11 The Grand Opening... or is it?

That same day...

"Kanata, Kazuya, Itsuki, are you ready?" I asked.

As their manager, I have to raise their morale. Itsuki looks pretty cool as expected but Kanata is visibly trembling.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be fine," I said.

"M-Manager...," said Kanata.

"Yes, just trust yourself and your coworkers," I said.

"B-But...," uttered Kanata. "Y-You're shaking as well."

C-Crap! Is it really that obvious?! And also, I can hear someone cringing....

"Hahaha, I didn't expect you to be that nervous...," said Kazuya.

"Coming from someone who sweats scarily inside an airconditioned room!" I replied.

"S-Stupid! This is just.... I just came here a while ago...! I was running outside to get here!" replied Kazuya.

This otaku freak.....!

"Everyone, settle down!" said Itsuki. "Let's take a selfie before we officially open."

Itsuki holds her phone slightly up with the front camera facing us however, her arms were shaking too.

"3-3....2....1-1...," counted Itsuki.

"You're the one who needs to settle down!" I said.

Her phone slips out of her hand the moment she pressed the capture button.

"Waaaah! My phone!" screamed Itsuki. "It even landed on the glass screen."

"Idiot, it's just a scratch. Don't cry, it still works," I said.

"I-I care about the appearance, you stinkball!" replied Itsuki.

S-She called me a stinkball! Do I really stink that much?!

"Go ahead and buy a new one, then!" I said. "No salary advancement though~"

"I-I can wait!" said Itsuki. "I'm an adult. I won't give in to impulsive spending."

"Enough!" shouted Kanata. "Look, the customers are starting to enter!"

S-She's right, when did they line up there?!

"When you two were arguing, I pressed the electronic signage outside saying 'OPEN'," said Kazuya.

"At least inform us!" I said.

"Since I'm in the kitchen, I don't have to serve them personally," said Kazuya. "Adieu, don't trip~"

I'll hit this guy's head with a bolster later.

With Itsuki and Kanata and myself at their back, we started to greet the first customer incoming.

"Welcome to the brand new Umami Land, Ma'am," greeted Itsuki and Kanata.

Great, these two are starting strong! Good thing, it's an old lady who's the first customer. The next ones are teenagers, just like we wanted!

"I'll guide you to your sit, my Queen," I said.

I can't believe I said this to an old lady! But if it brings her smile out.....

"Uwahaha~ I....It's b...been a while since someone ca....called me his Q...Queen...," said the old lady. "Uwahaha, you're making me blush, young man."

I guess I need to keep doing this.

"Here's your seat, my Queen," I said.

C'mon, bring out that smile of yours and give us a 5 star review!

"Uwahahah-" laughed the old lady as her dentures flew out.

I-I said smiles, not these slippery gnashers! And, why did I involuntarily catch it with my bare hands?! T-This is awkward!

"Q-Q-Queen, can you please put back your royal teeth and gums inside your mouth?" I said.

I can feel the slippery saliva from her dentures! Eek, come on speak up, old lady!

"S-S-Shince I'm your qu-w-ween, w-will yhou b-be zha one to p-put it bwack?" requested the old lady.

Maybe I'll just focus on the kitchen, after all.

After more than 5 minutes, I went back to the kitchen to hand Kazuya that old hag's order.

"Is this it?" asked Kazuya. "Hey, you look pale. What happened? Plus, why's the paper slightly wet?"

"Be right back," I said. "Need to cleanse my soul in the bathroom."

I didn't see the initial minutes to be this traumatic.

{After 10 minutes, I went back to gather the old lady's order. I swiftly handed her order to lowkey avoid another conversation since customers are starting to pile up. As expected, some odd customers came in.}

"Hoho, so this is the so-called Umami Land, huh?" said a muscular customer.

He probably was sent by those middle-aged fools. I remembered his face from the first time I went here, though he wasn't involved much in the argument back then. He must be around in his 20's, he doesn't look that old. He must be the son of a bulk guy from before.

"You're right, brother," said another customer.

That's his brother?! He's so skinny compared to that buff guy.

"W-Welcome, masters," greeted Itsuki.

Itsuki? Hmm, it's the first time she's seen these guys. I'll observe in the meantime.

"Hoho, there's even a new girl!" said the muscle guy. "Damn, you pick your staff well, Chiaki!"

I'll just ignore him for now.

"Hey, girl. What's your name?" asked the muscle guy. "Wanna exchange numbers for a hot and steamy late-night conversation? Haha!"

"Three," said Itsuki.

"Ha? Whatcha sayin'?" asked the muscle guy.

"I heard 'three', she must be dictating her number!" said the skinny guy.

"Here's your table, masters," said Itsuki. "May I take your order?"

She is visibly in a bad mood!

"Can I take you as my order for tonight? Hahaha, wohoo~ I said a pick-up line!" said the muscle guy. "But girl, your breasts and ass stand out! It makes me feel hot..."

Wait, he's....

"One," said Itsuki.

"True, brother!" said the skinny guy. "I wonder where's Kanata-san. I want a double titfuck from these two!"

These two are going overboard! I'm gonna beat their asses!

"Bastards! What did you ju-" I said.

Before I even reach halfway, Itsuki hardly slams the tray to the skinny guy's face enough to make his nose bleed heavily.

"D-Damn you, woman!" said the muscular guy. "How dare y-"

"Die!" said Itsuki as she axe kicks the muscular fool in the face.

I-I forgot! She actually trains Taekwondo back then! She's a damn black belter! How could I not remember?!

"I-Is this what your restaurant exhibits, huh?!" said the muscle guy.

"No, but we do not tolerate such lascivious behavior!" I shouted.

"L-Lascivious?! Ha! Even though everyone heard it, do you have any recording you can use as proof?" asked the skinny guy.

The new CCTVs still aren't operational as of today as we had no time to install the program yesterday. Damn it!

"As if this old lady beside us did record the whole event, then you're lucky! HAHAHA!" laughed the muscle guy.

"B-But, I-I did record it...," said the old lady. "I-In m-m-my smartphone..."

T-The old hag is a techy person unexpectedly!

"Old hag! Give me that phone!" said the muscle guy.

As both the skinny and buff guys are threatening the old lady, Itsuki kicks both the guys' groin area, enough to bring them down on their knees.

"Even though you're buff, that part will forever be sensitive, isn't it?" asked Itsuki.

"Y-You'll pay for this!" said the skinny guy.

The two perverted fools run away from the restaurant struggling to keep themselves on foot.

"T-Thank you, Ma'am," I said.

"I-I'll g-give this to the police later...," said the old lady. "Young lady, y-you were brave to f-face t-them. I-I commend you."

"N-No, it's not a lot," said Itsuki. "But, thanks. I feel relieved for now."

The whole incident finally ends and business as usual afterward. We didn't notice that it is already closing time and it's time to conclude the opening day.

"Job well done, guys!" I said. "That ends our grand opening!"

"Ugh, I'm beat!" said Kazuya.

"But, it was worth it," said Kanata. "I enjoyed serving even though we had some problems earlier."

I walked towards Itsuki to ask about her.

"Itsuki, don't worry about the ratings," I said. "You did the right thing to hit them. It's never right to sexualize you or any women out there."

"Y-Yeah, thanks for the concern," said Itsuki.

"Did they scare you?" I asked.

Even though she trained in martial arts and sometimes act like a guy, she's still a human with a soft heart. Her tears started to fall when I asked her that question.

"Yeah, it was," said Itsuki.

"You did well today," I replied. "We're proud."

"We'll make sure they won't step again in this restaurant!" said Kanata.

"I'll fix the CCTV system later so we don't have to worry about things like this again," said Kazuya.

"Thank you, everyone," said Itsuki.

"Why don't we take a group picture at the main entrance outside?" asked Kanata.

"Good idea!" said Itsuki. "Kazuya-kun, can you please get the tripod?"

"No problem," replied Kazuya.

Aren't they forgetting someone? Well, whatever.

We go outside to take the said picture. The tripod is set and Kanata's smartphone is attached firmly.

"Say cheese!" said Kanata.

.....

"It's been more than 5 seconds, Kanata. When will it capture?!" I said. "Huh?"

I suddenly see the flash and so, I abruptly posed for the picture. We had to do a couple of takes to get the perfect one, at least for them.

"Hmm, still not good...," said Kanata.

"Are we in a photoshoot?!" I said.

"Kanata, why don't we choose the first photo taken?" asked Itsuki.

"Eh? We look goofy there plus Manager looks dumb~," said Kanata.

"D-Dumb...?!" I said.

"Well, this picture portrays us well so might as well be the perfect photo of us," said Itsuki.

"You have a point. Okay, then! It's settled!" said Kanata.

"Seriously....?!" I screamed.

Thus, this ends our rowdy grand opening. I hope everything goes well in the next months. Sigh~