Chapter 352 ·Side Story Chapter 3: The Legendary Restaurant 3
Chapter 352: Side Story Chapter 3: The Legendary Restaurant 3
Unlike an ordinary restaurant, it seemed some preparation was necessary to visit this special, nameless establishment.
Linda’s note said the following.
【How to Find the Legendary Restaurant】
The establishment only operates between 6 PM~12 AM. Please note that even if you find it outside these hours, the door will not open.
Apparently, attire appropriate for an evening dinner is required. Clothing unsuitable for a restaurant dinner may not only result in denied entry, but could even make it impossible to find the establishment itself, so I recommend a suit for men and a light dress for women.
“A dress?”
I don’t own anything like a dress.
Airi, deep in thought, glanced at the smart mirror installed in the dormitory.
It was the same thing she had gotten into a lengthy argument with last time after asking it to choose clothes suitable for a date.
Once it learned that her date was none other than Aaron Stingray, it had treated its owner like a lunatic.
‘I have no choice but to rely on this thing again……!’
Honestly, she wasn’t thrilled about it, but there was no one else she could ask.
With no other choice, Airi activated the smart mirror again.
Soon, the Stingray logo appeared along with an excessively friendly voice.
[Greetings, Master. What kind of clothes shall I prepare for you today?]
“Huh, didn’t the way you address me change?”
[If you wish to change your form of address, please press the settings tab.]
“No, never mind. More importantly, I need a dress.”
The sudden change in how it addressed her bothered her a little, but it wasn’t important, so she decided to let it go.
[What style of dress would you like?]
“I need a dress suitable for an evening dinner. As long as it’s easy to move in, pretty much any design should be fine.”
[Confirmed. As the number of ‘dresses’ currently owned in your wardrobe is 0, I will display recommended products.]
Swoosh.
At that moment, the screen changed, and Airi’s reflection appeared in the mirror.
The version of herself inside the mirror was wearing a dress…….
“Hwaaah?!”
Airi jumped in shock and covered her body.
And for good reason. The dress worn by her reflection was designed in a way that was practically no different from being half-naked.
Not only was her entire back exposed, even the sides of her breasts were plainly visible. Simply put, it looked as though only her front had been covered with one broad strip of fabric.
“H-How am I supposed to wear something like this!?”
[This dress recently became a hot topic after being worn by a famous celebrity. A photograph shared on social media received ten million likes.]
“Don’t lie. What kind of insane celebrity would wear perverted clothes like…… Wait, why is this actually real…….”
She looked it up, and it was true.
A movie actress had appeared at an entertainment awards show last winter wearing that dress. Well, that much had been fine, but apparently one of the shoulder straps had slipped down during the event, resulting in her being indefinitely suspended from appearing on broadcasts for public indecency.
……In short, it really was a dress for perverts.
“Hey, I said I needed something easy to move in!? How am I supposed to walk around wearing this!?”
[It is extremely lightweight. The fabric used weighs approximately 200g…….]
“Of course it’s light when it’s practically the same as walking around naked! I knew trusting you was a mistake!”
[That is too harsh, Master.]
“Shut up! I’ll choose it myself, so just show me the list!”
[Understood.]
In the end, Airi personally went through the list one by one and chose a dress.
Although the hem was somewhat short, it was easy to move in, and if she lightly threw something over it, it looked suitable enough to wear outside.
“I’ll take this one.”
[An excellent choice. Please proceed with payment. For reference, if you enroll in the Stingray Premium Membership, you can receive same-day direct delivery within 30 minutes.]
“……How much is it?”
[50,000 credits per month.]
“That’s expensive!? And it’s even a subscription!?”
Fifty thousand credits was about as much as her monthly food expenses.
It was far too burdensome an amount to pay just to quickly receive a dress she might wear once and never know when she would wear again.
“I’ll just use standard delivery.”
[Understood. The estimated delivery date is…… 30 days from now.]
“……I knew it.”
At this point, she wasn’t even surprised anymore.
Last time too, what was it again? Some kind of package?
It had extorted money from her to download that, and now it was threatening her with the delivery date.
“You guys seriously have no conscience, you know that?”
[We apologize. Due to current circumstances at headquarters, disruptions have occurred in logistics production and delivery…….]
“Ugh…….”
Damn Stingray.
Ah, but I’m affiliated with Stingray too.
In the end, Airi had no choice but to become a sucker and pay up.
And so, thanks to the money squeezed out of a scholarship student, the Stingray fashion brand’s daily sales rose a little higher, and it was said that Kalia was extremely pleased.
-The location of this restaurant apparently changes depending on the day of the week and date. They say you have to calculate carefully if you want to find it.
“Today is Friday the 23rd, so…… I start at Sector C, 23rd Street.”
As Sector C was densely packed with middle-class residential districts, Neon Scramble Square on Sector C’s 23rd Street was famous for being exceptionally crowded.
Moreover, befitting a Friday evening, the square and streets were so packed with people that there was barely room to set foot anywhere.
Following the ‘location calculation method’ written on the note, Airi designated the square as her search starting point and pulled her hat and sunglasses down low.
Her fashion gave off the impression of a famous celebrity secretly moving about to avoid the public.
It felt somewhat overly self-conscious, but there was no helping it.
Recently, stories about her birth had been broadcast, causing more and more people to recognize her.
Her distinctive white hair and purple eyes made it impossible for anyone who saw her not to realize she was Airi, so unless she used a module to alter her appearance, concealing herself like this was the best option.
“……Damn mirror. If it weren’t for that thing, I could’ve bought a module that changes my facial appearance.”
Grumbling, Airi opened the note once more.
[From the starting point, move according to the position and direction of the sun.]
“This is seriously complicated…….”
If this had been during her first year, she probably would have given up without even attempting it.
And now she had to calculate according to the sun’s direction and the time.
The method was so excessively scientific that it actually made the whole thing feel less fantastical.
‘If I really follow this, will there actually be something like “an establishment that grants wishes.”?’
Still, she had come this far, so she couldn’t give up now.
Besides, having paid well over 50,000 credits for the dress and subscription fee combined, she felt like she wouldn’t be satisfied until she saw this through to the end, if only because wasting that money would be infuriating.
With those thoughts, she began walking according to her calculations.
Then.
Her eyes met someone else’s.
None other than her romantic rival(戀敵), Serena Beresford.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
The same exclamation escaped both of them the instant they saw each other.
Probably because they had thought exactly the same thing.
“…….”
“…….”
Several seconds of silence passed.
No, they had expected this to some extent.
They shared the same objective, so it was inevitable that their routes would overlap while searching for it.
But wasn’t running into each other the moment they took their first step a little too much?
Both of their minds began racing.
‘Why did it have to be Serena here!’
‘J-Judging from her reaction, she recognized me, right?’
‘Looks like she’s searching for that place too.’
‘So we have no choice but to compete?’
‘Whoever gets there first wins……!’
At the same moment.
The two reached the same conclusion.
And just as Airi was about to kick off from the ground.
“W-Wait!”
Serena shouted.
Airi immediately stopped moving.
“What?”
“You’re looking for the same thing I am, right?”
“……Probably.”
“Then let’s compete fair and square.”
Serena extended her hand, asking for a handshake.
Airi found the gesture somewhat suspicious, but she was in a hurry and took her hand without thinking too deeply about it.
Afterward, the two released hands.
Serena spoke first.
“We start on three, two, one.”
“……Who does that?”
Paaat!
Airi ignored Serena’s proposal and kicked off from the ground.
With a single stomp, she leaped dozens of meters and shot far ahead.
From far behind, Serena began shouting.
“Hey! Hey! How can you cheat like that!?”
“I’ll be going ahead.”
“So that’s how you want to play it!?”
Even Airi admitted it was a little unfair, but if Serena had a problem with it, she could get Nanomachines too.
Thinking that, Airi used her superior physical abilities to leave Serena behind.
How long had she been running?
“This should be far enough that she can’t catch up…….”
Having put enough distance between herself and Serena, Airi caught her breath for a moment before carefully resuming her search.
Right. Straight. Left again, then straight.
Along the way, she had confirmed every checkpoint written on the note and had even succeeded in finding something resembling an invitation hidden at one of them.
As she looked around while walking through unfamiliar streets, she eventually realized that she had entered a sparsely populated alleyway.
The streets were quiet, and here and there, groups of rough-looking men could be seen gathered in vacant lots, chatting among themselves.
“If my calculations are right, it should be somewhere around here.”
For Sector C, the area had quite a rough atmosphere, but to someone who had lived in Sector E for a long time, it posed no problem whatsoever.
Her only concern was whether the ‘restaurant’ could truly be in a place like this.
Then it happened.
Airi realized that a car was slowly following behind her.
‘……What is that?’
Usually, a car following a lone woman through an alley like this belonged to people with bad intentions.
‘Should I take care of them beforehand?’
There were cases where people used strange drugs to incapacitate their targets, depending on the circumstances, so rather than letting her guard down and ending up in trouble, it would be better to deal with them early.
Boom.
The next instant, Airi crossed dozens of meters in an instant and landed on the hood of the vehicle.
Then, just as she thrust out her fist to smash the windshield and pulverize the driver.
“W-Wait! Stop!”
The back door suddenly swung open, and Serena appeared.
Startled by her face, Airi finally noticed the ‘TAXI’ sign attached to the vehicle.
“A-A taxi?”
“Yes, it’s a taxi! So get down already!”
Airi hurriedly climbed down from the hood, while Serena repeatedly bowed to the taxi driver in apology, handed him some money, and sent him away.
Then she turned on Airi.
“Why were you about to punch first and ask questions later!? What would you have done if I hadn’t gotten out in time!?”
“You were the one following me. No, more importantly, I definitely shook you off, so how did you catch up?”
“W-Well……? Coincidence……?”
“No way.”
Airi checked her sleeve and discovered a miniature transmitter attached to it.
Serena must have secretly planted it when they shook hands earlier.
“Hey, seriously?”
“Wh-What!? You cheated and started first too! Besides, how am I supposed to keep up with an Adapter like you? You have to give me some kind of handicap!”
“Ugh…….”
When Airi sighed, Serena gave an awkward “Ehehe,” then subtly moved closer beside her.
“By the way. Have you found it already?”
“Found what?”
“The restaurant. Well, judging from your reaction, I guess you haven’t found it yet…… Would you consider accepting my proposal?”
“What proposal? You’re probably going to stick another transmitter on me and pull something weird again.”
“No. This time, I really mean fair and square.”
“…….”
“I’m serious.”
Serena smiled sweetly as if acting cute.
If she had possessed a tail on her backside, it probably would have been wagging furiously.
Despite everything, they were friends, and Airi owed her before, so she decided to at least hear her out.
“What’s your proposal?”
“Let’s just look for it together.”
“……I’m leaving.”
“Wait, wait! I’m not tricking you! Think about it! Suppose you find it first and make a wish. But then I go afterward and make a wish that cancels out yours. What do you think would happen?”
“Uh…….”
She hadn’t thought that far.
She had only been thinking about finding it first.
“Right? So we should find it together, enter at the same time, and eat the meal together. We’ll probably make the same kind of wish anyway.”
“……And?”
“Oh my, oh my. Look at your face turning red. Were you planning to make some strange wish?”
“Sh-Shut up! So what are you suggesting?”
“Then maybe it’ll automatically grant the wish of whichever one of us wants it more? Well, that’s just my guess.”
“What if both wishes come true instead? What if the Chairman ends up dating both of us at the same time, or marries us and maintains two households? Do you really think you could handle that situation?”
“Ah…….”
“You didn’t think about that either.”
“No…….”
And once again, silence.
“…….”
“…….”
The two merely stared at each other in the strange atmosphere, but fortunately, Airi broke the silence with a sigh.
“Ugh. I guess there’s no choice. For now, let’s do what you said.”
“R-Really? That probably is the best way, right?”
“It’s not because your idea is particularly good. It’s because I can’t just leave you here by yourself.”
As she said that, Airi pointed behind herself with her thumb.
Serena turned her head in that direction and soon discovered a group of suspicious people standing there.
“A-Airi? Who are those people……?”
“No idea. But first, let me ask. You didn’t call another taxi driver or hire mercenaries or anything, right?”
“No.”
“Then, well…….”
Airi slowly took a stance.
Then, glaring at the group, she said.
“They’re probably just the kind of bad guys you find anywhere.”