How To Ruin A Love Comedy – Chapter 127

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Nekorune
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“Hey, wake up.”

“…No…”

Miyuki whined sleepily.

She showed no signs of waking up, even though she had already showered.

Did she enjoy the two-hour massage I gave her yesterday?

“You told your mom you were going home today. I’ll give you a ride. Come on, wake up.”

“What time is it…?”

“Six thirty.”

“Oh, come on…! It’s still the middle of the night…”

She looked cute, frowning and whining.

I smoothed out her messy bangs.

“That’s why we have to leave now.”

“I’ll go home later by myself…”

“Then should I leave first?”

“Yeah…”

“Okay. I’m going.”

“Mmm-hmm… Wait…”

Miyuki grabbed my arm with a languid hand and puckered her lips.

With her eyes closed, she pouted like a goldfish, asking for a kiss.

I chuckled and obliged.

I carefully tucked her in, opened the window, and a refreshing breeze brushed against my cheek.

The weather was fantastic. It was a perfect day for a date with Miyuki.

Grumbling to myself, I got in the car and entered the location Renka sent me into the navigation system.

She had summoned me to a location near a large park on the outskirts of Tokyo. More specifically, near a busy street food area popular with tourists.

I parked in the public parking lot and walked along the still-quiet street to the designated spot, intending to call Renka. Just then—

“You’re early.”

The door to the sushi restaurant behind me opened, and Renka stepped out.

I turned to her and replied, “Yes. Hello.”

“Hi. Aren’t you curious about where this is?”

“It’s a sushi restaurant. The name is… Inoo-ya Sushi? Is it a family-run business?”

“That’s right. My uncles run it. It looks like a sushi restaurant, but they sell all sorts of things. You’ll be working here until nine tonight.”

I knew it.

There wasn’t much you could ask me to do in our current situation, was there?

I nodded nonchalantly.

“Got it.”

“We open at eleven, and you just need to do odd jobs. I’ll tell you what to do, so don’t worry.”

“Will you be working too, captain?”

“Of course. Where did you park?”

“In the public parking lot.”

“That costs money. There’s a small empty lot behind the restaurant. Park there.”

“You should have told me earlier.”

“I didn’t think you’d park there. Go park your car and come back.”

“Got it.”

I parked in the empty lot as Renka instructed and entered the restaurant, where I saw two middle-aged men with large builds, identical bald heads, and stern faces.

So her uncles were twins. They looked quite intimidating.

Their gazes, which had been focused on Renka as they chatted, shifted to me.

“You must be Matsuda Ken.”

The man who appeared to be the older brother spoke.

I bowed my head and greeted them.

“Hello. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.”

His tone was gruff but not unkind.

Usually, this was where the line “So you’re the punk giving our Renka a hard time?” would come out…

The fact that it didn’t probably meant Renka had downplayed my personality.

But I was a little curious.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be strange if I was a source of anxiety.

From Renka’s perspective, I was a rebel who could cause trouble at any moment.

It would have been better for her to ask the pushover Tetsuya for help, so why did she only call me?

I soon found the answer.

“You’re handsome, just like Renka said.”

The smaller uncle said.

So they needed a pretty face.

It seemed they called me because they could use me under the guise of a wish and didn’t have to pay me.

Well, it made sense to have someone presentable working in an open kitchen where customers could see the staff.

Customers would lose their appetite if the plain and gloomy Tetsuya was there.

Wait, did Renka tell her uncles that I was handsome?

Even though she disliked me, she acknowledged my looks?

I’d have to make sure to go easy on the spanking as a reward.

“You flatter me. What can I do to help?”

I asked with a cheerful expression, and the larger uncle grinned, revealing his teeth.

“Renka will tell you. We appreciate your help today.”

I noticed a gold-capped molar.

Their appearance would definitely scare away the customers.

“Understood. I appreciate the opportunity.”

“You don’t know how to prepare sashimi, do you?”

Prepare sashimi…? His tone of voice made it sound like I was supposed to carve up a person, not a fish.

It felt like I was in a yakuza interview.

“I don’t.”

“How about prepping other ingredients?”

“I can do that.”

“Then I’ll ask you to assist Renka. The restaurant is usually slow, so you shouldn’t run into any difficulties.”

“Okay.”

“Make yourself at home. We may look like it, but we’re not strict.”

“I think ‘intimidating’ is a more accurate word than ‘strict’.”

The twins looked at each other at my playful remark, then burst into hearty laughter.

Did they let it slide because they thought I was being sociable?

I was glad I wasn’t turned into sashimi myself.

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A towel wrapped around my forehead, a yukata-like top, and an apron around my waist.

Dressed in typical sushi restaurant attire, I filled my stomach with the sushi made by the twins.

I didn’t know if it was because they used high-quality ingredients or if they were just skilled, but the sushi was delicious.

It was good enough to attract regular customers who just came for the taste… Did they really need to open a restaurant in a tourist spot?

Well, it wasn’t my concern.

After eating and doing prep work and odd jobs, it was time to open.

And just as the twins had said, the restaurant was slow.

It wasn’t completely empty.

Thanks to Renka’s beauty at the front counter and the discount sign outside, customers did come in from time to time.

However, many were intimidated by the stern-looking twins in the open kitchen and hesitated to enter, often opting for the restaurant next door.

Even those who did come in were tense, making the atmosphere quiet and awkward.

The twins seemed worried about the lack of business, their faces looking almost angry, which further exacerbated the customers’ misunderstanding.

While it wasn’t enough to ruin their business, their appearance was definitely a major factor.

It was difficult for restaurants in tourist areas to build a regular clientele.

Except for the local residents, most customers were one-time visitors.

In that case, they needed to rely on the restaurant’s atmosphere, which was where they failed.

The food was good, so if they could just fix this, they’d be fine…

In situations like this, it was best to liven up the place and ease the customers’ tension.

Create a bustling atmosphere and make the customers feel comfortable with the twins…

‘Hmm…’

The character “ya” (家) in the restaurant’s name, meaning “house” or “family,” immediately indicated that it was a privately owned, family-run establishment.

I initially thought it was an uninspired name, but now it seemed perfect for my plan.

The best approach was to make it feel like a place run by a close-knit family.

And with the twins’ faces… the concept would be a heartwarming yakuza family, with the added touch of gruff but kind-hearted brothers.

It was a cheesy concept, but it would work.

Past noon, customers started to trickle in.

It was less than other restaurants, but about half the tables were filled, mostly with new customers.

Even Renka left the counter to help.

Judging it was the right time, I shouted towards the kitchen as a customer finished ordering, “Little Uncle! Two bowls of ebi tempura udon here!”

Renka flinched and looked at me, seemingly surprised by the casual address.

On the other hand, her uncle calmly replied, “Two ebi tempura coming right up!”

“Don’t eat them while you’re making them, and hurry up!”

Little Uncle’s eyes widened in surprise at my sudden jab.

But only for a moment. Realizing what I was trying to do, he puffed up his chest and retorted, “Hey!? I don’t do that!”

“You don’t huh? Then what’s with that belly you’ve been growing?”

“These are muscles!”

Under normal circumstances, it would be considered crossing the line, but thanks to the nickname and the restaurant’s name, the customers, as I had anticipated, perceived us as a close family.

And it worked.

The customers in the restaurant chuckled lightly.

The heavy atmosphere lifted, and the mood brightened.

“Big Uncle! Are those three plates of chūtoro still not ready!?”

Big Uncle, who understood the situation from our previous exchange, immediately shouted back, “They’re almost ready!”

“Hurry up and bring them out! The customers are waiting!”

I added some exasperated gestures, and Big Uncle frantically prepared the ingredients.

“Ok, ok! Sorry!”

Did the customers find it funny to see a large, intimidating man flustered?

The restaurant became even livelier.

Now, all I had to do was open the door and let this atmosphere spill out to attract more customers.

Since the good weather and the heat from the kitchen made the restaurant warm… it would be fine to leave the door slightly ajar.

If the customers at the tables near the door complained, I’d just give them some complimentary dishes.

If they still didn’t like it, then there was nothing I could do.

Wait, why was I acting like the protagonist of a cooking manga?

I didn’t know. I just had to do my best.

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