Even though running into students I knew at the beach was a good thing, and even though they weren't exactly Gehenna's students, the moment I stepped into the beach house and saw the girl who came out to greet us, I couldn't help but feel an extremely strong urge to leave and find another restaurant.
That gray-haired, gold-eyed, cute, innocent-looking student had already spotted me:
"Eh… Ah, isn't this sensei!? Hello, sensei!"
I took a deep breath, prepared to play my role of facing danger head-on, and smiled as I greeted her: "Hello, Izumi."
Gourmet Research Society, Izumi.
What left the deepest impression on me was her unique taste.
At this moment, Hifumi and Azusa, who had encountered her briefly during the second evaluation exam with make-up club while Gehenna received help from the Gourmet Research Society, also recognized her.
"Ah wah wah, Izumi-san…?"
Izumi remembered them too: "Wow, you're the little lamb who drove Fuuka's truck so well…! And the one with amazing sniping skills! Hello!"
Azusa nodded politely, treating it as a greeting.
"This appearance… is she one of Gehenna's students?" Noticing the small horns on Izumi's head, Mashiro asked curiously. "Are you acquaintances?"
Hifumi smiled awkwardly. "Ahaha, well, uh…"
I mumbled, "Mm, yes, that's right. By the way, Izumi, what are you doing here?"
There were three possibilities for Izumi being here, and I wasn't keen on any of them...
Either she came with other Gourmet Research Society members, and this beach, barely peaceful, could turn into a battlefield at any moment.
Or she came alone, looking for food. But given her definition of cuisine… hmm.
Or she wasn't a customer at all, but was working at the beach house, see the previous point.
"Because of some things, I'm temporarily the manager here!" Izumi replied cheerfully. "The original manager fell asleep, so I'm running the store for the whole day today!"
…By "fell asleep," does she mean literally fell asleep? I need to confirm she didn't lose consciousness for some other reason.
Thinking carefully, this seemed like the worst-case scenario.
Even if the entire Gourmet Research Society was here, Tsurugi could easily handle any trouble. And even Izumi, with her remarkable creativity, could only barely produce normal-tasting dishes.
I muttered bitterly to myself, realizing this wasn't a safe place to linger.
"Never imagined I'd meet sensei in a place like this! What a surprise!"
"Oh, not at all. I'll just wish you good business…"
At that, I paused, pondering an appropriate excuse to leave.
Mashiro, however, seemed to understand and said, "I see. So she's someone sensei knows. I got strangely alert for a moment, sorry about that."
"Although I don't quite understand what you mean, don't worry about it!" Izumi said enthusiastically, "Come on, since you're here, try my new dishes!"
My expression changed drastically, and before I could warn them, the girls had already taken their seats at Izumi's invitation.
Izumi handed them a menu: "Everything on here is delicious, so look forward to it! I can even give you a little discount!"
"I see," Azusa smiled. "Thank you very much."
Mashiro nodded. "Then I shall humbly accept. Senpai, you should sit too."
Hifumi beamed. "Thank you so much! Um, what should we order…!"
"Eh? Sensei, you're still standing? Is there a problem?"
Noticing me still frozen in place, Izumi asked, and the others also looked at me with puzzled expressions.
At this point, in this atmosphere, it would be hard to refuse.
Under everyone's gaze, I swallowed hard and placed my hand on the cross coiled around my chest. "N-nothing… I'll come sit now…"
May Faust protect me.
If I can resist the Sleeping Red Tea special of Nagisa, surely I can resist Izumi's dark cuisine too.
As for the others, all I could do was make a few warnings and respect their choices.
"Ah, the names of the dishes are so unique." Mashiro read aloud. "[Oyster Shaved Ice], [Mint Chocolate Fried Noodles], [Condensed Milk Chuka Cold Noodles], [Chocolate Sea Cucumber Juice]… such refined names, very tasteful."
Just hearing the names of these dishes made me feel like I was about to put on a mask of suffering.
What kind of combinations are these? Even a mint chocolate fanatic like Airi wouldn't pair it with fried noodles, right?
Seeing the girls excited, and with Izumi briefly returning to the kitchen, I tried one last time: "Um, these should all be taken literally…"
"Eh? What do you mean by that?"
I was about to hint further when Izumi came back: "Everyone's probably decided, right? Please place your orders!"
In an instant, the four girls, unaware of the gravity of the situation, had all placed their orders.
Izumi noted down each dish, nodded with satisfaction, and turned her gaze toward me. "Sensei, what would you like to eat? I can make anything I know how to cook for you."
I-I don't want any!
Smiling brightly, she asked, "So, what will it be?"
"I…"
My eyes scanned the tiny menu, desperately searching for something that looked less bizarre and marginally acceptable.
But my attempt was likely doomed to fail.
"I…I'll choose…"
I don't want to choose anything…
If I consider condensed milk as cheese… maybe the Chuka cold noodles… but even that…
Just as I was about to face one of the hardest choices of my life,
gunfire erupted.
"Ugh!?" Izumi panicked. "The s-store... is being attacked!? Why, why!?"
"You ask why…!?" A familiar, anger-laden voice rang out. "Are you playing dumb, you bio-terrorist!"
At that moment, that voice sounded like divine music in my ears.
I let out a long breath, silently thinking: Thank you, passing swimsuit delinquent girl!
"Unforgivable… unforgivable!"
"It's all your fault! Our boss still hasn't left the bathroom!"
"You were too confident when serving the dishes, so you let your guard down… Damn it, it's all your cooking's fault…!" The tanned purple-haired delinquent said righteously. "A store like yours... ! Breaking it is still contributing to Kivotos!"
"Eh? Why? Why?" Izumi still looked completely clueless.
The delinquents shouted: "Enough talk! Take this! ORAAAA!"