TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 234
In front of A Restaurant in Hamel, where people were lined up in a long queue.
Three individuals, who looked suspicious to anyone, were sitting on a bench, waiting for their turn.
The Man in a brown coat.
Man in Butler Suit.
And.
“Eeeek!! Give it back!”
A woman arguing with a Young Child. These people, exuding an unusual atmosphere, were waiting for their turn.
‘Ahem.’ Clearing my throat, I looked at The Man holding a Queue Ticket labeled ’12’ in his hand and spoke.
“Proprietress.”
“I’m analyzing right now, so don’t talk to me.”
Ignoring Malik’s firm refusal, I asked a question. There was a sense of Shame more important than analysis. Bracing myself to be scolded, I asked Malik.
“Why are you wearing that strange mustache?”
“…Oh, you mean the mustache.”
Malik, delighted that his Disguise was recognized, answered with a light smile.
“It’s called a Disguise.”
“That?”
“That’s right.”
An attire that looked suspicious to anyone.
Malik, wearing a brown coat, sunglasses, and a False Mustache, looked so suspicious that it wouldn’t be surprising if the Guards dragged him away.
“You look way too suspicious.”
“…”
“It’s not like we’re spreading rumors about being Industrial Spies, but this is really odd.”
Malik took off his sunglasses and asked if it really looked strange.
“Is it that strange?”
“Yes.”
“Even the mustache?”
“The mustache makes it look even stranger.”
“…The staff said it looked seamless and liked it.”
“You can’t exactly tell the Proprietress outright that it doesn’t look good, can you?”
“…”
When his carefully prepared Disguise turned out to be pointless, Malik showed a disappointed expression as he peeled off the clumsy mustache stuck to his face.
“Is it really that strange?”
Still lingering with regret, Malik hesitated, holding the half-peeled mustache in his hand. I nodded firmly and answered.
“Yes.”
Malik was upset.
The line was long.
There were so many people waiting that it would take about 40 minutes for our turn.
‘There are so many.’
Even if not quite like Friends of Forest, the waiting time was considerably long. It didn’t match the traits of Hamel, where people needed to eat quickly and get to work. I asked Malik with curiosity.
“There are quite a lot of people.”
“That’s right.”
“How long has it been since it opened?”
“Two weeks. It opened while you were on your Northern Travel.”
“Two weeks?”
I looked up at the restaurant.
[Restaurant: Youlam]
A signboard with nothing special and a simple interior. There weren’t many clerks either. The Table Turnover Rate wasn’t particularly fast.
It wasn’t spacious.
There was no distinctive menu, yet the restaurant was so crowded. Even considering the Opening Buff, there were too many customers.
I asked Malik with curiosity.
“There are too many people. The period when customers flock because of the opening should be ending soon.”
“That’s right.”
Malik nodded while watching the guests entering through the door.
“That’s why I suggested coming here. I’m curious why a place with nothing special has so many customers.”
“Is it affecting your profits?”
“No, the customer base is different, so there hasn’t been any loss. I just thought there might be something to learn. I pushed forward with capital, so I don’t know much about the grassroots level.”
“Hmm…”
I shrugged as I looked at the menu visible through the Glass Window.
‘It’s so plain, it’s too plain.’
If they had copied a Tteokbokki Recipe that opened in the Capital City, I could at least understand, but the food sold at this restaurant was utterly ordinary.
Salads or Risotto.
Steak and bread were about all there was on the menu. There was no reason for people to be this enthusiastic.
Letting out a small sigh at the unresolved curiosity, I looked down at the Young Lady eating Chocolate.
“Young Lady.”
“Yes.”
“Where did you get that Chocolate?”
The Young Lady pointed at the Little Kid crying on the Street and answered.
“I took it from him.”
“Oh…”
“When I asked for it, he gave it to me.”
“Isn’t that plunder?”
The Young Lady smiled brightly and confidently said.
“This is a Talent.”
“It certainly is a Talent.”
Nodding, I praised the Young Lady for teaching the Order of Society to the Young Child. If you spoil kids too much, they’ll end up like a certain someone who sets off an Air Raid Alarm every morning.
“Ricardo, you were badmouthing me in your head, weren’t you?”
“…How did you know?”
“Your eyes said it all.”
“You’re sharp.”
I stuffed Chocolate into the Young Lady’s mouth to shut her up. I couldn’t win against her in a verbal battle. With the mindset of a true Butler, I silenced her.
“Eeeek…”
As sugar entered her mouth, the Young Lady smiled and nodded. I waited for her mood to lighten before cautiously asking.
“Young Lady,”
“Yes.”
“Do you think this restaurant will taste good?”
“I don’t know.”
“Does the smell make it seem delicious, or not so much?”
The Young Lady frowned and looked at me.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“I’m not a dog.”
The Young Lady’s words were undeniably correct.
Time continued to pass.
The guests ahead entered, and new ones joined the line behind us.
Enough time passed for me to hand a piece of Chocolate to the crying child, and finally, the long wait came to an end.
-Guest number 12!
The time to work as Industrial Spies had come.
*
-Clink.
“…”
“…”
“…”
-Clink.
The sound of someone silently tormenting a plate could be heard at the table. Quietly slicing the meat on our plates, we awkwardly smiled as we tried to satisfy our hunger.
What should I say?
The taste was decent, but it felt plain.
It was a flavor that left much to be desired to be called a must-visit restaurant.
Smiling awkwardly, I cleared my plate, which tasted only slightly better than the nearby restaurants.
“Eeeek…”
The Young Lady sitting at Fairy Unit 1 was venting her anger by furiously cutting with her knife.
“It’s undercooked…”
“It’s like it’s still mooing.”
“Proprietress…”
-Clang. Placing her fork on the table, the Young Lady glared and started twitching her lips while staring at the busy clerk.
“Eeeek…”
I covered the Young Lady’s mouth and smiled.
“Please hold it in, Young Lady.”
“I can’t hold it in. I asked for it to be well-done, but they served me a living cow on a plate!”
“It seems there was a mistake in the order. I’ll ask them to cook it again. Let’s let it slide this time.”
“Eeeeeek!”
The Young Lady’s expression was fierce.
When it came to meat, the Young Lady, who became endlessly sensitive, was breathing heavily while trying to suppress her anger.
Looking at the kitchen with a serious expression, the Young Lady came to a reasonable conclusion.
“They’re definitely trying to assassinate me.”
Holding a knife in her hand and burning with intensity in her eyes, the Young Lady was calmed by me as I quietly stared at the food on the plate.
‘It’s not good.’
To be honest, it wasn’t tasty.
Perhaps because I was used to eating only good things, my palate had become picky, but this wasn’t worth waiting for.
Malik felt the same.
After finishing the food on his plate, Malik wiped his lips with a handkerchief and nodded.
“It’s strange.”
“…”
“It’s neither good nor bad.”
“That’s true.”
“Right. While the portions are relatively large, the price isn’t overwhelmingly cheap either.”
Letting out an Empty Laugh, Malik murmured.
“It’s not the taste. It’s not the price either… Interesting.”
With an Intriguing Smile befitting someone obsessed with the Culinary Business, Malik tasted the sauce on the plate and nodded as he spoke.
“Ricardo.”
“Yes.”
“Do you know why this restaurant is so popular?”
I hesitated as I answered. Honestly, I didn’t know. With dishes like this, if this could be called a must-visit restaurant, I felt like I could do it too. I couldn’t come up with a proper answer.
“Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like what I make would taste better, so I can’t really say.”
“Hmm.”
Malik looked at me while holding up Three Fingers.
“I’ve seen three cases of restaurants with bad food achieving Success.”
First.
“A restaurant with an extremely wide network of connections.”
Second.
“A restaurant opened by a Renowned Healer.”
And third.
Looking at the kitchen with a serious gaze, Malik spoke.
“A restaurant with a beautiful Proprietress.”
“What?”
“From what I see, this restaurant seems to fall into the third category.”
Placing the handkerchief he had used to wipe his mouth on the table, Malik subtly raised his hand to call the clerk.
And then.
“Eeeek?!”
Snatching the plate the Young Lady was eating from, he pointed to the undercooked steak.
The Young Lady wore an expression as if her world had crumbled.
The Young Lady, who had tried to grill the meat on Fairy Unit 1, clenched her fist as she watched her meat being taken away, but Malik ignored her lightly and spoke to the approaching clerk.
“The meat is undercooked.”
“Ah! I’m sorry. I’ll replace it right away!”
Malik waved his hand Firmly at the flustered clerk as he spoke.
“No, I’d like to see the Proprietress.”
“Pardon?”
“As someone in the same Culinary Business, I couldn’t just let this slide.”
Handing a tip to the clerk, Malik spoke.
“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything Bad.”
About five minutes passed.
A woman brought back a newly prepared steak and bowed her head in Apology to Malik.
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience. It seems our clerk made a mistake with the order… If there’s any dish you’d like, we’ll prepare it as a service.”
Looking at the woman, Malik spoke.
“…Are you the Proprietress?”
And then.
The woman removed her mask, swept her Hair back, and nodded.
“Yes, I am the Proprietress.”
She felt familiar.
She gave off the feeling of someone I had seen somewhere before. Though she seemed to be of considerable age, her Beauty remained undiminished, and I felt a sense of curiosity.
‘Who is she?’
Watching Malik converse with the Proprietress, I searched my memory.
Not long after, I found the reason for the familiarity in the Young Lady’s murmurs beside me.
“Mikhail…”
Mikhail.
I instinctively knew.
That this woman was Mikhail’s Mother.
Though her name wasn’t directly mentioned in the Novel, knowing the narrative and Ending, I could tell.
That the woman before me was the Protagonist of a story of a Reunion that wouldn’t end in smiles.