The following Saturday, the clock struck nine, signaling the end of the workday. After seeing off the final customer, then cleaning up, Nekoya’s employees were free to do whatever they wanted until the staff meal was ready.
Saki and Aletta chatted a bit, exchanging compliments while they listened to the master cook the staff meal. In the last few months, the two had really broken the ice between them, and their conversation came easily.
“Good work out there today,” Saki said. “It was hectic.”
“Thanks—you, too! It really was wild out there today.” Aletta had worked at the Restaurant to Another World for the past few years, and Saturdays were always nonstop.
They’d had some downtime in the morning, right after the restaurant opened, but they got tons of guests as soon as noon rolled around. Visitors in the afternoon had mostly wanted cups of tea and dessert, but the evening guests had gotten off work and ordered liquor and snacks. By nightfall, most of the diners were there for food and alcohol. At the end of the day, after the final customer dropped by for her giant pot of beef stew, the only times the waitstaff had rested were their respective breaks.
That was why this was such an important time. Work was finished, and Saki and Aletta could bask in the sweet freedom and sense of accomplishment at the end of a busy day.
“Saturdays are a circus,” Saki added. “On weekdays, the restaurant’s not really that busy, except for lunch.”
Her words surprised Aletta. “Wow, really?”
The demon girl knew that “weekdays” were the days when Nekoya was only open to the other world; basically, the days besides the Day of Satur and the next day. There was a bunch of small lockers just like Aletta’s in the changing room, so she knew more otherworlders worked at Nekoya. Still, she was only familiar with a handful of people from that world, including the master. She had no real knowledge of what “weekdays” were like.
“Yup. Although, to be fair, more people work in the kitchen and dining room on weekdays, and we don’t serve nearly as varied a menu. But, yeah, lunchtime’s wild.”
“Wilder than the Day of Satur?” Aletta asked in astonishment, picturing Nekoya during a weekday lunchtime. Would every seat in the restaurant be full?
“Mm-hmm. Tons of businessmen from nearby offices drop in during lunch. We get them to share tables, and even then, we haven’t got enough space. I only work lunchtime on days when I don’t have lectures. Still, it’s rough!”
“Wow. I had no idea.” The stories Saki shared always astounded Aletta, especially since Saki normally lived in the other world, like the master. The young student knew all kinds of things and saw all kinds of stuff. It honestly made Aletta a little jealous.
“When I think about it, Uncle really is amazing,” Saki added. “Even though I help a bit in the kitchen on Saturdays, he’s always looking after things on his own.”
Just like that, the topic turned back to the master. He’d started letting Saki help prepare orders at the restaurant lately; still, he handled all the recipes, and he was amazingly skilled and fast. Even Aletta, a complete novice when it came to cooking, saw that much.
“Agreed,” the demon waitress said. “The master is amazing.”
Aletta knew that only a true chef could serve nobility. The master did more than just boil, fry, or chop—he really cooked. That was why Nekoya’s staff meals were always so delicious.
“I wonder what he’s making today,” she added in a near whisper.
“He’s using a wok. Plus, this morning, he told me to look forward to dinner—he found a can of expensive crab someone gave him. He’s probably making a crab-meat omelet or something,” Saki answered. She looked toward the kitchen, where the master was whistling.
“Oh, right! He did say something about ‘crabs’ and ‘cans.’ I didn’t really understand, though.”
Saki had totally forgotten that Aletta was from a different world from her and the master and wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about their side. She explained as best she could. “Uh…um…crabs are, like…er, they have big pincer claws. They live in the ocean. I guess you could say they’re, like…distant relatives of shrimp? And then cans are…like…metal containers you put food in to keep it from going bad.”
The explanation was a bit sloppy. Saki wasn’t sure whether Aletta understood. Apparently, the demon girl had never even seen the ocean. As far as Saki knew, their lifestyles were entirely different. Aletta had never attended school—there supposedly weren’t any schools for someone like her to enroll at in the first place.
Trying to explain this is tough, Saki reflected. Her way of thinking is, like, totally different.
“I see,” Aletta replied. “So, ‘crabs’ live in the ocean like shrimp, and ‘cans’ contain food that doesn’t spoil. Thanks for teaching me so much!”
Saki felt a tad awkward as Aletta expressed her gratitude. It wasn’t like she was actually so familiar with crabs and cans that she could teach someone. She could recommend dishes to people from Aletta’s world because she’d eaten a lot of foods, but her expertise beyond that was uneven at best. The exchange reminded her of the importance of knowledge. I need to study harder!
“Food’s ready!” the master called. “Come grab a seat.”
The two waitresses cut their conversation short, hurrying to the table. Atop a large white plate, a heap of white, red, green, and black ingredients decorated a yellow mountain. This was today’s staff meal.
“Is this omelet rice…?” asked Aletta, thinking of a dish that looked similar. One lizard-faced customer apparently adored omelet rice; Aletta’s other employer, Sarah, had said the customer was a monster called a “lizardman.”
“It’s similar, but a bit different.”
The master brought over a small pot of sauce he’d made; as the final touch, he poured it over the meal. The thick reddish sauce flowed down over the yellow eggs. A completely new aroma rose from the dish, making Aletta’s stomach growl.
“This is tenshinhan,” said the master. “It’s been a long time since I made it, but it’s damn good.” He found this particular dish a bit nostalgic, since it’d been popular at the restaurant where he trained years ago.
“Huh…tenshinhan.” Saki couldn’t help smiling at that night’s meal. “I haven’t had many chances to eat this. It’s kind of exciting!”
“Thanks for the food!” the three exclaimed simultaneously and dug in together.
Aletta picked up a large white ceramic spoon; it wasn’t a utensil she was used to. She peered at the mountain of eggs. This really does look like omelet rice.
She’d worked here at Nekoya for years, and she hadn’t just eaten lots of different staff meals; she’d also brought customers all kinds of dishes. Aletta could tell the dish in front of her consisted of rice and eggs. However, the ketchup the master topped omelet rice with was redder and more opaque than this sauce.
After scrutinizing the tenshinhan, she dipped her spoon into the yellow eggs; it cut their soft surface, which had cooked without toughening, with little resistance.
I wonder what tenshinhan tastes like. Aletta brought the sauce-covered spoonful to her mouth. From that one bite, she realized just how different the dish was from omelet rice. Ooh—there’s all kinds of stuff mixed into the eggs!
The waitress noted mashruums’ light texture and the crunch of bamboo shoots, then crisp green onions that lent the eggs a strong allium flavor. The sweet-and-sour tenshinhan sauce was much milder than those generally used at Nekoya. It tasted like soy sauce, and was slightly peppery, which suited the eggs’ mild flavor well.
Then Aletta tasted the meat in the tenshinhan. It’s kind of…sweet? She’d never eaten anything like it before. It was different from beef, pork, fish, or even shripe. Each bite unleashed the spectacularly tender meat’s flavor into her mouth. Ah, I get it. That’s…
“Mmm. Gosh, I haven’t had crab in forever,” Saki observed from beside Aletta.
“Likewise.” The master seemed supremely satisfied as he ate his tenshinhan. “Not to toot my own horn, but this is good stuff.”
Aletta glanced at the two, then buried her spoon back into the pile of delicious fried eggs. It pressed through the egg layer, and she discovered white rice hidden beneath. It was completely unseasoned, unlike fried rice. At first, the white rice seemed a bit plain to Aletta. But when she ate the rice layer, fried eggs, and sauce together, it was undoubtedly delicious.
The three continued to demolish the mountain of tenshinhan. Late at night at the Restaurant to Another World, a staff meal was a familiar sight—and, simultaneously, a joyous time indeed.