Chapter 19: 19

She's not really Erina, she's Nakiri Alice!

Her brother-in-law's intense gaze and assertive attitude that night made her increasingly uneasy. If she doesn't explain things clearly now, she won't be able to do so later. What will she do then?

If her brother-in-law really falls for her, what should she do?

She must take advantage of this opportunity and explain things clearly while there's still time!

"Honesty is the best policy, and it is important to be truthful even when it is difficult."

In the underworld, not far from the Bridge of Forgetfulness, a secret flower field was home to a young, beautiful woman who suddenly opened her eyes and glared at an empty patch in the field that she had raised with all her heart, as if it were a bald spot in the dark underworld.

Granny Meng's eyes widened in shock and she let out a long, anguished cry as her chest heaved violently. "My flower! There's a thief! Someone stole my flower!"

The tragic cry echoed throughout the underworld, causing the ghosts passing by the Bridge of Forgetfulness to tremble and shiver, unsure of who had offended the old aunt.

...

As Totsuki Gourmet Street grew increasingly crowded with customers eager to enter, Sakuraba Ichiyo was kept busy with a variety of tasks. One moment he was preparing pastries, and the next he was serving afternoon tea. Despite being faced with strange requests, he maintained a cool expression and an ungracious demeanor.

Customers - who could understand them? These big girls and little wives seemed to get more and more insistent the ruder he was to them, laughing happily rather than getting angry. Sakuraba Ichiyo couldn't help but feel frustrated, wishing he could strangle that female journalist for causing all of this.

Just when Sakuraba Ichiyo was so busy he could barely catch his breath, a familiar white head appeared at the door of the shop. His eyes lit up and he excitedly waved at the other person. "Erina!"

Nakiri Alice was surprised to see that her 'fiancee's pastry shop was suddenly bustling with customers, after having no business for the past two days. As she looked around, she heard someone calling out Erina's name and froze in place, looking left and right with a guilty expression as she searched for Erina.

But then she saw her 'fiancee', with a fierce gaze and a hesitant expression. She pointed at herself, Sakuraba Ichiyo quickly nodded and said, "Business is a little busy today, can you help out a little?"

Nakiri Alice's small face turned bitter and she looked as if she was about to cry. "Can I refuse?"

She came to be honest, not to help out!

Sakuraba Ichiyo shook his head and proactively walked out of the kitchen, taking Nakiri Alice's hand as he spoke. "What kind of relationship do we have? Your business is my business and my business is also your business. There's no need to keep things so separate. Even if you're shy, it's good to help each other out before marriage to cultivate feelings. You should know how to cook, right?"

"Actually, my cooking skills are not very good,"

"It doesn't matter," Sakuraba Ichiyo reassured her. "You can help me out and be in charge of delivering meals."

Feeling the hostile gazes of the girls all around, Nakiri Alice's eyes filled with tears as she silently followed her 'fiancee' into the kitchen. She was hesitant to reveal her true identity in front of so many people, fearing embarrassment if anyone else found out.

But if she didn't tell him...

Unemployed Nakiri Alice is on the job!

With the help of his fiancee, Sakuraba Ichiyo's efficiency greatly increased. He was able to focus on making various pastries, and the ones he sold either had a completion rate of 100% or were accompanied by a random emotional buff. If they didn't meet one of these two criteria, he didn't sell them.

This increase in workload also led to an improvement in Ichiyo's proficiency and completion rate in various dishes other than pastries and Seven-flavored Fruit Daifuku. The dishes that saw the most improvement were various desserts and milk tea, because they were delicious. Seven-flavored Fruit Daifuku was the dish with the most buybacks, with some people even ordering more than ten to take home and savor slowly.

The pricing for Seven-flavored Fruit Daifuku was 10,000 yen per small serving. It was unclear where these little girls and big wives were getting all this extra money, but they didn't seem to mind spending it at all.

Some girls would just order the cheapest afternoon tea and find a window seat, where they could sit quietly for the whole afternoon, watching the boy working hard in the kitchen with appreciative eyes, imagining their married life and the names of their children. Every time they looked at Alice, they either gave her a provocative or jealous gaze.

Unmarried wife - what a joke!

The cool and handsome little brother belongs to the world, he should be single for life, or love everyone!

Nakiri Alice felt extremely wronged. Some of the tasks of delivering meals and preparing ingredients weren't very tiring for her, as she was used to the high intensity of culinary research in the kitchen.

The real problem was those nasty women's gazes, which were so annoying. They should be looking at Erina!

She's not Ichiyo's real fiancée, so what's the point of looking at her!

Alice couldn't help feeling wronged. This was clearly the treatment that Erina should have received. So why did she feel the need to help her lie yesterday? Now, as a result, she's received the attention of even more rivals than she should have!

Turning back to look at her 'fiancé', who was kneading dough with great force at the counter, Alice pouted her lips slightly and grumbled a little unhappily. "They don't seem to be here to enjoy the food, it's like they're here to see you."

Alice was partly unhappy because she was unjustly glared at by those lustful women, but on the other hand, maybe it was also for Erina's sake. Her fiancé was admired by so many women, and she couldn't help but worry about what might happen if he made a mistake.

Ichiyo heard her voice and turned his head to look at his fiancée, who had a little emotion on her face. He found her cute and felt a sense of sweetness in his heart. It was quite comfortable.

He chuckled and reassured her, "It's okay, don't worry. They're not as pretty as you, be confident."

Ichiyo looked at the clock in the restaurant and realized that it was already afternoon. Despite working at such a high intensity for so long, he was no longer hungry and instead felt like he was about to fall asleep. The hardest part was over and he didn't feel much of anything anymore. However, Erina had been there helping him since the morning and hadn't even had a chance to eat lunch.

His sweet, understanding fiancée had silently helped him without complaint, except for feeling a little awkward at first. Ichiyo couldn't help but be moved by her actions.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Alice.

Alice stared dazedly at her 'fianceé', blinking her big, round eyes. She was still processing the words he had just said about those women not being as pretty as her. She hadn't even realized he had said anything else after that and was still a little dizzy. She felt like she was drunk!

Ichiyo's heart skipped a beat and he picked up a special edition Seven-flavored Fruit Daifuku from the plate next to him, placing it in front of Alice's small mouth.

"Open wide, ah~" he said.

He realized that his fiancée was really cute! In short, she was extremely cute!

"Ah~"

Subconsciously, and with a bit of a hazy mind, Alice followed her fiancé's instructions and opened her mouth wide. Then, a yolk-sized daifuku was suddenly stuffed into her small mouth!

It was really, really stuffed! There was no room left at all!

Alice snapped out of her daze and stared at her fiancee with big eyes.

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You're being gentle with the wrong person!

You should be feeding Erina!

Ugh~, it's so big, I can't swallow it!

Despite her initial struggle, Alice eventually managed to bite into the daifuku. The aroma of various fruits, combined with the coolness of mint juice and ice cream, was especially prominent. This refreshing taste, with a hint of the unique fragrance of glutinous rice flour and milk, gently warmed the mouth and made the coldness not too overwhelming.

Before she could say anything, the deliciousness of the food woven a fantastical dream in Alice's mind. She closed her eyes and seemed to see a man, identical to her 'fiancé', holding her hand and taking her on a wander through a colorful sea of fruit, swimming and caring for her.

Happiness, unease, guilt, and... excitement swirled in her heart and Alice's face turned a shy shade of pink. She remained silent for a long time before opening her eyes and staring at the gentle-eyed boy.

"How does it taste?" Ichiyo asked.

Instinctively, Alice nodded. She saw that her fiancé's forehead was covered in sweat beads that reflected some light and left behind sparkling dots.

"Then have one more. If you're tired, go rest for a while," Ichiyo offered.

Alice quickly shook her head. "No! This is food that other guests ordered!" she protested.

"Let them wait a while. I'm sure they'll understand. And, I think you're more important. Is there a problem with that?" Ichiyo pinched Alice's small face. This girl was quite understanding and knew how to take care of their business. She was becoming cuter and cuter the more he looked at her!

"As a chef, if I can't even do something as small as letting the person I love to eat a satisfying, happiness-bringing meal, then I might as well change careers and do business with my father," Ichiyo said.

Instinctively, Alice quickly shook her head. If her husband went into business, she wouldn't be able to help Erina keep an eye on him and prevent other fox spirits from seducing him!

Her mother had said that men are like cats on the prowl and can be very headache-inducing if not watched carefully!

"Then you should rest for a while, Erina. There aren't as many guests as there were in the morning and I can manage by myself," Ichiyo said.

Alice shook her head. She felt a little strange today. Normally she was very opinionated, but around her 'fianceé', her brain suddenly became hazy.

However, one thing that was clear was that her physical endurance was stronger than her fiancé's, who didn't work in the kitchen for long periods of time. It was her fiancé who was doing the cooking today and she had only helped a little bit before, responsible for serving the meals. She wasn't tired at all. Ichiyo was the one who had put in the most effort. She couldn't run away at a time like this!

Alice took a deep breath and looked seriously at Ichiyo. "I'm not tired," she said.

Ichiyo pursed his lips and gave a small smile. "Then let's work hard together. Thank you, Erina," he said.

He had to say it, his fiancée was so cute!

Alice lowered her head inexplicably and felt a little uncomfortable, not knowing why.

The work continued. Seeing the sweat on her husband's forehead, Alice grabbed a towel from the side and wiped his face. It was probably the first time she had done this kind of work. When she held the towel in her palm and touched her husband's cheek, Alice couldn't help but feel her heart race and instinctively held her breath.

A tall, straight nose bridge, a firm and rugged facial contour, and a warm, moist breath...

Alice nervously wiped her hands on her apron, her movements becoming more and more flustered and her hands shaking slightly.

Just then, Ichiyo's voice came from behind the towel, somewhat muffled, "Erina, if you don't take that towel off soon, I'm going to suffocate and you'll have to give me mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."

"Ah! Oh oh..."

Hearing this, Alice gave a start and quickly increased the force with which she was wiping, roughly wiping her brother-in-law's face with the towel before pulling it back and turning slightly away from him, "I'm sorry," she apologized.

Ichiyo chuckled, "It's no problem. Oh, by the way, next time you're wiping sweat, use the pure white one over there. This one with the blue Sakuraba family crest is for wiping down the counter."

Under normal circumstances, one might get angry in a situation like this. However, his fiancée is so cute, and she was just trying to help with a kind heart. How could he bear to blame her? It's no big deal, he'll just have to be more careful next time. After all, there's still a long way to go in life, don't get hung up on the present, look to the future.

The interaction between Ichiyo and Alice in the kitchen was sweet, but the ladies sitting in the restaurant or ordering food all had sour expressions on their faces. "What's so good about that woman?" one of them said.

"She's just a little unique with white hair and red pupils, and she's a little bit pretty and has bigger breasts!" another added. "She can't even do a good job wiping sweat off little brother, she's so clueless!" a third chimed in. "We're not so bad either," a fourth one said, "I'm absolutely more gentle than her!" And the final one declared, "Handsome little brother should belong to everyone!"

...

As the evening progressed and the last customer left, the pastry shop fell into a peaceful silence.

Totsuki Gourmet Street is located near Totsuki Academy, which takes great care to preserve the local ecosystem, leading to a high-quality water supply and environment. However, this secluded location is not easily accessible by public transportation, with the nearest tram station over an hour's walk away. The only practical way to reach Totsuki Gourmet Street, other than by bus, is by bike.

In reality, the people who live and work on this street, including the students at Totsuki Academy, come from wealthy families and are not financially disadvantaged.

There are no residential areas in close proximity to Totsuki Gourmet Street, and the cost of housing in the vicinity of this prestigious culinary destination is beyond the means of most individuals.

Many of the diners who visited the pastry shop after reading about it in "The Ultimate Cuisine!" food magazine were travelers or tourists who needed to leave before the last bus departed, or else they would have to pay exorbitant hotel prices that would break the hearts of the young girls who saved their pocket money to eat pastries at the shop.

Ichiyo seated his fiancée in a vacant chair and insisted that she rest, while he began to tidy up the pastry shop.

Once everything was in order, he returned to the kitchen and retrieved the cabbage and snake meat he had obtained from the system as ingredients. He started preparing dinner for himself, his fiancée, and the two wasteland girls.

Alice sat nervously at a window seat, her expression uncertain, and on the table in front of her, as well as on every table in the restaurant, were bright red, almost eerie flowers.

Suddenly, she wondered if she should be honest with her brother-in-law.

She doesn't mind being honest, but she's worried that her brother-in-law may not be able to accept the truth.

Maybe it would be best to hint at the truth indirectly and let him know that the Alice he knows is not the real Alice?

That way, he can gradually come to terms with it...

...

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