Embracing Magic - E.M Chapter 90 (Part 2)
“She used to work in the kitchen of the restaurant down the street. You know ‘Central’s Delicacies,’ right?”
“Oh, yeah. I know it. The food there wasn’t great, though.”
Rodin had already been there with Bianca. It was a large restaurant, enough to remind them of inns in Harson or Lanse, so they had high expectations.
But the food was all show and no substance. The fish dishes, in particular, were so smelly that they were inedible.
“They used to make really good food there. But after the head chef got injured and quit, the restaurant’s quality went downhill.”
“Really? What kind of injury?”
“I think they got splattered by hot oil? Anyway, their arm was badly hurt. They can still cook, but it’s hard for them to prepare large quantities of food like they used to.”
Apparently, the chef had been well-known for their cooking skills. Back when they worked at the restaurant, they had received numerous offers to switch jobs.
But after the injury, they could no longer cook large amounts of food. In a household setting, it wouldn’t be a problem, but in a busy restaurant, their slow pace was too much of a handicap.
“That sounds great. I’d like to hire her.”
“Her son is sick, so you’ll need to pay her generously.”
“That’s fine. Please arrange a meeting.”
Money wasn’t an issue. As long as she could cook delicious meals, Rodin was willing to accept just about anything.
“Alright. I’ll talk to her. Should I send her to your house tomorrow?”
“Yes. I’ll be waiting.”
Rodin spent the rest of the day in excited anticipation.
The next morning, Rodin found himself deep in thought once again. Bianca sat nearby, pouting with a gloomy expression.
“Bianca, what do you want to eat?”
“Uhm, I don’t know.”
They struggled with this question at every meal.
Despite the Central Continent’s reputation for a well-developed food culture, none of the nearby restaurants lived up to that reputation. No matter how many dishes they recalled from the local eateries, nothing sounded appetizing.
“Bianca, today we’ll eat whatever you want.”
“Big Brother Rodin, I’m not hungry. I don’t want breakfast. Even Larry skipped breakfast and left.”
“Larry went to practice swordsmanship.”
Larry had to be at the Cardos Sword Hall’s facility by 6 AM each day, starting yesterday. He ate both breakfast and lunch there and spent the whole day training.
He only came home for dinner because his aura training was more efficient in the evening.
“Ugh, I’m not hungry.”
“Excuse me.”
At that moment, they heard a voice from outside. It was faint, but Rodin didn’t miss it.
“Looks like someone’s here?”
Rodin quickly left the room and headed to the front door. A middle-aged woman who looked to be in her fifties was standing at the entrance.
“Could it be?”
“I heard you were looking for someone to cook.”
“Ah!”
Just as Rodin and Bianca had been desperately waiting for someone to cook for them, the woman, too, had been anxiously looking for work.
She had come so early in the morning, worried that someone else might snatch up the job.
“Big brother! She’s here, she’s here!”
“Please, come in.”
“Thank you.”
Rodin guided the guest to the living room. As he did, he carefully observed her.
The burn on her arm was on her left side. Because of the scar inside her elbow, she couldn’t fully extend her arm.
Her left ankle also didn’t seem to be in good condition. Though she walked as if nothing was wrong, Rodin’s keen eyes noticed her balance falter with every step she took on her left foot.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Thank you.”
“Could you please introduce yourself?”
“Yes. My name is Margaret. I worked at Central’s Delicacies for a long time, but I had to quit after I hurt myself…”
After a brief introduction, she also shared a bit about her family.
Her husband had passed away long ago, and she was raising a sick son, who was 32 years old. His name was Matthew.
“I see. Well, here you go.”
“Oh? Why are you giving me this money?”
Rodin handed her 20 gold coins.
A healthy adult male typically earned around 10 gold coins for a month’s hard labor. For more skilled work, one could earn about twice that, or 20 gold coins.
“We haven’t had breakfast yet.”
“Ah!”
“Please, go to the market and buy ingredients to prepare our breakfast. We’ll taste your food and decide whether to hire you based on that.”
Rodin was grateful for Margaret’s arrival. The constant worry over what to eat each meal had been a real headache, but this could finally solve that problem.
“Is there anything specific you’d like to eat? With 20 gold coins, you should be able to buy most things.”
“No, we’re not picky. As long as it’s delicious.”
“Understood. I’ll go to the market now.”
“Alright.”
Though he gave her the money and sent her off, he hadn’t yet decided to hire her. The key was the taste.
Even if her food was fancy or beautiful, if it didn’t taste good, she wouldn’t get the job. No matter how unfortunate her situation, Rodin wasn’t going to hire her unless the food passed his taste test.
Margaret returned after about an hour, her hands full of groceries.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you’d have so much to carry. I should have gone with you.”
“I’m back.”
“Please prepare breakfast for us.”
“That’s my job, after all.”
Margaret entered the kitchen, took a deep breath, and then came back out.
“Um…”
“What’s wrong?”
“There are no cooking tools here.”
“Oh! Wait a moment.”
Rodin hurried to the storage room and brought out all the cooking tools they had used during their camping trips. Of course, it wasn’t enough. For a household kitchen, they should have prepared more proper tools in advance.
As a last resort, he summoned some of the cooking tools they had stored in a kitchen artifact. Finally, they had just about enough.
“Sorry, this is all we have for now.”
“I’ll make do with these for today.”
“Thank you. I apologize again.”
As a token of apology, Rodin entered the kitchen and used magic to light the fire. Flames flickered in the hearth, filling the kitchen with warmth.
“Magic!”
“Please, do your best.”
“I’ll do my utmost.”
Margaret placed a pot on the fire and began boiling water, then calmly started preparing the ingredients. Once everything was prepped, the real cooking began.
“Big Brother, I’m hungry.”
“So am I.”
The delicious aroma began to fill the room. The smell of the food spread from the kitchen, making their mouths water.
About an hour later, Margaret finished preparing breakfast.
“This is a traditional dish from the Kingdom of Lennox. Since you seem to be from another country, I thought I’d start with a local recipe.”
“Alright, let’s give it a try. Bianca, let’s eat.”
“Okay, Big brother.”
Rodin took a spoonful and brought it to his mouth. The deep flavor and savory taste filled his palate.
“Wow! Big Brother, this is so good!”
“Yeah, it’s really delicious.”
Margaret had prepared four dishes for breakfast, and every single one was excellent. There was nothing to criticize.
Even compared to the fine inns in the port cities of Langs and Hasson, her food was in no way lacking.
“Big brother, I like Grandma Margaret.”
“Let’s hire her.”
“Oh!”