~Chapter 123~
Delphina was a quick, perceptive person.
‘The “special guest” the system mentioned must be my teacher.’
After the crimes of Piaje and Yuria were revealed, the system window had been quiet for a while—so quiet she had thought it might be gone for good.
She had partly accepted that.
‘God Frad’s system window was to help punish those who used black magic.’
It made sense that it would disappear once its purpose was done. But today, the system window kept appearing one after another.
Delphina’s eyes stung. She could feel that God Frad was still watching over her.
‘Thank you, Lord Frad.’
She knew that one day the god would leave her. A god could not favor only one person forever.
‘Anyway, if my teacher is coming, then the first dish I’ll serve at Delpi’s Restaurant is…’
She thought of a Korean dish her teacher would like most.
‘My teacher likes sweet and savory food.’
A faint smile appeared on her lips, and she moved quickly.
‘Let’s make bulgogi.’
She was sure Elcayan, the Grand Madam, and Calix would love it too.
What was the most important part of bulgogi?
‘The meat? Of course that’s important. The vegetables must be fresh, too.’
She smiled in satisfaction.
‘But above all, the marinade is the key.’
There were plenty of ingredients to make bulgogi sauce.
Delphina opened the refrigerator she had made with magi-engineering.
They had cattle in this empire too. Unlike Korean cows, they had huge horns and were treated as monsters.
‘Good, there’s beef.’
Since the North had many monsters, cattle were also common. It looked like the restaurant was already stocked with beef.
‘Walton gave a lot of advice about sourcing ingredients.’
The restaurant was perfectly prepared to open. Delphina took out the meat without hesitation.
Elcayan came up beside her as she worked.
“Delphina, may I help you?”
“Elcayan?”
“I really want to help with prepping the ingredients.”
“Yes, I don’t really need help, but…”
She glanced behind Elcayan. Calix was frowning deeply in frustration.
When Delphina cooked, ingredient prep had always been Calix’s job.
With arms crossed, he shouted at Elcayan,
“If you do worse than me, there won’t be a next time! I’m the one who assists Lady Delphina in the kitchen.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
Elcayan washed his hands thoroughly and stood in front of the meat.
Then he began to show incredible knife work.
Delphina let out a small sound of admiration. Even to someone who knew nothing about swords, Elcayan’s cutting skills were amazing.
He finished the prep almost in a trance.
<Dart Beef> Grade: A Beef prepared by the excellent sword skill of Elcayan, Grand Duke of the North. The Sword Master’s swordsmanship is the best in the Empire! There is no chef who can slice meat better than this.
Delphina stared at the system window with a serious face.
‘Elcayan became a Sword Master.’
She hadn’t known that; she learned it here of all places.
‘So that’s what he meant when he said he could assist better than Sir Calix…’
Calix was shocked by the result too.
“W-what is this…? When did you reach this level?”
“Things felt strange since the hydra incident. The subjugation went too smoothly, remember?”
“T-that’s true.”
“After that, I gradually began to hear the sword’s sound, and my swordsmanship improved on its own. And just now, while prepping the ingredients, I reached an insight.”
“You monster… Gaining enlightenment while cutting vegetables? I don’t even know what to say.”
Calix clicked his tongue.
You could only know the true gap by crossing swords, but at least for ingredient prep, Elcayan had surpassed him. The competition for Delphina’s kitchen assistant was fierce.
‘I can’t lose like this.’
Calix’s eyes flashed. He was already planning to go train soon—to take back the role of Delphina’s assistant from Elcayan.
“Thank you, Elcayan. Your knife work is truly amazing.”
Pleased by Delphina’s words, Elcayan smiled with pride.
Delphina continued cooking.
She made the marinade and rubbed it well into the meat.
‘It’s better to marinate a bit longer…’
But there was no time. As if sensing her worry, a system window popped up:
<Frad bestows a blessing. The marinade will soak into the meat faster.>
‘Thank you, Lord Frad.’
Delphina added the vegetables Elcayan had prepared, heated the pan on high, and stir-fried the meat.
‘Done!’
She plated the bulgogi. Calix swallowed his saliva.
“It looks truly delicious.”
Elcayan didn’t speak, but he stared at the dish without blinking. Delphina felt the same way.
<Chef Delphina’s Masterpiece! Beef Bulgogi.>
Made with excellent skill. The fantastic marinade ratio would even make God Frad exclaim.
Everyone who eats this bulgogi will feel great happiness.
Your cooking skill has reached its peak. From now on, create more dishes and serve many guests to become a legendary chef!
Grade: A (For someone, it could be S.)
– People who eat your food will become happy.
‘My cooking makes people happy…’
There could be no greater honor for a chef.
As Delphina expected, Elcayan, Calix, and the Grand Madam ate the bulgogi with great delight.
They liked it so much she had to cook more.
The Lohaim Grand Duchy in the North.
Eric, a northern laborer, had no appetite these days.
He had worked since childhood, but his mother had recently died of old age.
Seeing him barely eat, his friend Geren clicked his tongue.
“How can you just push your food around like that? Laborers need to eat a lot.”
“I know. But I just don’t feel like eating.”
“I understand, but your mother would want you to eat well.”
“I know… but the heart doesn’t move the way I want.”
Geren looked at Eric with a conflicted face, then made up his mind.
“Come with me somewhere.”
“Huh? Where?”
“I know a restaurant with good food.”
“Forget it. I won’t be able to eat much anyway.”
Geren shook his head in frustration.
“No, this place is different. It’s special.”
“Special or not, it’s still a restaurant. Is it expensive? If it is, I can’t go.”
Geren sighed.
“There’s a place called Delpi’s Restaurant. The owner can’t handle too many customers, so we’re keeping it a secret…”
There was an unspoken rule among the customers of Delpi’s Restaurant.
People were free to visit. Walk-ins were fine.
But promoting Delpi’s Restaurant to others was forbidden.
There was only one exception:
‘When you see someone whose heart is struggling.’
In that case, taking them to eat delicious food at Delpi’s Restaurant was allowed. The reason was simple.
Delpi’s Restaurant was small, and there was only one main chef.
It didn’t even open regularly. Perhaps the chef, Miss Delpi, was very busy; the door was often closed.
‘If only they hired more kitchen assistants…’
Delpi’s Restaurant had only one assistant.
‘He was extremely handsome.’
Geren clicked his tongue again.
The assistant covered his mouth with a special cloth made by magi-engineering. Even so, his good looks still showed.
‘But isn’t he way too lazy…!’
The assistant seemed busy, and you didn’t see him often.
Geren continued,
“You can come with me. I think it’ll help you a lot. And the price isn’t high.”
After Geren’s persistent persuasion, Eric gave in and followed him.
