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"Kaguya-chan's mission is about to be completed?"
Fujiwara Chika asked curiously from the side.
"I haven't submitted the mission yet." Shinomiya Kaguya gently shook her head and mused, "If I submit the mission now, I'll probably only get an ordinary rating. The higher the restaurant's operating income, the higher the final rating should be."
Amamiya Natsuki nodded:
"That's highly probable, so let's continue operating."
"…"
After the rogue customer who dined and dashed, the restaurant business temporarily got back on track. However, it wasn't long before new trouble arrived again.
"Natsuki, business crisis!" Kitagawa Marin walked over and whispered in his ear, "Many customers are ordering two or three portions, and the sashimi we prepared earlier is almost gone."
A clever housewife cannot cook without rice; indeed, a lack of ingredients is a problem.
Amamiya Natsuki pondered for two seconds, then quickly said: "I have an idea."
"What?"
"Sashimi is actually very ordinary. The thing that truly makes customers crave more is the sauce with Hextech added to it. So…" Amamiya Natsuki suggested, "Why don't we go outside and pick up some pebbles, wash them clean, soak them in the sauce, and let them suck on the pebbles?"
"P-pebbles?" Kitagawa Marin's eyes widened, and she couldn't help but retort, "Those things are completely inedible!"
"I've heard of this way of eating." Fujiwara Chika propped her chin with her right hand, "It's said that in the past, fishermen by the sea, due to financial hardship, would use pebbles as side dishes for alcohol. Some used them with drinks, and others dipped them in soy sauce. They say it tasted pretty good."
"How could it possibly be good!" Koyasu Tsubame covered her forehead with her right hand, also complaining, "That was clearly just making the best of a bad situation!"
Amamiya Natsuki spread his hands, righteously saying:
"Anyway, we're a black-hearted business. Is it really too much to make customers eat pebbles?"
"It's totally too much!"
"…"
"If we had offered pebbles from the beginning, it would be fine, but now it's a bit late." Shinomiya Kaguya said speechlessly, "Why not continue fishing… Have Aoi and the Chainsaw Boy returned yet?"
The Headless JK and Chainsaw Boy were both by the lake, continuing to act as fishing tools.
"Mhm, mhm."
Komi quickly nodded.
With so many people, she had become a silent gourd again, unable to utter a single word.
Juju said from the side:
"We only returned once about ten minutes ago, and there were only three strange fish in total. After removing the inedible parts, there isn't much sashimi that can be made."
Shinomiya Kaguya crossed her right arm over her chest and mused, "What if we let more people fish?"
"Everyone has things to do," Fujiwara Chika blinked. "If we go fishing again, we won't have enough staff."
Shinomiya Kaguya slightly raised her chin, her voice confident: "We can let the guests help with the fishing."
"Eh?" Koyasu Tsubame was startled and said, "Kaguya-san, do you mean to hire guests to fish?"
"Not hire." The Sheltered Young Lady shook her head and said softly, "We can hold a fishing competition. The winner of the competition gets everything free."
"That sounds great." Amamiya Natsuki nodded in agreement, offering advice, "Besides getting everything free, we can also provide a sense of honor—the winner of the competition can have their portrait permanently displayed in the restaurant's Hall of Fame as a memento."
Kitagawa Marin asked curiously: "Eh, does the restaurant have a Hall of Fame?"
"It didn't before." Amamiya Natsuki spread his hands. "But it does now."
Juju said speechlessly: "Even if you say that, we don't have a camera, so how do we take photos?"
"A pencil is enough." Fujiwara Chika's eyes sparkled. "I'm very confident in my sketching skills."
Koyasu Tsubame said from the side: "To boost everyone's enthusiasm for participating in the competition, we can give free gifts to the participants."
"If everyone gets a gift, the appeal won't be enough," Hayasaka added. "We can change it to a lottery, randomly selecting a few lucky winners."
Amamiya Natsuki finally concluded: "A truly black-hearted merchant not only adds Hextech to the food, but while freeloading off guests, they also make the guests happy and actively give good reviews."
"…"
Listening to everyone's discussion, the unlucky Yui only felt confused.
What about the hiring that was promised?
How did it suddenly turn into guests working for free?
After the discussion was complete, everyone quickly got into action.
Amamiya Natsuki walked to the front of the restaurant, clapped his hands to attract the attention of the vengeful spirit guests, and then announced loudly: "To thank our new and old customers for their support of the restaurant, we have decided to hold a Customer Appreciation, True Feelings Feedback event, and will immediately hold a fishing competition. The specific rules are as follows…"
After stating the rules, Amamiya Natsuki began to talk about the winner's prizes: "Everything free, permanent commemoration in the Hall of Fame, and other participants can take part in a lucky draw for exquisite free gifts."
"…"
The restaurant fell silent.
The group of vengeful spirit guests looked at Amamiya Natsuki, no one speaking.
Yui couldn't help but become nervous, quietly pinching the corner of her clothes. Would these vengeful spirits not be interested?
It's hard to say, after all, they are all vengeful spirits, who knows if they would be interested in fishing…
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out: "I want to participate in the fishing competition."
The speaker was a thin middle-aged man with only two hollow eye sockets. At this moment, a faint green flame flickered in his eye sockets, and his tone was excited: "I'm determined to win the fishing championship."
"Young man, don't boast," another old man spoke slowly, almost skin and bones, looking quite eerie. "Decades of fishing skill, you're not enough."
"I want to participate too."
"Me, me, me, and me."
"…"
The atmosphere quickly became lively.
Except for a few female customers who were not interested, everyone else signed up for the competition, especially a few middle-aged male vengeful spirits, whose numb and hollow expressions suddenly showed a bit of vitality.
Yui was dumbfounded and suddenly understood a saying: The joy of fishing for middle-aged men, if you haven't reached that age, you simply cannot experience it.
"Senpai," Amamiya Natsuki turned to look at Koyasu Tsubame, "I'll leave the organization of the event to you."
Koyasu Tsubame took a deep breath, nodded, and agreed: "Leave it to me."
As a socialite, Tsubame had always been at the top of the class food chain, with extensive experience in organizing events since childhood.
"Everyone, please come to me first to collect your number tags. Please make sure to keep them safe and don't lose them…"
Tsubame quickly got into work mode.
The so-called number tags were actually cards folded from notebook pages, quite simple to make.
After collecting the number tags, Senpai led the participants out of the restaurant and towards the artificial lake.
"I'll go take a look."
To be safe, Amamiya Natsuki followed along. The others remained in the restaurant to continue business.
Upon arriving at the artificial lake, Headless JK and Chainsaw Boy were still fishing. They looked bewildered when they saw Amamiya Natsuki leading a group of patients over.
"Kobayashi," Amamiya Natsuki walked up to them, "you two don't need to fish anymore."
Chainsaw Boy immediately became nervous: "Doctor, did I do something wrong?"
"You did very well," Amamiya Natsuki patted his shoulder and said gently, "But I have something more important to entrust to you."
Chainsaw Boy immediately said: "Doctor, just say the word."
"The restaurant is currently holding a gratitude feedback event…" Amamiya Natsuki briefly explained the freeloading event. "You and Kobayashi are responsible for maintaining order and bringing the caught fish back to the restaurant."
"…"
The fishing activity officially began.
A few middle-aged vengeful spirit patients sat on small stools, feeling like they could sit there until the end of the world.
Many hands make light work. Before long, several fish were caught, all of them, without exception, strangely shaped.
"Uncle Number Five currently has the most, having caught three fish so far…"
Koyasu Tsubame was both recording and broadcasting.
"Kobayashi," Amamiya Natsuki gave a look, "Go collect the fish."
"Yes, Doctor."
Chainsaw Boy simply became the fish-collecting tool.
As for those fishing enthusiasts… the joy of fishing is always that moment of catching. Once they have it, they don't care how it's handled.
After collecting a pile of fish, Amamiya Natsuki left Senpai by the lake to continue organizing the competition, while he himself, with Chainsaw Boy, carried the fish back to the restaurant.
"Natsuki, you're back?"
"So many fish."
"That fish is so ugly, its eyes are flickering with a strange light."
"…"
After greeting the girls, Amamiya Natsuki told Chainsaw Boy to go back and carried the ingredients himself to the kitchen.
"It's me."
Amamiya Natsuki spoke first, announcing his identity.
Juju emerged from her hiding corner, her gaze falling on the strange fish in Amamiya Natsuki's hand, her small face showing a look of disgust as she complained: "Eating such an ugly fish will affect your IQ, right?"
"Please don't judge a fish by its appearance," Amamiya Natsuki put down the strange fish. "You can start processing them. The guests out front are waiting."
The kitchen wasn't large, with three people in charge: Komi, Juju, and Yui, who occasionally delivered dishes.
Juju always remained in her original form, so every time someone came to the kitchen, she had to hide—the Hachishakusama form without a white dress was simply too terrible.
Komi was the most obedient, diligently coming over to process the fish.
"I've hardly cooked a few times at home, and in the instance, I actually have to be a chef…"
Juju complained while walking to the cutting board.
Amamiya Natsuki corrected her: "Actually, saying 'kitchen assistant' is more appropriate."
"Annoying," Juju glared at him, picked up a kitchen knife, and reached for a fish. "It's just sashimi, it's not like I can't make it…"
Before she finished speaking, the strange fish on the cutting board suddenly sprang up, its tail sweeping through the air with a smack, hitting Juju.
It didn't hurt, but it was extremely insulting.
"Damn it! My skirt got dirty!!"
Juju froze for a moment, saw the slime on her skirt, and immediately got angry, subconsciously lifting her skirt to wipe it.
"No, don't…"
Komi, next to her, widened her eyes, wanting to stop her.
Unfortunately, her voice was too soft, and she was ultimately half a step too late. Juju had already lifted her skirt.
Amamiya Natsuki subconsciously looked over, only to feel a flash of pink before his eyes, similar to Juju's hair color.
The next second, Juju, realizing what she had done, quickly pulled her skirt down, her small face flushed red. She tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, turning her head in shame to glare at Amamiya Natsuki.
Amamiya Natsuki silently closed his eyes: "I didn't see anything."
"It's too late to close your eyes now!"
When players enter an instance, they only keep the clothes they are currently wearing. Once clothes are lost, they do not automatically refresh.
Because of the previous escape, Juju's clothes had not been properly worn.
"This is an era of equality and freedom," Amamiya Natsuki expressed understanding. "Everyone's preferences should be respected. I understand."
"Understand my foot!" Juju's small face was flushed, and she couldn't help but shout in shame, "It's because I don't have spare clothes, okay?!"
"So that's it."
Amamiya Natsuki subconsciously looked at Shoko.
Underwear, this kind of thing, has a low probability of dropping from Blind Box, not everyone has spares.
Noticing Amamiya Natsuki's gaze, Komi's pretty face flushed, she covered her skirt with her hands, and nervously took half a step back.
"Why are you looking at Shoko?" Juju bit her lip, changing the subject. "Don't even think about peeking at Shoko's panties!"
Hearing this, Shoko's face became even redder, and steam vaguely rose from the top of her head.
Only she and Amamiya Natsuki knew that what was under the skirt… was not panties.
At this moment, footsteps came from the hallway.
Hearing the movement, Juju quickly took a deep breath, controlling her expression.
"Is the sashimi ready?" Fujiwara Chika came from the front, temporarily acting as a waitress. "The guests are already urging."
"Almost ready."
Amamiya Natsuki tied on an apron and began to help process the fish.
Regardless of what she was wearing or not wearing, the more important task had to be completed first.
The three of them worked together to process the ingredients, quickly resolving the urgent matter.
Amamiya Natsuki had just rested for a while when Kitagawa Marin suddenly came over from the front, whispering in his ear:
"Natsuki, a few Nurses have arrived, and one of the Miss nurse even said she was looking for you."
"Let's go take a look."
Amamiya Natsuki walked to the front of the restaurant, and with a glance, he spotted the Miss nurse who had arrived.
"Sato Doctor." Seeing Amamiya Natsuki appear, the Miss nurse's eyes lit up, and she quickly walked over. "I brought my friends over."
Amamiya Natsuki said gently:
"Thank you, Miss Sasaki."
Looking back, there were only four or five Nurses who came, even fewer than the guests brought by Vengeful Spirit Loli. It seemed she was not a social butterfly.
"Please, Sato-kun, just call me by my name…" The nurse was a little shy. "My name is Yumeko."
"Miss Yumeko."
"Sato-kun."
While chatting with the Miss nurse, Amamiya Natsuki's gaze fell on another nurse.
That was a seemingly ordinary Haunted nurse, but on her lower back, there was a very standard tally mark.
"Is that the tally mark you wrote before?"
Shinomiya Kaguya quietly walked over and whispered.
Amamiya Natsuki nodded:
"That's her."
Such a standard tally mark, ordinary people really can't write it without tools.
Earlier, when he was exploring the Hospital with Kaguya, they encountered a nurse greeting an unscrupulous doctor, looking quite familiar.
"She came to me before I even went to find her…" Amamiya Natsuki whispered, "You've walked into a den of thieves."
join p atreon.com/KeyofStars and become a Sequence 9: Reader for dozens of advance chapters for over a dozen fics | Every 100 powerstones = 1 extra chapter