Chapter 4: MJ Shows Up! The Order is a Squid with a Pretty Smile!

**Chapter 4: MJ Shows Up! The Order is a Squid with a Pretty Smile!** (**MJ登場！ご注文はイカした君のナイススマイル！**, *MJ tōjō! Gochūmon wa ikashita kimi no naisu sumairu!*) is the fourth chapter of the spin-off manga series of Zombie Land Saga, titled “Zombie Land Saga Side Story: The First Zombie”.

## Synopsis

Eikichi looks for a part-time job to buy his favorite game consoles, but accidentally runs into the boss of the Busters.

## Plot

It's been about a month since Eikichi joined the Saga Sagako Busters group and Eikichi is already getting used to this lifestyle. Day at school, afternoon to clean the mansion and at night fighting the Sagakos. On a shopping trip, Eikichi sees a Gamepoke that he has always loved, but since he spent all the money on chocolates, he goes to find a part-time job to buy his game. Checking the newspaper, he discovers that they are looking for new employees at “Karatsu Burger and Cafeteria”. When he arrives, he sees that Tae works for the place and is very different from the Tae he knows because she attends to her customers in a very nervous way.

Eikichi hides from Tae's view behind a bush, but is surprised by an imposing man, whom he quickly recognizes as the man from the TV. Tae calls him father, which leaves Eikichi even more puzzled. Tae clarifies that he is not her biological father and that he is the boss of the place where she works, calling him “Master Jofuku” or “MJ” for short. However, Jofuku doesn't like that Tae calls him that and tells her to call him father. Eikichi realizes that Tae forced the term OL (Legendary Office Worker) just to make a good impression, and that her real office is a food truck. So that they don't bother her, Tae sends them both to do the necessary shopping to continue cooking.

Jofuku and Eikichi go shopping at a supermarket congested with offers. After shopping, Jofuku tells him that he has learned to save money, since the store they both rented has stopped having so many customers since Yuko is no longer there. According to Jofuku, Tae herself was not good at serving customers, but when Yuko joined the shop they began to prosper a lot and that's why both girls got along well. Jofuku also tells her that years ago, Tae's parents were killed by Sagakos and that's why she has a grudge against them. Her encounter with Yuko gave her a new perspective, that of a person who doesn't hold grudges. That's why Yuko is so important to Tae.

Tae and Yuko work together and although Tae is prone to cuts when cooking, Yuko mentions to her that she needs to smile more to attract customers. Tae regrets what happened to Yuko and says that she gave her a place to belong, and so she should treasure it as much as she can. By the time Jofuku and Eikichi arrive, customers are leaving the store for an inexplicable reason, causing Tae to become depressed. Jofuku tries to comfort her by telling her that it's just the fate, and she can't change it.

Eikichi proposes that he can take Yuko's place, which angers Tae. Eikichi also says that the store's mascot is scaring the customers, but Jofuku informs him that it is a Sagako. This Sagako sensed the prosperity of the place and drives customers away with his shape; the group prepares to fight against the Sagako in the form of a squid and thanks to the onion burgers they manage to defeat it and bring peace to the place.

At the end of the day, Eikichi works at Tae's place and with his help, they manage to give the customers a good smile. A customer arrives and Eikichi makes Tae react by reflexively smiling, causing her to get upset and Eikichi gets hit. Tae runs away into the forest, embarrassed by it, but this time, she thinks it is okay to smile this time.

## Features

### Characters

* Saga Sagako Busters
	+ Jofuku (physical debut)
	+ Tae Yamada
	+ Eikichi Hyodo
	+ Yuko Hyodo
* Sagako Curses (debut)
	+ Squid Sagako

### Locations

* Saga Prefecture
	+ Morinaga Karatsu Store
	+ Karatsu Nijino Matsubara Coffee Shop

## External Link

* Gaiden Chapter 4 Unofficial English Translation

## Trivia

* This is the first chapter to show Jofuku's actual appearance and the first time in the series that he is seen in his young and strong form.
* Jofuku became Tae's adoptive father, just like he did with Kiichi Momozaki 130 years ago.
* It is revealed that Tae exaggerated her office clerk term to impress Eikichi.
* When Eikichi was trying to buy an ingredient for Tae's food truck business along with Jofuku, Eikichi is crushed by some crowds at the supermarket when he was trying to buy some ingredients. This is the reality of Japan's bubble economy era (1986-1991) in which the Gaiden year (1989) takes place. During that time, real estate and stock prices were highly inflated and were characterized by rapidly accelerating asset prices and superheated economic activity, as well as runaway money supply and credit expansion. But also, the Japanese government decided to introduce the consumption tax in April (1989) at a rate of 3% to finance the social welfare spending that is carried out. This economic bubble also means that basic necessities have dropped in price.
* Kotaro has more of Gaiden's characters possessions, such as Jofuku's umbrella, Eikichi's baseball bat, and the ball he hits Saki with.