Chapter 47. Investigating Competitor of Restaurant Business in Another World.
>>>>>
"Hmmm..."
Since Jack and Mera left the restaurant, I have been curious about what restaurants in this world look like and how they operate.
The general information I got from my godlike ability only tells me tavern-style restaurants are popular in this world... and no more.
As a qualified business owner, I know it's important to learn how things are going in your field of business to keep your business relevant.
For example, when boba drinks came out and became trending, almost every restaurant had those on the menu. Those who weren't would be left behind in the competition, so every famous restaurant was forced to update its menu to follow the trend.
Like any other business, following trends is a must--- so, to not get left behind by other restaurants in this world, I think it's important to investigate the top restaurants in this capital city.
["To be honest, you could just use your wish to know that kind of information in detail. No need to visit each of them in person, Jin-sama."] The system suggested.
No, that's not enough. I want to investigate them directly as a customer and experience what top restaurants in this world have to offer.
["I admit that's a good idea, but does it mean you will leave this newly opened restaurant unattended?"] The system asked.
Don't worry, clone magic is a thing. Thank you for suggesting such a wonderful magic, system.
["I thought you wouldn't abuse that clone magic aside for work in the restaurant."]
System, I went out to investigate my competitor. It's still a work, albeit spying on others' business is kind of dirty work.
["...I guess you are right about that, Sorry, Jin-sama."] The system quickly apologizes-- probably realizes that I was correct.
Don't worry, make sure to notice if anything happens in the restaurant when I am out.
["I promise. It's part of my job anyway."]
...
After hearing a positive answer from the system, I quickly changed my clothes into normal casual noble clothes because it was impossible for me to go out wearing chef clothes to visit another restaurant. I also changed my face and hair color too, as I don't want people to recognize me later.
To do my work properly, I am gonna visit them as a customer, and feel what kind of service customers usually get in the top restaurants in this world.
...
"Iru, Aru, come here."
""Yes, master?""
Hearing my call, both twins immediately answered and faced me, waiting for orders. It seems that my sister is good at training the two of them considering how fast they reacted to me compared to yesterday.
"Listen, I will leave the restaurant for a while to do something. Though, I have left my clone behind in the kitchen so both of you have no worries if we get any customer visit today." I quickly explained.
"Clone, like handsome Jack-sama ability earlier?"
Hearing Iru's snarky comment, I raised my eyebrow and asked, "Handsome Jack... sama? What the fuck with that nickname?"
"I mean, he is handsome..." (Iru)
"Yeah, he is even better looking than Master!" (Aru)
"But the master isn't bad, Jack-sama is just looking better!" (Iru)
"Yeah! It just happens Jack-sama is better than you, master!" (Aru)
...!!
Realizing they probably weren't going to stop on their own, I quickly shut them up using my wish and said, "Alright... Jack looks better than I do. But that's not the topic of the conversation."
I mean Jack's own charm magic, he would always come on top if you tried to compare his appearance to anything.
"So... Master, where are you going?" Iru asked.
"Just want to see how top restaurants in this city running and spying on them. After all, it's important to learn your enemy and try to surpass them."
""Spying!""
"Leave the restaurant to us!" (Iru)
"Be careful to not get discovered, Master!" (Aru)
"Shhht! It's a secret, so you two should be quiet!" I quickly warned them and then shut them up again using wish, which made both Iru and Aru nod repeatedly.
After that, by promising the twins an extra portion of dinner tonight, they promised to do their job seriously until I returned. In addition, the system also promised to warn me if there was anything strange happening around/in the restaurant so that I could carry out my "mission" with peace of mind.
>>>>>
"This seems to be my first competitor, Master Cat Restaurant," I said while looking at the exterior of the restaurant.
After asking people in town about the location of the best restaurant in town, I finally arrived in front of a magnificent mansion-like building made entirely of limestone! Not to mention, there were many cat and catgirl statues outside, giving the impression of a restaurant for the elite.
Maybe I should renovate the looks of my restaurant too since first impressions indeed do matter and it seems to look fancy does attract a lot of customers.
The moment I entered, however, I was immediately greeted by 3 beautiful catgirl onee-san wearing maid uniforms enthusiastically... which left me surprised and looking forward to enjoying this restaurant!
"Welcome to Nyantasha Restaunyan, Nyastar!" (Catgirl A)
"Nyaster, what is your order?" (Catgirl B)
"Nyaster, Nyan you follow me to your nyable?" (Catgirl C)
"...Holy shit." I muttered unconsciously in response.
It's no surprise that this restaurant is considered by the locals to be one of the best restaurants in the Capital City. This reminds me of maid cafe restaurants in Akihabara, except 10x or 100x better!
Because they are the real deal! A catgirl maid!
They act like what I could imagine from a real catgirl, with coquettish movement, twitching ears, and tail, and even talk with Nyan- language!
All the staff are very friendly catgirls, the interior is as grand as the outside, the food looks and smells delicious, and all the staff, from the waiters, and cashiers, to the chefs are beautiful catgirls with sexy appearance!
The culture shock is real. I can see everyone would love this place, even that stinky old man probably does too!
["You are right, Jin-sama. Original One indeed plans to visit this place too later thanks to you who visited this place."]
Does he stalk me? How does he know about what I am doing right now?
["I mean, everything you do would be known to him. You didn't forget that this is supposed to be a punishment, right?"]
Ah... I forget about that.
...
"Nyaster, are you okay? Do you need help?"
Hearing one of the catgirls call out to me, I immediately stopped 'daydreaming' and replied, "Can you show me where is my table? I'm from out of the city and I heard this restaurant is one of the best in the Capital city."
"We're not one of the best, we are the best!" (Catgirl A)
"Yes, Nyaster. Follow us! We will show you why our restaurant is the best!" (Catgirl B)
"We will make sure you will be satisfied, nyaster!" (Catgirl C)
...
After the catgirl maids took me to the table and served all my requests very well, from bringing food and entertainment to even offering to feed customers and touch their fluffy ears and tails!
I admit, from their service alone, the restaurant has the best service far beyond sweet carrot-- because the catgirls know very well how to pamper their customers.
Although I think their food is mediocre as it mostly cat food type dishes, this restaurant deserves to be crowned as one of the top restaurants in the capital city thanks to their service and unique feature of getting served by catgirl maids.
>>>>>
After being satisfied enjoying the food and service at the Master Cat restaurant, I then continued my journey to the second restaurant which I heard had the most unique atmosphere in the capital city.
Still, that restaurant does impress me... especially their cat girl service, it would be really hard for us to beat.
["Jin-sama, you also have loli catgirls as your new employees. Maybe you can train them to do the same as those catgirls in that restaurant?"]
Good idea, but they are far from professional. Besides, they are still children and I don't want them to attract lolicon attention with their undeveloped bodies!
["Pfft... My bad. So what's your plan to defeat that restaurant then?"]
No plan, but I believe when everyone is here... we can compete with that restaurant service! I might as well change everyone into fox girl, cat girl, dog girl, etc.
["I would be okay with that but are you sure the girl would be happy with your idea?"]
I mean, my girlfriend Vera is already an angel... but yeah, I need to ask them first. Besides in terms of food, we still beat them by miles so it's not like our goal to be the best restaurant is hopeless.
What is most important about the restaurant is the dishes after all... besides the service itself.
["I guess that's true."]
...
"Next restaurant is here..."
Looking at the giant metal box building with a metal door that said mermaid restaurant from the outside, the appearance of this restaurant was much different from the previous Cat Girl restaurant. Even so, I knew this restaurant was underwater-themed, and I expected the appearance inside to be much better than the outside.
"Excuse me, customer, do you plan to come inside?"
The curly-haired, yakuza-esque man asked me, making me a little scared... before I remembered, there was nothing that could scare me in this world. Still, seeing that yakuza also existed in another world was a strange experience, I guess the previous Japanese people also introduced yakuza culture to this world.
"Yeah." I nodded calmly and asked, "I heard this is one of the best restaurants in Gehenna's capital city. How to enter this restaurant?"
"Stay still, customer."
Hearing my answer, the Yakuza man raised his hand, and then two of his subordinates chanted magic at me... and then a bubble appeared on my head, like something Spongebob used when he visited Sandy's house.
After that, the yakuza opened the metal gate and let me in, and... oh my god, as expected, inside this building, everything was submerged in water!
The appearance inside was like an underwater cave with lots of glowing corals inside, with various underwater decorations such as shells, shipwrecks, and various types of small fish walking back and forth in front of all the customers.
Not to mention all the waitresses were beautiful mermaids in bikinis, no wonder this restaurant was also popular in town!
Strangely, my clothes didn't feel wet at all even though I was underwater, and what was even stranger, the food served didn't float up even though we were underwater! Even though I literally walk swimming (floating) inside this restaurant.
...
Hello... gravity? the laws of water physics? many things that happened here didn't make sense!
["You're talking about gravity in a magical world? Jin-sama, with enough magic, you can even change the rules in this world, like changing the logic of 1+1=3"]
Why did I do that?! Forget about the system, how could this restaurant run like this?
["With magic, Duh. High-level magic with high power consumption. So prepare your wallet because the food here is really expensive, Jin-sama."]
'Hmmp. The amount of money is not a problem for me. But damn, magic really can do anything, huh?'
["It's magic, after all."]
...
After that, I ordered the most popular dishes here and enjoyed the service from the mermaid's waiter. Although the atmosphere is not as comfortable as the Catgirl restaurant, the mermaids are certainly giving a more sensual and seductive atmosphere than the previous restaurant.
The dishes here also taste more delicious than the previous restaurant, although they still taste below the dishes I made, I admit that the atmosphere around me gives a unique taste when I eat the dishes.
I guess this is what people say, 'Appearance and environment affect the taste of food'
>>>>>
After finishing my meal and enjoying the underwater scenery for a while, I finally decided to go out and continue to the last restaurant. If I had more time, I would have spent more time in there, because honestly, the underwater scenery is something I can't see every day.
["What are you talking about, Jin-sama? You can just go to the sea anytime and apply magic so you can move freely."] The system suggested.
Uh... but, there might not be mermaids in the sea... and it's not a restaurant.
["You can solve that problem with magic too. If necessary, you can conjure up a sweet carrot restaurant in this world with a similar theme with just one wish, or if you don't want to be sued for copying, maybe you can change the theme, like a desert or volcano themed restaurant."]
Your idea is good, but do you think anyone would want to eat in the middle of the desert or inside a volcano? Your suggestion is too dangerous, system!
Anyway, the competition here is fierce, so far none of the restaurants has been a weak opponent. The first one was excellent in service, and the second one was excellent in atmosphere. I wonder what kind of excellence the last restaurant will show me.
"Also, I admit that the fish I just ate was really good though. I will try to get that ingredient later from Jack."
...
After walking for a while north of the capital, I finally arrived at an area where many mansions were scattered on the right side of the road with many knights passing by. Seeing the castle not far from here, I felt like I had arrived at an area that could be said to be only for the nobles (elite).
Next, I walked for a while, until I found a restaurant called "Sheep's Nest"... a strange name for a restaurant but then I immediately understood the meaning of the name,
Without a queue or even a guard at the door, I decided to go straight into the restaurant... and was immediately greeted by a group of sheep from loli to teenagers dressed in white dresses and golden metal bracelets who greeted me happily!
Their numbers were much greater than the restaurant's catgirls, and I could even see dozens of others serving other customers.
"Welcome, customer-sama!"
"Customer-sama, would you like a massage?!"
"Customer-sama, please order lots of food!"
"Customer-sama, we also provide a special menu with a special room!"
...
Later I learned that all the sheep women here were slaves, owned by one of the dukes of the kingdom here. They explained that they run this business so they can free themselves from their slave status, so they expect me to order a lot of services/menus.
They don't even mind if I want to sleep with one or a group of them! *Cough* but I know the system won't stay silent if I do that.
Anyway... Hearing that story, I first thought about punishing the duke and freeing all the sheep girls. However, I quickly find out the truth using my god's ability.
It turned out that they became slaves of the duke to repay their debt and gratitude because he had built a special village for their sheep demihuman race. On top of that, they did not need to worry about being oppressed either because there were laws that ensured they would not be treated harshly here.
No wonder despite their status as slaves, there were no nobles who acted harshly here or rude at them. I should have realized, there was no way Esmeralda would let a vile person have the position of duke in this kingdom.
...
Like the previous 2 restaurants, I enjoyed the service and the food on the menu. Unlike the previous restaurants, this restaurant full of sheep girls did not have any advantages in terms of taste, atmosphere, or service-- but I admit, there were no bad aspects here either and the sheep girl's fur was very comfortable to touch!
I decided! later I would look for a pillow filled with sheepgirl fur so I can be more comfortable in my sleep!
>>>>>
After enjoying the top 3 restaurants in the capital, I planned to look for the ingredients they use and the decorations (and pillows) that I could use to enhance the impression of my restaurant. Based on my investigation, it was clear that in this world, top service and a unique atmosphere were more important than the taste of the food. Otherwise, the restaurant would use the slogan "delicious food, guaranteed" in front of their restaurant.
Therefore, I wanted to follow the culture in this world, and find unique service ideas... from making my employees act like maids, nurses, and police, to literally cosplaying for service!
["I feel that you are just using that excuse to make everyone cosplay to something your liking."]
Slander! I just following the trend of this world!
["And that trend just happens to be something to your liking."]
Exactly... I mean, using racial advantage to entice customers to come to your restaurant is a brilliant strategy, and we have seen all top restaurants using it.
["You are not even tried to deny it, Pffft."]
Not that I need to... Perhaps I should change everyone to catgirl like my previous idea...
["Original One would approve that idea of yours."]
Uh... Well, I still had to think hard about these ideas... and it's something that I can't decide on my own.
["Yeah, you should come back to the restaurant because they were about to be overrun by customers."]
HUH?! What happens?!
...
Unfortunately, before I could apply my idea to follow the trend, shortly after, the system suddenly notified me, informing me that the restaurant was currently starting to get customers... putting my plans on hold for the time being.
Because Mera and Jack worked very fast, they had already publicized their cooperation with my restaurant... and apparently, it's super effective!
In half a day, my worries about my restaurant not getting any customers disappeared in an instant!
As expected from the big shots in the merchant guild and a literal princess of the kingdom.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
[Intermission: Can you give me a theme suggestions to improve my restaurant? ]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
(MC): "As this intermission title said, can you give me a theme suggestion to improve my restaurant in this world? You know, like those top 3 restaurants I have visited in this chapter."
(System): ["Are you about this question? This should be not in intermission, right? This should be in the main story!"]
(MC): "Just ignore that. I may run out of ideas of intermission."
(System): ["Can you at least not break 4th wall so often, Jin-sama?"]
(MC): "Nope. Then, what is your answer, system?"
(System): ["...Then, catgirl. You already have 2 of them in the restaurant anyway."]
(MC): "Denied. Unfortunately, one of the top restaurants already uses that theme. If I do it, I'm afraid they'll label me a plagiarist!"
(System): ["Fox girl is also a good choice. People in your world often use the internet to argue about which is better between catgirls and foxgirls."]
(MC): "Hmm... fox girl indeed not inferior to catgirl, I will hold this idea for now. Yeah, fluff tail is good. I also conflicted if I asked to choose one."
(System): ["Also, it seems Shark Girl is also quite popular. Back in your world, it seems that the most popular virtual YouTube on Earth is using a shark girl."]
(MC): "As if it was the main attraction. I bet most of her fans are also attracted because she is small and cute."
(System): ["That's true."]
{Coolest God Ever}: "Then you can start a restaurant full of loli. How about it?"
(MC): "Who?"
(System): ["...Original One?"]
(MC): "That dumb nickname... Old man, what are you doing here?!"
{Most Handsome God Ever}: "My nickname is handsome. Young man Jin, you must be blind."
(MC): "That's because you changed it!"
{Hottest God Ever}: "Anyway, just want to visit and give an idea. Bye!"
(System): ["..."]
(MC): "...As expected of that old man, he should get caught and sentenced minimum of 3 years in prison."
(System): ["You do realize there's no one actually can sentence him to prison, right? Jin-sama?"]
(MC): "..."