Chapter 7: Shirou Cooks
Shirou had spent the entire morning working at Takemikazuchi's food stall.
Though customer traffic at the stall wasn't particularly high, the shop owner, Takemikazuchi, still managed it earnestly, ensuring every step was done properly.
Thanks to his diligent and hardworking attitude, the stall managed to attract a number of returning customers. While not many, it was just enough to keep the business afloat.
Also, although Shirou himself lacked any particular talent for drawing in customers, Hestia's charming appearance and eloquence had attracted a decent number of people, earning the stall a fair amount of revenue.
"You've worked hard. Here's some leftover fried rice — have it as lunch," said Takemikazuchi as he handed over two boxes of his homemade egg fried rice.
Neither Hestia nor Shirou had any reason to decline, and they promptly accepted the boxes and dug in.
"Take's egg fried rice is as delicious as ever," Hestia said between bites, praising him. "I really don't understand why more people don't come buy your food."
"Well, because my cooking is pretty average," Takemikazuchi replied, aware of his shortcomings. "I only started this stall to help ease some of the burden on my familia. As long as I can earn a little bit, I'm happy."
"Lord Takemikazuchi, does your familia face a lot of pressure too?" Shirou asked, unable to stop himself from inquiring.
"Yeah, I take care of the kids who come from the Far East," Takemikazuchi said with a bitter smile. "Back in the Far East, people treated me well, so when I came to Orario, I tried to take in as many poor children from the East as I could. Before I knew it, my familia grew larger and larger, and expenses piled up. Lately, we can't even afford gear for the new arrivals."
"That's a very different kind of problem from mine," Hestia said with a complicated expression. "I've got the opposite issue — too few members."
"Haha, that's why we're all so interested in the lower world. No matter how good or bad life gets, people always have their own worries. That's the real joy of it," Takemikazuchi said with an easygoing smile, looking like he was thoroughly enjoying life.
Shirou, on the other hand, became more determined to do something to help after hearing about Takemikazuchi's struggling familia.
But before he could say anything, a blond-haired man suddenly approached from the distance.
He walked right up to the stall and said with a grin, "Hey, if it isn't the poster boy for the penniless familias — Takemikazuchi! Hah—fuhihi."
"Hermes, what are you doing here?" Takemikazuchi asked, clearly familiar with the man.
"Haha, I just got back from a trip outside Orario. Thought I'd come check on you first thing," Hermes, clearly a fellow god, laughed and slung an arm around Takemikazuchi's shoulder. "Come on, come on, I'm in a great mood today. Let's go get a drink!"
"No way — can't you see I'm working here?"
"Oh, please. It's not like that many people come to your stall anyway."
"You bastard…"
Despite his tone, it was obvious Takemikazuchi and Hermes had a good relationship and were speaking to each other playfully.
Takemikazuchi then looked to Hestia and Shirou and said apologetically, "Sorry to ask this, but could I leave the stall in your hands for a bit? I've got plenty of goods prepared from this morning, so if customer traffic stays the same, it should be enough for the afternoon."
"Don't worry, leave it to me!" Hestia said confidently, puffing out her chest. Her impressive bust, which contrasted starkly with her adorable face, naturally drew the eyes of nearby passersby.
Even Hermes couldn't help but glance over before smiling and saying, "Ah, Hestia, you're here too. How's that child in your familia doing?"
"The child in my familia? You mean Bell? You know him?" she asked.
"Well, I am the god who loves gossip the most. I know all about your familia," Hermes replied with a wink.
"Is that so?" Hestia responded casually. She didn't question Hermes further, simply offering a vague reply and deliberately avoiding mentioning anything specific about Bell, especially the fact that he had awakened the unique skill Liaris Freese.
"By the way, is this young man part of Takemikazuchi's familia?" Hermes suddenly seemed to notice Shirou. "Looks like another one from the Far East."
"No, this is my new familia member, Emiya Shirou!" Hestia declared decisively. "He's part of my family now."
"He's your familia member?" Hermes appeared surprised and gave Shirou a more thorough look. But since he couldn't see anything particularly unusual, he didn't dwell on it.
Shirou, on the other hand, gave Hermes a suspicious glance.
From the earlier conversation, Hermes had said he was "familiar with Hestia's familia," yet moments later, he acted as if he didn't know Shirou had joined. The contradiction made Shirou uneasy.
Rather than truly understanding the Hestia Familia, it seemed Hermes was simply familiar with Bell in particular.
"..."
But Hermes was a god. Shirou couldn't just confront him, so he decided to keep his suspicions to himself and remain vigilant, pretending not to notice anything.
Soon, Hermes and Takemikazuchi left the area.
That left only Hestia and Shirou to manage the food stall.
During the early afternoon, the situation was much like the morning — not many customers came by.
The food Takemikazuchi had prepared was more than enough. But suddenly, something lively must've happened in the Dungeon, because a wave of adventurers came to watch, and foot traffic around the stall skyrocketed.
As a result, the food Takemikazuchi left behind was almost instantly sold out.
When more customers came to buy snacks, the stall had already run out of stock.
Seeing the disappointed faces of customers about to leave, Hestia grew anxious. She was good friends with Takemikazuchi and naturally wanted to use the opportunity to help him earn as much as possible.
But there was truly no more food left to sell — and Hestia herself didn't have the skills to cook.
"How about I make some snacks?" Shirou offered without hesitation.
"Eh? Shirou, you can cook? That's not an easy thing to do, you know!" Hestia was clearly skeptical.
She had once tried making snacks to sell herself — the result was catastrophic. Not only did she fail to earn anything, she ended up losing even her underwear.
So, naturally, she had doubts about Shirou, who had never shown any cooking ability before.
"Well, rather than let these nearby customers walk away, why not let me give it a try?"
Shirou didn't boast about his cooking skills. Even though he was confident in them, he wasn't the type to talk big.
Hestia hesitated at first, unsure if it was a good idea.
But when several more customers walked up, saw the empty stall, and immediately turned to leave for other vendors, she panicked completely.
"No choice, Shirou — I'm counting on you now!"
"I'll do my best," Shirou said with a smile, inwardly thrilled to finally get the chance to showcase his long-unused cooking skills.