Chapter 36: Mystia's Izakaya and the Pharmacist from Eientei, Yagokoro Eirin!
Mystia Lorelei, a night sparrow youkai, possessed the ability to confuse people with her singing.
Like some youkai who liked hiding on dark night roads or uninhabited forests, using songs or calls to disturb humans, Mystia occasionally did so too.
However, because her singing voice was lively, rather than being confused, people actually found it pleasant.
Unfortunately, Mystia, who formed a band with other youkai, didn't achieve the accomplishment of 'forming a band for life'.
Soon, due to disturbing residents, complaints were filed, ultimately ending in disbandment...
Perhaps there was also the factor of being suppressed by seniors in the youkai music industry.
After all, to those seniors, Mystia's singing was no different from noise.
Besides the aforementioned deeds, Mystia started operating her own barbecue stall every night, mainly selling lamprey eels that treated night blindness.
Luke had also heard of the 'Sparrow Sake' from her stall, said to make customers dance gracefully after drinking.
Just that Luke hadn't seen it with his own eyes.
No choice, after being busy with restaurant work on weekdays, Luke would leisurely enjoy his alone time, having no time to wander around.
Unless invited by the girls of 'Gensokyo'.
Luke thought of this, tugged at the jacket on his body, and walked deeper into the woods.
The night woods weren't silent.
Occasionally, insect chirps could be heard;
Occasionally, birds could be seen flying;
Rumor had it that ghosts seemed to haunt this area, causing the humans of the 'Human Village' not to dare play in the woods after nightfall.
Could it be the doing of that gluttonous young mistress from Hakugyokurou?
After a random guess popped into Luke's mind, he heard new movements.
It was the faint sound of conversation.
Carried by the gentle breeze through the woods.
Who could it be?
Luke quickened his pace.
A messy patch of grass appeared before his eyes.
Luke, possessing excellent night vision, saw a package fallen among the bushes.
He reached out and picked it up, smelling the scent of simply marinated food.
How did it end up here?
Luke carried it across the grass patch and entered the woods.
The source of the conversation became clearer.
Looking closely, it was precisely the barbecue stall located between two large trees.
Or should it be called the 'Night Sparrow Diner/Mystia's Izakaya'?
Luke walked over quickly, his shadow behind gradually elongated by the stall's shadow.
Meanwhile, inside the stall—
Mystia, having just returned here, fiddled with the ingredients before her.
Her fingertips brushed across the wood-grained counter.
The kerosene lamp swayed inside its glass shade, casting her shadow onto the cloth banner behind.
The third lantern of the Night Sparrow Diner had just been lit when the forest mist rolled in.
"Ugh..."
After counting, Mystia showed a troubled expression.
At this moment, the lamprey eels were already sizzling on the iron grill, grease dripping into the charcoal fire, sending up green smoke.
Forget it, don't worry about it for now...
Mystia decided to cheer herself up.
So she hummed an out-of-tune melody and seriously handled the dishes prepared to be sold to customers.
"A new customer has arrived."
On the west side of the night sparrow stall's guest seating, a female customer had actually been seated for a while.
Hearing her say this, Mystia couldn't help but look outside the shop.
A figure came into view.
This person was precisely Luke.
He came up to the stall front, holding up a package in his hand.
"Boss Night Sparrow, this is the thing you dropped, right? After all, I found it nearby."
"Ah! That's mine! Those are the ingredients needed for tonight...!"
"Then the question is, why were you near my restaurant just now?"
Luke's question wasn't answered.
The woman already seated suggested,
"Why not sit down and talk?"
"That's true too..."
Luke, agreeing, immediately took a seat, then looked over there.
A woman with silvery-white hair was leisurely savoring the fine wine provided by the night sparrow, but she had no intention of dancing.
Luke smiled slightly and greeted her.
"Isn't this the pharmacist from Eientei, Yagokoro-san? Good evening, I am Luke. The restaurant in the woods over there is opened by me."
Yagokoro Eirin, visiting the Night Sparrow Diner, looked at Luke.
She seemed to be recalling the past...
"Luke... I heard your name at Miss Hakutaku's private school. Your Excellency's restaurant is very popular. Princess Kaguya even asked me to buy some food there before."
"Most welcome."
"I don't know about the prices though. Princess Kaguya secretly bought some random things recently..."
"I can offer a discount."
"Since that's the case, I will definitely visit when I have the chance."
Thus, 'Eientei', where Yagokoro Eirin resided, became one of Luke's potential customers.
Only after this did Luke turn towards the inside of the stall.
"Then Miss Mystia, why were you near my restaurant? And very flustered. Looking at the situation here, you had already opened for business. As the owner, you shouldn't run around randomly, right?"
"This... actually it's the ingredients. I went to pick up ingredients."
"Then why were you very flustered?"
"Because..."
Mystia said while fiddling with the barbecue,
"My memory isn't good, but I know Luke-san's restaurant is very popular. If I was seen near there by you, it would be troublesome if you misunderstood me for eavesdropping on cooking secrets; I, I don't want to be enemies with Luke-san!"
The little night sparrow in the woods, looks like she's really quite timid...
...
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