"Food's up! Food's up!"
Ushiuma shook his horns excitedly. Strings of saliva dripped from both corners of his mouth and splattered onto the floor.
Seeing this, Kanzaki Rei walked over to his own locker.
He opened it.
Inside was a food container identical to the delivery boxes—except it lacked the iris emblem.
Just as he was about to open it, a sudden force slammed into him, knocking him aside.
"What are you doing?"
Ushiuma glared at him, hostility plain on his face.
"Eating," Rei said, puzzled.
"Do you even know the rules? The veterans pick first. You eat what's left."
Ushiuma barked.
"Then please, go ahead."
Rei obediently handed the box over.
"Good. At least you know your place."
Ushiuma arrogantly lifted the lid with the tip of his horn and glanced inside.
"Tch. Lucky bastard. I don't eat spicy. You can have it."
He curled his lip in disgust.
Rei looked inside as well.
It was a plate of something resembling curry—thick, yellow-brown mush—liberally sprinkled with red chili powder.
System text surfaced in his vision:
Name: Bloody Restaurant Employee MealType: ItemQuality: ExcellentEffect: Restores stamina. Repairs deficiencies.Notes: She lost everything. This is all that remains.Can be taken out of instance: No
Reading the note, Rei's expression flickered between light and dark.
"What, you don't eat spicy either?" Ushiuma asked, sounding curious.
"I don't like curry," Rei said, forcing the words past the nausea.
"You'd better start liking it. Meals of this quality don't come often."
Ushiuma shook his head.
"Aren't employee meals fixed?"
"Of course not. They're random every day. For a newbie like you to get something like this? That's winning the lottery."
Ushiuma extended his dark, brownish tongue and slowly licked his upper lip.
Winning the lottery…
Maybe.
He'd just become deficient, and immediately received an item that could repair deficiencies.
And the note was vague—maybe it wasn't what he feared.
The scent of spices and minced meat flooded Rei's nose. His empty stomach spasmed with anticipation.
"Just eat it," a voice whispered beside his ear."No one will know. One plate. Don't make a sound."
"Eat your mother."
Clack.
Rei snapped the lid shut.
"Got a light, boss?"
He looked up at Ushiuma.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Burn something."
"If you're not eating it, don't waste it. Give it to me—I'll trade it for something. I'll just skim a small handling fee."
Ushiuma made the offer casually.
"No deal."
Rei shook his head.
"You really are a freak."
Ushiuma shook his massive head, then spat out a ring of keys.
"That locker. Help yourself."
Rei caught the keys, walked to the indicated locker, and opened it.
Inside were a lighter, solid fuel tablets, and a small alcohol stove.
He tossed the solid fuel straight into the meal box and lit it.
Blue flames leapt up.
The yellow meat paste slowly blackened, charring into carbon under the fire.
Rei watched silently.
Something seemed to be burning in his eyes as well.
"You'll have to get used to it, kid," Ushiuma said flatly."This world's simple—either you eat, or you get eaten. If one day I turn into mush, I'd hope you'd eat me clean."
Rei nodded without speaking.
Ushiuma didn't say anything more. He lay down nearby and began eating his own meal.
Rei glanced over.
A massive slab of meat, seared medium-rare. Impossible to tell what animal it came from.
Beside it sat a huge mug of beer, its surface covered in thick, suspicious foam.
"Oh, right. Drinks."
Rei returned to his locker.
Sure enough, there was an aluminum can inside.
Name: Hell Rock ColaType: ItemQuality: ExcellentEffect: Restores stamina and sanity. Randomly triggers auditory hallucinations related to rock music.Notes: Life is rock, and fuck.Can be taken out of instance: No
Rei licked his dry lips and slipped the can into his pocket.
No food. No drink.
He dragged his folding stool into a corner, leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
To the steady, rhythmic crunching of Ushiuma chewing, Rei fell asleep.
—
"Hey. Wake up. Wake up."
He didn't know how long it had been when violent shaking jolted him awake.
Rei opened his eyes.
Ushiuma's enormous head loomed inches from his face—close enough that he could see the patterns etched into its nostrils.
"…What?"
He suppressed the instinct to punch it.
"New orders. Get up and work."
Ushiuma stepped back, revealing two delivery slips skewered on his horn.
Two of them.
"Don't say I bully newbies. You pick first."
Ushiuma put on a show of generosity.
Rei looked closely.
Both slips were upside down. The contents were unreadable.
"Then I'll take the one on your left,"he drawled deliberately, eyes locked on Ushiuma's face.
The moment he said left, Rei noticed Ushiuma's nostrils flare.
There was no time to think.
"—the one on your right."
"Damn it!"
Ushiuma's nostrils flared wide, blasting out two streams of hot breath.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto Rei like a bull on the verge of madness.
Rei met his gaze calmly.
"Hmph. Slippery human brat. Take it."
In the end, Ushiuma didn't flip out.
"Thank you, boss."
Rei pressed his palms together sincerely and removed the slip from Ushiuma's right horn.
Dish: Supreme Black Mountain Goat Kid Eyeball Sashimi — LargeAddress: Topaz Sky Villas, Unit 301Customer: Mr. LiTime Limit: 30 minutes
Rei checked the map.
The destination was three kilometers from the Bloody Restaurant.
"What's so great about this order?" he muttered.
Named customer. Short deadline.
"You don't know shit," Ushiuma snorted."Mr. Li's a super VIP. Tips big. Now look at mine."
Ushiuma shook his horn.
Rei reached up and removed the other slip.
Dish: Hell Maggot Rice Bowl ×1Address: Splendid Haven, Building 6, Room 1502Time Limit: 20 minutes
Rei located it on the map.
Twenty-five kilometers away.
"Boss, you have my respect."
He clasped his fists.
"Hmph. As you should."
Ushiuma lifted his chin proudly.
"But if I'd picked that one, I'd be guaranteed to fail, wouldn't I?"
Rei frowned.
"For weaklings like you humans, if it's over ten kilometers, you can apply to use transportation. For a fee."
Ushiuma replied.
"Damn. That's ruthless."
Rei meant it.
At least in the real world, delivery platforms charged monthly subscriptions.
"And this is already discounted. We don't even get the chance to rent most of the time."
Ushiuma sounded irritated.
Even if he couldn't use it, the fact that others could and he couldn't still pissed him off.
"Enough chatter. Get moving."
He kicked Rei with a hoof.
"You're not coming with me?"
"Delivery staff don't depart together."
Ushiuma shook his head.
"That a rule?"
"No. That's my principle."
Ushiuma said solemnly.
"Walking with dead men is bad luck."