Reisen Riou led the VIPs to Kawakama's Shop.
From the outside, it didn't scream restaurant. It wasn't meant for common folk.
Run under the Kawakawa clan's name, it operated like an exclusive private dining venue, serving elite cuisine. Beyond that, it trained high-level chefs (Cooking LV3+, recipe development), army cooks (Cooking LV3, wild foraging), and culinary researchers (cooking theory, nutrition, medicinal cuisine).
Stocked with Reisen Riou's premium ingredients, its head chef boasted Cooking LV5. In a second-floor private room, the group savored meticulously crafted dishes, visibly delighted.
Reisen Riou discreetly probed General Torachiyo for their visit's purpose. Why her? She was honest, a bit naive, and easy to coax.
"Little Riou, let me tell you about swordsmanship…" After a few sips of sake, Torachiyo spilled everything under his subtle nudging. Raiden Makoto and Yae Miko had ditched work for a friendly meal, dragging along the earnest Torachiyo and Raiden Ei.
Talk shifted from swordsmanship to Shogunate affairs, then personal gripes. Torachiyo, a thousand years old, complained about her Red Oni clan elders pressuring her to marry.
The room's vibe turned weird. Reisen Riou noticed Makoto and Yae staring oddly at him. Ei, wrestling a dessert, missed the tension, her martial mind oblivious.
"…" Reisen Riou's scalp tingled. Why are they looking at me like that?
Come to think of it, none of these divine ladies were married. Did gods not wed?
"Lady Narukami, what's…" he started.
"You're quite the catch, Riou. Maybe a match for Torachiyo," Yae teased, smirking.
Makoto looked intrigued. Reisen Riou broke a sweat. Ladies, this joke's too much!
He barely knew Torachiyo—today's meal was their longest interaction. Marriage talk, in front of two mischief-makers, was wild.
"He's not bad," slurred Torachiyo, tipsy, trapping his head under her arm. "Looks sturdy, capable too."
"Indeed," Yae piled on. "The Oni village's recent changes are thanks to Riou. A shift in approach, and life improved—more Oni kids born too."
"You're why I'm getting marriage pressure!" Torachiyo tightened her grip.
Her petite frame, barely a B-cup, didn't impress. Reisen Riou, struggling, figured his ideal wife needed at least a D-cup. Teens weren't his type.
"Pretty strong, huh?" Torachiyo squeezed harder.
"My head's splitting!" he yelped.
Inazuma's Oni, unlike Liyue's spectral ghosts, were physical youkai with god-rivaling strength, key to Inazuma's elite forces with high life levels and raw power.
"You gave an Oni liquor," Yae laughed. "How amusing."
"Drink up!" Torachiyo, half-drunk, forced more sake on him, horrified.
This was Kawakama's Pride, the shop's prized liquor—high-proof, perfected by a master brewer over years. Two bottles could floor Torachiyo. Reisen Riou, despite knowing liquor theory, had a terrible tolerance, sticking to tea. One sip of this potent stuff, no elemental cheating, and he'd be out.
One gulp, and his head spun. Another, and he winced at the wasted premium ingredients, passing out before he could purge the alcohol with elemental power.
Ei, finishing a dessert tray, noticed their guide unconscious, pinned by her tipsy friend still pouring sake.
"???"
Clueless, she called a waiter, asking for more sweets and, "What's up with them?"
"They hit it off, planning to marry," Makoto said casually.
"M-m-marry? Them?" Ei's mind reeled, feeling centuries pass. "No way! Doesn't he like… you, me, or Yae—bigger chests? How's he into Torachiyo's flat…"
Makoto and Yae exchanged looks. "How'd you know?" they asked.
"Haven't you noticed?" Ei said, shocked. "His eyes don't linger, but his peripheral vision hits our chests—42% on mine, 23% on Yae's, 20% on her ears and tail, 3% on my headpiece. Only 11% on Torachiyo's horns, probably scared of your aura, Sister. Just 1% glances at you."
"…"
A waiter approached with desserts.
"He dares look down on me? Die!" Torachiyo, overhearing, darkened—until Ei knocked her out with a palm strike.
"What's with them?" the waiter asked.
"Just drunk," Makoto said.
The waiter, stunned, thought, I've never seen the boss drunk.
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