The restaurant run by Ino Junichi.
Originally famous, this restaurant began to receive rave reviews as an irreplaceable restaurant worldwide at some point.
Customers didn’t know the reason, but those working at the restaurant did.
Chef Lee Jae-seong,
It was the change that occurred after he came here. However, it wasn’t just because of him.
Tap-tap-tap.
Sizzle!
The lively sounds of the kitchen, the synchronized movements and voices of the chefs fit together like cogs in a machine.
“Chef! The secret ingredient!”
“Ready!”
Each menu had a secret ingredient.
It was Kyu-seong’s produce.
Using the limited quantities of Kyu-seong’s ingredients,
Jae-seong created new dishes that highlighted each menu item.
This effort resulted in tremendous success, with rave reviews pouring in every day.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Last order!”
It was just before break time.
The chefs gave their best effort to finish up.
“Chef!”
“Yes, coming right up!”
Everyone had their assigned roles and responsibilities, and Jae-seong’s role was to check the completed dishes and finish them with Kyu-seong’s ingredients.
He sprinkled finely powdered magical baby carrots on the last dessert and added a sauce made from magical Layla juice.
“It’s done.”
“Whew.”
As the last dish left the kitchen, everyone let out a long breath and smiled with satisfaction.
“Great job, everyone.”
“The chef worked the hardest.”
“But we still have the afternoon, so don’t relax too much.”
“Ugh, isn’t that too strict? We just started our break…”
In the cheerful atmosphere, Jae-seong smiled warmly as he checked his phone.
“Hmm?”
He noticed a message from Kyu-seong. They usually contacted each other when delivering ingredients every week, but the delivery date…
After checking the message, Jae-seong stroked his chin with a troubled expression.
“Is something wrong?”
“Oh! Chef Orie.”
Chef Orie, who had just finished her work, approached while wiping her wet hands.
Ino Junichi’s restaurant was extremely spacious, as big as a football field.
Therefore, different chefs were in charge of different sections, and Shimomoto Orie was the head chef of the adjacent section.
Jae-seong and Orie had become very close recently, working together every day to research Kyu-seong’s ingredients.
“My brother contacted me to ask if I could come back to Korea for a bit. He found some special ingredients and needs my help…”
“Special ingredients?!”
Orie’s eyes sparkled.
That was natural since all her experiences handling Kyu-seong’s ingredients had been a once-in-a-lifetime source of inspiration for her.
If Kyu-seong called something special, it must be extraordinary.
“You must go!”
“But if I do, the kitchen will…”
“I’ll talk to Mr. Junichi.”
Right then and there, Orie called Ino Junichi. Jae-seong, like a bear, didn’t know what to do and fumbled around.
“Oh, you don’t have to go that far…”
But before he could stop her, the call was connected.
“Yes! This is Orie! I’m calling about Chef Jae-seong. Yes, yes. Yes.”
Watching Orie speaking in Japanese, Jae-seong eventually decided to wait quietly for the outcome. Somehow, things would work out.
“Yes, thank you.”
Orie smiled broadly after the short call ended.
Seeing this, Jae-seong guessed that things had gone well.
“Is it settled?”
“Of course. Not only that, but Mr. Junichi and I will be going together, assuming we get Mr. Kyu-seong’s permission.”
“What?!”
It was natural for him to go, but Jae-seong hadn’t imagined that Orie and Junichi would also go, and he was surprised.
Fortunately, there were no other chefs around. Everyone had cleared out, giving space to Jae-seong and Orie when she appeared.
“Oh, if it’s inconvenient, we can cancel our plans.”
“No, it’s fine. I like it too. But since my brother’s opinion is important, I’ll ask him first.”
“Thank you.”
Thinking about it, there was nothing bad about it.
If they had found an ingredient that required his help, it wouldn’t be a loss to have Orie along. In fact, it might be beneficial.
“I’ll ask him right away.”
“Please, let him say yes!”
***
After harvesting the golden carrots and contacting Jae-seong, we checked all the other fields. As expected, the special occurrence only happened in the carrot field.
“What a shame.”
“It is a shame.”
The weather was gradually warming, signaling the end of winter. The snow had noticeably thinned.
And above all…
-Growl!
“Gomgom! You’re awake!”
Gomgom approached us with a refreshed look. Excited, Ara immediately ran over and hugged Gomgom.
-Roar!
“Oh, it was the warmest winter ever.”
Seeing the satisfied Gomgom, I thought I should prepare some hay for his house next winter.
‘Come to think of it, I need to replant the rice.’
The rice fields that had grown so well turned into a disaster when winter came. They all drooped and didn’t ripen.
Of course, it wasn’t a loss. They grew quickly and the slimes managed them all.
“Ahem.”
I felt a slight pang of guilt, but it was a win-win situation. The slimes enjoyed playing, and I got the harvest.
Anyway, I should try rice farming again as soon as winter ends. The timing seemed right for the chili farming and making meju to be completed. If that happens…
‘I can make rice with soybean paste stew, gochujang, kimchi, kimchi stew, and marinate bulgogi with soy sauce.
Ah, just imagining it makes my mouth water. Hurry up and end, winter!’
After confirming that the Rookies from the infinite dungeon adapted quickly to the fields, we decided to head to the fairy village.
I hadn’t checked on them since the unfinished elixir. They must be doing well.
We headed to the fairy village with Golgol and Chirpy. As we passed through the World Tree forest, I realized I hadn’t seen Pururuk recently.
‘Does it have a different habitat?’
According to Frey, it wasn’t often found, so I wondered if it lived elsewhere and occasionally came around here.
The dungeon was vast, and there were many places I hadn’t explored yet, making it a plausible assumption.
***
When we arrived at the village, the fairies greeted us warmly as always. Some children were exhaling warm steam, as if they had just come from the hot springs.
“Ara, shall we stop by the hot springs on our way back?”
“Let’s go right away!”
At the Meluca flower field, a cozy leaf house came into view. Crawling into the house, the fragrant scent of flowers greeted us.
“Wow.”
The flowers had really bloomed.
Seeing the Meluca flowers in full bloom made my heart ache a little.
‘We really did it.’
If we had failed in cultivating Meluca, all these lovely Alfheim would have starved. But in the end, we succeeded.
The Meluca flowers had quite a unique appearance.
They were larger than regular flowers. Of course, by regular flowers, I mean compared to the other wildflowers here.
The flowers were about the size of Ara’s fist, and their color was much richer than dried flowers. They had a unique blend of dark purple and white stripes.
The shape was similar to a tulip, making them even more striking.
-Now we just need to pollinate them well to increase their numbers!
“Great. Then we need to quickly find a place to turn into a Meluca flower field.”
-There are a few selected spots!
“Oh, really? Then let’s take a quick look around and go right away.”
-Hehe! Sounds good!
As we admired the flowers, the fairies wandered around enthusiastically. They seemed busy, but they weren’t managing the flowers directly.
They were just literally sightseeing.
Drip.
Some children were drooling while looking at the flowers. Unlike me, they saw the Meluca flowers as food.
Drip, drip.
And there was another person drooling.
“They look delicious…”
“Once we have plenty of Meluca flowers, we’ll taste them too.”
“Okay.”
After greeting Poispois, whom we hadn’t seen in a while, we stepped outside. I noticed that the fairy village was decorated with the transparent leaves of the World Tree.
It was hard to see because it was transparent, but it was well decorated.
-Thanks to that, we were able to stay much warmer! As expected, the lord’s idea is great!
Frey noticed where my gaze was and suddenly praised me. I found it cute and patted her head with my finger before heading to the place the fairies had scouted.
It wasn’t far; if the mine was to the east of the World Tree, this place was to the south.
It was a wide basin at the end of the forest.
-How is it? This is the closest wide area!
“Looks good. What do you think, Ara?”
“Hmm!”
When it was her turn to inspect, Ara suddenly got serious and ran around. She checked here and there, then brushed away the snow to examine the ground and soil, crossing her arms and nodding.
“It’s good! But it lacks shade!”
“Oh!”
Meluca needs shade to bud. However, this place, although surrounded, was an open basin.
-Then what should we do?
“It’s good to have a place with plenty of shade. But it should also be close to the sparkling tree.”
-Ah! Then let’s go to the second location!
Oh, it looks like they had scouted such a place in advance.
We immediately gave up on the first location. I planned to turn it into another flower field later.
-How about this place?
“Hmm.”
It was a small piece of land within the World Tree forest.
However, with the World Tree roots protruding everywhere, it was hard to call it flat. Still, it was flatter compared to other places.
“Hm!”
Ara once again bustled around, checking here and there. Finally, she exclaimed.
“This is good!”
-Oooooh!
Frey’s joy and Ara’s prideful demeanor were adorable. It was like watching little kids play house.
“Does it take long to get Meluca seeds?”
-According to what Priest Poispois said, it’s not exactly clear, but we should know for sure about a week after winter ends!
“That’s perfect. We can prepare this place in the meantime.”
-That sounds great!
Wonderful. The unexpected success of cultivating Meluca flowers slightly delayed our schedule, but I felt great. Thinking back, Mammon’s help was significant.
‘I could have managed it eventually by combining Poispois, but that would have made me anxious and impatient.’
I was planning to visit Mammon next, and I should share this good news. Considering his personality, he would smirk with pleasure.
“Frey, we’re heading to the goblin village now. Do you want to come along?”
-Ah! I should express my gratitude! He’s an annoying fellow, but I’m not a queen who would withhold thanks for such a reason!
Cliche Novel 