Chapter 6

The next morning, Kuroki Ryuji still woke up as usual. After all, in Tokyo, getting up early was the only way to buy better quality ingredients from vendors. If you went later, you would face higher prices or poorer quality ingredients. So Kuroki Ryuji had gotten used to waking up at this time.

"Let me see..." Kuroki Ryuji yawned, washed up quickly, and went downstairs to check the small pot still simmering in the kitchen.

If it were ordinary ingredients, a whole night of simmering would probably have burned the entire pot. However, these ingredients were not ordinary, so Kuroki Ryuji didn't have to worry about the pot burning.

Opening the lid, the soup that was once in the pot had completely turned into a thick, coffee-colored substance. It looked a bit bad, but there was no foul smell. Although the thick shape looked a bit like waste from the toilet.

"Hmm... It should be ready." Kuroki Ryuji nodded in satisfaction, then turned off the heat. This thing had to be taken out in the evening; during the day, it could only be left in the kitchen.

However, to avoid arousing the curiosity of some customers, Kuroki Ryuji put the pot of thick substance in the kitchen cabinet and then went out to buy ingredients with peace of mind.

Kuroki Ryuji's business hours were quite special. Although most izakayas didn't operate much during the day, even if they did, it was usually close to evening. However, Kuroki Ryuji was an exception.

Perhaps due to his habits from before he came to this world, Kuroki Ryuji's business hours started at 10:30 AM and ended at 5:30 PM. Although this business schedule led to fewer customers during the day, Kuroki Ryuji didn't mind at all.

"Kuroki kid, you're up so early again today." Just as he stepped out of the izakaya, Kuroki Ryuji saw one of his colleagues, Uncle Kobayashi, who ran a late-night diner.

"Uncle Kobayashi, you're still operating at this time." Kuroki Ryuji was already used to it; Uncle Kobayashi usually opened at midnight and operated until 7:00 AM.

Kobayashi Izumi, whom Kuroki Ryuji called Uncle Kobayashi, had a name similar to the owner of the popular Japanese drama "Midnight Diner," but they were not the same person.

However, in this world, the Japanese drama "Midnight Diner" existed, and even the manga author had the same name. This made Kuroki Ryuji's dream of becoming rich by drawing manga fall through.

"Yes, but it's almost time to close." Uncle Kobayashi smiled warmly, which was probably related to his dreams.

Kuroki Ryuji chatted a few words with Uncle Kobayashi and then headed straight to his destination. He needed to quickly buy the ingredients for the day.

"These and these, please, Mr. Ishida." Kuroki Ryuji quickly selected his items and then asked Mr. Ishida to drive the ingredients back for him.

Kuroki Ryuji always felt he was a rather embarrassing existence among the穿越者 (穿越者 means "people who have crossed over" or "transmigrants" in this context, but it's not commonly used in English, so I'll translate it as "transmigrants"). After all, he had been in this world for several years but still hadn't passed his driving test, so he didn't have a car of his own.

After preparing the ingredients and cleaning up, it was 10:25 AM.

"What a hassle, do I have to hire someone again?" Kuroki Ryuji stretched, loosening his muscles.

Although Kuroki Ryuji hired waiters during the day, they were mostly students working part-time, which meant they were unstable. So the izakaya often had to rehire staff.

The previous waiter had passed an interview and was now working as a salaryman in a large company. Kuroki Ryuji saw a happy smile on his face. Although Kuroki Ryuji felt he didn't quite fit in with Japan's corporate culture, for students who were about to graduate or had already graduated, being hired by a large company was a turning point in their lives.

So Kuroki Ryuji didn't rudely stop him but treated the waiter to a meal of karaage, wishing him success and a smooth career.

Kuroki Ryuji twisted his neck and then removed the "Closed" sign from the restaurant entrance, replacing it with "Open." He then patiently waited for customers to arrive.

However, there were few people willing to come to the izakaya for a drink during the day. So Kuroki Ryuji waited until just after noon to welcome the first customer of the day.

"Boss, the usual." The curtain moved, and a middle-aged man with glasses and a slight bald spot walked in.

"It's Mr. Yoshida. Sure, please take a seat." Kuroki Ryuji glanced at him and nodded.

Mr. Yoshida was a regular at the izakaya, working in a nearby office building. Although he was a big drinker, for Kuroki Ryuji, it didn't matter as long as he came to drink and eat.

"Do you have the King of Demons sake today?" Mr. Yoshida tapped the table and looked around. The izakaya was clean but empty.

"Yes, but it's still limited. Would you like a glass, Mr. Yoshida?" Kuroki Ryuji skillfully took out the sake given to him by the Yatotoko from the cabinet and placed it on the table.

"Of course! But just one glass. Any more, and I can't afford it." Mr. Yoshida looked excitedly at the sake in Kuroki Ryuji's hand. He had been lucky enough to taste it once, and it was very good, but it was also very expensive. Even for Mr. Yoshida, he could only drink it about twice a month.

"Sure." Kuroki Ryuji nodded and poured a glass of sake. The amount was small, but the price was high. Kuroki Ryuji set the price at 20,000 yen per glass.

Then Kuroki Ryuji grilled four chicken skewers and placed a plate of edamame on the dish, along with the King of Demons sake and a glass of draft beer, and brought them over.

"Thank you." Mr. Yoshida happily picked up the chopsticks, but his arm accidentally hit the edge of the table, causing him to gasp in pain.

Kuroki Ryuji glanced at Mr. Yoshida's arm. Although the tables and chairs in the izakaya were of good quality and heavy, they wouldn't cause a man to feel such pain from a mere touch.

"Sorry to make a fool of myself." Mr. Yoshida sighed, then picked up the King of Demons sake and took a small sip, savoring it.

Kuroki Ryuji didn't say anything. At first, he thought demons were more terrifying than humans, but later he realized that humans were far more terrifying than demons.