Chapter 9: Kobayashi Rindou's Reverse Pursuit
It wasn't until the sun was fully up, casting sharp morning shadows across the street, that Ren finally closed his book. He stood up, stretching his arms overhead until his back popped satisfyingly. He walked to the door and flipped the sign from 'Open' to 'Closed'.
Naturally, no one else came to this place. The morning rush hour of the city passed this forgotten alley by.
The purpose of hanging this sign was not just to inform the locals, but to engage the System's lock. When the sign read 'Closed', the dimensional door was sealed. Guests from Another World wouldn't be able to stumble through. The restaurant became just a normal building in Japan.
Looking at the quiet, sun-drenched Restaurant, Ren began to anticipate what kind of guests would arrive tonight. This was his greatest pleasure in running the shop—the unpredictability. Would it be a pirate? A knight? Or perhaps a demon?
Ren walked upstairs, his footsteps silent on the polished wood. He stopped in front of the guest room door and pushed it open without knocking.
At this moment, Kobayashi Rindou's sleeping posture could be said to be completely at odds with her usual "cool senpai" or "goddess" appearance.
She was sprawled diagonally across the bed. One leg was hanging off the edge, the blanket was tangled around her waist, and she was wearing a ridiculous nightcap with a pom-pom on the end—something she claimed was "peak fashion." She was drooling slightly onto the pillow, murmuring something about "meat" in her sleep.
Ren sighed, a fond smile touching his lips. He walked to the bed and sat beside her.
He reached out and pinched Kobayashi Rindou's soft cheek.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty. The sun is roasting your butt."
"Nnn..."
Kobayashi Rindou groaned. She cracked one eye open, saw Ren sitting there, and her survival instincts kicked in. She immediately rolled over, yelped, and scrambled backward, pulling the blanket up to her chin.
"Why did you come in without knocking! Pervert!" she shouted, her face flushing red. "Tell me! Was it intentional! Did you come to peek? With ulterior motives! Do you want me to stay and be the Shopkeeper's wife! Is that it! You finally couldn't resist my charm!"
Ren rolled his eyes, unfazed by her drama. "If I were intentional, counting from the first time you stayed at the Shop a year ago when you were too lazy to walk home in the rain, you'd be a mother of three by now~"
Kobayashi Rindou's face turned atomic red. The image his words conjured short-circuited her brain for a second.
Then, a mischievous glint returned to her cat-like eyes. She threw off the blanket with a flourish, revealing a long, slender leg encased in silk. She struck a pose, winking.
"Ren! It's not too late for you to be intentional now! I'm right here~"
Ren sighed, standing up. "I told you not to make jokes like that when you're actually feeling timid. Your leg is shaking."
"It is not!"
"Get up and eat breakfast. Otherwise, you won't get any. I made soufflé pancakes."
Kobayashi Rindou's eyes lit up at the mention of food. She snorted, then silently wrapped herself in the blanket like a burrito.
"You get out quickly! I need to change! You had your chance just now and you didn't take it! Go regret it in the hallway!"
Ren walked to the door, pausing to look back. "Hurry up. They deflate if they get cold."
"Oh! I'm coming!"
As the door closed, Kobayashi Rindou threw off the blanket again. She looked down at her long legs, turning them side to side in the mirror. She scratched her messy red hair, pouting.
"That shouldn't be right. Isn't Ren a carnivore? He eats meat all the time. Even I'm tempted by these legs! Tsk. He's forcefully suppressing himself. Hehe. What a gentleman."
After saying that, she started to change her clothes. She opened the closet, which was half-full of her things. Many of her clothes and shoes were here now. From that day she first stayed over, Kobayashi Rindou had essentially started moving in by increments. She had always wanted to be the Shopkeeper's wife, but despite her bold exterior, she was too timid when it came to real romance. She only dared to joke, and one direct sentence from Ren could make her completely freeze.
At the dining table downstairs.
Kobayashi Rindou sat with a fork in her mouth, swinging her little feet under the table happily. In front of her was a stack of fluffy, jiggly soufflé pancakes topped with fresh berries and whipped cream.
Ren sat opposite her, quietly scrolling through news on his phone, a cup of black coffee in hand. Occasionally, he would reach out and put a piece of fruit or a sausage on Kobayashi Rindou's plate without looking up.
Kobayashi Rindou accepted everything, eating it with gusto. She was accustomed to Ren's silent acts of service.
She would also occasionally spear a piece of her pancake and hold it out to him. Ren would lean forward and eat it off her fork. Every time this happened, Kobayashi Rindou felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her chest. It felt like they were an old married couple having a Sunday morning.
"So," Rindou said through a mouthful of cream. "Are you opening tonight?"
"Every night," Ren replied. "Unless I'm kidnapped by the Totsuki Director."
Rindou giggled. "He might just do that."
Meanwhile, at Totsuki Tea Ceremony and Culinary Academy.
The campus was bustling with morning activity. A blonde, beautiful girl with a cold, imperious expression was walking briskly towards the main administration building. She walked with the grace of royalty, her chin held high. Behind her followed a pink-haired girl carrying a clipboard.
"Hisako," the blonde girl said in a deep voice, not breaking her stride. "Grandfather's recent actions are very suspicious. Not only are a lot of his traditional yukatas missing from home, but the key thing is that he often comes back very late. Sometimes past midnight."
Hisako Arato, her loyal secretary, nodded seriously. "Yes, Erina-sama. The Director has indeed been coming back very late recently. Last night was like that. And when I collected his laundry, there was a faint smell of... high-quality spices and alcohol on him. He must have gone out to eat."
Erina Nakiri narrowed her violet eyes. "The missing clothes must have all been 'exploded'. That old pervert. He found a restaurant that satisfies the God Tongue's standards and didn't tell me?"
"It seems so, Erina-sama."
Erina whispered, "Hisako, later, go ask Grandfather's driver where he has been going. I want to see what kind of Restaurant can make Grandfather so fascinated, and also cause him to lose so many clothes. I will judge if it is worthy of the Nakiri name."
"Understood."
"Erina, why haven't you gone in yet? The Elite Ten meeting is about to start."
A soft, childlike voice spoke from behind them.
Erina was startled. She jumped slightly, losing her composure for a split second. She turned around to see a small girl holding a large stuffed cat toy.
"Senpai..." Erina took a breath, smoothing her uniform. "You're very scary like that. You don't make any sound when you walk."
Akanegakubo Momo said nothing. She just hugged Bucchi tighter and walked straight past Erina.
Erina didn't feel the silence was rude at all. In Totsuki, strength was everything. She was the Tenth Seat. Akanegakubo Momo was the Fourth Seat. Although Erina was a genius, the hierarchy was absolute. The law of the jungle governed this school.
When Erina followed Akanegakubo Momo into the opulent meeting room, she found that everyone was present. The long table was filled with the most talented young chefs in Japan.
Everyone except for the Second Seat, Kobayashi Rindou. Her chair was empty.
Sitting in the frontmost position was a white-haired young man with a gentle, almost fragile appearance. He was Eishi Tsukasa, the current First Seat of the Elite Ten. The "White Knight of the Table."
Eishi Tsukasa saw Akanegakubo Momo arrive and asked, somewhat weakly, "Akanegakubo-san, you and Kobayashi-san should be roommates, right? Where is she? Did she get lost again?"
Akanegakubo Momo climbed into her oversized chair, placing Bucchi on the table. She said as a matter of course, her voice flat, "Rindou-senpai went to see her boyfriend last night. She stayed over. Momo-chan was there too for dinner, but Momo-chan has returned."
Silence.
The room went dead silent.
Then, chaos.
"Ehhhh?!"
This sentence caused quite a stir. Terunori Kuga, the short, energetic Eighth Seat, froze. Then he slammed his hand on the table, holding his stomach and laughing.
"Hahaha! That Kobayashi Rindou actually has a boyfriend! The 'wild beast' has been tamed?! And he's not from the school! Hahaha! This is big news! Who is the unlucky guy?"
Akanegakubo Momo frowned at Kuga's laughter. She had a very good impression of Ren. He was great at cooking, friendly to her (unlike most people who treated her like a child), polite, serious about his craft, and very handsome. It was hard to dislike such a person.
Akanegakubo Momo, stroking Bucchi's ear, corrected him. "Rindou-senpai is in reverse pursuit... She is chasing him. And Shopkeeper Ren is very amazing. The dishes he makes are the most delicious I've ever eaten."
Everyone was stunned again.
Who was Akanegakubo Momo? A monster of confectionery. The Fourth Seat. Her standards for "cute" and "delicious" were incredibly high and specific. For her to say something was the "best she'd ever eaten"—without adding "in the sweets category"—was shocking. Especially since she had also eaten Eishi Tsukasa's cooking, which was considered perfection.
Coupled with the news that Kobayashi Rindou—the free-spirited Second Seat—was so smitten that she was the one chasing the guy, he must be an exceptionally talented person.
Everyone became interested. Even the usually disinterested Eishi Tsukasa tilted his head.
"Eh? Is he really that amazing?" Tsukasa asked, a hint of anxiety in his voice. "I really want to go see... but I have so much paperwork... and recipe testing... unfortunately, I won't have time until after graduation..."
Terunori Kuga sat casually in his chair, resting his feet on the table. "Really? Is he that amazing? Or is Momo-senpai just exaggerating? What can he make? Senpai, you must have just happened to order something he's good at! Maybe he's a specialist in sweets?"
Akanegakubo Momo shook her head slowly. "No. According to Rindou-senpai's introduction, Shopkeeper Ren can make anything as long as he has the ingredients. Last night, Momo-chan ordered a full course: Waldorf Salad, Veal Blanquette, Tempura, and Napoleon Cake. Every single dish was a masterpiece that Momo-chan couldn't even hope to emulate..."
"Impossible," someone muttered.
To master French, Japanese, and Patisserie to that level? At his age?
Most people believed it simply because Momo had no reason to lie. But one person did not.
Erina Nakiri sat with her arms crossed, her expression disdainful. "That's impossible. No chef can reach that level of versatility. Moreover, whether it's delicious or not is up to me, the owner of the God Tongue, to decide. It's likely just peasant food dressed up nicely."
Akanegakubo Momo looked at Erina. Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"Very good courage, Erina," Momo said faintly. "But the Director is also a regular customer."
"Grandfather?" Erina blinked.
"Yes. Last night, the Director was there. He ordered Mapo Tofu and Tempura. One serving of Mapo Tofu caused him to 'explode' five times."
"Five times?!" Kuga gasped.
"The clothes would just burst open as soon as they were put on. He went through a whole bag of yukatas. Tempura 'exploded' twice, and the appetizers and alcohol each 'exploded' twice. Is that enough proof for the God Tongue?"
Erina's violet eyes widened suddenly. She slammed the table, standing up.
"That's impossible! How could Grandfather's clothes 'explode' continuously from the same dish! That defies the laws of gastronomy! That's impossible!"
Usually, the 'Bursting' happened once upon the first impact of deliciousness. To happen repeatedly meant every bite was a new revelation.
Akanegakubo Momo just held Bucchi and said calmly, "Nothing is impossible in that shop. Momo-chan wouldn't lie. And you can just ask the Director about this. Last night, Momo-chan came back in the Director's car because Rindou-senpai kicked me out to be alone with Ren."
This time, everyone was completely silent. The room was heavy with realization.
If the Director—the Demon of Food—was a regular who stripped continuously, and two Elite Ten members were obsessed...
What kind of monster chef had appeared from the back alleys?
Eishi Tsukasa stared at the table. He had originally thought this "Ren" was just an ordinary chef, perhaps a good home cook. But now it seemed that the other party was a titan hiding in plain sight.
"I..." Tsukasa mumbled. "I think I need to clear my schedule."
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