Can you handle my Hikigaya's cooking?

Then... we continued to take out our own steel wool and ended this busy day...

Chapter 3: Just a high school student passing by

Early in the morning, six o'clock.

As a chef, the most sensitive time point should be the moment of lifting the lid of the pot, and as an errand runner, Hachiman naturally cannot miss this time point.

At this time, all the ingredients are extremely fresh, and after inhaling the clearest air of the day, the firmness of the meat is impeccable.

The sun hadn't even risen completely yet, but that couldn't stop the shouting of people in the market. Their enthusiasm seemed to burn away all the fatigue of the day.

As a person with many years of experience here, Yawata has obviously mastered the secret. In order to provide sufficient and fresh ingredients for Hikigaya Hotel, he quickly began his purchases.

Chicken, duck and fish, the three most common meats, are the top priority. Hachiman can feel the freshness of the meats just by the number of times they jump, the height, the sound of their cries, and the speed at which they swim and run.

But this time, what he needed to buy was not these, but seafood from the deep sea.

With his terrifying insight, Hachiman soon arrived at a street stall that seemed to have no one paying attention to it.

The man setting up the stall was an extremely strong guy. He was very familiar with every boss here, so the moment he saw him, Hachiman could tell that he was a new guy.

Hachiman gently put his hand into the water and stroked the skin of the king crab. If you look at it with the naked eye, this turbid water is like a natural protective shield, protecting the lives of these king crabs. After all, no one would buy such seafood.

But... Hachiman knew very well that the turbid water could not stop the seafood in front of him from bursting with freshness. Although he didn't know why the boss did this, if the other party insisted on digging this pit for him to jump into... then Hachiman would have no choice but to accept it.

Long-term immersion in these turbid waters and placing so many types of seafood in one tank at the same time will also create a new problem...

"Boss, how much is this king crab?"

"4000 yen per pound."

Although it is not expensive, after all, the budget is limited...

"I'm a student, can you give me a discount?"

"You are a newbie, and I haven't even opened the store yet. You want me to do business at a loss? No way!"

If the other party does not agree to bargain, he will not be willing to talk too much nonsense with you. But Hachiman is not in a hurry. After all, this time of every day is an exciting game.

He did not leave, but kept his eyes on the water tank, waiting silently...

"Boss, how do you deal with these dead seafood?"

"Of course, dead seafood is thrown away. Although I don't have many customers here, I am very honest. If a merchant dares to sell dead seafood, who would dare to buy your products?"

"Really?"

"Of course it's true!" Feeling Hachiman's doubt, the boss was obviously a little unhappy. In fact, this was his first time selling seafood. It was precisely because he was very clear about the quality of his seafood that he dared to raise the price twice as high as that of his peers.

As for Hachiman in front of him, he became the first customer to care about him, but after all, he was just a student, so he didn't care much.

Hachiman was not in a hurry to leave, but was quietly waiting for an opportunity. If it weren't for the constant coming and going of people and if no customer chose to stay here, the boss would have probably urged him to leave long ago.

I don't know how much time passed, but until Hikigaya gently sniffed the familiar smell in the blood, he finally slowly opened his eyes.

"died."

"What's dead?"

"This lobster, this dragonfish, this sunfish... and the king crab just now."

"Impossible, how is it possible? It was still fresh and moving here just now." Although it was unbelievable, the boss still came over. In his heart, he just thought that the student was talking nonsense.

However, when he saw these seafood floating up, his heart seemed to break and sank completely.

At this moment, if I was not dreaming, it was basically certain that these seafood that were just fresh were now dead.

"Fuck! You're really fucking dead... You're such an unlucky guy! You're really a newborn, how is it possible... This is so fucking disgusting!"

Faced with the opponent's continuous swearing, Hachiman remained calm:

"Now, what are you going to do with these seafood? How about this... I'm a student..."

"Hey you guy..."

This time, Hachiman didn't try to bargain anymore. Instead, he took out two hundred yen and handed it directly to the other party.

After all, this problem has arisen just after he had just said it. Although the boss is annoyed, the most urgent thing is how to deal with the seafood.

After taking a look at the seafood that had already floated up, the boss was still a little undecided...

"Well, I'll tell you the reason. How about you pack up all the seafood that just died for me? I guarantee you won't suffer any loss."

Helpless, speechless..

It would be thrown away anyway, and he really wanted to know how Hachiman did it, otherwise he believed that Hachiman would not have been waiting here.

Thinking of this, he didn't say any more nonsense. He just picked up the foam box and ice pack and immediately took out the dead seafood and packed them up.

"You're really lucky. These seafood just died. If you freeze them now, the taste will be exactly the same. And it's only 4,000 yen... Hey, you're really lucky."

Hachiman shook his head: "No... Even though it just died, the taste of living and dead seafood is completely different."

"There are also the causes of death of these seafood. Because the categories are too messy, deep-sea fish don't even have oxygen and purifiers, so it's normal if you don't have customers here. In their eyes, these may be some seafood that is not very fresh."

Taking the foam box from the boss, Hachiman said politely:

"Thank you."

Listening to Hachiman's well-reasoned analysis, the boss nodded as if somewhat relieved, and asked curiously:

"Although you said that, you can easily tell the freshness of these seafoods. Not bad... Not bad... What's your name?"

“Before asking for someone else’s name, isn’t it better to give your own name first?”

"Dojima Gin."

"Hayama Hayato is just a high school god passing by."

Chapter 4: Your ingredients are as bad as your dead fish eyes!

This is the route he must take after purchasing food. Although the journey is not far, it is also the most leisurely time for Hachiman.

Looking at the warm sun shining directly into his heart, Hachiman was fascinated for a moment and stopped without realizing it.

"Thump, thump...thump, thump..."

With the vibration coming from his trouser pocket, Hachiman finally came to his senses from this trance. He gently took out his flip phone, and as expected, it was his father, Shiroichiro.

"Hachiman, have you returned home yet?"

"Not yet. I just went to buy food ingredients. What's wrong?"

"I have to go out for something today, so I'd like you to come and help me at the hotel. It should be no problem if Komachi is here."

"That's true, but Komachi is in class right now..."

"Oh, that seems to be the case. That's it then. I'll leave the hotel to you."

"Hey, are you listening to people? It's really rare."

"If it really doesn't work, just close the store for now. I won't be able to come back until tomorrow at the earliest."

"understood."

Hachiman put down the phone and was about to hang up on this unreliable father, but at the same time... Shiroichiro's voice came from the other end of the phone again.

"Have you ever thought about what your ideal future is?"

Without giving it too much thought, perhaps Hachiman already had an unshakable answer in his heart:

"Ideal? Is there any need to ask? Of course I want to be a househusband, meet a rich woman who is willing to support me, eat the food made by my father and Komachi, and finally become a food connoisseur."

"Not bad right!"

Only when he said this did Hachiman's tone carry a hint of pride.

"Dudududu..."

When he came to his senses again, the phone in his hand had already been hung up. It seemed that Shiroichiro was completely disappointed with his son. Perhaps his greatest wish was that he could live a peaceful life like this.

"That's good..."

At the same time, Shiroichiro, who took the initiative to hang up Hachiman's phone, actually showed a helpless smile on his face. Unlike the past, the childishness and nonchalance were completely gone, leaving only immense determination.

"Hachiman, Hachiman, you haven't discovered your own talents yet... It seems that it's time to leave. Both Komachi and Hachiman still have a long way to go."

Only a young eagle that leaves home completely can evolve into an eagle. As a father, Shiroichiro knows this very well.

On the other hand, Komachi is also planning her future. She hopes to complete her studies as soon as possible and then travel around the world to continue practicing her culinary skills.

...

Hachiman returned to the Hikigaya Hotel and opened the warehouse as usual, but at this moment, everything in front of him was a little unbelievable to him.

Whether it was vegetables, meat, or rice, they had all disappeared.

"Thief? Although all signs point to a thief, it's just some food, not worth much, why make such a fuss?"

'There are no other vendors on this street, and with so much food, if it's just one family, they can't finish it all. Why make such a big fuss about it?'

'For so many years, the restaurant has always been clear in conscience and has never made bad food. It is also a very friendly presence on this street and is even sought after by everyone.'

"Then... after all, there is only one answer."

He took the seafood he had just bought from the market and walked into the lobby to greet the enemies of the restaurant.

At the door outside the hall, a woman with golden hair seemed to have been waiting for a long time. She had her arms folded across her chest, still wearing the same pair of black sunglasses, and looked extremely arrogant.

"I don't know if you are accepting customers now. As a customer, I want to eat a hot meal for some unknown reason."

Miura's words seemed to be deliberately provoking Hachiman. It was obvious that she came here because of what happened yesterday. It was because Shiroichiro agreed to the bet with her that things turned out like this.

There is no need to think too much. Miura in front of him has already controlled all the nearby cameras. Even if she is the one who stole the food, she still can't do anything to Miura.

Hachiman turned around and faced Miura: "Are you using such means just to drive us away? Isn't that a bit too much?"

Miura's personality has always been quite straightforward. Seeing that Hikigaya couldn't do anything to her, she stopped pretending:

"That's right, I ordered someone to do it just to vent Yui's anger. Don't blame me for not remembering our friendship. As a chef, you should be able to meet the needs of customers anytime and anywhere, right?"

Hachiman sighed helplessly. Things had come to this point. It seemed that she would not give up unless she used some special means. "What do you want?"

Miura took off his sunglasses, looking very proud: "Make a dish that satisfies me, otherwise, you will close down now as you said yesterday."

Choosing the time when Komachi and Shiroichiro were not around, and after confirming again and again that his classmate could not cook, Miura finally revealed his purpose.

It must be said that she must have come well prepared for this trip. As a customer, as long as she says "not tasty" after eating the food, she will win this business battle. Now... there is no possibility of failure.

Hachiman: "In that case, as long as I can cook something that satisfies you, that's all that's fine, right?"

Seeing Hikigaya in front of him in some disbelief, Miura's morale had obviously dropped a bit, but he just nodded again to confirm.

"What do you cook with?"

Hikigaya took out the seafood he had just bought from the market without saying too much.

"Just these are enough."

"Just based on these rotten fish and shrimp? To be honest, this dead fish of yours is as bad as your dead fish eyes. Let me make it clear first, I have eaten at five-star Michelin restaurants. If I can't cook well, you can just wait for them to close down."

Hey, this is already a personal attack...

"Well, please wait here for a moment. I have to go back to the kitchen to prepare."

Having said this, Hachiman returned to his battlefield without even looking back.

Miura's gaze remained on him until he disappeared, and then he finally confirmed with the assistant behind him:

"Are you sure you stole all his ingredients?!"

"It's true. Even the sauce was included."

"Hmph, Hikiku, I'll let you bully Yui, you're dead, let me see what kind of food you can use to satisfy my tongue!"

Chapter 5: Leftover rice with dead seafood can be delicious?!

After returning to the kitchen, Hachiman quickly checked the ingredients, but unfortunately...