"What's wrong?"

Taking a break while a new batch of pork cutlets was frying, Ryohei and Yurine were quickly eating their own dinner. He noticed Yurine suddenly frown and look over his shoulder—no, not at him, but at something in the distance. He glanced back curiously.

"Hmm… it's nothing," Yurine said, her expression smoothing out as she brought her gaze back to her food.

Ryohei didn't think much of it.

The night grew darker, the sky like a canvas being saturated with thick black ink. But this didn't signal the end of the day. For Tokyo, it was merely the curtain rising on the nightlife. At eight o'clock, the city was just getting started, its streets and alleys buzzing with a lively atmosphere.

Ryohei, however, was already preparing to close up shop.

The wealthy man with the Rolex, a repeat customer, was completely exasperated by this. He was holding a bag with a Katsu Sando in it while eating another one. "Chef Ryohei, you close up earlier than anyone I've ever seen," he complained. "What kind of food stall closes before eight o'clock every day?!"

"It's already past eight today," the salaryman who had cried tears of joy after finally getting his food pointed out helpfully.

The Rolex man shot him an annoyed glare. Is there a difference? Does that really make a difference? Why are you butting in, you idiot! No wonder you're a corporate slave…

"Everything's sold out. What am I supposed to do, stay here and do nothing?" Ryohei, who was starting to recognize his regulars, replied with a smile as he cleaned up.

"That's my point!" the Rolex man said eagerly. "That old-fashioned cart of yours can only hold so many ingredients! Have you ever thought about opening a proper restaurant, Chef Ryohei? With your skills, you could easily run a high-end establishment! If you're short on cash, I can invest. You wouldn't have to pay a single yen, just contribute your skills as equity!"

He felt that investing in Ryohei was a sure-fire win. With his talent, and that unbelievable glowing effect, he could blow every other chef in Japan out of the water. He had witnessed the lines getting longer and more absurd every single day. Today, he'd had to come at seven and still waited for over half an hour. It was insane.

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm not accepting investors," Ryohei said, politely but firmly refusing. "I'll open a shop eventually, but I'll save up the money myself." There's no way I'm working for someone else, he thought. I got isekai'd and have a Golden Finger. I'd have to be an idiot to work for another person now. An "investment" sounded nice, but it was really no different from having a boss.

The Rolex man looked crestfallen. His golden goose had flown the coop. He held up a finger, trying another angle. "I can help you set up the shop first. You can pay me back slowly, with no interest. All I ask is that I get to skip the line when I come to your restaurant, and have no purchase limits on takeout."

Ryohei looked at him and refused again. "Let's not. It won't take me that long to save up enough money. I'm not in a hurry."

You're really stubborn, aren't you? You're refusing even this? The Rolex man was getting annoyed, but there was nothing he could do. He could try to cause trouble for the stall, but that would be pointless. He'd just end up with nowhere to queue at all.

And so, Ryohei and Yurine packed up and started for home.

On the way, Ryohei thought of Jashin-chan. "She's probably already home by now, right?"

"Probably," Yurine said. "She knows we have to work at night, she's not stupid enough to wait at the wrong station forever. She should be back by now…"

As she spoke, Yurine reached into the food cart and pulled out a menacing, spiked mace that glinted in the streetlight. She turned and looked behind them at a man in a trench coat, mask, and hat, who was trailing them while pulling a large suitcase.

"..." Furukawa Kota froze. She noticed me? This little girl is sharp! She looked like she might be trouble. He carefully scanned his surroundings. They were far from the main road now, in a relatively deserted alley with only one or two other passersby.

I can make my move!

Kota's mind was made up. He dropped the pretense. A dark red and black filled his eyes, which now glowed with a greed that could chill one to the bone. He let go of the suitcase, bent his knees, and shot forward like an arrow, lunging straight for Ryohei.

Yurine raised her spiked mace…

"Don't get in the way!" a black and red, tail-like kagune whipped through the air with a piercing shriek, aiming to impale Yurine.

But instead of retreating, Yurine moved forward, closing the distance in an instant. She appeared right in front of the shocked Ghoul and, with a powerful swing, brought the mace down on his head.

CRACK!

It was the sound of a watermelon splitting open. Blood and gore splattered everywhere, covering the alley walls and Yurine's clothes. The two passersby in the alley froze for two seconds, then screamed and ran for their lives.

Ryohei was also shocked.

"A Ghoul?" He dropped the cart handle and rushed to Yurine's side. "Yurine, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just used a little too much force and got my clothes dirty," she said, turning to him. She wiped a smear of blood from her cheek and flashed a bewitching, dangerous smile.

Ryohei stopped in his tracks, his mouth twitching. "As long as you're okay…"

He glanced at the headless, still-twitching corpse on the ground and clutched his chest, his heart still pounding. "Your world is seriously dangerous!" Holy crap! I've only been here for a few days and I've already been attacked by a Ghoul!

"This Ghoul…" Yurine looked at the body, then her gaze fell on Ryohei. "It seems he was after you, Ryohei-kun."

"...After me?" Ryohei blinked in surprise.

"Mhm. I felt a malicious gaze on us when we were at the stall earlier," Yurine said. She walked over to the large suitcase and gave it a kick. As she suspected, it was empty. She looked back at the corpse, recalling the Ghoul's build, and her expression turned strange. "And I think… this is the same Ghoul who stole that person's food last night."

Yesterday, Yurine had thought she was mistaken. After all, why would a Ghoul steal human food? They couldn't even eat it. But now, looking at this… and thinking about the Ghoul who had appeared in the park the night before… it probably wasn't a coincidence.

"I see!" Hearing Yurine's analysis, Ryohei immediately made the connection to his [Glowing Cuisine] skill. He finally understood. This Ghoul who had just attacked him had probably been "conquered" by his food, and then tried to kidnap him.

Damn it!

This kind of customer is the worst!

What made Ryohei's skin crawl was the thought that he didn't know how many of his other customers might also be Ghouls. He suddenly felt very unsafe. The quiet alley now seemed to be filled with unseen, watching eyes. He took a shaky breath.

"Yurine, let's go back to the apartment."

"Okay," she replied, not asking any questions. She hefted her spiked mace and followed Ryohei, leaving the Ghoul's mutilated corpse behind in the alley.