Everyday life

Chapter 17

The moon had risen to the peak of the heavens, watching over the kingdom of Valebryn as it prepared to rest for another day. But even at night, the battle between good and evil never stops, and at one of the city’s popular attractions, one such battle was about to begin.

Naoya had never seen the food plaza this quiet and empty before. All the stalls have been cleaned out and unmanned, only able to spot one in a hundred stalls still having people, either cleaning out for the day or preparing for tomorrow. One such stall was a small tent, with a sign outside that read “Gastro’s”. It was a rising star at the plaza, serving popular home cook dishes, and its chef famous for being able to cook any dish from anywhere in the world, even rare local delicacies from distant lands, like Isronathil Archipelago’s Drovanquilseraphytex, a baked soup consisting of various local ingredients and some special exotic rocks from the islands.

Naoya joins Cipher Unit on this mission as a trainee Knight. After passing the Academy’s Special Course in only one year, he is now studying as a Level 11 student, and as part of Sir Valiansteel’s plan, has also joined the Order, assisting the Unit as his training.

They approach the tent to confirm their target and proceed to the next part of the plan, with Astrea staying outside as backup, while the rest of them enter the tent.

The inside was, as expected, bigger than the outside. A brightly lit, tavern-style restaurant, decorated with simple furniture most commonly seen in the countryside, and clean walls painted with only a few artistic accents.

They spot the head chef busily cleaning the place on his own, still wearing his hat and wiping the counters as other cleaning tools worked on the dining areas. When the man sees them enter, his face immediately lights up in a smile, scrambling to get things ready for customers.

“Hello and welcome to Gastro’s, brave Knights! What can I do for you tonight?” the chef brightly greets them.

“We’re sorry for disturbing you. It seems you are already closing?” Lance politely asks.

“Oh, never you mind that. I’m just cleaning the place. As long as there’s a hungry customer, I will cook for them. Please, make yourselves comfortable,” he replies, gesturing to the stools at the service counter.

“Thank you, Mr. Chef,” the three of them give a slight bow as they sit down and read the menu before them.

“Just call me Gastro, and feel free to ask questions if you’re curious about a dish.”

“Ummm… excuse me? Can you tell me more about this ‘Kuh…melekin smaytea?’”

“Ahhh yes, k’mlekin smatii, a Drivokin classic, fried mountain krumbos drenched in a special sauce and boiled in zero gravity. The firm but tender meat easily melts in your mouth, and the sauces give off an exquisite blend of savory tastes. I have to warn you, though. You might need to wash it down with a lot of drinks afterwards. It leaves quite an aftertaste.”

“We would also like to inquire about the dishes here,” Lance and Greta raise their menus.

”Why, of course! I’d be happy to tell you about them.”

They spend the next several minutes asking about the dishes, and the chef enthusiastically explains them all. Its taste, its origins, how it’s made and the ingredients. The Knights observe as the man shares his passion with them.

In the end, the three of them ordered different dishes, and the chef began cooking them all at once, showcasing his skill as he commanded the entire kitchen with his mind. Ingredients chopped and prepared themselves while he moved seamlessly between stoves to bring each meal to life.

“Say, Mr. Gastro. I’m sorry for interrupting, but we’re currently investigating a recent case of disappearances that happened here in the plaza. Do you mind if we ask some questions?” Lance asks him.

“Oh dear, yes, I have heard of those. Not good for business, I tell you. It’s scaring away customers. I’d be happy to help, of course,” he replies as he continues cooking, completely uninterrupted as he fires up another stove and sears some dark-colored meat.

“Thank you, Mr. Gastro. So, ummm… first of all, have you seen any of these missing people before?”

Greta projects their images, and the chef moves closer to inspect them, his kitchen continuing to cook on its own.

“Hmmm. I think I have seen a few of them eat here before, but sadly that’s about what I remember. As you can see, I am cooking here all day, so I only know the people who enter my restaurant.”

“I see… thank you, Mr. Gastro. Next question: do you have ideas or clues about your neighbors who might have motives to kidnap people?”

“My neighbors… I don’t think so, Mr. Knight. The neighboring stalls are all quite nice, so I don’t think they’ll be up to something evil like that. Perhaps the suspects are on the other side of the plaza?” the chef replies as he returns to the stoves.

“Yes, perhaps. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Chef, and apologies for interrupting you at work. I do have one more question though, but it’s nothing, just a random food thought,” Lance asks, creating a set of daggers under the table as Naoya and Greta pull out their weapons as well, hiding it from the chef’s view.

“Ah, food questions! I’m sure I’ll be able to answer any question about that,” he replies, not at all distracted from his cooking.

“It might seem a bit strange, but I’ve always been curious… what do humans taste like?”

“Ahh… of course, the rarest delicacy of them all. From my personal experience, it depends on the lifestyle. The less active ones, especially children and females, are more tender and less chewy. I often like them in soups or saucy dishes, and for the more active ones, they tend to be chewier and more gamey, perfect for steaks and dry dishes…”

Utensils fall to the floor, everything in the kitchen stops moving, and the chef slowly looks up from the stoves. The restaurant is filled with ominous silence as the man turns to the Knights, any trace of friendliness gone from his blank expression. Greta and Naoya stand up, and Lance calmly speaks.

“After several thorough investigations, by decree of Valebryn’s Aetheryn Order, the individual named Gilbert Golanddaise Gopher Gastro, as well as any associates, are under arrest for multiple counts of kidnapping, murder, desecration of corpses, as well as involvement with the criminal organization Noctis Vindex. Suspects are to be captured alive, if possible, to undergo trial under the Justice Codex. Now tell me, sir — how would you like your arrest served?”

The chef stares at them with sharp eyes, and his lips curl into a smirk.

“Rare.”

...

Astrea hears the battle start inside the tent, and she muffles the sound coming from it to prevent attracting attention. She hones her awareness, remaining vigilant for any backup that might join the fight. She felt a bit bored, curious about the fight happening inside, but before she could take a peek, Greta flies out of the tent, pushed back by a torrent of red, aromatic, and freshly cooked sauce. Astrea quickly douses her in cold water to prevent getting scalded, and Greta ends up looking like a wet cat.

“Oops, sorry.” Astrea says as she dries her off with a gentle breeze. “Everything okay?”

Greta composes herself as the clatter of thrown furniture and a weird, squelching sound emanate from the tent.

“Yeah, it’s fine. The chef lives up to his profession very well.”

She charges into the tent and rejoins the fight. Astrea examines the sauce that blasted her teammate, confirming that it was indeed just regular sauce.

Before she understands what is happening, Ori and Lance fly out of the tent. Ori stumbled around, her head covered in heavy dough, and Lance was stabbed in the back by several carrots, bleeding from the wounds after protecting the fairy from being hit.

“What is happening?” She helps Ori pull her head out of the dough, and they both treat Lance’s wounds, which went much deeper than they expected.

“Awww, please don’t tell anyone that I got stabbed by some f—kin vegetables,” he groans as his wounds get closed.

“Should I go?” Astrea points at the tent.

“Nah, we’re good. The food just surprised us,” Ori replies as she helps Lance back up.

“If there’s one thing I can say about that mage, he’s probably the most creative one I’ve ever faced.”

The two of them charge back in to help the two inside, and Astrea examines the dough and the carrots, again confirming that it was, like the sauce, just regular food items. The urge to abandon her post and join the fight inside keeps growing in Astrea’s mind, but she calms herself down, focusing on the environment to make sure that no reinforcements are approaching.

After a while of non-stop battle noises, Naoya’s upper body pokes out of the tent, his eyes wide open in fear.

“Should I join?” Astrea was alarmed.

Naoya turns to her and gives her a worried smile.

“Yes, please. AAAHHHHHHH…”

His scream trails off when suddenly, a bunch of pasta wraps around his body and pulls him back inside.

She quickly sets up traps to immobilize anyone who approaches the area and takes a deep breath before rushing into the tent — only to freeze at the sight that greets her.

The restaurant no longer looked like a restaurant. Weapons were stuck to the ceiling, the walls were filled with various smears and splatters, and Lance was being pulled out of a giant cabbage by Ori. In the middle of the room, Naoya and Greta lunged towards the chef, who was holding a lid in his hand, intending to cover the pot in front of him. Astrea immediately realizes what was happening, but was already too late to stop it.

A dark territory expands from the pot, and all of them, including Astrea, were captured.

In the emptiness, the floor changes into an endless iron grill, giant flames roaring underneath. Above them, a canopy of spice shakers has replaced the sky, raining down flecks of salt and pepper. At the center of it all, the realm’s master turns to them with a sinister smile.

“Realm Extension… Hell’s Kitchen.”

…

“And that’s how I got these scars,” Naoya finishes his story, showing Tessa the scars of grill marks on his arm.

“Okay, that dude sounds cool, not gonna lie. Is there a way we can put him in the game?” she replies, walking over the surrounding mess.

“We can probably make it work. He can be a dungeon boss or something.”

The two of them were currently at Tessa’s house, working on their RPG board game project. For the past year and a half, they’ve been developing the game in their free time, taking inspiration from the video games in Naoya’s world. They were now designing some of the game pieces and testing out the mechanics themselves.

“I wish we had fun targets like that when I was a trainee. The ones I got were just regular, boring, evil people. Their schticks get repetitive all the time.”

“Well, that just makes them easier to capture, no?”

“Yeah, even now, after years of being a Knight, it’s just quick, boring work. Send anyone in the unit and we’ll handle it on our own, and speaking of my teammates…”

“Tessaaaaa!!!”

The front door blasts open, revealing Clara, exuding an air of bright, cheerful and energetic happiness.

And behind her was Ana, completely deflated, shoulders slumped as if she had just lost all motivation for life.

“What happened to her?” Tessa wonders as Ana walks into the living room and falls face first into a beanbag, her anguished screams muffled by the soft cushion.

“Ah, you probably haven’t seen the Order’s announcement yet, have you?” Clara answers with a smirk.

Tessa and Naoya check their communicators, and after reading the announcement’s title, they turn to Ana, immediately realizing why the third Princess of House von Skalbjorn was so stressed.

--- “Aetheryn Order announces ‘Joint Training’ military exercise with the ‘Emerald Legion’, Kingdom of Jaruna’s peacekeeping force.” ---