Chapter 10. Changing Rize’s Taste Buds – Makima Arrives!

Afternoon—right at opening time.

The sun had just set when three customers stood at the entrance of the Midnight Diner.

Touka Kirishima, Kamishiro Rize, and Kasumigaoka Utaha.

The three looked at one another but didn't speak.

Only Utaha pursed her lips—her thoughts clearly stirring.

Hayashi stepped out and opened the door. "Welcome."

Utaha glanced at him and said, "Hayashi-kun, you could plant a peach blossom tree in your courtyard."

Even in Japan, peach blossoms are associated with love and charm.

Utaha was teasing—Hayashi had such good "romantic fortune."

Hayashi turned and looked at the garden. Honestly… not a bad idea.

"Not a bad suggestion. Maybe I'll plant one soon. Peach blossoms on the left, cherry blossoms on the right?"

Utaha: ...

Touka and Rize didn't respond.

In fact, they didn't even look at each other—like complete strangers.

Once inside, all three took seats.

Hayashi first brought them each a glass of ice water.

Then, Touka pulled out the bag of coffee beans and placed it on the counter, bowing slightly.

"Thank you for the gift the other day. This is a return gift from our manager."

Hayashi accepted the beans calmly and opened the bag to take a sniff.

Hayashi praised, "No need to thank me. That's a really nice aroma—seems like great beans."

Gift exchanges were perfectly normal.

And honestly, he would be drinking those beans from now on.

Good coffee beans brewed into coffee were indeed delicious, completely different from generic market ones—kind of like how tea leaves worked.

With the greeting over,

Hayashi looked at the group. "So, what would you all like to eat?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha and Kamishiro Rize answered in unison: "Same as yesterday."

That meant a steak and a serving of mapo tofu.

Rize even instinctively licked the corner of her lips after listing her order.

Let's rewind to last night for a moment—

After finishing her steak and returning home, Rize opened her fridge to look at the "people fragments" she had stored.

She picked up a pack and sniffed it.

"Garbage."

She tossed it into the trash without hesitation.

Then grabbed another, sniffed again—

"Rotten meat!"

Tossed that one too.

It was the same kind of flesh she'd always kept—but now, the smell disgusted her. It had no appeal whatsoever.

Eventually, she bagged up several loads of meat and threw them all into the ocean that night.

Back at home, she savored the memory of the diner's flavors.

From that moment on, she knew—her palate, her tongue, had changed.

After just one meal, her taste buds were no longer her own...

As a binge-eater, she normally needed two to three meals a week, while others could last a month.

But after tasting that food—

Forget a week—she couldn't even last three days!

She was desperate to eat again the very next day!

So she staked out the place.

Now, seeing Hayashi again, just hearing his voice and recalling the taste of his food made her throat reflexively swallow.

Just like now...

Inside the diner—

After hearing the two women's orders,

Hayashi turned to Touka and slid a menu to her. "What about you? What would you like to eat?"

Touka opened the menu and scanned it.

Every dish had a name, price, and photo.

In the past, she never even looked at the photos—she couldn't eat any of it anyway.

But now she stared at each one intently.

In the end, she chose: "Unagi don! Please!"

Hayashi nodded, no problem.

Then turned and headed into the kitchen.

Inside—

Hayashi immediately fired up three pans at once. He was going to cook all three dishes together!

He hadn't done this before because he lacked the strength, speed, stamina, and focus. Normally, no human could maintain quality like that.

But things were different now.

He was strong.

So yes, that meant he could cook like a beast too!

Three dishes, simultaneously prepared.

His hands moved fast but precise.

With one gleam of a knife, the tofu and ingredients for the mapo dish were cleaned and chopped.

He pulled out the steak, tapped it with a finger to instantly defrost it, seasoned it with butter and spices, and tossed it into the hot pan.

The eel was out for just seconds before it was cleaned and split open like a golden fried stick.

Surprisingly, the slowest part was the rice.

That couldn't be fast-forwarded.

He rinsed it and set it to steam.

After a short while—

Ding~

The rice finished cooking.

The three dishes were all plated in order. The steak was beautifully done and served as a rice bowl topping.

Hayashi carried all three dishes out at once, placing them neatly before each customer.

Gulp~

The moment the plates hit the table—

He heard the three girls audibly swallow.

Rize was visibly struggling to hold back her instincts, tightly clenching her fingers to maintain some ladylike composure.

She tried. But just barely.

Soon, the sound of furious eating echoed through the shop.

Before the first bite, they could pretend to be civilized.

But once they tasted it—pure instinct took over. Reason didn't stand a chance.

Seeing them devour the food with abandon—

Hayashi smiled in satisfaction.

That's how it should be.

He turned to make himself a drink.

No lemon tea today. He grabbed the coffee beans Touka had brought, scooped a handful, and gave them a sniff before preparing to hand-grind them.

He poured the beans into the grinder, covered it, and began turning the crank.

With a creak and crunch, powder dropped into the container below.

Once it was all ground, he placed the powder into the coffee pot and began brewing.

Moments later—

A rich, fragrant aroma filled the air. These were definitely high-quality beans.

Hayashi leaned in to smell.

"So fragrant."

He made four cups—one for himself and the three guests.

He didn't often drink coffee.

While he could enjoy both coffee and tea, he personally preferred milk tea or sweet-and-sour drinks.

"Thank you."

"Thanks."

Snapping out of their eating trance, the three women thanked Hayashi for the coffee.

Just then—

Ding-ling~

The bell above the door rang.

Hayashi glanced up, eyebrow raised.

Three people had arrived—exactly the three he saw on the street earlier that day.

Makima. Aki Hayakawa. Power.

Power sniffed the air, eyes sparkling. "It smells amazing! There's good food in here!"

Hayashi looked at Makima.

Their eyes met again. He looked away with a polite smile.

"Welcome. What would you like to eat?"