There’s No Drug in My Cooking!

A building that reaches the stratosphere, where the air and temperature are clearly not suitable for two young girls to rest, they need a place to rest and sleep well.

Ichiyo is planning to buy two blankets for them.

He has witnessed the struggles of two surviving little girls in the ruined world and cannot shake off the memories of their struggle. Some people and some things, once met, cannot be forgotten.

This has nothing to do with emotional buff, but just the most basic empathy in human nature.

Since he has given them hope, he"ll take responsibility and see it to the very end.

Someone in a virtual online game has raised a cat, a dog, and a magic pet, and he has raised two young girls, naturally he has to put some heart into it.

He has lived twice, so he has also understood half of it. A person should do whatever they want to do in life, leaving no regrets. It"s easy to say, but hard to do. If you can live a life without regrets, that"s also great!

Sakuraba"s family raised him, so he thinks about the future of this family and does not object to the old man"s arranged engagement.

In his previous life, he studied music and worked hard to train and learn, but in the end, they were eliminated by the trend of "you are too beautiful" brought by others. This is his regret, so he wants to try again in this life.

The status of artists and singers in society is generally average, especially for singers without capital support.

However, what does it matter?

Just don"t leave any regrets.

Just roll around in the entertainment industry and wave goodbye without taking a cloud with you, go home to inherit the family business and you"re done, just to give the past self a closure.

The woman in the suit looked at the young chef"s indifferent expression and regretted it a bit. She wanted to turn and leave, replacing the interview with the Western restaurant next door that was doing better business, but as a career woman, she was unwilling to experience this setback for the first time in her life and finally gritted her teeth and randomly pointed at a good-looking pastry.

Ichiyo poured her a cup of warm tea and served it with a delicate small plate of pastries, "Please enjoy."

He made his way to the partition behind the kitchen, his mobile phone in hand. This area was used for tasks such as washing dishes, garbage disposal, and restocking food ingredients. The store"s supply of ingredients was running low, particularly for staple foods needed for cooking and eating. There were still a few raw materials left for making pastries, but for ingredients like milk, it is best to use fresh ones every day if possible.

"Mr. Tadokoro, I am Ichiyo Sakuraba. From now on, I will take care of my grandfather"s pastry shop on Totsuki Gourmet Street. Please take care of the ingredients. Just deliver the raw materials in the same amounts as before, and bring some vegetables and meat along with it. Also, bring two thick blankets and a flashlight or something like that if possible..."

Ichiyo made a statement, roughly telling the Sakuraba family"s personal driver, a chauffeur who used to deliver the daily necessities for the pastry shop to his grandfather, including anything he need.

Before hanging up the phone, Ichiyo added one more thing, "Oh, and the expenses for these additional items can be reported directly to my father. He"ll pay for it. Thank you for your help."

Putting away his phone, Ichiyo took a deep breath.

The world was still so beautiful.

He didn"t have much money on him, and his credit cards were frozen. The pocket money he had left wasn"t enough to do anything big. His father had said last night that if he had any problems, he should tell him, right?

Save money where possible, and let his father pay if he could. That"s what a real man does!

Ichiyo"s lips curl into a mischievous smile.

Nice~!

~~~~~

After taking care of the matters at hand, Ichiyo walked back into the shop from the back door and happened to see a female journalist standing in front of the counter with red eyes. The way she was looking at him made him nervous!

"What are you trying to do? This shop is a small business. We can hardly afford to pay the electricity and water bills. You can"t cheat me out of a few coins!"

The journalist silently took out the small notebook she had used to record interviews, then pouted her lips stubbornly.

"I"m not trying to cheat you. It"s the pastries you made..."

"That"s even less likely. I use only high-quality ingredients. The milk is fresh, and the eggs from mother hens are less than three days old. All of the children next door can"t stop eating them after taking a single bite. There is absolutely no problem!"

"No, let me speak!"

The woman yelled, "I"m a journalist. You stand there and don"t move. Just let me speak first!"

Ichiyo had a feeling that he might not be able to keep his innocence today. Although this journalist was not particularly ugly and only average at best, she seemed too calm. Did she have no fear?

The journalist took a deep breath and said, "It"s the pastries you made that are too magical. When I ate the pastry, it was as if an illusion appeared before my eyes. I saw two girls struggling to survive in the apocalypse, supporting each other and persisting with courage. That courage lingered in my mind and reminded me of my childhood dreams. I now know what kind of interviews I should do and what kind of food reviews and restaurant recommendations I should write. Thank you very much!"

Looking at the journalist"s powerful bow and sincere words, Ichiyo almost believed her, if he hadn"t known where he stand. But thanks to this opportunity, he also knew how big this woman"s heart was!

Ichiyo shook his head and said, "Miss... no, madam, don"t you think you"re a bit exaggerating?"

"I"m just a small-time chef in the culinary world. I"ve only recently taken charge of making pastries again, and the last time I played with dough was in elementary school. If it weren"t for the fact that I"m broke, I"d almost suspect that you were a flatterer I hired specifically to build up my ego. Let me give you some advice: boasting and blustering are not good. You should leave these things behind as soon as possible."

The female journalist: "..."

"You"re such a hateful person. I"m starting to understand why the restaurants on both sides of you are doing so well, while you don"t even have a few customers."

"Heh, thank you for the understanding."

By the time Ichiyo was done with his teasing, the female journalist had calmed down her emotions. She wiped away her tears and looked at Ichiyo seriously and said, "I"ll do my best to convince the editor-in-chief to feature your restaurant in the next issue of our magazine. Although you"re not a good chef or restaurant manager, this kind of food that touches people"s hearts should be known by more people!"

"I don"t think you need to do that. I"m quite comfortable with my current leisure pace of life. If the number of customers really increases and becomes overwhelming, I"ll be very distressed."

"I said I"m going to do it, and that"s final. Don"t argue with me!"

Although the female journalist was only B-rank at most, her personality was seriously A-rank when she was determined. She didn"t care at all about the stubbornness of the young restaurant manager!

After all, which chef who owns a restaurant doesn"t want more customers? It must be that they"re shy and don"t dare to say it.

"What"s your name?"

"Sakuraba Ichiyo."

"Okay, I know now!"

Ichiyo: I don"t think you know!

This female journalist was too self-absorbed. Couldn"t she see the rigid expression on Ichiyo"s face? She was using her small notebook to record some nonsensical information that even Ichiyo didn"t know about. Right now, he just wanted to minimize his interactions with her as much as possible. It was too much of a headache.

"That will be 1.000 yen."

A 10,000 yen bill was respectfully handed over, and the female journalist with a serious expression on her face said. "Food that has the power to move people"s hearts like this should not be sold at such a low price. If you insist, please accept this token of my appreciation as a tip from me."

Ichiyo"s eyebrows twitched. "What do you mean, do you feel you have too much money?"

If it weren"t for the system"s evaluation prices for calculating points for these dishes and pastries, would he only charge 1.000 yen? He was just lazy and didn"t feel like doing accounting. After all, looking at the difference between income and points gives him obsessive-compulsive disorder!

First, there was his cousin Alice, and now this female journalist, were they all trying to bully him for being poor?

He was a proper rich second-generation!

Who was she trying to bully with just 10,000 yen?

Ichiyo is annoyed that this female journalist seems to think he is in need of money and tries to give him a tip. He tells her that he doesn"t accept tips because it messes with his accounting and taxes.

"Then please accept this as payment for my next visit. If it"s not enough, I"ll add more. I have a small inheritance, so a little extra money won"t affect my life. So please don"t worry about it."

Ichiyo feels a headache coming. Who doesn"t have a little inheritance? A ten thousand yen tip is nothing these days. Rich people spend hundreds of thousands on their mistresses. He can"t lower the charging standard for this industry just because he felt like it.

He"s too lazy to argue, so Ichiyo takes the bill and puts it in the cash register. "With 10.000 yen, you are welcome to take nine more pastries from the counter, each priced at one thousand yen. I will waive the packaging fee for you. Keep in mind that the quality of the pastries may vary, so it"s a matter of luck whether you get one that will touch people"s hearts."

"No problem! My luck is always good! Haha~"

Ichiyo: "..."

"Take care, welcome back next time."

After sending off the first customer of the day, Ichiyo sighed. As expected, that girl had quite a few quirks and had picked out all the sweets without the extra emotional buff, successfully avoiding the correct answer. Her luck really was unparalleled.

Ichiyo took out the sweets his grandfather had prepared and put them into the packaging box with his family"s pastry shop logo and brand. These had been out for more than a day and were no longer fresh, so they were not suitable for sale, but it would be a waste to throw them away.

Originally, the two little girls he was currently helping had quite a sweet tooth and had eaten several desserts, but Ichiyo, who had vomited from eating too many sweets when he was a child, deeply understood the importance of not letting children eat too much sugar!

Therefore, Ichiyo did not send too many sweets to the two girls. They liked to eat, and he could send them some every day, but it was absolutely impossible to give them too many at once.

Even the most delicious things must be moderated, and more is not always better!

Once something tasty is not properly regulated, it will lose its flavor and attractiveness.

Mr. Tadokoro, who was responsible for delivering the ingredients to the pastry shop, soon arrived.

"Apologies, young master, I was unable to locate the requested gasoline-powered motorcycle and seeds in a timely manner. I have, however, sent what I was able to purchase. The blanket you requested is also included, as well as two sleeping bags. I have taken the liberty of acquiring some small outdoor survival supplies such as cups and noodles that are convenient for outdoor survival."

"It"s fine, Mr. Tadokoro did his best. After all, I had too many requests. However, please take the time to collect those things for me over the next few days." Ichiyo nodded in understanding and helped the old man carry the various ingredients and items he had bought into the shop, arranging them properly.

This old man probably thought that Ichiyo, like other young masters and ladies, wanted to do some outdoor survival activities, so he brought some additional items like insect repellent. But Ichiyo didn"t explain. He found an excuse and carried the items upstairs, handing them over to the two girls in the wasteland world.

"Oh, right, Mr. Tadokoro, you"re also going back to Tokyo. Could you give me a ride? I want to check on my grandfather."

"Certainly, young master. Please do be so kind as to get in the car." After closing the shop and hanging the closed sign, Ichiyo, along with a bunch of gift boxes, got on the delivery van. Mr. Tadokoro has driven this car for many years and it has never had any problems. Even when people are gone, it still works!

Strong and durable!

Before starting the car, Ichiyo handed an exquisite dessert gift box to the old man and said, "I heard that Mr. Tadokoro has a daughter at home. Since my grandfather was suddenly hospitalized and business hasn"t been good these past few days, there are some extra desserts and pastries in the shop. Please take them home for the little sis, take it as my way of thanking you for running around and helping me buy things outside of your duties."

Ichiyo had a gentle, warm smile on his face and was impeccable in terms of manners. In response, Mr. Tadokoro was somewhat surprised and repeatedly nodded, carefully placing the gift box of pastries on the back seat.

"Young master, you"re too kind. However, my clumsy daughter is the same age as you, a high school sophomore."

"Ah, so she"s not my kouhai."

The conversation continues and Mr. Tadokoro, who seemed to be an affectionate man, chatted with Ichiyo all the way. He doesn"t know if it was intentional or not, but this old man seemed to be overly honest and very detailed in describing his daughter. By the time they arrived at the hospital where Ichiyo"s grandfather was hospitalized, Ichiyo knew everything about Tadokoro Megumi, except for her personal secrets such as weight and skin color.

This is crazy!

Is it really okay to betray your own daughter like this?

Regrettably, as he is not enrolled at the same private school, it is unlikely that he will have many interactions with his daughter in this lifetime.

On the busy Totsuki Gourmet Street, a pale young woman stands outside the charming patisserie owned by the Sakuraba family. She clutches a sheet of paper, her eyes scanning the storefront sign as she compares it to the information in her hand. Satisfied with the result, she straightens her posture and brings her hands together in front of her chest, nodding her head in confirmation.

"This is the patisserie opened by Erina"s fiancé, but where is he?" The girl at the entrance seems cold at first, but her inner kindness is revealed in her delicate features. Her white hair is tinged with a hint of pink in the sunlight, complementing her fair skin and deep red pupils. She looks like a beautiful elf in the snow. Behind her, a man with a tall and well-built body asks, "Miss, since the other party isn"t home right now. Do you think we should come back later when he is available?"

The girl spun around, her glare trained on the guy.

"Of course not!" she exclaimed. "This is Erina"s fiancé, she has always taken all the honor and praise from me since childhood. I have to see for myself what kind of man he is!"

The guy replied, "That piece of paper in your hands already has all the information about that guy, including the fact that he was the dream husband of all the girls in his elementary school."

"How could the information be the same as seeing the person?" the girl was skeptical. "We are chefs, we should trust what we see with our own eyes, not some words on paper!"

"There are also videos," the guy pointed out.

"Enough!" the girl shouted, her face flushing with anger. She puffed her face and pointed at the boy, saying, "Ryo, you are my personal aide, you should listen to me!"