Chapter 2

Kuroki Ryuji felt that he might have been deceived by the Japanese anime he watched before crossing over. What gentle yokai? It was all a lie. These yokai would start a fight at the slightest provocation, and their conversations were filled with the aura of yakuza bosses.

Moreover, since opening the izakaya, he had not encountered any yakuza, and even the nearby yakuza organizations treated him with great respect. Kuroki Ryuji had reason to suspect that these yokai might secretly have some organizational power.

"Hmph, if it weren't for the boss here, I would really want to stuff your eyeballs with my sake gourd." Shuten-douji looked disdainful, then patted his sake gourd. A stream of fragrant sake immediately poured out into a bottle.

"This is the payment for this meal." Shuten-douji was very generous. Every time he came, Kuroki Ryuji would receive a bottle of Shuten-douji's sake.

Kuroki Ryuji also highly valued this sake. The strong aroma of the sake always brought him considerable income, and it was not an exaggeration to say that it had made him wealthy.

"Boss, why did you give this sake such a middle-schooler name?" Inari sighed, having just seen Kuroki Ryuji label the bottle.

"What? Dead fox, I am Shuten-douji! What's so strange about my sake being called King of Demons' Sake?" Shuten-douji glared at Inari, his face saying, "If you don't like it, come and fight me."

"Lord Shuten, here are your karaage and mapo tofu." Kuroki Ryuji timely interrupted the potential conflict.

Kuroki Ryuji had come to understand Shuten-douji's temperament. As long as he had food in hand, Shuten-douji would not say much and would focus on finishing his meal. Any issues would be discussed after eating, embodying the principle of not talking during meals.

"Thank you, the mapo tofu and karaage here are the best." Shuten-douji sniffed, and the visible steam was all sucked into his nose, followed by a satisfied smile.

"Lord Shuten, you flatter me." Kuroki Ryuji smiled and continued washing the dishes that Inari had just finished.

"Tsk tsk, I'm not like some people who do nothing all day. Boss, I've already paid for my meal." Inari pulled out a napkin and wiped his mouth.

"Alright, Lord Inari, you're welcome to come again." Kuroki Ryuji nodded. Inari's meal fees were fixed and settled monthly, with the next payment due on the first of the following month.

After seeing Inari off, Kuroki Ryuji glanced at Shuten-douji, the famous King of Demons, who was slowly enjoying the food he had prepared. Kuroki Ryuji felt a bit proud inside.

In Tokyo, traditional Chinese cuisine was not very popular. Japanese cuisine tended to be light, and mapo tofu had been adapted to suit Japanese tastes. The authentic Sichuan-style mapo tofu, however, was not something everyone could accept.

So when Kuroki Ryuji, out of boredom, made an authentic mapo tofu, he lured Shuten-douji, who had come in for karaage, and from then on, Shuten-douji fell deeply in love with this spicy and numbing dish.

"Oh, oh, isn't this Lord Shuten? Boss, give me some skewers and a beer." A seductive voice, and Kuroki Ryuji saw another regular customer walk in.

"Good evening, Miss Sakurai." Kuroki Ryuji smiled and greeted the always smiling beauty.

Shuten-douji, true to his principle of not talking during meals, did not even glance at the beauty beside him.

But Sakurai knew Shuten-douji's character and did not disturb him, instead giving Kuroki Ryuji a strange smile.

Kuroki Ryuji did not pay much attention to Sakurai. Although he was initially shocked to learn her true identity, he had now come to terms with it.

"Oh, oh, it seems the boss still has no interest in me." Sakurai's smile was alluring, and with her beautiful face, Kuroki Ryuji suspected few could resist her charm.

"Miss Sakurai, don't tease me. I don't want to be devoured by you." Kuroki Ryuji laughed and shook his head, then skewered the chicken and scallions, preparing a common chicken and scallion skewer.

"Hmm, I wouldn't dream of eating the boss's heart." Miss Sakurai giggled, her laughter making others feel relaxed and even weak in the knees.

Kuroki Ryuji placed the skewers on the grill, poured a beer with a full head of foam for Sakurai, and glanced at the beautiful woman.

"It seems Miss Sakurai has had a good day." Kuroki Ryuji knew that Sakurai only came to drink when she had a good day.

"Oh, it was just okay. I just tasted the fear of a faithless man." Miss Sakurai extended her white, slender hand, picked up the beer glass, and took a sip.

"Miss Sakurai is too modest. I've heard from daytime customers that if their boyfriend or husband cheats, they can ask the Miss Sakurai who treads on corpses to punish them." Kuroki Ryuji laughed and shook his head. Miss Sakurai, though a yokai, was almost becoming a legend.

It was indeed a strange land, but since even Inari and Shuten-douji existed, it was not strange that the yokai from urban legends were real.

"Oh, to be called that by the boss is embarrassing." Sakurai laughed happily, even more seductively, but Kuroki Ryuji's heart remained unmoved.

Sakurai was a Hannya, not just any yokai, and a rational Hannya at that, which was terrifying. Most Hannya were irrational yokai.

"You should be more careful. Feeding on fear is fine, but if you eat a heart and cause a death, the onmyoji will not let it go." Shuten-douji wiped his mouth, having finished his meal.

"Understood, Lord Shuten." Sakurai still smiled, but Shuten-douji did not mind. Being a Hannya was not easy. Although she was a smiling Hannya, her expression was permanently fixed, unless she broke through her current stage.

"Boss, I'll be going. I still have a score to settle with that fox." Shuten-douji sneered and then rushed out as Kuroki Ryuji welcomed him back next time.

"Still the same?" Sakurai looked at Kuroki Ryuji and asked.

"Yes, still the same." Kuroki Ryuji sighed.