21st Century Necromancer

Having discussed the surgery, Yu Chen couldn’t help but feel his stomach growling with hunger. The patient had arrived around lunchtime, and after several continuous hours of surgery, it was now deep into the night. The hospital cafeteria had long since closed its doors, and although they were just sitting here, there was nothing to eat from the cafeteria.

"Hiromi, are you hungry? Let’s grab something to eat before heading back," Yu Chen said, turning to Hiromi Jounouchi and asking her.

"No, I can’t. I have to stay on duty tonight. The child was injured so severely, and I’m responsible for his postoperative care, so I really can’t leave," Hiromi Jounouchi replied, shaking her head. "But going out to eat is still fine."

When Daimon Michiko heard Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi mention going out to eat, and being extremely hungry herself, she too raised her hand to indicate, "I also want to eat! But it’s so late, is there still a place to eat?"

"There is still a place to eat," Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi shared a look and smiled at each other, both seeing the same thought in each other’s eyes.

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The three of them didn’t bother to change out of their white lab coats as they crossed the silent, deserted streets at night to the alley where the small eatery was located.

"What good food could possibly be here?" Daimon Michiko couldn’t help but feel dubious as she followed Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi into a back alley. Although many small eateries in Japan look unimpressive yet serve delicious food, this one, almost hidden in an alley within an alley, made Daimon Michiko somewhat skeptical of its quality.

"Don’t worry, Daimon-san. I’ve been here many times with Mr. Yu Chen, and the owner is a great cook!" Hiromi Jounouchi said, chuckling as she saw the skeptical expression on Daimon Michiko’s face and explained to her.

"Really?" Daimon Michiko was still somewhat disbelieving, given the somewhat too secluded location of the small eatery.

Hearing Daimon Michiko’s doubts, Yu Chen smiled at her and said, "Don’t worry. The owner’s skills may not be comparable to those of a famous chef, but he’s certainly accomplished. Besides, we don’t have many other options at this hour, do we?"

Hearing this, Daimon Michiko thought it over and, finding no better alternatives, she shrugged and followed Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi into the eatery.

"Doctor Yu Chen, Doctor Jounouchi, working late again tonight?" The regulars in the eatery naturally greeted them as they saw Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi, and they curiously glanced at Daimon Michiko, who followed behind them, but didn’t inquire further.

Though the patrons of the eatery enjoyed casual chat, it was considered impolite to directly ask questions before the other person had spoken. Moreover, as regulars often seen in the eatery, it was quite normal for Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi to bring others along.

The three sat down, and Daimon Michiko, upon seeing the sparse menu on the wall, turned somewhat discontentedly to Yu Chen and asked, "Hey, what’s going on here? There are only a few dishes, and you told me there’s something tasty here? Even a street food stall has more options than this. Are you sure this is okay?"

"Of course, it’s okay because here you can order what you want," Yu Chen replied with a laugh at what Daimon Michiko said.

At that moment, the owner came over to their table and, hearing Daimon Michiko’s question, also began to explain, "The dishes are indeed only those on the wall, but if there’s something specific you want to eat, and I can make it, you can order that too."

"Eh? So you mean I can order whatever I want?" Daimon Michiko was immediately intrigued, her eyes widening as she looked at the owner. This style of ordering was new to her, and she became excited, so she declared loudly to the owner, "Then I want dumplings! And meat!"

"Dumplings and meat?" The owner didn’t seem surprised by Daimon Michiko’s request and nodded, asking, "What kind of meat would you like? Our pork soup set is quite good."

"I’ll take one pork soup set and a serving of dumplings," Daimon Michiko happily agreed after hearing the owner’s recommendation. "Please hurry it up!"

"Alright, coming right up. Doctor Chen, Doctor Jounouchi, the usual for you two?" the owner replied as he turned to Yu Chen and Hiromi Jounouchi.

"I’ll have the Chicken rice dish," Yu Chen decided after a moment of thought, feeling the need to satisfy his hunger first. "Hiromi, what do you want to eat?"

After some consideration, Hiromi Jounouchi said, "Do you have red sausages? If so, I’d like a serving of that, plus fried chicken nuggets, and a serving of tea rice please. For the topping, canned tuna would be great."

"Canned tuna with your tea rice? Got it," the owner nodded his head. Although He’d never made Jounouchi Hiromi’s request before, it wasn’t difficult to prepare. It was just that most people ordered toppings like pickled plum, salmon, or cod roe for their tea rice, making the tuna can a somewhat more home-style choice.

The owner turned and went into the kitchen, but he didn’t immediately start cooking. Instead, he made a phone call first.

After the call, the owner began to hustle, preparing the dishes ordered by the three.

While Yu Chen and the others waited for their dishes, the other patrons continued their usual gossip. Today, they were still discussing the tragic story about a female college student and a professor’s forbidden love, which ended in murder, the same story Yu Chen had heard the previous day.

Listening to their conversation, Yu Chen became curious and asked a familiar regular, "What about the two university students who said they photographed a spirit yesterday? Did they buy cans to make amends?"

"Ah yes, they did come by just a while ago and left in a hurry," the regular nodded with a smile on his face. "They really looked scared out of their wits. They bought cans during the day to pay respects to the dead college girl."

"So, did they really encounter a ghost?" Yu Chen inquired curiously, despite being certain the previous night that the two students had not encountered any spirit.

However, before the regular could answer, the owner, who was serving Hiromi Jounouchi’s tea rice, spoke up, "It wasn’t a spirit at all. The girl was just a college student who had run away from home. She experienced something similar to the murdered college girl, and that’s why she went to offer respects, so it’s not about haunting."

"I see," Yu Chen chuckled, taking out a pair of chopsticks to hand to Hiromi Jounouchi.