KyokaSuigetsu
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069. Shredded Pork with Peppers Noodles, Fueguchi Hinami, and Rize the Picky Eater
🕑 Added 2025-05-13 03:05:31 +0000 UTCNo matter how flowery Makima’s words were,
Hayashi Lin could only bring himself to like her 99%—
He always had to leave that 1% untouched.
That woman was just too inscrutable.
At that moment, Makima suddenly changed the tone of the conversation.
Makima: “According to our investigation, foreign devil assassins have most likely already entered the country. You need to be careful. They’re professionally trained, and some of their methods... may be completely unpredictable.”
Hayashi acknowledged the warning and replied that he would be careful.
And this time—he genuinely thanked her.
After all, she really did give him a heads-up.
In the end,
Makima said she’d drop by the shop in the afternoon for a meal.
Hayashi agreed.
And with that, their chat ended.
Tomorrow was Friday, the day he had promised to accompany Kasumigaoka Utaha to her book release event.
It was now past 2 p.m....
It would usually be finished before six.
Coming back wouldn’t affect opening the shop, so there was no need to notify anyone.
At that moment—
Tohru woke up.
She changed clothes, came out to the second-floor balcony, and shouted down:
“I want noodle soup!”
Noodles, huh? Hayashi licked his lips and nodded.
“OK, I’ll call you when it’s ready. Breakfast will be shredded pork with green pepper noodles.”
“Alright, but... are the green peppers spicy?” Tohru asked.
Eating something too spicy in the morning was a bit much.
Hayashi shook his head.
“They’re mild, don’t worry.”
“Great! I’ll go wake up Kanna.”
“Go ahead—and make sure she brushes her teeth.”
Once Tohru was up, Hayashi went to start cooking.
He picked up Pochita and placed him on a nearby lounge chair.
Then he walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.
He ordered dough from the system at cost price.
Then began hand-pulling the dough into thin noodles.
First, he dusted the countertop with flour.
Then he began stretching the dough—folding, stretching, folding—repeating the cycle.
After a few rounds, the dough got thinner, but still too thick for fine noodles.
With a flick of his wrists, he floured the strands to prevent sticking, then continued the process.
Inside the kitchen, Hayashi's hands moved swiftly.
Before long, the noodles were ready.
Once he cut and portioned what he needed, he realized—
“I made way too much...”
Luckily, he had ways to preserve the extra.
What surprised him was—
The weaving techniques he’d studied yesterday actually helped with noodle making.
“So it really all counts as threadwork, huh?”
With the noodles ready, the rest was easy.
Simmer the broth, slice the green peppers into strips, cut the pork into thin slices.
Prep the seasonings—that’s it.
Technically, he could skip the broth, but if it was noodle soup, it had to have broth.
Just as Hayashi was simmering the soup,
Pochita barked from the kitchen entrance.
“Woof~!” (Someone’s here.)
“Alright, I’ll go take a look.” Hayashi nodded, washed his hands, and grabbed a towel as he stepped out.
Once outside, he saw Touka Kirishima, Koma Enji, and Irimi Kaya at the entrance, standing with a tearful mother and daughter.
The daughter was sobbing uncontrollably, hugging her mother’s leg. She didn’t make a sound, but her tears flowed nonstop.
Touka was gently trying to comfort her.
“Just have a bite first. The shop owner is really kind. He makes food ghouls can eat too. His cooking is amazing.”
But the girl didn’t listen, just kept crying.
Even her mother, standing beside her, was silently wiping away tears with one hand while comforting her daughter with the other.
Koma and Irimi stood aside, sighing helplessly.
That’s the risk of any plan—unpredictability. Sometimes things just go wrong.
Hayashi understood the situation immediately.
As he walked out, the three from Anteiku gave a slight bow.
Koma chuckled awkwardly.
“Manager Hayashi, uh... they... well...”
The situation was so bad, he didn’t know how to phrase it.
Irimi sighed and was about to speak, but Touka stepped forward.
“Let me explain.”
She began explaining the situation:
“These two are Fueguchi Hinami and her mother, Fueguchi Ryouko. They were victims of the ‘Yamori’ incident early this morning...”
After Touka’s explanation, Hayashi understood the full story.
It turned out Yamori had already marked someone even before Aogiri Tree pushed him out.
That someone was Hinami’s father.
Before that, Yamori had been beaten by Rize.
More importantly—his signature weapon, the pliers, had been stolen by Rize!
To Yamori, it was a huge humiliation.
His sacred tool—gone! Stolen!
So Yamori targeted a doctor—hoping to get a replacement pair of strong surgical pliers.
That doctor happened to be Hinami’s father.
And to eliminate loose ends—
Yamori killed the doctor.
Hinami and her mother, after hearing the news, rushed to Anteiku to seek refuge—not asking for help, just a safe place.
Everyone in the 20th Ward knew Anteiku was the local power.
Yoshimura had agreed to take them in.
That’s how things had reached this point.
The authorities had released the news, and the CCG was aware of the case. An operation would likely be launched tonight.
The incident was just too serious.
Rize, listening from upstairs, called out:
“That kind of freak really should be killed.”
Hearing her voice, Ryouko looked up and immediately recognized her—her face filled with fear. She hugged Hinami tighter.
“A... binge eater...”
Rize’s expression didn’t change. She didn’t care how people saw her.
Touka quickly added:
“Miss Rize has joined Anteiku. Just like us, she only eats food prepared by Manager Hayashi. She’s committed to this lifestyle.”
Upon hearing this, Ryouko relaxed considerably.
Hayashi turned to Rize.
“Rize, where’s the pliers you took?”
“Pliers?” Rize frowned, trying to remember. “I forgot. I think I tossed them into some river.”
So she really hadn’t cared.
She hadn’t taken them for any strategic reason—just to humiliate Yamori.
Coming back to the present—
Faced with the tearful mother and daughter, Hayashi didn’t need Touka to say more. He already understood.
“Got it. Come in and eat something. You’ll feel much better. I happened to make too many noodles today anyway.”
The three from Anteiku bowed slightly.
“Thank you, Manager.”
Ryouko was quietly shocked by their respect—and quickly bowed as well with Hinami.
“Thank you, Manager.”
“Don’t mention it. Come in.” Hayashi waved and turned inside, towel in hand.
He called upstairs:
“Rize, go tell Tohru and the others they can come down.”
“Alright,” Rize replied and turned back.
Inside the dining room—
Hayashi noticed Hinami was still quietly crying.
He sighed, walked over, knelt down, and pulled out a box of cookies.
“Here, have a little snack. Something sweet helps with your mood.”
Sweetness really did help with emotions.
Bitterness toughened people.
But sweetness—sweetness healed.
Hinami sniffed it—smelled delicious. But seeing it was human food, she looked down and whispered softly:
“Thank you, big brother... but I’m... I’m a ghoul. I can’t eat human food.”
She could already smell that Hayashi was human.
All ghouls could.
Touka was just about to speak up to help explain—
But Hayashi still said directly:
“Doesn’t it smell good? Just take a tiny bite, like a little hamster.”
Hayashi’s description made Fueguchi Hinami crack a smile through her tears.
Like a hamster, huh…
Looking at the food in front of her, Hinami reached out and accepted it.
She took one piece, bit off the tiniest bit with her white teeth, and let it rest on her tongue to taste.
In that instant—
Hinami’s eyes widened.
She looked at Hayashi in amazement, then at the food.
Then—another bite!
Crunch—a chunk of the cookie disappeared.
Still holding a piece, Hinami turned to her mother.
“Mom, try it! It’s really good!”
Human food... could they really eat it?
Seeing her daughter genuinely happy—
Fueguchi Ryouko took the cookie, trusting her daughter, and gently bit down.
“?!”
As expected—
Her expression mirrored her daughter’s—stunned.
Ryouko covered her mouth, her teeth moving instinctively to chew, exclaiming in disbelief:
“It’s so delicious... We can actually eat human food?”
There was no need for Hayashi to answer.
After soothing the little girl, he patted her on the head and stood up, heading for the kitchen.
“Find a place to sit. No custom orders today since you came early. You’ll eat what I’m making—noodle soup.”
The three from Anteiku bowed slightly.
“Thank you, Manager.”
Hayashi turned and walked into the kitchen.
At the same time—
Rize, Tohru, and Kanna came downstairs.
Seeing the crowd, Tohru went to understand the situation.
After learning what happened to the Fueguchi family, she truly felt sorry for Hinami.
So she made lemon tea and brought a cup for everyone.
Kanna stood nearby, watching.
That girl—just a little older than her—had already lost her father. And he’d been a doctor.
For a ghoul to become a doctor…
It must have taken immense effort.
And just like that, he was gone.
Kanna silently thought to herself: I have to protect Hayashi well from now on. Otherwise, she might end up heartbroken too… and Lady Tohru would be devastated.
Around the dining table—
Touka began explaining the food and the general rules of Midnight Diner to the Fueguchi mother and daughter.
“Midnight Diner, and Manager Hayashi, he’s amazing. Also...”
The gist of it was:
Hayashi is great, and the Diner is strong.
And here, it doesn’t matter if you’re a ghoul, demon, or something else.
As long as you don’t cause trouble at Midnight Diner…
And you’re not some irredeemable criminal—
Then you’re welcome here.
Ryouko was astonished.
“I can’t believe there’s such a place in the 20th Ward…”
In the ghoul world—
Most knew the 20th Ward was a peaceful zone. The stronger ghouls knew Anteiku ran the show here.
But to think there was an even more mysterious place beyond Anteiku—
A place like Midnight Diner?
It was too incredible!
The members of Anteiku exchanged glances.
Irimi smiled:
“Once you settle in, you’ll come to understand.”
Koma nodded too:
“Everyone here is easy to get along with. We’re all striving for a better life.”
Ryouko looked at her daughter, who had finished the cookie.
She reached over and wiped the crumbs from her mouth.
Recalling the taste, she nodded in agreement.
“Yes... It really is wonderful.”
The flavor of good food—
For ghouls, it was something nearly impossible to attain, something they could only long for.
But Hayashi’s cooking…
For them, it was a miracle—something that kind-hearted ghouls could only dream of.
Yet they were tasting it now.
Inside the kitchen—
Hayashi was slicing ingredients, preparing to boil the noodles.
He placed several metal strainers—like baskets—on the edge of a large pot.
Inside the pot, the broth was simmering.
He dropped noodles into the strainers to boil—like how shrimp balls are cooked at a hotpot restaurant.
Meanwhile, the bowls were ready.
The stir-fried shredded pork with green pepper was already in place, waiting quietly.
Once the noodles were ready—
He transferred them from the strainer to the bowls and ladled in some broth—repeat four times.
Hayashi started boiling another batch.
Then called out:
“Tohru!”
“Coming~!” Tohru darted in.
Smelling the soup, she swallowed her saliva and immediately carried all four bowls out.
Hayashi reminded her:
“Serve the guests first—it’s no rush for us.”
“Got it.” Tohru nodded and brought the bowls to Anteiku’s table.
Once they were set—
“Please eat while it’s hot.”
Everyone’s attention was drawn to the food.
And just like Hayashi predicted—
Touka and Koma pushed the first two bowls to Hinami and Ryouko.
“You eat first—Manager serves quickly.”
Faced with the deep temptation of the aroma—
Ryouko glanced at her daughter, then expressed her thanks.
“Thank you all.”
She helped her daughter with her chopsticks.
Hinami thanked them too.
They both tried a bite—
And their eyes widened in surprise.
Then, ignoring how hot the soup still was, they started slurping it down enthusiastically.
The remaining two bowls—
One went to Touka, the other to Kanna.
Both began eating eagerly too.
But just a few bites in—
Hayashi’s voice rang out again from the kitchen.
“Tohru.”
“Coming~!”
Before long, everyone had a bowl of noodle soup.
Gathered around the table, everyone was devouring the food.
No one seemed picky.
Irimi glanced at the green peppers, hesitated—then ate them. Not bad.
Koma, seeing that, ate hers too.
Hayashi noticed.
“No one likes green peppers?”
He suddenly remembered Crayon Shin-chan. Shin-chan also hated green peppers.
So it was a common thing, huh?
Looking around—
Seemed like his cooking was good enough that no one was skipping them.
Wait—one exception!
When Hayashi looked at Rize, she was quietly picking the green peppers out of her bowl.
Her movements looked casual, but once Hayashi spotted her—
Rize’s confidence crumbled, and she tilted her head, looking sheepish.
“Hmmm~?” Hayashi hummed. Rize lowered her head further.
“So you’re picky, huh, Rize?” Hayashi chuckled.
Rize picked up a green pepper and muttered with a hint of grievance:
“I just don’t like it, Hayashi-kun… It’s green.”
For a meat-lover like her, being able to eat egg-fried rice and noodles was already impressive.
This kind of green vegetable, to her, was no less unbearable than tofu pudding with pineapple chunks—something ghouls just weren’t meant to eat.
But Hayashi’s face hardened.
“Eat it. No being picky. It’s not like I’m making you eat the whole thing.”
“Okay...” Rize reluctantly nibbled on a small piece.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t bad at all—actually pretty tasty. But that didn’t mean she liked it, so she decided to just get it over with and eat all the green peppers in one go. Better rip the band-aid off.
Meanwhile, Fueguchi Ryouko was completely stunned.
This was... Rize?
This was an SS-rated ghoul?
This was the Big Eater, the Glutton?
Why did she go from a ferocious tigress to a timid kitten in front of Manager Hayashi?
Was this really the ghoul world she knew?
