An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 83

Chapter 83: Please Don’t Joke Around

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

“To Manager-san?”

“Ye-Yes… I’m Aoi Kadoyama… I received his help a few days ago…”

I left the kitchen where I had been preparing for tomorrow to walk over to her side. 

“Umm… I guess I should say nice to meet you? I’m Kenichi Nishida.”

“….! Ni-Ni-Ni-Ni-Ni-Ni-Nice to meet you…”

Just like what the rumor said, Aoi Kadoyama was extremely shy. She avoided eye contact and cast her gaze downward. 

“So you went out of your way to come to my restaurant? Oh, but you’ve already been discharged from the hospital, huh? Is your body feeling alright now?”

“Huh? Ah-… Ye-Yes…”

Hmm… She might be even worse than Koto. Just then, another woman walked into the restaurant. 

“Our sincerest apologies. As you can see, she’s very bad at socializing. Especially with men. She always ends up like this.”

This woman looked familiar though. She must be one of Aoi Kadoyama’s party members. I sort of remembered her among the group of people I had helped in the dungeon. 

“Ah, my apologies for the late introduction. I’m an explorer from Aoi Kadoyama’s company, Kozue Yatsukake. Thank you very much for helping us the other day.”

Aoi Kadoyama immediately hid behind her. Kozue Yatsukake looked a bit exasperated as she saw that. 

“…Director, shouldn’t you say thank you to him yourself?”

“I think it’s going to be difficult.”

“But you’re the representative of our company. You need to do at least that much…”

I had heard that she started her explorer’s company at a young age, so I had thought she must be an incredible woman, but… I decided to give her a hand. 

“We-Well, I heard she doesn’t like men in general and she already conveyed her gratitude to me… More or less. Anyway, it’s fine.”

“Sorry about that… As you can see, she’s an incredible explorer but… She’s absolutely hopeless at everything else.”

“…I’m so ashamed…”

She said while still hiding behind her subordinate, but I could tell she was genuinely ashamed of herself. 

“And so, we’ve been thinking about how we could properly thank you for your help, Nishida-sama. For example, if there’s anything you might need from our company, such as skill books, weapons, or other items…”

“No, you don’t need to worry about that. I’ve already received my reward from the Dungeon Management Agency.”

In addition to the reward from defeating the dungeon boss, I had received a special reward from the Dungeon Management Office too. That was more than enough. 

“But still, we can’t possibly do that. Please, allow us to offer our gratitude to you.”

“After all… I attacked you too…”

Right. It seemed Aoi Kadoyama was still feeling guilty for attacking me back then. 

“You were being controlled back then. You couldn’t help it.”

In the end, I still stood my ground. I declined the reward offered by Aoi Kadoyama’s company. 

“Then, if there ever comes a time when Nishida-sama needs our help, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We will do everything we can to help you.”

“…Anything.”

“I-I understand. Then, I’ll take you up on that offer.”

◇　◇　◇

After Aoi Kadoyama and the others left, I finished my remaining work, closed the restaurant and returned home. Just like usual, I took a bath, had a can of beer and then, I laid down on the bed. I was proud to say that I could fall asleep relatively quickly. I turned off the lights and laid on the bed and before long, I fell into a deep slumber and I would wake up when it was already morning.

“Hm?”

However, on this particular night, I woke up when it was still night time for some reason. The room was dark. It was clear to see it was still night time even without moving my body to check.

“My body… Can’t move?”

Maybe this is the so-called sleep paralysis? But I can speak just fine…?

“Fufufu…. Fufufufufu… Finally… Finally the time has come for me to be united with God Oldman…”

Suddenly, a voice echoed from within the darkness. I could clearly feel the presence of someone else in my room. 

Huh? Is this a dream? No… This feels too real to be a dream. 

The presence drew closer. 

OI,OI,OI,OI,OI,OI?? Is this for real? This is seriously terrifying. 

Eventually, what appeared in my line of sight as I froze on the bed was… 

“Fufufufu~ Manager-san… Good evening.”

“…Osaka-san?”

It was my part-time worker, Mao Osaka. She looked as graceful as ever as she smiled at me. 

“You can’t move, can you? Well of course. You shouldn’t be able to move. After all… Every single day, I’ve been very, very carefully controlling your shadows… Little by little… So that you wouldn’t notice… Oh. By the way, I have the ability to control shadows and darkness.”

What is she talking about? So she’s the reason why I can’t move? But why?

“Pl-Please don’t joke around. I know you’re not the kind of person who would do something like this.”

“Fufu~ But I’m not joking. This is who I am. Here, do you recognize this?”

“…That’s my kitchen uniform… But why…?”

In front of my confused eyes, Mao Osaka buried her face in my kitchen uniform.

“Mmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!! Manager-san’s scenttttttttt!!”

Mao Osaka exclaimed with an enthralled look on her face as she sniffed my kitchen uniform really hard. She looked nothing like the pure and graceful girl I usually saw at the restaurant. 

“…Seriously…?”

“Fufufu… You must be surprised! This is the truth! This is the real me! I put on a facade on a daily basis! It was reallyyyyy hard… Staying sane in front of my beloved… My beloved God Oldman…!”

After that, she completely changed. She wasn’t like the Mao Osaka I knew. It was as if she were a completely different person entirely. 

“You see… I’ve always loved old men… I’ve seen so many different old men, but when I first saw Manager-san in one of your livestreams… I was convinced. You. You are the perfect old man I’ve always dreamed of!”

Mao Osaka continued on. Her breathing grew ragged. 

“That’s why I made an oath! I will definitely make this God Oldman mine!”

Her eyes seemed to gleam in madness in the dark. Saliva was dripping from the corner of her mouth, falling toward my blanket. 

“Fufufufu… It’s okay… There’s no need to be afraid… You just need to accept all of me… Fufufufufufu…”

At this point, I thought to myself… 

Now is the time when I need the help from Aoi Kadoyama’s company.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー