In spite of the length of time he’d spent in this city so far, curiosity still got the better of Sheffield when things happened that were out of the ordinary. So far the majority of people spending time on the Hive City beach were acting predictably and devoting their time to typical beach activities. The exceptions, while rare, were the interesting ones—and the young man hefting a large frying pan fit the bill.
Interested in what the man was doing, he drew closer. The scent of cooking meat stirred a more human hunger within him. It was nothing significant compared to the Hunger, but it was enough to catch his attention. He thought he was keeping a safe distance when he peered over the stranger’s work, but apparently not.
“Oh. Sorry,” Sheffield replied, taking a step back and straightening up. He clasped his hands together behind his back, putting on a friendlier front. “I just thought it was interesting that you were cooking on your own on the beach. In a frying pan, at that.” There were scattered and simple grills around, mostly taken. But no, apparently that wasn’t good enough. “If you’re offering, sure. Can’t say I’m not hungry, thanks to you.”
「No need to apologize. Just eat and enjoy. That’s what people are doing all around, right? Have to fit in with the crowd, otherwise they’ll kick you out.」
Naofumi was tempted -- more than simply tempted, really -- to tell the guy to cough up some cash in exchange for the food, but decided to make it a point not to. Just for this guy specifically. Maybe it was the fact that he could mess around with someone longer if they weren’t put off by having to pay, and that he was feeling bored. That the person in front of him was curious about why he was cooking the way he was made Naofumi almost want to answer. He put a raincheck on that for the moment, and instead picked up one of the bits of chicken and jabbed at it with a fork, then tossed it in his mouth.
「Mmm. Totally harmless and tasty.」Joking with a deadpan voice, Naofumi then tossed some more fried chicken onto a paper plate, squeezed it like a taco, and raised it towards the customer. 「As for why I’m doing it this way, the other guy quit. I took over after that. He left his stuff here, so it was an opportunity waiting to happen.」








