With the Storage Dimension fuller than when he departed through the door, Ludwig appeared in the darkness in front of his restaurant. Through the window, he could see faces of those who frequent his restaurant under the subtle light inside the restaurant, either laughing, chatting, or even eating.
His worries evaporated like snow at the dawn of spring. The Eldara's problems already felt like problems from decades ago now. Though, he made sure to tell himself to spare some time to look for some of his comrades. One which was wrongly accused while the other one was on the run.
As those thoughts ran around his mind, his gaze fell on one particular customer. His body jolted. Then he quickly hit the ground. The door opened with a slight push and the coldness disappeared as a cozy warmth hugged him.
Once he crossed the threshold, he could see Vilera's eyes landing on him as her face blossomed into a smile. But what took his interest the most was not her. Instead, it was the spicy and sweet aroma that lingered inside the restaurant.
After giving a nod towards Vilera, he whipped his head towards the kitchen. There, a black-haired woman was moving the wok with her thin arm, her sleeve rolled into her elbow. Knowing full well who she was, Ludwig returned his gaze towards Vilera. But this time, his eyes housed a question in them.
Probably sensing the question in his gaze, Vilera opened her mouth. "Miss Treyni came this evening with Sir Rimuru and other people from Tempest. She ordered a dish with no meat or fish, just like before. Since we can't serve her just the vegetable dishes from the set meal, I ask Miss Akane to cook something for her."
Hearing her explanation that was delivered in a composed and concise manner, Ludwig nodded before giving her a pat in the shoulder. "Good work handling that. I really forgot about her."
But as he looked towards the big table that housed Rimuru and his party, Ludwig couldn't help but to frown. "But Treryni is eating right now. Did she ask for a second?"
"No." Vilera answered. "Miss Akane is currently cooking for the people from Tempest. After seeing what Miss Treyni eats, they also want to try it."
Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle at that information. If he had to put his customers on a tier-list regarding who were the most easily swayed by new foods, the people of Tempest would take the crown. It probably had something to do with their races and culture before coming to Tempest.
After giving Vilera another pat in the shoulder, Ludwig walked past her. But only after taking a few steps, he was forced to take another transit.
"You finally return." Claire spun on her seat and looked at him, hand swirling a glass.
"I am." Ludwig chuckled.
"It seemed like you were attending a party somewhere rather than hunting a wyvern." She said as she leaned towards his body, sniffing a few times.
"I also did some shopping." Ludwig shrugged. "And that shopping involved drinking so many different liquor."
Claire's brows raised as she heard the word 'Liquor'. "Did you bring some good stuff?"
"I brought a few." Ludwig chuckled before walking past her. On the way, he was stopped a few more times. Mainly by the cats and the young dragon. Only after he coaxed the dragon with the promise of cooking him something good later did he finally enter the kitchen.
"Good job holding the fort, Bilo." Ludwig patted the faun in the back as he passed him.
"T-thank you, boss."
"I should be the one who thank you." Ludwig smiled before moving towards Akane. "Miss Akane, thank you for helping the kids."
Rather than answering right away, she lifted the wok with her hand and scooped the stir-fried vegetables into the plate. Only after she filled the three plates on top of the counter with her cooking that she looked at Ludwig.
"You are welcome." She tugged the corner of her lips upwards. "I have a lot of fun cooking here."
"Glad to hear that." Ludwig smiled. "Make sure to tell me before you leave, I'll give your pay at that time. I still need to think about how much will be appropriate because this is the first time."
Akane waved her hands around, "No, you owe me nothing. I just help because I can."
"The restaurant profited because of you, so of course I have to pay you." Ludwig said, his tone serious.
"Please, no." Akane said, hands still waving.
"I Insist."
However, Ludwig was firm. Just because someone was able and willing to help, it didn't mean that they shouldn't be paid. It was even more so in this case because her presence in this restaurant helped his business to gain some money.
"I-if you insist, can you just knock on the total cost of my food today?"
"I can do that, but is that enough?"
"It is. You know how I lived. The kingdom gave me enough allowance to let me live comfortably."
Ludwig let out a long sigh. Indeed, she had a kingdom on her corner. With her position as the older sister of their hero, of course they would spare no effort to keep her pleased. "I'll do that then. But, this is the last time, Akane. Next time you help here for whatever reason, you will be paid accordingly. Okay?"
"Okay." Akane finally smiled.
"By the way, have you thought about my offer?" Ludwig leaned into the countertop and said so.
"I have." Akane nodded. "And from what I experienced today, I think I will agree to your offer."
"Really?" Ludwig beamed.
"Really." She nodded.
"Thank you so much. You don't know how much weight you took from me by accepting the offer." Ludwig laughed.
"Not having a dessert in the restaurant stressed you that much?" She curled her eyebrows.
"If no one asked for it, I wouldn't be so stressed." Ludwig shrugged. "But Rimuru, Claire, and even Kushina kept asking about dessert after I gave them some ice cream."
"Who can refuse a good dessert, right?" Akane laughed.
"Indeed." Ludwig nodded as he smiled. "You should rest now, Akane. Thank you again. If you need anything, just tell the kids."
"I will do so." Akane nodded before walking towards the door to the kitchen. But then, she looked back at him. "Will you start serving wyvern meat now?"
Not expecting her to ask anymore questions, Ludwig whipped his head towards her mid steps. "Yeah. You want some?"
"I will probably place an order for that. My younger sister and the prince will also probably do so." She laughed.
"You come with your sister and the prince? I'll make sure to greet them later."
Akane nodded before leaving the kitchen, now without looking back again.
Ludwig also started to move, first he went into the bar. He squatted just beside his usual spot and pulled the wooden door beneath the bar counter. As the wood was peeled away, the metallic interior showed itself. Runes of three different colours could be seen flickering.
Fishing one barrel of the ale he brought, he pulled the cork open and put the metallic straw into it. After closing the door, he did the same to the cabinet beside it. He repeated the action until the three barrels of different types of ale sat inside, ready to be poured into a glass using the make-shift bear tap attached to the bar counter.
He then covered the metallic shelf with his time mana and accelerated the time, letting the cold rune do its job on the ale.
After feeling that the ale had become cold enough, he took three mugs from the shelf and poured the ale into it. He then passed all three towards Claire. "Tell me what you think about them."
"This is the ale you brought?" Claire's brows raised as she looked at the three mugs of ale. "To be honest, I rarely drink ale. I don't think I will be a good judge."
"It's fine. Just your own thoughts will be enough." Ludwig waved her worries away before looking at Vilera.
"Change the menu. The wyvern meat is ready to be ordered."
Hearing that, Vilera moved towards the menu board and shelved it before pulling another one from the counter.
"Explain to the customers the menu will be wyvern steak, wyvern tempura, and spicy stir-fry wyvern meat."
"Understood." Vilera nodded before walking towards the dining area, probably about to tell the other young demons about it.
In the meantime, Ludwig looked at Claire again. She was just putting the first mug back into the table. "This one is… not strong and rather watery. But it has that sweetness from, honey I think?"
"You are correct." Ludwig laughed. "That one is going to be the cheapest option for a drink."
"Oh? How much will it be?" Claire moved her eyes away from the glass to Ludwig.
"In my currency, 6 to 7 copper coins."
"That's cheap. Just a few coins more than the lemonade."
After saying so, Claire took the second mug. The one with dark liquid inside. Tilting the mug to the side, she pulled the liquid into her mouth. But then, "Cough! Cough!"
Claire's face folded like a towel as her free arm moved to wipe her mouth. "That's stronger than I expected. Bitter too. But it's sweet at the end, not as sweet as the other one, but just enough."
Ludwig nodded at her words. "That ale is just that kind of ale. Bitter at first but sweet in the end."
"Are you sure it will sell?" Claire asked.
"Maybe not as much as the first one. But those who liked it will buy it." Ludwig shrugged.
Putting the second mug to the table, Claire's hand moved towards the last mug. But before she drank it, her eyes moved to Ludwig. "Will this one be stronger than the bitter one?"
"It should be." Ludwig smiled. "But, it also should be more delicious than the other two."
Claire looked at the liquid inside the mug at that moment. Then with a sigh, she drank it. Her face contorted for a second, then she scrunched her nose, lips parting as she chap her tongue. "This one is… delicious."
"It's rich, like really rich. The wheat flavour was also more profound. But there's more, smokiness and… something I haven't tasted before."
"After you tasted the smokiness, you should taste a tinge of iron and something mineral." Ludwig crossed his arms in front of him and said so.
"Iron and mineral? Is it safe to consume?" Claire whipped her head up and looked at Ludwig.
"It should be." Ludwig shrugged. "That's one of the best ale in the dwarven kingdom."
Claire hummed. "That made sense. It went down rather easily. I think I can drink this daily."
"Good to hear that." Ludwig gave Claire one last look before his eyes went towards Valerie who was hopping to the bar.
"3 servings of wyvern steak, boss." She said, tone flowery, as if she was just experiencing something that made her mood sky high.
"Coming right away." Ludwig said before walking towards the countertop. From his back, he could hear Valerie telling Bilo about the drink orders.
They really had made their own system. Ludwig chuckled. But it's all good on him, because the workflow was clearer now, no need for him to tell whoever was in the kitchen what they needed to do again.
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