The secret's out

The next day, the restaurant opened on time.

"So, you make babies yet?" a girl asked Rika.

"Well, aren't you a cheeky little brat. Sorry, but we still haven't even lost our virginity, though that could change, anytime," Rika mused as she glanced over at a red-faced Masaru.

"Don't make outrageous requests," Masaru glared.

"I mean, it's normal for couples to do. We've already slept together so-"

"You slept together but didn't do it? Lame," the girl sighed.

"L- Lame," Masaru trembled as he sunk to the ground and curled up in a ball.

“I apologize for my daughter’s rude behavior,’ the girl’s mother bowed.

"No worries, he'll perk up again soon. Though try to be a little kinder to him in the future,” Rika smiled at the girl.

A few minutes later, Helga entered the restaurant. She was able to walk again, but still had her arm bandaged up.

"Wow, you healed up fast," Rika cooed.

"I HOPE I healed. That goth psycho pumped me full of so much dubious medicine I'm surprised I'm still alive," Helga grumbled.

"Stich is one of the best in the business though. You wouldn't believe how many times she healed me. Oh, did you get the results from the DNA test?"

"Perfect match. Guess that Hylda girl really was my grandmother."

"Wait, really!?" Mimi gasped as she walked by.

"Yeah. Now you damn well better tell me everything about her. None of my family even had a clue as to who she was."

"It would be my pleasure. Would you like to talk about Hylda now?" Mimi warmly smiled.

"Maybe later, I gotta talk about something else with Rika," Helga blushed. Mimi nodded and continued on her way as Helga turned to notice the sulking Masaru. "So, why's Ryono sulking like a bitch? Don't tell me he's still coping with what he did to Makihara-sama."

"Nah, he's fine with that choice. He's just sulking cause a customer cracked a crude joke at him. Oi Masaru! Time to get cooking!" Rika shouted. Masaru immediately shot up and headed towards the kitchen as if nothing had happened. "See?"

"Idiot, I actually needed to talk with him too," Helga growled.

"Tch. Masaru! Helga's being a bitch and wants you to come out and talk with her," Rika hollered.

"The hell'd you say it like that!?"

"What? I would like to calm my mind by cooking," Masaru glared.

"Got some important things to discuss. Now that Makihara-sama's been gone for over a week, the power vacuum is beginning to suck. His head seat at Japan’s gourmet elite society as well as his headmaster's seat at Tabemono are both officially up for grabs. Many of the high-ranking chefs are also pissed you awarded Rika the win."

"Are they all Makihara stooges?" Rika asked.

"Nah, most of them are, but there are some that hated Makihara-sama, but think he was cheated out of a win. If one of them gets the headmaster's seat at Tabemono, expect to be bombarded with hostile chefs seeking vengeance for Makihara-sama."

"So? I'll-"

"No, Masaru's the one they're gonna gun for. Many in the Makihara camp are already branding him a traitor. Notably his own folks, Rebelle, and Makihara-sama's own wife, Mahi. There's plenty of others, but those are probably the ones you're most familiar with. Also, guess you're both technically eligible to take a shot at takin over Tabemono. Heck, Itsuki and a few of the rabble might even have a chance too."

"We have a difficult situation though," Masaru sighed.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You know, you shouldn't air ALL your secrets to everyone. You never know what they might do," Rika glared.

"But I-"

"Do you keep recipes secret?"

"Yes..."

"Then think of it like that. It's our secret recipe, though Helga knows everything about me so she's fine to tell."

"HUH!? Then what was all that!?"

"For future reference. Well, sit down Helga cause we're gonna breeze through this quick..."

...

"You told him about your past!?" Helga gasped.

"I'm more surprised you knew about her past too," Masaru stated.

"Yeah. She told me before we headed to the hotel. Though that woman you mentioned with a sludge cut, isn't she-"

"Yeah, the one everyone thinks will become prime minister, Ruchi Ookuma. She also is the daughter of one the 12 leaders of I.L.U., the shadow organization that teamed up with N.N. to host that banquet we infiltrated," Rika stated.

"Yeek, then I don't want her ever coming to my place. Same for your crazy family."

"Speaking of which, how is your place?"

"Repairs will be finished in a few days. Can't believe you had such an idiot check the place out for traps."

"Hey, Hanabi's the only one I know that can disarm crazy explosives. That and she's got toughness and strength 10 times greater than the average human. All members of the main Bombino family do. Though some members from the branch families like me have above average strength."

"10 times!? Then how does that bitch not break everything she touches!?"

"I was told it was due to them only triggering it when in a fight; apparently they can adjust their strength at will. As for my family problems, thanks to Masaru accepting me, I know just how to deal with my father."

"Rika!? Don't tell me you're going to do something reckless," Masaru groaned.

"Nah, I'm just going to cook a meal for him the way he wanted me to," Rika grinned.

Rika then heard the door opening but scowled upon realizing who had entered. "My, so this is the fabled Ryokoma," Rebelle sneered as she took off her beanie and ran her hand through her hair.

"I was hoping I'd never see you again," Rika glared.

"I'm simply here to scout, though as a result, you will receive monetary compensation since I am required to sample some of your food."

"And when did you become a food critic?"

"It's necessary for eligibility to be considered for head of the gourmet elite society. Though since I tend to eat a more plant-based diet, that could hinder my bid since meat-based meals are a huge part of the gourmet elite society. Nonetheless, I shall sample some of your organic plant-based meals," Rebelle stated as she sat down. As she gazed at the menu, an angry scowl appeared on her face. "So, you really do try and cheapen the status of elite organic foods," Rebelle glared as she gazed at the prices on the menu.

"Our business is doing quite well actually," Rika retorted.

"Adler-san? What brings you here?" Masaru asked.

"Why it has been ages, Ryono," Rebelle glared.

"Dropping the honorifics, so it seems your respect for me has deteriorated."

"Indeed, you chose to be seduced by a woman instead of objectively doing your job and awarding the win to the true superior dish."

"Makihara-san dug his own grave for that. Had he been of a sounder mind instead of recklessly issuing such a challenge, things might have turned out differently. It also only originated from a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? That's not what the Gourmet Grapevine's saying," Rebelle sneered as she flashed an image of a news article on her phone.

"'Eccentric heathen corrupts mind and body of daughter of esteemed chef, Shinji Makihara, for personal grudge'... Adler-san, please tell whoever wrote this to issue a retraction. This article reeks of misconceptions."

"Well, the answer's no, because I wrote it. The article stands."

"Want me to sue for slander?" Rika growled.

"And would you really want to head anywhere near a courtroom with how furious the Takedas are over the death of dear Kazuya Takeda?"

"……."

"Then again, Takeda's alleged killer is dead so perhaps not."

"Well... guess you’re right. So, you gonna order something, you snake?" Rika glared at Rebelle.

"A snake!? But dear Kohai, do you not love to eat snakes? You are what you eat as they say."

"Mongooses eat snakes too."

"So, you're a mongoose heathen then. Oh, perhaps I WILL have to make a minor revision, or just write a new article about how you are a despicable-"

Slap!

Rebelle turned her eyes in shock towards the one who slapped her.

"Shut up and order something," Helga glared.

Rebelle stared in shock at Helga for a few moments before a demented smile appeared on her face as she touched her cheek. "Oh, there WILL be repercussions for that! Anyway, I think I'll order a quinoa fruit salad,” she giddily chuckled.

"Idiot! Why did you slap her!?" Rika groaned.

"If I didn't, your man would have. I did it to save him some trouble, that's all," Helga huffed.

Rika's eyes went wide as she turned to see Masaru with his hand raised to deliver a slap. "I couldn't stand to hear such malicious slander against you," Masaru replied as he lowered his hand.

"But you didn't need to slap her for it," Rika replied.

"I don't see how slapping her is worse than killing her like you would attempt to do," Masaru argued.

"Sadly, she's strong enough that I wouldn't be able to kill her with ease. I knew your social skills were bad, but to think you didn't know that you'd get in a ton of trouble for slapping a girl is surprising."

"Wait, you can get in trouble for slapping someone? But in my family, we were slapped all the time when we messed up badly."

"Oh boy, and you said I picked up bad habits from my family. Well, good thing Helga slapped her for you instead." Rika sighed.

...

Rebelle glared at the dish before her. "This quinoa fruit salad looks far inferior to the ones made at my place," she snarled.

"Well looks can be deceiving. Try it, bitch," Rika glared.

"My, rudeness will degrade your review score," Rebelle sneered as she took a bite. Immediately, she puckered up. "Wh- What did you corrupt this with!?" she fumed as she began to slowly clean the plate.

"Why, those are just fresh fruits, not as organic as the ones you prefer, but healthy none the less."

"HOW DARE YOU FEED ME THIS! Listen up everyone! This woman is a deadly assassin, who has killed countless civilians for pleasure!"

Everyone turned towards Rebelle and Rika. However, they simply shrugged and resumed what they were doing beforehand.

"Huh!? Why are you not running out in fear!?" Rebelle cried.

"So? Who cares if she's an ex-killer. I mean, my family's descended from ninjas, I think," one muttered.

"We all have pasts we don't wish to talk about. Besides, why would we believe YOU!? You're nothing, but a snobby blackmailer!" another patron glared.

"Yeah, bet you stretched the truth or staged a video like you did with me!" another yelled.

"Tch. The rabble is lucky I'm still in the process of backing up my black mail material to my new servers. Otherwise, I'd unleash everything. I had no idea that damn thief also swiped some of my SD cards and computers," Rebelle fumed in her mind as she got up to leave.

"Oi, you didn't pay yet!" Rika glared.

"Why would I? You served me inorganic slop! You fail!" Rebelle fumed as she stormed out.

"Um, pardon my rudeness, but is it true you truly were an ex-killer?" a nervous patron asked Rika.

"Yeah, it's true I was raised by an assassin family, but I left that life behind to become a chef," Rika sighed.

"So, you were born into an assassin family, yet left them behind?"

"Correct."

"Well, based on your cooking, it seems your heart is truly all in on cooking. Apologies for the sensitive question."

"No worries. My past isn't the happiest, but I don't want that bitch to make it sound worse than it was."

"Understandable. Many people probably have dark and troublesome pasts they wish not to talk about. Well, I look forward to dining here again," the patron smiled as she paid and left.

Rika then went back over to where Rebelle had sat and gazed at her unfinished meal. "A shame, she nearly cleaned the plate before she learned the fruit wasn't organic. Well, she did end up getting all my patrons to accept that I was an assassin. Now if she tries to leak some of the more gruesome details of my past, many will think she's exaggerating things to make me look bad. So, guess I'll void her debt for the meal," Rika thought.

Helga sighed and patted Rika on the back. "I'm only saying this because I hate that bitch more than you, but I think you did a good job. Also, you owe me one for slapping her."

"Thanks Helga. How about an on the house meal while you chat with Mimi about your grandma?" Rika smiled.

"Fine. Guess I'm still hungry."

...

Rebelle stormed into the restaurant of the Tt hotel and sat down at a table currently occupied by three other women. Two of the women appeared to be foreign and were dressed like cowgirls, while the third woman had short slicked-back dark green hair and looked as though someone had smeared sludge on her head with a spatula. The woman with the sludge-colored hair was none other than the Ruchi Ookuma, aka Madam Ookuma.

"And what has you so flustered, Miss Adler?" Ookuma asked.

"My apologies Madam Ookuma, I simply had an unpleasant experience as I went to Ryokoma to scout," Rebelle bowed as she sat down.

"Explain in detail."

"Yes Ma’am..."

...

"You made a horrendous blunder, chef Adler. Now we can no longer threaten to reveal her past against her," Ookuma glared.

"Could we not simply forward all that I have to the police?" Rebelle asked.

"Even if they arrest her, the public would believe she's been setup by you. Thus, even if we released footage of her killing, many would think it was fabricated footage originating from you.

"My deepest apologies!"

"No matter. My plan isn't in the slightest of jeopardy. Perhaps I'll even make an offensive play," Ookuma mused as she nodded to the two foreign women.

The two women nodded before getting up and heading out. "The Hasselhan sisters from America? Well, those two might even be capable of killing Rika. Even I was nearly killed by them when I went to gather dirt on them," Rebelle thought.

"It seems Alice's plan has failed, which means Rika Korosekai will not return home willingly. Thus, it is not presumptive to deem her a traitor and issue a preliminary bounty for her," Ookuma sneered.