Izakaya Monday: "Regular-Sized Ginger Pork Set Meal"
Monday.
As I was preparing Izakaya Monday for opening, the entrance door opened quietly.
Creak.
“...Good morning.”
The part-timer in the familiar cat-ear hoodie was standing there.
I put down my knife and looked up.
“Oh. You’re back.”
“Yes.”
“So? Did you find whatever it is you were looking for?”
“...”
“Hmm.”
“...”
A silence hung in the air for a while.
“Well, I don’t really care anyway.”
“Is that so?”
I felt like they had a slightly lonely look on their face, but it must have been my imagination.
I took the pork out of the refrigerator.
“More importantly, it seems like a TV crew is coming to film.”
“TV?”
“Yeah. Apparently they saw some site called Nomi-log or something.”
“Nomi-log?”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“They say our ‘mega-sized’ portions are popular.”
“Huh.”
“So what?”
“...”
“What exactly is mega-sized here?”
That was when it happened.
The shop entrance swung open with force.
Bang!
“Hello there!!”
Staff members carrying cameras came pouring in.
“Nomi-log 4.3 stars! We’re visiting the famous mega-sized portion Izakaya Monday!”
I involuntarily stopped my knife.
“...Huh?”
Looking to the side, Monday-kun was silently staring up at the ceiling.
What is this? I’ve had a bad feeling since this morning.
Guided by the TV staff, the male reporter sat at the counter seat.
“Today, we’re visiting the famous mega-sized portion Izakaya Monday, rated 4.3 stars on Nomi-log!”
“So what is mega-sized?”
I tilted my head.
“Apparently, the ginger pork set meal is especially popular!”
“Ginger pork?”
“Yes!”
“I see.”
I took the pork out of the refrigerator.
“You’re a reporter, right?”
“Yes!”
“Then I’ve made it a bit extra, so eat up.”
A few minutes later.
Thud!!
The shop went silent as they looked at the ginger pork set meal placed on the counter.
A mountain of rice.
Ginger pork threatening to spill over the plate.
A token amount of cabbage.
Total weight: about 3.5 kilograms.
“...Eh?”
The reporter froze.
“It’s a regular portion.”
“A regular portion!?”
“I made it a bit bigger since I heard TV was coming.”
“This is ‘a bit’!?”
Next to me, Monday-kun nodded quietly.
“It is indeed a bit much today.”
The reporter picked up his chopsticks with trembling hands.
“Then, let’s dig in!”
One bite.
“Delicious!!”
Two bites.
“It’s so tender!!”
Three bites.
“Look at this!!”
He leaned toward the camera.
“It’s like a jewelry box of pork!!”
“It’s ginger pork, though.”
I remained calm.
After that, the reporter continued to eat desperately. But—
One hour later.
“...I’m sorry.”
Half the rice was still left.
“I give up.”
Applause broke out from the staff.
“You did your best!”
“That was close!”
That was when it happened.
“Then I’ll finish it.”
Monday-kun stood up.
“Eh?”
“It’s a waste to leave it.”
And he began to eat with a completely nonchalant face.
Munch, munch.
Munch, munch.
Munch, munch.
Ten minutes later.
Finished.
All the staff froze.
“Eh?”
Monday-kun drank his tea.
“Thank you for the meal.”
The reporter asked in a trembling voice.
“Um... who are you?”
“I’m a part-timer.”
“A part-timer!?”
“Yes.”
I tilted my head.
“What is going on here?”
The TV broadcast was a huge hit.
‘What is a regular portion’
‘My outlook on life changed because of ginger pork’
‘Jewelry box of pork’
‘The cat-ear part-timer is actually pretty handsome’
‘The cat-ear guy stole the show’
What is this, really.
That night.
“Mama, the Nomi-log rating went up.”
“Huh.”
“They wrote that the cat-ear guy is handsome.”
“That’s good for you.”
“Whatever.”
I sighed.
“Even so.”
“Yes?”
“Why did we accept an interview for mega-sized portions?”
“...”
“We had fresh fish that day, and the sashimi was delicious too.”
“Yes.”
“I even opened a bottle of Hakurakusei sake.”
“That’s true.”
“And nobody drank it.”
While sighing, I handed over today’s staff meal.
“Here. Staff meal.”
“...Thank you.”
“It’s a fish day, so it’s light.”
“That helps.”
I don’t know what helps about that.
Monday-kun started eating his negitoro bowl.
I looked out the window.
“...Even so.”
“Yes?”
“Cabbage got expensive again, didn’t it.”
Monday-kun nodded while eating his negitoro bowl.
“That’s true.”
Outside the shop, the evening breeze swayed the noren curtain.
Whether the Nomi-log rating goes up.
Whether we become a topic on TV.
Whether the cat-ear part-timer becomes popular.
It didn’t really have much to do with Izakaya Monday.
At the counter, regulars are drinking sake again today,
and in the kitchen, Mama is holding her knife.
That is the usual Izakaya Monday.
The night at Izakaya Monday
passed slowly again today.
