I forget my earlier anger and look at the man who emerged from the kitchen, Mr. Levin. Why is Mr. Levin in this restaurant?　Or rather, Levin's outfit is.....

　He's wearing a polo shirt, seventy-five trousers and sandals like a normal father on his day off, but he's also wearing a pink apron on top of it. And he has a cute bear embroidered in the middle of the apron.

　The fact that a blonde-haired, all-back, muscular man wearing a pink apron with an embroidered bear on it surprised me a little, and I thought

What the hell are you doing?　Just shut up and cook a meal or something!

　And the man holding Pricia shouts out. That's when Pricia's face contorts in pain as she grips the arm she's holding on to so tightly.

　I turn to go to the men again.

Take your hands off one of my employees or I'll blow your brains out!

　Levin-san says. On top of that, Levin-san's magic power is spewing out of his body and discharging with a bee. Oh no, Levin-san is pretty pissed off too. And the next moment.

Whew!

　And the man's sickening voice is heard. Mr. Levin moved under the man in an instant and grabbed him by the neck. The man grabs Mr. Levin's arm as he is grabbed and flaps his feet as he floats off the ground, but Mr. Levin does not move slightly.

　The man's movements slow down a little bit and his mouth is foaming. His face is blue. And then.

Hmph!

　And Levin threw me outside. 　Levin realized after he did it, too, oh!　He has a look on his face. And the cronies around him were saying, "Brother! I shouted as I walked out of the store.

　Is this all over for now?　Mr. Levin is mumbling something, though. I go under Pricia first. Ekla is also on top of her head.

'Are you okay, Pricia?'

"Mr. Ray. I'm fine. But Mr. Fona is.

　Saying this, Pricia looks at Fona-san. Ugh, this is terrible. Fona-san's cheeks are swollen blue and purple, as if she was hit with all her might.

''You're going to touch it, Fona-san.

　I say a few words to Ms. Fona and touch her cheek. Fona-san looks like she's in pain, but she's very quiet. No bones are broken, I guess. And my teeth are fine. I can wear regular heels in this one.

It's a little bit cooler, but please stay put. Heels.

Oh.

　I use the heel on Fona's swollen cheek. Fona-san seems a little surprised to see the blue light shining from my hand, but she stays still. And after a few seconds or so, the swelling goes down. Okay, you look beautiful.

Now you'll be fine.

　As I say this, Fona flattens her cheek. Then she thanks me for making sure there's no pain and no swelling. I'm glad that everyone else doesn't seem to be particularly hurt. Even Pricia's grabbed spot is just a little handprinted, and it heals with a heel.

　Then everyone went back to work and Pricia was still standing next to me when I looked at Levin.

'Oh, shit. Hilde is going to be so pissed. I'm going to...

　I'm mumbling to myself, looking toward the door. Then Mr. Levin turns around and scurries away. What are you doing?

Oh!

What?

　And the moment your eyes meet mine, you raise your voice. What?　Mr. Levin comes straight to my bottom and grabs the ecra on top of my head with both hands.

'Oh!'　Ekla!　I haven't seen you in ages and you've grown up!　All right!

　Mr. Levin hugs and cries as if he were holding her in his arms. Levin-san looks happy to see Ekla after a long time, but she's

Curse!　Curlew!

　He flails around in Mr. Levin's arms. As if to get me out of here!　You seem to be saying. And.

Curle!　Gullah!

　........It was like hearing a cry for the first time. Surprised by that voice, Levin-san lets go of Ekla. Freeing herself, Ekla turns to Levin-san and

Gyula!

Yuck!

　Oh!　Ekla spun around in the air and attacked Levin's jaw with her tail. Like the female dragon summer salt in Mon Fatty.

　Levin-san looks at Ekla with a sad face as she rubs her chin, but Ekla ignores her and returns to my head, rubbing her body against my head as if to erase any trace of Levin-san's touch.

　Seeing this scene, Levin-san comes towards me with a scary look on his face and grabs my shoulder with a crushing grip. Hey, you said it hurts!

Hey, boy. I don't know why you're here, but you broke that door.

　What is he saying all of a sudden?　She came to blame me because she didn't want me to be angry with Miss Hilde!

No, it was Mr. Levin who...

"You beat the crap out of some guy and broke down his door. All right?

　And he grabs me as hard as he can. He says it hurts!　The employees who had looked at him with respect earlier are now looking at him with cold eyes. Pricia is smiling bitterly.

　When I was thinking of exercising my power because I can't get out of my mouth like this

Are you?

　And a cold voice comes from behind Mr. Levin and grabs the back of Mr. Levin's head with a crushing grip. At the sound of the voice, Mr. Levin's face turns pale and he begins to shake shakily.

''Hi, Hilde, you're back?''

Yeah. So what's that all about?　When I was about to enter the store, a man burst through the door and flew in. I went in to find out what was going on, but he was trying to blame my stepson, Ray, for the crime. Hey?

No, it was this bozo who broke down the door... ........Oh, I did it!

Would you like a word with me in the back, mister?　We apologize for the commotion, everyone. As an apology, I'm going to offer you all a free pancake. I hope you'll have a good time, Ray.

　When Ms. Hilde said this, the customers in the store got excited. Then Ms. Hilde grabbed the back of Mr. Levin's head with a gushy grip and dragged him to the back of the store. Pricia also went back to work with a bitter smile.

　 Ekla doesn't know about that either!　And I'm munching on the free pancakes that were offered to me.

　This time it's not a fruit platter, but a regular pancake: honey and butter. Ekla's mouth is sticky with honey, though.

　I wiped Ekla's sticky face with a wet towel again and spent some time with her.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ray. I didn't mean to bother you.

　And Hilde came over. Pricia is also next to her.

'No, it's all right. So what is this shop?'

　According to Hilde-san, since Ekla and I are in the capital, Hilde-san and the others decided to live in the capital, and since it wouldn't be fun to just live here, they built this restaurant with the help of their master.

　Levin is in charge of cooking and Hilde is in charge of food procurement and accounting. When they were looking for an employee for the new restaurant, they met Pricia, who was just looking for a job. Pricia is not a stranger, and she was hired immediately.

　Apparently it's thanks to Levin that there are so many women on the staff. Well, with such a strict person, if he's not an idiot like he was just now, he won't get involved. Even if he did, Levin would kick him out.

　They say there are men behind the scenes. However, it seems that if you try to force a woman's hand, Levin's iron fist will fall on you, so even if you go out with them, it's a healthy relationship, apparently.

　And that's why they have so many female customers.

'He's a great cook, but he's really good at desserts among other things. That's what makes him so popular with the ladies.

　Is that why most of the customers are women? I've heard that men also come during the busy lunch hour, but most of them seem to be women who come for dessert.

Curly!　Cui!

　Even while she and Hilde were talking about such things, Ekla was purring happily in Hilde's soft arms.

'Oh my, Ekla. Have you grown up in the little time we've been meeting?　And the scales are getting better and shinier. Are you enjoying your place, Ray?

Curran!　Squeak!

'Oh, so now that you get to talk to Mei, you've got a friend named Haku?　Good for you!

　They spent their time slowly listening to the harmonious conversation between father and son like that until Pricia's time was up.

　◇ ◇ ◇ ◇.

'We'll all come together next time!　Don't be too selfish, okay, Ekla?

Yes, we'll be back together again.

Clu!　Curlew!

Thank you for your hard work, manager.

Yeah, see you later, Priscia.

　We left the Koryu-Tei while Hilde-san saw us off with a smile. ........although Levin-san was peeking at his swollen face from the broken door.

'But I'm surprised. I didn't know Levin-san and the others were building a store.

'That's right. I was just looking for a job and they were hiring, so I was surprised to see you two when I walked in.

　Pricia says that and laughs with a chuckle. I can't help but laugh too. But I'm glad that all the employees seemed to be good people. Pricia seemed to be enjoying her job. Security will be no problem at all with Levin's presence.

'What's going on?'

　I was thinking like that when Pricia comes to look at me.

'No, I just thought Pricia was cute,'

What?　Why do you say that all of a sudden?

　When I say that, Pricia's face turns red and awwww. I take Pricia's hand in mine.

It's starting to get a little cold, so why don't we just hold hands and go home?

'....yes....

　Pricia replies in a muffled voice. Still, she squeezes my hand back. It's almost night and the stars are beginning to come out under the winter sky. Pricia and I hold hands as we head home.