Beroba was completely numb, resting softly on Raven's body.
Her beautiful legs, clad in black stockings and high heels, were pressed tightly against Raven's legs, draped over his sides.
Raven held Beroba like this for a short rest.
…
A few days later.
Raven had not made any moves.
For him, whether or not to kill Worms was entirely based on his mood. Currently, he was busy coaching, ahem, educating, Beroba at the café.
So, he didn't have time to go out.
After all, he had too many women at home, and his schedule was simply insufficient.
Consequently, many events unfolded between Soji Tendo, Hiyori Kusakabe, and the members of ZECT during this period, but he was absent from them all.
Finally, his coaching achieved some results.
Beroba would immediately snap into her maid persona the moment she put on the maid uniform, and she dared not disobey his commands.
Most importantly, during this time, he had also successfully played 'basketball' with Beroba, making the relationship between the two of them much closer.
"I suppose I can go out today."
Raven leisurely walked out of the café, leaving Beroba behind to manage the shop as usual.
He hadn't walked far when he saw two figures arrive at a street corner up ahead, entering the restaurant where Hiyori worked.
One of them was carrying a steel bowl containing tofu—it was Soji Tendo.
Trailing behind him was a man in a suit.
Raven immediately recognized him: it was So Yaguruma.
He was the person who would later become Kamen Rider KickHopper, one of the infamous Hell Brothers.
However, at the moment, he was the suitable candidate for Kamen Rider TheBee and the captain of ZECT's elite combat unit, Shadow Squad.
Seeing the two men together, Raven quickly figured out what was happening: they were going to compete in a cooking showdown at the restaurant to decide who got the last piece of tofu.
"Looks like there's a good show to watch."
So, he followed them inside.
A short while after he entered, Hiyori noticed Raven.
"You came too," she said, sounding quite surprised.
After all, Raven hadn't appeared for several consecutive days.
"You two know each other?" The proprietress looked at Hiyori with great surprise.
She knew Hiyori was usually a quiet, socially awkward person, but recently she had suddenly gained so many acquaintances. First Tendo, and now Raven.
"Hello, Proprietress. What's going on today? Why are there two chefs in the kitchen?" Raven asked in his usual casual manner.
"It's like this: they want to compete in cooking tofu, so I had to lend them the kitchen," the proprietress explained.
"I see."
Raven nodded and joined them as a spectator.
Throughout the process, Raven occasionally interjected with a few comments, leveraging his Max-Level Cooking Skill. This annoyed Yaguruma, who was making Mapo Tofu.
He was very confident in his dish.
"I didn't realize you knew so much about making Mapo Tofu, Raven-san."
The proprietress was also skilled in the dish, and she quickly picked up on something unique from Raven's analysis.
"Just slightly proficient." Raven spoke with great modesty.
This instantly made Hiyori secretly pay a few more glances toward Raven.
How can this person be 'slightly proficient' in everything?
But it seemed to be true. She had tried the suggestions Raven gave her last time for her Miso Mackerel, and they genuinely made a huge improvement.
Is this person really just a café owner?
"Alright, mine is finished."
At that moment, Soji Tendo was the first to emerge from the kitchen, followed closely by So Yaguruma.
They presented Cold Tofu and Mapo Tofu, respectively, to Hiyori, who was acting as the judge.
Since Hiyori preferred to eat hot food, she chose Yaguruma's Mapo Tofu.
This caused Tendo to lose for the first time, defeated by someone else.
She really betrayed her own brother.
"Proprietress, would you mind if I tried my hand at it, too?"
Raven was now eager to show off his skills.
"Of course not. We have some leftover tofu today, and it won't be fresh tomorrow, so it would just go to waste," the proprietress readily agreed.
Hiyori, whose face was usually impassive, couldn't help but look forward to it.
His theory is so strong, but what will Raven's actual cooking ability be like?
Upon hearing that Raven also intended to make a tofu dish, Yaguruma, who had planned to leave after his victory, couldn't help but stop out of curiosity.
Right in front of everyone, Raven entered the kitchen and began his performance.
Because he still preferred Chinese cuisine, he often cooked, and that naturally included Mapo Tofu.
It was one of the favorite dishes of the women in his 'backyard.' Every one of them raved about it.
Soon, Raven showcased his Max-Level Cooking Skill.
His knife work, stir-frying technique, and control of the heat all reached a level of ultimate mastery.
The onlookers were dazzled and amazed, even before tasting the dish.
"Fancy movements are nothing. Cooking isn't about who has the most exaggerated movements," Yaguruma still firmly believed that his Mapo Tofu had reached the limit that the dish could achieve.
Anything better would just be marginally so.
Tendo's gaze toward Raven became more interested. Although he had just lost, he didn't truly believe he was defeated, and his King of the World demeanor remained completely unaffected.
Soon.
Raven plated the finished Mapo Tofu and, with great elegance, presented it before Hiyori.
Just the aroma wafting from it was enough to make one's mouth water.
Yaguruma's eyelids twitched slightly. He felt the pressure.
"I will eat now."
Hiyori pressed her hands together, performing the ritualistic gesture. She hadn't shown such reverence for the dishes made by Tendo and Yaguruma, showing just how much she anticipated Raven's dish.
Yaguruma watched with intense focus.
The result was that Hiyori, who was usually expressionless, was visibly moved.
Shortly after taking the first bite, she broke into a smile of pure bliss.
This shocked both Tendo and the proprietress, who was familiar with Hiyori well.
"Is it really that good?"
The two of them stepped forward to try a bite.
And, without exception, they both ended up reacting the same way as Hiyori.