The atmosphere of the restaurant turned lively as both Claire and Rimuru told Kushina about their world. Both worlds had many similarities, like using Mana to achieve inhuman feats, having monsters build a community, and of course the church. Both worlds also possessed a dangerous factor, or had a group of creatures that the world perceived to be dangerous. In Rimuru's world, it was the demon lords, the highest hierarchy in his world's food chain. In Claire's worlds, they had elves as the main antagonist. They were a freak of nature who kept hunting humans for fun—said Claire.
Ludwig couldn't help but to focus when Claire drew a more vivid picture of her world in their head. After all, It was the first time Claire shared her world with any of them, unlike Rimuru who indirectly told anyone who was willing to listen about his world through his complaint.
Kushina also paid attention to the two's explanations. Her face kept changing, from beaming due to how beautiful the story was to flinching because the subject of conversation shifted to the rotten part of the world. But at some point throughout the story, Kushina had finally settled. A good sign because it meant no more work for him to calm her down. Ludwig also hoped she would build some resistance to all the weirdness about this restaurant. Well, he hoped everyone would also have it. After all, no one knew what kind of creatures would walk through the door next.
"Kushina," Rimuru looked at the red-haired woman as soon as he finished telling Claire and Kushina about the thing he experienced the past few days. At the same time, Claire was holding her stomach, her shoulders went up in jolt from time to time. "Can I ask you about your world?"
The question hung in the air. Kushina's face was serious, probably contemplating whether she should do it or not. In the meantime, Claire finally stopped laughing, but then she pat Rimuru in the head a few times which earned her a body tackle from the glob.
"I guess I can tell you." Kushina finally opened her mouth, making everyone focus on her. "My world is called Shinobi World. Most of the people in my world have chakra in their body, but only when someone has a certain amount of chakra will they be qualified to become a Ninja. Ninjas are those who do what the village tells them to do. We fight, we kill, we protect. We live and die for the village. The highest position a ninja could get in their village is a Kage, the leader of the village."
"Wait, Kushina." Claire cut Kushina's explanation at that moment. "You said Ninja fights, kills, and protects their village. What are they fighting against?"
Kushina cocked her head to the side and looked at Claire. Then with a tone of voice that seemed to tell them she didn't know why she asked that question, she answered. "Of course another ninja."
Claire's mouth hung open for some time. Her mind seemingly went haywire after hearing the answer. In the meantime, the blue glob beside her just looks at Kushina. Well, the guy already knew about Shinobi World, so it was only natural he was not shocked.
"So, let me get this straight. Ninjas fought against each other to protect their respective villages. Doesn't that mean you guys are always at war?" Claire opened her mouth again, probably finally sorting out the information she got from Kushina.
"No, no, no." Kushina laughed. "We are not always at war. Most of the time, it's just small skirmishes between villages. Why are you so shocked, though? Aren't you also fighting against other humans?"
Claire's mouth closed as her face hardened. At that moment, Rimuru decided to join the conversation. "Kushina-san. Yes, we fight against others. Like I told you earlier, I have fought in a war recently. But before that, I was just trying my best to live. It can also be said for Benimaru, Shuna, and Shion. If nothing really endangered our place, we will not fight."
"We are the same. But my village always has people endangering them. That's why we always get some mission to clear those people out." Kushina answered.
"A mission, huh? Did you get paid for it?" Claired asked.
"Of course! If we are not paid, how will we live?" Kushina chuckled.
"I see." Claire nodded. "Can I ask about the people who can't be ninjas? What kind of work do they do?"
"Well, there's a lot of work for them. Merchant, blacksmith, farmer, carpenter, and many more."
"What about the pay? How does it compare to being a ninja?" Claire pressed forward.
"Of course it's different." Kushina answered. "If compared against Genins, those fields of work might be superior in terms of pay. But those fields of work couldn't compare with the pay of Chunin-level ninja and above."
"Genin? Chunin?" Claire's forehead scrunched.
"Ah, I haven't told you about them, have I? I'm sorry. It's my first time doing something like this." Kushina chuckled wryly.
"It's fine, I also did it the first time after entering this restaurant." Claire said calmly.
"Me too." Rimuru added with a nod.
Kushina nodded animatedly, then she opened her mouth again. "Genin and Chunin is a level of Ninja. The level goes like this: Academy Student, Genin, Chunin, Jounin, and lastly, Kage. To be a Genin, an academy student has to be competent in three basic Jutsus. And to become a Chunin, a Genin has to pass a test or be promoted directly by the Kage. But if someone wants to become a Jounin, they have to be good at everything at once. Though, if someone is extremely specialized in one field, they still can be promoted to Jounin, but not a full Jounin but a Special Jounin."
"I see." Claire nodded. "In other words, someone can only be promoted to the next level if they have enough strength. How about you? What's your rank?"
Kushina beamed in front of Claire's question. She puffed her chest and answered. "I'm a Jounin. A high-ranking one at that."
"So you can be a Kage if you want?" Rimuru asked.
"Of course! But, I don't want to!" Kushina said proudly.
"Eh, why? Don't you want to become the leader of your village?"
"Nope. You should see the Hokage, he's so wrinkled now. I don't want to be like that." Kushina answered, her face looked disgusted.
Seemingly satisfied with her answer, Rimuru nodded. "Wise choice. Don't make the same mistake as me."
As the conversation started to wind down between Kushina, Claire, and Rimuru, Ludwig felt it was the best time to interject. So, he opened his mouth. "By the way, Kushina. Where's Minato? He looked so eager when I told him I could take a look at his technique, but then, you and him stopped coming here. Is there something wrong with him?"
Kushina's bright demeanour dimmed as soon as Ludwig finished his question. If he didn't know about the storyline in Naruto, he might have thought that something grave had befallen the blond guy from how fast Kushina became crestfallen.
"Minato is sent by the Hokage on a mission." Kushina said weakly.
"That explains why both of you stopped coming for the past week." Ludwig nodded, then he threw a bait. "So you are just returning to your village?"
Kushina's sad face became fierce as soon as she heard Ludwig's words. "No. I've been in the village the whole time. It's just…"
Ludwig could see her anger get weaker and weaker the more she talked. But it was now replaced by hesitation. From how she looked right now as well as the ninjas outside the restaurant, it was really easy to see the reason why she was hesitating. But Ludwig decided to press forward. Even though she knew earning someone trust was something which couldn't be rushed, he still wanted to do it now. Moreover, he knew just how fierce Kushina was. If the village kept stopping her from going to the restaurant, who knows what kind of ripple it might have.
"Kushina," Ludwig started in a low voice. "You don't have to think too hard. You should remember, this restaurant is my domain. I know everything that happened inside and outside when it involved my restaurant. Let me tell you this, ever since that night you visit with Minato, I can feel the presence of some Ninjas observing my restaurant. Is that the reason you can't visit?"
Kushina deflated even more after hearing his words. At the same time, Claire put her hand on Kushina's shoulder while Rimuru just looked at her with pity. Well, he probably already connects the dot.
"Yes." Kushina started. "After we visited this restaurant, Minato reported it to the Hokage. But please don't be angry at him."
"I'm not angry at all." Ludwig waved his hand. "I already expect something like that will happen sooner or later. Were you stopped by this so-called Hokage?"
"Not really. Rather than being stopped, the Hokage just said he wanted to teach me some jutsus. But that learning session went until late at night. When I thought about coming here after the session, I got escorted by Anbu. Ah, Anbu is the undercover force working under the Hokage. They are probably the ones who observed your restaurant."
"Well, as long as they don't have any ill intentions towards the restaurant, I'm fine with being observed. So don't beat yourself too much." Ludwig shrugged.
"Thank you." Kushina said under her breath.
"You are welcome." Ludwig smiled as he said so. "Just remember this, this restaurant is safe for all of its patrons. I will not let anyone harm you guys as long as you are inside this restaurant. So, Kusina, if you find yourself in danger, just run here."
"Okay."
The atmosphere of the restaurant brightened again soon after. Mainly because the two cats started to flirt with Kushina by brushing their tails to her legs. As if feeling the atmosphere, the talks between the customers also get lighter. Claire was telling Rimuru about what to watch when building a city, while Kushina was talking animatedly with Shuna, of course the two cats nestled between the two.
The night deepened, and finally, a familiar buzz entered Ludwig's mind. From the door, the red-haired man entered, the little dragon hovering above him, still invisible to most naked eyes. The two cats jumped from the embrace of the two women and hopped towards him.
"You guys…" The red-haired man sighed. Then, he looked at Ludwig. "Have they eaten dinner already, owner?"
"Not yet. They have been busy playing." Ludwig explained.
"Then, I'll order four dishes and the usual alcohol." The red-haired man said.
"Understood, please wait a little bit." Ludwig walked to the kitchen, at the same time the red-haired man and his party walked towards their usual seat, the furthest table in the room.
Ludwig quickly whipped the order. For the three creatures, he flipped their menu. Pan-seared fish fillet for the dragon and friend chicken for the cats. For the man, he made him curry rice and Chicken Katsu.
Once everything was ready, he bought the bottle of whiskey from his shop and took the orders into the man's table. Choruses of meow echoed as he put the dishes down. And after telling them to enjoy the food, Ludwig went back to his station.
But just before he sat back to his seat, the bell of the restaurant chimed with no buzz telling him beforehand. From the opened door, a man with skin as dark as the night and elongated ears walked in. Behind him, a huge wolf followed suit. But just after one step into the restaurant, the man stopped. His red eyes brushed through every corner of the restaurant as well as all the customers who were looking at him.
Feeling that things would go south if he didn't step in, Ludwig opened his mouth quickly. "Welcome to Checkpoint. Anything I can help you with?"
The man's red eyes bore towards Ludwig at that moment, the wolf behind him also lowered its stance.
"Don't worry. Even though this place is weird, it's safe for anyone who enters." Ludwig explained more.
"What is this place? I don't think I have seen a slime and a… horned creature in Live no Evil." The elf, if Ludwig could call him that, opened his mouth.
"This place is…" Ludwig opened his mouth, telling the man the words he had prepared with the help of Claire and RImuru to explain about the restaurant in a concise and easy-to-digest manner.
"I see. Weird, but not the weirdest thing I ever encountered." The elf nodded. He then walked toward the bar and pushed his hand towards Ludwig. "My name is Kashi, a Daeben. The world I came from is called Destia. However, rather than a real world, it's a world from inside a game. A VRMMORPG called Live No Evil."
As soon as his words fell, the room went silent. When Ludwig shook the hand of the Daeben, he could see Rimuru's mouth wide open, as if someone had torn a hole in his globby face from the corner of his eyes. It seemed like today was truly a shocking day for the slime. Well to be honest, Ludwig was also shocked. After all, who knew that his restaurant could even connect to a world inside a game.
What next? Kirito and Asuna walked in?