The only reason I wasn't currently wandering the streets in a state of total breakdown was because there were people in this world who had reached out to help me.
One of them was this guy.
"Well, Issei? What do you think of the new recipe?!"
Wright leaned over the counter, his face inches from mine as he demanded a review. He was always bright. He was the kind of man who could laugh off almost anything.
And he was this world's "Hero."
Looking at him now—wearing an apron and skillfully filleting a fish with a kitchen knife—you'd never guess he was a legendary warrior. He looked like a professional chef, through and through.
I set my chopsticks down and spoke.
"Eighty-five points."
"Eighty-five?! Eighty-five points?!" Wright wailed. "Where did the other fifteen go?!"
He was so intense. He had the face of a "refreshing ikemen," but his personality was pure hot-blooded passion. And it was barely 7:00 AM.
I downed a glass of water and shouted back, "You dragged me all over town since before sunrise and then forced me to eat this massive meal! You're lucky you didn't get a points deduction!"
Since before the crack of dawn! He'd made me run laps around the castle town! Between the sleep deprivation and the cardio, I'd actually thrown up! I'd retched right there on the street!
And then he'd piled a mountain of food in front of me, calling it "menu research."
It was delicious. I couldn't deny that the food was amazing. But my morning stress levels were currently slightly higher than my appreciation for his cooking.
"I kept telling you I was at my limit! I'm stuffed! You forced me to eat all this! Eighty-five points was me being generous!"
"A man only truly lives when he's pushing past his limits!"
"Can I punch you? Seriously, just let me hit you once! One punch!"
"Oh? You want a go?! Fine! Step outside! I'll knock some sense into you!"
"There's no way I'd win a real fight with you! Unlike you, I'm just a civilian!"
"When two men trade blows, 'Hero' and 'civilian' don't mean a damn thing! Come on!"
He began dragging me toward the door, spouting total nonsense. Was he for real?!
Dammit, he was too strong. I couldn't break his grip. That was a Hero for you; despite being around the same age as me, the gap in our strength was astronomical.
Just as Wright and I were screaming at each other, something came flying toward the sides of our heads.
"Gubah?!"
"Gyan?!"
Both of us crumpled to the floor, clutching our skulls. Two wooden serving trays clattered onto the floor beside us.
Sensing a terrifying presence, I looked up to see Wright's mother, Ms. Elnida, with a literal anger vein throbbing on her forehead.
"You two! You're being too loud in the shop!"
"M-Mom… look, this is…"
"You don't have to get so… we were just… sorry…"
"Wright, finish the prep work! Issei, if you've got time to yell, you've got time to help out!"
""Y-Yes, ma'am! Right away!""
The brawl was forgotten. Wright and I scrambled to our stations.
Yeah… I definitely couldn't win against that woman. And that was how I ended up working at Wright's family diner, the Wildcat Eatery.
Running errands, washing dishes, taking orders…
"Hey, Issei! Take this to table four!"
"On it!"
To be honest, being busy like this made the loneliness a lot easier to handle.
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