An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 92

Chapter 92: Can You Speak More Clearly?

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The twelve ogres were completely wiped out by my knife. All of them reverted to human-shaped pieces of paper, scattered on the ground.

“…To think that you could so easily defeat my Twelve Divine Generals…”

Along with that muttered voice, a young man appeared. He wore clothing reminiscent of a Heian-era noble, complete with a tall, black, narrow hat called an eboshi. Though he appeared to be around twenty years old, just like with Masako Hojo, appearances weren’t reliable for gauging his actual age.

〈It’s definitely a Heroic Spirit!〉

〈Who is it? He looks like some kind of noble.〉

〈Maybe an emperor?〉

〈No, if he’s talking about shikigami and the Twelve Divine Generals, there’s only one person it could be.〉

〈Ki no Tsurayuki?〉

“Are you the Heroic Spirit trapped in this dungeon?”

“…Indeed… My name is… Abe no Seimei…”

Abe no Seimei. He was a master of onmyodo who flourished during the Heian period. He was said to command powerful shikigami known as the Twelve Divine Generals and was famous for countless tales of slaying oni and yokai.

〈His voice is so quiet, I can barely hear him.〉

〈But he definitely said Abe no Seimei.〉

〈Yeah, there’s no mistaking it. He’s definitely Abe no Seimei.〉

〈Come to think of it, isn’t there a Seimei Shrine nearby?〉

〈He’s giving off such introverted vibes.〉

〈But isn’t he ridiculously handsome?〉

〈I think so too!〉

〈I love his face~♡〉

〈I want him to hold me.〉

“Uh, why did you suddenly attack me?”

“…You must be… Seeking my power… Are you not? To lend my power… I had to… Determine whether you are… A worthy individual…”

〈Seeking his power, huh? But it’s just for a part-time job.〉

〈Can’t he speak a little more clearly?〉

〈There’s no way he could work in the customer service industry, right?〉

“Oh, the place I work at is short on staff and in a bit of trouble. I was hoping you could help out.”

〈He’s an onmyodo expert, though. lol〉

〈That’s like asking a university professor to work a part-time job at a convenience store.〉

〈There’s no way he’s going to agree, right?〉

“…Very well… I do not fully understand… But you have… Easily surpassed my trial…”

〈He said ‘very well.’ lol〉

〈Is he really going to take the part-time job?〉

〈What if he starts and realizes this isn’t what he signed up for?〉

“But… What is… That mysterious… Shikigami… Of yours…?”

“Shikigami? Oh, you mean this drone?”

〈A drone mistaken for a shikigami.〉

〈Well, no way he’d know what a drone is. lol〉

〈Even if we explain it’s for livestreaming, he wouldn’t get it.〉

〈The gap in generation is just too huge.〉

“A drone…? I do not understand… But it is… A peculiar object… Filled with… Swirling human emotions… It is… Most baffling…”

〈Seriously?〉

〈He can sense the viewers beyond the drone?〉

〈That’s amazing.〉

〈As expected of Abe no Seimei.〉

〈He basically says he can feel your filthy desires.〉

Having gained the ability to summon a new Heroic Spirit, Abe no Seimei, from the Kyoto Imperial Palace Dungeon, I returned to Tokyo that same day. The following day, I immediately had him start working at Ken-chan’s Restaurant.

“Allow me to introduce him. This is Abe no Seimei, the Heroic Spirit I’ve recently started summoning.”

“Abe no Seimei, huh? Haha, this place is turning into quite an extraordinary restauarnt.”

Tanaka Masanori said, his cheeks twitching slightly as he forced a stiff smile on his face.

“I’m Tanaka Masanori. I look forward to working with you.”

“…Abe no Seimei… I look forward… To working with you…”

Abe no Seimei responded in a low mutter. As expected, he seemed shy. His voice was barely audible. 

“I am Masako Hojo. As fellow Heroic Spirits, I hope we can work well together.”

When Masako Hojoo bowed deeply, Abe no Seimei gave a small nod.

“…Likewise… I hope…”

“Well, handling customers might be a bit challenging for you, so I’d like you to focus on delivering food.”

“So, you mean… I simply need to carry the completed dishes… To the appropriate tables… correct?”

“Exactly. Think you can manage that?”

“…A trivial task. Using my shikigami… I can carry as many dishes as needed… At once…”

Abe no Seimei infused power into a humanoid paper figure, transforming it into a fierce-looking demon. While not as menacing as the Twelve Divine Generals I fought, it still looked terrifying.

“W-wait a second! That’s way too scary! Customers are going to freak out. Can’t you make it look less like a demon?”

“…Of course, I can…”

The shikigami transformed again, this time taking on the appearance of a creature resembling the yokai Nurarihyon.

“Hmm, this is better than before, but could you aim for something cuter?”

“Cuter…?”

“Like something more lovable, like a dog or cat.”

“…Understood…”

The shikigami morphed once more, this time turning into a one-eyed goblin (hitotsume kozo yokai).

“Why just one eye…? Well, I guess this works. It’s not exactly cute, but it’ll do.”

When I approved it, Abe no Seimei created about twenty identical shikigami. Each stood about 100 centimeters tall, creating a scene that resembled a group of kindergarteners bustling around. Before opening for the day, we practiced a bit, and as expected of shikigami controlled by Abe no Seimei, the one-eyed goblins moved swiftly and efficiently, delivering dishes to tables without any mistakes. Not only were they stable, but their food placement was also flawless. Additionally, they could clear tables and even wash dishes.

By the way, I had been handling dishwashing with magic during downtime until now.

“This is amazing! It’s like we suddenly got a whole team of part-time workers!”

“Yeah, this should make things a lot easier.”

With this new addition to our team, we felt confident as we approached opening time. But then…

“Ma-Manager! There’s a line outside that’s more than double the usual size!”

“What?! Why the sudden rush…?”

“I’m not sure… But there is a much higher proportion of women lining up…”

“Don’t tell me…”

The women entering the shop all scanned the interior, their eyes darting around as if searching for something. Then, their gazes inevitably stopped at one spot.

“There he is! It’s Abe no Seimei!”

“He really is ridiculously handsome!”

“Kyaaah, he looked this way!”

It seemed Abe no Seimei was their target.

“I see… Well, he is incredibly good-looking. Not to mention, Abe no Seimei is a popular character in various media.” 

Tanaka Masanori said, nodding as if everything made sense to him.

“But still, women’s enthusiasm for their fandoms far exceeds that of men, huh?”

Even with a powerful new addition to the team, the surge in customers left us as busy as ever, so the workload didn’t lessen much in the end.

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