Chapter 150
I returned to my restaurant after the duel ended. The main hall was more crowded than ever— I had attracted quite a sizable chunk of the audience that had been watching the fight thanks to marketing my malim juice.
Harlan and Arthur were racing around the room, taking orders from the waiting customers. But without me working at the kitchen, no one would be served their food just yet. I was the only chef here. I would have liked to hire an assistant, however there weren’t very many high-leveled [Chefs] around Wolfwater.
While I didn’t care about levels, my customers did. And it was not just them, but my potential chef-candidates too. I did hold a few interviews over the last few weeks, looking to hire someone to help me out. However, they were far too intimidated by the prestige of Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant, so they rejected the job offer.
…I didn’t consider anything about the restaurant prestigious, but I was glad to see that we had garnered a positive reputation amongst our customers.
Anyways, all that meant was this little duel with Jax had wasted a lot of my and my customer’s time. It was the fiftieth time the elf and I had fought at this point. Once again, I defeated him in an instant. He did impress me with how he anticipated my punch. I wasn’t really trying to move as fast as I possibly could, but still— he did manage to dodge out of the way. So he certainly had grown somewhat stronger since I last saw him.
But I still ended the battle an instant later with a light kick to his groin. He crumpled to the ground, and he wasn’t even able to stand back up even now. I kind of regretted my decision to do that since he couldn’t walk, which also meant he wasn’t going to be able to complete his shift now.
So once again, Harlan and Arthur were being overworked. And while it wasn’t exactly my fault, it was also kind of my fault. I felt bad about it.
“I’m going to have to give them a huge bonus…” I muttered to myself as I strode through the room, heading for the kitchen.
I heard a loud clucking coming from the back. A crate rattled, and I saw a chicken poking its head out from behind some magical bars. Bucky was still locked up, punished for misbehaving earlier. She glared at me, and I gave her a flat stare.
“You deserve it,” I said simply.
Bucky opened her beak, before pausing. She took in a deep breath and stepped back with a rehearsed motion. I narrowed my eyes, watching as she lowered her head. And the chicken stared up at me with her cutest pleading look.
“Don’t look at me like that.” I scowled, but Bucky didn’t let up.
Her eyes turned into trembling brown orbs, and she made a pained, whimpering sound. I gritted my teeth, before finally giving in.
“Fine,” I said as I opened the cage door. “But I’m not letting you off easy next time around.”
The chicken immediately perked up, clucking excitedly as she sprinted out of the crate. I rolled my eyes. I had known she was only putting up an act, but I couldn’t say no to that face. I shook my head, ignoring Bucky as she excitedly dashed around the room.
And with that, I returned to the kitchen, continuing to cook for the rest of the day, until the sun set over the horizon. One by one, the packed room began to empty of customers. They slowly trickled out until it was just a handful of folks— most of them drunk or passed out.
At some point, Jax managed to recover from his… unfortunate injuries. So he had returned to work, even though I told him he could take the rest of the day off. He no longer grumbled or complained about his job, seemingly satisfied with our duel. At least for now.
“I will win the rematch,” the Forsaken Archer had promised me whenever he passed by the kitchen. “I assure you, I shall come back stronger than ever.”
“Please don’t ever come back,” I sighed, but he clearly ignored my pleas.
Still, Jax was useful. He helped us kick out every drunkard who was refusing to leave the restaurant when it was time for us to close up shop. The last customers to leave were actually the visiting [Knights of the Astral Order]. Even Noele and Garron had already left at this point.
Sir Rowland Donovan and Sir Wyn Stefard had stuck around for the whole day, trying out every dish in the menu. But the reason they stayed was because they wanted to speak with me… again.
I stepped out of the restaurant to greet both [Knights]. They were waiting outside, fully armored up and ready to leave Wolfwater. They stood there with a pair of animals accompanying them.
One was ordinary enough. A typical white horse covered in glittering plated armor— the kind of animal I’d expect a [Knight] to ride. But the second animal was… not even an animal. It was a monster of sorts. It looked like a bull, except with crystalline horns. Also, it was far larger than any bull I’d seen.
The two mounts obediently waited off to the side. They didn’t need to be tied to a tree so they wouldn’t run off. Although, I didn’t even think that a tree would impede the bull-like monsters.
I shook my head as I turned to the [Knights].
“So what do you guys want?” I asked as I raised a brow. I faced Rowland, giving him a nod. “You’ve already apologized for your nephew, you don’t have to bring it up again.”
“This matter is unrelated to Mr Joseph Donovan,” Wyn was the one to answer.
“Then what is it about?” I pressed.
The [Knight]-lieutenant cleared his throat and took a step to the side. “I shall allow Sir Rowland to explain.”
I narrowed my eyes, and the [Knight] Captain laughed.
“Always so formal, Sir Wyn.” Rowland shook his head before turning to face me. “While we have only just met you, Ms Amelia, we have been quite impressed by what you have shown us. Your extraordinary abilities extend beyond just your genius marketing skills.”
I just stared at the [Knight] Captain dubiously as he continued.
“The cuisine you serve and the physical prowess you have demonstrated, it has all been quite fascinating to experience. We have heard a lot of rumors about you before we arrived in Wolfwater, and I must say, you have still somehow managed to completely exceed my expectations of you.”
He chuckled, and I scratched the back of my head.
“Right… well, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed your time at Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant.” I wasn’t sure what else was there to say. I just gave a half-hearted shrug and continued. “If you want, you can spread word about us. It would probably help us out if we got the seal of approval from a pair of important [Knights].”
Rowland grinned as he leaned forward. “Oh, I’ll do you one better.”
“What are you talking about?” I blinked.
And the [Knight] Captain drew back, spreading his arms wide. “I shall offer you an official invitation to visit Astral to demonstrate your cooking abilities for King Jalen himself!”
“Wait, what?” My eyes went wide, and my jaw dropped.
I was the only one standing out here with the two [Knights]. There was no one else around to eavesdrop on our conversation. Arthur and Harlan were cleaning up, and Jax had gone off to ‘train’ or whatever. Even Bucky wasn’t here— having gone to the bastion bee hive to guard them.
So it was just me, wearing a dumbfounded expression on my face, no one else to give me a reality check.
“Are you actually being serious right now?” I asked as I stared at the [Knight] Captain.
“Indeed,” he said as he placed a hand on my shoulder. “The food you have served is like nothing I have ever had before. Cooking a feast for the royal court will surely bring incomparable notoriety to your restaurant. Perhaps you can even open up a branch of Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant at Astral too.”
I heard Rowland’s words, but it took me a second to even comprehend what he was saying. Even for me, this was a bit much to take in all at once. My mouth bobbed open and close as I struggled to find the right response to say.
“Must I make a decision right now?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Indeed. Otherwise, it will be difficult to arrange a meeting.”
“I— but who will run my restaurant…?” I started.
And it was the [Knight]-lieutenant who spoke up. “I told you that bringing this up so suddenly was a terrible idea.”
“Hmph, I thought she would be ecstatic,” Rowland said as he crossed his arms. “I was under the impression that she would have jumped on the opportunity right away!”
“People have responsibilities,” Wyn replied simply. “Ms Amelia cannot possibly make a decision to abandon all her duties to her customers and her employees at this very moment. That is a ridiculous demand.”
“That is true…” The [Knight] Captain tilted his head back. “But with such a fantastic restaurant right here, I believe it is about time Ms Amelia starts thinking about expanding her franchise.”
I pursed my lips. Rowland had a point. I glanced between the two [Knights] standing before me, before I glanced back towards my restaurant. I could see the figures of Harlan and Arthur moving inside, cleaning the mess that was left behind by the large crowd gathered today.
They were my only two full-time employees. Jax was probably going to be leaving soon, now that I indulged him with a duel. And I was starting to feel really bad about overworking Harlan and Arthur again and again.
I looked back towards Rowland and Wyn. I saw the way they were dressed, and I remembered just how crowded a larger city was compared to this farming village. I thought about all the opportunities meeting with the King of the Astrad Kingdom could bring— but more importantly, I thought about all the other people I could meet there.
Important people. High-leveled people.
…high-leveled [Chefs] and [Waiters].
If I could convince them to work for me— to follow me back to Wolfwater— I’d be able to solve many of the problems I was currently facing with my restaurant. I could even give both Harlan and Arthur a few days off at the exact same time.
I nodded to myself as I raised my head.
“Fine,” I finally said, drawing the attention of both [Knights]. “I accept your invitation.”
Wyn blinked, and Rowland immediately perked up. He took a step forward with a grin.
“Great! So we shall depart immediately—” the [Knight] Captain started, but I raised a hand.
“No, I won’t go just yet. I can’t just leave my restaurant without some prior notice. I’m the only chef around here.” I shook my head.
“Oh…” Rowland deflated.
Wyn glared at his Captain, murmuring. “I keep telling you that…”
“How long will it take you guys to reach Astral?” I asked, furrowing my brows.
“About three days,” Rowland replied as he placed a hand on his chin. “Why’s that?”
I nodded. “You guys can set off now— I’m not going to ask you to stay and wait for me. But in three days’ time, I’ll meet you when you arrive at the gates of Astral. I’ve got shit to do until then.”
Wyn eyed me suspiciously. “And how are you going to get there so quickly?”
“Don’t worry about that,” I said as I waved a hand off dismissively. “I’ve got transportation handled myself.”
That just made the [Knight]-lieutenant look at me with even more suspicion, but Rowland nodded with a curious look.
“Very well, Ms Amelia. If that is what you insist, we shall rendezvous with you at the southern entrance of Astral.”
He drew back, gesturing for his companion to follow him.
“It was a pleasure meeting you,” the [Knight] Captain said, smiling at me one last time. “I look forward to seeing you in three days’ time.”
Wyn just shook his head as he mounted the bull-like monster. I watched the [Knights], nodding at them as they left Wolfwater. And I sighed when they were gone.
“Alright, now how am I going to explain to Noele, Harlan, and Arthur that I’m going to be leaving Wolfwater… again?” I wondered aloud.
And I didn’t know the answer to that question.
—--
As Amelia made plans to visit the capital city of the Astrad Kingdom, so did another individual. But his plan differed slightly in that he intended to visit the capital city of the enemy of the Astrad Kingdom— he was going to pay a visit to the capital city of the Kingdom of Kal.
And unlike Amelia who was going there for innocuous reasons, he was going there for a simple reason.
Guardian Angel Z357 raised his head as he saw the dark pillar of light dim. The construct took shape overhead, high above the clouds, into the fringes of space. He reached for the Hammer of Justice as a dragon stirred behind him.
It is time, he declared. To put an end to my mission.
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