Isekai Restaurant
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 20: The Party
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- Silas -
I stored the last container in the Storage Unit before heaving a sigh of relief.
"Phew… all done finally."
Sakura, who was standing beside me, passed me a towel. "Thank you for your hard work."
"I just hope this is enough for the party."
The food items in the System Storage can't go bad so there is no problem with them being stored there. We could use them over time and they would still remain as fresh as freshly cooked food.
I had spent a lot on this party. The food items I cooked were some of the most expensive and difficult ones I had attempted till now.
It had been so long that I enjoyed the challenge of cooking and experimenting with new food items.
I had been working for the last sixteen hours and although with my current power level, it wasn't even close to exhausting me until it was some of the higher level ingredients from the Restaurant's list, all I felt today was satisfaction and fun.
This is why I had started cooking. Because I enjoyed it. And because I enjoyed the happiness it brought to others.
Today's party was something for my old customers and friends only. That's why I hadn't left any efforts aside when preparing for it.
The simple fact that I had used several millions on the party alone was both astonishing and terrifying at the same time.
Seriously, I will have to think of some way to hunt for ingredients from other worlds rather than buy everything from the Restaurant's System Store or no amount of money will be enough to buy the higher level products in it..
"You should go and take some rest, Silas-san. You have been working for an entire day." Sakura said.
"I am fine. This much is not enough to make me tired. Although… I do think I need a bath." I am smelling awful right now.
She giggled. "Should I get the food ready by the time you take a bath?"
"That would be great." I nodded.
"Okay."
Sakura was really a great help.
I had a bath and the cold water felt amazing. Although my resistance to high and low temperatures was beyond anything humans could withstand, the cold water of the shower after working in front of the oven for the whole day still felt amazing.
There was another thing which I had noticed about my recent changes.
I feel very comfortable with water and ice. Sure, I had always liked playing in water as a kid but now… it was something more.
Perhaps it was due to my Skills or perhaps it was due to my Ice Devil Slayer Magic? But it wasn't a danger so I wasn't bothered by it.
After a long shower, I went out to see Sakura already having set the table.
Other girls were out for work so it was only the two of us in the Restaurant.
We quietly ate our food but I had come to appreciate these quiet moments now that I had enough of the loud ones in the Restaurant hours.
After lunch, we sat down on the couch for some rest, watching some TV.
"Did they tell you when they would be back?" I asked as I switched the channels.
"They are out to buy things to decorate the Restaurant for the party so they should probably be coming back soon." She replied as I stopped at a music channel.
"Oh, I used to love this song as a kid." I smiled.
Sakura looked at me interested so I continued.
"My mom was into music although she couldn't really sing…" I laughed remembering the old days. "I inherited her interest but unlike her I was quite good at it. I was even in the Music Club in Middle School and High School." I laughed.
"Music, really?" She asked surprised.
"What? I can sing, you know." I defended myself.
"No no. I am just surprised. You… with your passion in singing, you seem more like the type who would be in the Home Economics or Cooking Club." She replied.
"Ah… well, yeah. Actually, I have always liked music and believe it or not, I was quite talented at it too. It was almost as if singing and performing was in my blood. If I didn't become a Chef, I would have become a rockstar for sure." I bragged.
She just chuckled.
"I am not joking, you know?" I replied, not really angry. In fact, it was rare to see Sakura laugh like this.
"I believe you." She just smiled.
"...do you?" I asked in mock seriousness. "Actually, wait. I think I have some of the recordings from my High School Club with me. Let me get those for you." I got up and quickly went to my room and came back with a box of CDs and a Guitar with me.
Sakura was looking interested as I put one of those in a CD player and played.
The video started as I went back and sat down beside Sakura on the couch again.
"It's from my first year of High School." I added.
The song was one from my previous life. I had always loved music even in my last life. This song was among my favourites back then.
Somebody's Me by Enrique Iglesias.
The song began and Sakura who was giggling at my actions suddenly became quiet and looked at me in surprise.
"See… I told you."
The girl just nodded and listened to the song in silence.
The peaceful atmosphere and the song made me grab my guitar on a reflex and I played along.
The song ended and I opened my eyes and looked at Sakura who was looking at me in stunned silence.
"How was it?" I asked her with a smile. I know I was good at singing but I had a feeling that my current Daemon Race had made the quality of my voice even better.
Was it due to the Charm Skill? Or was everything just my imagination?
"It was amazing." She said after a while. "Really… amazing."
"I know right." I smiled as I kept aside the guitar.
Another song started.
This time another one from the same singer.
"Oh, I love this one." I said, recognising the song.
I suddenly had an idea and got up, offering my hand to Sakura. "Would you like to have a dance, my Lady?"
She was taken by surprise but then smiled and accepted my hand.
The song began.
Hero… by Enrique Iglesias.
It was a very romantic song and the atmosphere said it all.
We started with slow movements and swayed to the tune. Her hand was on my shoulder while I had mine placed on her waist.
She looked as if lost in thought, perhaps listening to the song or enjoying the dance but as the song progressed, I felt her grip on my shoulder get slightly tighter and she came nearer to me, almost as if hugging me. I could feel her breath on my chest, the heat from her body as she was .
I, too, took this opportunity to do the same and hugged her while we moved very lightly to the lyrics.
The song ended and we stayed like that for a while. It was a very strange moment. Silence reigned over the room and yet I could feel her heartbeats on my chest. And yet, none of us wanted to break the silence there. It remained like that before there was a sound of the door opening.
I looked towards the door while Sakura separated from me and stepped back, right in time for the rest of the girls to enter.
"Sil-kun, Sakura-chan. We got everything for decorations." Lavy entered followed by Shuna, Tohru, Yuri and Narberal.
Sakura smiled towards them. "Please get washed up. I will serve lunch for everyone."
"Okay!"
…
Dammit…
I helped Sakura, serving the girls food and then we got together to decorate the whole place before the party… which wasn't that hard.
Magic is a… magical thing… I guess?
With just a few snaps of the finger, everything was in place.
They did however spend some time in giving careful touches themselves to make everything look perfect.
Finally with everything done, we decided to take some rest before the start of the party.
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"Woohoo this is awesome!" Milim cheered as she gulped down an entire bottle of Mellow Cola.
The first ones to arrive were Milim and Rimuru as well as some of the Oni, Shuna's brother Benimaru and her close friends.
Saitama was the next to enter.
Milim looked like she would burst with excitement as soon as she entered. Rimuru was literally holding her back from floating and hitting the ceiling of the Restaurant.
To calm her down till everyone arrived, I passed her a bottle of Mellow Cola, something I had bought for today's party.
It was extremely… extremely expensive, so much so that I wouldn't even dare to buy it if not for the mind-numbingly huge deal I had made with Issac-san… but the taste… yeah, it's worth it. Totally worth the price.
Now, looking at Milim, it seems that it wasn't only me who thought so too.
"This is really good stuff. Why don't you keep it on the regular menu?" Rimuru asked, taking a sip of the cola himself.
"It's expensive."
"Oh? How much?" He asked, taking another long sip of the cola.
"1.2 million yen for 350ml."
He spat out whatever he had in the mouth and coughed violently. Even Saitama who was quiet all this time was looking at the drink in his hand… in fear.
"That would be around fifty thousand yen you wasted."
"…you are joking, right?"
I didn't say anything and just opened the menu and showed him the price.
"Holy crap!" he exclaimed.
Several guests came one by one after that.
Ainz arrived followed by a group of people, maybe his subordinates from Nazarick?
Each of them were wearing maid uniforms like Yuri and Narberal so perhaps they were their colleagues? There was also a bearded man in a suit who had a very… professional atmosphere around him.
"Silas." Ainz nodded towards me and I immediately recognised it as the Roleplay mode.
"Ainz. Are they your subordinates?" I asked, looking at the rest of the group.
"Yes. You already know Yuri and Narberal. These are the rest of the Pleiades and he is Sebas Tian, the leader of Pleiades."
The maids and the old butler guy bowed professionally in front of me.
"Silas-sama."
I was a bit taken aback by their behaviour but immediately recovered, having already been used to it due to Yuri and Narberal.
"You said you needed some staff for today's party. They can work here to cover for today." Ainz added.
"Oh…" I looked at the group. "You guys are fine with it, right?"
"It would be an honour for us." Sebas answered, representing the group.
"Great. Then Yuri and Narberal can explain the job to you all. You already know those two so it would be easier for you to coordinate with them."
"Yuri has already explained everything to us, Sir. We are ready to start our work immediately." Sebas replied.
"Oh…" That lady was too dedicated… "Okay then."
I left them to work while Ainz directly went to the room with Milim, Saitama and Rimuru, probably in a hurry to get away from their sights so he could relax.
Sometimes, I felt pity for him… only sometimes.