Kikumaru Diner.
This was a century-old restaurant with a storied past.
The dining area wasn't large; just over a dozen diners would fill it.
A light blue noren hung at the entrance, adorned with black circles enclosing the characters for "set meals."
The Kikumaru couple were busy preparing for the imminent lunch rush.
Without prepped ingredients, handling the incoming wave of customers would be a challenge.
The Jade Dragon Flag event would draw visitors from out of town and hundreds of student teams, with a footfall of over fifteen thousand people—failing to cope would simply mean incompetence.
Businesses and inns around Marlin Mercer longed for competitions every day so they could count money all day long.
"Old man, which high school do you reckon will claim the Jade Dragon Flag this year?"
