The time was already past midnight, approaching two in the morning, and Nakiri Erina still couldn't sleep.
She lay in bed in her pajamas, tossing and turning, unable to find peace.
Even when she closed her eyes, sleep evaded her.
Her heart felt like a pot of boiling soup; the lake of her heart was in turmoil, as violent as a volcano on the verge of eruption.
No matter how much she tried to relax, a certain figure inevitably appeared in her mind.
It was the figure that had given her such a great shock today, the one who had completely overturned her very perception of what it meant to be a chef!
She finally opened her eyes, her purple gaze filled with confusion, bewilderment, and indignant anger.
"Kamisaka Yuto..." she slowly uttered the name through gritted teeth, as if she held some deep-seated hatred for him.
If Yuto knew about this, he would surely feel wronged, as he honestly didn't even know who she was before today!
Erina was furious.
She was furious that someone possessing such pinnacle-level culinary skills would willingly debase himself by operating a small shop deep in the red-light district.
She was also lost, unsure of how the commoner food she had always looked down upon could be made so incredibly delicious that it subverted her entire culinary understanding to date.
Furthermore, she was deeply puzzled.
Why did a chef of such superb skill have such an obscure reputation? She hadn't even been able to find a single record of his past after investigating.
The God's Tongue was a gift from the heavens, but it was also a curse.
The overly sensitive taste buds and senses allowed its owner to experience greater pleasure from cuisine, but they were also subjected to a far greater impact.
Tamagoyaki was a dish of the utmost simplicity, nothing more than eggs mixed with sugar.
Yet, when she ate the Tamagoyaki made by Kamisaka Yuto, she experienced a deliciousness and an impact she had never felt before in her life.
She had never acknowledged such commoner dishes.
But now, one had truly appeared that was sufficient to subvert her cognition and shatter her world.
For the culinary perspective she had built up over so long, this was an immense shock, and after the shock came the pain!
If she acknowledged the deliciousness of commoner food, didn't that mean her long-held culinary beliefs had been wrong all along?
To her, cooking was never just something to fill one's stomach, cooking was everything!
It was something that could truly be held as a belief.
But now, a crack had appeared in the faith she had held for so long.
How could she not be in pain?
Erina got out of bed and simply threw on a coat, walking toward her bedroom door in her slippers.
The moment she opened it, she saw that the living room outside was brightly lit.
A hint of confusion entered her weary eyes, and when she saw Senzaemon sitting there, that confusion was quickly joined by surprise.
"Grandfather, what are you doing here?" Erina looked at him, thoroughly puzzled.
"Because I have been waiting for you to come out." Senzaemon face was perfectly calm.
Erina was taken aback by his words.
"Sit here."
He beckoned for her to sit opposite him.
Once Erina was seated, Senzaemon began to speak. "I knew you wouldn't be able to sleep after coming back from that place. As I thought, I was right."
Erina hesitated for a moment before sighing and nodding.
"Are you in a lot of pain?"
His question brought a look of surprise to Erina's face.
"I understand. The clash of culinary values and perceptions is not something that can be described as a gentle breeze. Your heart must be feeling very restless and anxious right now. You're doubting whether everything you've ever believed in was truly right. Am I correct?"
Erina nodded silently.
The young girl's downcast expression was pitifully beautiful, and her dazzling blonde hair now seemed to have lost its vitality, draped listlessly over her shoulders.
"Erina!" Senzaemon's voice, like the tolling of a great bell, immediately jolted her.
"Think carefully about who you are! Strip away all the honors, what are you at your core!"
His old yet powerful voice sent Erina deep into thought.
She was the young lady of the Nakiri family.
She was the princess of Totsuki, looked up to by all.
But beneath all that... she was a chef!
If she was defeated in the realm of cooking, then she would use cooking to crush her opponent!
The frustration and powerlessness in her eyes gradually gave way to vitality.
A flame called fighting spirit began to burn fiercely within them!
Senzaemon smiled.
"Grandfather, I understand now." Erina took a deep breath, her imposing aura returning.
The princess, as proud as a lioness, was back!
"Thank you, Grandfather. I know what to do now."
After saying this, she returned to her room.
When only Senzaemon was left in the living room, the old man let out a soft sigh.
His purpose in taking his granddaughter to see Kamisaka Yuto was a profound one.
'Azami, Erina should no longer have to bear the burden of your twisted values...'
Senzaemon closed his eyes tightly for nearly two minutes, as if he were reminiscing about something.
When he opened them again, a sharp glint of light flashed and vanished.
...
Meanwhile, Kamisaka Yuto sat quietly behind the front counter, thinking about what had just happened in the alley.
That scene, where it felt as if time had stood still, was simply too astonishing.
He began to carefully search his memories to figure out what on earth had happened to him.
After thinking it over and over, he finally remembered the speck of green light that Kazami Yuuka had given him.
Other than that, he couldn't think of anything else out of the ordinary, in the past two months, it was the only true anomaly.
At the time the light merged into his body, he suspected it might be some kind of curse.
Now, it seemed that wasn't the case at all.
After beating up that group of delinquents, Yuto discovered the physical changes in his own body.
He keenly felt that he had grown much stronger.
To verify this, he deliberately ran a test.
There was a bicycle in the small shop's backyard that he used to get around during the day. Just moments ago, he had lifted that entire bicycle using the strength of a single finger, completely without fatigue or strain.
He then jumped with all his might a few times, realizing a single forceful leap could now send him nearly three to four meters into the air.
He was now absolutely certain that Yuuka's green light had strengthened his body and granted him some kind of temporal ability.
As he focused his concentration, Yuto once again entered that miraculous state.
It felt as if everything had slowed down, with only him moving at a normal speed.
He would definitely have to ask Kazami Yuuka what this ability was the next time she visited.
The moment he relaxed his concentration, the world around him returned to normal.
He couldn't figure anything else out just by sitting there thinking about it, so he might as well put it aside for the time being.
For now, simply knowing that the green light was beneficial to him was enough.
Swoosh—
The door was opened once again and Yuto immediately stood up.
"Welcome," he greeted, though he uttered the word with some hesitation.
The door was open, but why was there no one there?
Splat—
A sound, somewhat like jiggling jelly, rang out.
Yuto leaned forward in confusion, realizing the noise was coming from below the counter.
"Yo, I'm Rimuru."
A round, jelly-like blue substance was sitting on the floor.
Although Yuto could see its eyes, it was still a bit strange.
It looked exactly like a Slime.
Because Rimuru was on the floor, Yuto naturally couldn't see him from behind the bar since the counter blocked his line of sight.
"Hello, what would you like to eat?" Yuto was only puzzled for a second before his demeanor returned to normal.
After running the shop for two months, he had seen all sorts of strange things and creatures.
A Slime showing up now wasn't actually that surprising.
"Do you have any recommendations?" Rimuru's voice sounded a bit like a child's and his round, plump appearance was actually quite cute.
"Do you have any flavor preferences?" Yuto asked.
"Umm... something sweet, please," Rimuru said after a moment of thought.
It was strange, the creature was clearly a Slime with facial features consisting of only two thin slits for eyes, yet Yuto could feel its thought process.
"Alright, please wait a moment." Yuto gave a slight smile and walked into the back kitchen.
Rimuru jumped directly onto a chair.
As a Slime, he looked like a curled-up cat sitting on the seat.
While Yuto was preparing his food, Rimuru revealed an extremely human-like expression of nostalgia.
He never thought he would be able to return to a small restaurant from modern society like this.
It made him feel that his decision just now was truly brilliant!
He had been patrolling the Goblin tribe's village when he suddenly discovered a magical door appearing before him.
The moment he saw it, he felt a strong urge to push it open.
When he expressed his intention to do so, the village chief stopped him and sent a Goblin to test it first.
But that Goblin couldn't open the door at all, it wouldn't budge an inch!
The desire to push the door grew even stronger in Rimuru's heart.
He had a strange feeling at that moment.
This door, perhaps, had appeared just for him.
After forcibly restraining the village chief and the other panicked Goblins, he boldly walked up to it.
The moment he touched the wood, a piece of information was transmitted directly into his mind.
The next moment, he had arrived here.
At the same time, he understood the rules of this place.
This was a restaurant, and all he had to do was order some food!