Yuto finished wiping down the tables.
It was now seven o'clock.
He walked to the restaurant's entrance and flipped the sign over.
The small restaurant was now open for business!
Yesterday, a huge crowd had swarmed in right after opening, but today was calmer.
Yuto returned behind the counter, finding a spare moment to chat with Kasumigaoka.
The previous night, he hadn't reached a decision about the manga convention, even after closing time.
He still needed to ask Kasumigaoka for her input.
"Kasumigaoka-san, you can order now. What would you like to eat?" Yuto asked, his voice soft.
He was tying his apron, facing her but not looking directly at her.
Utaha propped her head on her hand, lost in thought.
Her waterfall of black hair cascaded loosely over her snow-white wrist. Even in her indecision, the girl possessed a unique beauty.
"I'll have the pan-fried potatoes," Kasumigaoka decided after a moment.
"Alright. You'll have to wait a bit."
Making pan-fried potatoes wasn't as simple as tossing them into a pan.
Simply frying them would result in half-cooked, inferior potatoes.
Even if the outside were charred, the inside would still be raw and greenish. You have to steam the potatoes until they're cooked through first.
Yuto went into the back kitchen, picked out two smaller potatoes, washed them to remove the dirt, and placed them on a ceramic plate.
Then, he put the plate into the steamer.
The potatoes were small, so they would cook faster.
With that done, he just had to wait.
During this lull, Yuto returned to the front. It was time to discuss last night's topic.
"By the way, Kasumigaoka-san, is the manga convention next Tuesday a large-scale one?"
"In terms of scale, it's medium-large. It can't compare to the Comic Market, of course, but it's the biggest one recently."
Now that summer was approaching, events like manga conventions were starting to be held more frequently.
Hearing Utaha mention "CM," Yuto's brow twitched with a hint of frustration.
He remembered her explaining the term before, but he'd forgotten...
"So, how many people usually attend an event of that size?"
"Probably tens of thousands."
Yuto froze for a moment as the girl calmly stated the number.
'Tens of thousands... Really? That many...?'
"Don't be surprised. Comic Market draws hundreds of thousands of people. Tens of thousands is perfectly normal for a larger convention."
A faint smile touched Utaha's lips as she watched Yuto's astonished expression. She always enjoyed seeing him look so surprised!
Hearing her words, Yuto recalled his last trip to Akihabara.
Suddenly, he wasn't surprised anymore.
Compared to the atmosphere in Akihabara, tens of thousands of people at a manga convention seemed plausible.
"What's wrong, Kamisaka-kun? Why the sudden interest in manga conventions?" Utaha's lips curled slightly, her voice laced with amusement and teasing as she watched him with a playful glint in her eyes.
Yuto let out a helpless chuckle. "Last night, Ainz..."
Screech—
Just as Yuto was about to speak, the restaurant door slid open.
His expression shifted to one of mild frustration and apology. He gave Utaha a wry smile before turning to face the entrance.
Having been interrupted, Utaha looked displeased.
"Boss, we've brought a few more people today."
Yuto looked at Yakumo Yukari smiling at the entrance, and a resigned smile touched his own lips.
'The Gensokyo contingent keeps growing every day. If this continues, the recently expanded restaurant might run out of space again... ╮(╯▽╰)╭'
Yuto thought to himself, his eyes twinkling with amusement as he surveyed the crowd of customers at the door.
As always, it was a dazzling array of beautiful women.
"So, should I thank you for bringing me so many customers?" Yuto asked with a light laugh.
The Gensokyo group had indeed grown larger ever since Kazami Yuuka brought Yakumo Yukari here.
So, Yuto's words weren't wrong.
The alluring and mature Yakumo Yukari's lips curled slightly, like a hook designed to ensnare hearts.
"I wouldn't dare accept the Boss's thanks," she said pointedly. "After all, someone is watching me."
Without a word, Kazami Yuuka stomped on Yukari's foot before taking a seat at the counter.
She always chose that spot—the one with a perfect, unobstructed view of the kitchen.
Yukari's face stiffened from the stomp, and her smile became strained.
Yuto couldn't help but chuckle at Suika's amusing pose.
"Quetzal still isn't here?" Suika asked.
She had already settled into her seat with her wine gourd in hand. Mentioning Quetzal inevitably reminded Yuto of Tohru.
'The dragon girl is late again today...'
After receiving Yuto's nod, Suika let out a sigh and took a swig of her drink.
She really wanted to keep drinking with Quetzalcoatl!
The other residents of Gensokyo gradually took their seats.
Yukari didn't choose the barstool today. Instead, she led Yuyuko to a table, followed by Ran and an unfamiliar guest Yuto didn't recognize.
The newcomer had silver-white short hair, wore a green skirt, and was strikingly beautiful.
A ghost-like entity hovered near her.
To avoid being forced to drink again, Reimu deliberately separated from Suika.
Marisa was with her. Both had been thoroughly intimidated by the drinking games last night.
As Yuto watched the girls of Gensokyo take their seats, he felt an intense gaze upon him. He followed the direction of the stare.
It was a cute girl with wings, a camera hung around her neck, and she held a notebook in her hands.
Seeing her attire, Yuto couldn't help but think: 'A journalist?'
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he found it ludicrous.
'Isn't Gensokyo supposed to be a world of Youkai? How could there possibly be a journalist there?'
However, at that moment, the winged girl approached him.
"Hello, I'm the editor-in-chief and reporter for the Gensokyo Bunbunmaru Newspaper. I have a few questions I'd like to ask you."
Yuto's expression turned astonished.
'She really is a journalist!'
Being interviewed by journalists wasn't entirely new to Yuto.
In his previous life, he'd been interviewed for his cooking skills, though it was only by industry-specific newspapers with little renown.
But being interviewed by a non-human journalist? This was a first.
Facing the young girl before him, Yuto felt a twinge of helplessness.
He really didn't have time for this.
"Sorry, could you wait just a moment? I'm a bit busy right now," he said with a soft chuckle.
Shameimaru Aya nodded, but followed up with a new request.
"Then, may I take a photo?"
A photo... Yuto found the situation peculiar.
Was he about to become famous in the Youkai community after being featured in their newspapers?
"Would you like to take the photo now?"
"Mm-hmm!"
"Alright, just one photo, then."
Yuto agreed to the photo request, hoping to limit it to a single shot.
After all, he didn't want to waste time on this.
With Yuto's permission, Shameimaru Aya nodded.
In Gensokyo, no one—human or Youkai—had ever willingly let her take their photo before.
She raised her camera, posed, and snapped a shot.
A picture of Kamisaka Yuto was captured.
She checked the display on the back of the camera, looking satisfied. The photo came out well. Then she sat down.
Seeing Shameimaru Aya take a seat, Yuto pulled out a notepad and began asking everyone what they wanted to eat.
With Tohru gone, he had to leave the bar counter and ask in person.
This was a bit troublesome.
He first asked the customers sitting at the bar. Kazami Yuuka ordered her usual.
Reimu and Marisa asked for the same dishes they'd had last night, since they'd been so drunk they hadn't eaten a bite.
Suika said she didn't need food, alcohol was enough for her.
As for Shameimaru Aya, her inner journalist's spirit was burning fiercely. She also claimed she didn't need food.
Afterward, Yuto left the bar counter and approached the table where Yakumo Yukari and Yuyuko were sitting.
As Yukari's shikigami and servant, the fox girl sat quietly by the table holding Chen.
Yuto noticed that the unfamiliar girl always looked at Yuyuko with respect.
'She must be Yuyuko's subordinate or servant,' he thought.
His gaze also lingered on the floating ghost hovering beside her.
It looked like a fluffy cotton candy, and Yuto wondered what it would feel like to touch.
"Where's your server, Boss?"
Yukari's purple eyes sparkled with amusement as she teased Yuto.
This playful demeanor was typical of Yakumo Yukari, at least in Yuto's experience.
The beautiful woman always observed everything with a teasing, playful gaze, her smile never fading.
Yukari was referring to Tohru.
Yuto chuckled awkwardly. Although the question was about his employee, he, as the boss, felt helpless in the situation.
"She must have run into something on the way and is running late," he said apologetically.
'Maybe Tohru really did encounter some trouble.' Yuto tried to console himself about the employee's tardiness.
"Heh~ your employee is quite interesting," Yukari chuckled softly, her radiant smile making her even more dazzling than before.
Yuto sighed and asked what she wanted to eat.
Ran and Chen, cradled in her arms, remained calm as usual, while Yuyuko offered a dazed smile.
She said she'd eat anything Yuto made, but no matter what it was, she needed ten portions!
Yuto had witnessed Yuyuko's appetite before, so he wasn't surprised.
He couldn't help but think, 'If someone like Yuyuko went to a buffet... The owner would probably cry.'