Chapter 37: Mystia at Ease, Kourindou Owner Encountered by Chance!
Mystia began to explain everything that had happened before in detail.
After opening for business, she welcomed her first customer, Yagokoro Eirin.
After taking out all the ingredients and preparing them one by one, Mystia realized after a while that a portion was missing.
"Originally, when I opened the shop, I would always push the cart around Luke-san's restaurant, passing through the woods behind. Although this increased the journey considerably, I didn't have to worry about being noticed by Luke-san."
"Because I was afraid of being seen as a competitor 'stealing cooking secrets' by Luke-san, that's why I did it..."
"But I was indeed somewhat curious. The thought 'The restaurant in the woods is very popular, the cooking must be very magical' often popped into my head, but I never acted on it."
"And tonight, after opening, I found the ingredients were insufficient and ran home to get them. Since passing by the restaurant was the shortest route, I didn't take the detour like before."
"As a result, due to nervousness, I made quite a bit of noise... Did I perhaps disturb Luke-san?!"
"Please don't be angry, and please don't compete with me! If Luke-san also operates late into the night, my place probably won't have any customers..."
Mystia, timid and humble, her wings even shrinking back, had always been avoiding Luke.
Regarding this, Luke's evaluation was...
"Miss Night Sparrow, or Boss Mystia, please allow me to say one thing."
"Th-that, please speak..."
"I'm not worried at all that you would steal my cooking secrets, because there are no special secrets at all. If you pass by the restaurant entrance, there's no problem either. Let us get along amicably from now on."
"Eh? Really? Is it really okay?"
"Feels like you've mistaken me for that kind of strange person."
"Please, please don't misunderstand!"
"By the way, why did you think that?"
This...
Mystia tilted her head.
Because she had a bird brain, she was very forgetful, even unable to remember the customers who came last night.
However, she seemed to have thought of something...
"Newspaper, I think I saw a newspaper. Was the headline domineering? Or something else? Anyway, it said Luke-san's cooking skills were amazing, the restaurant was very popular, could easily crush other shops in 'Gensokyo', surely including me inside..."
"That kind is purely excessive boasting, no need to mind it."
And it was definitely fabricated by Shameimaru Aya.
Luke hadn't labeled himself 'Gensokyo's number one cook'.
"So that's how it was, I can rest assured..."
After saying this, Mystia served the grilled lamprey eel to Yagokoro Eirin.
Then, the relaxed night sparrow proprietress looked at Luke.
"Excuse me, Luke-san, what would you like to eat?"
"What's available here?"
"The menu is up there. Grilled lamprey eel, boiled lamprey eel, deep-fried lamprey eel, etc. Ah... please don't order that 'Grilled Chicken Skewer', that's a dish I need to remove. As for the new menu signboard, I have to wait until the Kappa master from Youkai Mountain is free."
"The Kappa master will engrave a new menu sign?"
"Mm, and the price is very cheap! The style is also very nice, I plan to wait."
"It's amazing you remember."
"I wrote it down on the counter."
Mystia pointed to the left side of the barbecue stall; there was indeed a notepad there.
Scanning the menu, ninety percent were lamprey eel dishes.
The rest were the 'Grilled Chicken Skewer' not acknowledged by the night sparrow owner, pancakes, and boiled tofu.
A bit like Oden...
Luke thought since he was here, he should patronize.
"Then give me an order of grilled lamprey eel, and a glass of sake."
"Right away."
Mystia immediately got busy.
During this, Luke inquired of the customer beside him.
"Miss Yagokoro, why come to the Night Sparrow Diner late at night?"
"It's a long story..."
Yagokoro Eirin frowned slightly.
She took a small sip of sparrow sake, then explained,
"Simply put, a few days ago, Princess Kaguya accidentally broke a tea set from Eientei. She secretly ran out to buy a set before I found out, but ended up... being cheated."
...
Houraisan Kaguya, even after living in 'Gensokyo' for so long, still seems somewhat 'ignorant of worldly affairs'.
"Not only was that tea set expensive, it even used cursed materials, causing those two rabbits to break their arms while cleaning. Only then did I go out to investigate, until now."
Referring to Inaba Tewi and Reisen, right? Poor bunnies...
Luke pressed further at this moment.
"What was the result?"
Yagokoro Eirin shook her head.
"The shop owner who sold it to Princess Kaguya ran away the next day, even leaving a letter mocking the princess. The content included many adjectives like 'idiot, fool'. If I showed it to her, she would probably run around everywhere, trying to catch the person."
Kaguya might actually do that...
"Ready!"
Mystia served Luke's order of grilled lamprey eel and sparrow sake at this moment.
"Please enjoy slowly, Boss Luke."
"Why the sudden change to a strange address..."
"Because Luke-san is a legendary figure who opened a restaurant, I will definitely learn from you in the future!"
"Just cook seriously. Sincerity is the ultimate technique."
Luke finished speaking, and both he and Yagokoro Eirin suddenly turned towards the left outside the stall.
There was a figure in that patch of woods.
However, the first thing that appeared was the light from a flashlight.
And the person holding it was someone who had helped Luke open the restaurant before—Morichika Rinnosuke.
...
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