Hearing that voice, Kagami was instantly taken aback. He looked up.
"Tendo, and Jyuka! Why are you two here?" Kagami asked, utterly bewildered.
"Give him the 'Full Family' bowl," Tendo instructed Jyuka.
"Okay!"
"Hey! Don't just decide for me!" Kagami quickly interjected. "Wait, what are you even doing here, selling ramen...?"
He was suddenly very confused. After all, the Tendo family seemed quite well-off. They lived near Tokyo Tower in a massive mansion. With those assets, they were clearly rich.
"I am training," Tendo said, still busy with the preparation. "The path of cuisine is infinitely deep. All this is necessary to defeat Raven."
"Defeat Raven?"
Kagami followed Tendo's gaze and realized the person sitting beside him, the one he hadn't noticed, was indeed Raven. He immediately jolted, a knee-jerk reaction of fear. The man sprang up from his seat.
Frankly, after being beaten up by Raven so many times, he was starting to develop PTSD.
"Why are you here, too?!" Kagami snapped into a fighting stance.
"Don't panic. I'm not beating you up today," Raven said unhurriedly, continuing to eat his noodles.
"What?" Kagami was immediately put out. Not getting beat up today just meant he might get beat up tomorrow.
Just then, Hiyori brought a cup of water over and placed it in front of Kagami. She looked reluctant. She was clearly being forced into this 'pop-up ramen shop' by Tendo.
"Hiyori? Aren't you supposed to be watching the café?" Kagami was surprised to see her, too.
It was late at night. After working overtime to defeat a Worm, he had just wanted a bowl of ramen, only to run into every acquaintance he had.
"In short, that's the story. If you want ramen in the future, you must come here to eat," Tendo stated calmly. "I am a connoisseur of ramen."
Ever since gaining the power of Gatack, Kagami had become a bit arrogant. He now tried to mimic the 'King of Pride's' usual tone, speaking with affected profundity: "Where I eat my ramen must be decided by me alone."
Raven nearly burst out laughing beside him. That imitation was nowhere near the mark.
"What are you laughing at?" Kagami asked, feeling insulted. He was just trying to show off a little; did Raven have to deny him even that much face?
"If you enjoy it, carry on."
Raven calmly finished his ramen, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and prepared to leave.
"Raven-oniichan, you absolutely must come to my house next time!" Jyuka said, looking disappointed. "I really want to try the food you make. Oh, wait, how about I be the judge to see whose cooking is better—yours or my brother's?"
"If Tendo doesn't mind, I'm available anytime," Raven replied with a slight smile.
Tendo did not back down, answering, "Then let's make it a week from now. Once my training with the old man is complete, I will definitely defeat you."
"That's great! It's decided!" Jyuka clapped her hands and danced happily, clearly thrilled at the prospect of chaos.
"I'll be going then. Thanks for the meal."
With that, Raven calmly departed.
It took a while for Tendo to realize something.
"That guy... he skipped out on the bill."
Just then, a sudden heavy rain began to fall.
"That's about it for today. Jyuka, you go on home first," Tendo said upon seeing the rain, deciding to close up shop. "Kagami, you stay and help."
"Huh?" Kagami, who had just finished his ramen, was dumbfounded. He was a customer, not a hired hand!
But inexplicably, he stayed behind to help.
Tendo pulled the cart from the front, while Hiyori and Kagami pushed from the back.
"Seriously, why do we have to help you close up shop?" Kagami complained, still stewing over the unfairness. How could Raven dine and dash, but he had to stay and work for free?
As Kagami griped, the silent Hiyori, who was beside him, suddenly spoke.
"Who exactly are you?"
"Who am I?" Kagami didn't immediately follow.
"A few days ago, I was attacked by a monster, and then I saw a strange person come out and fight that monster. That person was you, wasn't it?" With her parents' death anniversary approaching, Hiyori couldn't let the incident go.
"I... I don't know," Kagami turned his back, not knowing how to answer. He hadn't expected Hiyori to have seen him after the fight.
At that moment, Tendo, who was up front, suddenly stopped. His expression grew serious. Hiyori had been attacked by a Worm? This was the first he'd heard of it.
"Is that belt yours?" Hiyori pressed Kagami further.
"The belt? The belt is not mine." Kagami was determined not to expose the secret.
"Then it must be Tendo's," Hiyori shifted her gaze to Tendo up ahead.
"It is not." Tendo naturally did not intend to admit it. And he could lie far more composedly than Kagami, without even blinking.
"That's right, that's right! His belt and mine are different..." Kagami suddenly had a brain spasm and blurted out the sentence.
This was tantamount to an indirect confession that both he and Tendo possessed belts.
Tendo, up front, instantly felt a shadow pass over his eyes. This guy is an idiot.
"Enough," Hiyori said, losing all mood after hearing this. In her mind, the killer of her parents was very likely one of the two: Tendo or Kagami. She turned and walked away, letting the rain soak her, her mood plummeting.
After she had walked for quite some time, Raven appeared ahead of her, holding an umbrella.
After skipping the bill earlier, he'd realized he hadn't paid. Holding true to his principle of never taking small advantages, he had turned back. That's how he saw Hiyori walking alone in the rain.
"Walking in the rain is not a good thing," he said, stepping in front of her. Though he wasn't sure what effect the rain might have on a Native Worm's body, he held the umbrella over her anyway.
"Come back with me for now. It's quite a walk from here to your place," Raven said to the silent Hiyori.
She nodded.
He took her back to his establishment.
"Beroba, fetch a clean towel," he instructed his small, black-stockinged subordinate as soon as they entered the door.
"Oh, alright..." Beroba replied, lying idly on Raven's rocking chair, hugging a bag of candy. Under her super-short skirt, her black-stockinged legs were fully exposed, showing the view beneath her underwear without any attempt at concealment. After all, no outsiders were ever allowed in. Only Raven got to appreciate the view daily.
"Ahem, try to be a little more mindful in the future," Raven said, glancing at Hiyori next to him and chastising Beroba.