"Mmm... Ahh—!"
Miss Minos, completely unaware of the power of Dark Cuisine, casually picked up a few pieces of octopus and boldly put them into her mouth under everyone's gaze.
A few seconds later.
Miss Minos's body suddenly stiffened, her eyes widened, round as copper bells, and an expression of incredible shock appeared on her face.
Immediately after, Miss Minos's body began to tremble, as if she was struggling to resist something.
"She'll be alright, won't she?"
Hanamaki asked worriedly in a low voice.
"Don't worry," Chika said with her arms crossed, full of confidence, "There definitely won't be any problem."
It clearly looks like a big problem, doesn't it?
The expression on Miss Minos's face looked like she had reached her limit of endurance.
Maybe in the next second, she would lose control, flip the table, and then go on a rampage!
Thinking of this, Hanamaki couldn't help but secretly shrink her neck, already starting to consider how to dodge after Miss Minos went on a rampage.
As an ordinary player, it's not shameful to constantly think about escaping.
However, in the next second.
Miss Minos's taut body seemed to deflate, suddenly relaxing, and the heavy objects on her chest pressed directly onto the dining table, causing the entire table to tremble slightly.
The next moment.
A soft, trembling sound that made people blush instantly resounded through every corner of the restaurant.
"Eh eh eh?!"
Hanamaki widened her eyes, looking at Miss Minos in shock.
What's with that awful sound?
It was a sound of not wanting to, but the body's instinct couldn't be suppressed; the more one endured, the more it surged, finally turning into magma from the depths of the earth, erupting...
Even those long-established teachers in the adult film industry would find it difficult to produce such emotionally rich, heart-pounding works!
"Minos, how does the dish taste?"
Chika's pretty face was slightly flushed as she tilted her head and asked.
"J-just average..."
Miss Minos's voice trembled slightly as she gave a disingenuous evaluation.
Her mouth could be disingenuous, but her body was incredibly honest. Her chopsticks involuntarily reached out, picked up the Dark Cuisine, and then swiftly brought it to her mouth.
Mitsui Miss pursed her lips and softly said, "Dark Cuisine... Is it really that delicious?"
Kaguya reminded her, "It's very delicious for Strange Tales, but for humans, it might be poison. It's best not to try it."
"I know," Mitsui Miss nodded gently, "I'm just a little curious."
As she spoke, Natsuki came out from the back kitchen with another plate of Dark Cuisine, placed it in front of Yandere Kaguya, and smiled, "Kaguya, please enjoy."
To build a harem, one must first treat everyone equally. Even if it's not truly equal, there must be no visible difference.
Miss Minos, an outsider, had a dish. If Yandere Kaguya didn't, it would certainly be bad.
So, when making the Dark Cuisine, Natsuki made several servings at once, ensuring everyone was treated equally.
"Thank you for your hard work, Natsuki-kun."
Yandere Kaguya raised her hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, then elegantly picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the dish.
"Stare—"
Everyone looked towards Yandere Kaguya.
Even Miss Minos stopped eating and cast a concerned glance at Yandere Kaguya.
Under everyone's gaze, Yandere Kaguya maintained a cool and calm expression. With elegant movements, she brought the dish to her mouth.
A few seconds later, Yandere Kaguya's body trembled slightly, but she didn't make any sound. She then raised her chopsticks and continued to eat the Dark Cuisine, much to the disappointment of the surrounding girls.
"Eh, why is it like this?"
"I thought Kaguya-chan's reaction would be very strong."
"Break it up, break it up."
"..."
"Wait, there's one more dish."
Natsuki regretfully withdrew his gaze and turned to walk towards the kitchen.
As expected of Yandere Kaguya, elegant, incredibly elegant.
But still, he really wanted to hear her proud gasps...
A moment later.
Natsuki came out of the kitchen with another different Dark Cuisine dish, placed it on the empty seat by the table, and then summoned Mrs. Shimizu in her half-ghost form.
The restaurant was quite safe, so Mrs. Shimizu could come out for some fresh air.
"Wahhh~"
Mrs. Shimizu let out a mournful cry, her eyes almost overflowing with grievance and resentment:
"How mean! It's been so long, and you finally remembered Mama. As expected, once you have a boy you like, you'll forget Mama, won't you?"
"That's not true at all!"
Kaguya coughed lightly, feeling guilty, and changed the subject:
"Mama, hurry and eat the dish. This is a special Dark Cuisine made by the President. If you miss it, you don't know when you'll get to eat it again."
Natsuki handed over a pair of clean chopsticks and said, "Shimizu-nee, eat a bite first before talking."
After one bite of Dark Cuisine, Mrs. Shimizu no longer had any desire to complain, only a more charming and alluring tremor sounded.
"Ah..."
Although it was only one syllable, the trembling vocal line and the graceful undulations were even more captivating and alluring than Miss Minos's long-suppressed low hum.
At the same time.
Hanamaki, looking at the suddenly appearing Mrs. Shimizu, once again entered her brain Theater.
"Their appearances are seventy percent similar, and she called her 'Mama'... They must be mother and daughter, right?"
"Between twin sisters, you can have a [beep—] bowl."
"Now a ghost mother has appeared, and you can also have a [beep—] bowl..."
"Twins plus mother-daughter donburi, no man could resist this temptation!"
A flush of excitement spread across Hanamaki's face, her brain's little Theater becoming increasingly perverted.
"Kaguya-san, bite down on your towel. Mama and your sister are sleeping nearby, you don't want them to hear you, do you?"
"There's some rice on the floor under the table. Which of you three will pick it up?"
"One on top, one in front, and one in back for a massage..."
"..."
(It's... it's starting again!)
As various lewd scenes once again flooded her mind, Kaguya's body trembled slightly. She quickly lowered her head to look at her toes, her pearly teeth tightly biting her lower lip.
(She's even fantasizing about Mama and me together... Oh no! It's too lewd!)
(The President having a harem is barely tolerable, but if he wants oyakodon, that's just asking for death!)
Kaguya bit her lip tightly, but the temperature on her face inevitably rose again.
(I can't take it anymore.)
(I must quickly get the President to help reverse the side effects. I can't continue this lewd daydream for another second!)
Fortunately, not long after, a crisp sound quickly helped Kaguya escape her predicament.
Thwack!
After eating the last bite of Dark Cuisine, Miss Minos took a satisfied deep breath. Her employee uniform finally reached its limit and could no longer withstand the pressure. A button on her chest popped off with a 'thwack' and hit Hanamaki in the face with another 'thwack'.
"Oh my…!"
Hanamaki was startled, her thoughts of racing on Mount Akina finally pulling out of her imaginative Theater.
Natsuki subconsciously looked over, and the pristine white snow of Hokkaido instantly filled his vision, striking his heart and quickly occupying his entire mind.
For a moment, Natsuki even felt as if he had grasped the truth of the universe—
Big is good.
White is beautiful.
Caliber is justice.
Barrel length is truth.
The gravitational pull unleashed by Miss Minos ignored gender, not only attracting Natsuki's gaze but also captivating the eyes of several girls.
Kaguya was the first to regain her composure, her pretty face hardening as she bit down on her silver teeth and said:
"President, close your eyes!"
"Yes."
Natsuki came back to his senses, regretting as the universal truth he had just grasped slipped from his mind, while obediently closing his eyes and even turning his back.
"Minos, you're exposed." Chika also sobered up and quickly said, "Hurry and put your clothes on."
"So hot…" Miss Minos's eyes were moist and hazy, her face flushed, as she murmured, "Don't want to wear…"
As an anomaly, lacking a sense of shame was reasonable, and Minos didn't care at all about her exposure.
However, the other girls cared a lot.
Chika directly stood up, took off her own jacket, and draped it over Miss Minos:
"Just hurry up and put on your clothes, girls shouldn't be exposed!"
Miss Minos was quite resistant:
"I'm not human, don't try to bind me with human morals."
Natsuki said with his back turned:
"Minos, there's still a lot of ingredients, do you want another serving?"
Miss Minos sobered up slightly, her mouth wanting to refuse, but her body was exceptionally honest, blurting out:
"I want to eat!"
Natsuki smiled:
"The Dark Cuisine uses special ingredients, incredibly precious, usually I wouldn't bear to take them out… However, Minos, if you sign a contract and work for me, you can eat the same delicious dishes every day from now on."
Chika chimed in from the side:
"Minos, there are many ways to get revenge. You can eat so much that you make the President a pauper, that's also a way to get revenge."
Bang!
Miss Minos slammed the table in anger, originally wanting to fiercely refuse, to say with imposing aura that she'd rather starve than eat.
But the words that came to her lips turned into something else:
"…How many meals a day?"
Everyone: "…"
A Strange Tale will never be a slave, unless food and lodging are provided.
Of course, the reason Natsuki was so confident he could win over Miss Minos with Dark Cuisine was mainly because of the glaring 'tag' on her head—
Foodie.
As a foodie Strange Tale, no matter how angry she was before, a delicious meal could smooth over any past grievances.
Of course, this trick didn't work on everyone; if she didn't have the weakness of being a foodie, others would probably just wipe their mouths after eating and wouldn't agree to be recruited at all.
Natsuki extended a finger, musing:
"One meal a day?"
"No, one meal is too little." Miss Minos placed her oppai on the table to relieve the burden on her shoulders, saying aggressively, "I've met other humans, and I heard them say that you humans eat three meals a day."
"If it's ordinary cuisine, let alone three meals a day, even ten meals a day would be no problem." Natsuki said sincerely, "However, the ingredients used for Dark Cuisine are exceptionally precious, and one meal a day is already the limit. If it were anyone else, you wouldn't even be able to eat it if you wanted to."
"I can vouch, Natsuki isn't lying." Mrs. Shimizu recovered from the lingering daze, lazily raising her right hand, her voice charming, "I only get to eat Dark Cuisine once every few days. Normally, even if I act cute and spoiled, Natsuki won't make it for me… Kaguya, isn't what Mommy said true?"
Yandere Kaguya had also implemented the 'Clean Plate Policy'; unlike the others, aside from two blushes on her fair, doll-like face, no other abnormalities were apparent. Hearing this, she said calmly:
"Mommy didn't lie."
Hearing Yandere Kaguya's testimony, Miss Minos hesitated for a moment before huffing:
"One meal a day is fine… But there's one more thing you must agree to, otherwise don't even think about me signing the contract."
Natsuki said gently:
"Tell me."
Miss Minos snorted two streams of air from her nostrils:
"Don't even think about making me eat leeks again!"
Natsuki raised his right hand and guaranteed:
"If it happens again, I'll commit seppuku to apologize."
"…"
After some bargaining, Natsuki successfully signed an employee contract with Miss Minos, using the bargaining chip of one work meal per day. There were no guarantees like daily wages, paid leave, or social security and housing funds.
The dragon-slaying youth eventually became a wicked dragon.
He used to complain about ugly and shameless capitalists who should be hanged from lampposts, but he didn't realize that, unknowingly, Natsuki had also become an ugly capitalist exploiting his employees.
Clap!
As Natsuki and Miss Minos sealed their oath with a high-five, a contract brand quickly appeared on the back of their hands, then quietly vanished.
"Very good, the contract has been successfully signed."
Natsuki withdrew his right hand with satisfaction, then checked Miss Minos's innate abilities.
He had worked so hard to make Dark Cuisine, and even had to keep a smiling face, so there had to be something in it for him, right?
If he wasn't after Miss Minos's body, then of course, it was for her abilities.
"Ability… Invulnerability to all poisons."
As the name suggests, one of Miss Minos's innate abilities is a powerful resistance to poison.
Natsuki estimated that after sharing Miss Minos's ability, even if he were to eat on the streets of the three-country region for a week, devouring everything from green-juice crispy balls, armpit fried pancakes, to cow dung bread, he wouldn't turn into a projectile warrior.
Well, that might be a bit of a stretch.
As is well known, cows have four stomachs, and bezoar itself is a rather precious traditional medicinal material. Miss Minos's poison resistance likely stems from this, just like Yuuko's olfactory tracking, both are racial talents.
Natsuki continued to look down.
Besides the ability of invulnerability to all poisons, Miss Minos also had another talent.
"What goes in is grass, what comes out is milk… Indeed, no problem."
Miss Minos only needed to consume very low energy to produce 'food.' Her milk also had the effect of detoxifying and healing injuries. Not only that, long-term consumption also had the effect of promoting human development.
Upon seeing this, Natsuki couldn't help but look towards Kaguya.
"What is President looking at?"
Kaguya looked up, her eyes questioning.
"Nothing."
Natsuki shook his head, retracting his gaze.
Although both were milk, there was a fundamental difference between different cows. Let alone Kaguya, even he found it hard to swallow.
Couldn't drink it.
Absolutely couldn't drink it.
Overall, while Miss Minos's abilities weren't extremely strong, they were quite practical, which made Natsuki very satisfied.
"I remember now…"
A hand suddenly grabbed Natsuki's clothes corner and pulled hard.
Natsuki lowered his head, looking at the expectant Miss Minos, a question mark appearing above his head:
"Remember what?"
Miss Minos said expectantly:
"That dish you just made was for an apology, right?"
Natsuki nodded:
"That's right."
Miss Minos immediately extended her right hand, stating righteously:
"Since that's the case, then it doesn't count as a work meal. I haven't had my work meal today yet… Another serving!"
Natsuki: "…"
They say big breasts mean no brains, but I didn't realize your IQ was quite high!
A dish used for an apology, of course, doesn't count as a work meal; there's nothing wrong with that, just like salary is salary and bonus is bonus, they certainly can't be mixed up.
What was promised, of course, must be delivered.
Natsuki didn't renege on his word. He waved his hand and turned to walk towards the kitchen:
"Wait, I'll go make it right away."
"…"
After ten minutes, Natsuki emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate of Dark Cuisine.
As a foodie, Miss Minos's eyes lit up, her neck stretched out, already eager to feast.
"Natsuki~"
Natsuki had just set down the plate when a resentful voice sounded beside him.
"I was first, whether it was the first meeting or the first intimate contact, it was all me first… Why, why is only Minos getting an extra meal?"
There was no intimate contact, you shouldn't falsely accuse me!
In comparison, Yandere Kaguya was much colder; she neither acted spoiled nor played on emotions, merely stating indifferently:
"Natsuki, I want more."
Natsuki rubbed his forehead helplessly, turned, and walked back to the kitchen:
"Coming right away."
It was indeed hard to keep things balanced, but he had to, and he had to do it with a smile, otherwise, it could very well lead to a hatchet ending.
After making two more servings of Dark Cuisine, Natsuki could finally sit down and rest.
Miss Minos ate and drank without any regard for her image, occasionally letting out sounds of immense satisfaction and pleasure.
Mrs. Shimizu was elegant and charming all over, but her eating speed was not slow at all, her demeanor enchanting.
Finally, there was Yandere Kaguya, who ate her meal silently, her movements slow and deliberate, a standard cold and ascetic type.
Unfortunately, there was no phone available at the moment, so he could only feast his eyes.
Eating and drinking finished.
The three of them all gave full marks.
"President, we've rested enough." Chika stood up, stretching lazily, "We can continue moving."
Natsuki intertwined his fingers, saying righteously:
"I'm tired, I want to rest a little longer."
"Eh?"
Chika paused for a moment, then her gaze shifted downwards. Her pretty face quickly flushed, and she couldn't help but let out a soft huff.
"Saying you're tired, it's clearly that the President is too lewd!"
It has nothing to do with lewd. Anyone else sitting here would also not be able to stand it!
Natsuki said without changing his expression:
"There are two extra servings of Dark Cuisine in the kitchen. You two take them to Hanako and Ms. Hoshino first."
Chika rolled her eyes at him lightly and agreed, saying:
"Leave it to us. The President can continue to 'rest'."
Natsuki waved his hand, picked up a cup of tea, and slowly drank it, preparing to calm himself down.
However, before he could calm down, a figure suddenly walked in from outside and quietly approached Natsuki.
"President…"