Chapter 94: A Shocking Opening! Miracle Comet Fried Rice!
"Nico…"
The streets at night were dyed in the hazy glow of neon lights, the air a mixture of noise and excitement. The towering Yakumo Oomori walked with a steady, powerful gait, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his sharp white suit. The soles of his leather shoes made a heavy sound against the pavement. The neon lights reflected off his brutish, scarred face, illuminating a mixture of ferocity and doubt.
"Does such a thing truly exist?" he growled, his red pupils shifting to the flamboyant figure beside him.
"Hmm…" The oiran, Nico, sashayed along with a "bewitching" gait. "That's what I heard them say." His male voice was tinged with a lazy quality. His own senses of hearing and smell were abnormally sharp, and back at the Aogiri Tree base, he had accidentally overheard a conversation between some of the local Ghouls. He had immediately told Jason, who, his interest piqued, had dropped his new "toy" and paid the local Ghouls a visit. After finding out the address of Ryohei's restaurant, he and Nico had left Aogiri behind.
"Those weaklings had better not be lying to me…"
"Crack—!"
The sharp sound of knuckles cracking echoed in the air. A cruel, bloodthirsty smile spread across Jason's face, a dangerous light in his eyes. "Otherwise, when I get back, I will 'entertain' them properly. I'll make them wish they were dead."
"Ehh~, how I envy them~," Nico said, one hand on his hip, the other gently caressing his own cheek as he looked up at the towering Jason.
Higashi-Yukigaya, in front of Ryohei's restaurant.
"Hey—! It's dark now!"
"Chef Ryohei, hurry up and show us what you've prepared! I'm starving!"
"Yeah! All I want to do right now is eat!"
The crowd was roaring.
Ryohei had Minos bring him a chair, which he stepped up on. He looked out at the sea of black-haired heads, his heart beginning to pound in his chest. An uncontrollable feeling of excitement washed over him.
"Hoo—!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. He raised the megaphone to his lips again, his voice steady and clear as it boomed across the street.
"Everyone, thank you for waiting!"
"And now—" Ryohei raised his other hand, his voice taking on a mysterious tone. "—I ask you all to please look up at the night sky!"
"Huh? Look up?"
"Is there something in the sky?"
"Is it fireworks? Or a drone show?"
A low murmur of confusion and curiosity rippled through the crowd. Touka Kirishima, standing in the crowd, looked up curiously, as did all the members of Anteiku and the other Ghouls who had heard the news and rushed over.
"The special dish I've prepared will fall from the sky. Don't blink, and please, do not be alarmed," Ryohei explained, and then began the countdown, raising his other hand to flash a series of signals to Lucoa, who was hovering in the stratosphere above.
"Ten…"
The restaurant's entire staff of angels and demons all looked up, their faces filled with anticipation.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
The countdown was complete.
"..."
"There's nothing there. What are we supposed to be looking at?"
"The moon?"
"Well, it is a nice full moon tonight."
"Wait a minute! Something's falling!" someone with sharp eyes suddenly shouted. "It's green… like a shooting star, or a comet!"
"Nani!"
"It's real!"
In the deep, dark-blue night sky, a single point of green light began to shimmer at the edge of the heavens, as if it had broken free from the depths of space. At first, the light was faint, like a firefly, but in an instant, it began to accelerate, streaking across the sky and leaving a long, brilliant, emerald-green tail in its wake. The tail was like a dazzling silk ribbon, dancing across the night and illuminating the darkness.
"WHOOOOSH—!"
The moment the green light appeared, Yurine, quick as a flash, tapped an audio file on her phone. A loud, piercing sound effect of a meteor streaking through the atmosphere blasted from the Bluetooth speakers set up around the restaurant. People in the neighboring shops, drawn by the sound, looked out their windows or came outside.
And then, they watched, dumbfounded, as a massive, green-glowing object came crashing down from the sky with a thunderous BOOM. The sound effect was so loud it made them all jump.
What was that?!
What's happening?!
What just fell from the sky?!
The crowd in front of the restaurant was also startled, but thanks to Ryohei's warning, most of them just flinched or took an instinctive step back.
Airi, the live-streamer, had switched to her rear camera the moment Ryohei had told them to look up. Her viewers were treated to a perfect, high-definition shot of the "comet" as it landed perfectly in the giant platter. The live-stream chat instantly exploded with a frantic flood of question marks.
'Nani?!'
'Special effects! That has to be special effects, right?!'
'Masaka!'
'What did I just see?!'
'AAAAHH?!'
'So THAT'S what the giant plate was for?!'
'What was that that fell? A meteor? A comet?!'
The crowd in person also erupted, a chorus of gasps, screams, and shouts echoing through the night. Excitement, shock, and disbelief all mingled together into a single, deafening roar.
At the same time, an incredibly rich and tempting aroma washed over them, instantly awakening everyone's appetite. It was the fresh scent of vegetables, the hearty fragrance of rice, and a light, savory hint of egg.
But what the crowd was focused on now was the object itself.
"It's food! The thing that fell is food!"
"And it landed perfectly in that giant plate, without a single bit splashing out! And the plate didn't even break!"
"Sugoi!"
"I can't believe it! This is unbelievable!"
"This is a miracle!"
"Cooking Immortal, Chef Ryohei, you're the real deal!"
The people at the front of the line stared in shock at the Miracle Comet Fried Rice, letting out a series of incredulous gasps.
Ryohei, still standing on the chair, savored the crowd's reaction, a huge sense of satisfaction welling up inside him. This is it! It had been worth all the hard work. A joyous smile spread across his face as he raised the megaphone one last time.
"This dish, I have named it—Miracle Comet Fried Rice!"
"3,000 yen per portion!"
"And now, I declare this restaurant—OPEN FOR BUSINESS!"
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 5 new reviews = 1 extra chapters
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter