Chapter 26
Mood Status: -95
Somehow, it felt like she had come here to protest. A voice overlapped in her mind:
“Is the guy you just met really that kind of guy?”
Could it be… still? Was he really as childish as Minjeong said? You?
A sound struck her forehead, and in that strange gaze, she faced the incoming wave of customers.
“Excuse me! I’ll bring you a menu!”
“Could we get some water here?”
“Yes, yes! I’ll bring it!”
It was the first time in her part-time work that so many customers had come all at once. The Happy Restaurant was suddenly bustling.
“We’ll have three Bird Stews, please.”
“Four Goblin Skewers for us.”
“I can’t eat spicy food. Does this have anything spicy in it?”
Hunters of all kinds shouted their orders. Sori had to grab a notepad and run around, recording them all.
“Yes, yes, I’ll bring it right over. Oh, you can’t eat spicy food? Then would you like me to add some extra cheese?”
Crazy… How did this happen all of a sudden? Who spread the word? Who?
Holding the notepad she had barely managed to write on, she headed to the kitchen with her face flushed. Her eyes met Gijun’s. His expression had softened compared to before.
Mood Status: +30
It seemed his mood had improved as well. Watching Sori struggling to handle the sudden influx of customers, he smiled slyly.
Oh… damn.
Sori soon figured out who was responsible.
“Oh, suddenly we have so many customers, Awakener!”
John was happy, unaware of the real reason.
“Finally, the darkness over Happy Restaurant is ending, Awakener. A glorious era is about to dawn!”
John stuck a strawberry’s green stem on his head like a crown and strutted around.
“Shut up. Stop fooling around and help me. I can’t handle this alone.”
“Hmmm, getting all bossy, huh.”
John shook his head, and the green strawberry stem fell in front of him.
“Where’s the order sheet?”
“Here!”
“Hmm… Four Imugi Soups, six Goblin Skewers…”
“Get the goblins out! Fast!”
Sori began preparing the goblin skewers.
“And the vegetables.”
Vegetable prep was no problem. Luckily, her cooking skill gained from fighting the boss Ginkgo Tree came in handy!
“One sweep and the vegetables are done.”
With just a word, the mithril knife and vegetables moved in a dazzling motion, like a blender in action. Truly fortunate—otherwise, her poor prep skills might have ruined the customers’ mood completely.
Soon, all the ingredients were prepped. Now she opened the pantry to grab various sub-ingredients.
“Let’s see… according to the recipe, two spoons of ruby salt. John! Are you done with yours?”
John was working on his ingredients with puffed-out cheeks. The small apron tied around his waist suited him. Clumsy at first, he soon showed perfect knife skills.
Not bad at all.
Sori admired him silently. But despite his precise movements, John’s cheeks grew puffier and puffier.
“I am a supporter bestowed by the system! A low-level manager! So why must I play the assistant in the kitchen?”
“Can’t be helped! When it’s busy, we have to help each other.”
“Why not just hire a part-timer?”
Part-timer, my foot.
Sori ignored John’s suggestion.
“Do you think there are always this many customers? After today, it’ll be dead again. What part-timer are you talking about?”
“How can you be so sure?”
John wouldn’t budge.
Better not argue.
“Stop talking nonsense and hand it over when you’re done.”
One by one, the dishes began to be completed.
“Thank you for waiting. Here are your Goblin Skewers!”
“Wow, thanks!”
She also brought the Imugi Soup to Gijun.
“Did a lot of customers show up all of a sudden?”
Gijun asked nonchalantly.
“I guess…? Enjoy your meal.”
You’re the one who brought them here!
She swallowed the words. As she expected, Gijun was talking to every hunter sitting nearby.
“This is good, right? The Goblin Skewers here are really tasty.”
“Yes. I’d only heard about it, but I never thought I’d come here myself.”
“Hey, Lee Gijun. Are you some kind of promotional ambassador for this place?”
A hunter asked with a laugh.
It’s not like I have to say that.
“Yes, you should tell the other hunters too. Restoring energy is the most important thing for hunters!”
Some hunters applauded.
“Exactly!”
Sori glared at Gijun. He ignored her gaze and went back to focusing on the Imugi Soup. Sori turned her body toward the kitchen again.
“But what’s this about the D-rank dungeon yesterday?”
Some hunters, having eaten a bit, started talking about the dungeon. Their voices were loud enough to be heard in the kitchen.
D-rank dungeon?
Sori perked up. She thought no one knew—but apparently, no dungeon secret stays hidden.
Could it be they already know I went in?
She focused, listening nervously.
“By the way, who is it? Still don’t know?”
“No clue. Nothing caught on camera, and it wasn’t near the CCTV zone.”
“Unregistered hunter?”
“Already someone like that from normal Awakeners?”
“Don’t know. If that’s the case, aren’t they stealing everything?”
“Eh. Damn it, we should gang up on them!”
“Won’t they get forcibly registered first?”
Sori realized that no one knew she had entered that dungeon. She let out a brief sigh of relief.
“Ouch!”
“Why are you thinking about something else while holding a knife, you careless Awakener!”
John snatched the knife from Sori’s hands and scolded her.
“Good thing there’s no blood.”
Just a small scratch, thankfully.
Next time I go in, I might get caught…
Worries about the future crept in. Then Gijun’s voice sounded.
“Why don’t we just eat? Who else but a normal Awakener could defeat a boss alone?”
“Well, there might be such an Awakener.”
Gijun didn’t even seem to consider the possibility.
That’s a relief.
“Stop it. Don’t you remember the meeting by the dungeon in 30 minutes?”
“Ah, I know, bro!”
Mood Status: +70 → +75 → +80
As the dishes were served, the hunters’ moods quickly improved. Just as Sori was about to smile at the small sense of accomplishment, the bell rang, and another customer came. Fortunately, a table had just become free.
“Hello?”
Reflexively, Sori tried to greet them but recognized the voice and quickly turned her head. An awkward greeting followed.
“Uh… yes, hello?”
It was Cha Yoonmin—the man from the blind date she thought had ended without a trace.
“Is it okay if I eat here as a customer?”
Cha Yoonmin smiled brightly. Sori was slightly surprised but quickly regained her professional composure.
“Ah… yes! Would you like to sit at this empty table?”
“Thank you.”
Sori noticed Gijun was still there. She worried he might interfere later and handed the menu to Cha Yoonmin, thinking she’d kick him if he said anything strange.
“I’ll have the Golden Salad.”
“Yes. Please wait a moment.”
“Yep!”
Cha Yoonmin answered enthusiastically, a big smile on his face. Sori felt the piercing gaze follow her back to the kitchen. She also saw the system notification spike:
D-table customer mood status: -100 Max! (repeated three times)
What am I supposed to do? It’s not even my fault.
“Phew!”
Sori sighed, opened the fridge, and took out the Flame Mole’s belly.
Is this really just cooking?
Halfway through eating, Cha Yoonmin pondered. Monster meat—it was definitely in there. But could it make someone so lively just from monster meat? This wasn’t just a monster dish problem. He observed the Golden Salad. Nothing else seemed special, yet he felt energized, almost like he had taken a potion.
There’s definitely something different here, he thought as a potion maker. He couldn’t see it yet, but he sensed it.
“This is really delicious, Ms. Sori.”
Cha Yoonmin shared his impression.
“I’m glad you think so.”
“There was no other intention that day.”
As most customers were leaving, Cha Yoonmin used the calming moment to apologize.
“No, it’s fine! Really.”
Sori quickly waved her hands.
“Glad to hear. Then is it okay if I come eat here often?”
“Of course, absolutely.”
Gijun, oddly, still didn’t leave and kept watching Sori with folded arms. She couldn’t escape his piercing gaze and turned back to the kitchen. Strangely, Gijun followed her. Sori misstepped and nearly stumbled.
“Whoa!”
“You okay?”
Gijun grabbed her arm firmly, preventing her from falling. But even after the danger passed, he didn’t let go.
“T-thank you.”
Then let go.
Sori pushed his arm away, leaving out the rest. Gijun slowly withdrew his hand but muttered seriously near her ear:
“Today… I have something to say.”
