6-Today's first customer

"Then let's all dig in."

"Itadakimasu."

Since there weren't any customers, we could sit wherever. The food was all set on the biggest table. After saying grace, I immediately raised my hand towards the bread.

Though the exterior of the monster baguette was hard, the inside was soft and fluffy. Garlic powder was spread on each slice before it was toasted. I dipped the crust of the bread in the soup to soften it, then put some omelet on top. Finally, I took a bite.

It was crunchy, then soft and juicy. It had all of the three important textures. In short, it was incredibly tasty.

Ahh, it's been a long time since I've had bread. It's delicious!

Norn and Couge saw my actions and copied them. They took a bite, then froze for a long moment.

"Huh? You don't like it?" I questioned.

They answered in unison, "It's delicious!!"

Alright, I got two 'delicious' today too!!

Norn remarked, "I've never thought of putting garlic on bread and then toasting it before."

"What do you usually put?" I asked.

Couge replied, "Roast meat."

"......That's it?"

"I don't know any other way than that," Couge confirmed.

Norn added, "Me too. I've never seen any restaurants that served this kind of food either."

So the kinds of food this world had were pretty simple, huh. Even the food served in restaurants only mainly just roasted meat, and only used salt as seasoning for vegetables. There wasn't much flavor added.

"The vegetables are delicious too. This...chinese-style dressing?...is great," Couge added.

"Mayonnaise is also wonderful," Norn interjected.

"Then I want to taste that too."

Even as the two of them spoke with each other, their hands never stopped moving. It seemed that to gain the huge bodies they had, they had to make up for it with a huge appetite.

Couge commented, "So this is the taste of butter. Amazing. I've never tasted anything like this. The tomato soup is great, too. I can taste the sweetness of the vegetables. It really shows the good quality of the ingredients."

"Right?" Norn said proudly.

Norn acted as if he was the one being complimented. How cute.

In the blink of an eye, all the food was gone.

It felt really good to have a full stomach. Norn and Couge were leaning back on their chairs with satisfied expressions on their faces. Having a meal with others really made people happy.

"Hey, so do you think you can continue with your restaurant if you used butter?" I asked excitedly.

Couge's expression turned a little sad. "Yeah. But without any money, I can't buy any ingredients. I'm sorry, you even went all this way to bring some butter." He explained further, "There's already someone who wants to buy me out since the location is good. I plan to sell the restaurant and go back to my old job of being a porter."

Norn was dismayed. "No way... But didn't you say you wanted to protect your father's restaurant?"

There were a lot of knife scars and burns on Couge's hands. He'd probably practiced a lot, all so he could protect his father's restaurant.

It was too sad to lose a place filled with memories.

Until I was in my second year of high school, I spent my long vacations with my grandma from my father's side. But that house was no more.

When my grandpa died in the winter of my third year of middle school, grandma continued living there alone. But when grandma died just before summer vacation of my last year in high school, my father immediately sold that house and land.

Grandma had owned a piece of land. It was in a small, rural area on a mountain. The land there used to have little value. But then there were plans to build a highway, and thus the mountain land prices grew too.

Grandma had been reluctant to sell. I loved that house as well so I didn't want it to be sold, either, but my dad wanted the money so he didn't hesitate to sell.

The house was immediately torn down, and the mountain where I'd played and caught beetles in was leveled, the trees cut down to expose the earth.

I said, "You know, I usually just eat the vegetables I harvest so I don't really need the money. The vegetables in my farm grow really well, so if we're just talking vegetables, I can supply you with a lot. The eggs... even if my chickens did their best, they can only lay five eggs each day so it might not be enough for a restaurant. The butter as well. If you only need a little I can make some every day. You can just pay me once you become successful. How about it?"

"Thanks," Couge replied.

Though he thanked me, his face said that he'd already given up.

I didn't like it. Wasn't this too sad an ending?

Even though no one ever came in, Couge's restaurant was super clean. The floors were all shiny, without a speck of dust to be seen.

He always did his best to clean the place, just in case a customer came. Looking at Couge, my chest squeezed.

Just as we fell into deep silence, not knowing what to say, the bell on the front door rang.

The face of a bearded old man peeked in through the door. "Are you open? I'd like to eat."

It was a little after noon and the place was deserted, so he probably thought we were closed.

"A-a customer!! Welcome!!" I jumped up in haste, causing the chair I'd been sitting on to fall down to the floor with a loud crash. I hurriedly lifted it and put it back in place, then dashed forward to welcome the guest in. "Welcome, please sit wherever you like!"

"H-hey, Shinobu."

Couge looked bewildered. I made a 'shhh' gesture to silence him, then tugged him towards the kitchen.

"Couge, you have ingredients today. There's still two eggs and a lot of vegetables. Plus we have enough soup for days. And there's still two of the three loaves of bread Norn bought. If we use half an egg for a single serving of omelette, we can serve up to four customers. This is a restaurant, remember?"

Couge stood stock still, dazed. I left him and ran towards the customer.

The bearded old man was startled and a bit off-put by my forceful appearance, but I didn't care.

"Dear customer, today we only have the Chef's Special, is that alright?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

The old man looked scary, but he patted my head as if to say 'good boy'. This was the first time I'd felt grateful to be seen as a kid.

Take advantage of everything you can, that was my motto! I could even use my babyface as a weapon!! With the words 'Chef's Special', I could cover up the fact that we didn't have enough ingredients to have a full menu. We have a deal alright? So you can't complain if the meal's a little simple.

Just as I was running back to the kitchen, I spotted Norn standing around aimlessly and dragged him in with me. Then with a knife in hand, I pointed imperiously at Couge. "Couge, you're on omelette. Norn, garlic toast. And I'm on salad. Alright everyone, start cooking!!"

Norn and Couge flurriedly started moving. I put the soup back on the stove, and started making the chinese-style dressing. The scent of butter and garlic started wafting throughout the place.

"Ah, this is bad, I forgot to serve water!!"

Hurry, hurry!! If it were me, I'd hate to stay at a restaurant that didn't even give service water.

It wasn't that I wanted to drink, but more that it showed that you were being welcomed, that it felt like the restaurant valued you as a customer.

If they didn't serve any water, you'd be left sitting there and maybe think that you'd been forgotten by the staff. It'd make you anxious.

"Sorry for the wait. Here's some water. The food's already being made so please wait a bit more."

As I was carrying the water, I could see the old man's nose twitching. So the smell even reached here.

"Ohoh, what a cute and thoughtful waiter. This is the first time I've gotten this kind of service. Thank you, it's hot out so this is perfect."

The old man gulped down the water in one breath. It kinda looked like a beer commercial. The only thing missing was the "Kaahh" of satisfaction at the end.

I could almost hear the "Delicious dry taste" voiceover in the background.

"They don't serve water at other restaurants?" I asked.

"No. I work as a porter so I've been to a lot of places, but I've never experienced this kind of service before."

This world was really medieval in a lot of ways. Even the food, what with just roasting the meat and just using salt as seasoning.

Then, the time I'd spent visualizing myself as an excellent waiter back when I'd decided to get a part-time job might come in handy.

In the end, because of my appearance, I'd been rejected by that late-night family restaurant, so this was my waiter debut!!

Just the thought that this person may be the last ever customer of Couge's restaurant had me all fired up. I will definitely make him leave this place with a smile!

If we get a good review, maybe Couge wouldn't give up. Even if he sold the place, he could aim to save up money to buy it back.

And if this place wasn't available, maybe he could start up a new restaurant somewhere else.

That's what I did. I wanted to buy back my grandma's house and land that my father had sold, so even if the chances were low, I kept buying lottery tickets.

In the end my efforts didn't amount to anything. But I didn't have any other way.

Once the highway was built, I wouldn't be able to buy back the land. I'd hoped that the project would be scrapped, but it went on as scheduled. The once green mountain became barren. I was so sad my once beloved home was lost that I never went back to that town again.

I'd transferred my grandparents' graves to the town I lived in so I didn't have any reason to go back, either.

It was impossible for me, but Couge could still make it.

He'd be able to keep flipping that giant frying pan and keep making some omelettes.

Grandma once said, "Food becoming more delicious if you put your heart into it isn't just a saying or a work of magic. It's because you cook with care when you imagine the people who'll eat your food saying that it's delicious. When you cut vegetables into the same thickness, when you snap off the tails of bean sprouts, you need to do every step with care. So let's cook with care, and make your grandfather say it's delicious."

My grandma always imagined my grandpa's smile as she cooked, smiling all the while.

All of my cooking skills were taught to me by my grandma.

Grandma, right now, I'm cooking with care. Please watch over me and make sure I create delicious meals.

"Couge, I'm serving the food!!"

It'll be fine, I've done image training. I've imagined doing it perfectly. I've studied the skills of the waiter of the well-reviewed, famous and large-scale chain restaurant near my house!

It's smoothly carrying the trays of food, placing the dishes on the table smartly, and saying "thank you for waiting" with a smile.

As I imagined myself as a waiter wearing a crisp white shirt and a Garson apron, I tried to lift the tray full of dishes and couldn't help but grunt.

I'd made a mountain of salad and filled the soup bowl to the brim as service. As a result, they were too heavy for me to lift all at once. Even the plates themselves were heavy.

I really wanted to carry the tray on one hand to look dashing while I served, but the tray was too heavy and the soup might spill, so in the end, I had to walk slowly and carefully, keeping my eyes on the tray all the while.

Norn and Couge both worriedly watched my progress from behind, following me with arms held out and ready to help in case of a mishap.

"Thank... you... for waiting."

My arms shook as I lowered the tray onto the table, making the plates and cutlery clink against each other.

I couldn't spare the focus to smile. Once the tray was safely on the table, I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks, you've worked hard."

The kind old man patted my back and praised me. It kinda felt like I was on My First Errand. How embarrassing.

"I recommend topping the bread with the omelette; it's delicious. There's dressing on the salad so you can eat it as is."

With this detailed explanation, maybe I've redeemed myself?

The old man did as I suggested and put some omelette on the garlic toast and made a huge bite.

"Let's see......Ohh, it's delicious!!"

Watching the old man finish the bread in two bites, I couldn't help but pump my fist in triumph. I turned around and saw Norn and Couge holding hands and looking happy.

The old man ate fast. It didn't even take ten minutes and he was done. He drank up his glass of water and stood up.

His plates looked as if they'd been licked clean. Even the leftover dressing he'd swept up with some bread and eaten.

"How much was it?" he asked.

The price. That's right, since I came to this world I'd never eaten out so I didn't know what the market price was. I swiftly moved to Couge's side, tugged on his arm so he'd bend down, and whispered in his ear, "Hey, how much does lunch usually cost?"

"About 500 garbo."

500 garbo. I'd never heard of that currency, so of course I didn't know whether that was expensive or cheap. But considering we didn't use any roast meat that the people of this world so loved, we should probably price the meal a little lower.

It was like a meal with no main dish anyway.

"Um, then, 400 garbo."

I'd brought the eggs and vegetables so there was no cost, and even if we add in the cost of the bread, it was still a huge profit.

"400? Then here's a 500 coin. Keep the change. It's your tip. Go buy something sweet for yourself. The food was delicious so I'll be sure to come again."

"Th-thank you very much!!"

He said it was delicious. He said he'd come again!!

"Couge, did you see? The customer was smiling."

"Yeah. It's the first time I've been told that my food was delicious. When I first took over, honestly speaking, it was a mess. I knew I had to get better at cooking so I practiced hard. But by the time I'd gotten it down, there were no customers coming anymore."

I see. That's right, Couge had been a porter before he became a cook. He'd probably cooked some terrible food at first.

Meanwhile, the customers grew fewer and fewer, so even when he practiced and became better at cooking, in the end there wasn't anyone to eat the food he made.

Because no one would come to a restaurant rumored to make terrible food.

Then, why did a customer come today? Well, he was probably lured in by the smell of butter.

Fragrant and delicious scents were really important, after all. Just like how the smell of freshly baked bread lured you to a bakery, or the smell of grilled chicken lured you to a yakitori stand.

As Couge stood savoring his happiness, Norn rubbed his arm in a comforting manner. I nodded happily at these two close friends. Suddenly, the shopkeeper's bell over the front door rang once again.

This time, there were two customers. Thankfully, we still had three servings of egg left.

The three of us looked at each other and grinned. We turned and faced the customers together with a smile.

"""Welcome, please sit wherever you like!!"""