Chapter 05
“W-what did you say? Then don’t tell me… You came to the inn to steal someone’s coin pouch…?”
Hamma’s gaze turned toward me as if I were some kind of radioactive waste.
But I didn’t have time to fix his misunderstanding. The pickpocket had already approached Kaizen.
The man casually sat beside him and ordered a juice.
Oh, for—this idiot.
Kaizen didn’t seem to care who sat next to him. His attention was entirely on his meal.
When the innkeeper set down the juice, the man pretended to take it—then “accidentally” dumped it over Kaizen’s head. He shot to his feet.
“Oh dear! I’m so sorry! My hand slipped!”
“……”
Kaizen’s spoon froze midair. He slowly turned his head, expressionless, to stare at the thief.
Yellow juice slid down his face and dripped into his stew.
“How does a hand slip upward into someone’s face? Are you disabled by any chance?”
“Ah—th-th-that’s—I-I’m s-sorry…”
The man’s face twisted at Kaizen’s cold remark.
He hurriedly fixed his expression and began brushing off Kaizen’s clothes—while also brushing off his pocket.
“Oh dear, you even got it on your clothes. What a mess!”
“Do not touch me. It’s unpleasant.”
“S-sorry… I—I’ll just go…”
I stood up. I’d seen enough—time to catch him.
I was preparing to quietly deal with him when—
“Romi-nim! No! Stealing someone else’s money is a bad thing!”
“Hey! Why would you shout that here?”
My entire plan to handle this without Kaizen knowing went up in smoke.
Everyone turned to look at me—including the pickpocket.
The moment our eyes met, he cursed under his breath and bolted. He cleared two tables in a single jump and sprinted toward the exit.
A stone cracked against his head as he reached the door.
“Aaaagh!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Good thing I kept a stone in my pack—just in case.
I grabbed his collar as he rolled and hauled him upright.
“Hand it over.”
“W-what? I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“You picked his pocket.”
I pointed straight at Kaizen.
All the inn patrons turned to look at him. Despite the growing commotion, Kaizen just kept eating his stew like nothing was happening.
Realizing his mistake, Hamma jumped in.
“R-right! I saw it! That man’s a thief!”
“A pickpocket? Seriously?”
“I heard thieves were running wild in the starting village. Let’s hand him over to the guards!”
With the customers backing me up, the thief went pale.
His eyes darted around, calculating his options.
I tugged him closer and whispered in his ear.
“Do you know whose money you stole?”
“……”
“You stole the hero’s coin pouch. You’re dead. If he gets mad, your head’s coming off. Snip.”
“Heek!”
His already pale face turned ghost white.
He threw the pouch onto the floor like it was a cockroach nest and sprinted out of the inn.
“Oh my! Look at him run away, Romi-nim! What kind of pickpocket has so little guts?”
“Shut it, Hamma.”
You nearly ruined everything.
I picked up the pouch and approached Kaizen. He was still silently eating his endless stew.
How long does it take to finish one bowl?
“Hey.”
“……”
Still ignoring me.
Great.
I sat down beside him and held the pouch up to his face, shaking it.
“This is yours.”
Only then did Kaizen slowly turn his head.
The moment our eyes met—those pale blue-grey eyes—I felt irritation flare up.
“How does a hero get robbed by a petty thief? Why are you so careless?”
Kaizen’s previously dead-fish eyes sharpened. Without warning, he drew his sword and pressed the blade against my neck.
Unbelievable.
“Hey. Calm down. Why are you like this again?”
I tried to push the blade away, but it didn’t budge. Hero strength—unfair.
“How did you know I’m the Hero?”
“That’s…”
Right. I’d slipped up while catching the thief.
His cold stare made my throat dry.
Wait.
A thought flashed in my mind. I composed my face and said confidently:
“I applied to be a royal chef once. I saw you there. Everyone called you the Hero.”
“……”
In the game’s story, Kaizen leaves the palace by the king’s command to rescue the princess and defeat the Demon King.
Saying I saw him there wasn’t strange.
His tension eased slightly. The sword lowered.
“Anyway, be careful. Without me, you’d have been kicked out for not paying for your stew.”
Kaizen looked at me for a moment, then pulled a few coins from the pouch and handed me the rest.
“……?”
He paid for his stew with the few coins he kept and walked straight out of the inn.
“……?”
What…?
I didn’t understand.
I worked so hard to keep him here. I even chased down a thief. I ran around Hannek Village for nothing.
And now he was just… leaving?
My plan to get hired as the inn cook and feed him was falling apart.
“Hey! Hero! Get back here!”
I rushed outside and grabbed his shoulder. He immediately lifted his sword at my neck again.
This guy’s personality is seriously broken.
“You can’t just hand me this and leave! Why give it to me?”
“I thanked you. So stop following me.”
“I don’t want thanks! Take it back!”
I shoved the pouch against his chest despite the blade at my throat.
“I don’t need money. If you want to repay me, do something else.”
He caught it reflexively, looking down at me.
Well, whatever. Here goes nothing.
“I want to open my own shop. I need someone to test my cooking. So just eat my food for one month.”
He raised one eyebrow—the expression he made when something annoyed him.
“What kind of chef isn’t confident in their own cooking?”
“I’m trying to make unique dishes, okay? Stuff anyone can make and enjoy. And you seem pretty picky. If you like it, I’ll be proud.”
I was out of breath from talking nonstop.
I added the finishing blow:
“I’ll give you delicious meals every day. Free. Special recipes you’ve never tasted before!”
The reason for this absurd offer?
Kaizen may be useless at many things—but he is serious about food.
But he has one fatal flaw:
He’s a terrible cook.
Burns meat, oversalts everything—every meal is a gamble. I knew because I’d travelled with him early on and tried his leftovers once.
His own cooking was so awful that he kept staying in inns just to avoid eating it.
As expected, he looked halfway convinced.
After a moment, he finally spoke:
“I still refuse. Why should I trust you? If you don’t want the reward, go your own way.”
“What? No!”
Then why pretend to think about it? Don’t play with my heart!
I stared up at him desperately, but he turned away.
“T-then at least try it once. Just once. Try one dish and then decide.”
