Cooking Is An Art

Lucian nodded without a change in his expression. "All right. Please wait a moment, sir." He then turned around and entered the kitchen. He did not take Garrett's words to heart. He had heard way worse insults in his three lives… four if you counted Wang Chen's life.

As a chef, proper hygiene was required. Lucian first washed his hands and then dried them with a towel. Only then did he walk over to the oven.

Next to the oven were the already prepared ingredients. Before Garrett had shown up, he was about to start preparing his breakfast but stopped.

Siren's Melody Poached Egg was actually a very simple dish. However, what made the dish so expensive and gourmet were the high-class ingredients.

…Well, they were high-class ingredients for the current him. In the future, instead of mere grade one, grade two, and grade three ingredients, he would use Divine Grade ingredients.

From on top of the countertop, Lucian grabbed a transparent bottle filled to the brim with exactly 1.5 liters of Mana Water and poured it into the medium-sized saucepan. Then, he turned the oven knob to three and added a tablespoon of Starlight vinegar to the saucepan. 

After six minutes, once the Mana Water began simmering, Lucian gently stirred the water with a spoon in a circular motion until a whirlpool formed. Then, he opened the egg carton and took out two entirely blue eggs.

Just because he had a customer who was waiting for his order, did not mean Lucian would eat later. He planned to prepare two plates of Siren's Melody Poached Egg.

The blue eggs were precisely the Siren's Melody Eggs. 

"What beautiful eggs." 

Lucian silently smirked when he heard Garrett's words. Lifting his head, he glanced at the Orc, who had changed seats. Earlier, he had been sitting next to the entrance, now he was sitting at a circular table closest to the kitchen window.

"Ahh, sorry." Garrett awkwardly scratched his bald head when he noticed Lucian's gaze. "I didn't mean to disturb you."

A floor-to-ceiling window that showed the entire kitchen was a risky restaurant strategy. 

The kitchen not being clean.

Noise and smell from the kitchen.

A chef might become self-conscious and pressured when being stared at.

But as a trained chef with countless years of real experience within many three-star Michelin restaurants, Lucian was unfazed when stared at. Even noise would not bother him.

Cooking was an art, and just like how art was meant to be showcased, he would show off his cooking.

"It's fine." Lucian indifferently said, and grabbed an egg in each hand, and gently knocked them against the saucepan. After a crack formed on both eggs, using his thumbs, he pried the shells open and carefully dropped the egg whites and egg yolks into the saucepan. 

While the egg whites were setting, Lucian grabbed a few Netherbane Chives and finely chopped them. His knife work was fast and efficient. Not even a single chive was bruised.

Two minutes later, a burst of fragrance drifted out of the saucepan and out of the kitchen.

Like a heat-seeking missile, the rich aroma flowed into Garrett's nostrils.

Immediately, Garrett's eyes widened in disbelief and excitement.

Saliva pooled in his mouth almost causing him to choke. Hastily, he swallowed the saliva in his mouth while never taking his eyes away from the saucepan. 

He felt like he was looking at the love of his eyes, who was fully naked and beckoning him to take a sip of her heavenly nectar.

Lucian, who had always thought he could remain indifferent no matter the circumstances, shivered. Subconsciously, he glanced behind his shoulders and almost got the fright of his life, if not for the fact that Garrett's eyes were on the saucepan and not on his body.

'Haah.' Knowing that his virginity could continue maintaining its pristine form, Lucian breathed out a sigh of relief.

Using a perforated spoon, he scooped out the poached eggs and placed them on a kitchen tissue.

Once the kitchen tissue soaked up the excess Mana Water, Lucian delicately placed the two eggs on separate plates.

Then, from an elevated height, Lucian sprinkled a pinch of Dragon Fly Flake Salt, followed by a single twist from the Frostfire Black Pepper Grinder, and lastly, a pinch of the finely chopped Netherbane Chives.

When the garnishes were added, the intensity of the rich fragrance increased.

The smell of the Siren's Melody Poached Eggs pervaded the entire restaurant and even upstairs.

*Guruguru*

'Tch, damn Mortal Body.' 

Lucian's brows formed into a frown of displeasure.

For a simple plate of poached egg to cause his stomach to rumble was an insult.

On the other hand, Garrett thought differently. He was completely entranced.

The rich smell of the Siren's Melody Poached Egg, mixed with the subtle aroma of spice and herbs, flooded his nostrils.

His dark green eyes were glazed, and his nostrils were constantly flaring, taking in whiff after whiff of the rich, savory aroma. He wished he had more noses or better yet, that he could bottle up the smell. 

'Haah. This smell is truly worth the pri… fuck!' Garrett paused and his eyes narrowed. After swallowing the saliva that pooled in his mouth, he continued, 'I was almost charmed into believing a plate of food could be charged five Low-Grade Mana Stones!'

As if the aroma had a consciousness of its own, it drove itself into Garrett's nostrils, in waves.

*Gulp*

When Garrett heard the sound of himself swallowing his saliva, he felt embarrassed. His body was not listening to his thoughts one bit.

From within the kitchen, Lucian smirked. It was only natural for a Mortal to feel hunger if even Lucian felt hunger from the smell alone. The egg of a Siren that was sung the Nine Seas Melody could not be compared to a normal chicken's egg.

If Garrett still felt the price was not fair, he would be in for a surprise once the egg entered his mouth.

With a plate in each hand, Lucian calmly walked out of the kitchen and stopped in front of the table Garret was sitting at.

"Here you go, sir, a plate of Siren's Melody Poached Egg. Please enjoy your meal." Lucian indifferently said as he placed one plate of Siren's Melody Poached Egg in front of Garrett and the other on the opposite end of the circular table.

Garrett froze for a moment. Blinking his eyes, he could not help but think, 'He is definitely eccentric.'

Smiling indifferently, Lucian nodded and reached out, grabbing the cutlery pouch beside his plate and unfurling the tissue. Elegantly, he took the knife and spoon and placed the tissue on the table with the fork on top.

With a knife and spoon in each hand, Lucian looked at Garret. "Just because I have a customer does not mean I will wait for him to leave before eating." 

Garrett's eyes twitched, he had never seen or heard of such an eccentric restaurant owner.

After silently shaking his head, he also unfurled the white napkin, which seemed to be of high quality, and grabbed a knife and spoon.

On the white gold-rimmed plate was a single poached egg. Pink vein-like patterns ran across the surface of the tender egg whites. Not even a hint of the blue egg yolk could be seen, meaning the poached egg was cooked to perfection. Dark-red chopped leaves evenly coated the surface of the egg. On each evenly chopped leaf was a single almost transparent flake of salt and blue and red finely ground pepper.

Expert!

The owner of the restaurant was an expert in the field of cooking. Garret had watched from beginning to the end. The way Lucian had sprinkled and garnished the poached egg had looked amateurish, yet in front of him was perfection.

Everything down to the smallest detail was perfect.

Garrett felt like he was looking at a piece of art. Compared to the beautiful and expensive oil paintings evenly hung on the wall, the plate in front of him could be eaten.

For a mere thousandth of a second, a part of him even regretted the mere thought of eating such a perfect piece of art.

Before the tragedy on that one eerily, dark night, Garrett had been of noble birth. Born as the second son and heir to the Blackthorn Family, he had only feasted on gourmet foods. Gourmet foods prepared by the family chef and even foods prepared by the number one restaurant in Harmony City, Dragon's Feast Restaurant. Their chefs were all highly credited and were award-winning chefs. If not for the Dragon's Feast Restaurant's mysterious backing their chefs would have long been kidnapped.

However, in appearance and fragrance alone they were beaten. 

It was as if the owner was the God of Cooking.

Garrett even felt comparing the two dishes was an insult to the owner of Transcendence. 

Seeing Garrett was simply staring at the plate of Siren's Melody Poached Egg, Lucian frowned.