chapter 7

What am I going to buy today? What would Apia like?’

Gaius, who is still in his first month of marriage, was considering a menu that his wife might like.

Like most commoners, Gaius’s insula (Roman-style apartment house) didn’t have a kitchen.

So, for breakfast and lunch, I simply stuffed it with bread or cheese, and for dinner, I packed hot food from the restaurant.

I ate porridge yesterday, so shall we look for something a little lighter today?

A strange sight caught Gaius’ attention while searching around the restaurants.

A man who does tricks with a frying pan.

‘What are they doing?’

When I approached, the man was baking pancakes. It has a delicious yet oily scent.

It fills the air.

I was going to take a quick look from a safe distance, but Gaius was drawn in like a magnet.

I was walking in front of the restaurant.

“How much is this?”

“It’s 4 As (an Old Roman currency which means bronze coins).”

“Give me one.”

When I came to my senses, I was even placing an order.

If it’s 4 As, it’s 4 bronze coins.

The price was rather high for one meal, but I didn’t intend to cancel it.

Gaius was a carpenter anyway, earning more than average workers. I could pay as much as I wanted if I had to.

More than that, now I feel like I’m going to dry up and die if I don’t taste that dish right now.

“You can take a seat; I’ll get it for you.”

“May I stand here, if you don’t mind?”

“Are you okay with getting rained on?”

“It’s all wet, so it’s all right.”

It was still drizzling outside, but wet clothes will dry.

Rather, I wanted to keep enjoying the sound, the scent, and the golden pancake.

Sizzling!

Gulp.

Even though I was drooling so much that my uvula was ringing, the cook was in no hurry.

Lucia, unable to bear the sight of it, stabbed him with her elbow and gave him a warning.

“Aren’t you making the guest wait?”

“The insides are still undercooked. Nothing is more disappointing than a pancake that is undercooked.”

It was unnecessarily difficult to be a cook in a failing restaurant. To the point where I doubt, she’s a pain in the neck at work.

“Here we go.”

“It came out.”

However, when he accepted the bowl in which the pancake was placed, the resentment he had previously felt vanished without a trace.

“Should we just try it for a minute? Apia will be disappointed if there is no flavor.”

Gaius made an excuse and walked over to an empty table. And before my buttocks even touched the seat, I bit off the tip of the pancake and shoved it into my mouth.

“Hmm!”

Without my knowledge, a low groan escaped.

As it is, the flavor from before has been concentrated.

Every corner of my mouth was filled with the savory flavor.

Satisfaction spread throughout the body via the blood vessels, starting at the tip of the tongue.

“Doesn’t this resemble an aristocratic dish?”

Gaius had only eaten such a fascinating food once in his life.

When I was invited to a noble house after receiving a request to build a trading ship.

The pancakes I ate were just as delicious as the dishes I ate at the time.

“When did I finish eating?”

There was no pancake left when I regained my composure.

Gaius looked at the empty plate and felt an unprecedented sense of loss. I wasn’t hungry, but I wished I could go back.

“Alright, just one more.”

“Pancake?”

“Yes, just one more pancake, please.”

After adding a new order. Lucia gestured her head out of the store.

“It’s first-come-first-served, so you have to line up.”

“Line?”

Twelve people were gathered in front of the restaurant. Because I was in a trance, I didn’t even notice how crowded it was.

It will take a long time to wait, given the speed with which the chef cooks.

The rain continued to fall. I will resemble a drowning mouse by the time the food is cooked.

In addition, the cost is ridiculously expensive.

Going home was the best option in many ways.

But, obviously… I would…

Gaius’ feet were pointing to the string’s end.

“Yes, because Apia needs to eat as well.”

Only then did I remember my wife.

Waiting for Gaius is his wife, who is sleeping. If you buy pancakes, you’ll eat them in no time.

Gaius raised his hand and called out to Lucia once more.

“I’ll increase the extra order to two.” One to eat and one to take with you in the packaging.

The pancake was truly sold on fire, and the restaurant was once again deserted, as if nothing had happened.

“Are you exhausted?”

Lucia approached with a cheerful expression on her face and rubbed Han-Gil’s arm.

Han Gil’s hand trembled as if in seizure.

Because the grill couldn’t adjust the strength and weakness, a weak fire had to be created by holding the frying pan at an appropriate distance apart.

My hands couldn’t keep up after two hours.

“You should have told me ahead of time that you were hiding a recipe like this!” Let’s do it again tomorrow!”

Lucia made plans with enthusiasm, but Han Gil was unable to respond.

‘I won’t be here tomorrow.’

“May I ask you to clean up?”

“Of course! “Go to the back room and rest.”

At the end of the day, I decided it would be nice to be alone, so I went into the back room connected to the kitchen.

It was similar to Marcus’s living quarters, but it was a room with only one shabby bed.

The window popped up after lying down on the bed.

[The time limit has ended.]

I lost consciousness once more as a result of the sensation of being engulfed in a whirlpool.

***

Han-Gil was lying on the damp floor when he opened his eyes. What you see is a familiar shutter.

“This is Han’s kitchen.”

‘Did I return?’

He stood up, reached into his pockets, and took out his smartphone.

It is ten o’clock at night.

It’s very similar to when I left the store.

[You have safely completed the tutorial quest.]

[Settlement starts.]

-A total of 52 dishes was sold

-1,500 Gourmet points will be awarded as a reward for the quest.

-50 points per case, total 1,100 Gourmet points due to excess sales.

-1,040 Gourmet Points are awarded for customer satisfaction.

-Acquired a total of 3,640 Gourmet points

Earned points can be used in the shop.

[Would you like to open a store? Y/N]

After agreeing, a window that looks like an online shopping mall appears.

There were tabs at the top for various items, all of which were locked with a lock except for the tabs with [Foodstuffs] written on them.

On the [Ingredients] page, there are only two items registered.

Garum and olive oil.

There was a quantity, check box, and a brief description below that.

Hangil began by ordering a garum. I was excited because it was my first seasoning, but I wanted to try it on the menu I was preparing as an experiment.

And the much-anticipated olive oil.

“How many should I order?”

I wanted to order everything, but it was still in the tutorial stage.

Later, better ingredients may appear.

There may be instances when you must spend additional points.

It was not a good idea to overuse points.

However, I thought it would be too bad to only have one or two bottles, so I ended up purchasing six.

[The selection is finished.]

[There are 1,890 Gourmet points left.]

[Ordered items will be shipped tomorrow at 7 a.m.]

Tomorrow?

If magic could happen, it would have been nice if you could have given me the order right now.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to pass the next nine hours, but I was disappointed for a while.

[The official registration process for the hidden stage begins.]

[There is only one restaurant that can be registered.]

Restaurant Name: Han’s Kitchen

Industry: Fusion home-style

Location: Itaewon

[Registered restaurants can use Gourmet’s regular delivery service and periodic analysis service in the future.]

[Would you like to register? Y/N]

Regular delivery.

Han-Gil’s heart trembled at those words.

The answer is yes, of course.

[The remaining time until the next quest is 48 hours.]

All windows disappeared.

All that’s left is a countdown clock floating in the upper left corner.

And the icon in the upper right corner in the shape of a small house.

The shop reopened when I thought I was clicking the house icon. This means that you can reorder whenever you want.

‘Let’s walk until we reach the house.’

It was still time for the bus, but I wanted to walk with my own two feet. My heart was racing like crazy, and I needed to calm down a little.