"What would you like to eat?"
Alistair walked down the street, holding Kasumi Haruno's hand, looking at the surrounding shops, and asking for her preference.
The layout of the houses and commercial shops here was slightly different from the country Alistair came from before transmigrating. In his original country, shops were practically everywhere; walking out the door meant finding places to buy things, and almost every type of store was available. For instance, to buy daily necessities, you only had to walk a few steps out of the residential complex. For better stores, like cake shops, bakeries, and small restaurants, everything was almost ready-made. Even in poorer areas, there was at least a small supermarket, alongside specialized commercial streets, trade centers, and various street vendors.
In Japan, Alistair hadn't been to the major cities, so he couldn't give a full assessment, but he could speak about the areas he had visited.
He wasn't sure if it was a local characteristic, but the area around here was mostly residential. For example, a few nearby buildings were apartments, and further away were individual detached houses. Generally, those with some assets would choose relatively luxurious apartments (the reasons were mentioned previously and he wouldn't elaborate). The other thing was the layout.
Neither Beika Town nor Karakura Town was characterized by shops being right outside the door. Instead, houses were organized like the lawn in Plants vs. Zombies, each occupying its own plot, often with a garden. This was something that Alistair's original country lacked; a detached house with a garden would be considered a small villa, priced much higher than an apartment.
However, one thing was quite peculiar here: you could find vending machines along the walls almost every few steps, where you could buy drinks and some quick-service bread. On the flip side, trash cans were not ubiquitous. If you bought something from a vending machine on the street, you often finished consuming it without finding a trash can, which was annoying. But Alistair never worried about this. Alistair had a flexible moral compass; if he couldn't find a trash can, he would just toss it aside.
It's a joke, the Japanese police force, heh. And the police in an inner-dimensional Japan were even more ridiculous. So, Alistair never worried. Moreover, Japan was one of the first countries to implement trash sorting, with all those head-scratching categories. Alistair didn't care about trash sorting either. Someone at the refuse station would sort it again anyway; he wasn't going to trouble himself to accommodate others.
"Well, how about ramen? Or maybe, oden (Japanese stew)?"
Kasumi Haruno looked at the surrounding shops, having difficulty choosing. She rarely ate out, and when she did buy food outside, it was mostly sweets, wagashi, or cake. As for main courses and snacks, she usually learned from videos and cooked them herself. She rarely ate them out. With Alistair's permission to choose, Kasumi Haruno was suffering from choice paralysis, and the aromas made her a little greedy.
"Let's go check out that izakaya over there. I've never been to one."
Alistair looked around and finally chose a medium-sized izakaya. He pulled Kasumi Haruno inside.
"Eh? But drinking is only allowed after you've reached legal age, and we aren't adults yet."
Kasumi Haruno looked at Alistair in confusion, but before she could get a reply, she was pulled into the izakaya.
This izakaya was a "robata-yaki" (fireside grilling) izakaya, meaning it specialized in grilled food. Besides robata-yaki, there were also yakitori-ya (grilled chicken shops), ko-ryōri-ya (small dish shops), oden-ya (stew shops), bīru-ya (beer houses), and so on. These names indicated the specialty of that specific izakaya. For example, yakitori-ya mainly served grilled chicken skewers, and bīru-ya offered more varieties of beer. The izakaya Alistair and Kasumi Haruno entered specialized in grilling.
Also, an izakaya can essentially be understood as a small restaurant, just with its own particular features.
"Welcome! May I take your order... Oh? It's two young people. Kids, this is a place for adults. Children shouldn't be here~"
The man grilling at the counter immediately greeted them, then looked up and noticed they were two youngsters. He smiled and advised them to leave.
"It's fine, sir. We just won't drink. I wanted to try your cooking. I could smell the aroma from far away, so I wanted to come in and taste it."
Alistair waved his hand, indicating it was okay, and said with a smile. Speaking nicely wouldn't hurt him, and if the man was pleased, Alistair might even build a rapport. Not only would the man not turn them away, but he might even give them a discount. Alistair found people who became arrogant and overbearing just because they gained some advantage to be flawed. Being polite and making friends was always better than creating enemies unnecessarily.
"Oh, then you've come to the right place! I, the cook, haven't lost to anyone in this area when it comes to grilling. I take no small credit for how popular this izakaya is. Just wait. It's a shame I can't serve you alcohol; my homemade sake here is also a neighborhood specialty. But you can certainly taste my food. Go find a seat. I'll finish up what I have here first."
The cook rolled up his sleeves, wearing an expression that suggested they were in for a treat. He stopped mentioning that Alistair and Kasumi Haruno should leave and instead asked them to take a seat, promising to grill for them after he finished his current orders.
"Ayame, go get these two young customers some small appetizers. Also, run to the convenience store nearby and buy them some soft drinks."
The man waved to a girl who was serving dishes nearby, asking her to serve Alistair and Kasumi Haruno some appetizers and drinks.
"Yes, yes, yes. I know, but I have to deliver these dishes to the customers first, Father. Are you getting emotional again? I bet someone complimented your cooking, right?"
The girl looked unsurprised, clearly indicating that this wasn't the first time the man had done this.
A short while later, after the girl finished delivering the grilled food on her platter to the customers, she approached Alistair and Kasumi Haruno's table.
"Hello. Sometimes my father gets like this, a little over-excited. Please don't mind him. Also, what kind of drinks would you like? I'll go buy them next door."
The girl, named Ayame, apologized briefly to the two with a tone of slight exasperation. Her father had indeed seemed a bit worked up just now. Honestly, if Alistair hadn't been able to discern that the man was merely excited, judging by his slightly gesticulating movements, he might have thought the man was about to challenge Alistair to a fight.