Chapter 67
It was essentially like selling water from the Han River.
I shouted to the twins, sounding deeply moved.
"Thank you! Knowing I would meet you both, I brought some human food in advance."
With a burst of flames, a dining table and chairs made of red marble appeared.
Ella crossed her legs as she sat down and commanded.
"You are quite prepared. Let us see what you have."
Together with Kwak Han-mook, I lined up 50 cups of leaf tea on the table.
The twins each took a sip.
Elun, who had maintained a languid expression throughout, suddenly widened his eyes. He spoke with a look of shock.
"Tastes bad..."
Ella also shuddered the moment she tasted it, offering a harsh critique.
"Horrendous! You have no talent for cooking, so choose another profession immediately. This is all garbage!"
With that, she incinerated all the leaf tea on the table.
Kwak Han-mook didn’t miss his cue to act.
"Ah..! The leaf tea my little brother, Chestnut, spent day and night painstakingly preparing..!"
Thud.
As he collapsed onto the floor, Ella screamed.
"Get lost!"
Elun blinked slowly while looking at me.
A welcome notification popped up.
[You have sold 50 leaf teas and received 60G.]
In S2P, there was a wonderful system called tipping, where customers sometimes paid more than the price of the food.
In this case, Elun, seeing Kwak Han-mook’s pitiful act, had added 10G as a tip.
Having earned a total of 60G, I lowered my gaze and spoke sorrowfully.
"I am sorry.... Next time, I will definitely bring food that satisfies Lady Ella and Lord Elun."
I was sorry, but tomorrow would be leaf tea again.
In the early stages when money was tight, I had to feed them nothing but leaf tea.
After promising the twins I would return tomorrow, I left the dungeon.
"Wow.."
Kwak Han-mook let out a gasp of admiration, his face looking extremely satisfied.
"As expected of Brother Chestnut. We’re fuckin’ rich."
Showing his canines in a grin, he stuck close to my side and chuckled.
"Let me do that again. That was damn fun."
Dominic seemed to have enjoyed it quite a bit as well. He praised me in a voice tinged with amusement.
"That was a moving performance. Roasted Chestnut, you could have been an actor."
’It wasn’t that great, Mr. Dominic!’
Bringing the play to a close with rave reviews, I headed toward the village general store with Kwak Han-mook.
I was happily contemplating what to shop for with 60G when Kwak Han-mook narrowed his eyes.
"What’s that?"
Several sturdy-looking men were blocking the narrow forest path.
Ping! A cheerful sound rang out as a notification appeared.
Oh no! You’ve encountered bandits! There’s nowhere to run... What should you do?
I had run into bandits.
Bandit events rarely occurred in the very beginning of the game.
However, very occasionally, they would trigger against low odds.
Meeting bandits in the early game, before one could properly level up or acquire gear, usually meant that the run was ruined.
But right now, I have Kwak Han-mook.
And the bandits?
’They have money.’
Unable to hide my joy, I replied,
"Customers, Captain Kwak!"
You have defeated the bandits!
Kwak Han- mook dusted off his suspender jeans and looked back at me.
I gave him two thumbs up.
"You’re the best."
While Kwak Han-mook dealt with the bandits, I ran to the general store, spent a hefty 5G on rope, and tied up the unconscious bandits in a long string like sausages.
Then, I dragged them back to the restaurant with Kwak Han-mook.
As we dragged the bandit gang back, Mo Hae- in, who was finishing the cleaning, looked at me with bewildered eyes.
"Trainee..?"
To her, who was confused about what was happening, I first asked about Je Hyeon-oh.
"Where is Lieutenant Colonel Je?"
"Pruning trees in the backyard."
It seemed he had developed a hobby of trimming trees in this S2P.
It was a good thing that he had found a non-violent hobby. He happened to have the perfect hands for gardening, after all.
Leaving Je Hyeon-oh to create his landscaping, I hurried into the restaurant and diligently prepared leaf tea.
One cup per person.
Once I had prepared enough for the group, the bandits began to wake up one by one.
I smiled at them.
"You must be thirsty after robbing people in broad daylight, right? Have a drink."
The bandits looked at the line of leaf teas with stupid expressions.
In front of them sat a paper box with a short phrase written on it.
[Tips go here!]
Glancing at each other, the bandits hesitantly picked up the leaf tea.
The moment they took a sip, they each reacted violently.
"Bleegh!"
"Ack..! What is this!"
"Is this water made from food waste?!"
Amidst the chaos, one man tried to flee outside.
Mo Hae-in, standing guard at the door, pointed a kitchen knife at his throat.
Then, she spoke curtly.
"Tip."
There were no bandits who could refuse a kind employee’s request for a tip.
They obediently emptied all their money into the tip box and left.
Gold piled up in the paper box.
Ping! A proud notification appeared with a cheerful sound.
You have sold 12 leaf teas and received 120G.
To earn a whopping 120G - it felt like winning the lottery.
Moreover, my level rose significantly from catching the bandits.
Since it was judged as a 5-person party, the experience was split, but if we knocked out a few minor quests, the entire Special Task Team could reach level 10 by the end of the day.
This meant we could enter the dungeon starting from the second day.
A smile naturally formed on my face at the thought of starting the procurement of ingredients tomorrow night.
Mo Hae-in put down the kitchen knife and gazed at me.
"In all my life, I’ve never seen someone extort money from bandits."
Was that a compliment?
I tried to smile shyly, but after reading ’crazy bastard’ in her eyes, I tightened my lips.
"Captain Mo. Let’s think of it as rehabilitation costs."
Kwak Han-mook laughed wickedly while shaking the tip box.
Now possessing 175G, I happily set off for the general store.
Before that, I stopped by the backyard to see what Je Hyeon-oh was doing, and I found that the wild trees had all been transformed into plausible landscaping trees.
"Lieutenant Colonel Je! Once you’re done with the backyard, please do the front yard as well."
When I explained that the better the restaurant’s scenery, the more bonus points we’d get for reputation, Je Hyeon-oh clinked his metallic hand.
I got slightly nervous, wondering if I had been too arrogant, but he displayed an emoticon on his goggles.
^^
What was that?
For a moment-just a very brief moment, I thought Je Hyeon-oh had been quite lenient with me since entering this Slay the Plate.
But no matter how I tried to guess the reason, I couldn’t figure it out.
He was an opponent who couldn’t be understood through general common sense.
’Maybe it’s a step back for a bigger leap forward...’
Since we were teammates, he probably wouldn’t kill me.
But he might just prune me like one of his landscaping trees.
Since his steady gaze felt exactly like that, I quickly escaped under the pretext of shopping.
At the general store, I carefully selected and purchased the most necessary items.
[Chinese Cleaver: A cleaver with a sharp blade. It might be able to kill monsters.]
(Attack +1)]
[Small Bag: A necessity for dungeon adventurers. Made of monster hide, it is sturdy and can hold monster by-products.]
(Inventory +15)
Apron: A pretty apron with frills. (Luck + 2)
One upgraded cooking tool, one inventory expansion bag, and one apron, in addition to the basic tools provided in restaurant.
If the restaurant staff wore appropriate attire, the probability of receiving tips increased.
However, in the beginning, there was no money for things like chef’s whites or waiter uniforms.
Thus, I aimed for a bit of extra income by equipping an apron.
Specifically, if the chef wore an apron, customers were more likely to tip for the food.
After shopping, I finished tidying up the restaurant, completed some simple quests, and processed the gathered materials. Before I knewit, the first day had ended.
There were no lights around the restaurant, so the outside was pitch black.
When I went up to the second floor of the restaurant, which served as the staff quarters, it was also a mess.
Kwak Han-mook had cleaned it as much as possible, but there was no basic furniture.
There were ceilings and floors, but the environment was practically the same as camping outdoors.
When I played in parties with strangers in the game, I didn’t care if we slept outdoors; I was only obsessed with upgrading the restaurant.
Staff sleep on the dirt floor, but the customers’ plates must be luxury!
’That had been my original principle of restaurant management.’
But not now.
Since everyone had entered this trial for my sake, I wanted to provide a comfortable environment.
’I need to make money fast.’
Thinking about how to aggressively earn money, I checked the time.
11:50 PM.
At midnight, one would automatically fall asleep.
Since falling asleep anywhere other than a designated bed resulted in a death judgment, we hurried to our respective rooms.
Before going to sleep, Kwak Han-mook grabbed my shoulder one last time.
"Fuck, I can still see it...."
After confirming that the Pudding Slime was still visible to him, he disappeared gloomily.
Entering my room, I lay down on the straw bed.
It was a bed that vividly reminded me of the holding cells in Call of the Void.
The Pudding Slime on my stomach wiggled downward.
It seemed to touch the straw bed, froze for a moment, and then calmly climbed back up onto me.
Though it couldn’t speak, it was clearly surprised by the scratchy texture.
He was a high-class slime who had likely never lain in a place as wretched as a straw bed in his entire life.
I waited until Dominic secured a safe zone on top of me and then called him.
"Mr. Dominic."
Then, I pleaded in the most pitiful voice possible.
"Now that it’s just the two of us, could you please tell me about that? How is it that you can see me even though my rank is low?"
I wanted to know the truth.
But Dominic didn’t answer and just kept smiling. He seemed to find the situation of my curiosity amusing.
Then, what appeared before me was:
[Eve-ve-vent Que-que-quest: Serve a plate of delicious food to that per-per-person.]
[Reward: Re-re-reward: Sat-sat-satisfying young. young. you-you-young Gun-bam’s curiosity!]
It was a broken system window.
I couldn’t hide the hardening of my expression.
What...is this?
This isn’t Call of the Void.
Buried memories resurfaced, and goosebumps rose on my cheeks.
On my chest, Dominic spoke kindly.
"How is it, Roasted Chestnut?"
"Since your rank is still low, I thought it might be dangerous to tell you without a price, so I tried making this."
"Hmm, the craftsmanship is a bit poor. Next time, I’ll bring one in a better form."
"You’ll be able to make things like this soon, Mr. Gun-bam. You’re still young, but you’ll grow quickly."
He didn’t forget to humbly downplay his own ability.
Mentioning that some people learn faster when they are young, Dominic continued in a gentle tone.
I barely managed to open my lips.
"Ah.... Thank you."
How much time was left until Dominic regained his true essence?
I would try to make him like Earth as much as possible until then, but....
I didn’t know what kind of being Dominic would be once his memories returned.
I felt as if I were staring into an endless void.
To avoid being swallowed by the abyss, I clenched my teeth tightly.
Then, as if nothing had happened, I smiled slightly and asked.
"Mr. Dominic. Could you teach me how to make this as well?"
Though Dominic was scary, the ability to create quest windows was something I had always wanted.
Since I had registered the entire Special Task Team, it would be incredibly useful if I could generate quest windows.
"Hmm... If it’s alright, may I examine you, Roasted Chestnut?"
"What do you mean by ’examine?"
"I’d like to check your interior. Since you are young, it would be better to approach it the old-fashioned way. First, starting with the heart.
After hearing Dominic’s subsequent explanation, I felt nauseous.
Perhaps because he was an alien slime, he didn’t seem to know that humans die when their internals are ripped open.
"Is there no other way?"
When I spoke with a desperate desire not to be tortured alive, Dominic laughed softly.
"It won’t hurt."
It was a statement like a doctor dealing with a patient who was faking an illness.
I shuddered inwardly.
"I’m very cowardly. If there’s another way, I’d appreciate it."
"Then it can’t be helped. For now, that’s the only method I remember."
When I refused, Dominic didn’t ask twice and immediately backed off.
’I’ll let you know as soon as I remember another way, Roasted Chestnut."
"Thank you."
I, who had been slightly terrified that he might check by force, secretly felt relieved.
Regardless, it seemed I wouldn’t be getting help regarding the quest windows.
Since trying to get Dominic’s help might lead to a greater price, I decided it was best to just focus quietly on closing the trial.
I left the Pudding Slime to wander as it pleased on top of me and closed my eyes.
Perhaps because I had cleaned the restaurant too hard, sleep had been pouring over me for a while.
While thinking about the things to do tomorrow, I was forcibly put to sleep by the system as soon as it hit midnight.
Was it because I was too tired?
I couldn’t sleep deeply and had a strange dream.
It was a dream where Dominic finally checked my interior.
A 3-meter-tall man split my chest open with a massive hand.
To me, who was writhing in fear, terror, and pain, Dominic whispered the same words over and over.
"It won’t hurt."
’Then, from a certain point, it really became okay.
I felt like Dominic had smiled while watching me be amazed.
Having regained peace, I soon fell into a very deep sleep.
Completely forgetting the bad dream.
And the next morning.
Dominic was gone.