Two plates of food sat in front of Kobayashi Tetsu.
One was pork cutlet rice.
The other… was also pork cutlet rice.
One had chili soy sauce on it.
The other… also had chili soy sauce on it.
Kobayashi Tetsu lowered his head and stared at the side dishes of the pork cutlet rice: shredded cabbage and a simple pickled white radish. In a little lacquered bowl was a small portion—probably just a few sips—of miso soup with pieces of tofu floating in the brown broth.
"I'm gonna dig in."
Kobayashi Tetsu pressed his hands together briefly, then picked up his chopsticks. His first bite was, of course, the pork cutlet covered in chili soy sauce. Breaded and deep-fried, pork cutlet was unquestionably the king of all rice companions.
With the crisp crunch of kachi kachi, Kobayashi Tetsu enjoyed the meal to his heart's content.
He'd heard that pork cutlet rice held such irresistible power in Japan that it was often used to make criminals confess.
Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't a criminal, but he loved it all the same.
He just liked this greasy, deep-fried junk food!
The door chimed. Kobayashi Tetsu glanced over and saw a girl run inside, beads of sweat visible on her face and hands, her tea-colored hair slightly mussed.
He recognized her. He'd seen her earlier when he came to buy water.
Other staff immediately gathered around her.
"Senpai, you're here!"
"Senpai, I don't know how to make this."
"Senpai, what about the home delivery order?"
"Neezaki-san, I think something's wrong with the pork cutlet marinade."
Kobayashi Tetsu leaned back in surprise.
He hadn't expected this girl to be someone so important in this family restaurant!
What he couldn't understand was why even the store manager was asking a part-time worker for advice.
"Well, that's unexpected."
Shaking his head slightly, Kobayashi Tetsu picked up the packed pork cutlet rice, preparing to bring it back for Nakayuuji.
He figured Nakayuuji was still in the garage right now, working on electronic synthesizer music while waiting for lunch.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu was about to leave, rapid footsteps approached. He looked up to see the same waitress holding a tray, jogging toward him.
"I'm sorry to bother you, customer. My name is Neezaki."
Kobayashi Tetsu replied and glanced at the name tag on her chest—two simple Roman letters.
"Nene." So her full name should be Neezaki Nene.
His gaze lifted, hidden under the shadow of his cap brim.
"So? What is it, Neezaki-san?"
Neezaki Nene held the tray with both hands and said softly, "It's like this—just now, I heard the junior staff talking about humming a tune. That song is actually a slightly modified version of our school song."
"Oh? So it was Neezaki-san who taught them," Kobayashi Tetsu nodded casually.
It did sound pretty good.
But it still had nothing to do with the music he wanted for Tank Battle.
"Do you have paper and pen?"
The sudden request clearly caught her off guard, but Neezaki Nene quickly went to the front counter and came back with them.
Kobayashi Tetsu tested the pen—smooth enough—and drew a simple line of heart-rate-like waves.
"I once heard a tune that was pretty interesting, but I don't know much about musical rhythm. I only remember roughly how the pitch rises and falls. Could you try humming it for me?"
"Um… this…"
Neezaki looked troubled.
This definitely wasn't part of restaurant service.
Kobayashi Tetsu spread his hands. "There aren't any other customers right now."
He glanced at the manager, who showed a look of tacit approval.
Kobayashi Tetsu took out two 1,000-yen bills.
"As compensation for interrupting your work—please help me a bit. I really want to hear this song. I'd hate to miss this chance."
Two thousand yen.
In modern terms, that was nearly 100 RMB.
Neezaki Nene hesitated for a long moment before finally nodding.
"All right. Since there aren't other customers."
As she studied the paper, Kobayashi Tetsu gestured toward the opposite chair, inviting her to sit.
"Waiter? Sorry—can you serve us? What's this special drink? Two, please."
Soon, two drinks with lemon slices were delivered—one for him, one pushed toward her.
Kobayashi Tetsu took a big sip and shook his head.
What the hell? This tasted awful. And it cost him 480 yen.
It wasn't even as good as the 4-yuan lemon water from Mixue back home.
And Mixue Honey Snow was insane—they were opening stores in Australia now.
His mind drifted. He looked at the girl across from him—her flax-colored hair falling to the side, partly hiding the beauty mark beneath her eye. She hummed the melody in broken segments.
"Dun dun… dunnn…"
After a while, Neezaki Nene lifted her head and hummed a short segment.
"Like this?"
Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head.
"Not quite. Try again."
Neezaki lowered her head and studied the rough melody once more.
Resting his chin on his hand, Kobayashi Tetsu casually asked, "Nene—Is that the Nene from Hokusei School?"
"No." She didn't look up. "Monkeys. Don't like them."
"Oh?" Kobayashi Tetsu chuckled at her swift reply. "Then what do you like? Lions? Tigers? Dragons? Wolves? Demon Kings?"
Neezaki Nene looked up, meeting his gaze, answering seriously:
"Tanuki."
That truly surprised him.
"Oh? Incredible. Why tanuki?"
"Because…" Neezaki thought for a moment, then brushed her hair aside and smiled shyly. "Because tanuki are cute."
Time passed as she hummed several more times.
Finally, on the fourth try—
Kobayashi Tetsu's eyes lit up.
"That's it!" He clapped his hands. "That's the feeling! Please remember this melody. If you can, write a simple staff notation or numbered music sheet for me. Please—this is really important!"
This was the tune he had carefully chosen—Konami's finest!
The music from Contra!
Dun-dun de-de du-du de-de dun, dun-dun de-de du, dun, dun-dun de-de du…
Kobayashi Tetsu couldn't compose. He only remembered the general rise and fall of the melody. As long as someone could hum it, that was enough—he would leave the rest to Nakayuuji.
Speaking of Nakayuuji—
Kobayashi Tetsu suddenly lowered his gaze to the packed pork cutlet rice on the table.
He'd promised to bring Nakayuuji lunch. But he got distracted the moment he walked out!
Right now, Nakayuuji was still waiting in the garage… for a lunch that never came!
"It's fine. Skipping one meal won't kill him. I already ate on his behalf."
When Neezaki finished writing the sheet music, Kobayashi Tetsu gratefully received it.
"Thank you so much! This sheet music is really important to me."
He grabbed the pork cutlet rice and rushed out of the family restaurant.
If he didn't hurry back, Nakayuuji might actually starve.
Before leaving, Kobayashi Tetsu glanced at the restaurant's clock.
Thankfully—it wasn't too late. Only a little past four. Nakayuuji should still be hanging in there.
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