"Rimuru-sama!!! You've returned safely!!!"
When Rimuru returned to the other world, the first thing that greeted him was the excited cheer of Rigurd, the Goblin village chief.
"Yeah. How long was I gone?" Rimuru asked.
"About an hour."
Rigurd's words gave Rimuru a basis for judgment.
He had been worried that the flow of time in this world and inside the restaurant might be different, after all, that's how it was in a lot of movies and light novels.
Rimuru observed the state of the village.
Fortunately, nothing major had happened, they were simply on high alert.
"Rigurd, cancel the alert," Rimuru ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Rigurd then passed down the order, and the entire village once again returned to its usual peace.
"Rigurd, the area around this door must be well protected. This door is very important to me, and at the same time, it's very important to our village."
The door leading to the restaurant could not be moved.
Rimuru had already experimented, and even he could only push it open, he couldn't move the door to another location.
Therefore, he could only have the Goblins guard the area.
"Yes, sir!" Rigurd immediately took note of Rimuru's request.
To him, Rimuru was like a god and he would obey any word he spoke!
"Ranga!"
At Rimuru's call, a giant, blue wolf with a horn on its head emerged from Rimuru's shadow.
It had been hiding there all along.
It was just that when Rimuru had stepped through the door earlier, the wolf hidden in his shadow had briefly lost consciousness.
It only regained its senses now that Rimuru had called for it.
Rimuru leaped onto Ranga's back, and the wolf carried him to a high point outside the village.
Looking out, the Goblin village still appeared extremely crude.
Although there were a few defensive structures, it was still far from enough.
This village could already be considered Rimuru's base of operations, and he had previously considered the problem of how to develop it.
Before he went to the restaurant, he had planned to travel to the distant Dwarf Kingdom to procure goods and recruit talent.
But now, he had a new idea.
It was just that he needed to discuss this idea thoroughly with Kamisaka Yuto.
...
Meanwhile, Yuto put away the potion Rimuru had given him.
In the several hours that followed as he waited for customers, he spent his time all alone.
In other words... not a single customer came.
Yuto didn't find it strange.
Just as all the customers in the shop would develop a rational understanding of everything that happened inside, the small restaurant also seemed to have its own conditions for selecting customers.
Don't be fooled by how lively Ichinosuke Street was outside.
Whether they were courtesans or ordinary mobs, they would all basically ignore this small restaurant subconsciously.
They would remember the person, Kamisaka Yuto, but they couldn't remember this restaurant.
Even if someone mentioned the shop right to their faces, their cognitive memory of it would only last for a few seconds before they forgot.
Yuto had already run an experiment.
He had once invited some of the 'big sisters' who had taken care of him to come eat at his shop.
The moment those women heard his words, they nodded in agreement.
But in the blink of an eye, it was as if their memories had been reset.
They became puzzled about the very thing they had just agreed to.
"What? Yuto-chan, what did you just say?"
Faced with their confused expressions, Yuto could only shrug and brush it off.
After that, he understood his shop was special, and ordinary people would not enter it.
But he also wanted to figure out what exactly the conditions were for being able to enter.
Why could an ordinary person like Kasumigaoka Utaha come to the shop to eat like a normal person?
And Nakiri Senzaemon who came to eat here all the time—why him?
His granddaughter and his granddaughter's secretary could also enter the shop and eat normally.
Was there some kind of similarity between these people?
Yuto had compared Kasumigaoka and Senzaemon, one was a beautiful young girl in her prime, and the other was a silver-haired old man at the end of his prime.
Who could tell him what these two had in common?!
It was clearly just a simple little restaurant... why did it have to have so many mysterious and baffling things?
Dong—Dong—Dong—
The clock chimed seven times, it was seven in the morning.
This meant it was abot time the small restaurant to close.
Yuto untied the apron from his waist and turned off the lights in the back kitchen.
He then walked out to the area outside the counter, wiped the tables one more time, and turned off the restaurant's main lights.
At this time of day, it was still very bright even with the lights off.
Walking out the shop door, Yuto flipped the business sign to the "Closed" side and locked up.
Next, he pulled down the rolling shutter above the small shop.
Now, the shop was completely dark.
The Kamisaka Shop, having been open for a night, was going to rest.
Let the mystery belonging to the small shop sleep peacefully.
One day, Yuto would understand the purpose of this restaurant.
It was just.... that time was not now.
....
Normally, Yuto would always need to sleep for a while after keeping the shop open all night.
But today, he was exceptionally energetic; he didn't feel the slightest bit of fatigue.
Perhaps it was because of the speck of green light that Kazami Yuuka had given him.
He brought his bicycle out from the backyard.
Although he didn't have many customers, it was still necessary to procure ingredients.
Moreover, Yuto always abided by the principle of "better to have more than not enough."
Even if there were enough vegetables in the freezer for the next day, he would still go and purchase some more.
Doing so could avoid a lot of trouble later.
Besides, going shopping every day was something Yuto quite enjoyed; he could get some fresh air and see many new things.
But today, that wasn't going to happen.
Just as Yuto pushed his bike up the steps, before he had even turned out of the alley, he ran into a familiar face.
It was the young lady who had accompanied Senzaemon last night.
Not his granddaughter, but his granddaughter's secretary.
Yuto remembered her name was... Hisako.
"Kamisaka-san, good morning." Arato Hisako greeted him first.
Seeing her give him a slight bow, Yuto was a bit taken aback and quickly returned the gesture.
"Um... may I ask your name..."
Hisako was her given name, and it would be somewhat inappropriate to address her directly by it, but Yuto didn't know her family name, so he could only trail off hesitantly.
"Arato, Arato Hisako. You can just call me Arato." She was very perceptive, before Yuto could even finish, she spoke up on her own.
Yuto was still in a daze.
What did Arato Hisako want with him?
"Arato-san, may I ask if there's something you need?"
Hearing his question, Hisako's expression turned serious.
Her eyes were filled with earnestness and solemnity.
"This is very forward of me, but Erina-sama wishes to see you."
Yuto was stunned.
His mind recalled the beautiful, blonde young lady.
Her arrogance and her final behavior had left a deep impression on him.
'I'll remember you.'
These were the last words Erina had left for him.
At the time, he had wondered what she meant.
He certainly hadn't expected to be invited for a meeting so early in the morning.
He carefully searched his memory, and three or four seconds after Hisako finished speaking, he finally spoke.
"I don't believe I'm that close Nakiri-san."
Yuto had truly never met her before last night, which was why he was so puzzled by her invitation.
"My deepest apologies. I don't know why Erina-sama invited you, Kamisaka-san, but please, I implore you to consider it. Lady Erina is truly very eager to meet you." Hisako, ever so proper and polite, gave Yuto another slight bow.
As Nakiri Erina's personal secretary, her etiquette in all matters was impeccable.
Faced with the girl's sincere invitation, Yuto thought for a moment and made his decision.
He usually didn't have much to do on any given day besides a bit of grocery shopping and getting some fresh air.
In that case, there was no harm in accepting this invitation.
He knew Erina was Senzaemon's granddaughter, and Senzaemon was a regular customer of his.
His granddaughter's invitation couldn't be for anything bad, could it?
"Alright. I just hope I can be back early. The vegetables at the supermarket are fresher in the morning," Yuto said, still thinking about his little shop.
"Please rest assured. The Totsuki Exclusive Ingredients Company will provide you with all the top-tier ingredients you require today."
Hearing Hisako's words, Yuto felt a small thrill of joy.
Someone offering to provide top-tier ingredients for free was quite an attractive proposition.
After all, at his core, he was a chef.
"Alright then. Wait for me a moment, I'll put my bike back." Yuto pushed his bicycle back down the steps.
It seemed his noble steed would have no chance to ride into battle today!
A moment later, he returned and followed Hisako toward the luxury car at the end of the street.
The adult entertainment shops had long since closed, and Ichinosuke Street was now deserted.
The only people on the main road were Yuto and Hisako.
"By the way, Arato-san, does the ride include a trip back?"
A question suddenly occurred to Yuto, causing Hisako, who was walking in front, to flinch slightly.
"Yes, please rest assured, Kamisaka-san." The girl's reply was a bit subdued and resigned, but Yuto wasn't paying close attention.
His gaze was entirely captivated by the luxury car before him.
Heaven be his witness.
Yuto had lived two lives, so to speak, but he had never, ever ridden in a luxury car!