Even Though I Have Become A God, I Still Want To Run My Restaurant!

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{POV: MC}

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In the kitchen with Mera, I learned a lot of things that I need to pay attention to in running a business in this world. While I have 'read' the general info of this world the first time I became a god, it does not include the business and most common sense of living in this world.

For example, the currency in this world is pretty easy to understand, consisting of copper, silver, gold, and platinum. 10 copper is 1 silver, 10 silver is 1 gold, and 10 gold is 1 platinum. While platinum is the most valuable coin, there is an orichalcum coin too, which is as valuable as 100 platinum because of how rare the metal is, due to its source coming directly from the god realm.

I also learned how to set the price of my dishes correctly, as apparently, I have set my menu too cheaply since I was following street food standards. According to her, good food here seems to be much more expensive than on Earth, some even more valuable than a weapon which does make sense. 

I also learned that in this world, a tavern makes much more than a restaurant thanks to the adventurers who love to drink after completing a task. She also told me that most of my potential customers would be adventurers since it's one of the most popular jobs despite its dangers.

This made me wonder if I should also put 'beverage' on the menu to follow the market.

["Do you know how to mix a drink in the first place?"] The system suddenly commented.

I don't, I am a chef after all, not a bartender. But I can learn how to do it using my ability.

["Pffft I thought you didn't want to cheat when it comes to the restaurant business, Jin-sama?"]

...I guess this will be an exception if I want to compete with local businesses. I was also curious about drinking since I hadn't done it even after turning 18 a few weeks ago.

["Except you forget that Original One makes your body 3 years younger."]

Regardless, my real age is 18, so I am eligible to drink.

["How about this? I remember that only people under 20 are considered legal adults in Japan. You are 2 years away from that, Jin-sama."]

...Here, It's not Japan, so it should be okay! It's not even an earth, you know?!

["Pfft... Whatever you say, you are the boss after all. Just make sure you are talking with your sister first about this."]

That's very good advice, thanks system! I will decide after asking her opinion then.

...

"Jin-kun, are you okay?"

Noticing I was daydreaming, Mera, feeling confused, decided to call me. This made me come back to reality immediately and stop talking to the system in my mind.

"I am okay, I was talking with the system in my head." 

I quickly explained and then continue asked, "Is there anything else that I need to take care of?" 

"Hmmm..."

Hearing my question, Mera held her chin for a while to think... until she remembered something important that I needed to know.

"There is indeed something I forget to tell you, Jin-kun."

"What it is?"

With an unhappy face, Mera took a breath and said, "You also need to apply a location check by a priest from church later, as every new business in this kingdom is obliged to do." 

Confused by the info she provided, I scratched my head in confusion while continue asking, "Check? What does a church do with a restaurant?"

"I mean there is no relation between religion and restaurant, right?" 

"According to regulation I know, it's just to make sure your business is clean from any demonic influence."

"Hmm... It does make sense, but can you do something about it, Princess Mera?"

Even though the reason makes sense, to be honest, I'm really lazy about dealing with political or religious matters. I just want to run my restaurant here quietly, without any conspiracy behind my back.

However, hearing my question, Mera shook her head while looking apologetically at me, "To be honest, the church influence here is really powerful, so I suggest you just follow the rules for now, Jin-sama."

"Really? Even with your status as princess, you can't change it?"

Mera shook her head in disappointment, "...I am afraid not."

"I am surprised."

"I am sorry..."

"No, it's okay. I just... Surprise, okay? I am not disappointed with you." 

I quickly calmed her down, reassuring her it was not her fault anyway... but it seemed Mera was minding it and becoming quite gloomy which made me curious.

I know Mera has a goal to cease the hostility between demons and the human race considering her previous life experience, but after hearing her complain, it seems like her current progress in this world doesn't seem to be optimistic.

I thought it would be easy to achieve her goal by using her strategic mindset and authority status, but it seems I underestimated how much the hostility between humans and demons in this world-- or any world for that matter. 

*Ring*

As I wanted to ask about the demon side situation to Mera, suddenly the front door rang which indicated someone coming from the front door, directly interrupting our conversation.

"Front doorbell sound... Is it a new customer?"

"Ah. I am afraid not." Mera shook her head and then wryly smiled, "I recognize the mana, it should be Valento."

"Who?"

"The one I told you who will take care of your restock, supplier issue, Jin-sama." 

"Wait? You already predicted this?" 

Although I would be happy if I could settle everything about the business today, I am amazed that Mera is moving that fast to help me. I guess she already knew I would open a restaurant here from the girls back then, so Mera just 'that' prepared.

"Is it someone from the merchant guild?"

"Yes." Mera nodded happily and teased, "In fact, he is also one of the people you reincarnated into this world and also eager to meet you."

Hearing Mera's confession, I immediately remembered the faces of the 6 people I reincarnated into this world. Among them, there was only one person who had sales experience and told me that he wanted to become a successful merchant or something. 

"Ah, merchant. Then, I guess I know who it is."

After that, Mera and I immediately rushed to the main area to meet him, and when I saw his handsome face and his wavy brown hair-- my guess was 100% correct.

Jack Harrison--- or his current name is Jack Valento.

Surprisingly, he was very happy when he saw my appearance, far more than the reaction of Mera, who I knew had a crush on me. This made me wonder if he is gay now.

I wouldn't be surprised if he swung that way, considering he got killed by his Yandere wife back then. But then, I learned the real reason behind his excitement... which made me quite pity of him.

...

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{POV: Jack Valento = Former : Jack Harrison}

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Seeing the building in front of me that was very similar to the architecture of the modern world, I became very excited. In my mind, this building has been built here for several years and has been empty for no reason, but logically, it is impossible for an empty building in a strategic location to have been unoccupied for years without a reason-- not to mention being maintained at all!

And no one wonders why this building is here... at all. That's bullshit, which means only God can do something like this.

I also investigated who the owner of this building was with the help of the merchant guild, and immediately found out the name of the owner of this building was Origami Jin.

Even though I don't know what the surname of the god who reincarnated me is, I know that his name is Jin! Coupled with the many oddities I found in this building, I became convinced and believed what Esmeralda-sama said.

Esmeralda-sama is not lying! Jin-sama came into this world and I was so excited to meet him! Because if he's here, that means I have a chance to change my situation for the better!

After checking that my appearance was looks good, with a deep breath I immediately entered the door of this restaurant building, which immediately rang the doorbell too.

Entering, I was immediately greeted by the appearance of a restaurant that I was very familiar with on Earth which had some lighting and decoration... making me feel nostalgic and even more convinced that Jin-sama was here!

...And wants to run this restaurant, according to information from Esmeralda-sama which is weird--- but I am not surprised since he reincarnated me back then wearing a chef uniform.

""Welcome to Sweet Carrot restaurant.""

When I stepped into the restaurant, twin loli catgirls with silver hair and wearing maid uniforms immediately greeted me... making me surprised.

Really? Loli cat girls as restaurant workers? and they look amateurish too on doing their job, which makes it clear that it's their first day. Even though there is no law against employing underage girls in this kingdom... I wonder if Jin-sama is a lolicon to employ them.

"Um, hello."

I quickly greeted them with a smile to not scare them, but as always, my cheat worked immediately and made them immediately fascinated to see me.

"Woah... T-This customer is so handsome, Aru." (Iru)

"Indeed, he might be surpassed by our master in terms of appearance!" (Aru)

...

Even though I don't activate my magic at all, I've been passive for years, this ability still has an effect on the people around me... and this makes doing business very easy... and makes my life quite difficult. 

...

"Anyway, Aru, can you handle this? I am feeling nervous." (Iru)

"Gotcha, Customer. May I ask for your order?" (Aru)

"Stupid, Aru. You need to bring him to a table first!" (Iru)

"Ah, yes!" The short-haired girl named Aru quickly pulled my hand and then asked, "Please follow us to the table, customer!"

"Uh, no. Little Ladies. I am here not to come as a customer."

Troubled by her action, I shook my head in refusal and immediately explained my purpose here, "...Can you let me meet the Owner of this restaurant?"

Hearing my question, the two loli looked at each other and Iru, the long-haired loli catgirl then asked, "H-Handsome customer, Are you a friend of master?"

"Not really, but he is my benefactor."

"Benefactor?"

Hearing my answer, the two lolis didn't seem to understand the meaning of the word, so I immediately corrected, "In the short story, Jin-sama helped me in the past, and because of that I owe him a debt of gratitude."

""Ohh!!""

"You shouldn't use difficult words to talk with children, Jack."

When I finished explaining to the two loli, suddenly a very familiar voice sounded in my ears-- making me see the source of the sound. The moment I did, I immediately recognized 2 people who approached me, and my excitement peaked.

...!!

"Jin-sama! Also, Esmeralda-sama!"

With the appearance and aura that I remember for the last 15 years, it cannot be denied that the person in front of me is Jin-sama, the god who reincarnated me. Everything is the same as I remember, except he seems to look younger, but as a god of course I do not doubt that he has no problem changing his age as he wanted to.

"It seems you are doing fine in this world, Jack Harrison. Your hair color is different, but your appearance is about the same."

"Umm! I can't believe you came to this world, Jin-sama!" I nodded repeatedly and then exclaimed, "Long time no see, and thank you for giving me a second chance!"

"Uh, yeah. Long time no see." Jin-sama just smiled at me and said, "Also, no need to thank me, that's my job anyway."

As I remember from his character, Jin-sama was also very kind and humble, despite his status as a god. I couldn't help but be optimistic about my purpose of meeting him, and after calming down a little bit, I opened my eyes and asked, "Jin-sama, Can I request something serious from you?"

Looking at me with a confused look, Jin-sama immediately answered, "Something serious?"

"Yes."

Giving me a troubled look, Jin-sama scratched his neck and said, "Well, I'm also going to need your help... so if there's anything you want to ask or request, just say so."

Hearing his confirmation, without further ado I immediately asked with excitement, "Is it possible for me to replace the cheat you gave me 15 years ago, Jin-sama? Please! Because my life has been very troublesome with my charming ability!"

"..."

Hearing my question, I expected Jin-sama to answer me directly, but strangely he became silent and looked at me with a look of guilt (?)

Does Jin-sama just find out how difficult my life is in this world? If so, don't be surprised if he sympathizes with me.

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{POV: MC}

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After hearing Jack's request, I immediately used my wishing ability to find out his life path... and oh my God, I immediately understood why he asked that.

Just imagine, thanks to his cheating, since childhood, everyone immediately liked him--- making him kidnapped by many nobles many times and making him experience many tragedies since childhood.  

He also had lots of girls who openly wanted to chase him all year round. Some of them were even crazy and would do anything to make Jack theirs--- traumatizing Jack, and he decided to leave home at the age of 8 and start his career as a merchant.

Since starting his career, Jack immediately started traveling around the world and with the advantage of his cheat, he could establish relationships with any race without anyone being racist to him. He also opened a merchant company, and within 3 years, his company became one of the largest merchant companies in the world.

This also gave him more and more girls interested in him from all races-- especially with his status as one of the richest men in the world. Luckily, the security team he had was able to make him feel safe from the many girls who wanted to be with him in recent years, even though the security team themselves were also clearly attracted to Jack (which he was also aware of).

Well, what makes me feel guilty and concerned for Jack... is the fact that he doesn't know that the security team he has is worse than all the girls who chased him in the past-- because they are all yandere who are very strong. And what's more tragic, the one who chose all the security members was Aria, Jack's wife in the previous world, who she also reincarnated into this world.

Aria does this to keep Jack safe until they mature enough to marry which is very soon. I also learned that using her darkness magic cheat, she has set a curse on all security teams that she picked up, making them hate each other over time while also having control over it all the time. In the future when the time comes, those security girls groups are bound to kill each other which going to traumatize Jack again.

And when that happened, Aria would use the opportunity to win his heart-- again, like she did in the previous world.

What a terrible plan coming from Aria, she made me even more scared of Yandere girls. This situation also made me feel sorry for Jack because I am the one who reincarnated her to this world and somehow he isn't aware of that fact at all.

Which is a good thing in a way, I guess.

["...Maybe Original One shouldn't reincarnate her after all, but at this point it's been too late."] The system followed my thoughts.

Should I tell him about all of this info? What do you think, system?

["I think you shouldn't do that, Jin-sama. Knowing such information would make him scared for life and there's potential that he could unalive himself."]

Uhh... You might be right. His experience is already terrible enough. At least, Aria herself knows she can't reveal her own identity because she knows how Jack going to react.

["I give her that. She is at least self-aware, and genuinely cares about him... in a twisted way."]

That's true. Then how about his request? Is it possible to change his cheat to something else?

["...I am afraid not. It's possible to add more ability but only Original One can remove ability from those cards."] The system complained.

Because he made that card? Well, he is still a god above me at all.

["Exactly. And he finds that what happened to Jack is amusing to him."]

Why I am not surprised? at least, adding more ability should give him a way to protect himself in the future.

["Original One gives his approval to grant him more ability, so go for it, Jin-sama."

...

After talking with the system and coming to a conclusion about what I should do next to Jack, I slightly bowed my head and said, "Sorry I checked your memory just now, you don't mind, right?"

"It's okay!" Jack nodded in understanding and added, "Jin-sama must be wondering why I asked to change the cheat I had, and that way I don't have to bother explaining my reasons, right?"

"Yes." I admitted it and then immediately apologized, "I'm sorry, but it seems like I can't replace/delete the abilities given by those cards because these cards were made by a god who is more powerful than me."

"Really?" Hearing my answer, Jack immediately felt disappointed, "Then, can you persuade him to do it to me?"

"Impossible." I shook my head.

"Why he doesn't want to help me, Jin-sama? I think I have been a good person for two lifetimes now." Jack complained.

Mera who seems aware of Jack's situation thanks to her status also said, "Are you really unable to help him, Jin-sama?"

"I do want to help, but the god above me doesn't want to. I can't read the mind of a god above me so it's not like I know his reason either." 

I answered while giving a lie while also technically the truth. After all, for obvious reasons, I can't say that the reason is because the old man is amused with his way of life.

"However... I can give you one another the ability to protect yourself!"

"Is it true?!"

Hearing my words, Jack, who was previously disappointed, immediately became happy and held my hand while asking for confirmation.

"Yes. But remember just one more ability." I warned him seriously while Mera commented, "Getting one more ability is also a good thing. I am happy for you, Jack."

"Thank you, Jin-sama! Mera-sama!"

"In the future, don't hesitate to ask for help if there is anything I can do!" Jack stated excitedly.

"Well... As I said before, I also need you to help me with something here." I said calmly and then glanced at Mera, "Can you help me explain it to him?"

"Yes!"

Hearing my order, Mera immediately explained the situation at my restaurant to him, making Jack understand what was happening here and what kind of help I expected from him. During their talk, I also quickly summoned a gold card from the system so that Jack could choose the ability he wanted as my thanks for his help.

Everything ran smoothly and quickly without any problems until the two Loli Cat girls who had been watching from the start asked what happened and who I was-- because for some reason, we all forgot that they were also here.

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[Intermission: Why does this church in another world sound bad from Mera's explanation? ]

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(MC): "As the title of the intermission said, Why does this church in another world sound bad from Mera's explanation? I mean, I know she doesn't have a good impression of them, but it's not like she dares to lie to me either."

(System): ["Honestly, I can't say anything because I was prevented from telling you directly but there is a good reason why Original One wants you to learn about religion in this world."] 

(MC): "Hmm... My impression of the church so far has been quite bad. I know the demon is very bad since they also have been slaughtering every other race including humans themselves, but I think the church does have its agenda too."

(System): ["How did you come to such a conclusion?"]

(MC): "Let's just say... my instincts as a businessman. "

(System): ["Your instincts as a businessman made you scammed by the bunny girl on the first day, Jin-sama."]

(MC): "Ugh, I am being serious here. I smelled the smell of dirty business from the business license that the church issued."

(System): ["Pfft... But I really can't tell you. Original One wants you to learn on your own, Jin-sama, there's a reason why Original One only grants you quite limited knowledge about this world by using your true god power."]

(MC): "I bet the reason why he did such a thing is because he finds it amusing for him, anyway."

(System): ["Exactly. 100 for you, Jin-sama."]

(MC): "...I am trying to be sarcastic, system."

(System): ["Pfft... Unfortunately, you know I am not lying here. You know exactly what kind of person Original One is."]