By the time Ainz walked through the door, Yuto was already busy prepping the pork cutlet rice.
Yuuka's sunflower cake was plated and ready, and a rich cream of mushroom soup was bubbling gently on the stove for Marisa.
It just needed another ten minutes to thicken.
The moment the skeletal Overlord stepped into the restaurant, Rimuru bounced over to welcome him.
The slime had deeply regretted their conversation being cut short the previous night, so he had made sure to arrive early today specifically to catch up with his fellow reincarnated ruler.
"Ainz, I have a favor to ask you later, if you have the time," Yuto called out from the kitchen, carefully lowering a breaded pork cutlet into the hot oil.
What Yuto really wanted to discuss was the upcoming renovation.
He needed help merging the newly acquired flower shop next door with his current restaurant.
While he had a dining room full of powerful beings like Yuuka and Yukari, he felt incredibly uneasy about asking them for manual labor.
He had originally toyed with the idea of asking Yuuka to help weave some plant life into the new walls.
But earlier that evening, she had given him an icy, unreadable glare when she walked in, and it had thoroughly intimidated him.
He didn't dare test his luck and risk becoming flower fertilizer.
He didn't feel he had known Erina long enough to ask for a massive favor either.
And while Rimuru was a kind soul... Yuto honestly figured a squishy gelatinous blob wouldn't be much help with knocking down dry-wall.
After weighing his options, Ainz seemed like the safest and most reliable choice.
Having visited the Great Tomb of Nazarick earlier that day, Yuto knew firsthand just how vast and versatile Ainz's magical repertoire was.
With a few high-tier spells, tearing down a wall and merging two rooms should be a walk in the park.
"Of course," Ainz agreed immediately, taking a seat next to the blue slime.
He had endured an exhausting day.
To maintain his flawless image as a supreme being, he had been acting his skull off since Yuto left.
His subsequent meetings with Albedo had been a mess, he had nearly slipped up multiple times while trying to invent a suitable, majestic backstory for Yuto to satisfy the Guardians.
The endless, monotonous performance was mentally draining.
Coming to the restaurant was his only true escape.
Ainz's dramatic entrance naturally drew the attention of the newcomers.
Being a shrine maiden, Reimu instantly detected the overwhelming suffocating aura of death radiating from the tall skeleton.
It was incredibly dark and malevolent, far worse than any vampire or yokai she had ever faced in Gensokyo.
Every instinct she had screamed at her to reach for her purification talismans.
But then... she looked down at the steaming plate of pan-fried dumplings sitting in front of her.
'Eh... exorcising an undead god sounded like an awful lot of unpaid labor.'
She picked up her chopsticks and took a careful bite of a dumpling instead.
'Ah... this is true cuisine.'
The shrine maiden had rarely eaten anything truly satisfying in her entire life.
Presented with such a heavenly, savory dish, Reimu felt as if half of her life's desires had just been fulfilled.
The other half, unfortunately, still required cold, hard cash.
She decided Ainz's evil nature was none of her business and kept chewing!
Nearby, Shouko watched the giant skeleton with wide-eyed curiosity.
She wasn't scared in the least, just fascinated.
"Ooooh!!! Are you a magician too?!" Marisa practically shouted, leaning across the counter.
As a dedicated witch, Marisa's sensitivity to magical energy was exceptionally keen.
Ainz was a max-level magic caster, and his skeletal body was draped in a hoard of divine-tier artifacts.
Even though he wasn't actively releasing any spells, the residual energy passively rolling off his rings and robes was staggering.
"Hmm? I do know a little magic. And you are... a witch?" Ainz turned his skull to look at the blonde girl.
He examined her pointed hat and apron, finding her outfit highly reminiscent of classic fantasy tropes.
"Yeah, that's right! I'm an ordinary black-and-white magician—Kirisame Marisa! Pleased to meet you, da ze!" she introduced herself with a bright, fearless grin.
Ainz stroked his bony chin, nodding with deep interest.
"In that case, allow me to introduce myself properly. I am the master of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Magic Caster... Ainz Ooal Gown!"
With a grand, sweeping gesture of his bony hand, his voluminous dark robes rustled impressively.
It added a heavy touch of dramatic mystery to his introduction.
Even trapped in the body of an undead lich, the fiery chuunibyou spirit residing in Suzuki Satoru's heart was still alive and well.
If anything, looking like a badass villain only made that spirit burn brighter!
"Woooooow!!! That is so cool!!!" Marisa's eyes sparkled like stars.
She was totally captivated by the pose.
Witches were notorious for having quirky, obsessive personalities, and Marisa was no exception. She loved hoarding strange items and detested boredom above all else.
Finding a glowing, dramatic skeleton with top-tier loot was the highlight of her day.
"Hmph hmph... Hahaha! Young lady, you have excellent taste!" Ainz chuckled, his deep voice soon booming into a genuine villainous laugh.
He was incredibly pleased by her reaction!
Just as his gamer pride swelled to its peak, a familiar green light flared around his skeletal body.
[Emotion Suppression]
Instantly, the swelling joy was forcibly snuffed out, leaving him feeling hollow and mildly annoyed!
...
"Here you go, Rimuru. One pork cutlet bowl," Yuto announced, carrying the steaming dish out from the kitchen.
He placed it in front of the slime.
Rimuru was honestly a joy to cook for.
He was well-behaved, always left the bowl sparkling clean, and didn't even require Yuto to wash any chopsticks.
To a chef, he was the perfect customer.
"Oh! This smells amazing! The texture looks perfect!" Rimuru cheered, jiggling with excitement.
He simply enveloped the entire bowl, absorbing the crispy pork and rice in one swift motion. A second later, the two simple lines that made up his eyes curled into wavy, happy squiggles.
It was a very expressive display of pure culinary bliss.
"So, Ainz. About that favor," Yuto chuckled softly, shifting his gaze from the melting slime to the Overlord.
The moment Yuto spoke, the red orbs in Ainz's eyes flared brightly.
Ainz had been desperately looking for a way to repay Yuto's hospitality.
Since Yuto had visited Nazarick earlier that day, Ainz felt he had fallen short as a host.
Now that his friend was actually taking the initiative to ask for help, he was overjoyed.
"Kamisaka, do you want me to take care of those neighborhood delinquents from last night?" Ainz leaned forward, his voice dropping into a whisper.
"Don't worry. Leave it to me. I will wipe them from the face of the earth without leaving a single trace!"
Ainz was still dwelling on the Hosen gang.
Even though he knew the police had hauled them away, human laws were fragile.
There was no guarantee the thugs wouldn't return to cause trouble for the restaurant.
He assumed Yuto was subtly asking him to eliminate the nuisance permanently.
For a max-level magic caster, it would be child's play.
He could just cast [Grasp Heart] and snap them all in an instant.
Could the local police even trace a tier-nine instant-death spell back to him? Unlikely.
Hearing this casual offer of mass assassination, Yuto froze.
He stared at the skeleton, blinking slowly before letting out a very awkward strained laugh.
"No... no, Ainz. I just wanted to ask if you could help me knock down a wall to merge my restaurant with the empty shop next door."
Hearing this mundane request, Ainz slumped back in his chair, a distinct pang of disappointment radiating from his glowing eyes!