The sunset was about to dip below the horizon, the sky a tapestry of gold, orange-red, and azure.

On a street in Higashi-Yukigaya.

"Baka—!"

"I told you to wait in line for me, and you ended up waiting on the next street over?!"

"Hontou ni sumimasen!"

...

Kirishima Ayato stared with a dark expression, the corner of his eye twitching as he looked at the subordinate, who was bowing deeply in terror, his hands pressed tightly against the seams of his pants.

'Useless trash!'

'You can't even handle a simple task like this! What good are you?!'

Resisting the urge to kick the man, Ayato took a sharp breath, calmed himself, and said coldly, "Continue waiting."

"Hai!"

The subordinate, still bent over and afraid to even lift his head, his forehead covered in a sheen of sweat, scrambled to answer respectfully.

"Tch—!"

Feeling the gazes of the surrounding humans—some blatant, some secretive—Kirishima Ayato grew even more annoyed.

'What are you looking at?!'

'It's just food!'

He clicked his tongue, shoved his hands into his pockets, and turned to walk along the queue toward the restaurant.

Last night, a certain old geezer he hadn't seen in ages brought people to the Aogiri Tree headquarters, strictly warning them not to cause any trouble in Higashi-Yukigaya. He also spouted some other nonsense.

At the time, they were completely bewildered—'Why would we buy human food?'

And then they were furious:

'Are you lecturing us?'

So, a fight broke out.

What was completely shocking was that the other side, with only four people, had nearly wiped the floor with Aogiri Tree. Fortunately, at the last moment, the "One-Eyed King" finally made a move.

Ayato, who had been lectured by his uncle, was completely stunned by this.

He had been with Aogiri Tree for some time, and while he'd heard the boss was the "One-Eyed King," he had never seen the leader, and neither had most of the others. Only the high-ranking executives seemed to have met the King, to the point that Ayato had begun to doubt if the "One-Eyed King" even existed.

Last night had thoroughly erased those doubts.

And what shocked Ayato even more was that the "One-Eyed King" was actually Yoshimura Kuzen's daughter. It was completely insane!

Although, her relationship with Yoshimura seemed terrible; they even fought last night...

'Hm? What a smell!'

Lost in the memories of last night, a unique and enticing aroma suddenly drilled into his nostrils. Ayato unconsciously sniffed the air, and his pace quickened.

As he got close to the restaurant, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a white-haired figure wearing a red half-mask in the line nearby.

Ayato instinctively stopped in his tracks, staring in surprise. He called out, "Mr. Tatara?"

Tatara turned his head, his gaze sweeping coolly over Ayato—a subordinate with decent potential. He gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

'I can't believe Mr. Tatara came to wait in line personally…'

Ayato was shocked. Did the top brass have this much free time?

He shook off the thought and continued forward, walking past a member of the Black Doberman group who was maintaining order, and arrived at the restaurant's entrance.

Just then, jingle, the restaurant door was pulled open from the inside.

A cute girl with blue, medium-short hair and a pair of silver-white curved horns on her head walked out. She was wearing a "cow-print" jacket, a black pleated skirt, and mismatched stockings on each leg, with a silver-white cow tail swishing behind her, looking the very picture of high energy.

She flipped the "Closed" sign hanging on the door over to "Now Open," and the customers in front of the restaurant instantly erupted.

"Oh! It's finally opening!"

"It's six o'clock!"

"Is there no Miracle Comet Fried Rice today?"

"Oho! Glowing Cuisine, here I come!"

"It smells amazing!"

...

"Welcome!"

Minos, Yusa, Pekola, and Poporon, acting as the wait staff, began to greet the incoming customers, and the restaurant instantly became a hive of activity.

Inside the kitchen, Ryohei Tanaka and Jashin-chan (whose tail had already grown back) were also moving at high speed.

"Chef Tanaka, is takeout available today?" someone at the counter asked expectantly.

Hearing this, the other customers all turned their gaze toward Ryohei, their faces full of hope.

"I can't keep up with the orders, so no takeout is available," Ryohei replied without looking up, his hands a blur as he continued cooking.

"Ah, okay."

Those who heard him were disappointed, but they nodded in understanding. After all, Ryohei was the only chef in the entire restaurant; it was perfectly understandable that he couldn't keep up.

...

At the restaurant entrance.

Kirishima Ayato breathed in the aroma wafting from the shop, unable to stop himself from swallowing, his throat bobbing slightly.

'It actually smells... really good…'

Due to certain experiences in his childhood, he had a deep psychological aversion to human food. He once swore he would rather die than eat human food ever again. But at this very moment, breathing in the fragrance in the air, he desperately wanted to try it.

'The ultimate irony!'

He felt a strong urge, but then he glanced at Irimi Kaya in the line and thought about the frozen bodies of Jason and Nico he had seen last night.

He'd heard that Jason and the flamboyant one were instantly defeated by a waitress in a kimono.

Then he remembered Yoshimura Kuzen's warning: that the other girl, the one with the eye patch, gave him a terrifying feeling.

Kirishima Ayato instantly composed himself.

'I should just wait in line patiently.'

'Tch!'

Thinking of his own subordinate, who was still waiting on the next street over, Ayato's frustration flared up again.

'How did I end up with such a useless subordinate?'

'He's fired! I'm definitely firing him when I get back!'

...

"Sumimasen!"

A petite girl with long, voluminous, messy green hair, a sweet and cute face, wearing a simple white T-shirt and light blue overalls, pressed her hands together in a pleading gesture toward Poporon.

"Excuse me, could you please arrange a seat at the counter for me?"

"The counter?"

Poporon glanced at the white eye patch covering the girl's right eye, then showed an apologetic expression. She turned and pointed toward the counter, indicating, "I'm sorry, the counter is already full. There are no extra seats. If you don't mind, I can arrange a table for you upstairs."

"I can wait!" Takatsuki Sen insisted, her hands still clasped, bowing her head slightly. Her tone was earnest. "Please, if you could just do me this one favor!" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ ɴoᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt

"I'm an author, and I want to write a novel with a chef as the main character. I was hoping to gather some material up close!"

"Eh?" Poporon looked surprised. 'A novelist?'

She didn't make things difficult for her and nodded. "If that's the case, you can wait here for a bit."

"Arigatou!"

A brilliant smile instantly lit up Takatsuki Sen's face as she thanked her profusely.

Poporon waved her hand, then added with a knowing, meaningful tone, "Gathering material is fine, but don't get any bad ideas, okay?"

Then, before the surprised Takatsuki Sen could react, she opened the door and welcomed the next customer inside...

~~~

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