Chiaki Wants Them Out

<The next day, I went to the restaurant my dad told me. I had no choice, anyway.>

"S…So this is the place…" I uttered. "Umami Land!? My dad has some weird naming sense."

It doesn't look that huge and flashy, huh? Eek, the windows are still in jalousies. Some layers are even broken. Is this place really that mismanaged?

<While I was staring around the exterior of the restaurant, someone from inside came to approach me.>

"Hey brother, is something wrong?! You're blocking our resto!" said a buff middle aged-man.

W…Why is a muscular 45-year-old looking dude came from inside?! Don't tell me he is part of the staff!

"Ara, ara. He looks like he wants to eat," said a fat lady who came from inside as well. "Boy, if you want to eat, make sure you have money in your pocket.

D…Did this bloated lady who looks like someone's mother that always gossips with her neighbor thought that I look penniless?! Though, my money right now is just 200 yen.

I'll play along to see what the problem with this not so aesthetic place.

"T…That's rude! I came here to eat!" I answered.

"Then come in and stop looking around! You're bothering the other customers inside!" shouted the muscular dude.

So much for customer service, buffed guy…

<As I walked past the front door, everything around was so…>

He said customers, but there's only an old man eating on the corner table.

Eek, there's no initial service for customers upon entering, nor even a greeting. What's more surprising is that…

"Is this a Boomer Wonderland?!" I said in shock.

Almost all of the staff members are late middle-aged muscular dudes and grumpy-looking fat ladies! Does the manager here hate the youth or what?!

"If you're gonna eat, then find a seat already!" shouted another dude.

What a rude staff this place has! Sir, you should be on the construction site not here!

Just to play along, I am now acting as if I am a customer so I sat down on a table near the spot where I am nearest to the kitchen area.

"Ugh, let's see the menu, then," I uttered.

T…The meals are so heavy! Two pieces of fried chicken bundled with triple cups of fried rice and a free standard burger?! Deep-fried pork chops with some sort of whatsoever side dishes that aren't even compatible with the main viand, damn every selection is oily and greasy.

<Nevertheless, I still tried one food from the menu. The taste, you say? Well…>

The taste is not that bad but something's off. The meat wasn't that tender plus the inside portion wasn't that warm as the outside.

Sigh, this shit is microwaved. The plate well was warm and the meat was dry as I bit it. I'm shocked that this place hasn't closed immediately!

As I was eating, the noises of the staff from the kitchen can be heard. They are laughing! Those ladies in the cashier section, are whispering something to each other. The maintenance crew is just playing with his phone!

Ugh, I've had enough with this!

"Ho, are you done, boy?!" asked another muscular staff.

"Totally horrendous," I answered.

"What did you just say?!" said another staff who grabbed on my shirt.

"Sigh, I saw every single thing that is wrong with this place," I said.

"Geh, who do you think you are?! We run this place, not you!" he answered.

"I'm the new manager, Enomoto Chiaki," I said.

"Say what?" he asked.

"I'm the new manager, Enomoto Chiaki," I repeated as I head-butted the guy after.

A…Aw! Is his skull fortified with muscles too?! I'll have a bump on my forehead tomorrow for sure!

"Well, I'll go to the employee quarters for a while. We'll talk after I got some breather," I instructed.

"Tsk," said a staff.

Good thing that the air conditioning isn't that bad but overall has been disoriented. I mean, who customer even wants to be served by those workout-hungry dudes and gossip freak women?!

"Is this place really filled with midlife crisis people…"

<I finally opened the employee's quarters door and what turned out behind the door was a girl changing, might be almost the same age as me due to her appearance.>

"O....Ohayo--" said the girl in surprise.

"O-OhayOppai!!" I screamed.

"Kyaah!" screamed the girl as she kicked me right in the stomach.

I…I almost passed out…

She closes the door and finishes what she was doing. She then opens it after a minute and lets me enter the room.

"I was sure I locked the door! Probably, you lock-picked it?!" asked the girl.

"No, no! I have a key for this room, look," I answered.

"A duplicate key? Did you steal it from the manager?!" she asked.

Why is she so suspicious?

"I'm the new manager here," I answered.

"Oh, that's why Sakaki-san finally left the place yesterday," said the girl.

Sakaki-san? That guy must be the manager before me.

"Oh sorry for barging in, I thought every staff was at duty right now," I said. "My name is Enomoto Chiaki, nice to meet you hmm?"

"Kitahara Kanata. Nice to meet you too, Manager," greeted Kanata.

S…Shit, it feels good when being called by your position. Hehe, I'm feeling toasty~

"We do not acknowledge that guy as the new manager!" said a woman staff who suddenly barged in with the others.

"Eavesdropping isn't a good thing, Ma'am," said Kanata.

"Shut it, you useless twerp!" shouted the woman. "Good thing Sakaki-san didn't fire you just because you have a nice body."

T…This Sakaki-san sure is a good picker….Wait, what am I even thinking?!

"The last time you served a customer, you drenched him with the coffee he ordered," said the woman. "We almost got sued, thanks to Sakaki-san having to pay for the compensation for burning the customer's skin."

"T…That was…" said Kanata.

"You manager wannabe, if you truly are the new manager of this resto, then you should fire that incompetent girl!" dared the woman.

Now look who's talking…

"Excuse me but she isn't the problem all along," I said. "It's the likes of y'all and I'm not even lying!"

"Oh, really? Then, what are you going to do? Fire us all? Hmp, we told you. We are the ones running this place!" said the woman.

"That's what I'm aiming to do but to be fair, let's settle this via a contest," I said.

"Interesting, what's the challenge then?" asked the woman.

"A cooking contest," I said.

"Eh?!" reacted Kanata.

The guys from behind the woman were laughing as if we have already lost. Damn, this ticks me off a bit.

"Fine! Since I don't think you guys are going to win, we'll give you the privilege of choosing the dish," said the woman.

"Spaghetti, just the classic recipe," I said. "That wouldn't be too hard, is it?"

"No problem with that," said the woman. "Is it going to be me versus you?"

"No," I answered. "I will not be the one to compete."

"Huh? Then who will?!" asked the woman.

"It will be this girl, Kanata-san," I declared.

Akari reacted with the usual "Ehh?!" as I said that she's the competitor.

"What are you saying, Manager? I'm not even that good of a cook…!" said Kanata.

"This is your chance to prove that what this woman said about you isn't true," I said.

"That girl wouldn't even stand a chance against me!" boasted the woman.

"If you want, you can team up with those musculados behind you," I said. "I'm certain that this girl, who's going to be one of my first staff after this match, will kick all your asses and taste buds!"

"Manager! That's a lot to…" said Kanata-san.

"Don't worry, even if we just met right now, I know you can do it," I said. "I can see it through your eyes that you want this place to change, am I right?"

Her eyes suddenly went from gloomy to bright. Looks like she's now encouraged.

"Yes, Manager!" said Kanata.

"So, who will be the judge then? It can't be you, you might be biased," said the woman.

"Then, let's make one of the musculados to be the judge."

"T…This brat… A-Are you serious?! That dude is on my side!" said the woman.

"I told you so. I am confident that this girl, who you called incompetent, that will sweep all of you away from this restaurant," I rebutted.

"T-That's some pride you got there…" said the woman.

"Enough talk, let's start this already so I can fire you all!" I said.

I'm actually fired up, even though I'm not that one who's competing.

Sigh, now this should be one of the most crucial junctures that will dictate this restaurant's future.