Restaurant Of In Between Chapter 5: Serie

Warning - This is a non-beta version, the beta will arrive later.

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The man didn't reply, but only nodded. I get the feeling that he wasn't trying to be rude, he's just probably very exhausted at the moment.

He took a seat near, and then took a look at the menu which made him look confused for a bit, and even disbelief after seeing the dishes in the menu.

Sensing that something was wrong, I went closer to the man and asked. “Is there a problem, sir..?”

The man snapped out of it and awkwardly spoke. “N-no…it's nothing, it's just…are the dishes on the menu real..?”

Of course, it's real. Why the heck would I ask that kind of question? Deciding to humor him, I replied. “They are.”

The man stared at him for quite some time as if trying to see his motives, finding that there was none, he decided to say. “Then…can I have this..?”

He pointed at a certain dish.

It was a spicy chicken curry, usually it would take time to cook this type of dish. Thankfully I don't have to bother starting all the way since I've got some left thanks to Mikami and Saitama ordering the same dish.

“Alright, I'll be right back.” I went directly to the kitchen to prepare the dish.

—

It took only a few minutes to finish it, and went directly to the table where the man was sitting.

I played the warm spicy kitchen curry on his table and also placed a glass of cold water.

Confused at the extra thing. “I didn't order the water…”

“It's in the house, if you want a refill just call me.” I said.

“So the water is free..?” The look of astonishment appeared on his face.

I couldn't help but think. ‘It’s just water, it's not a big deal. Why is acting like It's something worth to be surprised of..?’

“Yes, and please enjoy the spicy chicken curry.”

Then I left and went to Mikami’s group who were still playing the game, not really paying attention to the new customer as they're immersed in their gameplay.

I didn't bother them as I was looking at the new customer with curiosity, wanting to see his reaction after eating the meal I cooked.

The man hesitated for a bit, but after smelling the appetizing aroma of the curry, he gave in and took a bite.

His eyes widened and then resumed eating the curry, nothing seemed out of place until half-way of finishing the dish.

The man literally cried for some reason, and I wasn't sure what to do as this was definitely the first experience of someone crying while eating my food.

Mikami, who noticed this, stopped his immersive gaming for a bit and said. “He's crying…?”

“Yeah…and I have no idea what to do.”

“Oi, Mikami you're not movin- hm? What are you guys looking at- oh, is he crying? Why?” Saitama asked.

“Don't ask me, I don't know.”

In the end, we just watched the guy having some sort of emotional breakdown.

—

We found out that the guy's name was Suzuki Satorou, coincidence he also has the same last name as Mikami.

Anyway, according to him, he was from the year 2138. That's basically a hundred years away from us.

His version of Japan, if not the entire world, was so polluted that the air isn't breathable anymore, everyone should wear a gas mask if they want to go outside because the air pollution will literally kill you.

Not to mention the overpopulation, and it means that the earth's natural resources are severely limited and that only the rich people of the world could have the privilege of having to eat something like meat or sea foods.

Meanwhile most people like him could only afford to buy a food called natural flavor paste, to say that it's a proper food is a joke.

Anyway his world is literally screwed and it's only a matter of time his world would be covered in pollution.

“That's really terrible.” I said after hearing his story, and the rest agreed with my statement.

“Yeah, but it's how the world works. Sometimes I felt more dead than alive. Still, I can't believe this restaurant is from a different world.” Suzuki let out an exhausted sigh.

“Yeah, I can't believe it either when I first stumble in this place.” Mikami chuckled.

“I thought Akihiko was bullshitting me at first, but then he showed me an undeniable truth.” Subaru remembered the first day he went to this restaurant.

While they were talking about their first day experience in this restaurant, Kirito asked a different question from the rest.

“Say, since you're from the future do you guys also have VRMMORPG?”

Subaru gave his friend a disbelieving look. “Seriously, Kirito? Now is not the time to ask that kind of question!”

Kirito scratches his left cheek and replies. “Look I get it, but aren't you a bit curious about it? I mean, tell me that thought never crossed your mind?”

Subaru certainly thought about it, but he would never be that blunt after knowing Suzuki's story. “Well…”

“It didn't cross my mind at all.”

Both shifted their attention toward Saitama whose expression was in deadpan.

Both of the teenagers nodded at each other and decided to ignore what Saitama just said.

“So, does your world have it?” Kirito asked again.

“Oi, did you just ignore me?” Saitama looked annoyed.

Suzuki looked awkward, but he answered Kirito’s question. “Yes, we do have something like that.”

Kirito's eyes brighten. “I knew the future didn't disappoint, maybe except for the pollution problem and all.”

“Anyway, did your version of VRMMORPG also trapped you in the game and once you die, your brain will be fried and will die in real life?”

“That's an oddly specific question but no, also I've been meaning to ask…why can I see a name and a lvl above your head..?” Suzuki has been wanting to ask that question ever since he regained his clarity.

“Well…about that…mind listening to my story?”

“I have the time so, sure I'll listen.”

And so Kirito explained how it all started for him.

—

I look at Suzuki’s reaction after hearing Kirito's story, after processing everything he said. “Kayaba is definitely a madman.”

“Definitely.”

“Who would make something as advanced as that just to make it a death game.”

The majority of the guys agree that Kayaba is crazy.

—

It was quite fascinating to see a different currency, I mean technically Subaru, Mikami and Saitama had a different currency, but it wasn't too different from one another.

Sans Kirito, of course. He uses Cor, which is SAO’s currency and we can't physically see it as it's a virtual type of money.

Now, about Suzuki's currency. They weren't made out of paper but of plastic, while I don't know which kind of plastic is used for this but it looks cool and futuristic.

—

At the end of the day Suzuki thanked us for the amazing food and company. The poor guy doesn't have any friends aside from the game he's playing.

He promised to come back and also told Mikami that he'll bring some ‘cultured’ games from his world.

And he left the rest also followed as it's already late night.

While we might be from a different world, our time zones surprisingly match up.

Although it can't be said the same for the dates.

For example, it's Friday in my world but in Mikami it's Monday, Subaru's world is Wednesday and so on.

Seeing that my establishment is empty and I don't think anyone would enter at this late. I suppose it's time for me to clean up the restaurant and close it.

“Well then, I'm going to flip the door sign to close-”

I was suddenly interrupted as someone opened the door. The person who arrived had a small petite body, a girl and from her height alone, she would have been between 13-14 by the average human girl standard.

However, the most eye-catching part of this new potential customer isn't because she's a girl or anything, but because of her ears.

They weren't like humans, because there's no way a human would have such a long ear, this could only mean something.

There's very few creatures that have an ear like that, most of them are mythical or from fairy tales.

But since my restaurant literally connects other worlds, it means that this girl might be that of a legendary race.

She's most likely an Elf.

“Hooo..? This is definitely what I wasn't expecting when I decided to enter this mysterious building appearing in my home.” The elf stared in my direction.

“You, are you the owner of this place?”

From her tone, she wasn't asking but more like ordering me, and I also have a feeling that if I lie. It would end badly for me.

And it wasn't like I'm trying to deny it anyway. “I am, and this is my restaurant.”

The elf eyes widened for a bit, as if surprised by the unexpected revelation.

“This place is a restaurant…?”

“That's right ma’am, what do you think when you enter the place?”

Instead of answering, the elf was talking to herself while looking at me. “Definitely isn't a demon…but a human male…no magic either…wait, no…”

I wasn't sure what she was talking about, so I decided to interrupt her. “Ahem*, why don't you take a seat ma'am, I'll cook you something and don't worry about paying it on the house, because I'm curious about something, I want to ask some questions from you and in exchange you can ask me anything.”

The elf raised a brow. “Oh..?”

She looked like she's thinking whether to accept my offer or not and after a few seconds, she decided. “Very well.”

“Right, before we start I'd like you to know my name. Akihiko, what about you?” I introduced myself.

Elf didn't say anything for a moment, before answering. “Serie.”

“Well then, Miss Serie. Let's begin.”

—

A/N: The chubby cheek elf is here!