Burgers And Boys (4)

The boy picked up an egg. His forehead was covered in sweat. He kept squatting and standing repeatedly without showing any signs of fatigue.

However, unlike the boy, Greek was expressing his exhaustion all over his body.

For Greek, born a noble, this was his first time doing simple labor. Unlike the skilled boy, he was drenched in sweat all over. His face was twisted, and his body was on the verge of collapse from exhaustion.

Greek, exhausted, asked the boy next to him.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“No, I’m not tired. But you must be the son of a high-ranking family, right? You even have guards.”

The boy said, looking at the guards standing idly behind Greek.

“Well, that’s true.”

“Hey, could you move? That one, I was told to dig that up too!”

The girl shouted, discovering the bamboo shoot at Greek’s feet.

“Oh, really?”

Greek stepped aside in surprise. Here, he was more of a burden. It hurt his pride a little. Still, he didn’t show it and started to imitate the girl’s actions, trying to do better.

“I will definitely give a gift to my mother. With my own strength. Without anyone’s help.”

The boy, leaving the girl and Greek behind, kept mumbling and crawling through the forest, searching for bamboo shoots. His actions were astonishing. Greek couldn’t help but be impressed.

“Before coming here, how was it at other restaurants?”

Suddenly curious, Greek asked the girl in front of him, who was digging the ground to collect bamboo shoots with her tiny hands.

“We were turned away at the door. They didn’t even listen to us.”

“I see.”

Greek nodded. Then he dug up bamboo shoots in silence. It was tough, but seeing a girl younger than him working without rest, he felt he couldn’t give up first. That was his last bit of pride.

“You’ve collected quite a lot, haven’t you? And many eggs too. Good, you pass.”

When they returned in the evening, all three of their hands were covered in dirt. They had been working since lunch, quite a long time. Thanks to that, they wouldn’t need to come to Limon Forest to gather eggs for a while.

The sight of someone striving to achieve something is beautiful.

I lived like that too.

I wasn’t strong from the beginning. I rolled and rolled from the bottom.

I almost died and worked as hard as I could.

I crossed the threshold of death countless times.

I survived purely because of persistence. All I had was effort, that was it.

So if they had only pretended to work, I wouldn’t have given them anything. But the dirt on their hands has enough value.

“Then, wash your hands and bring your mother. I’ll prepare a meal for the whole family as promised.”

“Really?”

“Of course, really.”

When I emphasized again, the boy shouted excitedly.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Rena, let’s go quickly!”

“Yes, brother!”

The boy, holding his sister’s hand tightly so as not to lose her, went down the hill. Greek watched them and spoke.

“It was an embarrassing day. I couldn’t work as well as that girl…. But I worked too. For the first time…”

“Well done, future lord.”

Greek had a dazed look. I thought it was because he was tired, but it didn’t seem like that. He looked like he was contemplating something.

Leaving the boy, I picked the basket up and returned to the restaurant.

In this world, people don’t know their true value, but both the eggs and bamboo shoots had enough worth. So strictly speaking, I wasn’t doing free labor. Not that I had any intention of doing free labor.

“Future lord, no, Baron? When that family arrives, let’s eat together. I’ll feed you as much as you worked.”

“Yes, right! Got it. I’ll eat too. It’s food I earned with my own strength, so I’ll eat it all.”

I smiled at Greek, who was nodding vigorously, and entered the kitchen to prepare the meal.

As I was doing that, the boy and girl soon returned.

With a shabby-looking lady.

The lady, upon seeing me, bowed her head and spoke with an embarrassed expression.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I heard my children caused trouble, talking about some meal or whatever… I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

The boy’s mother, upon arrival, didn’t even think of straightening her back and kept repeating her apologies.

“No, it’s not. They saved up what little money they had to give you a gift, so I don’t think that’s something to be sorry about. But if you really think so, then I think that’s even worse.”

“But still, I know better than anyone that it’s just a small amount of money. How can you prepare a meal for all of us with that? And the kids were talking about a meat dish….”

“That’s right. It’s a feast. Don’t worry about that part. Their filial piety is admirable, but I couldn’t give it for free, so I had them help with some work. Oh, it wasn’t anything strange, don’t worry. There’s something that grows in Limon Forest that the restaurant needs, so they helped gather it. It’s a gift to their mother earned with honest work. Wouldn’t rejecting it be worse? Look at the children’s faces.”

I almost whispered that last part. Then the lady looked at the children. The boy and girl’s faces were mixed with worry and expectation.

Looking at her children, the lady gritted her teeth as if trying to hold something back. Then she nodded.

“Is that so…. Then, just give us that much. Just that. We’ll be indebted to you.”

“Don’t worry about that and please sit at this table.”

After guiding them, I started heating the iron plate. A meat dish.

I’ll show them a proper course meal.

The first dish to serve was chicken soup.

I don’t use the chicken itself.

I just use chicken broth. Although cooking with Palenque itself is prohibited, eggs and Palenque broth are excellent ingredients that provide deep flavors in various dishes.

First, I diced various vegetables and stir-fried them. The key is using green onion oil. The more vegetables, the better. That way, the lady would feel less burdened about the money.

The chicken broth boiled with Palenque is flavored deeply with monton mushroom powder, pepper, and salt. I added this broth to the stir-fried vegetables and simmered it down. A simple vegetable soup is completed.

The taste of the vegetables is the key point.

“This is not the main dish. It’s a soup to whet your appetite. Please taste it slowly.”

“Wow! It looks like the dishes come out multiple times, mom!”

The girl stomped her feet excitedly. She seemed thrilled. The lady just nodded while looking at her daughter.

The girl also picked her spoon up, her eyes sparkling.

Greek was already gulping the soup down.

I immediately started preparing the second dish.

The bamboo shoots the children had gathered.

There’s no healthier food than this.

I peeled and sliced the fresh bamboo shoots, which had been boiled right after we returned from the forest. Then, I took a bit of beef and fresh mountain mushrooms, sliced them, stir-fried them together with soy sauce, and added boiled green vegetables seasoned with salt.

The bamboo shoots were infused with the flavors of the seasoned beef and mountain mushrooms.

It’s nothing fancy, but it’s full of nutrition.

I divided the dish into portions and served it again.

“This is the bamboo shoot dish you gathered earlier. Since you all worked hard to collect it, don’t leave any behind and eat it all. It’s very good for your health.”

“Oh my!”

The lady exclaimed in admiration.

As expected, Greek was the first to bring the bamboo shoots to his mouth.

“This is crunchy. It has a clean taste that spreads. It’s even better when eaten with the mushrooms and beef underneath.”

He shouted his impressions alone. The boy, the girl, and their mother also ate the bamboo shoot dish continuously. Seeing that, I felt satisfied.

I returned to the kitchen.

I planned to serve a meat dish to the boy’s mother and to Greek, who had already eaten hamburgers. And I planned to serve hamburgers to the boy and girl. This is the main dish.

First, I put a thick piece of Belleren meat on the iron plate. Belleren, a monster with strong vitality, is known among mercenaries to be eaten raw. It’s famous for having no parasites.

The Belleren meat started to cook from the outside.

Sizzle!

Sizzle.

The smell and sound of the cooking meat attracted the attention from the table outside.

The outside of the Belleren meat was fully cooked. But the inside was still red, like the center of a cooked steak.

Yes, this is the key point. Belleren meat is best eaten in this state.

The partially cooked center of the Belleren meat. I carved out just the center and placed it on two plates.

The sauce is based on chicken broth, enhanced with red wine Chambertin, then simmered with mountain mushrooms. The hamburger sauce is demi-glace, but this Belleren meat uses chicken broth as the base.

Pour the sauce over the meat, and the Belleren steak is complete.

Then I hurriedly made two hamburgers.

The boy and girl’s eyes widened.

“Wowww!”

They exclaimed in excitement.

“I’ve never eaten such a luxurious dish before… Um, um, the price?”

The lady sent a worried glance. I shook my head.

“It’s Belleren meat. It had to be eaten by today, so I cooked it. Otherwise, I would have had to throw it away.”

This is a lie. But it’s necessary to reassure customers depending on their situation. Of course, the Belleren meat is of the highest quality, caught just yesterday. But it’s better to say this than to make them anxious.

“Oh, this is amazing! I put it in my mouth and it melts with the sauce! This is my first time having something like this.”

Greek kept exclaiming in admiration. The boy’s mother also cut the Belleren meat with a knife and chewed.

The boy and girl, without touching the hamburgers in front of them, watched their mother. They clearly wanted to eat, but they stopped, hoping their mother would enjoy it first.

They had faces eager to see her reaction.

Faces full of expectation.

Their mother, realizing their gazes, finally burst into tears.

“Children. This is the first time in my life I’ve had such a dish. Thank you, thank you. It’s really delicious.”

“Mom!”

“It’s okay. It’s delicious. Yours looks delicious too, so go ahead and eat.”

When the lady started eating the meat again, the boy and girl finally took bites of their hamburgers.

“Wowww!”

The girl’s happy face was adorable.

The meal ended with dessert. Led by their mother, the boy and girl kept bowing as they left the restaurant.

“I’ll definitely come back if I succeed!”

The boy shouted. Yeah. I’ll be grateful if they come back. Seeing that, Greek asked me.

“No matter how I see it, isn’t it more expensive than the level of work they did? I haven’t even had such a dish at home.”

“That’s not true. The dishes at my place aren’t that expensive. It’s my principle.”

And in fact, the value of the bamboo shoots the kids gathered is worth that much. Heh. I don’t take losses. That’s the kind of man I am.

“Still, I think I learned a lot. This and that. You’re like a teacher to me.”

“If you’re grateful, exempt my taxes when you become the lord later?”

“I don’t think I can do that. You said a good lord doesn’t give special treatment, right?”

“Haha.”

You learn fast.

“Instead, I’ll come more often. You’re on my side, right?”

“Maybe.”

You’re on my side, huh. I’ve heard that line a lot somewhere.

Anyway, after hearing my answer, Greek left the restaurant with a very satisfied look on his face.

The money earned was five hundred runes, but it’s worth it since I don’t have to go gather eggs and bamboo shoots for a while.

I went up to the second floor. I didn’t wake Rurin on purpose. It seemed like a commotion would arise.

But what’s up with not waking up even when not woken? She could sleep for a hundred years if left alone, this dragon lady.

Shaking my head, I went up to the second floor.

Still, I need to feed her.