An Old Man Restaurant Owner Is Unparalleled by Relying on His Old Tricks. It Turns Out, He’s the Legendary Dungeon Conqueror. - 94

Chapter 94: Is It Okay to Take Pictures?

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“You have done well to release my soul! I shall commend you!”

After defeating the boss of the Mount Miwa Dungeon, a rather tiny figure appeared. She looked completely like an elementary schooler, yet she let out a smug “hmph” with a haughty attitude.

〈A child Heroic Spirit?〉

〈She’s about 120 centimeters tall at best.〉

〈A noja-loli has appeared!!〉

(T/N: noja-loli = a loli who speaks in old-fashioned way)

〈She is adorable.〉

〈That slightly arrogant vibe of her is a big plus.〉

“Uh… who are you?”

“Me? I am Himiko!”

As expected, she was Himiko. Himiko was a queen who was said to have ruled over Yamataikoku during the late Yayoi period. There were various theories about where Yamataikoku was located, with the Kinki and Kyushu theories being the most prominent… But if Himiko had been imprisoned in this Miwayama Dungeon, then the former must have been correct.

〈So she really was from the Kinki region.〉

〈I thought so too.〉

〈Yeah, just as predicted.〉

〈You can’t say that after knowing the truth now! LOL〉

“By the way, what is your name?”

“I’m Kenichi Nishida.”

“Kenichi Nishida…? Hm, what a strange name.”

〈You’re not even trying to hide your real name anymore?〉

〈Well, his high school classmate already put his graduation album photo online.〉

〈If he sued, he’d totally win, right?〉

〈Suing a classmate sounds kinda futile though. Not like he’d get much money out of it.〉

“But I like you! As thanks for releasing me, I shall lend you my strength!”

“Really? Then please work part-time at my shop.”

“Part-time…?”

〈Don’t make a queen work a part-time job, lol.〉

〈Well, to be fair,  Masako Hojo was technically the highest authority of her time, too.〉

〈I can already see customers flooding in just to see the ‘noja-loli.’〉

〈The clientele though…〉

〈Is it okay to take pictures inside the restaurant?〉

〈Do Heroic Spirits even show up in pictures?〉

And so, Himiko was added as a new asset to the shop, but…

“Ugh, I can’t reach it!”

Even though she tried to carry the dishes placed on the counter, at only about 120 centimeters tall, she couldn’t grab the ones set further back, no matter how hard she stretched her arms.

“This is too high! Adjust it to my height!”

The tables used by customers were about 75 centimeters tall, so she could reach them just fine, but the counter stood at around 110 centimeters. The shikigami controlled by Abe no Seimei were also small in stature, but they had high mobility. They could hop onto the counters effortlessly with light leaps. Himiko, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be very athletic…

“Whooah!?”

Crash!

I placed the empty plates on a tray and had her try carrying them, but she tripped multiple times along the way. To top it off, she crashed into a table and ended up flipping the whole thing entirely. 

“Yeah… There’s no way I can have you run the food like this.”

“I-I can’t help it, okay!? I have always left such tasks to my subordinates!”

It was almost time for the restaurant to open. Just as I was about to dismiss the summoning and reconsider how to handle her later—

“…Sounds like something’s going on outside.”

I hurriedly stepped outside. As usual, there was a long line of customers, but it seemed like they were arguing with each other.

“Please keep it down. You’re disturbing the neighbors.”

“I-It’s his fault! He just cut in line all of a sudden!”

“I was already in line! I just stepped away for a moment because I needed to use the restroom!”

“Then go to the back of the line!”

“Alright, alright, no need to shout. Calm down. Everyone with a numbered ticket gets in as soon as we open anyway.”

Lately, the long lines had become a real headache. Most of the customers lined up quietly, but with this many people gathering, there were bound to be a few troublemakers. These kinds of incidents were becoming more and more frequent. To minimize the lines before opening, I had set up a ticket system where people could take a numbered ticket and leave. After all, there were even people who had started lining up in the middle of the night before.

“I just need to make them shut their trap, yes?”

“Himiko?”

“Leave it to me. I’m good at things like this.”

Himiko puffed out her nonexistent chest and turned to address the noisy crowd.

“〝Silence, all of you! Line up and wait patiently until the store opens!〟”

In an instant, the rowdy line fell completely silent.

“…Wow. What did you do?”

“Oh, nothing much. Just a simple kotodama. Controlling a crowd of this size is but a trivial task for me.”

As expected of Himiko, a former queen. This ability would definitely come in handy.

“Could you use that same approach to guide the customers inside?”

“Mm! Leave it to me!”

And so, opening time arrived. Several customers tried to rush inside all at once—

“〝Do not be hasty! No pushing or cutting ahead! Enter in an orderly fashion!〟”

Obediently following Himiko’s words, they entered the store in a neat line.

“〝Fill the seats from the back first!〟”

In response to Himiko’s words, complete strangers even started sharing tables on their own. Not a single person complained. Lately, female customers who were fans of Abe no Seimei had also been roaming around the store in search of him, but thanks to Himiko, even they started behaving more respectfully.

“〝Others are waiting their turn to eat! Do not linger after finishing your meal!〟”

With the customers being guided so efficiently, table turnover improved dramatically. The line of customers queueing shortened, and the number of disputes decreased significantly.

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