"Alright." He said with a light voice. "The lunch rush is finally calming down. What did you want to ask me, Sir Reinbach?"
The old man regarded him with respectful looks before opening his mouth. "I heard from Ryouma about this restaurant. A marvel I dare say, something I have never seen in my long life. But, what intrigued me the most was his story about you hunting wyverns. What I want to ask is, are there really many types of wyvern in your world?"
Ludwig mused at his question. This was the first question he got that completely had nothing to do with the restaurant's ability. But he welcomed it nevertheless. "There are. But not anywhere close to human settlement. And journeying to where they settle is quite dangerous."
Reinbach's eyes gleamed with emotion unfit for his appearances. Curiosity, eagerness, and anticipation. "W-will it be possible for you to take me to those places?"
Ludwig looked at Reinbach for a moment. The emotions he showed in his eyes were different from those who wanted to fight against such a strong monster. That only opened up two possibilities. Either he was someone who loved wyvern, or a tamer just like Ryouma.
But he leaned on the latter. After all, there was a small life signal inside Reinbach. Not inside inside, but under his clothes.
"Bringing you there is as easy as leaving through that door for me." Ludwig answered. "But no, I can't do that for now."
Reinbach deflated slightly, but covered it just enough to keep it from showing. At least from others as for Ludwig, it was as obvious as a sun appearing in the middle of the night.
"May I ask for the reason?" He said.
"Because of the principle." Ludwig said matter-of-factly. "If I just brought anyone walking here to wherever they wanted, it's not a restaurant I ran, it's a shuttle service. And once I did it for you, I have to do it for everyone who asked me to. Lest I become an unfair owner."
But rather than deflating even more, Reinbach just leaned closer to the counter. "You said for now earlier. Will I get the chance in the future?"
Ludwig chuckled. A noble indeed. Sharp when the power of wordings and interpretation was used. "Yes. I don't know the precise time yet, but a few regulars here are so eager to visit my home world, so you should follow along at that time."
The excitement was back in Reinbach's eyes after Ludwig said so. But before he jumped into happiness and Ludwig had to tamper that happiness back down due to the peculiarity of one of his friends, he decided to say it in advance.
"However, I must warn you, Sir Reinbach. One of my friends said, 'world-hopping' is a commodity due to how someone from one world could get intel by visiting another world.' If I decided to include you in the group that will go to my world, she will probably ask you to let us go to your world too."
Reinbach's brows rose, not in offense, but in the slow, practiced way of a man recognizing the shape of a negotiation.
He didn't pull away from the counter. If anything, he leaned in a fraction more, lowering his voice like the restaurant might be offended by the concept of commerce being discussed too loudly.
"So it's an exchange." He said. "Not a favor."
Ludwig gave a small shrug, keeping his tone light. "Call it what you want. My friend calls it 'not being naïve.'"
Reinbach's mouth twitched. "A blunt friend."
"She's worse when she's polite." Ludwig replied.
That earned Ludwig a quiet, genuine chuckle from the old noble and few people who probably had deciphered the identity of this friend of his.
Then Reinbach's eyes sharpened again. "When you say 'let you go to my world too'… what does that actually mean?"
Ludwig paused, choosing a careful truth. "It means if we take you to mine, she'll want a visit to yours. Not to take anything. Not to start trouble. Just to visit."
Reinbach studied him. "And if I refuse?"
"Then you probably won't go." Ludwig said simply. "Not because I want to punish you. Because if people start using the door like a private carriage, it becomes a security problem and a pain in the ass for me and everyone else."
Reinbach's eyes drifted into the door as if seeing the world behind the wall. "I see. You're not only an owner of this restaurant. You're also a gatekeeper."
"I try very hard not to be." Ludwig said. "The job keeps happening anyway."
Reinbach nodded slowly. "Then let me ask plainly. Who is this friend?"
Ludwig broke into another chuckle, his shoulders went up and down. "Her name is Claire. Ryouma probably knew her. An administrator of a city called Ravenhall. A city where the headquarter of–"
Ludwig shifted his gaze towards a team of Shadow Hand that was still inside his restaurant.
"Those people. Adventurers. Hired hands. All in all, capable fighters."
Reinbach and his party looked back towards where the Shadow Hand was sitting. At the same time, the party that had their face hidden deep in their life-like hood also looked back.
But when one of them saw Ludwig also looking at them, one by one they nodded before returning to whatever topics they were discussing earlier.
Reinbach and his party also returned their gaze towards Ludwig before the golden haired man sitting beside the old man opened his mouth. "They are strong. I can feel that much."
"They should be." Ludwig said lightly. "The minimum threshold to apply for the entrance test to the group is quite high from what I heard."
Ludwig heard a quiet murmur and hum from the people around him at that moment. Then, the same man from before opened his mouth again. "I believe I haven't introduced myself to you. My name is Reinhart Jamil, the current head of the Jamil Household."
Ludwig took the stretched hand of Reinhart and introduced himself. "My name is Ludwig. The owner of this one of a kind restaurant. Nice to meet you."
The restaurant hummed inside his mind as he introduced it, clearly pleased by his words.
"By the way…" Reinbach inserted himself into the conversation again. "If I agree to this… reciprocal visit. What guarantees do I have that your party won't cause trouble in my world?"
Ludwig released the hand of Reinhart and leaned his forearms lightly on the counter, mirroring Reinbach's posture without matching the intensity. "You'd have the same guarantee everyone here has when they walk into my restaurant."
Reinbach's brow lifted. "Which is?"
"We ran a service business here. Not a mercenary or adventurer guild." Ludwig said. "As long as you don't actively try to harm us, we will always be welcoming."
Reinbach held Ludwig's gaze for a long moment, then gave a thin, approving nod. "Not comforting. But honest. I like that."
He tapped the counter once with a fingertip, then asked his next question as if he'd been saving it.
"How many people are we talking about? When you say 'let us go,' do you mean you and one friend? Or… an army?"
Ludwig almost laughed, but kept it in. "Not an army. Obviously not. Just a small group. Think… five to ten, at most."
Reinbach's eyes narrowed. "Five to ten highly capable individuals can still be an army if they're the wrong individuals."
"That's fair." Ludwig admitted. "Which is why we would set rules. Not with me, with Claire. I have enough rules and terms making for the month already."
"I understand." Reinbach nodded. Then after becoming quiet for a moment, he asked, "Will you tell your friend not to pry into my world's… strategic assets?"
Ludwig's mouth tightened slightly. "I can tell her. But I can't promise she'll be satisfied by a vague answer."
Reinbach's gaze sharpened. "Meaning she will pry."
"Meaning she'll look." Ludwig corrected. "There's a difference."
The noble's eyes flickered with that same strange eagerness again, curiosity that didn't belong in a court meeting. Then he reined it in.
"Then I will be explicit." Reinbach said. "If I allow this reciprocal visit, it will be under my sponsorship and my itinerary. You will not wander into military zones, noble vaults, or restricted research sites."
"Please." Ludwig chuckled. "I don't want to promise you anything. It will just tire us out because Claire would amend it after she heard it. Once the date is set for the visit, I'll inform you and maybe you can talk with Claire about the clause."
Reinbach looked at him before finally nodding. "I understand. Please tell Ryouma when the date is set."
"I will." Ludwig nodded and offered him a smile. "On a lighter note, I have a guess on why you want to see wyvern from my world. Are you perhaps a tamer like Ryouma?"
Reinbach looked at him before shifting his posture. Now he sat straight. And from his sleeve a white snake slithered out, hissing.
"This is one of my familiars." Reinbach said proudly before chuckling. "Let's just say my other familiars is too big and whimsical to be brought anywhere I go."
Ludwig looked at the white snake curling on the counter. Its red eyes were shining, standing out amidst the pearl white scale of it. But beside awe, a question also appeared in Ludwig's mind.
If he had a snake as familiar, why did he look excited by the mention of wyvern?
Then it clicked.
The similarity between snake and wyvern.
Scale.
So, Reinbach was someone who had an affinity with scaly animals?
Then…
Another scaly being appeared on Ludwig's mind. A monster that could be called the apex of scaly monsters.
Dragon.
When Ludwig was about to open his mouth to ask the old man about it, he opened his mouth first, like he already saw through him.
"Yes, my other familiars are dragons. I also have a few wyverns. But you know, I am quite curious about the wyverns from your world."
Ludwig laughed at the old man's world. Well, if he was talented as a tamer and had an affinity for a particular species, he would also be curious about monsters from different worlds. And of course, he would want to get them into his roster of familiars.
It couldn't be called greed. After all, if it was really greed, Ash Ketchum would be the biggest jerk in the entire universe because he wanted to catch 'em all.
"Well, if what I know about dragons in my world also works in your world, then you are a kind and lucky person. After all, dragons are… well, let's just say, they lived solely with their instinct more often than not."
"They are that kind of beings indeed." Reinbach laughed out loud. "But for me, they are just kids trapped in a powerful body."
"A dangerous combination." Ludwig answered.
At the same time, he remembered one particular dragon that often came to this restaurant. The only customers that could freely come to the kitchen.
Raon Miru.
If what Rimuru felt from Ryouma was real, then of course Raon would probably feel the same from Reinbach.
Fortunately, the little dragon was not here. Sparing him some headache that he believed would come.
As Ludwig thought about the little mischief maker and pudding eater, the restaurant hummed into his mind.
Someone from Konoha was coming. Not alone. He brought some people with him who clearly had much less chakra than him.
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