappointed look on her face.

He was about to say something, but before he could, there was a sudden flash of light.

Both of them immediately pulled out their swords and turned in the direction that this flash of light came from. That was because they could feel powerful spatial laws coming from that direction.

Laws like thisOnly the most powerful experts like Nascent Soul Realm Experts could wield laws like this!

If it was a sudden attack from a Nascent Soul Realm Expert, they definitely wouldn't be able to resist.

But when they looked in that direction, they found that there was only a single door standing there and nothing else. Even the powerful spatial laws that they felt instantly disappeared.

The two of them couldn't help looking at this door in a daze, wondering what kind of special artifact this was.

However, neither of them dared to drop their guard since there was still the chance that there was a powerful expert that was nearby. After all, an artifact like this wouldn't just appear out of nowhere.

This bamboo forest was in the territory of the Heaven Piercing Sect, so it was within the range of the elders' spiritual senses.

With that burst of powerful spatial laws, they were certain that the elders wouldn't stay still.

However, to their surprise, they found that there was no response from the sect after half an hour. It was almost as if no one had sensed the appearance of this door other than the two of them.

Could it be that they had made a mistake and there hadn't been any spatial laws just now?

But they had clearly felt it just half an hour ago.

Not to mention that there was indeed this strange door right in front of them.

Since the sect elders weren't moving, the two of them slowly let down their guard and started looking at the door.

This was a very normal looking door, though it was in a style that they hadn't seen before. It was a simple door that didn't have any special design and there was nothing special about it other than the metallic thing in the middle of it.

It looked like a ball that was poking out of the door, but when they looked at it closely, they guessed that it was what was used to open it.

Oh, right, there was also that dog's paw that was also right in the center of the door.

Other than those things, there was nothing special about the door.

Well, the one other thing of note was that this door was just standing there in the ground without being connected to anything.

They had seen the area there before and they were certain that there wasn't a door there before this. This door had clearly just appeared out of thin air.

But what was it connected to if there wasn't anything on the other side?

They slowly made their way to the other side of the door and saw that it was indeed not connected to anything. On this side, the door had the exact same design as the other side.

After looking it over this much, the two of them finally couldn't take their curiosity and slowly moved towards the door.

The senior brother raised his hand to stop his junior sister from coming forward as he said, "Junior sister, let me go first."

The junior sister had a worried look on her face, but she still gave a nod and moved behind him.

The two of them slowly approached the door just like this and when they reached it, the senior brother reached out towards the part that they thought opened the door. After turning it, they found that it did indeed open it and the door swung open in front of them.

There was a flash of light that appeared when the door opened that forced them to close their eyes, but soon they heard some chatter coming from behind the door.

When they were finally able to see again, they saw that there was something that seemed to be a restaurant behind the door and not the scene that they had expected. The strange thing was that this restaurant was decorated in a style that they couldn't recognize at all.

The even stranger thing was that there were all kinds of creatures that they didn't recognize and there were these strange glowing things hanging from the ceilings that didn't use fire to light up the room.

There were also many other strange things, but in short, this place was not a place that they recognized.

They couldn't help taking a step back when they saw this, but they also couldn't hold back their curiosity. These two were young in terms of cultivation age, so they were at the point where they were curious about many things.

Seeing this strange new world in front of them, it was hard for them to resist exploring it.

So after taking a moment to calm themselves down, they stepped through the door.

As they stepped through, they couldn't help feeling something that they were familiar with.

It was the powerful spatial law that they had felt when the door had appeared.

Just like before, it only lasted a second before it disappeared and they were inside of the shop.

Both of them couldn't help turning back to look at the door, but it had already closed behind them. At the same time, the feeling that they had just felt was gone and it had returned to being a normal door.

These two couldn't help standing there looking at the door in a daze until someone called out to them.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Both of them trembled when they heard this and they turned to look in the direction of the voice. They found that there was someone wearing a strange looking dress that was looking at them with a strange look.

But when they saw this strange look, it wasn't hard for them to figure out why she was looking at them like this.

In a way, it was like how someone from the city looked at someone from the country coming to the city for the first time.

Being treated like country hicks that didn't know a thing naturally made their faces fill with a blush, but they couldn't say anything because they really were like country hicks.

They didn't know what this place was and how they had gotten here, so there was nothing that they could say.

Anna revealed an understanding look since this was a regular thing for their restaurant, so she explained, "This is the Between World Restaurant, it's a restaurant in another world."

"Another world? This is another world?" The senior brother couldn't help asking as he looked around at the restaurant. At the same time, the junior sister also started looking around.

Anna gave a nod and said, "That's right, our door brings you to our restaurant in another world."

She just waited for them to finish looking since this was usually what came after the explanation.

The senior brother and junior sister's eyes filled with more and more shock as they looked around. This place was filled with all kinds of wonderful things that they had never seen before, there were even creatures that they didn't know could exist like those large people that had green skin.

But as they looked around, they also found something familiar.

At a few of the tables, there were cultivators just like them. However, the strange thing was that they couldn't see through their laws at all.

As far as they could tell, they were in the same Foundation Realm as them, but they couldn't tell what kind of laws they controlled at all. It was as if they had completely different laws from the world that they came from

But that did make sense since this was another world.

Finally when they calmed down, Anna waved at them to follow her and brought them to a table for them to sit down. She handed them the menu and said, "Feel free to order anything you want and take your time. I'll get your water first and then come back to take your order."

Without waiting for them to say anything, she turned to leave.

However, before they could look down at their menus, they suddenly heard a voice shout out

"I don't care, you will marry me!"

Eighth Meal - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (2)

Both of them couldn't help being taken aback by this sudden declaration of love.

The world that they came from was one where modesty was valued, so there was no one who declared their love like this in public.

Of course, even on Earth, this was strange.

As for the one who did scream this out, it was naturally Elsie who had come again today to bother Kai.

Yami had kept her promise to Elsie and had dragged Kai here for her.

Kai couldn't do anything against the two of them, so he just allowed himself to be dragged to the restaurant. It was just a good thing that his store was already very successful, so he had several people working under him.

Even if he wasn't there, they would still be able to run the bakery for him.

So he was forced to sit here listening to Elsie declare his love for him.

In short, he had given up

He had already tried many different ways to calm her down and make her give up, but it didn't work in the end. So all he could do was sit here and listen to her without saying a thing.

He was already in more than enough trouble with his wife

To the side, there was a beautiful blonde and a dwarf with a bushy beard who were just enjoying their own dishes while enjoying his misery.

These two were Angela and Gondor Firebeard, the other two members of the heroes party.

Seeing them sitting there like this, he couldn't help asking with a bitter smile, "Can't you help?"

Both of them looked at him with smiles before giving a shrug as if there was nothing that they could do.

In fact, this was their way of punishing him for not coming back all these years. At the very least, he could have given them a sign that he was still alive even if he hadn't come back.

They had been worried about him for the last twenty years, so now making him suffer like this was just a bit of revenge.

Of course, it also didn't help that they supported Elsie.

They had watched over the two of them during their journey and had always cheered Elsie on. So now that they found out that Kai already had a wife and child, they couldn't help feeling even more supportive and sorry for her.

Kai really had no allies in this room.

After staring at them for a bit, the senior brother and junior sister also couldn't help smiling since they had a vague understanding of what was happening.

They turned their attention back to the menus and started carefully looking through it.

There were a few dishes that they recognized since they also existed in their world, but there were plenty of dishes that they didn't recognize. Luckily for them, there were detailed descriptions provided with each dish and most of them had pictures as well.

Seeing these dishes from another world, they couldn't help wondering just what they tasted like.

Of course, it wasn't possible for them to eat all of these dishes today since even if they were cultivators that could eat a lot, there was still a limit to how much they could eat at each meal.

They just kept flipping through the menu, enjoying the different otherworld meals that were listed in there until something finally caught their eyes.

"Buddha Jumps Over the Wall? Why does this sound so strange?" The senior brother couldn't help asking.

The junior sister looked at the dish that the senior brother pointed out and read the description for it before shaking her head in a confused manner.

She also couldn't help being confused by this name.

Buddhism existed in their cultivation world, but it was considered a minor religion. It didn't have the same popularity it did on Earth.

That was because in their cultivation world, strength was key.

There weren't any powerful Buddhist monks that supported the Buddhism religion, so Buddhism was considered a fringe religion that was only popular among the mortals.

There were only a few that had achieved enlightenment through Buddhism, but those people had only reached the Nascent Soul Realm and no further, so that was why Buddhism had never spread.

Still, they couldn't help being more and more attracted to this name because it really was too strange for them not to pay attention to it.

The senior brother asked, "Why would a Buddhist jump over a wall? What does that achieve?"

The junior sister shook her head with a confused look, indicating that she didn't understand it at all.

It was at this time that Anna came back with their water.

Seeing her arrive at their table, the senior brother lifted the menu and pointed at the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall as he asked, "Excuse me, can you tell me what this is?"

Anna looked where he was pointing before revealing a surprised look and a strange smile.

The senior brother noticed this and he couldn't help asking, "Is something wrong?"

Anna just said with the same smile, "Well, a cultivator asking me about the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, it's normal to find it strange."

While the senior brother couldn't really understand why Anna found this strange, he took advantage of the fact that she brought up this topic to ask, "I wanted to ask, why would a Buddhist jump over a wall? That doesn't make any sense."

Anna gave a nod since she figured that this was the case, so she told him the story of the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

The story behind the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was that a scholar was traveling across the land with his friends. This scholar kept all of his food inside of a clay jug normally used for wine and whenever it was time for a meal, he would heat up the food inside this clay jug.

One day, he and his friends camped near a Buddhist temple while eating.

The scholar cooked his food as per usual, but the smell was so enticing that it even caused the Buddhist to jump over the wall.

"And that's why it's called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall." Anna finished her story.

The senior brother and the junior sister were still confused. The senior brother couldn't help asking, "Instead of jumping over the wall, why didn't he just go out and eat with the scholar?"

Anna revealed a wry smile as she said, "It's a poetic way to describe how delicious it is. Even though the Buddhist monk isn't allowed to have it, they were still willing to jump over the wall to eat it."

Instead of revealing looks of understanding, the senior brother and the junior sister revealed even more confused looks.

However, it was what they were confused by that was strange.

Instead of being confused by why the Buddhist monk jumped over the wall, they were confused by how Anna had said that they weren't allowed to eat it. Why wouldn't the Buddhist monk be allowed to eat it?

The senior brother once again asked, "Why can't the monk eat it? It's not as if the scholar would be too stingy to share, right?"

Anna looked at the senior brother with a strange look as she said, "Well, Buddhist monks can't eat meat and Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is a famous meat dish, so of course the Buddhist monk can't eat it."

The senior brother and the junior sister looked at each other with confused looks as they whispered amongst themselves.

"Buddhist monks can't eat meat? Why have I never heard that before?"

"I don't know. I never heard that Buddhist monks can't eat meat either. In fact, I even saw that they were roasting lambs in their yard the last time I went to the capital."

Anna's ears were sharp and she was able to hear their whispers.

Hearing these whispers, it was her turn to reveal a confused look.

She couldn't understand what they were talking about because the Buddhist monks that she knew about were all famous vegetarians.

But then she realized her own mistake.

Before coming to this world, she didn't even know what a Buddhist was. So her perception of a Buddhist was what she had learned while in this world, the Earth's version of a Buddhist.

But this place was the Between World Restaurant, so that didn't mean that everyone's perception of a Buddhist was the same.

It was already a miracle that Buddhism existed in another world, so she shouldn't expect it to be the same as Buddhism in this world. It was most likely that Buddhism was a different religion in their world that had the same name as the one in this world, but that didn't mean that the beliefs were the same.

So she shouldn't use her common sense with the people of other worlds.

After realizing this, Anna quickly explained, "The Buddhism that I'm talking about is the Buddhism in this world. The Buddhism in your world should be a religion with a similar name, but different beliefs, so you shouldn't compare the two."

The senior brother and junior sister were surprised by this, but then quickly gave a nod.

As cultivators, they had quick and open minds, so they quickly accepted Anna's explanation.

At the same time, they couldn't help feeling, "This really is a different world, isn't it?"

This thought filled them with excitement.

After settling this matter, the senior brother pointed at the line for Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and said, "Can I order a portion of this then? I'm very curious what it tastes like now that I know the story."

Anna gave a nod and then turned to the junior sister to ask, "And for you, miss?"

The junior sister looked down at the menu and after thinking about it, "Can I have the same as my senior brother?"

Anna thought about it and said, "Then how about a large portion with some rice? That way you two can share it."

Both the senior brother and junior sister nodded when they heard this.

Anna took their order and then said, "I'll go send your order in. Please wait a minute."

After Anna was gone, the senior brother and junior sister went back to looking around the restaurant.

All the different people here really piqued their interest and they could never get tired of watching them. Not to mention that there were more and more interesting people that came in from time to time.

There was one person that was a bit short that had an arm and a leg that was made of metal that came in. They had never thought that it was possible to create limbs out of metal.

There was a person that had a pair of wings and a tail sticking out their butt that came. These wings were like the wings of a bat and the tail looked like the end of a whip.

There were all different kinds of people that went and came that they never tired of.

While they were watching these people, there was a group in traditional Chinese robes that came over. When they stopped at the table, the leader of the group, a handsome young man, said, "Hello fellow cultivators, can we sit with you?"

The senior brother and the junior sister were surprised by this, but they gave a nod before the senior brother said, "Fellow cultivator, please take a seat."

Their group sat down before the leader asked, "Fellow cultivators, which sect are you from?"

The senior brother said, "We're from Heaven Piercing Sect."

"Heaven Piercing Sect." The leader repeated before saying with a smile, "That really is a bold name." Then after a pause, he said, "We're from the Sky Crushing Sect."

The senior brother revealed a wry smile when he heard this.

Sky Crushing Sectand he was saying that the Heaven Piercing Sect was a bold name.

But since the other side was acting friendly, there was no reason for him to lose his temper with them.

The two sides began talking to each other and exchanging information, but of course neither side gave any important information.

After a while, the leader of the group suddenly asked, "This brother, I'm ashamed to even ask you this, but what is the greatest sect in the world?"

The senior brother nodded and said, "It's nothing to be ashamed about. How about we say it at the same time?"

The leader nodded before saying his answer, "The Sky Crushing Sect, right?"

The senior brother had said at the same time, "The Heaven Piercing Sect."

"Huh?"

Both of them said this at the same time.

Eighth Meal - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (3)

Both sides suddenly glared at each other with a trace of hostility in their eyes.

It hadn't reached a point where they drew their weapons to attack each other, but it was clear that they were unhappy with the other person's answer.

The leader spoke first by saying, "This friend, I'm sure that you've heard of our Sky Crushing Sect before. Our sword dance technique is considered the number one technique in the entire world. There is no other sect that can match us."

The senior brother shook his head and said, "I've never heard of this Sky Crushing Sect before. Rather, I'm more surprised that you haven't heard of our Heaven Piercing Sect before, our sect's sword control art is known all over the world. It's known as the most precise and delicate skill, but also the strongest skill in the world.

The leader's lips twitched before he said, "I'm sorry, I haven't heard of these petty tricks before. I only know true sword arts like our Sky Crushing Sect's Brilliant Sword Dance. This is the technique that our ancestor once used to cut the sky open."

The senior brother's lips twitched as well before he said, "Petty tricks? I'm sorry, these skills must be too advanced for you. Our Ascension Sword is a technique that only the most skilled cultivators have ever experienced. It's said that our ancestor once pierced right through the heavens with this technique."

As both of them spoke, they slowly started standing up and their hands were moving towards their weapons.

It was as if they were prepared to start fighting at any moment.

Even though they had smiles on their faces, it was clearly a tense situation.

All of the people at the surrounding table had stopped talking and were looking at them. However, not a single one of them had a worried look and instead were just looking at them like they were watching a play.

That was because not a single one of them was worried that anything would actually happen with a certain someone here.

But before either side could make a move, one of the people at their table suddenly stood up and came in between them.

This person was for the group of cultivators that came after, but unlike those cultivators, they didn't wear the same ancient Chinese robes as them. Instead, this person wore a black two piece suit and had a pair of sunglasses on.

If one didn't know any better, the first thing they would have thought was a spy.

But of course, they would be right in this assumption since this person was indeed a spy.

He had come here on behalf of China and was getting information from these cultivators who he had befriended.

He also didn't want to dress up like this, but for some reason, they seemed to like this kind of fashion. So in the end, he had no choice but to dress like this to impress the cultivators at the restaurant.

As he stood in between them, he raised his hands and said, "Stop, let's not start a fight." He looked at the leader and said, "Don't you remember what happens if you fight in this restaurant?"

When the leader heard this, he couldn't help jolting as he looked in the direction of the kitchen.

Luckily for him, Yami wasn't currently working right now and was sitting in the break room with Lin Fan.

During these special times where she was alone with Lin Fan, she completely ignored everything that was happening in the shop.

That wasn't because she felt like she didn't need to carebut rather because she had talented staff members that could take care of problems for her.

For example, Anna.

She had been watching over the two groups as tensions rose between them and she had already started gathering a red glow in her hand. This red glow gave off a dangerous feeling and it looked like she was ready to jump in whenever she needed to.

But she didn't need to in the end since the man in the suit solved everything.

The man in the suit then explained, "It's not as if there's a problem here anyway."

The two of them looked at him with confused and surprised looks as they strangely asked at the same time, "What do you mean by that?"

They looked at each before turning their attention back to the man in the suit.

The man in the suit explained, "You're from different worlds, right? So of course there are different number one sects in these worlds and it's normal that you haven't heard of each other's sects. It isn't that your sects aren't famous, it's just that you're from different worlds."

Both of them were taken aback before suddenly realizing their mistakes and recognizing that the man in the suit was right.

They were indeed from different worlds, which was why they had never heard of each other's sects. They had assumed that they were from the same world because they had similar clothing and similar laws, as well as similar cultivations. But now they realized that there were indeed minor things that were different about each other.

That was right, this was a restaurant that connected many different worlds, so of course it was possible that they were from different worlds.

It was just that they were two hotblooded young men who had lost sight of this and had almost made a mistake by trying to prove this with force.

Both of them couldn't help revealing awkward looks.

The leader of the group was the one that cupped his hands first and bowed his head first as he said, "This brother, I apologize for my rash behaviour just now."

The senior brother was surprised by his sudden apology, but he also quickly cupped his hands and said, "This brother, it was also my fault."

Since both of them had apologized, it didn't take long before they were happily chatting away again.

They now knew that they were from different worlds, so they didn't hold back in sharing information about their own worlds and their own sects.

They were certain that it was impossible for either side to go to the other person's world, so they weren't worried about sharing information. Not to mention, if they obtained good cultivation information from the other side, information that didn't exist in their own world, then it would help their future cultivation.

So they even went as far as sharing their cultivation techniques.

They found that there were many things that were similar about their cultivation techniques, but there were also different parts about their cultivation techniques. However, they also found that the ending was the same, the paths to that end were different.

So with different ways of getting to that end, they were able to understand certain things that were wrong about their own cultivation techniques.

This was something that would save them quite a bit of time on the long road of cultivation, so naturally both of them were happy to see this result.

By the end of it, they were slapping each other on the back and calling each other brother. It was as if that tense moment just now hadn't existed at all and they had been friends their entire life.

On the side, the man in the suit and sunglasses silently jotted down some notes.

While he wasn't able to understand everything, he was still able to understand parts of it. He quickly jotted down everything that he could understand about their cultivation techniques.

After all, he was certain that it was something that his country would be interested in.

While they hadn't been able to progress further than what these cultivation worlds considered the Qi Gathering Realm, they had been slowly making progress by gathering different cultivation techniques from different cultivation worlds.

As long as they continued gathering these cultivation techniques and studying them, they were certain that they would be able to make a complete cultivation technique that could be used on Earth one day.

With everyone gaining something from this, they were all satisfied with the ending.

Finally, Anna came over with the dish that the senior brother had ordered.

When she had seen that their differences had been settled, she lowered her hand and scattered the energy she had gathered before heading to work. Of course, she had been keeping an eye on them the entire time just in case anything happened.

Seeing that Anna came over, the group of cultivators were preparing to leave.

They had already finished their meal and they had only come over because they saw that the two of them were young cultivators like them.

These young people liked talking to each other, so they came over to chat. But now that their meal was here, it would be awkward for them to stay any longer because they would just be sitting there without anything to eat.

It would make the senior brother and junior sister feel awkward and would make it hard for them to enjoy their meal.

They didn't want to do that to their new friends, so they tactfully chose to leave.

That was until they saw what Anna was bringing over.

The leader of the group couldn't help looking at the senior brother with a strange look before asking, "Did you really order the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?"

The senior brother revealed a confused look when he saw this reaction from the leader and he slowly nodded as he said, "That's right."

The leader of the group couldn't help peeking at the junior sister before giving a curt nod and saying, "Alright, then we won't be disturbing you anymore."

Then with a quick wave of his hand, he led his group to the entrance of the store.

Both the senior brother and the junior sister couldn't help revealing strange and confused looks when they saw this

Once their group had gotten far away from them, the leader couldn't help whispering, "I never thought that someone as young as that would have this kind of problem"

All of the other members of this group nodded before looking back at the senior brother with looks of pity.

Eighth Meal - Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (4)

The senior brother and the junior sister were still confused by their strange behaviour, but their attention was quickly drawn by something else.

When Anna came over, there was a smell that hit them right in the face and pulled their minds back.

They couldn't help looking at the tray that was in her hand.

There was an earthen clay pot that was only releasing a single line of smoke from the hole in the lid, but just that little hole was enough to release the scent stored inside. This was a strong fish smell, but it wasn't a bad smell. Rather it had a full and rich smell that only came from a flavourful fish soup stock.

Before they even tasted it, they could tell that it was a delicious soup.

Even the people on the side couldn't help taking a few more sniffs as it passed by them.

However, most of them also quickly turned back to their own dishes and tried to look away from this pot as much as possible.

It almost seemed strange how hard they were trying to avoid it

But the senior brother and junior sister didn't notice this at all as their attention was completely attracted by the pot in Anna's hands.

When she arrived, she first put the two bowls of rice and chopsticks that she had as well down in front of them.

When these bowls of rice were put down, they couldn't help taking a sniff of this rice.

This rice was completely different from the rice that they normally ate.

The rice that they ate back in the sect was much harder and coarser than this rice. This rice had a very fluffy and soft look to it, as well as a rich smell that they didn't get from their own rice.

Just one glance was enough to tell them that this was high quality rice. Not to mention that it was clearly prepared in an exceptional manner.

After putting down the two bowls of rice, Anna took the pot that she was still holding and placed it down in between the two of them. Then slowly, she removed the lid of this pot and allowed the fragrance of the soup inside to hit them head on.

This was a powerful smell, one that was full and rich just like a soup that was made of many different ingredients. Of course, this soup was one of those kinds of soup.

When they looked down at the soup, they could see all the various ingredients that were inside the pot.

There were some that they could recognize like the abalones, the pieces of meat, the scallops, the dried mushrooms, and such. However, there were also things that they couldn't recognize in the soup.

There was this one stringy thing that was floating in the center of the soup that they couldn't recognize at all.

It didn't even seem like it was something edible as far as they could tell, it almost seemed like pieces of string that had been left floating in the soup. But when they looked closer, they found that this thing had a completely different texture than what they had expected it to have.

It was indeed the meat of some kind of animal, but they couldn't tell just what kind of animal it was.

However, just based on the fragrance of the soup, they could tell that whatever this was must be delicious and they couldn't wait to try it.

Along with all of this, Anna had also brought two smaller empty bowls and two spoons for them since they were sharing this one pot of Buddha Jumping Over the Wall.

They patiently waited for her to set up everything since as cultivators, they didn't want to do anything that they considered shameful. However, the moment that she finished and turned to leave, they immediately shed this patient appearance.

Both of them picked up their bowls and went forward to fill it up with the ladle that had been provided.

There was only one ladle though and the moment that they both reached for it, their hands awkwardly bumped into each other.

They looked up at each other and revealed awkward smiles as they realized what had just happened. Then the junior sister took the bowl from the senior brother's hand and helped him fill a bowl first.

It was clear by the way that they acted with each other that they had a good relationship between the two of them.

It was almost as if they were already like husband and wife

This small casual display of affection sprayed dog food into the mouth of all the lonely dogs that were secretly peeping at the two of them.

It really hit them right in the heart the fact that they were still alone.

The senior brother didn't eat right away and waited for his junior sister to fill up her bowl first. Then once they were both done, they lifted the bowl at the same time and had their first bites of this Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.

Both of them had chosen to have a taste of that stringy piece of meat that they didn't recognize first.

The moment that they bit into that piece of meat, they were surprised to find that it melted in their mouths. However, this wasn't just a simple melting of the meat, but rather it was a wave of flavour that spread all over their tongues.

This meat was soaked in the soup, so as it melted, the soup that it had absorbed melted along with the meat itself.

This was a full and rich taste that immediately hit them in the taste buds. This was a taste that they had never experienced before, it completely knocked all of the other foods that they had tasted before out of their minds as they could only think of this piece of meat.

The meat itself was soft and chewy, but it was a bit bland in the end.

But that wasn't a problem since it had absorbed the intense taste of the soup. This soup was the concentrated flavour of all the rich tasting ingredients that had been added into the soup, so it was much stronger than any soup that they had tasted before.

It was even almost too strong for their taste buds to handle, but the meat helped with this.

The bland taste of the meat mixed with the soup and it created a perfect harmony where it dulled the taste enough that it was just right for the perfect impact.

It was almost so strong that they had chewed down on the soup itself, almost as if they were eating a steak.

Then as they chewed, they couldn't help swallowing since the flavour was just too strong for them to hold it in their mouths any longer.

They continued picking out the different ingredients in the soup and each time, it was another burst of flavour. All of the ingredients had been boiling in the soup enough that it had soaked in the intense flavour of the soup, but each time, the ingredients used their own flavour to dull the intense flavour of the soup enough to give it just the right punch.

At the same time, each of the ingredients added their own special unique flavour to this soup that gave them a different taste with each bite that they took.

The abalone gave it a nice saltiness and a nice buttery taste that made the soup even smoother.

The dried mushrooms gave it a strong umami taste that made the soup even richer.

Each ingredient added their own specialty to the soup, making it even more delicious.

But the real star of the meal came after they had finished off all the ingredients.

After all the ingredients were finished and there was only the soup left, they realized that they hadn't touched their rice at all.

With a sudden hint of inspiration, the senior brother scooped out a bowl of soup that he poured right into his bowl of rice.

The junior sister was surprised by her senior brother, but she curiously waited to see what his reaction was.

When the senior brother had that first sip of the soup and rice, he revealed a completely stunned look on his face. That look quickly changed several times before it finally settled on a look of absolute joy.

The junior sister couldn't understand why he looked like this, but she also couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore. She did the exact same thing as the senior brother and soon she had the same look on her face.

Perfection!

That was the only way to describe this.

The soup mixed perfectly with the fluffy and soft rice. The two came together to create a mellow taste as the rice dulled out the soup, but drinking it with the rice gave it a very smooth taste.

This was completely different from just eating the soup.

The addition of the rice gave a base to the intense taste of the soup, creating a perfect harmony of flavour.

They couldn't stop themselves as they shoveled that rice and soup into their mouth, only stopping to take breaths in between.

It only took five minutes from beginning to end for them to finish off the entire pot of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and during this, they had asked for rice twice for the rest of the soup.

They had rushed Anna to get them this rice as quickly as possible just so they wouldn't have to stop in between bowls.

When they were finished, both of them revealed satisfied looks on their faces.

The pot itself was quite big and they both had eaten three bowls of rice, so it was more than enough to fill them up.

As they sat there with satisfied looks on their faces, everyone around them couldn't help looking at them with strange looks as if they were waiting for something

It was the senior brother who reacted first.

He didn't know what this feeling was at first, but when he looked down, he found thatthere was a slight tent that had been pitched in his lower half.

The shock that he felt wasn't just the shock of suddenly pitching a tent

The shock that he felt was the shock of suddenly pitching a tent after not being able to do so for so long!

This senior brother actually had a very embarrassing secretwhich was that he found it hard to get intimate because his thingdidn't work properly.

It never stood up whenever he needed it to

But now, it was standing loud and proud.

The junior sister was confused by the shocked look on the senior brother's face, but when she looked down at his lower half, she also revealed a shocked look.

She already knew about this since it had been a problem in their relationship.

They had always wanted to take it a step further, but it was hard when he couldn't get hard

So why did he suddenly get hard like this?

No, that wasn't the important thingthe important thing was to get back and take care of it as quickly as possible before it faded away!

So without hesitation, the junior sister called for Anna to settle the bill.

Anna wasn't surprised by this at all since she knew that they had just finished the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. This was what normally happened after people finished this dish.

As soon as she settled the bill, the junior sister pulled the senior brother away and they headed back through the door to reappear in the bamboo forest.

What she didn't notice was that her body was also much warmer than usual.

After they left, everyone couldn't help looking at the door with strange smiles on their faces.

The Buddha Jumps Over the Wall was indeed very delicious, but anyone that ate it would always suffer from a certain condition.

The dish was made from abalones, scallops, and other ingredients that were known for increasinglibido!

So whoever ate this would always feel a slight aphrodisiac effect and they would find it hard to control themselves. So anyone that ate this dish would always run off and head back to their own world to find a way to deal with it.

They couldn't help laughing at the two lovers who had suddenly suffered this fate.

There were many lonely dogs that even thought that they deserved it.

It was just too bad for these lonely dogs that this couple came back again the next day and ordered the same dish.

They even looked closer than before

Ninth Meal - Okonomiyaki (Part 1)

"Ding!"

This was a sound that suddenly rang out in this dim room that was only lit up by a few candles.

The person who had been sitting in the center of the room suddenly opened their eyes and turned to look at a shikigami that was hanging on the wall.

They couldn't help knitting their brows when they saw which direction it came from.

"To the east"

After a long period of silence, they suddenly stood up and said out loud, "Send word to the emperor right away! There are enemies to the east!"

There were several black figures that suddenly appeared from the shadows of this large room. They immediately landed in front of this person and bowed down to them before saying, "Yes, sir!"

Then in an instant, all of them disappeared from the room and that person was left alone.

This person that was left in the room was Takenoko Seimei, the highest ranking onmyoji of the royal court. He was the one that the emperor trusted the most out of all the royal onmyoji and said to be a once in a century genius.

The divination that he had just finished was to find the spy that had snuck into their country.

Now that he was finished with this, Seimei no longer needed to care about this and could finally relax.

But before he could go off to relax, there was another black figure that dropped.

Seimei knitted his brows when he saw this, but he didn't say a word as he waited for the black figure to report.

The black figure was silent for a while as if they were hesitating over something before finally saying, "There are reports that the Kinoko Family have started moving. It is very likely that they have something to do with this spy."

When Seimei heard this, he couldn't help knitting his brows even more.

The Kinoko Family was the royal onmyoji family of the Land of Ocean that their Land of Sea was directly in conflict with. It could be said that they were the greatest rivals of the Takenoko Family, so it wasn't that surprising that the spy would be from the Kinoko Family.

However, this still surprised Seimei for a certain reason.

After thinking about it for a bit, Seimei finally said, "Keep watching them and if the Kinoko Family really makes a move, then we'll send out our people as well."

His voice turned cold as he said, "If they really want a war, we'll give it to them."

The black figure couldn't help trembling when they heard this, but then they gave a nod and disappeared again.

However, even after the black figure left, Seimei's brows didn't relax.

After a long period of silence, he finally muttered to himself, "Didn't we already agree not to do anything? Now they're breaking their promise"

He just stood there for a while longer before his stomach suddenly gave a growl and he was pulled back to his senses.

He had been performing the ceremony for over twenty hours now, so he was indeed quite hungry.

Rubbing his stomach, he walked out of this room and headed deeper into the Takenoko Manor. He wasn't heading to his room, but rather a forbidden room in the deepest parts of the Takenoko Manor.

This was a room that had existed before this manor was even built and it was the most taboo place in the entire Takenoko Manor.

There were rumours that there was a powerful demon sealed into it, which was why the master of the Takenoko Family, Takenoko Seimei went into the forbidden room every day to seal it up.

Only Seimei knew the truth

When he arrived in this room, he looked at the door that was just standing there in the center of it.

This was a normal looking door that didn't have any special decorations. The only thing that was special about it was the dog paw mark that was right in the center of the door.

This was the true secret of this special room, this door that had been guarded by the Takenoko Family for decades now.

The one that had discovered it was his father and then his father had passed this door down to him.

Only those in the main Takenoko Family line knew what this door really was.

It was a passage into another world.

Since he had learned about it, Seimei couldn't help going to this other world at least once a day. If he didn't go there, he would always find that he would be filled with cravings to go there.

If he didn't go, it would be like an addict who was suddenly going into withdrawal.

Patting his stomach that growled again, Seimei opened the door and walked through.

He wasn't surprised by the sudden change in brightness since this was something that he had already experienced many times.

After walking into the restaurant, there were several people that he was familiar with who waved at him and greeted him. Seimei walked by them and greeted them in turn before finding a spot at an empty table.

When he sat down, Anna looked over at him and asked, "The usual?"

Seimei gave a nod and then relaxed in the chair.

Anna just revealed a smile when she saw this and then went to the kitchen to hand in the order.

It had already been more than ten years since Seimei had started coming to this restaurant.

The first time he came, he had been brought here by his father and they had shared a meal together. That meal was one that he had never been able to forget and to this day, he still ordered the same thing that he ate with his father back then.

After relaxing for a bit, Seimei suddenly opened his eyes and looked around the restaurant, almost as if he was looking for a person.

However, after his eyes swept over the entire restaurant and he didn't find the person that he was looking for, he clicked his tongue and muttered to himself, "They're not here yet? Then could it really be that they"

He didn't finish his words, but he knitted his brows as he left his words hanging.

Seimei suddenly stood up and walked over to another table where there was a person in full samurai armour sitting there.

That person had been enjoying the food that they had ordered when they suddenly saw Seimei standing over them. They weren't surprised to see them, but there was a hint of annoyance that flashed in their eyes.

After they finished chewing the food that was in their mouth, they pointed at the seat in front of them.

Seimei sat down in silence and neither of them said a single thing.

Finally, the samurai couldn't take it and asked, "What is it now?"

Seimei didn't answer right away, but eventually he still asked, "Has there been anything strange happening in your country lately?"

The samurai looked at Seimei with a strange look before asking, "Strange? What do you mean by strange?"

Seimei was silent for a bit, but then he stood up and said, "Nothing. Sorry for bothering you."

The samurai's expression filled with even more confusion as he watched Seimei walk back to his own table.

This samurai wasn't just someone that Seimei had gotten to know from the restaurant, he was someone that was from Seimei's world.

Unlike the Land of Sea that Seimei came from, this samurai was from the Land of Mountains on the opposite side of the ocean.

Normally, the two of them wouldn't even have a chance to meet, but because of this restaurant, they were able to exchange information between their two lands.

Of course, they also knew each other in an official capacity.

Seimei was the highest ranking onmyoji of the Land of Sea and this samurai named Nobunaga was one of the highest ranking feudal lords of the Land of Mountains. They had already contacted each other before meeting at the restaurant through letters, so they did have a relationship.

But it was much easier to exchange information in person at the restaurant than to exchange letters.

After Seimei left, Nobunaga looked in his direction for a bit before turning his attention back to his pork loin cutlet.

But as he chewed, he couldn't help feeling that something was off with Seimei.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and swallowed everything. He left his payment on the table and walked out of the restaurant, back to his own world.

He felt that something was wrong, so he was heading back to investigate.

After all, Seimei had a reason for his actions and he didn't believe that Seimei would just talk to him for no reason.

After Nobunaga left, Seimei's dish finally arrived.

This was a dish that had taken a long time to cook, but Seimei felt that it was well worth the wait.

Anna brought it on a large teppanyaki plate and placed it right in front of Seimei.

Atop that teppanyaki plate, there was a large okonomiyaki with bonito flakes, mayo, and special sauce sizzling on it.

The moment that Seimei saw it placed in front of him, his stomach couldn't help giving another growl.

It had already been a long time since he ate, so he really couldn't take his hunger anymore.

He lifted the chopstick and was about to dig in, but before he could, he heard the sound of the bell above the door ringing. He had turned his eyes to look over out of habit, but the moment he saw who it was, his hand holding the chopsticks stopped and he knitted his brows again.

The person that had just walked in was Kinoko Doman, the head of the Kinoko Family.

Ninth Meal - Okonomiyaki (Part 2)

After a few seconds of being in a daze, Seimei decisively put down the chopsticks in his hands.

Before he could enjoy his meal, he had to take care of this problem first or he wouldn't be able to properly enjoy himself.

So he raised a hand and pointed it at Doman.

Doman who had just walked in was also looking around the restaurant as if she was looking for someone.

When she saw Seimei pointing at her, Doman couldn't help revealing a bitter smile. However, she still walked over to where Seimei was sitting and sat down in front of him.

Anna looked over and Doman said, "The usual."

Anna gave a nod in response to this and headed to the back to put in Doman's order.

The two of them just sat there in silence after Doman had ordered.

Finally, under Seimei's gaze, Doman gave a sigh and said, "It's not what you think."

Seimei gave a snort before saying, "If it's not what I think, then what could it be? We clearly had a deal and yet you're breaking it? Do you really think that we wouldn't find out about this?"

Doman gave another sigh before saying, "You never listen. I'm telling you that it's not what you think and you're still saying this."

Seimei gave another snort before saying, "Then tell me, what is it if it's not what I think?"

Doman paused for a second before saying, "It's someone using the techniques of the Kinoko Family to do these things."

Seimei narrowed his eyes to look at her and then he gave a snort once more as he said, "So you're saying that someone was able to imitate the secret techniques of the Kinoko Family and pull off something like this? Do you really think that I would believe that?"

Doman gave a snort this time, but she said, "If you put it like that, then it doesn't seem believable!"

Seimei gave a sigh before saying, "Are you sure that it's like this?"

Doman said with a nod, "It's really like this." Then she seriously looked into his eyes and asked, "Would I lie to you?"

Seimei looked into her eyes for a while before saying, "Then what are you planning on doing?"

Doman gave a shrug and said, "What can I do? I've already sent people out to find this person, but until they do, there's nothing that I can really do."

Seimei hesitated a bit before saying, "I've already sent word to the emperor and he's going to send people to deal with it."

Doman trembled when she heard this and she looked right at him before asking, "Why would you do that?"

Seimei shook his head and said, "What do you think I could do? If I didn't report it to the emperor after receiving an order, I would have been declared a traitor and I would have been forced out of my country. My entire Takenoko Family would have suffered because of it."

Doman pointed a finger in his face and said, "You couldn't just wait for a bit before reporting it? If you just gave me time, I would have been able to do something before it escalated like this!"

Seimei said with a snort, "If you could deal with it, you would have dealt with it already and I wouldn't have needed to report it."

Doman trembled with anger when she heard this. She pointed her finger in his face again and said, "You, you, you! You just had to bring it up, didn't you? You really are a piece of work, do you know that?"

Seimei stuck out his tongue without a reply.

Doman stood up and put her face right in front of his before saying, "You're acting like a child now? Do you really think that this is what mature adults do?"

Seimei didn't care as he turned away from her.

As he did, he couldn't stop a faint blush from appearing on his face because of how close she had put her face to his just now. At the same time, seeing him turn away, Doman also realized how close she had been to him and a blush appeared on her face as well.

She quickly sat down and there was a short silence between the two of them before they started arguing again.

If the people from their families saw them now, they definitely would have been shocked.

Gone were the two calm and serious heads of their families and they had been replaced with these two that were bickering like children. They didn't have a single trace of the prestige that they should have had as family heads and insteadthey acted more like their age.

After all, both Seimei and Doman were only fifteen years old.

They had taken over for their families early on because of their talent, but that didn't mean that they were adults yet.

There were still some parts of them that were like children.

The two of them argued and made up again and again, but the customers around them weren't bothered by this at all. After all, the two of them were old customers and all of the other customers knew that was just how the two of them had acted.

In fact, they had actually mellowed out compared to before.

After a long time, Anna finally came back with another okonomiyaki that was exactly the same as the one that she had brought for Seimei and placed it in front of Doman.

However, before Doman could start eating, Seimei suddenly swapped the two okonomiyakis on the table.

His okonomiyaki that had become cold because he had left it for so long was now in front of Doman and the new steaming hot okonomiyaki was in front of him.

Doman pointed at him and said, "What do you think you're doing? You're even taking my food now!"

Seimei just stuck out his tongue and said, "It's your fault that mine went cold, so I'm taking yours instead."

Doman wanted to say something, but then she just gave a sigh and settled down.

She opened her mouth towards him and said, "Feed me."

Seimei wasn't surprised by this at all, instead he revealed a smile.

He picked up the chopsticks and cut a piece of the steaming hot okonomiyaki before lifting it up and bringing it to her mouth.

When Doman saw this, she didn't hesitate to take a bite of it.

The way that they acted, it was almost like they were loversBut of course, that was what they were.

While they were heads of families that had been at each other's throats for centuries, in their generation that feud didn't exist.

Their parents didn't even know about this.

But when they had met in this restaurant, something had clicked between them and over time, they got closer and closer until they finally confessed their love for one another.

Without this restaurant, it would have been impossible for them to fall in love like this.

But because of this restaurant, a love story that rivaled Romeo and Juliet had been born.

The heads of the opposing Kinoko and Takenoko Families of the Land of Ocean and Land of Sea respectively. Two houses that were equal in prestige, but had been feuding because of their loyalty to their countries.

Yet they had fallen in love with each other.

When they first met, they had argued and quarreled with each other like one would expect. But as they were just children, they were able to settle their arguments much easier than adults.

So while they were here, they would argue and then play with each other.

Since both of them were from onmyoji families, they were both interested in the same things and they learned techniques from each other. That was also a big contributing factor to their reputation as talented onmyojis.

After all, they had the legacies of two different families of the same power behind them.

Eventually, it was Doman who actually confessed to Seimei.

Girls did always mature faster than boys and she was able to recognize her feelings for him before he had realized his feelings for her.

But after she confessed, Seimei realized just how important she was to him and accepted this confession.

So behind the backs of their families, they started dating in this restaurant.

On the surface, they would fight like one would expect from heads of opposing families, but when they came to the restaurant, they would act lovey dovey with one another.

They had even come to an agreement that they would avoid conflict between their families as much as possible. But it was impossible to avoid all conflict since they were major families serving the emperors of two opposing countries.

That was why Seimei had reacted so strongly when he had heard that there were traces of the Kinoko Family's techniques found with the spy.

He had thought that the woman that he had loved had betrayed him and he was worried that she would no longer be in love with him.

Yes, he wasn't worried about being betrayed and he wasn't worried that his family was in danger. All he cared about was whether she still loved him or not, which was why he had rushed to the restaurant after hearing about this.

Now that she had dispelled this worry, he could finally relax.

Neither of them cared about their problems anymore and just focused on their food.

After feeding Doman, it was now Seimei's turn to eat.

Doman cut off a piece of the okonomiyaki like Seimei had done and brought it up to feed him as well.

Ninth Meal - Okonomiyaki (Part 3)

Seimei opened his mouth wide and bit into the fluffy and steaming okonomiyaki.

When it entered his mouth, the strong taste of the sauce and mayonnaise filled his mouth.

Then it was quickly followed by the taste of the meat and the taste of the batter mixed together.

This was a pork meat okonomiyaki, so there was the slight smoky taste of the meat that helped enhance the richness of the entire bite. It mixed with the umami of the pork meat and created a rich taste that could only come from well aged meat.

It wasn't a strong taste though, it was a subtle taste that mixed with the batter of the okonomiyaki to give a balanced umami taste that delighted the taste bud.

Then there was the feeling of the bonito flakes that came with each bite.

It was a very unique texture, just like soft paper, but it also had a chew to it that released the umami taste of the dried fish. This mixed along with the batter and the meat in the okonomiyaki created an even stronger taste that was like a punch.

Then there was the batter that came with this bite.

The batter itself didn't have much of a taste, but rather it provided a base that helped the taste of the other ingredients fuse together. At the same time, the crunchy base of the batter created a nice texture that felt very satisfying to chew.

All in all, this created a perfect harmony of land and sea, as it fused the taste of the bonito flakes and the pork together to create a perfect bite.

After chewing it a few times, he couldn't help swallowing it right away.

The two of them continued feeding each other bites of the steaming hot okonomiyaki until it was completely gone.

Then the two of them turned their attention to the one that had gone cold that was sitting there.

Neither of them made a move to dispose of it, rather they brought it in front of them with sparkling eyes as if they were about to eat it.

Both of them took a bite of this cold okonomiyaki and revealed delighted looks when they bit into it.

That was because even though this okonomiyaki had gone cold, it was still delicious. It was a different kind of taste compared to the steaming hot okonomiyaki, but it wasn't any less delicious.

That was because after it had cooled down, the sauce had completely penetrated deep into the batter, giving it an even richer taste.

With the sauce soaking all of the okonomiyaki, it was a taste that was much richer than when the sauce was still steaming hot and only drizzled on it.

If the bite before was a jab, this was a full out knockout uppercut punch.

This taste was several times stronger than before and brought out the full power of the worcestershire okonomiyaki sauce. It mixed the umami of the bonito flakes that had melted into the sauce and the pork that was drizzled in it, creating a powerful umami punch.

Both of them had looks of delight as they ate this okonomiyaki and instead of the harmony from before, both of them fought over this one.

The reason why they had been so generous and kept offering the other person bites of the steaming hot one wasbecause they had wanted to keep this cold okonomiyaki for themselves.

But since that plan didn't work, the only thing that they could do was use force to take as much of the okonomiyaki for themselves as possible.

There was a clash of chopsticks that appeared over the okonomiyaki, but of course there weren't any hands holding them.

Since they were onmyojis, they naturally fought with the method used by onmyojis.

They controlled the chopsticks like shikigamis and used their magic to clash with one another.

It was evenly matched at first, but Seimei was quickly able to find an opening in Doman's defenses and broke through with his chopsticks. But before he could take a bite of the cold okonomiyaki, Doman used her ultimate technique.

Pouty lips!

She pouted her lips and revealed an aggrieved look as she said, "You're just bullying me!"

When this happened, Seimei had no choice but togive up.

When it came to her cute appearance, he had no defenses at all and he would be slaughtered in one move. He just couldn't say no when it came to her cute appearance, so he had no choice but to relinquish the okonomiyaki to her.

But of course, Doman didn't keep it all for herself since she did want to share it with him still.

Even if she wanted the larger portion, she still wanted to feed him from time to time.

So she used her chopsticks to feed him bites between her bites.

Though she did take two bites for each bite that Seimei received

The two of them like thiswas just too dazzling for the lonely dogs around them. They couldn't take being fed dog food like this and they started cursing the two of them, but they were lost in their own world, so they didn't hear any of it.

In fact, as powerful onmyojis, they naturally had protections against curses from other people.

So what these people that cursed them didn't know was that their curse had been rebounded and had been applied to themselves. All they had done was cursed themselves to be single even longer for cursing the two of them to break up.

When they finally finished the last bite of the okonomiyaki, they settled down and no longer fought like before.

Instead, they cut that last bite perfectly in half and fed it to each other.

This created a dazzling glow of public affection that caused all the people around them to shield their eyes. The ones that had already been prepared took out sunglasses and used them to protect themselves.

After all, the people that ate at this restaurant all knewthat delicious food was the best way for couples to show off, so this restaurant was quite dangerous for these lonely dogs. Even the ownerswere guilty of blinding quite a few lonely dogs.

The two of them both closed their eyes and savoured this last bite of the okonomiyaki.

This was the last bite that had been drenched in the sauce, so it was actually the most flavourful bite as well.

It showed just how deep their relationship was that they were able to share this evenly with each other.

The two of them sat there in silence for over a minute before finally giving sighs of satisfaction and leaning back in their chairs. The two of them just sat there in silence for a few minutes before finally sitting back up.

When they sat back up, they had serious expressions on their faces once again.

These two were the heads of their families, families that were at the peak of their respective countries. So there was a certain expectation of how they should act normally and they had to follow that expectation.

It was only the short period of time that they spent in this restaurant for lunch that they were able to relax and not have to act as family heads.

But now that their meal was over, it was time for them to return to the people that they were.

Seimei narrowed his eyes to look at Doman and said, "How long will it take you to deal with those fakes?"

Doman knitted her brows for a few seconds before suddenly relaxing them and saying, "It'll take at least a week before we can handle them."

Seimei gave a sigh before asking, "Will this affect our plans?"

Doman hesitated a bit before shaking her head, "They haven't used any of the major techniques of the Kinoko Family, so it shouldn't create that big of a splash. At most, it'll cause a few people to pay more attention to us, but we've already hidden everything well enough that they won't find anything."

Seimei gave a nod before saying, "I've already informed the Land of Mountains about this, so they will start moving as well."

Doman raised a brow before asking, "Is that really a smart move?"

Seimei shook his head and said, "There's no other choice. People that can steal your family's techniques like this can only come from overseas. We need their help to investigate this."

Doman hesitated a bit before giving another nod.

Once they finished discussing this, both of them fell silent as they just sat there.

After a long while, Doman finally came forward and threw herself into Seimei's arms. She put her head against his chest as she said in a soft voice that was completely different from the cold and serious voice from earlier, "Are you sure that this will work? We've already planned this for so long and we haven't achieved anything that we were planning."

Seimei slightly knitted his brows, but he also reached out his hand to pat her on the head as he said, "It has to work, or else"

He didn't finish his words, but Doman understood what he was implying.

The two of them just sat there in silence like that for a few minutes before finally separating.

After giving a cough to calm themselves down, they nodded at each other and headed out the door one at a time.

After all, they were going to different locations, so they had to go separately.

Doman was heading back to the door that the Kiniko Family guarded.

After Doman left, Seimei revealed a serious look that also had a strong look of determination.

If he wanted to do this, he would need to work hard or else they would all suffer

After all, what they were planning was a coup d'etat of their countries.

That was right, these two had been secretly planning a coup d'etat of their respective countries just for their love. To allow themselves to be together in public, they didn't hesitate to betray the countries that their families had been serving for generations and were planning to take them all down.

They were planning on bringing down the emperors of both the Land of Sea and the Land of Ocean, replacing them with their united families and ruling over the land together. Only then would they be able to make everyone accept their relationship.

It was hard to imagine that they were planning such a terrifying thing just for their love.

But that was the decision that they had reached.

After giving a sigh, Seimei said to himself, "I need to work harder"

Then without hesitation, he walked through the door in front of him and returned to his world.

Tenth Meal - Barbeque skewers (Part 1)

"Did you hear, there's a special event that's happening here tomorrow?"

"Really? What kind of special event?"

"Some kind of summer festival? It's said that they're holding an all you can eat barbeque skewers buffet here."

These kinds of whispers filled the restaurant as customers discussed the flyers that had been hung by the kitchen.

The flyers were advertising an event that was supposed to be held at this store the very next day. From the words that were written on it, it seemed that this event was a special menu that the restaurant was offering for a set price.

No one doubted the taste of the food at this restaurant, so they were all excited about this event since this was something new that they hadn't tasted before.

Or at least that was the case for the new patrons of the restaurant.

For those that had been coming here for a long time now, they were excited because they knew what kind of event this was.

This was an event that the restaurant held yearly and it was always a party that they looked forward to because of how lively it was.

Not to mentionthere was the taste of the barbeque skewers and the beerthat was a taste that was hard to forget.

But what they looked forward to the most was what was written in the corner of the flyer.

"Gluttony King, come and see who is the king of all gluttons with this all you can eat event!"

It was an event that the restaurant held each year and it was an event that tested the contestants on how much they could eat.

It was their one chance to just stuff their face with as much food as they could without being judged by others. And at the same time, there was a prize that was offered by the restaurant that greatly enticed them.

The prize that was offered was the same as always, it was a one month all you can eat pass.

Everyone that came to the store would usually order the same meal which they deemed their regular. That was because this dish was the dish that left the greatest impression on them when they came to the restaurant for the first time.

Of course, that didn't mean that they didn't enjoy the other dishes since everything that came from this restaurant was delicious.

They just had their different reasons for eating the same things and not testing new dishes.

Some just couldn't afford it since they saved up their money to buy their favourite dishes, some just wanted to enjoy the taste of their favourite dishes as much as possible, and some just didn't have any motivation to try anything new.

But this one month all you can eat pass was a different story.

After all, who didn't like free food?

With this pass, it would incentivize them to try out new dishes along with their normal dishes, so they couldn't help feeling excited.

Plus, who didn't like free food?

It was so important that it had to be said twice!

At one of the tables, there was a man and a woman wearing strange clothes sitting there.

The top part of their outfit was luxuriously designed, but the bottom half of their outfit lookedvery crude.

It was as if there had been no thought put into the bottom half and it had just been casually made.

But the people wearing them didn't mind at all.

That was because the two of them rarely put on the bottom half of their outfits.

The only place that they wore them was usually this restaurant.

These two were naturally the mermaid prince Finn and his childhood friend Amphi.

After they had spread the technique of dry aging fish, they had been able to solve the food problem in the mermaid kingdom. At the same time, after suggesting it to his father, they had found that it was indeed the humans that had been causing the tsunamis.

But to their surprise, as soon as they were caught, the humans ran away and denied all claims of this. Even with the large amount of evidence that had been brought forth by the Mermaid Kingdom, they still denied it.

This had all put a large strain on the relationship between humans and the mermaids, but at the very least, there had been no more tsunamis in the ocean and they had been able to rebuild.

Even though dry curing fish had spread across their kingdom, the technology was still very immature and the product wasn't at the level that Finn wanted it to be at.

It was delicious to his citizens who had never tasted fish like this before, but for Finn and Amphi who had a taste of the sashimi at the restaurant, it was disgusting in comparison.

So they couldn't help themselves from sneaking off from time to time to come to this restaurant for more sashimi.

Finn looked at the flyer and then said, "It seems like there's a special event being held at this restaurant tomorrow. Should we sneak over here and join in?"

Amphi looked around and she could see the excitement, so she could tell that this event wasn't a normal one. Even though their kingdom was still being rebuilt after the tsunamis and they should be there to support them, she couldn't stop herself from being curious about this event.

So Amphi said with a nod, "Alright, let's make sure that the secret tunnel is secure when we get home today."

Finn gave a nod before suddenly taking her hand.

Amphi's face had a blush appear on it, but she didn't resist and revealed a happy smile.

After going through those tribulations together, Finn had realized just how big of a role Amphi had in his life. He no longer ignored her like he had done before and in front of everyone, he had confessed his love and they were now officially dating.

There were even talks about setting their engagement between Amphi's father and Finn's father.

Not to mention that they were very popular right now because they had been the ones to solve the hunger issue, so the citizens all supported their engagement. They already treated the two of them as the future royal couple and they were wondering when a little prince or princess would be born.

As they sat there enjoying each other's company, Finn suddenly noticed something out of the corner of his eyes and raised his hand to wave at someone as he said, "Menchi Katsu, Croquette, over here."

As he called out, there were two people that walked over and sat down at the table they were at.

They were naturally the Golden Emperor Heinrich and the Great Sage Zweit.

Since they had helped Finn out last time, he had tried doing all he could to pay them back, but they never accepted his gestures since they said that it was nothing more than a few simple words.

But Finn had been filled with respect towards Heinrich for his advice, so whenever he met him at the restaurant, he would call out to him and treat him to a meal.

Heinrich didn't mind since he liked this kid and Zweit just followed whenever he was there since it was awkward eating alone.

Over time, the three of them had become quite close friends.

After Menchi Katsu and Croquette sat down, Finn asked, "Do you know about this event that they're holding?" As he said this, he pointed at the flyer that was hanging there.

Both of them had just come into the restaurant, so they hadn't seen the flyer that he had been referring to.

When they saw it, their eyes couldn't help popping out as they revealed excited looks.

Menchi Katsu raised his hand and started counting on his fingers while Croquette stood up and headed over to where Parfait was sitting with a group of orcs.

After counting for a bit, Menchi Katsu gave a nod and said, "It does indeed seem like it's around that time."

Finn was about to say something, but then there was a commotion that came from where Croquette and Parfait were.

Parfait had suddenly stood up after Croquette came over and said a few words. With the way that they were standing, it almost seemed like they were about to start fighting which made Finn and Amphi worried.

They couldn't help looking over at Yami who had just come out of the kitchen carrying a dish for a customer.

After all, they knew that if someone started a fight in the storethey would get punished by Yami.

However, to their surprise, Yami just took one look at the two of them and went back to work. It was as if she didn't care about them at all, which shocked both Finn and Amphi.

When they turned back to look at Croquette and Parfait, they saw that there was a crowd that had already gathered around the two of them.

Seeing that the crowd blocked their line of sight, the two of them looked at each other with confused looks before standing up and heading over to take a look.

Menchi Katsu during this time waved at one of the waitresses and put in his order with a smile on his face.

When they came over, they saw that instead of fighting, Croquette and Parfait had brought out a board out of nowhere and seemed like they were currently taking bets.

As for what was on the board, it was the names of several regulars of the restaurant.

Finn couldn't help asking one of the people in the crowd, "What's happening here?"

That person was surprised to see Finn asking him this, but he still explained, "You must be new here if you don't know about this. It's the bet for the yearly Gluttony King contest. We always take bets to see which of us will win the event."

Then without waiting for Finn to say anything, he turned back to the board and prepared to make his bet.

Finn couldn't help looking at the board and all the people gathered around it before feeling a bit excited by this.

He was a rather straightforward person and things like this easily excited him.

After all, it was in this kind of competition that he could show himself off.

As for Amphi, she shook her head with a bitter smile after hearing the man explain. Then without waiting for Finn, she headed back to the table to put in her order.

Finn didn't mind this as he made his way through the crowd.

He was going to enter this contest too and he would bet on himself to win.

Tenth Meal - Barbeque skewers (Part 2)

At another one of the tables.

Rare Steak looked up from his steak at the group of people gathered around the board and he couldn't help feeling a bit excited by this as well.

But of course, his reason for showing off was different from everyone else's.

He looked over at another table where there were a few young girls who were currently chatting with each other before revealing a look of determination.

When he suddenly stood up, everyone else at this table was caught off guard.

Baked Potato couldn't help asking, "What are you doing?"

Rare Steak pointed at the board and said, "I'm going to sign up too!"

Baked Potato looked at him with a strange look and asked, "Why? What's suddenly gotten into you."

Rare Steak looked down with a sad look and said, "I overheard my daughters talking to their friends about me"

When they heard this, all of the others at the table couldn't help looking at him with a look of pity and sympathy. They knew that if he was planning on entering this contest just to impress his daughter, it must have been something quite bad that they had said about him.

But of course, it was hard for them to really relate with him since they didn't have daughters of their own. They hadn't even had girlfriends yet, so it was hard for them to feel any relation to this.

So the only thing that they could do was offer whatever advice they could think of.

Baked Potato patted him on the shoulder and said, "You do what you need to do, we'll be there to support you."

Chicken Caesar Pizza shook his head and said, "It must be those girls that they're hanging with that's corrupting them like this. They really need to find better friends, like a guy like"

Before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly felt a chill come over him.

When he looked at Rare Steak, he saw that he was glaring at him like he would attack at any moment.

Chicken Caesar Pizza quickly raised his hands and said, "I was just going to say someone like me, I wasn't going to say me."

But even after he said this, Rare Steak didn't stop glaring at him.

There was an awkward atmosphere that appeared between them and it took a long time for it to disappear. There was only silence that was between them as Rare Steak glared at Chicken Caesar Pizza.

As for Baked Potatohe was focused on eating the baked potato that was in front of him.

As a scientist, he really didn't feel this kind of tension since silence was what he was used to the most with his long periods of experimentation and concentration.

Finally, Rare Steak said in a fierce voice, "If you even think about it, I'll cut that off."

Chicken Caesar Pizza saw the look in Rare Steak's eyes and the way that he was looking at him. He couldn't help crossing his legs when he saw that Rare Steak's eyes began to move down slightly.

After this, Chicken Caesar Pizza quickly nodded to show that he understood and promised that he would never approach his daughters. Only then did Rare Steak finally turn his gaze away from him and turn back to his steak.

Seeing this, Chicken Caesar Pizza couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief.

He just couldn't understand why Rare Steak had overreacted so much to these simple words.

It wasn't as if he was saying that he was going to make a move on his daughters, he was just saying that they needed better friendsHe didn't know why Rare Steak was being so sensitive.

What he didn't know was that Rare Steak had heard his daughters talking about Chicken Caesar Pizza.

The one word that had stuck out when they talked about him was"handsome"...

He had remembered this and had kept it in the back of his mind.

Chicken Caesar Pizza was his friend and if he didn't do anything, then he would leave this matter. But if Chicken Caesar Pizza ever showed any interest in his daughterslike he thought that he had done just now, Rare Steak wouldn't hold back at all.

After all, even he had to admit that Chicken Caesar Pizza was handsome, more handsome than him when he was younger.

So it wasn't strange at all if his daughters were

But as their father, he wouldn't let them go at all!

After this incident was over, they went back to eating their food before Rare Steak suddenly remembered something, "Ah, I have to go sign up."

Baked Potato suddenly said, "They're just taking unofficial bets, so there's no need for you to sign up. Not to mention, it doesn't seem like your wife and daughter care about the bets at all."

Rare Steak suddenly stumbled as he was standing up before looking at Baked Potato with a strange look.

He had thought that Baked Potato didn't care about any of this during this time, but it seemed like that wasn't that case. While he had lost his mind because of what his daughters had said, Baked Potato had calmly analyzed the entire situation.

Seeing that he had a shocked look on his face, Baked Potato added, "All you have to do is show up tomorrow for the competition and you'll be able to enter. I'm sure that as long as you do well, you'll get the approval of your daughter and wife."

Though he didn't really believe this because he felt that this whole contest was nonsense, he at least said this to support his friend.

Rare Steak was actually touched by these words since he never thought that Baked Potato cared this much about him.

He wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and walked over to take Baked Potato in his arms.

When Baked Potato saw this, the first thing that he did was move his neck away from Rare Steak's mouth. Rare Steak was a vampire and vampires were famous for biting people in the neck to drain their blood.

At the same time, Baked Potato couldn't help revealing a strange look.

In his world, vampires were things of legends and as a man of science, he had never believed in legends like that. So when he met Rare Steak for the first time, shocked wasn't the right word to describe how he felt.

It was better to say that his world views had been completely overturned.

Still, he became friends with Rare Steak after knowing each other for a long time.

But even then, he couldn't help feeling awkward around Rare Steak in certain situations. That included this situation now where Rare Steak had his teeth right at Baked Potato's neck.

It was just a good thing that Rare Steak didn't notice this awkwardness at all.

It was also at this time that someone suddenly walked over to the table they were at.

Seeing the two of them hugging like this, they couldn't help saying with a smile, "Rare Steak, you can't get any affection from your wife and daughters, so now you're settling for Baked Potato?"

Both the faces of Baked Potato and Rare Steak twitched when they heard this and they quickly separated from each other.

Rare Steak gave a cough to calm down before saying, "It's nothing like that at all, Sweet and Sour Pork."

Although the way that he said it sounded very strange, Sweet and Sour Pork didn't bother teasing him anymore.

Baked Potato also cleared his throat before saying, "It's been a while since we last saw you. How has it been going with your work?"

When this was mentioned, Sweet and Sour Pork couldn't help revealing a smile.

After receiving the blueprints from Baked Potato last time, Sweet and Sour Pork's position had completely changed at work.

With such important blueprints, it was impossible for Sweet and Sour Pork to not receive a promotion. He had also made sure to keep this information away from his past superior to ensure that his past superior didn't steal it for himself because that was the kind of person that he was.

He had managed to get the information to one of the top people through his connection and everything else had been history.

His former superior had been fired for incompetence to the joy of everyone in their department. After all, their former superior was a bad person to begin with.

He was someone who stole the work of others to get himself promoted and he abused his staff. There were even cases where he had harassed female co-workers and then used his power to suppress them, sending them to the worst jobs.

In short, he was a person that everyone disliked.

So they were all happy to see him get fired.

Sweet and Sour Pork had been promoted to above the position that his former superior was in before. He was promoted so far up that he was basically in charge of the entire department now.

That was just how influential the information that he had brought back was.

With this new position, there was no need for him to personally come to this restaurant anymore, but he still did it. He missed the friends that he had made here and more importantly, he missed the sweet and sour pork that they served.

It was not something that he could get at any other store, so he was actually craving it.

After sitting down and chatting for a bit, he suddenly said, "Alright, I'll enter the competition as well."

"Eh?"

That was what everyone said in response to this.

Sweet and Sour Pork first turned to Chicken Caesar Pizza, "If you enter and win, don't you think that you'll be able to show off in front of the girls?"

Chicken Caesar Pizza's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He had already seen many cases of successful loves forming in the Between World Restaurant, so why couldn't he be the next case?

As this thought passed through his mind, he quickly gave a nod of agreement.

Then Sweet and Sour Pork turned to Baked Potato and said, "It'll be fun if we enter together. We can support Rare Steak and we can have some fun together."

Baked Potato's expression turned strange when he heard this.

That was because these words were striking at his one weakness, "friends".

As a researcher, he didn't really have that many friends since he spent a lot of his time on his experiments. So when he made his first friends here at the restaurant, he naturally cherished them more than anything.

That was why even though he had remained silent, he had also helped Rare Steak earlier.

After conflicting with his feelings for a bit, Baked Potato gave a nod in agreement.

"Then it's agreed, we'll all join the competition." As he said this, Sweet and Sour Pork put his hand in the middle.

The others all looked at it before putting their hands atop his and then they gave a cheer for Rare Steak.

As Sweet and Sour Pork watched this, he couldn't help revealing a smile.

Of course, it wasn't just for friendship that he did thisWell, friendship was his goal, but his main goal was to get closer to them so he could get more information out of them.

An event like this was perfect for this.

It definitely wasn't because he wanted to support his friends at all.

Tenth Meal - Barbeque skewers (Part 3)

"No."

As soon as the firm voice that said this fell, an annoyed voice said, "I'm already fine, why are you treating me like a helpless child?"

The first voice said, "You still need to rest and recover. It was very hard on your body giving birth, so you need to lie down and rest right now. But instead of doing that, you keep insisting on coming to this restaurant."

These two voices naturally belonged to Flora and her father.

Sitting with them was Ah San who had an awkward smile on his face.

He wanted to support Flora, but he also agreed with his father in law that she shouldn't move around too much.

But Flora wouldn't back down no matter what.

Flora said in a firm voice, "I'm coming back to work next week anyway! What does it matter if I move around or not?"

When he heard this, Flora's father couldn't help revealing a hurt look. That was because once she came back to work, she would bring her newborn daughter with her and leave their world again.

He had been filled with joy these past few weeks having her back at home, but now that happiness was about to be cut short.

So in a sense, this wasn't just about keeping her safe, but also about keeping her at home for as long as he could. This was her little girl, it was only normal that he wanted her to stay with him.

In fact, it was all this damn restaurant's fault.

If she had never gone through that door and come to this restaurant, none of this would have happenedOf course, that would also mean that he wouldn't have gotten a granddaughter, so that was the tiny regret that he felt.

His granddaughterwas just too cute after all!

But he really felt the urge to destroy this restaurant, if only he had the courage.

Even if he had a hundred times his current courage, he still wouldn't have dared to do something like this.

That waitress in the black dress had already completely subdued him. He had already suffered countless times at her hands and was no longer as explosive as before.

The first time he came to this restaurant, he had gone berserk and had received an overhead throw from Yami.

The second time he came to this restaurant, he had gone berserk and had received an overhead throw from Yami.

The third time

The fourth time

The tenth time

Finally on the eleventh time, he calmed down and didn't cause as big of a stir as the last time. But just for good measureYami made sure to throw him one more time so he learned his lesson.

If it wasn't for Flora explaining and acting as a guarantor for her father, her father would have already been kicked out of the restaurant and banned.

That was the elven king, Oberon's story in this restaurant.

Seeing that they had reached a stalemate, Ah San broke the silence by saying, "Honey, father in law, how about we compromise and all come together. We can bring mother in law and everyone else along with us. That way we can take care of Flora if anything happens." Then after a pause, he added, "We can also bring Liu Li with us and she can visit this world for the first time."

This was his bit of selfishness in making this suggestion.

After all, since his daughter had been born, she had never been to this world.

His in laws had completely monopolized her in their world, but he couldn't say anything. She would be living in this world with Flora and him, so they wouldn't get any time with her in the future.

So he wanted to let them have this little bit of time with her before she left.

Of course, they would still go back on vacation and such, but it would still be long periods of separations for them.

So he wanted to give them this time.

However, his parents hadn't met his daughter yet and they were getting insistent

Flora said with an excited look, "Honey, that's a great idea! It's been a long time since my mother and my little sisters have been to the restaurant!"

At the same time, Oberon slapped the table and said, "Absolutely not!"

He didn't give a reason, he just gave this strong rejection.

Of course, it was also for selfish reasons.

The last time that his wife and kids had come to this restaurant, he had seen the looks on their faces. It was clear that they had been greatly enticed by this restaurant just like Flora had been.

If he didn't keep a firm grip on them, they might leave him just like Flora had!

So he had made sure that they went to the restaurant as little as possible. It had already been close to two months since they had last come to this restaurant.

After slapping the table, he glared at Ah San and said, "You! You want to seduce more of my daughters and even my wife!"

Ah San Hu had an awkward smile on his face when he heard this. He raised his hands in defense, but he didn't say anything as he just let Oberon insult him.

He was being the bigger person because he knew that his father in law had suffered because of their actions.

Most importantly, he wanted to get closer to his father in law.

Oberon kept complaining until Flora finally dealt the final blow to him.

"If you keep acting like this, Liu Li won't want to talk to you either in the future."

Flora might have whispered this under her breath, but the ears of Oberon had still heard these words.

When he heard these words, it felt like he had been punched in the chest and he completely deflated.

Just the simple words of this daughter of his had completely knocked the wind out of his sails.

After all, this was his greatest fear as both a father and a grandfather. It wouldn't just be Liu Li that he would be losing, but also Flora.

But in the end, it was all deserved because of how he acted!

Ah San could see the look on his face and he said, "Father in law, let's have a family dinner tomorrow. My parents will also be coming."

He revealed his card in the end to help Oberon even though there was the chance that he would gain hatred from him from trying to manipulate him.

That was the sacrifice that he made in the end.

Oberon immediately narrowed his eyes when he heard this and he looked at Ah San. He was the wise king of the elves and only in front of his daughter would he act this way.

But that didn't mean that he was any less wise than he normally was.

He could easily see through Ah San's plan from before.

After a long period of silence, he said in a sharp voice, "You, you wanted to"

Before he could finish though, Flora had already said, "Ah, mother in law and father in law are also coming?"

Ah San nodded and said, "They've already been asking to see Liu Li, so I figured that we can all get together for the festival tomorrow. After all, it has been a long time since we've all been together."

Flora revealed a happy smile and hugged Ah San as she said, "It really has been a long time since we've all been together."

Then she turned to Oberon and asked, "Daddy, aren't you excited to see honey's parents too?"

Oberon had been glaring at Ah San, but hearing this and the way she called him, his expression couldn't help changing. It had been a long time since he had heard her call him this, so the moment that he heard this, his heart couldn't help filling with joy.

So after an awkward cough, he said, "On behalf of our in laws, I won't make it hard on you. We'll bring everyone here so that we can have a family dinner." Then he added in a sharp voice, "But just for a single night!"

Flora however happily held Oberon in her arms as she said, "Yay, thank you daddy!"

Oberon's heart fluttered and he had no regrets even if he were to die right now.

Of course that was exactly what Flora was aiming for when she did this.

She was the daughter of the wise elven king, so how could she not be smart herself?

The moment that she heard Ah San's suggestion, she already knew what he was planning. She had also been touched when she heard this because she knew what kind of sacrifice Ah San was making for her and her father.

So she did her part in playing along.

As her father's daughter, naturally she knew how to play him like a card.

The three of them quickly started eating their food and talking in harmony.

Yami had been watching them from the corner of her eye the entire time.

When Oberon had acted up earlier, she had glared at him to give him a warning, which was why he had toned back his voice.

After all, this was her store and she wouldn't let anyone bully her employees. Even if it was the employee's father.

But seeing that they had settled down, she walked off with a faint smile on her face.

She went to the kitchen where Lin Fan was cooking and teased him, "Isn't it about time that we started a family as well? How about we start trying tonight?"

Lin Fan's spatula couldn't help slipping when he heard this and the other cooks also couldn't help being surprised. However, they all knew how dangerous it was to tease Yami, so they all acted like they didn't hear a thing.

Lin Fan looked at her with a confused look, but seeing the look in her eyes, he could guess what she was thinking.

So the only thing that he responded with was a nod.

But deep down, he had some worries.

After all, they had been married for a long time and they had been trying to have a child for a long time. It wasn't as if they hadn't been doing anythingthey had even tried going to fertility treatment.

But Yami was a demon after all and there was a difference in biology between them.

The doctors had said that it was possible in theory for them to have a child, but

They didn't know how long it would take since it seemed like there was some incompatibility issues.

They had been offered donors, but Yami had firmly rejected it. She had said that if it wasn't from them, she wouldn't accept it.

So the only thing that they could do was continue trying, but

Hopefully, it would work tonight.

After all, there was the precedence of it happening between an elf like Flora and a human like Ah San, so there was no reason why it couldn't happen to them.

Tenth Meal - Barbeque skewers (Part 4)

The night passed and the new day came.

Finally, it was time for the festival.

The restaurant still operated like normal during the day and the festival was set for four in the afternoon Earth time.

For many of these worlds, there was a time difference between them and Earth.

There were worlds where it was morning while it was night on Earth. There were worlds where it was night at the same time as Earth. There were also worlds where it was the middle of the night when it was the afternoon on Earth.

Luckily, the festival was set to last eight hours, so there was plenty of time for everyone to come to the festival.

But there were people that were so excited that they came at the beginning regardless of what time it was in their world.

When they arrived, they were greeted with a face full of smoke, but they didn't mind.

After all, that face full of smoke was filled with flavour, flavour that came from the meat currently being grilled on the grill.

The tables that were normally in the restaurant had all been removed and in their place were several large grills that had skewers of meat currently cooking. At each grill was a sign that indicated what kind of meat was currently being grilled on it.

Out of consideration for the people who couldn't eat certain types of meat, there were many different kinds of skewers that were offered at this festival.

Also out of consideration of the people who couldn't read, there were drawings that were also drawn on each of the signs for themHowever, the drawing actually made it harder for them to make out what was actually being offered.

After all, it was hard for them to understand when it came to drawings like these

Some people couldn't even help questioning them.

"Who made these drawings? I can't understand them at all."

"Is this supposed to be a chicken? Why does it look like the antlers of a deer?"

"This is a cow? Isn't this supposed to be some kind of eight legged spider?"

Those were just some of the criticisms that rang out through the restaurant when people saw the drawings for the first time, but these criticisms were quickly silenced. After all, the one that drew these drawings wasYami.

The moment that they found out about this, they immediately wanted to apologize.

It was just too bad for them that Yami was already standing behind them cracking her knuckles.

She didn't beat them up so badly that they wouldn't be able to enjoy the festival anymore, but she definitely didn't hold back too much either. There was still healing magic that she could use to heal some of the wounds she caused.

But it was just too bad that the customers came in waves and there was always someone that didn't know who drew these drawings.

So in the end, it was just an endless cycle of ignorant people getting beaten.

Still, all of that didn't put a damper on the mood of the festival as everyone filled their plates with different skewers.

Each skewer had a different taste to it and not just because they were made with different kinds of meat. Even the skewers that had the same kind of meat had different tastes because there was different seasoning used between them.

There were a total of four different seasonings that were used.

One was the most basic barbeque sauce, one was a soy sauce based sauce, one was a miso based sauce, and the last one was made with a simple splash of cumin and salt.

Each one had a different taste just because of the condiments alone and with the different types of meat, it was a wonderland of tastes.

It didn't take long before there were many different factions that had gathered in the store based on their favourite seasoning.

The biggest surprise though was that the largest faction was the cumin and salt faction.

People really seemed to like this simple combination, but it wasn't surprising since this simple combination was indeed delicious.

After all, the cumin and salt was the best way to suppress the gamy taste that some of the stronger tasting meat had.

While the more gamy meats like lamb and venison had a strong taste, the sauces that were used were still able to compliment it and still tasted delicious. However, it was only the strong tasting cumin that was able to completely suppress it and bring it to a completely different level of taste.

The rich taste of the cumin mixed perfectly with the umami of the meat, bringing it to a level that was like rich smoothness that slid down the throats of all who ate it.

So in the end, it was the cumin faction that had the most members.

Of course, the other skewers were also delicious.

The barbeque sauce was a classic, providing the meat with a tangy taste that had a bit of sweetness to it, enriching the umami of the meat.

The soy sauce based sauce provided a hint of saltiness to the meat that created a contrast with the oils and juices that came out, accenting the richness of the oil and making the taste even stronger.

As for the miso based sauce, it was salty just like the soy sauce based sauce, but it was also much more earthy and richer which created a more bold taste with the oil and juices of the meat. It was much smoother going down compared to the soy sauce based sauce, plus there was a hint of sweetness that went along with it.

All of these skewers were delicious and there was a scramble to get more.

Luckily, Lin Fan and his assistant chefs were more than capable of keeping up with them. They had run this restaurant for this long now, so they were far faster than normal chefs and were able to easily feed everyone.

Once the festival was halfway finished, it was time for the Gluttony King contest to begin.

The contest would last for two hours, so there was still plenty of time for people to come, but the people that came late would be handicapped. They would only have as much time as before the contest ended to compete.

But of course, those that were there from the beginning wouldn't have the absolute advantage since there was a rule that helped keep it fair.

One could only compete for as long as they could keep eating and if they stopped for more than five minutes, they would be considered out and they wouldn't be able to compete anymore.

The smart people would eat slowly to make full use of their two hours, but there were plenty of people that couldn't hold back and stuffed their faces as quickly as possible. It didn't even take half an hour before these people dropped out of the contest.

Among the people that were competing, there were quite a few familiar faces.

One of the surprising combinations in the contest wasAh San and his father in law Oberon.

They hadn't been planning on competing at first, but he had been egged on by his daughters

It wasn't Flora, but rather her little sisters.

They had asked Oberon who was better between him and Ah San and he took this personally. So he dragged Ah San over to the contest and signed them both up, giving him no choice in this matter.

But of course, as a slender elf, Oberon really wasn't suited for something like this. Not to mention that he was slowly showing signs of aging and could no longer do the things that he had been able to do as a young man.

So it didn't take long for him to fall behind Ah San even though Ah San had deliberately held back.

There was only so much that he could hold back by before it seemed suspicious, but even then he still couldn't let Oberon win.

Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Oberon's daughters had completely forgotten about him. They had run off with the other little kids in the restaurant and were currently playing hide and seek.

They wouldn't see him losebut they also wouldn't see him doing his best for them

It was unknown which one would have hurt him more.

There were also the four lonely dogs who had met up and entered the contest together.

It was just too bad that the same thing happened for Rare Steak where his daughters also ignored him to play with their friends

But at the very least, the four of them had quite the fun time competing together so Rare Steak was able to cheer up because of the fact that he was with friends.

Though that only lasted until they saw Finn and Amphi together.

Finn had entered the contest and Amphi was sitting by his side helping him.

She helped him take the meat off the skewers and put them onto plates that she handed to him. Like this, he was able to continue eating the meat without stopping to bite them off the skewers.

It was actually quite the efficient process and he was able to quickly soar to the top of the leaderboards.

At the same time, it broke the hearts of quite a few single dogs that were forced to swallow this dog food along with the skewers. They quickly filled up on the dog food and withdrew from the contest

They really couldn't eat anymore with the two of them spraying dog food everywhere

But in the end, it wasn't Finn and Amphi who had won in the end.

To everyone's surprise, it was a little fairy who won the whole thing.

This fairy was only around two feet tall and weighed less than twenty pounds, so everyone couldn't help wondering where all the food that she stuffed down went

The food that she ate was already several hundred times her body weight and yet she still didn't seem like she was full.

The only reason she stopped was because time was up, not because she couldn't eat anymore.

Looking at this little fairy, Yami couldn't help feeling fear as she handed the month pass to her

She only hoped that this little fairy wouldn't eat them out of house and home.

After all, it wasn't as if she couldn't not give her the pass

That would hurt the reputation of the restaurant and they would lose more than just paying for this little fairy's meals.

But luckily for her, the little fairy didn't eat that much the next time she came.

The only reason that she had eaten that much was because she had starved herself for three days after seeing the poster for the Gluttony King contest.

Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (1)

"Master, did you finish refining the glue?"

"Huh? Right, I was supposed to do that earlier. I forgot, so can you do it for me?"

With a sigh, Rigur said, "Master, did you really forget?"

When he heard this, the master couldn't help trembling before saying with a whistle, "What do you mean? It was just a slip of the mind, why else would I not refine it?"

Rigur gave another sigh before pulling out a piece of paper from behind him and saying, "This bill came in the mail the other day"

When he saw the piece of paper, the master immediately jumped at it to grab it from Rigur's hand, but Rigur pulled it back away from him. Since he was taller, he was able to hold it high up, just out of reach of the master as he said, "Master, you can't keep wasting all of our research funds like this. If the department finds out, they will send another inquisitor down. If that happens, we might get fired this time"

But the master revealed a strong look and said, "Who said that it's a waste! It's important research!"

Rigur sighed once more before asking, "Alright, then can you tell me what are the benefits of this research?"

The master's expression froze when he heard this and he opened his mouth several times, but he wasn't able to say anything in the end since he knew that Rigur was right.

His past research had been considered a waste and he had been forced to swap his topic to a new field which had proven to be useful, but he had never forgotten about his past research. So whenever he could, he would always use the research fund that he was given for his new research topic on his old research topic.

But he didn't have the courage to use all of it since he knew that he would get in trouble if he did, so he had always made sure to use only just the right amount.

However, this timehe had used too much and Rigur had no choice but to step in.

Rigur knew about his master's obsession with his past research topic, so he had always turned a blind eye, but really couldn't do that this time.

After all, if he didn't say anything and his master lost control, they would all get fired.

It wasn't just his master in this research lab, but also him and several other assistants.

If they were all fired, then it would be hard for them to find another job.

This was already the last place that they had fallen.

His master was known as an eccentric researcher, so the hiring requirements were quite lax for this research lab. The ones that were recruited were all those that had talent, but didn't have the right credentials to work in different labs because they had never formally gone to school for different reasons.

Some just didn't have the money, some just couldn't pass the tests because of their skewed knowledge, and some couldn't go because of other circumstances.

In short, this was the only place that would accept them, so they couldn't lose this job or they would have nothing.

Finally, Rigur said, "As long as you can refine the glue and complete the order, we should be able to earn some money to make up for the amount that you used up."

The master's eyes lit up when he heard this.

He always trusted Rigur with this matter because he knew how great Rigur was with stuff like this.

If it wasn't for Rigur, he might have already lost all of his research funds and this laboratory already. After all, this wasn't the first time that something like this had happened.

When it happened before, Rigur would always find a way to move around some money so that they could make up for the deficit like he did this time.

The master was even sure that if Rigur hadn't chosen to become an alchemist like him, he would have become famous in the economic world as one of the top businessmen. However, for some reason, Rigur was dead set on being an alchemist which was why he had landed under him.

The master blessed the luck of his previous lives for letting someone like Rigur fall under him.

So he said, "Alright, I'll get the glue done tonight. Will that be enough time?"

Rigur thought about it before giving a nod, but then he still said with a sigh, "Master, it doesn't seem like you've learned your lesson yet"

The master quickly raised his hand in surrender and said, "I'll reflect, I'll reflect."

Though he said this, both of them knew that it was impossible for him to reflect. He was someone that would act on his instincts and his instincts had already been set to do what he wanted for his experiment.

Rigur gave another sigh before saying, "I'm heading out for my lunch. If there's anything else that you need, you can just tell Haruna."

The master gave a nod before saying with a wave of his hand, "Take a long lunch, you deserve it."

When Rigur heard this, he couldn't help stopping himself from turning around. His eyes narrowed as he looked at his master and asked, "What have you done?"

The master trembled when he heard these words and he quickly looked in a certain direction before looking back.

Looking in the direction that he looked in, Rigur saw that he had been staring at a cabinet by his desk.

Shaking his head, he walked over to open it.

Before he did, the master tried to stop him, but it was already too late.

When he opened it, he felt a burst of coldness coming out from the cabinet and when he looked in, he found that there was an ice blue crystal that was sitting inside of the cabinet.

Seeing this ice blue crystal, he brought his hand to his face and said with a sigh, "Master, how much did it cost?"

He didn't bother asking when he bought it or who he bought it from, he just asked him directly how much it cost.

The master revealed an awkward smile as he said, "One hun"

Before he could finish, he saw Rigur suddenly turning to glare at him and he swallowed his words. After a long moment of hesitation, he said in a small voice, "Five hundred"

Rigur's expression completely fell apart when he heard this and he pointed his finger in the master's face as he said, "Five hundred? Do you really think that piece of trash ice crystal is worth five hundred? You can see the impurities all over it, it's worth no more than fifty gold coins!"

The master's awkward look became even more awkward, but he quickly went over to check the ice crystal and he found that it was indeed as Rigur had said.

The merchant that he had bought this ice crystal from had completely scammed him.

When he thought about it, he understood how he had been scammed.

The light had been shining down on the ice crystal when he had checked it and they had used the light to hide the impurities. Otherwise, if he looked at it properly, an alchemist of his level would have easily been able to find the impurities.

They had taken advantage of his excitement and agitation to sell him this inferior product at a highly marked up price.

But even if he was angry at being taken advantage of like this, it wasn't as if he could say anything.

That was because he had bought this ice crystal in secret with his research funds, so he couldn't complain to the merchants even if he wanted. If he did, his misappropriation of the research funds would be discovered and his research funds would be taken away.

After taking a moment to calm down, Rigur suddenly stood up and said, "I'm going into the warehouse."

The master was still in a daze and he was anxious about losing his research funds, but he didn't dare stop Rigur from going. He just waved his hand and said, "Take your time."

When Rigur looked back at him, it was as if he was looking at a piece of trash, but the master really couldn't say anything.

He knew that Rigur was heading into the warehouse to vent his anger towards him and he couldn't stop him since it was indeed his fault. This was something that everyone in their alchemy lab knew, so they all avoided the warehouse when Rigur was there.

After sulking for a bit, the master suddenly perked himself up and said, "I'll go and refine the glue. Rigur will definitely think of a way out of this dilemma."

Down in the warehouse

"That idiot master! He knows that he shouldn't be buying goods! All he knows is how to do alchemy!"

That was the main reason why Rigur had chosen to go under this master. He was someone who was renowned for his alchemy skills, but his management of his alchemy lab was what created his terrible reputation.

He always wasted money from overpaying for items and he was taken advantage of by assistants who knew about his inability to maintain his finances.

It wasn't until Rigur came that they were finally able to get things under control.

After stomping on the ground one more time, Rigur suddenly gave a sigh and shook his head before saying, "I'll have to look at the finances again and see what I can cut. There's also those people that need the manure, perhaps they'll buy another batch"

Even if he was angry, he still tried to figure out a way to solve the master's mistake.

That was because he truly respected the master as an alchemist.

He had learned quite a lot under the master and he wanted to repay him even if he acted like an idiot sometimes.

So Rigur was about to head back to his office to see if he could find some money somewhere, but before he could take a single step, there was a sudden flash of light.

This light was so bright that he couldn't look at it directly and he had no choice but to cover his eyes with his hand.

When the light faded, he turned in the direction that it came from and he found that there was a door that had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

This was a very common looking wooden door without anything special about it.

No, there was one thing that was special about it.

There was a dog's paw that had been painted right in the center of the door.

Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (2)

Rigur just stood there in a daze for a while, trying to figure out what this thing was.

But no matter how he thought about it, he just couldn't understand what this thing was.

It was a door that was just standing there on its own. It wasn't attached to anything and it didn't seem like it led anywhere, but there it stood as if something was holding it up.

The only thing that he could think of was that this was a magic door.

Magic doors weren't that common, but they still existed in this world.

But why would someone make a magic door that would connect to their warehouse?

Magic doors were rare things that only the most powerful magicians or the richest nobles used. After all, they were things that could be used to instantly teleport between places, so they were very useful.

But because they were rare and hard to make, they were very expensive and not many people owned one.

So of course no one would waste one to create a passage into their warehouse. This was an alchemy lab that was considered the worst of the worst.

Since he couldn't think this through, Rigur decided not to waste any time and moved towards the door.

It was impossible to just leave it be since this was their warehouse. They couldn't just leave this magic door connected to the warehouse since it meant that there was the chance of a possible theft at any time.

So Rigur had to find out what was on the other side and if possible, get them to stop using this magic door here.

He was certain that this was all a mistake and as long as he talked to the other side, they would be willing to listen to him and disconnect the magic door.

He reached out and turned the handle, opening the door.

During all of this, there was nothing that changed. There were no traces of magic at all, which made Rigur feel that this wasn't a magic door.

But when it opened, there was a bright flash of light before a strong magic energy wave hit Rigur in the face.

He didn't know who made this magic door, but he could tell that whoever it was, they were very powerful.

As the bright burst of light lit up in front of him, he couldn't help covering his eyes since it was too bright for him to look into it.

It was a good thing that the bright light didn't last long and soon it had dimmed enough for him to see through the door to see what was on the other side.

When he looked through the door, he couldn't help being shocked.

That was because it wasn't what he had expected to see.

Instead of a private residence or some kind of magic tower, this was a restaurant that was filled with customers. They were all happily eating their dishes, without care for Rigur standing at the door.

But the most shocking thing was that most of these customers were human.

He couldn't help being curious about what this place was, so he couldn't help taking a few steps forward.

When he walked through the door frame, he could feel a powerful magic fluctuation around him before the door suddenly closed behind him.

When the door had closed behind him, the people in the restaurant finally turned to look in his direction and noticed him. When they saw him, the people in the restaurant couldn't help revealing strange looks.

There were even a few of them that suddenly stood up and raised the weapons that they had beside them.

That was because Rigur's appearance reminded them of something else.

His green skin, his sharp ears, and his small stature, were all the defining features of a very special creature in fantasy worlds.

He was a goblin.

The ones that had stood up were all adventurers who risked their lives fighting monsters to earn their pay, so they weren't unfamiliar with the appearance of a goblin.

As soon as they stood up, everyone else also turned in his direction and they couldn't help breaking out in conversation.

"What is a goblin doing here?"

"How did it get through the door?"

"Did it wander in here by accident?"

The adventurers knew that if they left the goblin here, it would create problems for the store, so they all moved forward to take care of it.

When Rigur saw these people moving towards him with their weapons, he couldn't help taking a step back, but his back was already to the door, so he really couldn't move any further back.

He quickly raised his hands and said, "Wait, wait, I don't mean any harm."

The adventurers were surprised to hear this goblin speak, but they couldn't understand it, so it didn't mean anything to them.

They quickly went into formation and surrounded the goblin so that it couldn't run anywhere before moving forward towards it.

But before they could do anything to Rigur, Yami suddenly moved forward, past the lines of adventurers.

When they saw this, they couldn't help speaking up.

"Boss lady, don't trouble yourself! We'll take care of it for you!"

"Boss lady, just leave it to us!"

Not a single one of them showed any concern for Yami because they knew that there would be no problem if she approached it.

They all knew just how powerful Yami was because they had all seen her demonstrations before.

If Yami couldn't handle this goblin, they couldn't handle it even if they worked together.

But Yami ignored them all and walked up to the goblin to look down at it.

When Rigur saw Yami looking down at him, he couldn't help starting to tremble.

That was because he could sense the powerful magic fluctuations coming from this human woman. Even if he wanted to resist, he wasn't able to at all because she was just that much stronger than him.

So the only thing that he could do was

Without hesitation, Rigur fell to his knees and started begging for his life.

Even though they didn't understand what he was saying, everyone in the restaurant could get the general gist of what he was doing and they couldn't help feeling sorry for him.

But that didn't move Yami at all as she still looked at him with narrowed eyes.

There were even people in the restaurant that wanted to speak up for the goblinbut they didn't in the end because it was a goblin. The reputation of the goblin was already bad enough in their worlds, so they knew that it was better to not let this goblin go.

However, to their surprise, Yami didn't take care of this goblin.

She just raised her hand and there was a panel that appeared out of nowhere.

This was something that they had never seen before, but they could feel the powerful magic energy fluctuations that came from it. Everyone knew that this was some kind of powerful magic, but they had no idea what it did.

Yami tapped on this panel a few times before looking down at Rigur and saying, "It seems like the translation magic isn't set up to pick up this language. This is a mistake."

The way that she said this almost seemed like she was talking to herself, but it had been in a voice loud enough that everyone in the restaurant could hear it.

They all looked at her with confused looks as they couldn't understand what she meant.

Well, they could understand what the words meant since they were all familiar with every word she said. They just couldn't understand the context that she was using these words in.

Yami tapped on the panel a few more times before turning back to Rigur to say, "Say something now."

Rigur had been kneeling with his head firmly placed on the ground while trembling. He was just hoping that this powerful woman in front of him would let him go, but he never expected her to suddenly say this.

Rigur couldn't help looking up at her in a daze before saying, "Are you sparing me?"

This time, everyone was able to understand the words that he said and they were even more shocked.

They couldn't understand what had just happened, but they could tell that Yami did something

Yami gave a satisfied nod before saying, "Stand up, I won't do anything to you."

Rigur looked at her with a doubtful look before hesitantly standing up.

Yami looked at the adventurers who still had their weapons up and said, "Are you still wielding weapons in my restaurant? Do you want to be punished by me?"

The adventurers trembled when they heard this, but still they didn't let their guards down. After all, there was a goblin that was standing there in front of them.

One of them couldn't help saying, "Boss lady, this is a goblin, we can't let our guard down that easily."

Yami pointed at Rigur and said, "This is a different kind of goblin than the one that you've encountered before. This one has developed in a world where goblins have intelligence and have a docile nature, so they can communicate with humans."

Then she pointed at his clothes and said, "Don't you see his clothes? Can't you see that they are made in the same style as human clothing?"

As they looked closely at Rigur, they had to admit that his clothes seemed like what a human researcher would wear.

But still, none of them were willing to accept this that easilyuntil

Yami gave a cold snort and said, "Do you still have doubts? If you do, you can address them to me."

As she said this, she raised her fist at them.

When they saw this fist, they all felt a chill run down their spine and immediately lowered their weapons.

Yami gave a satisfied nod before saying, "Get back to your meals, I'll take care of this."

While they had unwilling looks, the adventurers still went back to their tables and sat down.

During this time, they all flashed wary looks at Rigur, making it clear that they still didn't trust him.

But at the very least, they didn't seem to have any ill intentions towards him right now.

Seeing this, Rigur couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief, but he also didn't let his guard down.

After all, the most dangerous person, this lady with the powerful magic energy fluctuations, was still standing in front of him.

So he just waited for her to say something.

Yami turned back and said, "Welcome to the Between World Restaurant."

Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (3)

"Between World Restaurant?" Rigur couldn't help repeating in a confused voice.

Yami nodded before explaining, "This is a restaurant in another world, so we call it the Between World Restaurant."

Rigur nodded in a daze at first, but then his eyes suddenly popped wide open as he stared at Yami and asked, "This is another world?"

Yami nodded and explained everything about the restaurant.

As he was listening to this explanation, Rigur couldn't help turning to look at the door of the restaurant in a daze.

He had indeed felt a powerful magic fluctuation when he walked through the door, but he never expected something like this

He knew that it was possible to use spatial magic since he knew that there were things like the magic door, but he had never heard of any magic that would be able to bring a person to another world. In fact, he couldn't even begin to imagine just how much mana it would take to bring a person to another world since he knew how much mana it took to use spatial magic.

It might even take all the magic crystals in the entire Goblin Kingdom to cast one instance of this super spatial magic

This was not something that people could cast that easily.

But he could feel the different traces of magic from the people in this restaurant.

While all that he felt the traces of magic from were able to manipulate magic, he could tell that they followed different techniques and laws when using their magic power. So it was clear that these people didn't come from the same world.

The amount of mana that was required to summon all of these people to this placeit terrified him

He couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of monster would have this kind of magic power

Noas he thought this, he couldn't help turning back to look at Yami who was still explaining the restaurant to him.

He knew which monster it was that had this kind of magic power because she was standing right in front of him. The terrifying feeling that he felt coming from her, there was only one explanation for it

As he realized this, Rigur immediately made the conviction that he would never do anything to annoy Yami ever.

Otherwise, he was sure that it would be hard for him to keep his life.

After she finished explaining, Yami asked, "Are there any other questions?"

Rigur trembled as he was pulled out of his thoughts by this question.

Seeing Yami look at him, Rigur couldn't help revealing an awkward look.

That was because he hadn't actually been listening, so he really didn't know if there was anything that he should ask. However, he was also scared to ask her to explain it again because he knew that it would annoy her.

Annoying her was the last thing that he wanted to do right now.

But if he didn't ask now and he did things that offended her

Just like this, he struggled with his internal dilemma for a while before finally hesitantly shaking his head.

Yami could see through his dilemma, it wasn't hard for someone with eyes as sharp as her. However, she knew that it would be a pain to ask him if he needed help, so she decided to ignore it.

It would be easier to answer his questions later than to explain the whole thing again after all. Not to mention, she could see that he was scared of her, so she knew that it would be unlikely that he would ask many questions.

There was also a part of her that liked seeing how scared of her she was.

This was the part that she had inherited from being the demon king in the past.

So without explaining anything else, she just said, "Alright, I'll show you to your table."

She didn't even turn back as she headed into the restaurant.

With a bitter smile on his face, Rigur had no choice but to follow her.

As he walked into the restaurant and he saw the people happily eating there, his nerves slowly calmed down as he recognized that he wouldn't be in any danger.

As he calmed down, the spirit of a researcher started to show itself.

Even if he was skilled as a businessman, he did have the spirit of a researcher and the curiosity that came with it. So he couldn't help wondering how this restaurant came to be and how the door that allowed for people of different worlds to come to this place was created.

So Rigur couldn't help asking, "How did the door find my world and bring me here?"

Yami was surprised since this was a question that was rarely asked even though it should have been one of the first questions that most people asked. After all, most people were too dazzled by the restaurant that they normally had other things to think about, so no one had actually thought to ask this question.

But Yami didn't mind answering it, so she said, "The door has a mind of its own, so it seeks out intelligent beings and then creates doors in those worlds to bring them here."

Rigur's chin couldn't help dropping as he asked, "This door has a mind of its own?"

This was the first time that he had heard something like this.

He was certain that this magic door was something like a magic tool, but magic tools had to be controlled by people. That was the basics of magic tools that he had learned back in the academy.

He had never heard of a magic tool that could think on its own.

Not because no one had thought of it before, it was because it was something that was considered taboo.

Giving a magic tool a will, was that any different from creating life?

Creating life was the domain that only gods could reach, so no mortals would ever think about touching on that realm.

Could it be that the one who created this door was a god?

Yami nodded and said, "It was created based on something called AI or artificial intelligence that came from this world."

Rigur couldn't help looking at the door again when he heard this and for some reason, he could feel a bit of pressure coming from the door. It was almost as if he was facing a real person when he looked at the door.

After staring at it for a long time, Rigur finally asked, "How was it created?"

In the end, it was his curiosity that got the better of him.

Even if he knew that it was taboo, he still wanted to know how it was done.

When he asked this, Yami suddenly stopped moving and turned back with an excited look.

The door was one of the things that she was most proud of, so when people asked her about it, she couldn't hold herself back.

She started saying in an excited voice, "When I made that door, I used spatial magic to first create a stable passage that would allow the door to bring people to our world from other worlds. Then I did a bunch of research on AI and created a spirit that was similar to it that I attached to the door, which gave it its own will. After that, I just had the door search for different worlds and bring people here."

Rigur couldn't help being taken aback by this sudden change in attitude with Yami.

She had gone from a cold and collected beauty to someone who seemed to be very passionate about their hobby. This sudden change really caught him off guard and he didn't know how to react.

But it also reminded him ofHaruna, the girl from his workplace.

She was the same as Yami, but instead of being a cold and collected beauty, she was normally a girl who was shy and quiet. But she was the same as Yami where she would always be filled with passion whenever she talked about things that she was excited about.

However, after overcoming his surprise, Rigur suddenly realized something from Yami's words.

"When I made that door"

That was the most important part of that rant for Rigur.

His eyes couldn't help opening wide as he looked at Yami.

He already recognized that Yami was the one who brought people to this world, but he never thought that she would be the one that created the door. He thought that she was just using her spatial magic through the door, but he never thought that she would be the one who created it.

Then that meant that she was also the one that had given the door a will

Did that mean that she was a god?

If that was the case, it really would explain the strange feeling that he felt from her.

Yami could see the strange look on his face and asked, "What's wrong?"

Rigur trembled when he heard this and he quickly shook his head as he said, "Nothing, nothing at all."

Yami still raised a brow as she looked at him with a confused look, but she didn't say anything else.

Rigur saw that she was silent and he felt awkward since he was the one that had suddenly ended the conversation, so he quickly asked, "Did you have a reason for creating the door?"

Yami was surprised by this question since she never expected to be asked this, but then she quickly revealed a reminiscent look and a faint smile. She didn't say anything at first as it looked like she was lost in thought, but then she said, "Well, it was because I wanted more people to taste my Ah Fan's food."

Rigur's chin once again dropped when he heard this as he couldn't process what he had heard.

She had created this magic tool that defied all his common sense and did something as crazy as bringing people here from other worldsjust so she could let other people eat this "Ah Fan's" food?

This kind of willful behaviour

Rigur couldn't help wondering if she really was a god

The two of them stood there in a daze just like that, but then Yami recovered first and she realized what she had done. Her expression turned cold again as she said, "Follow me, I'll show you to your table."

Rigur was also pulled out of his thoughts and he just gave a nod in a daze as he followed behind Yami.

After they arrived at the table, Yami took out a menu for him and said, "Look over this and see what you want. When you're done, you can call a waiter or you can wait for me to come back with your water to order."

Without waiting for him to respond, Yami had already turned to head back into the kitchen.

Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (4)

Rigur just sat there in a daze as he watched her leave.

When he saw her enter the kitchen and he couldn't see her anymore, he turned to look at the menu that had been placed in front of him.

Since there was nothing else for him to do, he opened it up and started looking through it.

After all, he was indeed hungry since it was supposed to be his lunch break and he had worked up quite an appetite after being angry and being shocked like that.

He could also smell the fragrant smells all around him and it really stirred up his appetite.

He didn't know how the dishes in this restaurant tasted, but he didn't feel that they would taste that bad if they smelled like this.

So he went through the menu, looking at the dishes one by one.

To his surprise, he found that he was able to read the writing on the menu even though this was clearly a different world.

If he had to guess, he guessed that there was some kind of translation magic that was cast on these menus that allowed him to understand what was written. And if this was his guess, he would be correct.

There was a translation spell that was cast on all the menus in this restaurant to make it easier for them. They would be able to use any menus for any guests as long as the translation spell worked on their language.

It was the same translation spell that automatically translated the words they spoke as well.

That was why for a split second, Rigur hadn't been able to understand the menu since it had still been loading the goblin language. But it was such a short second that Rigur hadn't noticed it in the end.

As he went through the menu, he couldn't help being surprised by the variety of dishes that were listed. There were even many dishes that he had never heard of before.

He could see that there was a description, but he just couldn't imagine what kind of dishes they were.

He continued through the menu until there was a certain dish that caught his eyes.

It was a dish called ebi fry.

The reason it caught his eyes was because of the main ingredient that was used for it.

"Iron tails? How could they get iron tails in a place like this?"

When he had looked out the window earlier, he saw that this restaurant was in the middle of a large city. There were no signs of an ocean nearby and he couldn't smell the scent of salt in the air.

So how were they able to serve up iron tails?

After all, iron tails were only native to the ocean and it was impossible to transport them inland since they spoiled incredibly quickly. So unless one lived by the ocean, it was impossible for them to serve iron tails.

So how did they do it in this restaurant?

It didn't make sense at all no matter how he thought about it.

But at the same time, he couldn't help drooling a bit at the thought of iron tails.

Iron tails were hard to store, but that didn't mean that they weren't delicious.

Iron tails were so delicious that they were considered a delicacy of the ocean and there were many people that traveled to the ports just to eat them. That included Rigur and his family who had once gone to the port city on family vacation for this very reason.

Even now, he couldn't help reminiscing over the taste of that baked iron tail dish.

However, this iron tail dish seemed to be fried instead of baked.

But he didn't doubt that it would be delicious based on the smell from all around him.

So in the end, this was the dish that he chose.

When Yami came back with his water, he lifted the menu up and pointed at the dish he wanted as he ordered. While there was no reason for him to do this, he still did it.

Yami didn't mind since this was something that she had seen many times when people who were new to store ordered for the first time.

So she didn't say anything and just took the menu after receiving his order before heading to the back.

Rigur couldn't help looking around the store again once he was alone.

He saw that there were many different species that he was familiar with all around him. There were the usual dwarves, orcs, elves, and humans, but what he didn't see were the beholders, the illithids, and the duergars that were also common in his world.

After looking around, he turned his attention to the water that Yami had brought.

There was a yellow fruit that was floating inside of this water, but what Rigur paid more attention to was the ice that was floating on the surface of the water.

He couldn't help being shocked since he had never seen such perfectly rectangular ice cubes before. Even if he made ice cubes with ice magic, it would never take this kind of perfect rectangular form since ice magic formed by gathering random water particles in the air into ice form using magic energy.

The random composition of water in the air would always make sure that the ice would take a random form when it was turned into ice with magic. There was no way to create such a perfect cube of ice.

That was unless there was someone that had cut it.

But as far as Rigur could see, the cut of the ice cube, it was not something that a normal person could do. This was a cut that only a master swordsman could accomplish, but he couldn't imagine a master swordsman putting themselves down enough to work in a restaurant like this, just using their sword to cut ice for a living.

This would let down the name of a master swordsman!

So Rigur couldn't help wondering if this was maybe some kind of illusion.

He poured himself a cup of the water and then took a sip before revealing a relaxed look.

Refreshing!

Very refreshing!

That was the best way to describe the water that he had just drank.

It wasn't just because it was chilled to perfection, there had also been a slightly sour flavour to it that had helped clear his taste buds.

It was like the rain that fell that washed away all dirt, but it was that way for his mouth.

He couldn't help looking at the pitcher and looking carefully, he guessed that it was the yellow fruit that was inside that gave this water that slightly sour taste.

While he didn't know what kind of fruit this was, he knew that this fruit had a very refreshing flavour.

After drinking a few more cups, he couldn't help revealing a relaxed look.

But then he immediately turned his attention back to the pitcher of water as he tried to figure out just how the ice had been made.

While he had been lost in his thought, Yami came back with his meal.

She was surprised to see him staring so intently at the empty pitcher, but she didn't bother asking him what he was doing and set his dish down in front of him. Then she picked up the pitcher and prepared to fill it up again.

When she picked it up, Rigur snapped out of his thoughts and grabbed her hand that had been moving towards the pitcher as he asked, "Where did you get this ice from?"

Yami was caught completely off guard by this question and she couldn't help being a bit surprised by how serious he looked, so she answered honestly, "We have an ice machine that creates ice cubes for us. That's where we got it from."

"Ice machine?" Rigur repeated these words with a confused look on his face.

While he could understand what the words separately meant, he couldn't picture what kind of machine would be used just to make ice since there was nothing like that that existed in his world.

As far as he knew, machines were those clunky things that could do nothing more than heavy lifting. There wasn't any machine in his world that could do something like using ice magic to create ice, let alone precise work as this that created such perfect ice cubes.

He didn't believe that something like this was possible.

Rigur wanted to keep questioning Yami about this "ice machine", but before he could, his eyes fell onto the plate in front of him.

As soon as he saw what was on the plate, his eyes almost couldn't help popping out because he saw something that was very familiar.

Those red tails at the ends of the yellow strips, they were the red tails of the iron tails!

While he didn't know why the meat of the iron tails was yellow like this, he could tell that these were indeed the cooked tails of the iron tails!

He pointed at the ebi fry and asked, "Wherewhere did you get these iron tails from?"

Yami looked at him with a brow raised and asked, "Iron tail?" She then looked down at where he was pointing and seeing that he was pointing at the ebi fry, she said with an understanding smile, "Oh, you mean the shrimps? We got a batch of them from our supplier this morning, so I can say that these are quite fresh."

Rigur couldn't help moving forward to take a sniff of the ebi fry and when he did, he gave a gulp.

That was because this was a smell that he could never forget.

This was a smell that had been deeply imprinted in his mind because he knew just how delicious the iron tails were.

This was the same smell of the cooked iron tails that he had eaten before.

He couldn't help picking up the knife and fork that came with the ebi fry and turned his full attention to it.

Seeing this, Yami shook her head with a strange look on her face, but she still headed off to do her job.

After all, this wasn't even the strangest customer that she had dealt with before.

Eleventh Meal - Ebi Fry (5)

Rigur had many questions on his mind still, but before that, he felt the urge to try this ebi fry first.

He wanted to confirm that this was indeed the iron tail that he was familiar with.

Not because of how delicious it was, but rather he was confirming this for the sake of science. It definitely because he was looking forward to experiencing the taste of iron tails once again.

He stabbed the fork into one of the yellow strips and then brought his knife down to cut horizontally through it.

After he cut through the yellow strip, he found that there was the pink flesh that he was familiar with inside of it. Looking carefully at it, he found that the yellow colour around the pink flesh was actually a layer of what seemed to be flour and egg that had been coated around it before it had been fried.

That was what created this yellow layer of crust around the pink flesh of the iron tails.

With the contrast between yellow and pink, it really created a beautiful picture.

But what he was most excited about wasn't just the look of this ebi fry, but rather the taste.

After all, the taste of iron tails was the one thing that he couldn't forget.

He brought the piece that he cut up to his mouth and after a single sniff which filled his nose with an ecstatic smell, he bit into the piece on his fork.

The moment that he bit into that piece, the flavours of the ebi fry spread across his tongue.

This was it!

This was the taste that he was looking for!

The taste that he could still remember from this childhood to this day!

It was the taste of iron tail!

However, the taste of the iron tail was much stronger than the one that he had back when he was child. The moment that he bit into the iron tail, there was a burst of juices that sprayed into his mouth, hitting his tongue with the strong umami flavour of the iron tail.

This was the natural taste of the iron tail, but it was much stronger than the taste of the dish that he ate when he was younger.

Why was this?

Rigur couldn't help looking down at the ebi fry that was in front of him with a confused look.

Only after looking at it for a while did he finally understand what it was.

The coating that was around the iron tail, it did have a use!

This coating wasn't just added to give the iron tail a different look, but rather it had been added to keep all of the oils and juices of the iron tail locked in.

The dish that he had ate before was grilled iron tail, which while gave it a smoky taste, most of the juices had been leaked out of the iron tail which gave it a bit of a dry taste as well.

But this coated iron tail, the coating locked all of the juices and flavour of the iron tail inside, giving it a powerful taste with the first bite.

When looking down, Rigur could see all the juices that were flowing out of the ebi fry from where he had cut it.

So without hesitation, he picked up the second piece and put it into his mouth as well.

The moment that he chewed into that second piece, there was the same burst of flavour that filled his mouth, but this time, he didn't swallow right away.

Instead, he chewed on the piece of ebi fry in his mouth, fully enjoying the taste of this ebi fry.

As he chewed, the taste of the iron tail filled his mouth.

This was a taste that was filled with the taste of the sea, but at the same time, it had an almost smooth taste that went along with it that helped make it not too piercing. It was a gentle taste of the sea that danced on the tongue instead of assaulting it.

When he finished chewing, with an unwilling look, he swallowed it.

But at the very least, there were still more ebi fries for him to eat.

However, when he looked down this time, he noticed the other plate that had been brought along with his ebi fry.

He had been so focused on his ebi fry the entire time that he hadn't seen this other plate the whole time.

When he looked at this plate, he found that there was a strange white sauce that was placed on it. There also seemed to be specks of green that dotted this white sauce, which made it look very strange.

He couldn't understand what this sauce was no matter how he looked at it and when he sniffed it, he couldn't help getting a slightly sour smell from it.

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn't imagine it tasting good when put together with the ebi fry.

But his curiosity got the best of him and he asked one of the nearby waiters, "What is this sauce?"

Anna, who had been passing by, was surprised by this sudden question and the appearance of the one who asked it, but she quickly put down those prejudices and came over to explain, "This is tartar sauce, a special sauce used with seafood."

"Special sauce used with seafood?" Rigur couldn't help repeating before looking back at this sauce that was called "tartar sauce".

Seeing that he was lost in thought, Anna didn't mind at all and continued with her work.

Only after looking at it a long time did Rigur finally cut a piece off his next ebi fry and dip it into the tartar sauce before bringing it to his mouth.

As it was placed in front of his mouth, he could smell the sour smell that came from it and he didn't believe that something like this would make the delicious ebi fry more delicious. But he was a researcher in the end and he had the curiosity of one.

So when he was told that this combination would make it more delicious, he couldn't help trying it.

He hesitantly put it into his mouth and the moment that he chewed into it, he couldn't help revealing a shocked look.

That was because there was a burst of flavour that entered his mouth.

This was a slightly tangy flavour that helped bolden the umami of the ebi fry, bringing it up to a new level. As the juices mixed with the tangy flavour of the tartar sauce, they created a mellow flavour of the sea that suddenly had a kick to it.

It wasn't an intense kick, but it was a burst of flavour that couldn't be ignored.

This tartar saucejust how did it accomplish this?

Rigur couldn't help bringing his knife over to take a bit of the tartar sauce by itself before putting it in his mouth.

The moment that the tartar sauce entered his mouth, there was a sour, but rich taste that filled it.

That was right, this sauce was sour like how it smelled, but the actual sauce itself gave off a rich and creamy texture that helped smooth it out and balanced it to create a nice kick.

He didn't hesitate at all as he kept cutting ebi fry and dipping them in the sauce before putting them in his mouth. It was almost mechanical at this point as he kept stuffing his face.

Goblins were quite short to begin with, so it really was unknown where Rigur was stuffing all the food that he ate.

After he finished his first plate, he ordered a second plate of ebi fry.

Then a third, a fourth, a fifth, and so on

He only stopped when he reached his tenth plate and he couldn't eat anymore.

When everyone saw him leaning back in the chair with his bulging stomach, they couldn't help revealing smiles since it reminded them of their first time here. They no longer cared that he was a goblin and had come to regard him as one of them.

That was the power of this restaurant.

No matter what you were, it had the power to bring people together with the power of food.

Yami came over with the bill, but before she could say anything, Rigur suddenly asked, "How did you manage to stock up on iron tails? There's no ocean nearby, there shouldn't even be a river nearby. So how did you get such fresh iron tails?"

Yami revealed a confused look at first since the term "iron tails" wasn't one that she was familiar with, but it didn't take her long to understand that Rigur was talking about the shrimp. But then she revealed a confused look for a different reason.

Yami asked, "Why is it surprising that we're able to get fresh shrimp? Don't you have the same transportation network in your world?"

Rigur shook his head before saying, "No one has been able to solve that problem for ages. It will always rot if we leave it out for more than a day."

Yami was confused as she asked, "Why would you leave it out? Just freeze it when you store it."

Rigur's chin dropped before he asked, "Why do we need to freeze it?"

Yami couldn't help looking at him like he was an idiot as she said, "Freezing will prevent the food from rotting by slowing down the microbes and forcing them into a dormant stage. It will stop microorganisms from rotting food."

Rigur revealed a shocked look as he asked, "You're telling me that freezing food can preserve it?"

Yami nodded as if she was looking at an idiot. After all, this knowledge was common sense in this world.

Rigur looked at her and after making sure that she wasn't lying, he suddenly pulled out his money. He swept a look at the bill before slapping down the exact amount and then running for the door.

He didn't gave anyone any time to stop him as he ran through and returned to his world.

Yami didn't mind since he had already paid, but she was caught off guard by how much of a rush he was in.

After Rigur came out of the door, the door disappeared behind him, but he was too busy to care.

Rigur ran right out of the warehouse and into the workshop where his master was currently refining glue.

Seeing Rigur come in, the master wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Rigur before he could.

Rigur said, "Master, let's continue your research."

The master couldn't stop his hands from trembling, causing him to drop too much of his ingredients in, causing a large mess with an explosion.

But he didn't care as he looked at Rigur with a shocked look and said, "Are you sure? What about the budget?"

Rigur just said with a smile, "That doesn't matter. I'll figure out a way to balance the budget, but I want to change the direction of the research."

The master wasn't surprised this time since it was normal that Rigur would have some kind of demand for allowing him to continue this research. So the master carefully asked, "What do you want to change it to?"

Rigur said with the same smile, "I want to use cold to prevent food from freezing."

The master couldn't help revealing a shocked look as he looked at Rigur like he was crazy. After all, he had never heard of such an effect before.

But since Rigur was willingthere was no reason for him to reject

Twelfth Meal - Peaches of Immortality (1)

"Monkey, did you cause trouble in town again?"

"Ke, ke, monk, what are you talking about? I was here reading scriptures all day?"

With a sigh, the monk put his face in his hand and couldn't help shaking his head.

This monkey really would be the death of him one day

With a wave of the monk's hand, the monkey suddenly grabbed its head with a pained look on its face before it quickly said, "Alright, alright, I went to the town a bit! It was just too boring and I didn't hurt anyone!"

The monk gave another sigh before stopping the band from tightening around the monkey's head and letting it return to normal.

The monkey didn't reveal an angry look and leaned in closer to the monk before saying, "If you wanted my attention, you could have gotten it another way, you know?"

As she said this, she pressed the proud peaks on her chest against the monk's chest.

The monk didn't even blush at this and just gave a sigh before raising his hand, as if he was about to punish the monkey again.

The monkey quickly backed off when she saw this, but she still had a smile on her face.

The monk shook his head when he saw this.

If it wasn't for the fact that the monkey hadn't caused any real problems, the monk wouldn't have let her off that easily. In fact, the monkey had actually saved someone in town.

It was just too bad that the monkey had broken the monk's orders to stay here and study to go running around in the town.

So the monk had no choice but to teach the monkey a lesson.

After this, the monk took out some scriptures from the shelf on the side and said, "Let's begin our lesson today. We'll be reciting scriptures while meditating."

When the monkey heard this, her face turned completely sour like she would rather do anything else in the world. So even when the monk went over to sit down cross legged, the monkey didn't sit down with him.

The monk gave another sigh before looking up and saying, "What are you doing? Come and sit down."

The monkey revealed a smile as she held her arms in front of her chest, making it stand up even more as she said, "How about we go lie down instead and have some fun?"

The monk looked at her with a straight face and was about to raise his hand when there was a sudden flash of light that appeared.

Both the monk and the monkey were surprised when they heard this.

The monkey didn't hesitate at all as she pulled out a red stick and stood in front of the monk to protect him.

However, there was nothing for her to protect him from.

That was because other than that flash of light, nothing else happened.

Both of them just stood there in a daze as they tried to figure out what happened, but they couldn't see anything. That was until they noticed the door that was standing in front of them.

This was a door that they were unfamiliar with, but they could tell that it was a door.

The strange thing about this door was that it was just standing there in the middle of the temple without being supported by anything. It was almost as if it was just floating there in space.

The only thing that was special about the door was the dog's paw that was on it.

The monkey wanted to slowly move forward, but before she could, the monk grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back before shaking his head. Then he picked up his mala beads and started chanting something.

As he chanted, there was a golden glow that appeared around the mala beads that grew stronger and stronger until they were almost too dazzling to look at. Once the glow had become this dazzling, the monk suddenly waved his hand and shot out the golden light at the door.

The golden light reached the door and created a golden barrier around it, isolating the door from the surrounding area.

The monk let out a sigh of relief when he saw this and he was about to leave to get someone else, but before he couldthe golden barrier suddenly started flickering.

The monk knitted his brows when he saw this and he was about to start praying again, but before he could, the golden barrier suddenly shattered to pieces.

A shocked look appeared on the face of the monk when he saw this since he couldn't believe that his Golden Bell Barrier was shattered this easily.

This Golden Bell Barrier was one of his strongest techniques and even the monkey had a hard time breaking through it. So he couldn't imagine just what kind of power was required to break it that easily.

It was clear that this door wasn't a normal thing.

"Are you done?" The monkey suddenly asked.

The monk looked at the monkey with a confused look before suddenly realizing why the monkey asked this. However, before he could reach out to stop the monkey, she was already moving towards the door.

The monk had no choice but to raise his mala beads in preparation as he followed the monkey over to the door.

When the monkey reached the door, she poked at the door a few times with her red staff. She used only a bit of strength at first, but the more that she poked the door, the more strength she used.

At the end, she was even deliberately using a lot of strength as if seeing if she could push down the door.

But no matter how she pushed at it, this door that floated there in the air wouldn't fall down.

So the monkey lost interest in trying to push it down and instead started moving around it, like she was trying to figure out what it was.

Since the monk had also come over with the monkey and seeing that the door wasn't trying to harm them, the monk also started moving around with the monkey and trying to see what this door was about.

No matter how they looked at the door or from what angle, they weren't able to find a single thing about this door.

It was just like a normal door, even if it was a design that they had never seen before.

The monk was lost in thought when the monkey suddenly reached out towards the door, but this time, the monk was able to react in time to stop the monkey from grabbing the handle.

The monkey looked at the monk and said, "It's not like waiting here will do us any good. It's clear that the other side is inviting us in."

The monk knitted his brows when he heard this, but he knew that she was right.

This door had suddenly appeared inside of their temple, so it was clear that it must have appeared for some purpose.

But he really didn't feel good about opening the door. It was almost as if he could feel some great danger hiding behind the door that made him unsettled.

The monkey took advantage of the split second that he was distracted to suddenly grab the door handle before turning it, opening the door.

The door suddenly started to open and there was a bright light that came from the other side that forced the two of them to close their eyes. However, the two of them quickly adjusted to this bright light and they were able to open their eyes again.

When they saw the scene behind the door, they couldn't help being shocked.

Both of them moved their heads to the side to bypass the door and look behind it, but they couldn't see the scene that they were seeing through the door on the other side. It was almost as if this door led them to a completely different world.

This place seemed very different from anything that they had seen before.

They could tell from the smell that came from it and the different items in this place that it was a restaurant, but what was a restaurant doing behind this strange door that had appeared out of nowhere.

The monkey only hesitated a second before walking through the door.

The monk had been holding the monkey's hand during this, so he was brought along with the monkey and was dragged through the door.

After they went through, the door suddenly closed behind them.

The two of them just stood there looking at the different things in front of them.

In addition to the strange items that filled this place, there were also many different races of creatures that they had never seen before.

There were the normal humans, but there were creatures that looked like walking lizards and walking pigs. It was a world filled with many different things that they had never seen before.

Seeing that they were just standing there, Yami came over to welcome them into the restaurant.

However, when Yami came over, the monk suddenly trembled as if he sensed something.

He looked at Yami with a shocked look as if he couldn't believe what he was looking at.

Then he suddenly raised the mala beads in his hands and started praying like before, creating a golden glow around them. That golden glow quickly increased in brightness until it reached a point where almost everyone in the store couldn't help looking at them.

Yami was confused by what this monk was doing at first, but then she decided that she should stop him.

However, before she could stop him, the monk suddenly raised his hand and shot that golden glow at Yami as he shouted, "Begone foul evil creature!"

Twelfth Meal - Peaches of Immortality (2)

Everyone was caught off guard by this sudden move by the monk, but they weren't worried at all.

After all, they had full faith in Yami's abilities.

That faith didn't let them down.

After being surprised by this sudden attack by the monk, Yami suddenly raised her hand and deployed a dark glow that she also shot out at the golden glow.

When the two of them clashed, there wasn't even a single second of hesitation as the golden glow was shattered to pieces by the dark glow. However, the dark glow didn't stop there as it continued flying forward towards the monk.

The monk was surprised to see this, but he didn't stop chanting.

As he chanted, there was another golden glow that came from his mala beads and soon surrounded him, creating a golden buddha barrier around him.

This golden buddha barrier clashed with the dark glow, but this time it didn't shatter right away like the golden glow had done.

Instead, it was able to keep the dark glow at bay for a few seconds.

But at the end of those few seconds, it still shattered like the golden glow and the dark glow was just as strong as ever.

After shattering the golden buddha, the dark glow was flying unimpeded towards the monk.

The monk had a look like he had accepted his fate when he saw this.

He wasn't able to do anything else in time

It seemed like this demon truly was too powerful for him to exorcise.

As the monk was about to close his eyes, there was a sudden red arc that appeared in front of him. This red arc started where the monkey was and ended where the dark glow was.

It was the monkey's red stick!

This was a special stick that could change its size at will that the monkey had received from the gods after he had impressed them with his knowledge, so it definitely wasn't a weak weapon.

However, when it clashed with the dark glow that was flying towards him, the monkey's red stick was actuallyblown back by the dark glow.

At the very least though, the dark glow was deflected by the monkey's red stick and flew past the monk instead of right into him.

Right before the dark glow was about to hit the door behind them, Yami waved her hand and it disappeared into nothing.

Both the monk and the monkey suddenly fell onto their butts after the dark glow disappeared.

This had been a casual move from Yami, but it had taken all of their energy to deal with it.

Both of them could only accept their fates as they looked up at Yami who was slowly coming towards them.

The monk had a look like he had already accepted death, but the look on the monkey's face looked like it wanted to fight to the very end.

But Yami didn't raise a hand to deal with them. Instead, she looked at them and asked, "Why did you attack me?"

The monk was surprised to see that Yami didn't kill him right away, so he gave a bow and answered, "I sensed the aura of a great evil coming from you. It is my duty as a monk to rid the land of such evil for the good of the people."

Then he looked back up at Yami, looking right into her eyes and said, "I won't apologize for my actions, but they are my actions alone. I hope that you will let the monkey go."

The monkey was about to stand up and say something, but the monk used his hand to push her back down again.

Yami looked right into the monk's eyes and seeing the look in them, she gave a nod before saying, "You're right about how I have the aura of a great evil since I was once a demon king, but that was in the past. I'm no longer the same person I was before. Just like how people can be good and bad, it is the same with demons. I hope that you will open your heart."

The monk was about to say something, but then his mouth suddenly closed as he swallowed his words.

His eyes couldn't help opening wide as he looked at Yami.

The black aura that he had seen around Yami had suddenly turned into a white aura that was no different from the ones he could see around normal people.

This was a phenomenon that he had never seen before and he couldn't understand what it meant.

But there was one thing that was clear, she didn't seem to be lying.

After sitting on his butt in a daze for a few minutes, the monk finally bowed his head and said, "Benefactor, I apologize for my actions. Please punish me however you see fit."

He wouldn't apologize before since his morales wouldn't allow him to apologize to this great evil, but after recognizing that he was wrong, he didn't have any qualms about apologizing.

That was because he was indeed the one that had been in the wrong by suddenly attacking without understanding the situation.

Yami just waved her hand and said, "It's all a misunderstanding in the first place, so there's no need to take it that seriously." But then she turned to look at the monkey before saying, "But it seems like your little friend here doesn't want to let matters end here."

The monkey had been glaring at Yami the entire time, as if she wanted to attack her.

Seeing that Yami was finally talking to her, the monkey said, "Don't get too cocky you old hag! I bet that you're just angry that you're already sagging that you're taking it out on us! You won't be able to reclaim your youth by venting your anger out on us!"

The monkey had already lost herself in rage that she was just shouting out whatever she wanted to shout without even thinking about the consequences.

After she said this, the entire restaurant fell silent as no one dared to even breathe too loudly.

Everyone was staring at Yami with their hands over their mouths.

As for why their hands were over their mouths, they were trying to cover up their laughter as much as possible.

Yami's lips couldn't help twitching when she heard these words and then her face started turning darker.

It was at this time that there was a stifled laughter that suddenly rang out.

Yami's dark gaze immediately fell onto the culprit and they shrank back into their chair, trying to make themselves as small as possible.

Yami then turned back to the monkey with a dark smile on her face as she said, "It seems like our little friend here hasn't learned her lesson yet."

Then without hesitation, she walked towards the monkey who was still sitting there on her butt.

The monkey couldn't help scooching back when she saw Yami approaching her.

Even if she acted tough, she wasn't a fool and could see the difference between the two of them. Even if she were to go all out, she knew that she wouldn't be able to take down Yami.

As she scooched back, she couldn't help saying, "Oi, old hag, what are you doing? Don't, don't come any closer."

But Yami completely ignored her as she came closer step by step.

Then all of a sudden, Yami disappeared.

When she reappeared, she was right behind the monkey.

The monkey was still looking around for Yami when she was suddenly picked up by Yami by the collar.

The monkey tried struggling, but she couldn't break free from Yami's iron grip.

Then Yamitook the monkey and put her over a single knee before raising a handalmost as if she was going to

In front of everyone, Yami's hand fell down right on the monkey's

The monkey was still saying, "Let me go, let me"

"Pa!"

The monkey's head suddenly went up as she shouted in pain, "Ah!"

Yami didn't stop after the first slap as her hand came up once again before falling down.

Her hand fell down on the monkey's butt again and again, making crisp slapping sounds along with pained cries from the monkey.

The monkey couldn't help crying when she was being spanked by Yami.

This was her first time in her long life being treated like this and she didn't know how to react, but her reaction in the endwas very surprising.

Instead of remaining tough, she actually broke down.

She started crying and apologizing as Yami slapped her. It even reached the point where Yami even felt too awkward to keep spanking her.

So she finally stopped and let the monkey go, but before she could react, the monkey suddenly jumped up and grabbed Yami in a hug. She put her head in Yami's chest and said while crying, "I'm sorry mommy, I won't do it again."

Yami and everyone around couldn't help revealing awkward looks on their faces as they couldn't react to what was happening.

But still, dealing with this crying monkey, it wasn't as if Yami could keep up her cold facade.

So she reached her hand out and patted the monkey on the back to comfort her.

After a few minutes, the sobbing from the monkey slowly came to a stop before she suddenly pulled her head out of Yami's chest. She looked up at Yami who was holding her and slowly but surely, there was a blush that appeared on the monkey's face.

She jumped out of Yami's embrace and then stood up while wiping the remaining tears from her face before turning her head away with a snort.

Yami just looked at her with a smile when she saw this.

Twelfth Meal - Peaches of Immortality (3)

The monkey couldn't help feeling more and more embarrassed as she heard the snickering around her.

The monkey didn't even have to think about it to know what they were laughing at and it made her blush even more.

She then turned to the monk and leaned in to poke him on the chest as she said, "Why didn't you do anything? What good are you if you're not going to step in at a time like this?"

The monk just put his hands together and calmly said, "You must learn to accept the consequences of your own actions."

The monkey revealed a dissatisfied look as she said, "Isn't it all because I was standing up for you? Why else would I have suffered like that?" After saying this, she couldn't help turning her head and pouting her cheeks.

The monk gave a sigh when he saw this.

He knew that she was right and she had good intentions even if her methods were wrong, but there was nothing that he could do in this situation.

So he just stood there without saying a thing.

Twelfth Meal - Peaches of Immortality (4)

As they went through the menu, they saw many different dishes that they had never seen before.

However, just from the description of the dishes, they couldn't stop their drool from dripping.

They could tell that these dishes would be delicious, but they were amazed that no one had thought of these combinations before.

It was even good enough that the monk wanted to break his vow and have some meat. But of course, he was a monk with a firm mind and it wouldn't break that easily.

So in the end, he still looked for a vegetarian dish.

The two of them kept flipping through the menu until their eyes stopped on the same dish at the same time.

"Peaches of Immortality."

That was the name of the dish.

The moment that they saw this, they couldn't help being shocked because this was a name that they were familiar with. Or at least it could be said that the monkey was very familiar with this name.

Twelfth Meal - Peaches of Immortality (5)

They had expected a clash between the two tastes since these two flavours were flavours that they never thought to put together.

However, they found that it was a combination that was surprisingly good.

The crisp flavour of the radish helped mellow out the mild sweet taste of the peach even more, but it also added a new element to this sweet flavour.

It was no longer just a mild sweetness, but rather a refreshing mild sweetness that was like eating watermelon, but it had the taste of peach to it.

Then after the sweetness faded, there was a bit of a bitter taste at the end of it that came from the radish paste.

It was almost like how matcha tasted, sweet at first and leaving a bitter aftertaste.

It was a strange combination for sure, but it helped accentuate the sweetness and that bitter aftertaste left them wanting more.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (1)

"Father, father, you said that you would take me to a special place for lunch?"

The man patted the boy on his head before saying, "Of course. It is a place that not many people in this world have been to and has the most delicious food in the world."

The boy's eyes lit up when he heard this and he asked, "Can we go now?"

The man patted the boy's head again before saying, "Go and find your mother first. Father has to take care of some business first. Once father is done, I'll bring both of you there for lunch."

The boy gave a nod before running off into the hall outside this office.

Watching him run off, the man couldn't help revealing a wide smile.

This boy was his pride and joy. It was because of him that he was able to keep going with all of this tedious work.

After the boy ran out of the office, he went through the halls of this palace until he arrived at a set of beautifully decorated doors.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (2)

The boy couldn't help being surprised when he saw this floating door.

Before anyone could say anything, he was already moving over to see how it was just floating there on its own.

He was quite the curious boy even though he restrained himself because of his position, but since he was alone with his parents right now, there was no need for him to think about that. He just acted like a normal curious little boy.

When the royal couple saw this, they didn't say a thing and just watched with smiles as they let the boy explore the door.

The boy went around the door several times, but he couldn't find anything special about it.

It seemed like it was just a normal door no matter how he looked at it.

The only thing that could be considered special about this door was the dog's paw that was printed on it.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (3)

Neither of them even turned their heads as they shouted, "Shut it, Croquette! You're also a traitor to the katsu faction, so you can't say anything!"

The one who had spoken just now was Croquette, or known by his name in their world, the Great Sage Zweit.

He shook his head with a bitter smile when he heard this, but for the sake of the kid, he didn't argue with these two.

When the boy saw Croquette, he said, "Uncle Zweit, you're here too!"

Croquette gave a nod before saying, "Call me Croquette here."

The boy revealed a confused look, but in the end, he still said with a nod, "Alright, uncle Croquette."

Croquette patted the boy on the head before saying, "Good boy."

The boy then pointed at his parents and asked, "Uncle Croquette, why are mother and father arguing like that?"

Croquette revealed an awkward smile when he was faced with this question.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (4)

"Kid's lunch?" The boy said to himself.

Hearing him speak, Croquette turned away from the fighting couple to ask, "Arc, what is it? Did you find something that caught your eye?"

The boy hesitated a bit before giving a nod and pointing at the dish on the menu before asking, "Uncle Croquette, can you tell me more about this kid's lunch?"

Croquette was surprised to hear this, but he took a closer look at the menu that the boy was holding.

After thinking for a bit, he couldn't help revealing a confused look.

That was because even though he had eaten at this restaurant for a long time, he didn't really have an impression of this kid's lunch because he had never seen it before.

After all, it was rare for a kid to come here in the first place and usually they would order other things.

So he had never seen anyone order this kid's lunch before.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (5)

Croquette saw this look on the boy's face and asked in a teasing voice, "What's wrong? Are you feeling the bittersweetness of the pudding? Or is it that you're feeling the bittersweetness of unrequited love?"

The boy was surprised by Croquette's words and couldn't help revealing a bitter smile.

After all, he had indeed never felt this way before.

He actually wanted seconds.

Normally, he would be able to control himself to act with the utmost manners, so he wouldn't do something as embarrassing as asking for seconds.

But he really couldn't help himself in the face of this delicious food.

Not only seconds, he even wanted thirds!

So he was put in a hard position since he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

Croquette could guess what he was thinking since he was familiar with this boy and the rules of the royal family. But he couldn't just say it directly or else he felt that the boy wouldn't learn.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (6)

Finn was surprised to hear Menchi Katsu calling for him, but since it was Menchi Katsu, he said goodbye to the people around him and came over.

When he came over, he asked, "What's going on?"

After he said this, neither Menchi Katsu or Croquette said a thing.

Both of them just looked at each other, as if they wanted the other person to speak first, but neither of them said a thing.

Seeing this, Finn couldn't help feeling that something was off, so he asked, "Is something wrong?"

Both of them quickly said, "No, no, nothing is wrong"

But then they went quiet just as quickly.

It didn't take a genius to notice that clearly something was off.

So Finn knitted his brows and said, "If you have something to say, you can just tell me."

Both of them looked at each other again before giving another sigh.

Seeing that neither of them were willing to say a thing, Finn stood up and acted like he was about to leave.

Thirteenth Meal - Kids Lunch (7)

The fight between the two of them continued with Finn attacking and Percy defending.

There wasn't a single time where Finn broke through Percy's defenses.

He had kept yelling at Percy, demanding answers from him after seeing how he had been affected the first time, but there wasn't a single opening that was given to him after the first time.

It was as if Percy had completely sealed off his emotions, so that he wouldn't be affected no matter what Finn did.

He just methodically parried Finn's attacks and knocked him to the ground.

To the side, Amphi couldn't help watching all of this with a worried look on her face.

She was Finn's childhood friend, so she was also close to Percy since she had spent quite a bit of time in the palace.

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (1)

"She's near here! Get her!"

"Send the dogs out! They'll find her right away!"

As the little girl ran through the forest, she could hear these voices from behind her.

Soon, she was also able to hear the sounds of howling coming from behind her.

Even though they had been called dogs, it was more accurate to call these creatures chasing after her wolves. They were much bigger and had much sharper fangs than normal dogs after all.

The little girl knew that she had to find a place to hide or she would be found very soon.

But at the same time, she couldn't stop the mist from covering her eyes.

She knew that the appearance of these hunters and their wolves meantthat her mother had already been captured.

Or the more likely endingher mother was most likely dead.

They had escaped together, but her mother had stayed behind to draw the hunters and the wolves away.

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (2)

After dashing through the door, there was a flash of white light around her.

It was so bright that she couldn't help closing her eyes, which caused her to trip and fall onto the ground.

She slid through the door and landed on the floor of the restaurant.

When the people inside the restaurant saw and heard this, they couldn't help looking at this little girl with a surprised look.

There were a few of them that wanted to come forward to help this little girl, but before they could, there were others that came in the door after her.

The little girl quickly stood up seeing this and started running forward again, but she made sure to avoid all the people in the restaurant. Judging by the look on her face, it was as if she didn't trust anyone at all.

Seeing this, the leader of the hunters shouted at the wolves, "Hunt!"

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (3)

Instead of just standing there like she had done before, Yami actually took a step forward towards the man who was pointing a gun at her.

The leader of the hunters couldn't help taking a step back when he saw this as a chill ran down his back.

He just couldn't understand why he was feeling this way.

He was clearly the one pointing the gun at this woman, so why did it feel like she was putting pressure on him?

Why did it feel like he was the one in danger when he was supposed to have the ultimate weapon?

This didn't make any sense!

The leader of the hunters gave a gulp before saying in a shaky voice, "This is your last warning! If you, you don't stand down now, I'll shoot!"

Yami just had the same smile as she took another step forward.

Once again, the leader of the hunters took another step back.

His finger on the trigger wanted to pull it, but he felt it become stiff as if there was something preventing him from pulling it.

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (4)

When Yami's attention was on her, the little girl couldn't help being scared.

She had seen how easily the hunters had been thrown out and how even the gun had been useless. Even a little girl like her was able to tell that this was all done by Yami, so she was a little scared of her because of it.

She wasn't terrified of her because of how Yami had comforted her earlier.

However, when Yami looked at her like this, she couldn't help becoming more scared.

Yami saw this and came over slowly, in a non threatening manner. She was able to make it in front of the little girl before reaching her hand out to her and saying, "I'm not going to hurt you, alright?"

The little girl looked at Yami with bright eyes and then slowly gave a nod before reaching her hand out to hold Yami's hand.

Yami gently helped the girl off the ground and then she turned her around to have a proper look at her.

After looking over her body, she said, "You're quite dirty."

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (5)

When they came down together, everyone in the restaurant couldn't help looking in their direction.

The ones that had come late had heard about the situation from the ones that had been here, so they knew what had happened.

When they all saw the little girl, they couldn't help being shocked.

That was becauseshe was too beautiful!

Dressed in that Victorian doll dress, with her beautiful white skin and her big round eyes, she was just like a little doll!

They couldn't stop themselves from gushing over her, but they all kept themselves calm because they could see Yami glaring at them.

It was like if any of them dared to do anything to this little girl, she wouldn't hesitate to beat them.

Not a single one of them dared to look down on Yami, so they all restrained themselves.

However, there were many people who couldn't help taking out their phones to take pictures.

Fourteenth Meal - Beef Stew (6)

This time, Yami didn't let her eat it alone.

Instead, Yami picked up the spoon and scooped up a bit of the soup.

She blew on it a few times and made sure it was cool enough before bringing it over for the little girl to eat. As she brought the spoon forward, she said with a smile, "Say ah."

The little girl was shocked to see this.

She quickly raised her hand and waved it as she said in a panic, "You, you, you don't need to do something like this for someone like me."

But Yami didn't back down as she placed the spoon in front of her and said again, "Say ah."

This time, she said it in a much firmer voice.

Hearing this and seeing the look on her face, the little girl was subdued. She obediently opened her mouth and allowed Yami to feed her.

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (1)

"Grr."

As the sound passed by, the cloaked figure couldn't help shrinking back in their hiding spot.

It didn't take long for the sounds of the footsteps to pass by, but the figure hiding there didn't come out right away. Only when there was silence that lasted for a while did this cloaked figure finally come out.

As soon as they came out, they quickly made their way out of this building that they had been trapped in.

They made sure to move through the corridors quickly and checked every single corner before making their way out.

After all, there had been too many people who had been caught off guard and lost their lives since the "Fracture" happened.

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (2)

As soon as she saw this little girl falling, Ashley immediately went forward to catch her.

When she caught her, she couldn't help being shocked by how hot her little sister's body was.

She put her hand to her forehead and found that she was burning up.

She had seen her face was a bit red earlier, but she had thought that this was just from the excitement of the toy. However, it seemed now that wasn't the case.

She quickly picked her up and brought her to the bed inside the bedroom. She tucked her up and closed the door.

Her other little sister had a concerned look on her face as she asked, "What's wrong with Megan?"

Ashley shook her head and said, "I don't know." Then after a pause, she revealed a faint smile and patted the little girl on the head and said, "But I'm sure that it's nothing big. I'll go and get Dr Yumihara now, so be good and wait here."

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (3)

Ashley couldn't help being shocked when she saw this door, but she quickly came back to her senses when she heard the sounds of zombies coming from behind her.

She quickly closed the door behind her and went into the room with the door standing there.

She went closer to see what this door was, but she couldn't find anything special about this door.

It was nothing more than a simple door that had no decorations on it at all.

The only thing that was special about this door was the dog's paw that was on the door.

After moving around it and taking a closer look, all she felt was more confusion as she didn't understand what this door was.

But she could tell that this door was anything but normal

That was just her intuition as a scavenger telling her this.

She began reaching her hand out to open the door, but before she could, she suddenly heard the sounds of metal being smashed.

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (4)

"Ashley" That was what she had said in a daze.

She hadn't even been aware of herself when she said this. It was as if she had been overwhelmed by Yami's presence and had said it unconsciously.

Yami nodded before asking, "What is that creature and why did you bring it here?"

Ashley didn't answer at first, but after a pause, she asked, "Where is this place?"

Ymai revealed a smile when she heard this. This was something that she had seen a lot, so she was already used to this.

"Another world?" Ashley said in a loud shocked voice.

Seeing Yami answer with a nod, Ashley couldn't help looking around herself.

After looking around, she couldn't help standing up and walking over to the window to look out. She found a scene that shocked her even more than this restaurant.

It was a world that was just like the one that she had lived in beforebefore the zombie apocalypse happened.

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (5)

Ashley tightly grabbed the scientist's arm again and she said, "Where did you see this specimen? Are you the one that created this zombie viruses?"

The way that she said this was much more aggressive than before.

It was as if she took the scientist's words as an admission of guilt.

After all, he recognized the zombie virus that had destroyed her world, so it was as good as saying that he was the one that had created it in her mind.

Yami grabbed Ashley and pulled her away before saying, "Baked Potato, do you really recognize this?"

Baked Potato couldn't help taking a step back after Ashley had been pulled away and he caught his breath before saying, "I recognize it, but that doesn't mean that I created it. It was something that was created by the virus research department when they were creating different viruses for weapon use, I was just called in to"

Fifteenth Meal - Katsudon (6)

After being conflicted for a while, Yami finally looked at Ashley's pleading look and said, "Fine, just this one time."

When the people around them heard this, the most excited people were the spies.

After all, when it came to fully stocked labs, only these people who were connected to governments would have access. The normal customers wouldn't be able to pull out something like this.

So the ones that they would ask to borrow a lab from wouldmost likely be them.

This was an opportunity for them!

Even if they weren't allowed to watch or record, just being able to see what kind of ingredients were needed for this vaccine would be more than enough for them to know which direction to start researching in.

As long as they had this information, they knew that they would be able to replicate the vaccine with enough time.

So they just wanted Baked Potato to use their lab.

Sixteenth Meal - Nikujaga (1)

"Where is this place?"

When the young man dressed like a fantasy hero came through the door, this was the first thing that he asked.

He looked around himself and couldn't help being shocked by the scene around him.

This restaurantit looked just like his previous world!

This young man might have been dressed as a hero, but in reality, he was someone who had been isekai'd. He had been brought to the other world after he had been hit by a truck and had been sent down as a hero.

He had been doing his work as a hero, defeating the first of the Four Heavenly Kings when he had suddenly seen this door appear.

It was a door with a dog's paw print on it.

He couldn't hold back his curiosity and had gone through the door, only to appear in this restaurant.

Sixteenth Meal - Nikujaga (2)

The young man couldn't help being shocked when he saw this since this scene looked just like the world that he had come from.

But he still turned back and asked, "Um, isn't this supposed to send me back to the world that I came from?"

Yami had been watching the entire time, so she had also seen where the door had sent him. She couldn't help looking out the window to compare to the scene outside and she found that it was the exact same.

She went over to the door and closed it before asking the young man to open it again.

However, even then, the same thing happened.

Yami ignored the young man's questioning gaze and she pulled out the same panel from before.

However, when she saw it this time, she couldn't help being shocked.

That was because the panel now showed which world this young man was from.

This young man wasfrom this world and a world that seemed to be a fantasy magic world.

Sixteenth Meal - Nikujaga (3)

A week later, the young man from before came back to the restaurant.

When he came in, he was no longer dressed like a hero. When he came in, he was now dressed like a young man should in this world.

After coming into the restaurant, he couldn't help looking around until he found Yami.

Yami had also noticed him when he came in, so she had been looking at him.

She had thought that since his case had been solved, he wouldn't be coming back to the restaurant anymore, but here he was.

But what did he want?

The young man came over and said, "Can we talk about something?"

Yami revealed a confused look when she heard this, but she gave a nod in response and gestured to one of the tables.

As the young man sat down, she told him to wait for a bit as she was going to get someone else. Then she headed off back into the kitchen.

When she came back, there was a normal looking man that came out with her.

It was Lin Fan.

Seventeenth Meal - Tonjiru (1)

A large eye suddenly opened when the owner of the eye heard the commotion outside.

It had planned on closing again, but the commotion didn't stop, so the owner of the eye couldn't fall back asleep.

Since that was the case, the owner of the eye no longer tried closing it and opened both eyes to look around.

Looking at the clock on the wall, the owner of these eyes suddenly narrowed them as it muttered, "It's still long before dinner, what are they making a fuss for?"

With a puff of smoke, the large body of the owner of these eyes began to shrink. It continued to shrink and shrink until it became the size of a human.

When the smoke cleared, there was a female human figure that appeared.

It was a curvy and busty figure with flowing red hair and piercing red eyes, but the problem was that it was completely uncovered. All of the beautiful scenery was being shown in full sight without anything stopping it.

Seventeenth Meal - Tonjiru (2)

The beautiful red haired woman just looked in the direction that the delicious taste was coming from with an expectant look.

But the more excited that she was, the more mana that she released.

All of this mana made it hard for the people sitting around her.

That was until Yami came over to say, "Restrain your aura. You're disturbing the other customers."

The beautiful red haired woman was about to say, "What does it matter if the others are disturbed." However, seeing the look in Yami's eyes, she could tell that something bad would happen if she said this.

So in the end, the beautiful red haired woman pulled back the natural aura that she released.

For someone as strong as her, this was hard for her to do, but she still did it.

It wasn't because she was scared of Yami or anything.

She just did it because she was a conscientious person, there was no other reason at all.

Seventeenth Meal - Tonjiru (3)

She didn't have enough soup to match the amount of rice that she had.

In her rush to eat the soup, she had eaten so much of it that there was far less soup compared to the amount of rice that she had. With this meagre amount of soup left, it was impossible for her to finish off her rice.

But to eat the rice alonethat wasn't something that she wanted to do.

So she couldn't help revealing an agonized look as she tried to figure out what to do.

However, it was Yami who was passing by at the right time that helped her figure out her dilemma.

"Do you want another order?"

Yami asked this in such a casual voice that the beautiful red haired girl couldn't help being shocked. But then she realized that Yami was right

There was no need to agonize over this, all she had to do was order another portion and she would have more than enough soup. After all, there was more soup to rice in these orders.

Eighteenth Meal - Pudding (1)

"When are you going to give up and just marry me already?!"

There was a sigh that followed this sudden outburstWell, it wasn't a sudden outburst since the people involved had been arguing for a while now.

It was a back and forth match of one person trying to get someone to marry them and that other person rejecting them with all of their might.

To the side, there was the wife of the person rejecting with all of their might.

She might have had a smile on her face, but it was clear that this smile didn't reach her eyes.

As for who they werethey were of course Elsie, Kai, and Elena.

Since she had discovered the restaurant, Elsie came at every chance that she had and she would always try to get Kai to marry her.

Yami had held up her end of the promise and had dragged Kai over whenever Elsie came.

Eighteenth Meal - Pudding (2)

There was a cute little head that was poked out over the table that was staring at her. This little head was slightly tilted as it looked at Angela, as if it was curious about something.

As for the owner of this head, it was Angel, Kai and Elena's child.

She had also been brought along today since it was a day off and they had wanted her to meet Kai's friends from the hero of light party.

When she had been caught like this, Angela couldn't help revealing an awkward look.

After all, she had been revealing an embarrassing expression when she was eating the pudding.

This was an expression that she couldn't help whenever she ate this pudding. It was just so delicious that she couldn't help revealing a look of ecstasy on her face.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Angel tilted her head even more and looked at the pudding before saying, "Is it really that delicious?"

Eighteenth Meal - Pudding (3)

When Angela opened her eyes again, she found that she was surrounded by people.

She also found that her head was atop a pair of legs and there was a concerned face that was looking down at her.

It was her best friend, Elsie.

As soon as Angela fell to the ground, everyone's attention had been attracted.

Elsie had immediately stopped arguing with Kai and had run over to help her.

Kai of course also came over since he had been worried about Angela.

When they saw the blood that came from her nose, they couldn't help panicking. They thought that there was something seriously wrong with Angela since there was even blood coming from her nose.

So they immediately asked for a doctor since neither of them knew anything about medicine or had any healing magic.

In this restaurant, there were many different people gathered, so of course there were doctors as well.

Nineteenth Meal - Burger (1)

"Ah, is it that time again?"

In this golden palace, there was a golden haired young man who was laying on a chair made completely of clouds.

When he saw the door that suddenly appeared in the middle of this palace, he revealed a smile and an excited look.

After looking around to make sure that no one else was around, the golden haired young man moved forward with a smile on his face.

However, before he was able to open the door, there was a hand that suddenly grabbed his hand that was reaching towards the door.

When the golden haired young man looked up, he found that he had been surrounded by several beautiful girls with different coloured hair.

The leader of this group was a girl with green hair who said, "Father, where do you think you're going?"

The golden haired young man revealed an awkward smile as he said, "WellI thought that I'd go to that place and get a bite"