Kazuma's meal arrived quickly, while Keli's was a bit slower.
There were no chairs here; the seats were individual zabuton cushions, and people knelt on them to eat. However, Keli sat in a standard undead posture, with one knee raised and his hand resting on it.
Keli watched Kazuma unhurriedly pour the raw egg over the rice, then sprinkle sauce and stir it, his expression showing difficulty.
Kazuma noticed Keli's gaze.
"Do you want to eat? Or should we exchange some of our food later? I haven't eaten yet."
"No need."
"Itadakimasu," Kazuma whispered, then lowered his head to eat.
Keli declined Kazuma's offer. After his own meal arrived, he looked at the rice bowl, which was only the size of his fist, and shook his head.
The portion sizes of Japanese meals are generally very small; a normal person from another country could easily eat two portions.
Breaking apart the disposable chopsticks, Sato Kazuma put a piece of pork into his mouth, and a mix of sweetness and fishiness rushed up.
Yes, the main flavor of most cheap restaurants in Japan is sweet.
Beef bowls are sweet, grilled meat bowls are sweet, the sauce for hamburger patties is sweet, the sauce for pork cutlet bowls is sweet, eel bowls are sweet, and the dishes in various bento boxes are all sweet.
Moreover, the pork tasted much stronger than the beef next door. Keli didn't know if the reason was that Japan still relied heavily on imported meat, and then animal protection associations in those exporting countries exerted influence, leading to incomplete bleeding.
Fortunately, Keli had already somewhat adapted to this taste from eating it in the mental hospital.
After eating the meat on top and half of the rice, Keli poured the tea broth into the rice and ate it all. As for the various small pickled vegetables included in the set meal, Keli had no interest.
Seeing that both of them had finished eating, the nearby Yasuda came over again. He seemed to have already eaten and was just resting here.
"How was it? Satisfied? Our countryside dishes here are not like your Tokyo's. I heard that many small shops in Tokyo are opened by Totsuki Academy graduates or dropouts, and the taste is incredible."
"It was good," Kazuma replied.
"By the way, I haven't asked for your names yet."
"Sato Kazuma," Kazuma reported his name directly without much thought.
"Shimura Danzo," Keli said without batting an eyelid.
Hearing Keli's words, Sato Kazuma almost couldn't hold back, forcefully controlling his facial muscles to make an expression of stifling laughter.
However, he clearly held it in, but the people at another table couldn't.
Even if it wasn't an anime, any young Japanese person who frequently browsed the internet would know about such a national-level work.
"Yili! How could you be so careless, spraying soup everywhere? I'm so sorry, Proprietress!"
"It's alright, it's alright! Goto-san, just leave it there, I'll wipe it."
While the proprietress was busy wiping the table, the girl called Yili secretly glanced at the two people at the next table a few times.
She felt that her family's idea of taking her out for a walk was truly not good; she had indeed encountered strange people.
And that taller young man, Gotō Hitori always felt like she had seen him somewhere... like on TV? Was he some kind of celebrity?
She really wanted to go back to her closet and practice guitar...
Keli continued to chat with Yasuda using fabricated information until Yasuda left. Keli still hadn't seen the people from the car appear in the lobby.
After a moment of hesitation and confirming that the gold coins he got from the village chief were completely sufficient due to the cheap accommodation prices in the off-season, Keli decided to have Kazuma open a room.
However, Keli later realized he had overthought it; he could have gone himself. This place only required registering names with pen and paper to open a room, no electronic device registration was needed.
Kazuma, upon receiving the key, felt as if he had been saved. He happily went upstairs, opened the room, and without a care, took out two sets of futons from the closet. He even thoughtfully laid one out on the floor for Keli before lying down without even washing.
"I was already very sleepy before, but it seems like every time I die, I return to my optimal state. Still, I haven't slept for a day now.
Ah! It's a futon! I've missed you so much! Boohoohoo! I never realized you were so important before!"
Kazuma, lying in the futon, continued to chat intermittently with Keli. When a person is drowsy but forces themselves to stay awake, their rationality recedes, just like being drunk, making it easier to express thoughts that rationality usually keeps them from saying.
"Ah, what do you think our future will be like? When this money runs out, will we be sleeping on the streets again...?
It seems we can deal with monsters. Can we establish a monster-slaying club? But if we get caught, will we be sent to a US military base and directly shipped off for research?
I never thought before that a normal life could be such a happy thing—not having to worry about what to eat or where to sleep tomorrow. Seriously, I used to think such a life was boring and wanted an adventure. What was I even thinking..."
Keli also responded to Kazuma sporadically until the other party's breathing became even... no! It was a huge, booming snore, and then he stopped.
Keli felt that he wasn't sleepy at all, so he asked for a charging cable for his phone. He walked around the room and found a small stone, which he didn't know if it was for decoration. He immediately picked it up, pulled out his dagger, and started sharpening it.
At the same time...
After the Goto family, who had been forced by their daughter's vacation to travel, also went upstairs, Yasuda stood up and nodded to the proprietress.
"Jingxin Master's intention is that since that family looks like tourists, they shouldn't be allowed out at night. If they don't leave after a few days, then we'll consider other options.
As for these two boys, I'll go report to the Master first."
"Alright," the proprietress nodded.
"By the way, your husband should be back tonight. Remember to come to the dharma assembly together."
"Okay!"
Saying that, Yasuda put on his coat and walked out of the Yasuda Inn, heading straight for the only temple in the village.
He rhythmically knocked on the temple gate, and soon a welcoming monk came out to greet Yasuda and let him in.
It was hard to imagine that a temple in such a remote area would have more than one monk.
The two stepped over the threshold and entered the back through a side door.
There, a very refined, bespectacled, white-haired young man was sitting cross-legged beneath a Buddha statue, with his back to the door, seemingly chanting scriptures.
"Come in, Chairman Yasuda."
He didn't turn around but directly called out the visitor's name.
"Hehehe! Jingxin Master, it's fine for outsiders to call me that, but in your presence, how dare I speak of being a chairman."
Yasuda's words were fawning. He stepped forward, first knelt and bowed to the Buddha statue, then sat down on a nearby chair.
"Jingxin Master, two more outsiders have arrived in the village. They seem to be students from Tokyo, all young people. What do you think...?"
"The number of people is too great now. If our actions continue to be so grand, this humble monk believes it will be too conspicuous."
The white-haired monk, referred to as Jingxin Master, opened his closed eyes and spoke while looking at the Buddha statue.
"But... but, Yamada, the richest man, said that the top priority now is to get more of our own people, preferably to enter the circles of those political families.
As long as our grain reserves are sufficient, and once half of the Senate seats are ours, as long as we don't offend the Americans, we can walk sideways.
We are not a small organization like the Inukane Group. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department doesn't dare to investigate us, and the local Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department are all our own people. Is there any need to be so cautious?"
"Human greed is endless. Are you not even listening to this humble monk anymore?"
The white-haired monk turned his head and looked at him very calmly. Yasuda, who had just been chattering, immediately fell silent, trembling all over.
"No! You misunderstood!"