Ludwig snapped out of his daze.
Whether the man had a Godly Artifact or not, it was not his business. The only thing he needed to do was serve the man some food without letting his curiosity take over.
With a twist on the knob and a pull, the restaurant's door opened. In front of the restaurant was a wide space with literally nothing except for maybe a small building made of wood. Though calling it a building would be a little bit of a stretch. After all, even in the eyes of him who didn't know much about building, that small building was more like a shed.
And then, there's the air. Or to be exact, the mana in the air. It was dense, just like the air around Tempest and Sylvaris Forest.
By now, all the places that had such density were all forest, but that should be nothing more than a coincidence. Well, now that Ludwig thought about it, not really. A forest was a place far from civilization. Always, he meant always, such a place always had a story behind why it had such dense mana density around.
Maybe some monster, some gods buried there, a dragon, or just a place with so many strong monsters around. Just like how most urban legends on Earth started in either a forest or a place that had been abandoned for years.
Ludwig refocused as he thought so. Now, his face landed on the man in front of him. For a man whom the restaurant called in dire need for food, his face and physique was too healthy. Heck, he couldn't even see any indication that the man was having a rough life.
He's the exact opposite of Latina, even though the restaurant deemed both of them to be in the same category of people.
But before Ludwig could say anything to the man, the guy positioned his hoe in front of him as he shifted his posture. Now, he was adopting the stance of a swordsman. Well, not really. Any combatant worth their salt would quickly see the hole in his stance, something that came from the unfamiliarity.
The other meaning was clear. The man had never properly learnt the combat stance of any branch.
Ludwig looked down for a second, making sure no parts of his body crossed the boundary. When he was sure he was safe, he returned his gaze to the man and opened his mouth. "Hello, I'm not here to fight. I heard someone here is in dire need of food. Are you perhaps hungry?"
The man's eyes opened wide. At the same time, the hoe in front of them slowly went down. Not the correct thing to do. But alas, he really didn't have bad intentions towards the man. But he probably needed to tell him about it later.
"A-are you J-japanese?"
However, all of Ludwig's thoughts evaporated the moment the man threw him that question.
'Japanese.' That word was not an unfamiliar word inside his establishment. Rimuru was one, and he could speak the language. Then there's the family of four. They were also Japanese and still lived in Japan. Then there's also Akane and her sister, as well as Ryouma.
Even if he didn't deliberately take that direction, the fantasy product of Japan was what was presented the most inside Checkpoint. Put that in the mix, and he would also include the Pokemon as well as Kushina and Minato.
Even though his mind was going at the speed of light, he didn't let it show on his face. He first smiled at the man before answering the question.
"I certainly didn't speak in Japanese. But explaining it will only leave you more confused than before. So, how about coming in first? We can talk while eating."
Contrary to his expectation, the man didn't even hesitate a second longer. He completely put his hoe down before quickly walking towards him. That made Ludwig chuckle. If he had any greed left inside him, that Goldy Artefact would be his in a matter of seconds. Turning the man with no option of retaliation.
When the man finally arrived in front of the door, Ludwig walked back a few steps to make a way. But when the man finally stepped into the restaurant, his instinct flared.
This guy… Ludwig was left speechless. Before, he could only feel a little bit of mana bleeding out of the man. But now that he stood inside his restaurant, he could finally feel something deeper in him.
The man was broken. Yes, broken. Not his psyche. Rather, it's his body. It's like whoever was in charge of giving him talent when he was born decided they had better things to do and just grabbed whatever was good in the piles of talents and chucked them into his body.
However, the guy didn't give off a sharp and apex feeling like Ilea. On the contrary, he was closer to Rimuru. It's like his body decided showing off was bad, so it hid it well. However, Ludwig felt that if he wanted to kill the guy in front of him, he would have to throw everything he had. His life was included.
It was the exact same feeling he got from Satoshi.
But rather than dwelling on the feeling that had nothing to do with serving food to the man, Ludwig just signalled towards Vilera. When the demoness walked closer to the man, he made his exit. Back to the kitchen.
He could see the man's face shifting from disbelief to relief, to disbelief again as Vilera talked to him. But when he finally sat on the empty seat at the bar, he had already regained his composure.
"Hello." He started. "I'm sorry for my rudeness earlier."
Ludwig let his gaze settle on the man for a few seconds before he laughed. "It's fine. And to be honest, your reaction is on the tamer side around here."
The man looked at Ludwig before chuckling wryly. "After hearing the explanation from your waitress, I can see that."
Ludwig smiled as he poured lemonade into a glass. And as he passed it to the man, he spoke. "Right? By the way, my name is Ludwig. I'm the owner of this weird establishment."
The restaurant hummed as he introduced it like that. But rather than anger, it felt closer to a sigh. Like it already came to terms with how he introduced it to every new patron.
"Nice to meet you." The man answered. "My name is Hiraku Machio."
"I see." Ludwig said simply. However, not because he wasn't curious about the backstory of the man. But he couldn't just ask so suddenly, could he?
Thankfully…
"Huh? What's your name again, sir?"
Tsumugi, who saw just beside the man, moved her head quickly before shooting that question.
As expected of a high school student. She could easily say something that Ludwig and maybe most adults couldn't without thinking about the repercussions.
The man looked at Tsumugi. "My name is Hiraku. Hiraku Machio."
"HUH." Tsumugi said. "Are you perhaps Japanese? Or used to be one?"
Hiraku's eyes went wide again. A reaction that all patrons of the restaurant had already gotten used to by now. He then nodded his head quickly. "I am. Are you Japanese too? But what do you mean by 'used' to be one?"
"OHHHH!" Tsumugi said, her tone went up as she had just discovered a treasure. But then, she sneaked a glance towards Ludwig, a glance that Ludwig knew the meaning of.
He gave her a go sign with a nod, and right after, she started to explain what she meant. She started with how some of the restaurant patrons used to be Japanese. But now, they live in a different world because they died on Earth.
She even name-dropped Ludwig as one of those people. Of course, while also giving Hiraku an explanation that he's not Japanese.
Because of that, Ludwig was forced to give him a short rundown of his new life until he had this restaurant.
By the end, Hiraku looked with a complicated gaze towards Tsumugi, her family, and Ludwig. "Well, I also died. But rather than reincarnating, the god told me that he would teleport me to a new world.
"Teleport?" Tsumugi asked.
But at the same time,
"God?" Ludwig also asked.
"Yes." Hiraku answered both questions. But then, he elaborated. "I don't know whether what I meet is a real god or not. But he can teleport me, make my body younger, and give me some power, so I mean, he should be a god to be that powerful, right?"
Tsumugi kept quiet, and her family as well. But now, all of their eyes went to Ludwig. As if, as a family, they had come to an agreement that if they heard or witnessed something not scientific, they must turn to Ludwig for an answer.
Ludwig sighed, but he then looked at the audience in front of him. "Let me clarify something first. I haven't met God with a capital G before. But I have met beings that's worshipped as gods before. However… An ability to teleport someone from one world to another world wouldn't automatically make someone a God.
"The same as making someone younger. In fact, I can make anyone younger, and I'm no God. But the thing you said after that… He is giving you power. Yes, even the strongest men I knew couldn't do that. So, the one you met might be a God.
"Even if he's not a God. He at least should be up there. Someone who had already transcended their limitation as a human."
Silence fell on the bar seat as soon as Ludwig finished his explanation. It seemed like everyone was digesting the information.
However, it didn't last long. And the one who finished digesting it first was obviously…
"How can you be so sure?" Aoki asked. His tone was not demanding; it was curious.
But rather than directly answering his question, Ludwig moved his gaze towards Hiraku. "Can you bring back the hoe you carried before?"
Hikaru looked at Ludwig. Then, without a word, he summoned the hoe into his hand. Yes, summoned. Why? Because that artefact fused with his body the moment he unsummoned it.
"Do you know what that is?" Ludwig asked.
"The God called it All-Purpose Farming Equipment. A tool that can transform into anything I need to farm."
F-farm? Ludwig said in his mind. A Godly Artefact made to farm? Are they crazy?
Ludwig cleared his throat, trying to get his composure back. "I-I see. But for your information, that thing is a Godly Artefact. At least that's how people in my world called it."
"Godly Artefact?"
"Yes. Think about it as this: A tool made in heaven using the Holy Power of the gods. If something like that appeared in my world, you will become the next Saint in no time."
The revelation plunged the bar into another silence. But unlike before, now Hikaru was looking at the hoe in his hand, eyes wide and mouth hanging slack.
Yeah, surprising, isn't it?
Ludwig chuckled. Satisfied because he's not the only one who felt so.
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