Money on the mind

"I think we should add a pachinko hall to the restaurant's amenities," Rika bluntly stated.

"Rika, what brought this about?" Masaru glared.

"Just thinking of ways to increase our business, that's all," Rika nervously mumbled as her eyes began to shift away from Masaru's.

"WHAT happened!?"

"Uh, I slayed a vampire but had to pay 400,000 yen."

Masaru let out a disappointed sigh and headed back to his workstation.

"Oh yeah, did you know Rize-"

"Yes, the moment I heard the meal request, I knew she had ordered it. Did she say anything to you?"

"Well..."

...

Rika glared as Rize reclined in her chair.

"Seriously, I don't know that girl. Think she mistook me for someone else though. Kept glancin' at my hair. Shit's dyed actually, grey's my natural color, but that shit makes me look old."

"So you didn't know she was Hilda Hakkin?"

"Hilda was her name? Though why ya acting so hostile towards her? Poor girl had a lousy breakup that made her smash her phone and shave her head."

"She attacked a patron, or did you not see that?"

"I mean, even if she did, maybe that was the girl who stole her boyfriend."

"She's never had a boyfriend in her life though."

"Huh? Well whatevs. Anyway, got some things to tell ya. First, dish is cooked 14 seconds to hot. Second, I'm gonna become the next headmaster."

"The final selection hasn't been held yet."

"I'm declaring my intentions, and telling you that once I'm headmaster, shit's gonna get exciting between us n' everyone else."

"And you think you'll win outright?"

"Seems ya don't know of my reputation. I may be a vagabond, but when it comes to cooking, I win."

...

Masaru shook his head as Rika finished relaying what Rize said. "I'll have to keep watch over the seconds."

"Seriously? You're getting hung up over that?"

"Yes, I still strive to provide premium gourmet style meals to customers, so it's natural I provide them with what they are paying for."

"Don't think most of our more gourmand customers judge by the second though."

"The elites do. Remember Matcha's sister?"

Rika let out a sigh. "Guess strving for perfection ain't a bad thing. Just don't go crazy over it."

"You're the one that needs to stop going crazy."

"Huh? What-"

"I saw you run out after someone wit a knife drawn."

"She was threatening a customer's life, and was that vampire I slayed."

"Rika! Wait! VAMPIRE!?"

"You're just now reacting to that? Well guess I'll tell ya what I know about the Hakkins..."

...

At Wexley's wax museum, a middle-aged man in gold-brown suit approached Wexley. "Ya, Wexley. Any good shit happen?" he asked as he slipped him a 100,000 yen note.

"Funny story. Some crazy girls came running in here. One bald, one orange hair. They made a mess in the back."

"Did they now? And how much for a grand tour of the back?"

"I charged 200,000 yen per person, so you're just 100,000 yen short."

"Must be good," the man smiled as he produced another 100,000 yen note.

Upon reaching the back, the man noticed the spot where Hilda had died and immediately ran up to it. "Are, did one of those girls die here?"

"Yeah, fell into the vat, got sliced to bits, reformed, then got stabbed and burned," Wexley replied.

The man then examined the floor and scowled as he picked something up. "Silver, that Korosekai really killed Hilda-chan then. Oh Wexley, how much for a police investigation?"

"10 million yen."

"T- TEN MILLION!?"

"You know how much shit I gotta hide if the cops show up?"

"OH! Then what if some carefully selected cops show up?"

"10 million yen. I want insurance in case I gotta book it outta here. You really think that Yuzume bitch won't show up unannounced?"

"Tch, you're robbing me blind."

"Please, 10 million's a penny for you."

"Isn't it so," the man happily smiled as he pulled the cash out.

...

In a dark council room, the chairman glared as his call once again failed to go through. "What does that girl think she's doing?"

Suddenly, he got a message from Ginji. Inside was a picture of Ginji posing in front of the spot Hilda died along with the message, "Hilda-chan died! Found silver. Rika Korosekai did it, not me!"

The chairman's anger peaked, though not for the reason one might have expected it to. "Ginji... THE HELL ARE YOU POSTING AN IMAGE OF YOURSELF IN A MESSAGE SENT TO ME!? WHAT IF IT GETS LEAKED!?"

...

Back at the restaurant, a meeting was held in the break-room discussing Rika's pachinko idea.

"I wasn't completely serious with my proposal," Rika sighed.

"But Masaru thought you were serious enough to call this meeting. So make it quick, I gotta get back out and wait tables," Zuina growled.

"Helga took me to pachinko once. I think it'd be a hit since it's pretty much an arcade for adults," Mimi chimed.

"She does have a point, not to mention we could also provide snacks which would increase our revenue," Itsuki noted.

"Guess it's a go then. Now let's vote so we can get back to work," Matcha grumbled.

The vote was unanimously in favor of the pachinko parlor, meaning the idea was a go.