"You're very perceptive, young lady."

Yoshimura praised her as he stepped out from around the corner. He appeared as calm and unassuming as an old man out for an evening stroll. "Don't be alarmed," he said with an open, friendly demeanor. "I mean you no harm."

"You're a Ghoul, following us at night, and you say you mean no harm?" Yurine's face was grim, her eyes filled with a sharp, chilling frost.

She had misjudged him. She had thought he was one of the peaceful ones, but now he was secretly following them after they had closed up shop. In that case, she would just have to eliminate him.

"..." Stared down by Yurine, Yoshimura—the SSS-rank Ghoul known as the "Non-Killing Owl"—felt a sudden, heart-pounding dread. He froze for a moment, a look of utter shock on his face.

This young girl…

He knew they weren't simple, but he hadn't expected this. How long had it been since he had felt this kind of primal fear? He couldn't remember. It had been too long.

Seeing that she wasn't targeting him, but the Ghoul, Jashin-chan let out a sigh of relief. Then, gritting her teeth, she glared at the culprit who had scared her so badly. "You… I remember you! You were one of those four Ghouls from the stall!"

Jashin-chan pointed an accusatory finger at Yoshimura and urged Yurine on. "Yurine, take him out! He's obviously up to no good, sneaking around and following us!"

"Chotto matte!"

Sensing that the eyepatch-wearing girl was about to make a move, and feeling the heart-pounding dread intensify, Yoshimura quickly held up his hands. "I truly mean no harm!" he said urgently. "I just wanted to talk to you somewhere with fewer people around. After all, you know what I am…"

Putting aside the question of whether he could even win a fight, he had no desire to fight a human. Then again, is she really human? The pressure she was emitting was immense. His heart felt like it was going to leap out of his chest, and every one of his senses was screaming at him: Danger, danger, danger, extreme danger—! The feeling was even stronger than when he had faced Kishou Arima.

"Hah? And you expect us to believe your nonsense?" Jashin-chan put her hands on her hips, tilting her head with a smug, arrogant expression.

"Yurine, let's just hear what he has to say," Ryohei said, placing a hand on her slender shoulder. He had a good idea why Yoshimura had sought him out. It had to be about the Glowing Cuisine.

Yurine, who had been about to strike, reined in her killing intent. She stared intently at Yoshimura. "Fine. You have one minute to explain yourself."

"Hey—! Subject, why did you stop her?" Jashin-chan felt betrayed. She had been thinking of his safety, and he wasn't just ungrateful, he was actively working against her. She shot Ryohei a look of extreme dissatisfaction. "You know who he's after, don't you?"

"Of course," Ryohei replied, turning to her.

"And you still—?"

"He doesn't look like he's going to attack," Ryohei said, feeling the reason was a bit weak. He added, "Since he keeps insisting he means no harm, let's at least find out what he wants."

"You'll believe whatever he says?!" Jashin-chan almost laughed in frustration. She then gave Ryohei a suspicious look. That's not right. My subject isn't that naive. He was scared to death of Ghouls before, and even asked me to introduce him to friends from the Demon World. There's no reason for him to stop Yurine from acting now that a Ghoul has followed him home…

Jashin-chan keenly sensed that something was off. But since she couldn't guess what Ryohei was thinking, she just clicked her tongue, turned to Yoshimura, and sneered, "Alright, old man. Let's hear your last words."

You really have a way with words, Yoshimura thought, nearly choking on the speech he had prepared. His eye twitched as he looked at Jashin-chan. What is with this one? Her personality is just awful. It had been a long time since he had felt such a strong urge to teach someone a lesson.

"Hoo…" He took a shallow breath, calming his emotions, and turned to Ryohei. "I am the manager of Anteiku—Yoshimura."

Anteiku? Yurine hadn't heard of it, but the name, which sounded like a pun on "peaceful area," caught her attention.

"The Ghouls at Anteiku," Yoshimura began in a low voice, "survive by collecting the bodies of humans who have committed suicide or died in unfortunate accidents. We also distribute this food to our fellow Ghouls who are unwilling or unable to hunt…"

Ghouls who live off corpses? Yurine looked surprised.

Jashin-chan, on the other hand, was completely indifferent. She didn't care what kind of Ghoul he was.

Ryohei, of course, already knew this. It was the only reason he had stopped Yurine. Otherwise, he would have let her cut him down without a second thought. Ryohei had absolute faith in Yurine's strength; even God himself would be stunned.

"We… we all yearn for a human life," Yoshimura continued, his gaze fixed on Ryohei, his dark eyes seeming to shine under the dim streetlight. "We want the Ghoul community to integrate more naturally, more peacefully into society. But the food problem has always been unsolvable… making integration nothing more than empty talk.

"It wasn't until I had the chance to taste your Glowing Cuisine, Chef Ryohei, that I saw a true hope for peaceful coexistence between humans and Ghouls!" His voice suddenly became firm and powerful, filled with excitement and hope.

"I understand what you mean," Ryohei said, holding up a hand to stop him. "But I'm afraid you've come to me for nothing. I can only make this food myself; I can't teach the ability to others. And I alone cannot possibly meet the needs of all Ghouls. Furthermore, I have no interest in dedicating my life to serving your kind for the sake of your 'peaceful coexistence'."

"I see… that is truly a shame." Yoshimura had anticipated this outcome. He sighed, then tried a different approach. "In that case… Chef Ryohei, would it be possible for me to place an order for some of your food?"

Before Ryohei could refuse, Yoshimura added:

"I'll pay more!"

…So you're the Crossover World's "I'll Pay More" Old Man, Yoshimura?