"Tempura, fried salmon, miso soup, and rice. Enjoy."
Yuto carried over a tray and placed the dishes one by one in front of Senzaemon.
The old man was already visibly impatient.
He lowered his head, closed his eyes, and drew in a long breath, savoring the combined aroma rising from the food.
The scent alone seemed to shave several years off his face.
"Ah... Just smelling this is enough to wake a man right up!"
Senzaemon picked up a piece of tempura with his chopsticks and bit into it.
Crunch.
A look of complete satisfaction immediately spread across his face.
Watching from nearby, Erina sighed helplessly.
She really wished her grandfather could show just a little more dignity.
"Mr. Nakiri really does love tempura, doesn't he?"
An envious voice came from beside him.
Ainz and Rimuru were sitting at the counter as well. The two had arrived together just as Yuto began frying the tempura.
Neither of them had ordered anything.
They were not even playing their game.
"Hahaha! If it were ordinary tempura, of course I wouldn't eat it this often," Senzaemon replied. "Only Kamisaka's tempura is worth having day after day!"
The question had come from Ainz.
He had been one of the restaurant's regulars even before becoming a walking skeleton, so he and Senzaemon had known each other for quite some time.
"Speaking of Kamisaka's cooking..." Ainz let out a miserable sigh. "I'll probably never get to eat it again for the rest of my life. It's unbearable! Every day, all I can do is remember how those dishes used to taste, and now I can't even drink water."
His dejection was genuine.
Back when he had still been human, one of the greatest comforts in his daily life had been coming here and eating Yuto's cooking.
Ever since becoming a skeleton, however, eating and drinking had become nothing more than a distant fantasy.
In some ways, it certainly made life more convenient.
Unfortunately, it had also taken away a great many simple pleasures.
"Hmm... Getting a skeleton to enjoy food does sound rather difficult."
Senzaemon thought about it for a moment before laughing.
"Hahaha..."
Ainz somehow looked even more depressed.
"Good thing I became a slime," Rimuru said. "I can still eat."
He had complained plenty about becoming a slime in the past.
Compared with Ainz, though, he suddenly felt remarkably fortunate.
Being a slime was definitely better.
"What's going on with you two today?"
Yuto looked at them curiously.
"You came unusually early, you aren't playing games, and Rimuru hasn't ordered anything either. Are you waiting for Fafnir so the three of you can play together?"
"Of course not. We came this early because of you, Kamisaka!"
"Exactly! We came early for you, Boss!"
Their perfectly synchronized answer only confused Yuto more.
"Hmm? Do you need my help with something?"
That was the first possibility that came to mind.
Both immediately denied it.
"Seriously, Kamisaka, aren't you worried at all?" Ainz asked. "What that woman said last night was clearly a threat."
"Exactly," Rimuru added. "Boss, how are you this calm? Aren't you worried?"
Yuto finally understood.
"So the two of you came here because..."
"Do you even need to ask?" Ainz said solemnly. "We're here to back you up. I want to see just how impressive this so-called Satan really is. If he comes here looking for trouble, I have no intention of letting him leave peacefully."
"Same here!" Rimuru declared. "This restaurant is the only place where I can properly interact with the outside world again, and Boss has helped me plenty. There's no way I'm letting someone come here and cause trouble!"
Both of them were completely serious.
A smile slowly appeared on Yuto's face.
They might constantly tease one another on ordinary days, but whenever something serious happened, everyone became remarkably dependable.
Without anyone quite realizing it, the regulars who gathered at the restaurant had formed a strange little circle of their own.
They came from completely different worlds and often knew surprisingly little about one another.
Yet at the same time, they had somehow become familiar enough to trust each other.
The thing connecting all of them was this restaurant.
And, in a way, Yuto himself.
"Thank you. I really am touched, but I still have to say it—the restaurant's problems are mine to deal with."
"When the freezer broke, we helped fix it," Ainz replied immediately. "We also helped renovate and expand the restaurant. Why is this suddenly something you have to deal with alone?"
"Exactly," Rimuru said. "Boss, there's no need to act tough at a time like this."
Yuto smiled helplessly.
A quiet sigh escaped him as warmth spread through his chest.
If Ainz and Rimuru were this determined, there was no point trying to drive them away.
That was part of what made friends valuable.
"All right."
Yuto smiled.
"Then I'll be counting on you."
Ainz and Rimuru nodded seriously, both immediately adopting expressions as though they were preparing for war.
"Is the restaurant in some kind of trouble?"
Senzaemon had put down his chopsticks and was now looking at Yuto with a grave expression.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Yuto shook his head.
"It's nothing. Just keep eating."
He gestured toward the food.
Senzaemon nodded and resumed his meal, though not before making it clear that Yuto only had to ask if he ever needed anything.
"I'm sorry, Boss. This is all because of me..."
Rias walked over, guilt written across her face.
She had been quietly reading before, but hearing Ainz and Rimuru discuss the situation had dragged her thoughts back to the night before.
Everything had begun because of her.
If she had not impulsively fled into the restaurant, none of this would have happened.
"I already told you, there's no need to keep apologizing."
Yuto looked at her calmly.
"Whatever happens from this point on is my concern. Relax."
His reassurance worked surprisingly well.
The guilt on Rias's face gradually faded, replaced by calmness and the faintest blush.
Who knew what she had started thinking about now.
"What exactly happened?"
Utaha looked over with undisguised curiosity.
"Can you tell me the whole story? I really want to hear it."
"Just eat your food," Yuto replied. "Stop being so curious. Haven't you heard that curiosity killed the cat, Kasumigaoka-san?"
"Hmph. Stingy."
Utaha gave a small huff and returned to her stir-fried soba.
Her table manners remained elegant, though she was eating unusually slowly.
Almost as though she were deliberately stretching out the meal so she could stay longer.
"If I'd been here last night, I definitely would've taught that rude woman a lesson!"
Tohru angrily flexed her claws.
Beside her, Kanna remained trapped in the inescapable paradise of mathematics.
Her eyes were practically spinning.
"Stop talking and help Kanna with her math," Yuto said. "If she doesn't finish, you're not doing anything else either."
"Waaah... Boss is so cruel..."
Tohru miserably turned back toward the workbook.
She shook Kanna out of her daze, then stared at her with a mixture of urgency and despair.
"Kanna, stop spacing out! Hurry up and solve them!"
"Oh."
Kanna sluggishly returned to the problems.
Judging by her expression, though, she was only seconds away from drifting into another trance.
"Hmm? This fried salmon..."
At that moment, Senzaemon paused after tasting the salmon Erina had prepared.
He had assumed every dish in front of him had been cooked by Yuto.
The instant the fish entered his mouth, however, he sensed something different.
The flavor was deeply familiar.
And yet something within it had changed.
"What is it?" Yuto asked with a smile.
Nearby, Erina visibly tensed.
She had cooked countless dishes for her grandfather over the years, and every time he tasted one, she inevitably became nervous.
Today, however, the tension was far stronger than usual.
"Hmm..."
Senzaemon carefully savored the salmon.
"Good. Very good. Truly excellent."
A smile appeared on his face, along with unmistakable relief and satisfaction.
He glanced toward Erina and gave her a small nod.
The tension immediately left her shoulders.
After swallowing, Senzaemon slowly exhaled.
His heart, however, was anything but calm.
Of course he knew Erina had cooked it.
He had eaten his granddaughter's cooking countless times.
As the man known as the Food Demon, his ability to judge cuisine naturally went far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Even the exact same dish could leave completely different impressions depending on who prepared it.
Erina's cooking had always been magnificent.
Refined.
Beautiful.
Proud.
The moment someone tasted it, they could feel the aloofness embedded within the dish.
It had been a reflection of Erina herself.
Her food had always been exceptional in both flavor and presentation.
Yet somewhere at the very foundation, something had always felt slightly wrong.
It was like constructing a house.
The foundation was not weak.
It had simply been built a little off-center.
Senzaemon could taste that subtle imbalance.
And he knew exactly where it came from.
The darkness of Erina's childhood.
Even after so many years, those experiences remained buried deep in her heart, quietly shaping her understanding of food to this day.
Senzaemon had always blamed himself for what happened.
If he had paid closer attention to Erina back then, perhaps none of it would have occurred.
But time could not be turned backward.
Fortunately, Yuto had appeared.
There was something unusual about his cooking.
Something capable of reaching into the deepest part of a person's heart.
That had given Senzaemon an idea.
Food could influence people.
Just as someone's environment could shape their personality, perhaps cuisine could do the same.
Back then, that man had used cooking and suffocating pressure to scar young Erina's understanding of food.
So perhaps Yuto's cooking could slowly guide her in the opposite direction.
The moment Senzaemon thought of that possibility, he decided it was worth trying.
Even if there was only the smallest chance, he had been willing to gamble on it.
And now, after tasting Erina's cooking again, he could finally relax.
His guess had been right.
Erina really had changed.
Her food now carried a warmth and emotion that had never been there before.
That warmth softened the lofty elegance of her cooking, making it feel more welcoming without sacrificing any of its brilliance.
It was like a new flower slowly blooming among the thorns of a rose.
Erina had stepped onto a different path.
A brighter, broader one than before.
Warm sunlight illuminated the road beneath her feet, while brilliant golden light seemed to wait somewhere in the distance.
'Erina, you really have grown.'
Senzaemon thought with genuine pride.
Then his gaze shifted toward Yuto.
The satisfaction and admiration in his eyes became even stronger.
Now he wanted the boy to marry his granddaughter even more.
Yuto coughed twice.
For some reason, Senzaemon's stare had suddenly become rather strange.
It reminded him far too much of the way Grandma Katou sometimes looked at him.
Slide—
The restaurant door opened, conveniently breaking the inexplicable atmosphere.
Yuto turned toward the entrance and immediately brightened.
It was Saitama.
He looked as blank and absent-minded as ever, carrying that same slightly foolish air around him.
His timing was perfect.
There was something Yuto had been meaning to tell him and for Saitama, it should be quite a surprise.