The optimal sleep duration for an adult human is 7 to 8 hours per day, varying with age, but at least 6 hours of sleep is necessary for a normal daily life.
"Come on, be honest!"
And Bell and I returned from the dungeon around 5:30 yesterday, and now it's almost 9 o'clock.
"W-what do you mean!?"
That means this guy in front of me slept at most 3 hours... and he came to our store without looking tired?
"You're not human!!"
He's definitely a monster.
"That's too harsh..."
"Come on, spit it out!"
I was half-joking, half-serious while teasing Bell when
"What are you doing to a customer!"
'Whack!!'
"Oof!?"
I got hit right on the head by Naza, who had finished cooking and come out.
"But seriously, how can someone sleep only 3 hours and walk around fine?"
"...Are you saying that now?"
"No... I'm a special case, so I should be excluded."
"...Oh right, you're the weird one. I forgot for a moment since we live together."
'It hurts a bit when you say it so blatantly...'
After that, I introduced Bell to Naza as someone who would become a regular at our store.
"Honestly, I don't know about talent, but he has a strong desire to get stronger, so he's worth investing in."
"Oh... for you to evaluate him like that?"
"And he's unnecessarily kind and good-natured, so he's been scammed several times."
"...Huh?"
"Plus, he owes me two debts now, so his conscience is pricked, and we don't have to worry about him going elsewhere."
"...You evil guy, are you some kind of demon?"
"Call it clever."
After finishing the introduction, I approached Bell and asked why he came to the store.
"Well... I was wondering if you could come with me to the store we went to yesterday..."
"...Ah"
I remembered something I had forgotten.
"The auntie at the store actually told us to come back together yesterday, but I forgot..."
"Eh?! R-really?"
"...We should go before it gets later, right?"
"Ugh... I'm a bit scared because of the dine-and-dash yesterday..."
"The auntie saw everything yesterday, so she'll understand."
I said that, but honestly, I'm a bit scared too.
'That auntie seems to be at least Level 5... and the staff look like they've been through battles or something...'
How to put it... since dying to the Minotaur, I've developed a wild? instinctual? Anyway, some hard-to-describe sense, so when someone with strong power enters a certain range, I can instinctively feel how strong they are.
"...Hey, let's go quickly now."
"Yes..."
So, skipping breakfast, I hurriedly grabbed my wallet and headed to the Hostess of Fertility with Bell.
"Aah! It's the dine-and-dasher and the black-haired guy who ruined the store atmosphere yesterday!!"
As expected, a Chienthrope waitress shouted lines straight out of a manga.
"You, be quiet."
'Whack!'
"Mya!?"
Well... she immediately got hit by the elf waitress next to her for being told to be quiet, but
'The elf waitress's hand movement was so fast I could barely follow it with my eyes, but that Chienthrope waitress is calm even after being hit like that...'
I realized once again that everyone here is quite skilled.
"Mr. Bell!?"
While I was admiring the staff's strength, Syru hurriedly came down from upstairs.
"I'm sorry about yesterday... not paying..."
"...No, it's okay. Thank you for coming back."
Bell immediately apologized to Syru and handed over the food money he hadn't paid yesterday.
"Oh, are you going to the dungeon? If it's okay, would you take this?"
"Huh? But I'm sorry..."
"I want to give it to you. ...Is that not okay?"
"Well... thank you. I'll eat it well."
After that, Syru handed Bell a lunchbox, and I watched along with the Chienthrope waitress.
"It's just dripping with honey..."
"Hehe... does the black-haired guy see it that way too?"
"It would be weird if you didn't think that after seeing that scene...?!"
Suddenly, I felt a powerful presence behind me and hurriedly turned around to see Mama Mia standing behind me.
"Huh? Why all of a sudde... mya?!"
"So... that brat came back, you say?"
"M-Mama Mia?! When did you come..."
"Ah, hello..."
I hurriedly greeted her, and Mama Mia glanced at me briefly, then smiled slightly.
"I'll keep what happened in the store yesterday a secret from that kid, so don't worry."
After saying that, she immediately walked towards Bell.
"Ah, I see. You came to pay back the money? How commendable!"
Whether it was because he was overwhelmed by Mama Mia's presence or because he felt guilty, Bell looked quite intimidated.
"You all, go inside. You still have work, right?"
At Mama Mia's words, all the waitresses bowed slightly respectfully and immediately went into the kitchen as if running away.
'...Why me?'
For some reason, I was dragged along too.
"I was thinking of coming to find you with a weapon since you didn't show up, you know."
"S-sorry!!"
Outside the kitchen, I could hear Mama Mia and Bell talking.
"Syru, if you give that, you won't have lunch..."
"Why are you giving it while holding back?"
"Pfft! Of course~ That boy is to Syru..."
"W-wah?! No!!"
Inside the kitchen, I could hear the voices of the female waitresses.
'...Where am I? Who am I?'
In front, Mama Mia was giving Bell important advice, and behind, it was a conversation only among women, so I was stuck in an awkward position.
"..."
With both front and back blocked, I half-gave up and looked around.
'...Let's just eat.'
Since I was forcibly dragged into the kitchen, I decided to fill my stomach.
"Cheese, milk, eggs, and bacon..."
Looking around the kitchen, I noticed some leftover ingredients, so I decided to make something with them.
"I can pay for the ingredients later..."
So, I started cooking.
"...Huh?"
"Mr. Kai?"
"What is that black-haired guy doing now?"
"He's bold to cook in Mama Mia's kitchen."
Unbeknownst to me, the people in the kitchen had their eyes on me.
"First, beat three eggs and add grated cheese."
The cheese in this world has a very similar appearance and taste to the large, round Swiss cheese often seen in manga, so it's usually grated and sprinkled on food or melted, but I plan to add it from the start.
"Adding milk here enhances the savory flavor and makes the texture soft and moist."
I poured the egg mixture with evenly mixed cheese and milk into a small frying pan preheated over medium-low heat, after spreading lard widely, and
'Sizzle!!'
I slowly cooked it by pushing the egg mixture from the outside to the inside with a spatula.
"When it's about half cooked, turn off the heat and let it cook a bit more with residual heat to finish... but typical hotel-style scrambled eggs don't include cheese and use sugar, a little salt, and butter instead of lard, so should I call it just scrambled eggs instead of hotel-style?"
So, I served the completed kinda? hotel-style milk scrambled eggs in a bowl and started frying bacon.
'''...Gulp!'''
"...Huh?"
The waitresses who were talking intently were now staring intently at the food I made.
"...If you want to eat, bring the ingredients."
Then, two Chienthrope waitresses hurriedly went somewhere.
"...I should eat first."
Before the two returned, I hurriedly started eating.
"Mr. Kai, you're good at cooking despite your appearance?"
"...Isn't 'despite your appearance' a bit too much?"
"But... rather than domestic, your appearance subtly evokes a protective instinct, so it seems like you'd ask others to do things for you."
Unlike me, who was getting sadder the more we talked, Syru smiled as if enjoying it.
"Actually, I've only been in one relationship..."
"Eh?!"
"If you're that surprised, it makes me sad..."
What I said must have been quite shocking, as even the elf waitress who had been maintaining a straight face showed a slightly surprised reaction for a very brief moment.
"Sigh..."
"But Mr. Kai?"
"...What?"
"Earlier, when you were cooking, you kept talking to yourself as if explaining. Why is that?"
"Ah... this? When I was young, I was caught in a landslide and buried in a pile of dirt, and since then, I've developed this habit."
"...Huh?"
I only remember being unconscious the whole time, but since that day, I've developed a habit of talking to myself as if explaining whenever I do something.
"I remember rocks and dirt pouring down on my head, but I have no memory of before I was rescued. However, after being rescued, I strangely started having this habit of talking to myself whenever I do something."
By the way, the reason I broke up with my girlfriend in high school was also because of this habit of talking to myself.
'The last thing I heard when we broke up was her introducing me to the mental hospital where her dad works, so that says it all...'
"Uh..."
"..."
At Syru and the elf waitress's somewhat sad expressions, I said it's nothing since I'm used to such reactions, and tried to start eating again, but
'Bell left me again. I'll get him later.'
"Did you finish your conversation with Bell well?"
This time, Mama Mia was standing beside me.
"...Yeah."
Judging by her reaction, she probably heard the conversation just now.
"...More than that, I had a hunch since you explained that sauce yesterday, but you've done some cooking, haven't you?"
"Ah, I'm sorry for using the kitchen without permission. I can pay for the ingredients right away."
"That's fine, but..."
Mama Mia briefly examined the food I made.
"This is a good composition to add to the breakfast menu."
"Since it's a dish often used for breakfast, I think it wouldn't be bad to add it."
Is this good timing? The two Chienthrope waitresses who went to get ingredients returned.
"We brought the ingredients!"
"Make ours quickly!"
Mama Mia checked the ingredients they brought.
"Looking at the ingredients, I can roughly guess how to make it."
"Please wait a moment. I'll make it for you right away."
So, I hurriedly finished my food and immediately made the dish for the two.
"Mya~ It's delicious!"
"It wasn't that he was fearless, but that he had the skills to back it up~"
They ate the food in an instant and praised it.
"Brat"
"Yes?"
"Don't you want to work at our store?"
Mama Mia, who had been watching me cook intently, made a familiar proposal to me.
"Unfortunately, since I'm an adventurer, I'll decline."
I naturally refused and left the kitchen.
"...Oh right, Syru."
"Yes?"
Just as I was about to leave the store, I remembered the weight bands I left with Syru yesterday and asked for them back.
"Can you return what I left with you yesterday?"
"What you left yesterday? ...Ah!?"
Syru must have forgotten too, as she hurriedly went upstairs and brought the weight bands with difficulty.
'Clank! Clank! Thud!'
"Haa...haa... Isn't it too much to throw this at a normal girl like me and leave?"
"...You were normal?"
"...Don't you have something to say first?"
"...Sorry."
Syru's anger only subsided after I apologized for a while.
"Hehe... you can't escape from me... hya!?"
A black-haired Chienthrope waitress tried to subtly grab me as I was finally leaving the store, but thanks to the elf waitress who was watching, I managed to escape safely.
"I'm back..."
'...Now that I think about it, tomorrow is the day I promised to cook at the Dian Cecht Familia.'
As soon as I barely made it home, I remembered the promise I made with Amid.
"Even if tomorrow is a day off, this way I unintentionally rested for four days..."
I decided to just stay in my room today.
"...All the pharmaceuticals that can be made are being tested by God and senior, so should I try making something new?"
I made plans while checking what money-making items there are.
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