Tokyo, District 20 – Night
As the sun set, the Midnight Diner located at the end of an alley near Anteiku slowly opened its doors, ready to start its business for the night.
A young man with messy black hair pushed the glass door while yawning widely. The small bell above the door rang as he turned the wooden sign that read "OPEN."
The restaurant was actually quite spacious, consisting of two floors with front and back yards. The entire end of the alley became the operational area of this small shop. However, due to its hidden location in a dead-end alley, few customers were aware of its existence.
But tonight, outside the restaurant's yard, a girl in a school uniform with black socks stared at the door with a hungry yet annoyed expression.
"Shigure Yuzuki, why can't you just open at noon? I want to eat your cooking every day."
The girl wore a white hairband, her slim body accentuated by her sharp dark red pupils. Her figure was clearly visible behind the black stockings that wrapped around her legs, while her hands tightly hugged a laptop.
Yuzuki raised an eyebrow and pointed to the restaurant's sign.
"The famous and beautiful writer who wrote 'The Metronome in Love' Kasumigaoka Utaha, can't you read?"
If Midnight Diner opened during the day, could it still be called midnight? Besides, who would want to run a shop during the day?
Utaha's eyes narrowed upon hearing his response, but the compliment of "beautiful writer" slightly improved her mood.
"Yuzuki-kun, I mean… why open at night? If you opened during the day and advertised, you could get more customers?"
Yuzuki shook his head. "Lazy. Don't want to."
Utaha fell silent.
A very… very unreasonable reason.
For most people, opening a shop is to make a profit. But for Yuzuki? It was just a regular routine.
Some time ago, Yuzuki found himself stranded in this anime world and bound to a system called Midnight Diner. This system had no heavy requirements, just asked him to open a restaurant, check in every day, and then it would give him random food rewards from various worlds.
Interestingly, regular food was just nutritious, but if he got magical food? It could grant him abilities without side effects!
Unfortunately, so far he had only received regular food.
The system sometimes gave missions that could be completed or ignored. If completed, he would receive rewards. If not, it was no big deal.
This laid-back system suited Yuzuki perfectly.
But this world… was not safe.
This area, District 20, also known as Anteiku, often had news of people being eaten by Ghouls. Even in old newspapers, there were reports about damage caused by the Gun Devil. Not to mention reports of other Devils appearing.
"Really chaotic," Yuzuki sighed. "I just want to live a peaceful life…"
The restaurant began to operate.
Yuzuki opened the yard gate and invited Utaha inside.
The restaurant's rustic interior was combined with a medieval tavern touch stone and wooden walls with modern accents. Utaha loved the atmosphere here.
As soon as she entered, she headed straight to her "exclusive seat" at the corner of the bar, near the wall. From here, she could see Yuzuki cooking in the kitchen.
Utaha sat down and immediately opened her laptop.
"Is the order the same? Mapo Tofu + rice + sake?" Yuzuki asked.
"Yes," she replied shortly.
"Wait a moment."
Yuzuki disappeared into the kitchen.
Meanwhile, Utaha opened her writing document. It turned out she had last edited exactly 24 hours ago meaning she only wrote while she was here.
A notification popped up in the corner of the screen. A message from her editor, Machida Sonoko:
"How's the progress on the new chapter? Can you send it on time?"
Utaha looked at her blank document, then at the manuscript she had just deleted…
"Don't worry, it's fine. I just found a place that can give me a lot of inspiration."
"Where?"
"A restaurant."
"? That's just for appetite, right?"
"Yeah… that too."
"... Okay, I want to see the draft later, okay?"
"Okay…"
As soon as the chat ended…
Her stomach growled.
A delicious aroma began to fill the room. Utaha held back her hunger, resting her chin on her hand, her eyes fixed on the kitchen.
The image of the delicious Mapo Tofu from yesterday appeared soft tofu texture, spicy seasoning, savory minced meat…
Unconsciously, her legs wrapped in black stockings rubbed together gently…
Kitchen
Yuzuki was preparing Mapo Tofu.
Soft tofu pieces were cooked with minced meat, garlic, pepper, and other seasonings. In his hands, ordinary ingredients transformed into a mesmerizing dish.
When poured onto the plate, the food even sparkled!
This was one of Yuzuki's basic skills since he got the system; his cooking ability had instantly risen to the level of a master chef.
Additionally, there was a unique effect:
Anyone could eat his cooking, even non-human creatures.
The more they liked it, the more dependent they became on him (though Yuzuki considered this just a normal "famous chef" effect).
After finishing the Mapo Tofu, Yuzuki also made a portion for himself.
As he brought the food to the bar, Utaha could hardly wait. Her eyes watered as she stared at the plate in Yuzuki's hands.
If it weren't for her pride, she might have jumped out of her seat.
Yuzuki placed the plate in front of her.
"Here you go."
Utaha swallowed hard.
She picked up her chopsticks, then
"Itadakimasu!"