"Welcome. Please take any seat you like. If you would like to order something, just tell me what you want to eat."
When the door opened, Yuto was still in the kitchen with his back turned, busy cooking.
Since he could not step away from the stove at that moment, he simply called out a greeting.
A few seconds passed, however, and no response came from the newcomers.
Confused, Yuto turned toward the dining area.
The moment he saw the strange, silent standoff outside the kitchen, his brows furrowed slightly.
He gave Erina a few quick instructions before stepping out.
His appearance immediately drew Sirzechs's attention.
The red-haired Satan shifted his gaze away from Rias and quietly studied Yuto instead.
His expression remained perfectly composed, revealing nothing about what he might be thinking.
Yuto glanced between Sirzechs and Rias.
He could already make a reasonable guess about the man's identity.
"You must be Rias's older brother?" Yuto asked with a calm smile.
Those words finally broke the heavy silence hanging over the restaurant.
Ainz and the others openly watched Sirzechs, while several more gazes—some obvious, others carefully concealed—were also fixed upon him.
Rias, meanwhile, remained tense and downcast.
She had already avoided Sirzechs's eyes when he first looked at her, and now that Yuto had directly addressed him, her nervousness only became worse.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, as though someone were beating a war drum inside her.
"That is correct. Rias has caused you trouble by staying here."
Sirzechs offered a warm smile.
"As her older brother, I apologize on her behalf. I would also like to thank you for taking her in."
His manners were flawless.
With that gentle expression, he looked almost like an ordinary, friendly older brother from next door.
Of course, considering his true identity, appearances could hardly be trusted so easily.
Yuto quietly considered him.
Judging from Sirzechs's attitude, the man did not appear to have come looking for trouble.
If anything, he resembled an ordinary older brother who had come to retrieve his younger sister after she ran away from home following an argument.
"If you do not mind, why not take a seat first? I still have several dishes to finish. Once I am done, we can talk properly. Would that be all right?"
Yuto gestured toward the remaining empty seats beside the counter.
"Of course. Then I will accept your hospitality."
Sirzechs maintained his gentle smile as he took the seat Yuto indicated.
For the moment, he was the only person sitting on that side of the counter.
Grayfia remained standing respectfully behind him, her expression showing none of the cold hostility she had displayed the previous night.
"Grayfia, sit down as well."
Sirzechs lightly patted the empty seat beside him.
"Yes, Lord Lucifer."
Grayfia answered respectfully before taking her place.
Once seated, she glanced expressionlessly toward Ainz and the others.
Her eyes were cold.
Naturally, Ainz and Rimuru had no intention of backing down either.
The crimson lights burning inside Ainz's eye sockets practically looked like they were about to become laser beams.
"Oh, right. Would either of you like something to eat?"
Yuto looked toward Sirzechs and Grayfia.
The Satan paused briefly, apparently not expecting the question, but his smile returned almost immediately.
"Now that you mention it, I am somewhat hungry. In that case, I will trouble you for a steak, Boss. And make it rare, please. Thank you."
Sirzechs then glanced toward Grayfia.
She clearly had no appetite.
After what had happened in the restaurant the previous night, calmly sitting here and eating was probably the last thing on her mind.
"All right. It may take a little while, since I still have several orders ahead of yours."
"That is perfectly fine. My schedule is fairly relaxed today."
Sirzechs smiled.
Yuto nodded and returned to the kitchen.
Grayfia, however, gave Sirzechs a strange look.
As his secretary, she knew his schedule better than anyone else.
Today was most certainly not relaxed.
"Rias, are you not going to greet your brother?"
Sirzechs turned toward Rias, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange.
There was no reproach in his voice.
If anything, he sounded exceptionally gentle, with only a faint trace of helplessness beneath it.
Rias kept her head lowered like a flower battered by a storm.
Pain briefly appeared in Sirzechs's eyes.
His little sister should not look like this!
"Onii-sama..."
Only after he spoke first did Rias finally whisper the words.
Her voice was barely louder than a breath—weak, uncertain, and perfectly reflecting the confusion inside her heart.
Sirzechs sighed softly.
Rias had never been afraid of him like this before.
For the moment, he decided not to press her any further.
He would speak with her properly after Yuto returned.
In her current state, Rias probably could not have a normal conversation with him anyway.
Not after everything unpleasant that had happened the previous night.
Sirzechs shifted his attention toward Ainz and the others.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"I assume the gentlemen who clashed with Grayfia last night were the two of you?"
"That is correct. What about it?"
Neither Ainz nor Rimuru yielded in the slightest.
Their tones were openly unfriendly.
Grayfia's expression immediately darkened.
She could tolerate hostility toward herself, but disrespect toward Lord Lucifer was another matter entirely.
Before she could react, however, Sirzechs quietly placed one hand over hers.
Grayfia could only take several deep breaths and force herself to remain still, though the glare she directed toward Ainz and Rimuru looked sharp enough to cut them apart.
"Please do not misunderstand. I did not come here with hostile intentions."
Sirzechs remained perfectly calm.
"In fact, I came to apologize for Grayfia's discourtesy last night. I hope the two of you can forgive her."
His apology caught both Ainz and Rimuru completely off guard.
Neither had expected anything like this.
For a moment, Ainz felt foolish.
He had spent the entire day imagining how he would outmaneuver and confront the mighty Satan when he finally arrived.
Only for Sirzechs to walk through the door and immediately apologize!
"Lord Lucifer, why would you—"
"Grayfia."
She tried to question him, but Sirzechs stopped her with a stern look.
It was an expression he rarely showed.
Whenever it appeared, Grayfia knew he was completely serious.
"Hey. Do you really think an apology is enough?"
While Ainz and Rimuru were still trying to process the unexpected turn of events, Tohru had somehow appeared beside the counter.
"Your maid openly threatened the Boss last night. If something like that can be settled with a simple apology, do you not think that is a little too convenient?"
Unlike Ainz and Rimuru, Tohru's anger had not faded nearly so easily.
At their core, Ainz and Rimuru still approached situations with a largely human sense of reason.
Tohru was different.
She was a dragon.
Compared with humans, dragons tended to think far more directly.
Once someone offended or threatened something a dragon considered precious, earning forgiveness afterward was extraordinarily difficult.
And Tohru certainly did not care that the man sitting across from her carried the title of Satan.
Why should she be afraid?
It was not as though he was the only person with someone terrifying behind him.
She had her father too!
"Who are you?"
Grayfia looked coldly at Tohru.
"You dare speak to Lord Lucifer with such disrespect? Have you considered what consequences that might bring?"
Grayfia had not met Tohru the previous night, so she had no idea who or what the dragon girl truly was.
At the moment, all she saw was someone openly insulting the person she served.
Ainz and Rimuru had been unfriendly as well, but even they had not been as direct and aggressive as Tohru.
Grayfia's patience had limits.
"Hmph! If I had been here last night, the moment you disrespected Boss, you would already have been reduced to scraps beneath my feet."
Tohru folded her arms and snorted.
"I am nowhere near as easygoing as that pile of bones."
Ainz was suddenly struck by friendly fire.
He stared at her blankly.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Grayfia's gaze became even colder.
"Then why do we not step outside right now and settle the matter ourselves? We can let the result decide which one of us is actually trash."
Her aura began to churn.
Driven by anger, traces of demonic power leaked from her body, and the temperature inside the restaurant visibly dropped under the pressure of that escaping magic.
It was almost like a signal.
The first arrow fired between two armies already facing one another across a battlefield.
And once that first arrow was released, there was usually only one meaning behind it.
A declaration of war!
The atmosphere inside the restaurant changed instantly.
In the very next moment, several gazes descended upon Grayfia at once.
The sensation was almost absurdly overwhelming, as though a single blade of grass had suddenly found itself surrounded by a pack of ancient beasts.
Grayfia had never experienced pressure like this before.
For a moment, it felt as though she were standing face-to-face with the gods.
The weight pressing down upon her was so enormous that she could not even move.
The demonic power leaking from her body disappeared instantly, scattered like mist beneath a violent wind.
Even her face turned noticeably pale.
Sirzechs frowned.
He had remained courteous ever since entering the restaurant.
That did not mean he was someone who could be casually provoked.
The fact that he bore the title of Satan already said enough about both his strength and the means he possessed.
"Everyone, threatening one of my people directly in front of me is hardly a friendly gesture." Sirzechs spoke calmly.
He placed one hand on Grayfia's shoulder, and only then did some color gradually return to her face.
The overwhelming gazes that had been crushing her shifted toward Sirzechs instead.
Compared with Grayfia, the Satan remained much calmer.
Even so, he did not dare underestimate the situation.
Internally, he had already raised his guard to the highest level.
"If an apology is insufficient, then may I ask what sort of compensation this young lady would consider appropriate?"
Sirzechs looked quietly at Tohru, his expression remaining completely composed.
At the same time, an invisible pressure began radiating from him.
It was not wild or overwhelming in the same way as Grayfia's demonic power.
Instead, it was the natural authority of someone who had spent many years standing at the highest level of power.
Quiet.
Heavy.
Unmistakable.
Tohru's expression became cautious.
Something about Sirzechs reminded her faintly of her own father.
For once, she did not immediately respond.
The restaurant fell silent again.
Then someone finally spoke.
"Come on, everyone. Calm down."
Saitama spread his hands helplessly.
"This is a restaurant. Do not make the atmosphere so tense. Kamisaka is going to be annoyed when he comes out."
His plain, almost casual words broke the deadlock.
The oppressive atmosphere gradually dispersed.
The gazes fixed upon Sirzechs moved away, and Tohru puffed out her cheeks before sitting back down.
Sirzechs secretly relaxed as well.
Even he had found it uncomfortable being watched by so many overwhelmingly dangerous people at the same time.
If a real conflict had broken out just now, Sirzechs was not confident that he and Grayfia could have escaped without injury.
Thinking that, he gave Saitama a grateful look.
At the same time, curiosity quietly appeared in his heart.
He had not expected such an utterly ordinary-looking man to carry enough weight that everyone immediately listened the moment he spoke.
Sirzechs could not help wondering why.
"That is right. Saitama is correct. Do not make the restaurant athmosphere so tense. How is anyone supposed to enjoy their food like this?"
At that moment, Yuto emerged from the kitchen carrying a large tray filled with dishes.
Most of them belonged to the Gensokyo group.
He set the tray down in front of Tohru.
"Tohru, take these to the customers."
"Okay!"
The dragon girl immediately answered with renewed enthusiasm and carried the dishes toward the tables.
Yuto returned to the kitchen, then came back a short while later carrying a freshly cooked steak.
Its surface had been lightly seared, while the center remained tender and reddish.
Rare.
Exactly as Sirzechs had requested.
Yuto placed the plate in front of him with a smile.
"Sorry about that. My employee has a bit of a short temper. And here is your steak. Thank you for waiting."
"Not at all. The fault originally lay on my side, so I can hardly blame her."
Sirzechs smiled faintly as he looked down at the plate.
"Besides, Boss, your cooking truly is impeccable. Just smelling this steak is enough to make me hungry."
He cut off a piece with his knife and fork and placed it elegantly into his mouth.
His eyes immediately brightened.
However, after tasting only that single bite, Sirzechs set down his utensils and looked directly toward Yuto.
The meaning behind his gaze was obvious.
It was time to continue the conversation they had postponed earlier.
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