Chapter 13: Part 2

- Silas -

Before we could talk anymore, the door to the Restaurant opened again and two people entered the Restaurant.

Wow, quite a few new people were coming to the Restaurant today.

One was an old man wearing a kimono and another was a girl with orange clothes.

"I didn't know there was a restaurant near the school? Is this place new?" He asked, looking at me.

"Hmm. Yes. What would you like to eat, Sir?"

"Hmph, as if this small place could serve food to satisfy us?" The girl snorted.

The old man sighed, "Be respectful, Erina."

"But grandfather…"

He shut the girl up and looked at me. "We will take whatever the chef recommends. Price is not an issue."

I raised an eyebrow at the price comment.

"Alright."

I prepared a very simple dish. An Egg fried rice but with Strawberry Rice, edible Billion Bird Eggs and several other ingredients which would make the dish price at around five hundred thousand.

The guy said that price wasn't an issue. Let him think about it.

As for the girl, I made a bowl of udon noodles. The guy asked me for the chef's recommendation. The Chef recommends some humility for the girl.

The aroma of the dish was kept in the kitchen so they had no idea what I was making. I covered the dish and called for Lavy to serve the dish.

I looked over the counter to observe the reaction of the two.

Lavinia removed the covers and both their eyes glazed over.

"Why is my dish different?" She asked, looking at her noodles.

"It's the Chef's recommendation for you." I smiled.

My Restaurant served food to Emperors and Dragons. A little brat questioning my Restaurant's tastes cannot be left alone… no matter how cute the girl was.

She glared at me for a moment but still took a bit of the udon.

"Umm ahhhh~"

She started rubbing her thighs together and moaning, startling me all of a sudden as everyone looked weirdly at me.

"I swear I didn't mix anything illegal into the dish." I quickly raised my hand.

What the hell?

Was she one of those scammers who will try to blackmail people after causing such scenes? Where are the cameras?

I looked around the place in panic and then threw the girl a wary look.

The old man beside him didn't mind anything and instead laughed.

"Hahahaha don't worry about it. This just means that Erina likes your cooking. Our family reacts differently to delicious food. Erina was blessed or rather cursed by an ability called the God's Tongue and she can perceive tastes to a very minute level. This makes her incredibly selective of what she eats. She doesn't mean to insult you." He explained.

"So this…"

"Is how she reacts to the taste which she gets won over by."

He then took a bite of his own food and paused for a moment before his clothes burst out from his body and he went on for a minute long rant on the details of the dish. I didn't even think that much when I was cooking this. He stopped after a minute and then looked at me and I couldn't help but ask. "So, these bursting clothes ability was yours?"

"Hmm."

Damn… that must suck. Everytime he ate good food, he would lose his clothes. I mean imagine this ability on a woman… that would be a nightmare. An inborn training tool to make someone into an exhibitionist.

What kind of a messed up world was this guy living in? The very thought made me shudder.

Not to mention, his clothes bill must be huge.

The man and the girl both concentrated on eating after that and then ordered different things too.

From the cheapest dish to the things going in millions.

For a minute I was scared if they were going to be scammed but the guy paid everything and added a twenty percent tip.

I made five million and eighty seven thousand yen from just this guy.

"Say, young man, why are you wasting your talents in such a remote place. I am sure that with your skill, you could get jobs anywhere you want? I actually want to invite you to the Totsuki Academy for the position of a teacher."

Totsuki Academy? Teacher?

I looked confused at the guy who raised an eyebrow but seeing no change in my confused look, he was a bit flustered. "The Totsuki Culinary Academy for the best chefs in the world." He offered more information.

"Ah, I am satisfied with my Restaurant. Thank you for inviting me though."

"What were the ingredients you used in your dishes? I didn't recognize most of them." For the first time, the girl enquired.

"Those…"

It led to a short explanation to what this place was and then the man proceeded to talk to Jiro, even asking if he could procure some ingredients from his world to help his daughter who got ill whenever she ate anything which she didn't find delicious. He even made me pack the best dishes I could make to bring with him to his daughter.

"You know, Silas-kun, the ingredients in the Gourmet World are costly beyond your comprehension. Some of the items cannot even be priced after selling off an entire planet. At this rate, you might not be able to get access to several ingredients." Jiro-san said.

Oh.

I looked at the man curiously who took this chance and continued.

"I suggest that you get a hunter as a partner if you truly want to advance as a chef. Hunters and Chefs make pairs to hunt down ingredients and cook them. They are partners in the truest sense. Even I went on hunts with my Secchan in my younger days. Besides, there are plenty of Chefs who hunt on their own too." He smiled.

"This… I will consider the suggestion. Thank you for your advice, Jiro-san. By the way, how strong are these monsters?" I asked.

If things weren't too bad, maybe Rimuru, Ainz, Saitama and I could go there for a training trip of sorts next time.

"They are… hmm, any halfway decent ingredient would have the strength to destroy a big continent at the very least."

….

….

A period of silence came down over the room.

Even the other oldies looked at Jiro-san in shock.

"On second thought, I will hold on to going hunting for a while."

Are you kidding me?

Just a Demon Lord Seed was dangerous to us. If it hadn't been for Ainz's cheat skill, there was a high chance that we would have to fight him alone to get him and even that was only because we had an aerial advantage.

And now he's talking about facing Continent level monsters?

That's insane.

"Hahahaha don't worry. The more delicious food you eat, the stronger you can become. This is the beauty of our world. Train, eat and get stronger to explore the best parts of the world."

"This place sounds like the Dark Continent from our world." Issac-san said, brushing his beard.

"The Dark Continent?"

"Hmm, our world's humanity is confined to what would amount to only a small lake compared to the whole world. The rest of the World is unexplored even with all our technologies and power. This place is called the Dark Continent. That world is….simply beyond our understanding." He sighed.

"Is it really that dangerous?"

"Yes. It is said that the ancestors of the human race had migrated from them to the 'Known World'. That world is filled with treasures and dangers. For example, there is a special type of product found there called Nitro Rice. It can extend the lifespan of anyone who consumes it. There is also a herb called the 'Herb of All-Illness' which can cure all diseases."

"Has no one tried to go back there?" Hayato-san asked.

"Obviously we have. There have been 149 known expeditions and many unknown ones sent there with a survival rate of 0.04 percent from the known ones only. It's just too dangerous for us."

"This Dark Continent of yours sounds like our Gourmet World." Jiro-san said.

"Gourmet World?"

"Hmm. Our world's humanity is also confined within a very small part of the world. The rest of the world is called the Gourmet World which covers about seventy percent of our planet." He explained.

"How strong are they?" Bang-san asked, sounding curious.

"In our world, power is measured in terms of Capture Level. This depends on various factors such as the strength of the prey as well as the danger of the environment. Normally in the human world, the capture levels go from 1 to 100 while they can go in thousands in the Gourmet World. To give you an idea, something in 180s Capture Levels can take a walk and it would destroy countries they pass through while something in 300s will be beyond the Human World's capabilities normally."

….I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine at his words.

Even the grandfather and granddaughter pair had their faces go pale at the words while the man was simply sipping his sake.

"Don't worry. We also have strong people protecting everyone. Not just anyone can walk in and destroy the world." He assured us, making us relax.

Damn….the outside world is dangerous.

Here I just became a Daemon Chevalier and was feeling relaxed while my Restaurant is connected to these hell worlds.

Still, the things they said in the Gourmet World and the Dark Continent sounded awesome. If someday I become strong enough, I would like to go there myself….someday very far away in the future.

While thinking of this I searched for something in my System and suddenly stopped.

"...ilas, Silas!" Issac-san's voice broke me out of my stupor. "Is something the matter?" He asked. "You looked like you were lost in your own world."

I looked at him blankly. "I….my shop has the Nitro Rice and Herb of All-Illness for ingredients." I said, making him freeze.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "The description matches what you said and even the effects match. I think it should be the same."

His face became very serious. "Could you sell some of those to us?" He asked. "As the Chairman of the Hunter's Association, I would like to formally negotiate with you for the sales of these two products."

He was the chairman of the Association?

"Actually, I don't think I can sell the raw ingredients but I can sell the finished products as food items. The only thing I can assure you is that none of the medicinal effects will be lost." I replied. This was a rule in the Restaurant and even I couldn't break it.

"I see. Alright. I will not ask you to break your rule for me. I will talk to the rest of the Association and come back later to negotiate about this."

I nodded.

We talked about various topics and even Issac wanted to venture into Jiro-san's world and see it for himself. Bang and Hayato wanted to join too.

Really, these oldies are too energetic for their own good.

On the other hand the grandfather and granddaughter duo were scared out of their minds and just kept sitting on the side and listening to the stories of Jiro-san and Issac-san.

Before leaving they promised to return again and also invited me to visit their place in the future.

Hmm, maybe I can recruit some good chefs for my Restaurant there?