"Pfft—" Even Marisa, Reimu's close friend, couldn't help but laugh.
"Forget it, I won't charge you," he said, seeing Reimu's conflicted and distressed expression.
It's just sugar-sweetened rice, after all.
"Really?!" the girl exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Her face was filled with elation and surprise.
Just getting a free bowl of sugar-sweetened rice makes her this happy...
'Girl, what kind of miserable life do you usually live?' He sighed and approached the horned girl.
"My name is Ibuki Suika. Just call me Suika." Her personality was straightforward and boisterous, immediately showing friendliness towards him.
As she spoke, she continued to drink from the gourd at her hip.
He was somewhat amazed.
This was the first time he had ever seen a girl who could drink so much.
"Suika, would you like something to eat?" he asked with a smile.
"For food, just bring some small dishes. The important thing is the sake! Boss, bring out your finest sake! I want to drink!"
Considering the girl's inhuman nature, he nodded and agreed.
Now that everyone had placed their orders, he turned back to Yuyuko.
"Please bring me one of everything on the menu for everyone. No sake needed."
The words spoken by the elegant girl left him stunned.
"Everything?"
"Yes, that's right."
"Alright then."
Seeing that she wasn't joking, he nodded in agreement. Still, he couldn't help but worry whether Yuyuko could actually finish all that food.
...
After taking down everyone's orders, he turned to head into the kitchen.
But Yuyuko spoke up again.
"Boss, do you have any dishes with roasted Night Sparrow?"
He was puzzled.
He had never heard of Night Sparrow as an ingredient.
"I'm sorry, I haven't heard of Night Sparrow," he said apologetically.
The girl's face fell slightly at his words.
"Alright," Yuyuko pouted a little, her expression tinged with resignation.
The girl's dejected pout was rather endearing.
He smiled at her before heading into the kitchen.
He had a lot of work to do and needed to get started right away.
While he was preparing the flower cakes, the girls in the front hall were chattering noisily among themselves. The main focus of the commotion was Marisa, Reimu, and Suika, who were far more lively than the others.
Before starting on the flower cakes, he had served Suika some shochu.
She immediately tilted the bottle and began pouring it straight into her mouth. Her boisterous manner shattered his preconceived notions.
What puzzled him even more was that Suika wasn't just drinking herself; she was also offering drinks to Reimu and the others.
To his astonishment, Reimu didn't refuse Suika's toasts, draining every cup in one gulp.
He couldn't help but revise his perception of Reimu.
'Can a miko really drink this much?'
As the front hall buzzed with chatter, Utaha entered.
The girl seemed taken aback by the lively scene before her.
Yakumo Yukari, noticing her, greeted her warmly.
Utaha returned the greeting and calmly settled into a corner seat, four chairs away from Kazami Yuuka, her back pressed against the wall.
"Kasumigaoka-san, aren't you going to order anything?" his voice drifted from the kitchen.
"Just a salad, please," Kasumigaoka replied after a moment's thought.
He acknowledged her order and resumed making flower cakes.
Though Kasumigaoka maintained a composed facade, her heart raced with anxiety.
'How am I supposed to ask him for his thoughts on my work with all these people around?' The girl would be too embarrassed.
If only I'd left earlier!
Kasumigaoka Utaha felt a pang of regret.
Back in the kitchen...
Kamisaka Yuto had already steamed the flower cakes and begun preparing the other dishes.
He served the desserts to Yakumo Yukari and left immediately, missing the sight of Yuyuko devouring three in a single bite.
The plate held only seven or eight pastries. Yakumo Yukari ate just one, leaving the rest to Yuyuko. And she finished them in just two bites.
The girl seemed to barely chew the flower cakes before swallowing them whole. The speed was astonishing.
Kasumigaoka, watching from the side, was dumbfounded. If she were eating those pastries, she'd need at least two bites per piece.
Such voraciousness was clearly beyond human capabilities.
Even Yuyuko's behavior didn't anger Yakumo Yukari. Instead, she smiled warmly, her gaze filled with a mix of helplessness and affection.
Behind those radiant eyes, a faint hint of sorrow lingered.
Yakumo Yukari had concealed her intentions so well that even Yuyuko remained oblivious.
Beside Yuyuko, the Fox Girl faced a different predicament. Her large, fluffy tail had somehow become knotted behind her, resembling a ship's rudder, with the crossed strands mimicking the rudder's supporting struts.
The Fox Girl's tail swished through the air, and the tangled mass naturally unraveled.
Ran could control her tail as easily as she moved her arm, allowing it to untangle itself effortlessly.
Once her tail returned to its original form, she glared at Marisa, her cheeks flushed with anger.
"Marisa, don't you dare tie up my tail again!" the Fox Girl scolded the black-and-white witch, her voice filled with indignation.
But judging by the witch's amused expression... Marisa wasn't taking Ran's scolding seriously.
"Mhm, mhm, don't worry!" Marisa replied, giving Ran a thumbs-up.
Her eyes sparkled with starry light, lending her words an air of sincerity.
The Fox Girl nodded hesitantly, still half-skeptical.
In her arms, Chen blinked innocently, gazing up at Ran.
As the Fox Girl's shikigami, Ran could sense her master's emotions. She felt this mix of shame and annoyance multiple times a day.
In the House of the Lost, Ran often witnessed her master being teased to tears by her own mistress.
Sometimes, Ran couldn't help but feel helpless for her master.
Ran's tail flicked once, her heart relaxing for a moment before tightening again.
She turned to look behind her, only to find her tail had been retied without her noticing.
"Marisa!" She glared at Marisa, who was pretending nothing had happened, her voice dripping with venom.
The Fox Girl's expression was pure fury. Marisa apologized with a nervous laugh.
The Fox Girl let out a haughty hmph, turning her head away to ignore Marisa.
Seeing the Fox Girl's reaction, Marisa temporarily abandoned her tail-tying antics.
Beside Marisa, Reimu's face was flushed, her mind hazy.
"I can't drink anymore... I really can't..." Reimu waved weakly at Suika, who was sitting beside her.
Suika's expression turned troubled.
She had only offered Reimu a small amount of sake, far short of her expectations!
Since we're at a restaurant, how can we not drink?!
A wide, large plate had mysteriously appeared before Suika. The horned loli began pouring wine from her gourd into it.
Around the plate were four empty bottles of strong liquor. Half of those bottles had been drunk by Reimu...
It was astonishing.
The plate's capacity seemed far greater than the gourd's, yet the gourd poured endlessly, as if bottomless, filling the plate to the brim without any sign of slowing.
Even as the plate overflowed, the gourd's flow remained constant. Reimu, still somewhat dazed, saw the overflowing plate of wine and her expression instantly changed.
For a few precious seconds, her lost clarity returned.
"Suika, Marisa! Marisa can really drink!"
With those words, the miko's mind was once again overwhelmed by alcohol.
She slumped back into her stupor.
Suika's eyes lit up at Reimu's words.
She steadily lifted the plate, not a drop of wine spilling.
Marisa panicked at the sight, waving her hands. "I can't handle it! No, please!"
The black-and-white witch finally showed genuine fear on her face.
Suika chuckled heartily and brought the overflowing plate to Marisa.
"Come, let's drink!" Suika said to Marisa, her voice brimming with delight. The girl took the sake tray from Suika's hand.
Her expression showed extreme reluctance, yet her actions contradicted her feelings.
Marisa raised the sake tray to her lips and gulped down the entire contents in one go.
The sight left Utaha stunned.
Suika burst into hearty laughter as Marisa finished the sake.
As one of the Oni Four Heavenly Kings, Suika possessed a peculiar trait: no one could refuse sake offered by her.
This ability might be mysteriously linked to her insatiable love for alcohol.
Since ancient times, Suika had been drinking from her gourd daily.
Remarkably, she had never once been drunk in all those countless years.
After drinking the sake, Marisa's face flushed crimson.
"Hic! Hic!... Hic!"
She hiccuped repeatedly, her gaze unfocused and wandering aimlessly, her fingers trembling erratically.
The Fox Girl beside her couldn't help but feel a pang of pity.
"So... many... stars..."
Thud!
Marisa mumbled the slurred words with great effort before collapsing face-first onto the table.
Reimu had already been passed out beside her for a while.
Kamisaka Yuto, who had come out from the kitchen after hearing Marisa's head banging against the table, wore an expression of helplessness.
How did I manage to get two people drunk in just a short time while cooking?
"Suika, stop offering more drinks," he had to warn Ibuki Suika.
The oni girl let out a drunken burp, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue.
Though she wouldn't get drunk, that didn't mean she wasn't already tipsy.
"Okaaaay~"
The tipsy oni girl stretched out her words adorably as she replied to Kamisaka Yuto.
Kamisaka Yuto sighed and retreated to the kitchen.
He had already prepared the sugared rice.
Should he still serve it now?
Clatter—
The restaurant door slid open.
Yuto glanced outside and saw a Slime.
"Whoa! So many people!" Rimuru exclaimed excitedly and plopped down next to Utaha.
As soon as he sat down, he felt a dangerous gaze.
Rimuru looked toward Yuyuko as he froze.
He had actually seen a look of hunger in the girl's eyes!
"Um, I'm a Slime, not edible jelly," Rimuru explained, a little flustered.
But Yuyuko's gaze only grew more intrigued.
"Hey, Yukari, can you eat Slimes? You probably can, right? They look just like jelly!" Yuyuko shook Yakumo Yukari's arm, her words implying what she wanted despite the questioning tone.
Yakumo Yukari wore a helpless smile.
Hearing Yuyuko's words, Rimuru grew even more agitated!
"Don't answer your own questions!" Rimuru leaped up and shouted at Yuyuko.
"How interesting! I've decided—I won't eat you after all!"
Rimuru's impassioned explanation seemed to have successfully curbed Yuyuko's appetite.
Rimuru sighed in relief, his body relaxing slightly.
"I'm going to take you home and raise you as a pet!"
However, Yuyuko's next words froze Rimuru in place once more.
"I'm a Slime! S-L-I-M-E! Not a pet!"
He leaped up with all his might, shouting at Yuyuko.
His entire round body stretched into an oval shape.
Yuyuko's eyes lit up instantly.
This made Rimuru tremble violently, shaking like a sieve!
Yuto emerged, carrying the sugar-sweetened rice he had originally prepared for Reimu.
"Yuyuko, Rimuru isn't a pet."
Since Reimu had collapsed, Kamisaka Yuto decided to give the rice to Yuyuko instead.
Hearing the boss's words, Yuyuko's eyes dimmed with disappointment.
"Ah, well, there's no helping it then," she sighed resignedly, abandoning her previous idea.