21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 818 - 814 The Strongman Hot Pot

818: Chapter 814: The Strongman Hot Pot

818 -814: The Strongman Hot Pot

When Chen Yu mentioned going out for late-night snacks, Kohinata Kaori had a bad feeling about it.

Sure enough, the place Chen Yu wanted to go was Minami’s little eatery.

When Chen Yu told Inomata Naoki that he knew of a great late-night diner and planned to take him there, Kohinata Kaori felt completely unsettled and wanted to shout “Don’t go!”

But she couldn’t say it out loud, as she had no reason to stop Chen Yu from taking Inomata Naoki to Minami’s eatery.

She couldn’t exactly say to Chen Yu, “Minami likes Naoki, so to avoid any awkward situations, let’s pick another place, shall we?”

At this hour, there weren’t many restaurants near the hospital still open, and even fewer places that could rival the taste of Minami’s eatery.

Besides, Chen Yu had grown accustomed to dining there.

So even if Kohinata Kaori wanted to suggest another place, she had no valid excuse to do so.

Still, she couldn’t just watch Inomata Naoki go meet Minami like that.

Gritting her teeth, she said to Chen Yu, “Shixiong, we go to Minami’s place every time; doesn’t that get boring?

How about we try something new today?”

Chen Yu glanced at Kohinata Kaori with mild amusement and chuckled.

How could her intentions escape him?

Yet Chen Yu had no intention of exposing her little scheme.

Instead, he went along with it and replied, “Sure, Kaori, do you have any suggestions?”

This question directly stumped Kohinata Kaori; at that moment, she didn’t have a good recommendation at all.

She was merely trying to stop Inomata Naoki from going to Minami’s eatery.

The excuse she concocted was solely for convincing Chen Yu, and she hadn’t had time to think about where they should go once he believed her rationale.

Now, Chen Yu’s counter-question had put Kohinata Kaori in a real bind, leaving her unsure of how to respond.

Just as Kohinata Kaori was racking her brain for an answer, Inomata Naoki suddenly chimed in, “I heard from Tokairin that there’s apparently a pretty good hotpot place nearby.

How about we try hotpot tonight?”

Although Inomata Naoki didn’t fully grasp what kind of silent negotiation was unfolding between Chen Yu and Kohinata Kaori, he could sense that Kohinata Kaori didn’t seem to want him going to the place Chen Yu had suggested.

He wasn’t sure why that was the case, but Inomata Naoki decided to back up Kohinata Kaori anyway.

After all, Tokairin Yuko had indeed mentioned the hotpot place, so suggesting it himself wasn’t a bad way to help his junior out of her awkward spot, right?

Inomata Naoki’s suggestion earned a meaningful glance from Chen Yu toward Kohinata Kaori, but he didn’t say much.

He simply nodded and commented, “Since Naoki recommended it, let’s go for hotpot.

It’s been a while since I’ve had it.”

Feeling guilty under Chen Yu’s gaze, Kohinata Kaori hurriedly helped Inomata Naoki pack up his things.

Only then did she follow behind him and Chen Yu as the trio left the lab together.

The hotpot place Naoki mentioned wasn’t far from the hospital—they arrived at their destination after walking for just about ten minutes.

Looking up at the restaurant’s sign, Chen Yu showed a faintly surprised expression.

“Sumo Hotpot?

Isn’t it a little too greasy to eat this late at night?”

The so-called Sumo Hotpot, also known as Chanko Nabe, is the hearty hotpot traditionally enjoyed by sumo wrestlers.

However, what was originally reserved for sumo wrestlers evolved into something that ordinary people could enjoy as well, giving it the name Sumo Hotpot.

There are no strict rules about its ingredients, but Sumo Hotpot typically includes chicken, tofu, leeks, Chinese cabbage, and other vegetables cooked in a savory broth, and it’s famous for being nourishing and substantial.

After all, the bulk sumo wrestlers build can’t be achieved without sufficient food intake and nutrition.

Of course, the Sumo Hotpot served in this kind of hotpot restaurant wasn’t the same as the colossal pots of food actual sumo wrestlers consumed.

But eating it at night still felt like it might leave you overstuffed.

“I don’t think so.

As far as I remember, while sumo hotpot may be filling, it’s mainly vegetables and lean meats, which aren’t that heavy,” Inomata Naoki chimed in, but he sounded a bit uncertain.

Still, he thought the Sumo Hotpot was worth trying.

Hearing this, Chen Yu didn’t voice any objections.

For him, ordinary food was of little consequence—it could only satisfy his taste buds, but it would never truly fill the void inside him.

The three entered the restaurant and noticed that, while the tables featured large soup pots with seemingly generous portions, it was evident upon closer inspection that the pots were rather shallow.

They looked substantial but weren’t actually that loaded.

Perhaps it was a little trick by the restaurant to make customers feel like they’d eaten a lot, giving them a sense of accomplishment akin to finishing a wrestler-sized Sumo Hotpot.

In Japan, sumo is considered the national sport, and sumo wrestlers are highly respected professionals.

For many people, experiencing the meal of a sumo wrestler is a fascinating novelty.

As a result, this restaurant remained popular even late at night, with quite a few customers dining inside.

That being said, it wasn’t peak hours this late, so the three of them quickly found a table and sat down.

A waiter soon came over to take their order.

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Perhaps it was fate, or maybe the pull of the Red String of Fate, but Minami wasn’t at her eatery helping out at the moment.

Instead, she was carrying a metal takeout box, walking toward another location.

Of course, her little eatery didn’t deliver.

Minami wasn’t delivering food for her eatery; she was merely picking up takeout from another shop.

Although the owner could cook a wide array of dishes, he never made pan-fried dumplings.

Each time, he would call a specialty dumpling shop for takeout because their dumplings were especially delicious.

This time was no exception—a customer had ordered pan-fried dumplings, so the owner called that shop for a portion.

But they were short-staffed today, so Minami was tasked with picking it up.

This wasn’t the first time.

After all, the dumpling shop was also a business—it couldn’t always cater exclusively to Minami’s eatery.

When short-staffed, picking up the order personally was no big deal.

Carrying the metal takeout box, Minami moved with light steps.

Perhaps because she’d been dead for over a decade, she had long adapted to nocturnal living.

Although Chen Yu had brought her “back to life,” her habits of sleeping during the day and being active at night were hard to change.

The dumpling shop wasn’t far from Minami’s eatery.

Walking across the street, Minami soon spotted the dumpling shop, along with the Sumo Hotpot restaurant beside it.