047. Restaurant-Hunting Mukbang
047. Restaurant-Hunting Mukbang
Only one person sat at each table.
Everyone seemed to have come alone.
And every single one of them was in cosplay.
‘Was this a restaurant where even the customers had to cosplay? The counter staff didn't mention anything about that.’
After taking an empty seat.
I observed the other customers more closely.
First, the woman at the table to my right.
She was clad in full plate armor that looked like it belonged in the Middle Ages.
She had taken off her helmet and placed it on the table.
‘The scar on her face didn't look like makeup. Looks real.’
I shifted my gaze and slowly scanned the other customers.
Someone in plain clothes.
But with a reptilian tail sprouting above their rear.
A gumiho-like person gently swaying nine fox tails.
A person not wearing clothes, covering only their private parts with leaves.
‘...I was going to have to report that bastard later.’
Next.
A chubby runt with a beard plastered all over their face.
Someone whose entire body was dyed blue, maybe prosthetics or something.
A person wearing a dog-shaped mask.
A person with abnormally long and pointed ears.
Even a person with wings sprouting from their back.
Somehow, there wasn't a single normal person here.
‘But looking closely, I didn't think this was cosplay...’
Something was off.
Cosplay always had a certain uncanny feel to it.
No matter how much effort you put into raising the quality, there were no exceptions.
But I felt none of that uncanniness from these customers.
Wings. Tail. Beard. Skin. And so on.
Everything felt as natural as parts of a real body.
‘Well, shit... Was this really a gathering of people from different worlds, like Defense Force said?’
Defense Force's chat suddenly came to mind.
The chat saying that people from other worlds visited the Wandering Restaurant.
‘...My head's spinning a bit.’
It wasn't that I had doubted Defense Force's chat.
I'd already decided to just accept the existence of other worlds.
Strictly speaking, the parallel world I lived in was a type of other world too.
That didn't mean I believed everything Defense Force said at face value, though.
I just didn't doubt it.
Because I couldn't be certain of anything until I saw it with my own two eyes.
But now.
A situation was unfolding right before my eyes that forced me to be certain.
‘I figured I had no choice but to completely believe it now... No matter how I looked at it, that was way beyond cosplay level.’
Even with the truth laid bare before them.
I thought it was foolish to deny it and insist that it could not be reality.
So I decided to believe it.
That this wasn't a restaurant with a quirky concept, but truly a restaurant from another world.
‘Even setting aside the appearances and outfits, the conversations weren't remotely normal either.’
I focused my attention on my left ear.
To eavesdrop on the conversation coming from the next table.
"What? In your world, the ratio of women to men is almost fifty-fifty?"
"Isn't that normal? Why are you so surprised?"
The runt with the bushy beard and the woman with the pointy ears were talking.
"What do you mean, normal? Have you got no common sense? It's normal for men to be fewer than women!"
"I have no idea what kind of bullshit you're spouting..."
"No, listen. Say there's only one woman and nine men in the world. Then you can only have one kid a year, right? Reproduction slows down, and humanity goes extinct! But what if it's reversed—nine women and one man? You could have at least nine kids a year, couldn't you?"
"..."
"Wipe that look off your face! You don't get it? So what I'm saying is, for smooth reproduction, it's right for women to outnumber men! That's the natural order! Understand?"
"Isn't that analogy a bit too extreme? In our world, the gender ratio is fifty-fifty and we reproduce just fine..."
"Shut up! I'm right, so don't argue!"
The stubborn runt yelled and cut off the conversation.
She was a crazy bitch who pushed only her own opinions and accepted no rebuttals.
Oh. For the record, that runt had a thick beard, but her gender was female.
Anyway.
This made it even clearer that they were people from other worlds.
Because that conversation just now didn't seem like an act at all.
‘At this rate, I'd probably run into aliens later too.’
I felt confident that even if a meteor suddenly crashed in front of my house and an alien crawled out to say hello, I wouldn't be flustered.
‘Anyway, I should stop paying attention now. I came here to eat, not to people-watch.’
I decided to stop observing the customers at this point.
Because just as I was sneaking glances at them, they kept stealing glances at me too.
I had a feeling that if I accidentally made eye contact, things would get annoying.
***
Come to think of it, I didn't remember getting filming permission.
I'd just naturally walked into the restaurant holding the camera.
‘Should I ask the staff for permission now, even at this point?’
While I was worrying about that.
A bunny boy staff member just happened to come hopping over to me.
He'd apparently finished taking another customer's order who had arrived before me.
"Table 10, I'll help you with your order!"
For reference, the bunny boy was only male in gender.
He was wearing the bunny girl outfit exactly as is.
‘You fuckin' bastard.’
Fortunately, the curse didn't come out of my mouth.
I barely managed to swallow it internally.
I'd definitely gotten a lot milder lately.
The frequency of me blurting out curses had noticeably dropped.
That must have been proof that I was becoming a proper adult.
"Sir?"
"Ah, yes. Don't you have a menu? This is my first time at this restaurant."
"Our restaurant doesn't keep a separate menu. If you tell us what dish you'd like, we make and serve the most similar food we can."
"...Then give me whatever's the most popular here."
"Yes, understood!"
I thought it might come across as a bit of a rude order, but the staff member didn't show it and readily accepted my request.
"Right. And I forgot to ask at the counter earlier, but is it okay if I film here?"
"Film?"
The staff member tilted his head at my words.
I got a strong feeling it wasn't going to be allowed.
"If it's not allowed, I'll turn off the camera right now."
"...Ah! Camera filming! I know what that is! It's been so long since we had a customer who wanted to record that I forgot for a moment! Anyway, recording is fine at our restaurant!"
"Really? It's not recording, though. It's a livestream."
"Raw meat?"
"A livestream. For fuck's sake."
"...Yes! I'm not sure what that is, but if it's related to filming, it's all fine!"
Apparently, he knew the words camera filming and recording, but not the word livestream.
Well, anyway, contrary to my expectations, I got permission easily.
And right on cue, the viewers' chat mutes lifted and chat started pouring out.
【Reformed Guburi】─Is this a cosplay restaurant? lolol
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! The bunny boy appeared!
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Se-hun. Shouldn't you cosplay as a bunny boy too?
【BigGirl】─Yeah, for real. I think you should?
【Yoho】─Hehe, the streamer really should do it too. When in Rome, do as the Romans do!
【Hottie Licker】─Lick! Lick! Lick!
【Se-hun Defense Force】─How do you even broadcast from another world? Whoa.
【Drift AI】─I speak. I am told to tell you to praise me.
【Plum Tree】─I think I caught a glimpse of something like a nine-tailed fox on camera earlier... It's cosplay, right?
【Qkrnfl892】─But why do all the staff and customers here talk like that? lolol
【Min-ji】─I guess it's a restaurant with that kind of concept.
【Qkrnfl892】─Never seen a place like this before. Lol.
【Dick Lover】─There are actually quite a lot of unique restaurants like this overseas. It's just that South Korea is conservative, so there aren't many.
【Reformed Guburi】─Stop pretending you've been abroad, you fuckin' country bumpkin.
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya. The way people talk isn't weeb-speak exactly, but it's weirdly off-putting!
After checking the chat window.
I tuned my ears to the voices of the people nearby once more.
‘...Their way of talking seems normal, though? Could this be because of the necklace again?’
To check, I briefly took off the necklace.
Then, just like the staff at the counter, the other customers' speech turned strange too.
It sounded like Korean that failed to translate.
‘Looking around, everyone else was wearing a necklace too.’
It seemed.
This necklace was imbued with a mysterious effect that enabled communication with people who spoke different languages.
My words were translated and delivered to the other party,
and the other party’s words were translated for me to hear.
On top of that.
I guessed that when both sides wore the necklace, perfect translation occurred rather than the vague kind.
‘Well... It was possible for an item like this to exist. There were probably worlds with more advanced technology than the one I lived in.’
Having finished my check, I put the necklace back on.
And I decided to ask whether I could buy this necklace separately before leaving the restaurant later.
Because it seemed like it'd be useful when traveling abroad.
‘Ah. But this was a barter-only restaurant, wasn't it? Would they not trade for my wallet? It was a leather wallet.’
While I was thinking such things and waiting for the food to come out.
A woman cleared her throat and sidled up to my table.
It was the woman with the fox tails.
She greeted me with an alluring smile.
"Hello?"
I didn't know why she was greeting me.
Still, I bowed my head to return the greeting out of courtesy.
Then Fox Woman continued speaking, sending a sticky gaze my way.
"This is your first time at this restaurant, right?"
"Yes."
"Then how about sharing a table with me?"
"Sharing a table?"
It was an out-of-the-blue proposal.
When I asked back in a tone of disbelief, Fox Woman quickly added an explanation.
"This place doesn't have a separate menu, right? So I thought I'd eat with you and recommend which dishes are good. This is my fifth time visiting here, so I've tried a lot of the food."
"Ah. If that's what you mean, it's fine. I already ordered."
"Come on. You're not just going to eat that one thing, are you?"
The fox woman didn't give up and kept persistently coming on to me.
Her behavior was being caught on camera too.
【Reformed Guburi】─What's this? Is she hitting on him right now? Fuck off, you crazy bitch!
【Hottie Licker】─How dare she, not knowing her place, fuckin' hell.
【Yoho】─Gasp. She must be insane, for real.
【Qkrnfl892】─This is a bit dangerous, though? She's uglier than me, but still, her looks aren't anything to be ashamed of anywhere.
【Bubblegum Collector】─Wakyapya! Our Se-hun is about to get NTR'd!
【BigGirl】─I think BSS fits better than NTR.
【Reverse-Rape Maniac】─Nononono I fucking hate NTR!!!
【Dick Lover】─That's not Se-hun's type. No worries.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─What is Se-hun's type, then?
【Dick Lover】─Me.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Dumbass.
【Plum Tree】─Hmm... That's gotta be cosplay, right?
【Min-ji】─What, you think she's an actual nine-tailed fox?
【Plum Tree】─Well, fair. If she were a real nine-tailed fox, everyone in that restaurant would be dead already.
【Hottie Licker】─Plum Blossom. Shut your trap.
【Se-hun Defense Force】─Plum Blossom, don't worry. They said no killing is allowed at the Wandering Restaurant.
【Drift AI】─I speak. I warn that the fox woman is making a lecherous expression.
Fox Woman smoothly rested her arms on the table.
She kept on hitting on me.
She didn't seem aware of the camera at all.
"Hey. By the way, your face is being broadcast all over the place right now. Are you okay with that?"
"Huh? What's a broadcast?"
Fox Woman blinked and asked back.
She didn't seem to know what a broadcast was, let alone a camera.
I considered explaining, but it was a hassle, so I just dropped it.
She was from another world anyway, so it'd probably be fine.
"More importantly, sharing a table with me is fine, right? Shall I bring a chair over?"
Fox Woman drew her own conclusion.
Even though I hadn't given her any answer.
People like her wouldn't get it if I beat around the bush, so I decided to refuse clearly and firmly.
"No. I'll just eat alone."
"What? Why?"
"I want to eat comfortably."
I stated my refusal adamantly.
The reason was exactly what I'd said.
But Fox Woman didn't know the meaning of giving up.
"...D-Don't you see how many tails I have?"
She didn't leave her spot and spoke, twisting her body slightly to emphasize her tails.
"It's honestly a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but... I'm actually the famous nine-tailed fox, you know? Can you see I have nine tails? You still won't share a table with me?"
"Yes. I won't."
"What? I said I'm a nine-tailed fox."
"For fuck's sake. So what."
I had no idea what this bitch was trying to say.
【Reformed Guburi】─'I'm a nine-tailed fox, you know?' Like she's pulling that shit, crazy bitch. Lololol.
【Hottie Licker】─Is she asking to be praised for working hard on her cosplay? Lolololol.
【Yoho】─I'm Yoho. Heh.
【Min-ji】─It's a bit awkward to say this but... That woman is so pathetic. *tears*
【Qkrnfl892】─Lolol, if you got rejected, then graciously fuck off~
【Plum Tree】─Guess she was just a moron after all.
The viewers had the exact same reaction as me.
Upon being rejected again, Fox Woman muttered to herself with a shocked expression.
"W-Weird... There shouldn't be any man who dislikes nine-tailed foxes..."
And then it happened.
Plop.
The sound of something falling came from nearby.
‘...What was that?’
I directed my gaze downward.
Three thick tails were lying on the floor.
‘...’
I raised my head again and looked at Fox Woman. Her tails had become six.