The Devil's Empress (No. 9)

5: Cruising

"It must first be cut in twain, then brought together and chopped finely. A simple method," Suzuno explains.

"How do you make the lettuce so crisp?" She asks, and Kohana smiles fondly at the teen and keeps asking questions at the quiet Suzuno.

"Wash it thoroughly in cold water, then shake off every last drop," She explains.

"Suzuno-san, I totally respect you!" She beams.

"The population density sure is high here. Hope we've got enough chopsticks and bowls," Maou mutters.

"Oh, I brought my own!" Chiho jumps in, and Kohana gets up, walks over, looks through her kitchen cupboards to find more bowls, reaches higher than the two younger females, finds more bowls, and puts them on the side. "Oh, I didn't see those!"

"It's because you're smaller," Kohana teases her, making the teen blush. "Shall we eat?" She smiles, helping put the rest of the food on the small table as everyone sits, Maou helping Ashiya sit up.

"Sorry to cause you so much trouble, Kamazuki-san," Ashiya mutters, still feeling weak, and Urushihara pokes his head out of his cardboard box sleeping bag.

"Is it breakfast time already?" Urushihara asks, and Nana crawls over to him, pulling his hair a little. "Huh? Where should I sit?" He asks, looking at the table with only a space next to Emi as Kohana sits next to Maou, and Nana crawls back to sit next to Ashiya. "You can't be serious?" He looks at Emi with a frown. "Wait, why do I have to sit next to Yusa!" He throws a tantrum, making Nana giggle, falling over, and Ashiya helps her sit back up.

"Urushihara, sit!" Kohana snaps, and he quickly obeys, sitting next to Emi, sulking.

"Let's eat! Hey!" Everyone says together and begin eating.

"I wish I could cook as well as you, Suzuno-san," Chiho comments.

"I am sure you could improve most rapidly, Chiho-dono," Suzuno assures her.

"You mean it?" She asks.

"Granted, it may sound impressive that I cooked all this myself, but in truth, I am merely offloading my excess food." She admits. "Until I am able to secure a job, I wish to minimise my food expenses, but these ingredients are bound to spoil in the summer heat."

"What kind of job are you looking for?" Emi asks the newbie.

"Considering a full-time job may be ideas above my station, so for now, I would be happy with some kind of servitor's position."

"'Servitor'? What age are you from?" Emi wonders as she looks at Suzuno with a slight frown.

"Then how about coming to my shop?" Maou suggests, surprising the others. "Chi-chan's there too, so you wouldn't have to worry about starting on your own."

"There'd be all kinds of other things to worry about with those two together, though," Urushihara thinks to himself, and everyone looks at him funny, though he doesn't seem to notice.

"We're pretty short-handed these days, so it'd be nice to have someone else on board," Maou explains.

"How can you not notice that high school girl's feelings?" Kohana questions her husband.

"Don't you think so, Chi-chan?" He asks his colleague.

"Um... R-Right," Chiho mutters with a blank stare.

"He's hopeless," Ashiya sighs.

"Anyway, you don't have to decide right away. Working at the same place as someone you know has its upsides, but it has its downsides as well." Emi tells her, trying to look out for her young friend.