Chapter 4: I came to find a restaurant (2)

The old man was clearly no ordinary person.

His neatly combed white hair and posture that was unshakably straight gave him an imposing presence.

His physique, showing signs of training, exuded an intimidating aura that made it hard for ordinary people to even approach him.

Had he not been dressed in such simple clothes, he could easily have been mistaken for a noble ruling over a territory!

Because of this, when the old man silently gazed at Selly, the atmosphere around them became incredibly tense.

But surprisingly, Selly didn’t seem to be intimidated at all.

In fact, when the old man didn’t respond, she asked again.

“What’s the reason?”

It seemed the old man decided he couldn’t stay silent any longer and spoke up.

“Do I need a reason if I don’t want to sell my store?”

“Yes, you do. You’ve listed it through Daphne. If you publicly sought someone, you should at least give a reason for rejecting them.”

“Selly!”

At Selly’s words, the old man’s eyebrows twitched.

Daphne, who suddenly heard her name, turned pale and tried to stop Selly, but I quietly held her back.

That’s because I noticed a subtle smile appearing at the corner of the old man’s mouth.

‘Does he like people who don’t bow to authority?’

Or maybe he was just enjoying his granddaughter’s antics?

In either case, it seemed better to let the conversation continue.

As I had guessed, the old man showed interest in Selly.

“I heard that young man is the one buying my building. Are you his wife?”

“Not yet, but we’re like family. We plan to work together at the store.”

“Are you the one who’s going to cook?”

“No, I’ll be in charge of serving and cleaning. Uncle can’t do that because of his leg.”

“Hmm.”

The old man turned his gaze from Selly back to me.

His eyes scanned me from head to toe before stopping at my leg, then moving up to meet my eyes.

“How did you lose your leg?”

“I lost it in the front lines.”

“Were you in the army? Or a mercenary, maybe a adventurer?”

“I was an adventurer.”

“Which party were you with?”

“I’m not sure if you’ve heard of the Isel party.”

“The Isel party?”

The old man showed surprise at my words.

“I never thought I’d see a ghost from Artlaus in a place like this. I guess the rumors of your retirement due to an injury were true?”

“…That nickname doesn’t sit well with me.”

“It wasn’t meant to be used in front of you. My apologies.”

Selly looked at me with a puzzled expression, wondering if we knew each other.

I smiled, gently shook my head, and changed the subject.

“Anyway, as Selly said, could we hear the reason for the rejection? The location is great, so it would be a shame to give up on it.”

“The original reasons were three, but… I suppose two of them wouldn’t matter to you.”

“So, what’s the remaining one?”

“Cooking skills.”

“Pardon?”

“I don’t want to see my successor running a restaurant that only sells bland stew or bread as hard as rocks. So, I hope you’ll either give up on the restaurant or look for another place.”

I was stunned by those words.

Is there some ability to tell whether someone is a good cook just by looking at their face? Why make such a judgment?

What was even more ridiculous was that if he truly had such an ability, he wouldn’t have said that.

It seemed that Selly was just as upset, as she demanded in a choked voice.

“My uncle is a great cook! What gives you the right to say such rude things!”

“I know many things. More than you know, young lady.”

Before Selly could argue further, the old man looked directly at me and began sharing his knowledge.

“Golden Plate adventurer [Crimson Moon Sword] Kyle. From Hilton. His activities before Hilton are unknown, and he’s presumed to be an orphan. He started wandering after joining the [Fang Wolf] mercenary group, and after the group was wiped out, he joined the Isel party and fought on the front lines. His major achievements include killing the high-ranking demon Kshat, defeating the black dragon Aolus, and sealing the Arc Lich Mementos. He’s also successfully completed 13 high-ranking quests, making him a legend in the guild.”

“Golden Plate adventurer? Black dragon? A legend…? Uncle, what are all these terms…?”

“What does that have to do with my cooking skills? And who are you, anyway?”

I asked threateningly, but the old man just snorted lightly.

“I’m just an old man who’s been around the guild for a long time. Anyway, when would a guy like that have time to learn cooking, and even if he did, how good could he possibly be at it?”

“I learned to cook before I became an adventurer!”

“So you’re saying you learned it over a decade ago, but you’ve never used those skills? And now you want to open a restaurant? Let me give you some serious advice—give it up. It’ll just gather dust.”

Well…

He wasn’t entirely wrong, but…

I closed my mouth, and Selly, who had been giving me a look as if to say, “We’ll talk later,” retorted against the old man.

“So it’s all just speculation?”

“It’s not speculation, it’s deduction. A deduction based on this level of information will always point to the truth.”

“Isn’t there a difference? In the end, you’re still dismissing facts without verifying them.”

“Heh, you’re a bold one, young lady. I suppose you might feel that way in your youth. So, can you prove that statement?”

“Of course!”

“Selly, why are you answering when I’m the one doing the cooking?”

“Fine. Then come in.”

“…Oh, alright.”

With that, the old man led us into his restaurant.

The restaurant was quite spacious and clean.

When we entered the kitchen, I couldn’t help but admire it.

The kitchen was even more impressive than the dining area.

“Wow, a stove, an oven, and even a magic stone refrigerator? How did you manage to get all this?”

“Oh, you know your refrigerators, do you?”

“Of course! I even tried to get one myself, but I had no time because I was busy with a request from the Magic Tower! And this kitchen knife—”

As I continued to marvel at the cooking tools, the old man, whose lips had been twitching in amusement, finally broke into a satisfied smile.

“You’ve got a good eye. Looks like you’ve actually learned more seriously than I expected.”

“I learned a little bit.”

“Good. In that case, to make up for my rudeness, I’ll offer you a better deal. If you can make a dish that satisfies me using the tools and ingredients here, I’ll hand over the restaurant and everything in it, without asking for any money.”

“You’re offering all of this for free? Really?”

This old man turned out to be more generous than I expected.

As I looked at him with a touched expression, he changed his demeanor and spoke.

“However, just the success fee doesn’t make it a challenge. If the dish you serve doesn’t meet my standards, I’ll take your sword, [Crimson]. What do you think?”

I paused for a moment at the old man’s words.

He would take my sword?

Why?

‘Didn’t I just buy this sword from some forge in a random city?’

And what’s [Crimson] supposed to mean? When did my sword get a name?

Could it be because of the nickname the Adventurer’s Guild gave it?

The old man looked at me seriously, as if asking, “Are you truly prepared for this?”

His expression was so serious that it almost made me question whether my sword had some hidden history I wasn’t aware of.

I thought about it for a while, but then decided to stop overthinking it.

‘I don’t know. Whatever, it’s better to just go along with it.’

A refrigerator that can’t even be bought with money vs a regular iron sword?

It would be foolish not to take the offer.

I nodded, and the old man returned to his original tone.

“Alright. Since it’s lunch time, I’ll need you to finish within an hour. I have other matters after the meal.”

“Got it. Please sit down.”

“Uncle, let me help. Your prosthetic leg is still uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

“Well, I’m grateful, but… are you sure it’s alright?”

“It’s no problem.”

I expressed my gratitude for the old man’s acceptance and checked the layout of the kitchen.

Upon closer inspection, the kitchen looked like a model house.

Cooking tools were neatly organized by usage and size.

There were three chopping boards, each labeled for meat, fish, and vegetables, and clean drinking water flowed directly from the faucet.

But what surprised me the most was the small box inside the pantry.

When I opened the box, Selly, recognizing one of the contents, asked.

“Uncle, isn’t this pepper?”

“That’s right. And everything else in there is spices.”

Pepper, paprika powder, cumin, coriander seeds…

The box was filled with expensive spices that only nobles could afford in this world.

This box alone could be worth more than the entire shop!

Of course, that’s excluding the priceless refrigerator, but still, these were not things you’d see in a regular restaurant.

Realizing this, Selly’s voice shook with fear.

“Uncle, let’s run away. That old man must be a noble!”

“Weren’t you just arguing back so confidently?”

“At that time, I thought he was just a rich old man! I believed in his cooking skills too! But how are we supposed to please a noble? As soon as he tastes the food, he’ll spit it out and call for the soldiers, saying, ‘You made me eat this trash?!’”

You’re getting very detailed in your imagination, Selly.

If you had lived in modern times, you might’ve become a successful writer.

But my cooking isn’t that bad, you know?

I shook my head firmly.

“No, I can do it.”

So what if he’s a noble?

If I cook something delicious, even a noble will eat it happily!

Based on the information I gathered from the old man earlier, I thought about the menu and came up with the most fitting choice.

“Selly, could you get a chicken from the fridge?”

This interview started with the idea of opening a chicken restaurant.

I guess I’ll have to win with chicken dishes.