The Dimensional Tavern of the Mefilas Alien

Sesshomaru looked at the wolves that had surrounded him: "You agree, right?"

……

"Then, store manager, I'll be going now!"

After Sesshomaru left, Gintoki patted his bulging belly and said goodbye to Murphy.

The passersby were startled to see Gintoki walk out of the door that appeared out of nowhere.

"What's going on?" some passersby whispered.

"Shh! Do you want to offend the celestial beings? That kind of technology is clearly from a celestial being!"

Although Gintoki's clothes and appearance are human, in this world, if people encounter something incomprehensible, their first thought will definitely be to think of the Amanto.

"Hiss!" Upon hearing the words "celestial being," the passersby fell silent as if they had been given a gag order.

Gintoki, who had been in a good mood, suddenly looked gloomy.

Although on the surface this era seems better than the past, the celestial beings, who possess numerous privileges, remain like a mountain weighing down on the heads of Earthlings.

If it were a typical shonen manga protagonist, at this point they would probably shout the slogan, "I'm going to expel every single Amanto!"

But Gintoki just scratched his belly, picked his nose, and then forgot all about it.

"Let the heroes do the heroic things. I just want to run a Yorozuya and make a living."

For someone like Ah Yin to say something like "expelling the Celestials" is practically a deceptive headline.

So, Gintoki leisurely returned to the Yorozuya.

"Ah Yin!" A bespectacled man jumped out of the house.

"You didn't go out fooling around again, did you?" Shimura Shinpachi, with his watermelon-shaped haircut and glasses, grabbed Gintoki by the collar and shook him back and forth.

“We’re almost out of food. And the rent is due soon. You can’t keep being so lazy! We need to find a new client quickly.”

Gintoki replied calmly, "There's always a way out!"

His appearance drove Shinpachi even more insane.

"Ah, Gintoki, you're back!"

At this moment, Kagura, the third member of the Yorozuya and its only female member, walked over.

She had a blank expression, and was holding a half-chewed piece of pickled kelp in her hand.

"A-Yin, I'm hungry."

"I'm telling you, half the reason we're living in such dire straits is because you eat too much!" Gintoki said irritably.

Kagura is an incredibly strong woman, and her appetite is just as terrifying as her strength. Therefore, one of Kagura's greatest hobbies is eating.

"No, Gintoki, you've clearly wasted your money in plenty of places too," Shinpachi retorted decisively.

Chapter 42 The Dilemma of the Bar

Just as the group was arguing, Kagura's gaze suddenly shifted downwards.

She noticed that Gintoki would unconsciously stroke his stomach with one hand while he was speaking.

"Gintoki, why is your belly so round?" Kagura's voice was pure and innocent, without any ulterior motives or malice.

The entire Yorozuya seemed to have been suddenly muted.

"Haha, I have something to do, I'll be going now!" Gintoki turned around and was about to leave.

"Stop." Shinpachi's glasses went completely black. He grabbed Gintoki by the back of his collar and wouldn't let go.

"Explain yourself properly, Gin."

"There's nothing to explain, you're overthinking it!" Gintoki was still making a final effort.

"It's okay!" Kagura brought her little head close to Gintoki, blinking her big eyes and making a pitiful expression.

"Even if Ah Yin spends all the family's money on a life of debauchery, causing us to be unable to pay rent and be evicted, and eventually starve to death in this cruel city, it doesn't matter!"

"Could you please take your hand out of my pocket before you say that?!" Gintoki yelled. "You don't look like you're okay at all, do you?"

No matter how much Shinpachi and Kagura pressed him, Gintoki refused to explain.

'Damn it, this is a precious opportunity to replenish my sugar levels! How could I tell them! If they find out, they'll definitely try to take my share under the pretext that I can't eat too many sweets.'

At that moment, Gintoki made a decision. Even if it meant death, he would keep this secret!

The three people's eyes met, sparking an electric current in the air.

War broke out!

I don't know how much time has passed.

The three of them collapsed, exhausted, inside the messy Yorozuya.

"How tenacious!" Kagura lay on the ground, her chest rising and falling.

"I'll probably never forget you in this lifetime, Gin!"

"I'm so sorry I couldn't make Kagura-sama enjoy herself!" Gintoki tilted his head slightly, meeting Kagura's gaze. A strong sense of recognition and bond was conveyed in their eyes.

"Don't talk so passionately!"

Shinpachi, his glasses disheveled, waved his hand weakly: "In the end, we were just tickling Gintoki, okay!"

"Hmph, Shinpachi, you really don't understand anything at all!" Kagura sat up abruptly and said in a condescending tone.

"Hmph, hmph hmph hmph!"

“Look, Gintoki thinks the same way!” Kagura pointed to Gintoki, who was wriggling on the ground like a maggot.

Shinpachi, however, sensed something was wrong.

"Wait... Gintoki looks like he's in a lot of pain!"

"Huh? Gin, don't die, aru!"

Soon after, Ah Yin was taken to the clinic.

"It turned out that I had an upset stomach because I ate too many cold drinks and then did strenuous exercise."

Shinpachi relayed the doctor's diagnosis to Kagura with a blank expression.

"I knew it! Gintoki was secretly eating all by himself!" Kagura exclaimed in exasperation.

Shinpachi sighed. This family would definitely fall apart without him!

"Forget it, since Ah Yin doesn't want to talk about it, let's not force him."

Kagura grumbled a few words reluctantly, but ultimately did not object.

Half a day later, Gintoki returned to the Yorozuya with the help of Shinpachi and Kagura.

After all, it's just a minor ailment; there's no need to waste the Yorozuya's already limited and precious funds here.

Back at the Yorozuya, Gintoki expected Shinpachi and Kagura to continue pressing him for answers, but to his surprise, the two acted as if nothing had happened.

"Seriously!" Gintoki thought to himself, "You guys are making me look like a selfish bad guy."

Even so, he still didn't confess. And in the days that followed, he would always sneak out alone to go to bars. While getting free desserts, he would also educate the new guests.

However, there were very few guests at the bar, not to mention new ones. So even someone as shameless as Gintoki felt a little ashamed after a while.

Every time I come here, I eat a lot of sweets, but the effort I put in is far less than what I've put in.

Murphy didn't care about this.

This was just the initial groundwork. After the second renovation, the number of customers at the tavern increased significantly, although it still didn't break into double digits (not counting the two employees and Gintoki, who did odd jobs).

He believed that sooner or later his shop would be packed with customers. Just like now, the number of customers had increased several times over.

Not only that, but because Gintoki was there, situations like Homura Akemi's rarely occurred. Although the new guests were still surprised when they saw Murphy, thanks to Gintoki's friendliness, they quickly accepted the atmosphere of the bar.

What Murphy finds somewhat regrettable is that the store has very few repeat customers. Most customers come once and then don't return for a long time. Some even never show up again.

On the contrary, Sesshomaru has been a frequent visitor to drinking parties ever since his first time there.

Aside from still harboring a slight intention to travel to the underworld through taverns, Sesshomaru mostly came to taverns simply to drink and eat.

As a noble young master, he didn't mind sleeping outdoors in the wind and rain. But given a choice, Sesshomaru certainly wouldn't deliberately mistreat himself.

Not only that, unlike Gintoki who always eats and drinks for free, Sesshomaru always brings a few demons with him to pay the bill whenever he visits.

Murphy wasn't a shrewd businessman, so prices at the tavern weren't high. And Sesshomaru himself wasn't one for extravagance. As a result, over time, he actually managed to save a considerable amount of universal currency.

"You don't need to bring any monsters next time you come! With your current spending habits, you have enough money left to spend at bars for half a year."

Murphy had to halt the acquisition.

Although the demons Sesshomaru sent were all of great research value, he really didn't have much currency left. After deducting the portion set aside for payments, there was hardly anything left.

Sesshomaru nodded indifferently.

He didn't actually go out of his way to hunt monsters. It was just the way things were in Japan during the Warring States period; you'd encounter a few clueless monsters just by walking through a few villages and hills.

In the past, Sesshomaru would kill and be done with it. It was only after coming to the Monster Tavern that he would think about recycling the waste. Since Murphy doesn't want to continue buying now, he won't leave any corpses behind next time.

Murphy was somewhat disappointed.

The vastness of the universe far exceeds the imagination of most life forms. Previously, due to the Magma aliens, the shipping routes in this area were cut off. He contacted many merchants on the interstellar network, but none were willing to come here. Otherwise, if he sold the monsters and familiars he possessed, he wouldn't necessarily become rich, but at least he wouldn't be so strapped for cash anymore.

"Do we really have to contact the Yapools?" Murphy hesitated.

Chapter 43 Kanegon and the First King

Unlike ordinary space merchants, cosmic villains like the Yapool certainly wouldn't care about the risk of disrupted shipping routes. In fact, they are a risk that other extraterrestrials would avoid at all costs.

If you can offer them something interesting, those Yapool guys will definitely be eager to come here.

However, Murphy had finally made the decision to cut ties with the past, and really didn't want to have anything to do with those guys anymore. They were all incredibly evil and brutal. They simply didn't fit Murphy's aesthetic.

If possible, Murphy wouldn't like to deal with them too much.

However, as the number of guests increased, the food reserves in the bar became less and less, and it looked like the inventory was about to run out.

"If that's the case, why not try acquiring materials from Homura's or Gin's worlds?"

Seeing Murphy's predicament, Jamila offered a suggestion.

“Of course it’s because we don’t have money,” Murphy said, shrugging.

He had never made any money from Homura Akemi and Gintoki. Sesshomaru's world was in ancient times, and apart from yokai (demons/monsters), material resources were very underdeveloped, so there was no way to rely on them. The other guests' worlds also had their own problems.

Most importantly—Murphy patted the bar counter: "You don't think running such a big bar doesn't require energy, do you?"

After incorporating Bruton, the bar can certainly attract people from different dimensions, but the energy required for this is astronomical.

"Besides, if we want to expand the bar, it's also important to improve the quality of service," Murphy said ambitiously.

In addition to specialties from different worlds, he also wanted to offer some high-quality goods from his own universe at the bar.

"Also, the experimental equipment and consumables need to be replenished!"

It's fair to say that money is needed at every part of the drinking party.

Just as Murphy was about to contact his old acquaintances, an uninvited guest arrived.

"Welcome... It's you?"

Murphy, who was halfway through welcoming the newcomer, stared at him in surprise.

"Hey, long time no see!"

Wearing a fur cloak, the humanoid monster who looked somewhat like a snail greeted Murphy familiarly.

"I never expected you to come here, Kanegon!"

Murphy was a little disgusted.

“Of course, it’s money that guides me, hahaha!” The guy called Canegon laughed and stretched out his hand to Murphy.

The creature before him was an old acquaintance of Murphy's—the coin monster Canegon. This race is widely distributed throughout the universe, feeding on coins. A counter on their chest, symbolizing the amount of money, will cause them to die instantly once it reaches zero. Therefore, this race possesses a far greater greed for money than other races.

In some ways, they're similar to squid on Earth, both having a fanatical pursuit of money. Of course, the Canegon race isn't nearly as wicked as some might think. And this Canegon before them is the Dark Legion's official merchant. Murphy had some dealings with him back when he was on Mefilas.

"I never would have guessed. The dignified gentleman demon king would actually come to a place like this and open a small tavern!"

Kanegon clicked his tongue in amazement: "Are you really not planning to return to the Dark Legion? After the evil Bogaru was sealed away, His Majesty the Emperor has always favored you to become the First King."

"Let me reiterate, I never joined the Dark Legion from the very beginning. I have absolutely no interest in violence!"