As a good boss, Yuto naturally had to care about his employee.
Besides, he was also genuinely curious about what Tohru was thinking.
So he walked over.
"Ah, Boss?"
Tohru looked at him with some confusion.
The dragon girl's beautiful orange-gold vertical pupils stared at Yuto in a dazed, innocent way, like a child who knew nothing about the world.
"What are you thinking about?" Yuto asked curiously.
Tohru scratched her head.
"I just feel like the power inside that woman is really strange."
By "that woman," Tohru was naturally referring to Tokisaki Kurumi.
Following the dragon girl's words, Yuto turned his head and glanced at the girl who was currently sitting nearby, chatting happily with Ainz and Rimuru.
Kurumi noticed his gaze.
She even met Yuto's eyes on purpose, smiling softly at him. Even such a simple movement carried a wordless charm.
Yuto returned a polite smile, then turned back to Tohru.
Although Kurumi was indeed cute and captivating, making Yuto flustered with just that much was still far too early.
"Very strange? Strange how?"
Yuto looked at Tohru with some confusion.
That question immediately put the dragon girl in a difficult spot.
How was she supposed to describe it?
This was way too hard for a dragon!
Tohru looked like her mind had gotten stuck. She kept scratching her head and shaking it, unable to explain.
Seeing his dragon girl like this, Yuto could not help smiling helplessly.
"Anyway, it's just very strange. I can't really explain it..."
"It's fine. If you can't explain it, then forget it."
Seeing Tohru so troubled that she looked like she was almost about to cry, Yuto could only comfort her.
This was not anything urgent to begin with.
No matter how strange Kurumi's power was, it did not affect Yuto's restaurant.
Besides, since when had the restaurant ever lacked strange customers?
"There's one more thing, though, Boss."
Yuto looked at Tohru with slight curiosity.
"There's a smell of blood on her. It's very faint, but it should be human blood." Tohru said it very casually.
There was not the slightest fear or horror on her face.
After all, she was a princess who had fought on the front line of the war between dragons and humans.
It was only the smell of blood. She had long since grown used to it.
Moreover, such a faint scent was truly nothing compared to the battlefields she had once known.
After Tohru said that, Kanna also nodded in her usual dazed way.
"I smelled it too."
Kanna looked at Yuto and spoke blankly.
Her dazed expression paired with such calm words made her look especially adorable.
Yuto could not help stroking Kanna's little head.
The little girl's eyes narrowed slightly, as if she were enjoying it very much.
"Hehe~~~ Boss, my nose is very sharp!"
Tohru boasted proudly.
The dragon girl's thought process really was different from that of humans.
Yuto did not say anything to dampen Tohru's mood. He merely smiled and nodded to her.
That made the dragon girl even happier!
Because of Tohru and Kanna's words, Yuto began thinking quietly.
However, after only a short while, he sighed softly and stopped.
No matter what Kurumi had experienced, it had nothing to do with him right now.
At this moment, she was just his customer.
There was no need to ask too much or think too deeply. It was enough to simply treat her as a customer.
"Even if you notice something unusual, don't go asking about someone else's personal affairs. That's their privacy, not something meant to satisfy our curiosity."
"Tohru, do you understand?"
Yuto gave a reminder, paying special attention to Tohru.
After all, the dragon girl's earlier obsession with Icha Icha Paradise had left a deep impression on him.
He was worried that Tohru, whose thought process often differed from ordinary people, might directly walk over to Kurumi and start asking strange questions.
That kind of situation... could really happen.
"Mm."
Kanna obediently answered.
Tohru, however, looked a little unwilling.
"I'm not interested in that woman! Boss, don't think of me like that!"
Faced with the dragon girl's somewhat spoiled complaint, Yuto smiled softly and patted her head.
"All right, I know."
Yuto smiled, then temporarily walked away.
Behind him, Erina and Hisako curiously asked Tohru and Kanna about what had just happened.
A mysterious, beautiful girl with the faint scent of blood on her...
That was still the kind of thing that easily drew the attention of ordinary people.
...
When Yuto returned to Kurumi's side, he saw that more than half of the black tea in her cup was already gone.
"Would you like another cup?"
Although the cups used for alcohol in the restaurant were large, the cups used for tea were not.
Whenever Yuto used those cups to drink water himself, he had to drink several cups in one go.
"No need." Kurumi smiled softly and waved her hand.
Her posture carried the elegance of a proper young lady, graceful and beautiful.
Seeing a girl like this gave Yuto an almost unbelievable feeling.
He believed Tohru and Kanna would not lie to him.
Precisely because of that, he found it a little hard to accept.
A young lady like her, with her hands stained by human blood... that really was not something easy to imagine.
"My my, Boss, are you thinking about something?"
Kurumi covered her mouth and laughed softly.
Through the gaps between her fingers, one could still see the curve of her lips.
It was a very captivating little detail.
Yuto realized that he had been a little distracted just now.
He smiled apologetically.
"Sorry."
His apology caused faint amusement to appear in Kurumi's eyes.
"Speaking of which, Boss, what is your name?"
"Kamisaka Yuto."
Kurumi looked at him with a smile.
"Then, may I call you Yuto-kun from now on? In return, you may call me Kurumi."
Kurumi lightly touched her lips with her finger.
As she moved, the eye that had been covered by her hair faintly revealed its full appearance.
It was a very unusual eye.
Unlike an ordinary pupil, that eye was shaped like a golden clock.
That strange eye made her seem even more mysterious.
"Is it really all right to call each other name when this is only our first meeting?"
Yuto smiled somewhat helplessly.
"It's~ all~ right~" Kurumi said each word slowly, her expression completely adorable.
...
Yuto agreed to her request.
From that point on, the way they addressed each other changed as well.
Since the girl herself did not mind, there was nothing for Yuto to fuss over.
"Kurumi-chan, what do you usually like?"
Likewise, Kurumi did not mind Rimuru and the others calling her by name.
Faced with Rimuru's question, Kurumi laughed softly, then raised a finger and placed it against her chin.
She looked as if she were thinking seriously for a moment. Then the corner of her lips curved into a mysterious smile.
"As for my hobbies... they're a secret~~~"
Rimuru had already started getting expectant because of her deliberately drawn-out tone, only for the girl to suddenly reveal a playful side and say, "It's a secret."
That sudden contrast not only failed to make Rimuru angry, but instead made him even happier.
Seeing that, the corner of Yuto's eye could not help twitching.
"Speaking of which, Kurumi, since you're a Spirit... does that mean there are other Spirits in your world?"
"Mm... Mm-hm, there are."
Kurumi smiled softly and answered Yuto's question.
Her magnificent eyes shimmered beautifully under the lights, making her smile look even more lovely.
Only, for some unknown reason, as Yuto looked at that smile, he felt an indescribable sadness stir in his heart.
The feeling appeared for only an instant before disappearing.
It was so brief that even Yuto wondered whether he had imagined it.
"Eh—then, Kurumi-chan, do you know those Spirits?" Rimuru asked curiously.
"I only know some of them."
Kurumi thought briefly before speaking.
The smile still remained on her lips.
As she spoke, the restaurant door opened.
Yuto turned his attention toward the doorway and saw Eris, who had not come by for the past few days.
This relatively reliable and proper goddess came alone today.
Aqua was not with her like last time so Eris was still as perfect as usual.
But, the expression on her face seemed a little tense.
"Eris."
Yuto called her name, and she smiled back at him.
Her arrival also brought surprise to Ainz and Rimuru.
When Eris had first come to the restaurant, the most excited ones had been none other than Ainz and Rimuru.
These two, who had muddled their way into reincarnating in other worlds, deeply wished that they too had had a goddess like Eris helping them reincarnate at the time!
Because of that, the two of them had a very favorable impression of Eris.