The Other World Dining Hall (WN) Chapter 20

Morning

The Sunday morning of the otherworld dining hall started with cleaning up.

After giving a large pot to the last customer of the previous day's "Special Sales", the owner tidied up the kitchen so that insects didn't come.

However, the cleaning up tended to be postponed to the next day.

10 years had pa.s.sed since the owner inherited the restaurant from the previous owner.

Compared to his younger days, his cooking skill went up, but his physical strength went down.

He felt a bit old lately. He managed his restaurant by himself, especially during Sunday.

(Well, I'll be in trouble during Monday if I don't clean up properly.)

On weekdays, ordinary sales were helped by chefs in the kitchen and waitresses.

Special business would end after the owner finished cleaning up.

That's why at the usual time of the morning, the owner who was a man of habit, went down to the kitchen at the bas.e.m.e.nt as usual…

He stepped on something.

[Uo!?]

A soft thing was stepped on. Surprised, he raised his voice and involuntarily looked down.

[…Who is this?]

There was an angry half-asleep girl who woke up. The pot of leftover corn potage1 from yesterday was now empty.

[Huh…?]

A girl wearing a worn out overalls and a big hat.

From underneath the hat, a reddish blonde hair can be seen.

As soon as she woke up, the hat fell off her head, small winding horns which grew from her temples were revealed.

The half-asleep girl rubbed her reddish brown eyes for a while, and then picked up her hat in a hurry after realizing that it fell off.

She looked around with a relieved face… and panicked after seeing the owner.

[…E?…U,uwaa!? It, it's not a dream!?]

After remembering what she did, she bowed her head and apologized… the hat fell off again.

[A, awa!?]

To the girl who fluttered around in panic,

[Well, calm down first.]

The owner regained his calmness and urged the girl to calm down. He then asked why she was here.

That was the first encounter between a girl… Aletta and the owner.

Rewind to the midnight of the previous day.

[Uuu… I got fired again.]

Inside a ruin with no door and holes on the ceiling and the floor, Aletta cursed herself while wrapping herself with a tattered blanket.

The gorgeous capital city of Kana Kingdom.

This city, which was said to be the most prosperous in that world, inevitably had a slum area.

Slum area.

The shadow of the richest city in the world.

Where poor people were quietly living, the darkness of the city.

As soon as Aletta lost her parents due to sickness, she left her "family" at the village and departed to the Kingdom.

In a poor village, it was thought that one woman could not make a living alone… in the end, even at the capital city; she lived at the poorest part.

Due to the fact that she was just a young girl with no connections or anything, and more than that, her race was a problem.

Aletta was a demon.

Demon.

The kin of the Demon G.o.d who tried to take over the world.

It was a race close to the humans, the dwarves and the half-elves. They had a non-human body parts and became a different race when they wors.h.i.+pped the Evil G.o.d.

Their strength overwhelmed the other races, and their magical powers came close to the elves.

But there were technologies and sorceries used to fight against the demons.

As incarnations of fear and hatred of that world, they were fighting against other races for a long time… Aletta was born 50 years ago.

At that time, the demon kin prepared a trump card to win the last fight… the resurrection of the Evil G.o.d.

However, the Evil G.o.d was killed by three humans and a half-elf before he could fully regain his powers. And then, the demon tribe's prosperity ended.

For the demon tribe who lost the protection of the Evil G.o.d, there was no way they could compete with other races with their decreased strength and magical power.

Some lived quietly somewhere where other eyes could not reach, and some came to live at human settlements by pretending to be human beings.

Aletta was a weak demon, a member of the demon tribe but similar to humans.

Her demonic trait was small goat horns that grew from her temples. That's it.

Otherwise she looked like a very ordinary village girl.

That was why Aletta used her hat to hide her horns to live at the capital… it did not go well.

70 years had pa.s.sed since the war with the Evil G.o.d ended, so the criticisms against the demon kin were not so strong… to the extent that they would not be killed immediately if found out.

However, if the fact that they were a demon came out, they could not continue their jobs, and could not live anywhere else except at abandoned places.

In fact, Aletta had been fired 3 times, and lived without eating in a lonely ruined house.

[Uuu…I'm hungry…]

It was midnight, but she could not sleep due to hunger.

She had not even a single coin.

Until now, she had worked hard as a day labourer, but her limit was near.

…The idea of getting money by "worst means" crossed her head, but she hurriedly shooked her head.

And, when she tried to sleep by force,

[A sweet scent…?]

There was a delicious smell floating around. Aletta raised her body in reflex.

It was not the smell of vegetation, at this time of midnight, the smell of food.

The little sleepiness she had was blown away by the smell and she looked around her without thinking.

(…Are? A door at such place?)

And she noticed, a black door was visible amongst the ruin's rubbles.

(…Was there any? That kind of door.)

It's the 5th day Aletta lived at that place. Even when she desperately went out to look for work at daytime and only returning to sleep at night, she would notice such a door.

Thinking that, Aletta tilted her head, but noticed something.

(The sweet smell… it came from that door.)

Plagued by extreme hunger, Aletta hurriedly approached that door.

It's a sweet scent that she never smelled before… a faint scent that stimulated appet.i.te.

Her stomach growled, accentuating her hunger.

Motivated by it, Alleta opened the door.

[…What is this? Cat… is it?]

Under the full moon, the door opened.

The door made of black wood with golden handle.

A cat-like picture was drawn on the surface.

If you look carefully, the door seemed old, but you could see that it was well-maintained.

She gently opened the door.

'Chirinchirin'

[Kya?!]

She was surprised by the sound of the bell.

[Tha, that was surprising…]

Apparently a bell was attached to the door, and rang when Aletta opened the door.

There was a room beyond the door.

(It's alright…Oh, it smells fragrant.)

A dark s.p.a.ce was gaping open.

Just like that… Aletta unintentionally closed the door.

The scent of the food came from the back.

She slowly entered the room and gently closed the door.

(Actually, this is not good…)

Aletta's conscience tried to stop her.

She's going to steal.

She was aware of that. But…

[Sweet smell…]

She couldn't resist the sweet scent and warm food.

Aletta headed to the backroom while avoiding the countless tables and chairs placed in the room.

The backroom. It was a "silver" room.

(Wha, what's this?)

As she was used to the darkness, she could roughly see the room.

There was no sign of a person and a myriad of silver doors that she didn't know how to use.

(Funny place…)

The first room… was the room with the countless tables and chairs.

However, the room with silver doors was outside of Aletta's imagination.

That's why Aletta was convinced.

(Could it be… a dream, maybe?)

It seemed that it was a dream induced by her extreme hunger.

She was convinced.

When she thought about it, it was funny from the first place.

A room with silver doors, located on the other side of a well-maintained black door.

Such a thing could not exist in reality.

(…It's a dream, isn't it?)

Using that conviction as a weapon, Aletta boldly acted.

In that room, a small copper pot was placed on a table.

Opening the lid, the sweet scent from before wafted out from it.

[Wa…!]

Inhaling the fragrance, Aletta let out a cheery voice.

Inside the small pot was a soup.

The moment she sniffed it, Aletta's stomach roared loudly.

Aletta scooped out the soup with a big ladle that was in the pot.

(…It, it's a dream… a dream right?)

Aletta who found the source of the scent, deepen her conviction that it's a dream.

This smell closely resembled the "Knight's Sauce2" that was the specialty of the Kingdom.

It was a scent that Aletta smelled sometimes.

In her poor village hometown, she never saw such luxury goods.

While she saw it occasionally, she gave up after looking at the price. She wondered if it appeared in her dream due to her desire.

(The, then… isn't it fine?)

Aletta swallowed her overflowing saliva and scooped the soup.

The soup contained something small resembling a grain.

It carried a sweet scent to her nose…

[What is this!? Swe, sweet!?]

'Gokyu gokyu', she drank her soup loudly.

The still slightly warm soup… there was sweetness.

It was also salty and milky taste… it was delicious.

[Ntsu! Ntsu… Fu,fu!…Nu.]

It was the most delicious food Aletta ever tasted, and she hurriedly ate it.

Such a delicious taste… she was hooked the first time she tasted it.

A sweet soup with smooth texture.

The small grains that were occasionally tasted also tasted sweet and delicious.

It flowed through her throat, into her stomach, and made it, which had not eaten anything, warm.

She could not stop scooping the soup and bringing it to her mouth.

The soup, which was a leftover, vanished in a blink of eye.

[Fuu…]

Despite feeling regretful about the empty pot, Aletta sighed with full stomach after a long time.

This was the first time she experienced it, a full contented stomach.

It's almost like a dream… in fact it was a dream for Aletta.

[Fuwaa…]

With her stomach filled, she was overcome with sleepiness.

[Nn…]

Aletta who was convinced that this was a dream did not hesitate to lie on the floor.

The floor is rigid but there was no frigid wind. Here, Aletta could relax well.

Inside the dark room… Aletta quietly slept.

[…So it's like that. You thought that it was a dream.]

[Hya, hyaa… I'm sorry…]

The owner who listened to the story gazed at the curling Aletta.

It's a casual gaze… Aletta curled even tighter.

(Wha, what to do… don't tell me it's a magician's house…)

Aletta trembled due to her actions.

Originally, one of the world's finest magicians hailed from the capital city of the Kingdom.

It was also the home of one of the heroes that defeated Evil G.o.d, the great sage, Arturius.

It was not strange that there was an excellent magician there.

And Aletta just saw the man in front of her using magic.

As soon as he placed his hand on the wall, with a clicking sound, the dark room was illuminated with white light.

The room which was as dark as the night became as bright as the day.

It was not possible for Aletta to run away, so she trembled and waited.

[Well… right now I don't really care about the corn potage…]

It was something that he left for himself after serving it for the customers.

If he didn't want to eat it, he'll just throw it away.

[…I'm feeling hungry right now…]

Yesterday, after serving the red queen who brought home the large pot of beef stew3, the owner who was feeling tired only ate a light meal for dinner.

It was completely digested by this morning…he was hungry.

Of course he planned to make breakfast…

[…Miss Aletta? Do you want to eat breakfast?]

The owner asked Aletta.

He could not leave the girl in front of him and eat breakfast all by himself.

[E, eh, no, no, no, no, way!? I, I don't have any money so I don't want to further inconvenient you!]

[…No, even if you said so. You can eat for free. I feel uncomfortable if I eat alone… Above all, 2 people eating together are more enjoyable.]

The owner admonished the fl.u.s.tered Aletta.

[Re, really!? Then, thank you very much!]

In response to the unexpected warm words, Aletta nodded.

[Oh. Well then… wait a moment.]

The owner nodded and started to cook.

Put soft bread in the oven and take out eggs and bacon slices from the fridge.

Put a black skillet on top of the stove and turn on the fire.

First, quickly slice the bacon and pour oil into the frying pan to prepare a stir-fry.

(Salt, a little pepper with milk and cheese…)

Since he was making it for a "customer", he made the egg mix better than usual and poured it into the pan.

Mix it quickly, make sure air is trapped in the egg, turn down the fire into medium, and close the lid.

Serve raw vegetables in a bowl as is and pour the dressing.

Place the hot bread from the oven on a plate along with b.u.t.ter, and finally serve the eggs and bacons on another plate.

It's finished.

[Here. It's a special "Morning Set4" that I usually do not serve at the restaurant.]

Aletta gazed at the dish placed in front of her and her eyes became as round as the plates.

(Thi, this guy is a great chef…)

Aletta knew that the dish prepared was more artistic than any food prepared by other cooks.

He cooked it so flowingly like a magic trick.

She had only eaten raw gra.s.s before. She could see that there was an a.s.sortment of eggs and smoked meat.

That, and bread and b.u.t.ter.

[Unfortunately I ran out of soup. I'll give you cocoa after the meal, so please be patient about it.]

While saying that, the owner quickly brought a chair from somewhere and sat down on it.

[Itadakimasu.]

Put your hands together and pray before meal.

[Oh, uh… the G.o.d of Demons. I have bread to live today… Ah!? Do, don't mind me!]

After saying her prayers, Aletta hurriedly denied it.

Aletta knew.

It was said that the G.o.d of Demons was called the Evil G.o.d and was still feared among human race.

[Yes? What's wrong? Is there anything you dislike?]

However, the owner confusedly looked at Aletta.

The owner did not know the circ.u.mstances at the other world, and he only thought that she prayed to the Demon G.o.d because she was a demon kin.

[No, no. There's nothing wrong… what is this?!]

In a hurry to mislead the owner, Aletta shoved the bread into her mouth… and was surprised.

It was too soft for bread. It was warm and slightly sweet like freshly baked bread.

Spreading in the mouth was a fragrant aroma of wheat.

This was a delicacy.

(Uso!? This is… this is!?)

Something triggered inside Aletta and she ate the morning set in a hurry.

Everything was incredibly delicious.

Unlike normal raw vegetables, the vegetables with sour and salty dressing had no bitterness at all.

They were fresh and not even a little bit shriveled.

Every time she took a bite, she let out a moan.

The smoked meat which was the main dish was also delicious.

It looked like it was just baked, a good ingredient.

Smoked meat with a moderate amount of fat escaping from it.

The amount of salt was just right, and the taste of the meat matched the bread.

And the egg.

It was a wonderful workmans.h.i.+p that used expensive eggs without hesitation.

The smoked meat was cooked in the pan first, so the eggs contained the flavor of the meat.

Even though it was delicious enough just like that, even though it was already a delicious treat, it was elevated into a deliciousness unknown to Aletta by mixing it salt and pepper, even milk and cheese to better taste.

And, the bread that she ate.

White, soft and sweet bread that goes well with any dish.

Although the bread alone was delicious, the taste jumped explosively when combined with other dishes.

Thus the two breads placed on Aletta's plate disappeared into her stomach in an instant.

[Do you have any money?]

She shooked her head so rapidly that her hat fell off her head in response to the owner's question.

[Hahaha. If you can eat so deliciously, it's nice to cook for you.]

He was amused that Aletta ate so hurriedly, and gave her his bread.

…And after 5 minutes.

[It was delicious…]

Aletta sighed satisfactorily while becoming uneasy that she could eat something so luxurious in the morning.

[Thank you.]

The owner was also in a good mood.

Warm the milk in a pan, pour a brown powder inside, and stir it well.

[Here. Cocoa5 after a meal. It's sweet and delicious.]

The owner gave it to Aletta who received it and became enchanted by the taste.

[…By the way, Aletta, you said that you were looking for a job.]

[…Yes.]

Due to those words, Aletta was pulled back to reality.

That's right. This time she got a wonderful treat from a magician, but it was really fortunate that it was for free.

In addition, she also needed to desperately look for work.

(What shall I do from now…)

She deflated from the happy feelings she got from the delicious food.

[If you do not mind, in a week… why don't you work at my place once every 7 days?]

"Batto", Aletta raised her head.

[Work from dawn until midnight. Your work entails of serving the food and was.h.i.+ng the dishes. I don't have a dishwasher to wash the dish. With this condition, your pay will be… the price over there will be 10 pieces of silver coin.]

[So, so much!? Is that really true!?]

From the content of the job, Aletta was surprised by the high wage.

Usually, when there was no education and connection, the amount that Aletta who was a member of the demon race could get in one day does not exceed 10 pieces of copper coin.

This was a "silver coin". Moreover, there were 10 pieces.

For that amount of money, a young girl could fund her living for a month.

[Yup. Well, even if you take a break, you have around 14 working hours. Also, meals are made 3 times a day. Well, it will be covered.]

[I, I'll do it! I'll take the job! Please!]

In a second, Aletta nodded.

This was a special fortune that the Demon G.o.d gave her from the heaven.

If she took this job, she would no longer die.

It was such a chance.

[Alright, a business agreement is made. Well, today is training. I'll teach you your job, so remember it. Because it's work, you have to take it seriously. Also, I'm going to give you a uniform, so when you come here, you have to change into it. I'm counting on you starting next week]

[Yes!]

Thus, a new "employee" was added to otherworld dining hall.

A waitress dressed in a costume in otherworld style with a small goat horn growing from her temple.

Her story is just beginning; she will be greatly surprised by the "guests" of this otherworld dining hall on her first day of work.