Chapter 166 - "How Are You All?"

A tall Japanese man, who looks to be in his 40s, is currently walking hand in hand alongside a beautiful woman who is at least a decade his junior, at the sidewalk of one of Nerima's busy streets.

Some people they pass by cannot help but stare at the couple because not only are they good looking, they also look good with each other with their matching attires with the man wearing a well-fitting dark blue casual suit that displays his athletic figure, and the woman wearing a sky-blue halter dress exposing her fair skin and nicely toned limbs.

*Wwhooosh*

A gentle gust of wind suddenly blows by them, making it look as though even the March's spring breeze wants to make them even look more beautiful.

"Hm?" The man suddenly stops in his steps, noticing something.

The woman almost stumbles at the action and would have broken her image if she is not wearing flat soled shoes.

"What's wrong?" She asks the man who lowered his sunglasses.

"When did this appear here? It wasn't here during my last walk a month ago." The man asks the woman while looking at the front of what looks like a coffee shop.

" 'Of Eden'?" The woman reads the signboard. 

"Last time I passed by here, the place was undergoing construction. I thought it was never going to be finished because it was ongoing for four or five months." She explains.

"No wonder it took that long. It looks very nice despite its size." The man nods in approval after inspecting the interior of the shop he can see through its glass walls and windows.

"Let's go in?" The woman asks.

"Ehhh… A long line." The man notices the queue in front of the counter and pushes his sunglasses back up.

"What? Who would dare to not let you cut in line?" The woman scoffs.

"Let's go in~.. .hm?" She then pouts in insistence.

The man's heart softens and he gives in.

"Okay. But no cutting in line. It won't be good for our image." He says.

"Okay." The woman smiles cutely.

The next moment, the two are now the last people in the queue leading to the cashier counter.

"My goodness…" The woman sighs in awe.

"Right?" The man utters.

They cannot stop looking around at the strange mix of antiquity and modernity in the shop's interior design.

They can also hear the faint sound of rain and koto music in the air, making them relax even more.

"It's… comfy here…" The woman notices that the shop's temperature, while cold, is perfect.

"And... fresh?" The man inhales in satisfaction. He cannot put in words his appreciation of the shop's scent that is similar to a forest's after rain.

"Excuse me." The man gently pats the shoulder of the female customer ahead of them in the queue.

The female customer turns around and looks at the man.

"Are you a regular here?" The man asks as he takes off his sunglasses.

The female customer's eyes suddenly widen in recognition and "Y-you…" becomes tongue-tied.

The man is about to shush the female customer, but it is too late.

"I-Iwamoto-san!" The female customer gets her words back and she greets the man.

"Hm?"

"What?"

"Iwamoto?"

The other customers hear the female customer's words and they look at the man.

It does not take long for some of them to also recognize the man.

"Takuma-san!"

"S-storm of Nerima…"

"Whoa…"

The man's name and moniker suddenly get uttered around and his presence in the coffee shop is exposed to all its patrons.

"Hello, hello." Takuma can only return the greetings with an accommodating smile, regretting taking off his sunglasses, blaming his manners.

"Ema-san, hello."

"Hello, miss." 

The woman, Ema, meanwhile, smiles widely as some of the attention also goes her way due to some customers recognizing her. 

"I'm just here for coffee, everyone." Takuma then expresses his intention of not wanting to be bothered.

"W-would you like to go ahead of me?" The female customer who exposed him, offers.

"You can take my place." Other people in the queue also offer.

"No, no. Please. You were all here before me." Takuma refuses profusely.

"No. It's fine. This is the least we can do to help you for your service." One of the customers say.

Before Takuma can refuse any further, the entire queue has already stepped aside to give him a clear path towards the counter.

"Just get your f*ckin coffee. You're being a nuisance."

From one corner of the shop, a deep male voice reverberates.

The people present look towards the direction and they see a hulking man who is almost as wide as the small coffee table itself, and is taller than the average Japanese man even while sitting down.

The shop become silent immediately in intimidation.

The customers who already saw the man are reminded of his presence, and the newcomers realize that another A-Class Superioris is in the shop.

"Nii-san." Takuma, unlike the wary customers, smiles at the man and greets.

"Takeru-san." Ema also bows shallowly to the hulking man in greeting.

"Heh." Takeru smirks and gestures Takuma and Ema to join him.

"You, go take their order." He then shoos his male secretary who is sitting at the seat across the table from him to make space for Takuma and Ema.

"What would you like to drink?" Takeru's secretary asks Takuma and Ema.

"Surprise us." Ema says, knowing the secretary's reliable reputation.

"Nii-san. With the way you hurriedly left this morning, I didn't think you'd be coming here." Takuma shakes his head, finding his brother in a coffee shop quite odd.

"Have you tried their coffee?" Takeru shrugs as he sips on his huge cup.

"No, but… It sure smells quite fragrant." Takuma says, the smell of Takeru's coffee wafting his way stimulating his salivary glands.

"When did this shop open?" He asks.

"A little more than a week ago." Takeru informs.

"I've been coming here for a week now." He adds.

"Wh-" Takuma is about to ask more, but "Lower your voice." Takeru shushes him.

"Another reason why I like this place is because it's quiet." Takeru points at the other customers in the shop.

Takuma and Ema notice that the customers who were ogling them just a minute ago, now have their attentions back in their cups, or are chatting with others in a shushed tone.

The customers in the queue also are now wearing eager expressions while looking at the direction of the coffee bar or the reception counter.

"…" Takuma and Ema find the scene mysterious and the ambience of the shop somehow pulls out respect from them.

"'Non-superiori baristas. No powers, pure craftsmanship.' Takuma reads aloud a signboard on the wall behind the cashier counter in interest.

"That's right." Takeru nods.

"Not only are their baristas, all of the employees are non-superiori." He confirms.

"Why?" Ema finds it odd.

"Cheap labor?" Takuma chuckles.

"I don't know about the cleaners, but I kind of get why the shop hired non-superiori baristas. Like the sign says. 'Pure craftsmanship'. Look at that guy." Takeru points at the coffee bar next to the cashier counter where a line of baristas are currently working.

"Look at how he grinds the coffee with effort. That guy next to him is mixing and filtering the coffee with care and focus. It has soul in it. I'd rather have my coffee made by them instead of being fuckin shat by a machine or being soullessly made by a jaded superioris." He expresses.

"…" The couple find Takeru's overly sentimental rational odd at first, but the more they watch the non-superiori workers do their craft, they slowly become hypnotized by it.

"It's still just coffee." Takuma scoffs as he looks away.

"Can't argue with that." Takeru shrugs.

A few minutes later, Takeru and Ema are served their coffee.

"*slurp*… Ooohh…" Takeru is stunned by the taste of his Americano.

He also feels his mind become clearer.

"Wow… I feel… awake." Ema too, immediately feels the effects of her latte.

"Drink more. You'll be awake even more." Takeru says proudly.

"The only thing I don't like in coffee is it makes my stomach sour… But their coffee doesn't seem to do that." Takuma comments after taking another sip.

"Takeru-san… Ever tried buying their beans?" Ema asks with a smirk.

"Hah." Takeru scoffs, knowing that Ema really means 'taking over the business'.

"I would have already if I could." He reveals.

"What do you mean?" Takuma asks.

"While this shop is owned by a Japanese, the business chain itself is not. 'Of Eden' is Australian." Takeru says.

"So?" Takuma asks.

"It's owned by Little Family. I don't know exactly what happened, but even the clan head asked me to assign someone to protect this store from troublemakers." Takeru says.

This surprises the couple.

"… I heard that Dominic Little is in good terms with every S-Class Superiori in Japan, so he must have asked that old monster from Yamada endorse this business to our clan head?" Takuma asks.

"How else could it be?" Takeru shrugs.

"I-I see…" Ema sips her latte in relief. She almost offended someone not even the Iwamoto clan would dare to offend.

Hinohara, 3PM

"Hello."

"Hey."

"Hey man."

Fumio is greeted by Kotone, Yoshiko, Yori, Akane, Ahdem, and Havvah as he joins the group at the peak of the hill.

"Where's boss?" He asks everyone.

The group has received messages from their communication tokens from Red. This being the first time that they are gathered in one place per Red's orders, they are all interested and are imagining in their minds what is about to happen. 

Fumio, Kotone, and Yoshiko, especially are curious. Not only because they rarely met Red in the past three months, they are also the most senior disciples among everyone. 

"How are you all?" Red suddenly appears and greets the group with a smile.