Ryohei Tanaka paid no mind to the various conflicts between the CCG, the ghouls, and the Washuu clan, focusing solely on running his restaurant. It was worth noting that his business hadn't been affected. The street itself, however, had become much quieter. Daytime foot traffic was down by about thirty percent, and in the evenings, it was less than half of what it used to be.

Two days passed like this, and Friday arrived.

The orange sunlight, like molten honey, poured down through the clouds, painting a flowing, amber-colored halo on the restaurant's glass door.

A slender hand in a white glove grasped the handle and pushed the door inward. With a soft ding-a-ling, a rich and enticing aroma of food immediately wafted out.

"It smells so good!" Kanna's sky-blue eyes lit up instantly. A look of mouth-watering anticipation appeared on her adorable, deadpan face as she trotted into the restaurant on her short, stout legs.

"Ah... it really does!" Kobayashi sniffed the air and followed her in, her face full of excitement.

"We have you to thank for this, Fafnir-kun," a handsome young man dressed in office attire, just like Kobayashi, said with a sunny expression to the person beside him. This was a tall, cool-faced man with black hair and red eyes, wearing a butler's uniform and a pair of pince-nez glasses.

"Hmph," Fafnir grunted in response.

Inside the restaurant, Pekola, who was just coming out of a small private room with a tray, heard the bell and immediately went to greet them with a smile. "Welcome!"

"An angel?" Tohru's gaze fell upon Pekola. The smile vanished from her face, and her brows furrowed instinctively. Angels were part of the divine faction, enemies of the chaos dragons like herself.

"Eh!?" Hearing the unexpected word, Kobayashi looked at Tohru in shock, then at Pekola, her eyes lingering for a moment on the halo above the angel's head before shifting to Lucoa, who was walking over.

"Pekola, these are my friends. I'll take care of them," Lucoa said, patting Pekola's slender shoulder with a smile.

"Alright." Pekola, noticing the horns on Tohru and Kanna and having a rough idea of who they were, nodded to Lucoa and walked away with her tray.

Lucoa waved warmly at Tohru and the others. "Come with me, I've already arranged your seats."

...

'A maid?'

'...Ah, she's a friend of Lucoa's!'

At the cashier's counter, Yurine calmly averted her gaze. She had been wondering how someone could see through Pekola's disguise, but it made sense if they were friends of Lucoa. Kouji's eyes, however, were fixed on Kanna's back as she walked toward the counter seating area. He was a child, after all, and children are often drawn to each other.

...

At the counter, none of the seats had been made available for reservation today. Lucoa had told Ryohei that five friends were coming, and she had invited all of her friends in the area. Including herself, that made six people. The counter had nine seats in total, so he had simply decided not to book the remaining three. It wasn't like he was short on money. To him, Tohru and her friends were friends of a friend, and he planned to treat them well.

...

Hearing Lucoa bring the guests over, Ryohei glanced up from his cooking. Tohru and her companions were all highly recognizable, and he could easily identify each of them.

The tall, buxom one with Y-shaped horns, a maid outfit, twin-tails, blonde hair, and orange eyes—the very definition of a "child-faced giantess"—was Tohru. Next to her was Kobayashi, dressed as an office worker with red hair in a ponytail and glasses, who could be mistaken for a man at first glance. The handsome young man also in office attire was Makoto Takiya. And the expressionless, sharp-eyed man in a butler's uniform was Fafnir.

Ryohei's gaze shifted downwards and met the eyes of an adorable, deadpan little girl.

Stare—!

Kanna said nothing, but she shot Ryohei a look of pure, mouth-watering desire—Feed me now!

A wave of cuteness hit Ryohei. He turned to Jashin-chan and instructed, "Jashin-chan, you can start serving. For the dishes that need to be made fresh, prepare six portions of everything. You know what to do."

"Got it," Jashin-chan replied, immediately grabbing small plates to serve them, starting with the cold dishes.

'Another devil...', Tohru thought, surprised as she watched Jashin-chan bustling about in the open kitchen. She had already spotted two devils at the cashier. 'What is with this place? An angel and devils are working here at the same time...'

"Excuse us for intruding!" Kobayashi said to Ryohei, placing a box of high-end sweets she had bought on the way onto the counter. "We're Lucoa's friends. This is just a small gift."

Makoto Takiya also politely presented a bottle of red wine. "A small token of our appreciation. Please accept it."

"You're all too kind," Ryohei said, a little surprised they had brought gifts. He smiled. "Please eat and drink your fill tonight. Would you like to try one of my cocktails later? They glow, you know."

"Yes! I would absolutely love to try one!" At the mention of alcohol, the liquor-loving Kobayashi's eyes lit up with interest.

"If it's not too much trouble," Takiya added, also intrigued.

"Just as soon as I finish stir-frying this twice-cooked pork..."

...

In recent times, Ryohei's restaurant had added several new dishes and rotated out some old ones. Currently, there were three cold dishes on the menu: cold shredded kelp salad, Sprite-marinated cucumber, and hand-torn chicken. Jashin-chan served them one by one.

Kanna was the first to give in. Her arms were too short and she was too small to reach the counter. Tohru helped by placing a small plate of hand-torn chicken on the table in front of her. Kanna immediately picked up her chopsticks, eagerly said, "Itadakimasu," and brought a piece of the chicken to her mouth.

As her small white teeth chewed gently, she found the chicken to be tender and juicy, the strands distinct yet springy. A savory flavor danced with the aromatic spice of scallion, ginger, and garlic, while the mellow fragrance of sesame and Sichuan peppercorn oil swirled between her lips and teeth. A perfect touch of sour and spicy was complemented by crisp, sweet onion shreds and fragrant, crunchy peanuts. The refreshing yet rich combination was an instant delight to Kanna's taste buds.

"Incredible! This is too delicious!" Her blue eyes widened for a moment before she closed them in blissful enjoyment. "Wow!" Kanna exclaimed in her soft, childish voice.

Ryohei, who had just finished plating the twice-cooked pork, couldn't help but smile when he heard her. "If you like it, eat as much as you want," he said kindly. "I'll get you some more when you're done."

"Ooh—!" Kanna cheered with her signature deadpan expression, then immediately took another bite of the chicken.

Chew, chew, chew—

Her chubby-cheeked face was a picture of pure bliss. In a daze, Kanna thought she could see a vision of Ryohei in the kitchen, preparing the very dish she was eating. He was like an alchemist—he boiled and chilled the chicken thighs three times, then placed them back in the pot with his alchemical ingredients: scallions, ginger, Shaoxing wine, and a pinch of salt. He let it simmer over low heat while simultaneously and gracefully preparing a scallion oil sauce.

And from this process, he had created the shining, glowing Hand-Torn Chicken before her.

~~~

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