Yes. While I Was Spinning the Wheel to Make Gyoza Wrappers, for Some Strange Reason, I Ended Up with This – Part 05

“A‑Aika…wa… help.”

“Anomaly in host detected. Lifting spell restriction.”

A phantom appeared behind her—right half a brawny man, left half flickering flames. This was the Magiclad Weapon Big Teach had hidden inside Tomonori.

“Unseal the frozen heart.”

“First incantation confirmed. Spell unlocked.”

Shit, the weapon is activating!

“Tomonori! Hey, Tomonori! Wipe off your drool!”

“That which would turn even the breath of the gods into a blizzard.”

“Second incantation confirmed. Cooling sequence complete.”

Wasn’t this the one that froze everything around indiscriminately? Oh, god. Not here, not in public!

“What? What’s happening?” Haruna’s eyes darted between me and Tomonori.

Right. She’d never seen the weapon inside Tomonori before.

“Ayumu! Stop her, now!”

Sera, already prepared for the worst-case scenario, hovered just off her seat.

“Tomonori! Come on! Wake up!”

I gripped her shoulders and shook hard until she gasped and blinked back to life.

The phantom weapon behind her dissipated like smoke. Apparently, losing consciousness was the trigger for it.

“A-Aikawa. What the hell just happened?”

“You almost died. From food.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Well, normally, cooking is about making something inedible edible.”

Haruna’s words hit like gospel. Nicely said.

“Precisely so,” Sera nodded along.

You have no right to agree!

“On to the next one.”

There’s more?! Give me a break.

The next wrapping cloth… was squirming. Was it alive?

“I tried making these octopus-shaped sausages. Since I only started cooking it after Ayumu got home, I didn’t have much time, but I gave it my best.”

Huh. If it was just slicing and frying, even Sera might’ve done it right.

Or so I thought, until I unwrapped it. Why didn’t I realize from the movement alone that this was a bad idea?

Inside was an actual octopus. A real, honest‑to‑god octopus. With eyebrows. Why? And a disturbingly suave expression.

“It’s alive.”

Tomonori recklessly jabbed toward Sera’s chest. The back of her hand sank into the soft curve, and Sera twisted her arm up.

“Stop, ow! I give up. Fastest tap‑out in history!”

“Devish makes a fine ingredient,” Haruna said. “Good boiled, good grilled.”

“Devish?”

“Short for devilfish.”

She kneaded the octopus’s head. The dapper-looking cephalopod stared at me with sharp eyes, though maybe it only looked sharp because of the eyebrows.

“It doesn’t look half bad.”

Tomonori, wipe your drool.

“Think we can actually eat it? Not that it’s cooking, exactly.”

Haruna’s cowlick stood on end.

“Maybe,” I said. “But it’s still a pretty weird creature.”

“It isn’t farmed. It’s genuine wild-caught.” Sera gave a smug sniff.

Wild-caught? Like something this bizarre naturally existed?

On the back of its head, a label read: Not genetically modified. One leg had a tag: Made in Mars. A Martian, seriously?

“Why the hell would you—”

Before I could finish, Sera showed an expression I’d never seen on her. Bashfulness.

“Haruna once told me: cooking isn’t about making food, it’s about having someone eat it. So, I wanted you to eat this.”

I see. She’d always cooked just for fun. That’s why her dishes tended to knock people out cold.

“Seraphim cooking… for someone else.”

Tomonori swallowed hard. Yeah, I was just as stunned.

“I can’t lose to you. Now, let’s cut it up.”

Out of nowhere, leaves fluttered down, solidifying into a sword in Sera’s hand.

Instantly, the octopus sensed danger and dove from the table onto the brick‑colored floor.

Four limbs worked like a sprinter’s legs, the other four swung like a sprinter’s arms. Did it have joints? The thing was getting weirder by the second. No, focus!

I pushed myself up from my seat and went after it.

“Sera! Catch it!”

She plucked another leaf from nowhere and hurled it.

Thwack! The knife‑like leaf hit me.

“I missed,” she said.

How about you apologize instead?!

There was nothing aquatic about the octopus. It moved like a land animal.

Faster than a zombie, it was like it was wearing a Meteorite Bracer.^[1] Bad news. It bolted inside the building. Something like that running loose would cause a panic.

Where was the ninja? No one came. I was the only one chasing it.

I ran after the octopus like I was doing King Kai’s^[2] training.

Why was I even chasing this thing? I had plenty of other things to go after. And there it was again, that uneasiness in my chest.

Eu, Big Teach, Kyouko, the King of the Night. I was thinking about too many other things.

The octopus was suddenly plucked up.

In front of me stood a man in an apron. He’d caught it. The apron had a dog printed on it, probably a pet shop employee.

“Ah, sorry!” I blurted out.

It was a weird octopus. I expected him to give me a look of pure disgust, so I cautiously lifted my gaze to check his expression.

“Ah, fancy meeting you here.”

Standing there with a broad smile was the King of the Night.

What? Huh?

“Good boy, good boy.” He stroked the octopus’s squishy head with a gentle smile. The once sharp‑browed cephalopod now wore the dazed look of a drunk.

Wait. Different guy?

The mastermind, in an apron with a dog print. Around him, cats and dogs slept in cramped cages. I was face‑to‑face with the enemy in a place utterly devoid of tension.

A plump, kind-looking middle‑aged lady addressed him, “Yoruno, do you have a good flea‑removal shampoo?”

Y-Yoruno? Yoru no Ou? King of the night? Don’t tell me this guy actually works here under that oh‑so‑subtle alias.

“How about this one? It just came in recently. I highly recommend it.”

“Well, if you’re recommending it, I’ll buy it.”

A trusted, helpful shop clerk. Yeah, right. I shook my head, clearing away the stray thoughts, and put on a serious face.

“You’re the King of the Night, aren’t you? What the hell are you doing here?”

“In this world, just staying alive costs money. Part-time work isn’t out of the question.”

Maybe so, but… he didn’t feel like the type who should be working part-time. And at a pet shop, of all places.

As the lady headed to the register with her shampoo, I tried to ask about Big Teach, but the King of the Night was busy grooming one of the puppies in the play area.

I noticed my heartbeat speeding up. It wasn’t from nerves. I was ecstatic.

Because I’d been dying to see him more than a Liquid Metal Slime.^[3]

Another employee came over. “Yoruno, your shift’s over.”

The King of the Night handed over the brush. “Do you like animals?” he asked with a smile.

He folded his apron. His shift really must have been over. My head was still spinning from the situation.

“I don’t mind them,” I replied.

“Actually, I was the one who suggested turning Megalo into animals.”

“Forget that. Is Big Teach safe? She better be.”

“Hm? Ah, she has the possibility to kill me. I won’t be killing her.”

The octopus was perched on his shoulder like a pet. Even the caged dogs gazed at him fondly.

“So, is your Magiclad Weapon finished? I’d love to see what kind of crazy power it has.”

If you show interest in something, people tend to want to talk about it. At least, that’s what I figured.

“Almost,” he replied. “I’ve commissioned something that will plunge this world into chaos.”

Not much time left, then. The lady from earlier bowed to him before leaving with a satisfied smile. Damn it. Why was he starting to seem like a genuinely nice guy?

While I was thinking it over, the King of the Night headed behind the pet shop counter.

Crap. What should I do? There was no way I could just let him slip away. I’d finally found a lead.

“Ah, there you are. What’re you doing?”

Haruna and Sera walked into the pet shop.

“Looking for a pet? No. Get rid of it,” Sera said with the sternness of a mother. No need to throw anything away, though.

“I wanna keep a tuna.”

“Master, wouldn’t it die right away?”

Haruna and Tomonori laughed together. They’d gotten pretty close.

Tomonori… right. I could use the Vampire Ninjas’ help.

“Tomonori, I need a favor.”

When they saw the serious look on my face, all three of them mirrored it.

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1. The meteorite bracer is a recurring accessory in the Dragon Quest series. A band from beyond the stars and past the moon, it bolsters the wearer’s agility an incredible amount.

2. King Kai, specifically the North Kai, is a prominent deity and supporting character in the
Dragon Ball series. He serves as the ruler of the North Area of Universe 7 and is best known as Goku’s mentor.

3. Liquid Metal Slimes are recurring monster in the Dragon Quest series. Introduced in Dragon Quest II, it is a metallic bubble slime that acts as a large source of Experience Points.