Morning. Six o'clock.
For a chef, the most sensitive moment is when the lid of the pot is lifted. And for the one running errands, Hachiman couldn't miss that time either.
At this hour, all the ingredients were at their freshest. After soaking in the clearest air of the day, the meat was firm and perfect.
Even though the sun hadn't fully risen, it couldn't stop the shouts from the market. That energy felt like it could burn away all the tiredness of the day.
With years of experience here, Hachiman had already mastered the secrets. To make sure the Hikigaya Restaurant had enough fresh ingredients, he quickly began his shopping.
Chicken, duck, and fish—the three most common types of meat—were the top priority. Just by counting their heartbeats, looking at their posture, listening to their cries, or watching how they swam or ran, Hachiman could judge their freshness.
But this time, he wasn't here for those. He needed seafood from the deep sea.
With his sharp eye, Hachiman soon found a small stall that almost no one was paying attention to.
The man at the stall was a big, strong guy. Since Hachiman knew every vendor here well, he could tell at a glance that this guy was new.
Hachiman slowly put his hand into the water and touched the shell of a king crab. Just by looking, the murky water seemed like a natural shield protecting these crabs, because no one would want to buy seafood kept in water like this.
But... Hachiman knew very well that this cloudy water couldn't hide the freshness bursting from these crabs. He didn't know why the vendor was doing this, but if the guy wanted to set up a trap like this for him... well, Hachiman was more than happy to walk right into it.
Soaking in this dirty water for a long time, and putting so many different types of seafood together in one tank, will of course cause another problem...
"Boss, how much is this king crab?"
"4000 yen per jin."
Not too expensive, but with a limited budget...
"I'm a student, can you make it cheaper?"
"Not a chance! I haven't even made a sale today. You want me to lose money? No. Way!"
If the seller doesn't agree to bargain, he won't waste time talking to you. But Hachiman wasn't in a rush anyway—this time of day always turned into an interesting little game.
He didn't leave, just kept staring at the tank in silence, waiting...
"Boss, how do you deal with seafood that dies?"
"Seafood that dies? Of course I throw it away. I don't have many customers, but I care about trust. If a seller dares to sell dead seafood, who would ever buy from him again?"
"Really?"
"Of course it's true!" Feeling Hachiman's doubt, the boss looked annoyed. This was actually his first time selling seafood, and he was confident about the quality, so he dared to charge twice the usual price.
For him, Hachiman was just his first customer—but only a student, so he didn't really mind too much.
Hachiman still didn't leave, quietly waiting for the right moment. If it weren't for the steady flow of people passing by, with no one stopping at this stall, the boss probably would have told him to get lost already.
Time passed, until Hachiman sniffed the air, catching a faintly familiar smell mixed with the fishy scent. Then he slowly opened his eyes.
"Dead."
"What's dead?"
"This lobster, that Boston lobster, this sunfish... and the king crab from earlier."
"No way, that's impossible! They were moving just now!" The boss, refusing to believe it, leaned in. He thought the student was just making things up.
But when he saw the seafood floating to the surface, his heart sank like it had been crushed.
If this wasn't a dream, then it was clear: the seafood that had been alive moments ago was now completely dead.
"Damn! They're really dead... You're such bad luck! Seriously, what the hell is this?!"
Faced with the man's swearing, Hachiman calmly replied:
"So, what are you going to do with this seafood? How about this... I'm a student..."
"You little..."
This time Hachiman didn't try bargaining. He pulled out 200 yen and handed it over.
The boss, though angry, had bigger problems—how to deal with this dead seafood now.
He glanced at the floating seafood, clearly unsure what to do...
"Alright, how about this. I'll tell you the reason. In exchange, you pack up all this dead seafood for me. Fair deal, right?"
Helpless, speechless...
After all, he would have to throw it away anyway. And he really wanted to know how Hachiman had figured it out—otherwise, why would this kid have been waiting here all along?
So he stopped arguing, grabbed a styrofoam box and some ice packs, and packed up the seafood that had just died.
"You're really lucky. These just died, so if you freeze them right away, the taste won't be any different. Just 4000 yen... damn, you really hit the jackpot."
Hachiman shook his head. "No... even if they just died, the taste of live seafood and dead seafood is completely different."
"And the reason they died is because you mixed too many different types together. You don't even have oxygen pumps or filters for the deep-sea fish. That's why you don't get customers. To them, it all looks like seafood that's not really fresh."
Taking the box from the boss, Hachiman politely said:
"Thanks."
Listening to Hachiman's clear analysis, the boss nodded with a look of relief, then asked with some curiosity:
"Even though you say that, you can easily tell how fresh these seafood are. Not bad… not bad… What's your name?"
"Before asking someone else's name, isn't it better to give your own first?"
"Dojima Gin."
"Hayama Hayato, just a passing high school god."