Chicken And Palenque (5)

“How delicious is it really?”

A bald mercenary next to him chimed in.

“I can’t trust your taste. You always eat strange spicy things.”

Miltain waved his hand and strongly denied it.

“No, I tried it too, and you’ll be satisfied.”

Can’t trust me, huh? It’s rewarding to satisfy even such skeptical customers. I carefully placed the marinated chicken into the boiling oil.

Plop. Plop.

-Sizzle!

The sizzling of the frying batter and oil was loud, drawing the attention of all the mercenaries. Rurin, who had just finished serving the draft beer instead of their usual canned beer with a blank expression, returned and stared at the chicken.

She had a hungry look in her eyes. I had to stop her.

“Yours is set aside, so don’t touch this and serve it first. Got it? We’re a team now, so do it sincerely! Understood?”

“Understood! Because we are one!”

“Good, now hurry and move it.”

Half bone-in chicken, half boneless chicken. Whether she was entranced or intimidated by my authority, Rurin unusually and obediently began serving the plates of chicken to the tables.

The mercenaries stared curiously at the golden-brown chicken before them. Mr. Ment grabbed a drumstick with his bare hand and bit into it, revealing the steaming white meat inside.

And the crispy batter and skin. Hearing the crunch, the mercenaries all grabbed the chicken and brought it to their mouths just like Mr. Ment.

“Huh?”

“Ohhhh!”

The reaction was immediate. Of course, it was. Chicken and beer are a soul’s pairing. Especially when combined with various secret ingredients and mushroom chicken powder, garlic-flavored chicken couldn’t possibly taste bad.

“Ment! What’s going on? A guy known as a taste destroyer found a place like this.”

“What did I tell you, guys? Just eat quietly!”

Seeing his comrades satisfied, Mr. Ment began to laugh heartily.

Mr. Knoll and Mrs. Rayne at the bar table also looked impressed. Mr. Knoll, in particular, found the boneless chicken fascinating, stuffing his mouth full and gulping beer down.

As I continued to fry and serve all the chicken, a beer and chicken party erupted in the restaurant.

As the atmosphere warmed up, Miltain approached me with a look.

The meaning of that look was obvious. He wanted me to present the dish he requested. I nodded and took out the Buldak Bokkeummyun.

I boiled the water and cooked the noodles. After draining the water, I mixed the noodles with the sauce. Just in case, I also prepared Cheese Bokkeummyun from the pantry. If it’s too spicy, I’ll mix it in. The purpose isn’t to prank them; if they can’t handle it, I’ll tone it down. My task is to convey Miltain’s sentiment to Mr. Ment.

Because I was paid to.

When you put in the effort, customers naturally become regulars.

“Mr. Ment. Would you come over to this bar table?”

I pointed to the seat next to Mr. Knoll and called to Mr. Ment.

“Yes?”

“Actually, your junior asked me for a favor. He wanted to repay you and asked me to prepare a special dish. He said you like spicy food?”

“This guy?”

Mr. Ment looked surprised and turned his gaze to Miltain.

“No, you didn’t have to explain it in such detail…”

Miltain soon became embarrassed and squirmed. Seeing this cheerful guy blush was quite a sight.

“Anyway, that’s how it turned out, so give it a try. Hahaha!”

“Hey, man! Is Ment the only senior?”

“Yeah!”

“This bastard? I was good to him too!”

Other mercenaries, unable to contain their warmth, started raising their voices. Typical mercenaries.

I placed the steaming Buldak Bokkeummyun in front of Mr. Ment, who was sitting next to Mr. Knoll. Mr. Ment looked at it with a slightly awkward expression.

“It’s very spicy, are you okay with that?”

“That’s exactly what I want. It seems he heard me complain sometimes.”

Mr. Ment nodded and grabbed a fork.

“Oh, this isn’t a dish we serve in the restaurant. It’s a specially prepared dish.”

“Really, is that so?”

“Even if you ask for it again, I can’t make it for you, so keep that in mind while eating.”

Mr. Ment nodded and brought the Buldak Bokkeummyun to his mouth.

“I can’t handle spicy food well, but that looks delicious. The smell is intense…”

The other mercenaries pretended to choke Miltain while casting curious glances at the dish. Next to me, the dragon grimaced, almost trembling with fear.

“Humans are such foolish creatures. Eating such food. Ugh!”

Seeing that made me feel a bit mischievous. So I offered Rurin the leftovers of the Buldak Bokkeummyun in the pot. She recoiled in horror.

“Get that away from me. It’s a weapon worse than my breath! Are you trying to kill me?”

“Of course not. Calling a dish a weapon, don’t you want to try it again?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

Rurin screamed and ran upstairs.

A dragon fleeing in terror from Buldak Bokkeummyun.

The world’s strongest species, defeated by Buldak Bokkeummyun. It’s headline material for a newspaper.

Slurp!

As Rurin fled, Mr. Ment slurped the Buldak Bokkeummyun into his mouth and began chewing.

“This is…”

Sweat broke out on Mr. Ment’s forehead. But it seemed bearable.

“This is amazing, El. This is the best spicy flavor I’ve ever had, and I think there’s a subtle taste of Palenque… Wow.”

As he spoke, the spiciness intensified, and he groaned while staring at the dish. But his fork didn’t stop. He kept slurping the noodles. The slurping sound seemed to stimulate the appetite of others, especially Mr. Knoll, who quickly intervened.

“Let’s see, how delicious is it that it makes you cry?”

He recklessly grabbed some noodles with his fork and shoved them into his mouth.

The reaction was immediate.

“What is this! Aaaargh, I’m gonna die! You eat this stuff? You madman!”

Mr. Knoll had the same reaction as the dragon, jumping around and then running outside.

Mrs. Rayne shook her head as she watched.

“Ha. This is painful, but it has an addictive quality that keeps the fork going. My mouth feels like it’s on fire. Ha.”

Mr. Ment remained calm. The other mercenaries watched in disgust and then turned their attention back to the chicken.

“That’s the true face of the taste destroyer.”

“If Ment finds it spicy, it’s already deadly. Ignore it, everyone.”

“By the way, this boneless chicken is convenient and tasty, isn’t it? More beer here!”

In the end, Mr. Knoll was the only victim.

Mr. Ment finished a plate of Buldak Bokkeummyun, and the chicken party continued thereafter.

There’s a small epilogue related to the Palenque affair.

The story began with the mercenaries’ word of mouth.

After serving the mercenaries, many people came, saying they wanted to eat Palenque dishes. Thanks to that, the restaurant became extremely busy.

But I couldn’t just be happy about it. They were customers drawn by the name of Palenque. So I limited the number of Palenque dishes sold. The reactions were twofold: some stayed to eat other dishes, while others grumbled and left.

I was confident I could turn the former into regulars. But there were more of the latter. Anyway, thanks to that, the bustling restaurant finally regained some stability.

I welcomed that stability.

Only those who want to come should come. As I’ve always said, money isn’t important.

It’s all about one-on-one with the customers. I find satisfaction in seeing them happy. I liked that.

If there are too many people, this becomes impossible. But there aren’t enough customers to operate on a reservation basis. The commotion now is only due to the fame of Palenque.

So I decided to let go of the troublesome Palenque for a while. The current bustle isn’t because they come for the taste of my cooking.

I’ve already thought of the best way to let go of Palenque. A win-win situation, so to speak. There’s no reason to kick away something profitable, even if it’s unnecessary.

After finishing lunch service, I visited Mr. Knoll’s shop and invited the two to the Limon Forest.

Mr. Knoll and Mrs. Rayne. Their shop isn’t exactly thriving. Mr. Knoll, insisting on craftsmanship, only stocked truly high-quality meat. Even then, it didn’t leave much profit. Plus, he often refused sales if he wasn’t satisfied with the buyer.

Moreover, I overheard this when they visited my restaurant last time.

“Dear, I want to visit often because of what happened last time, but this month is tight, so let’s consider that soju the last for now.”

The restaurant’s food is reasonably priced. But there’s a crucial difference. I have a hoard of treasure, and they don’t. That difference is significant.

Regular customers who cross the hill to visit my restaurant.

I’ve received a lot of help from Mr. Knoll and Mrs. Rayne. The meat bought from Mr. Knoll’s shop was satisfying even for the strongest carnivorous monster, the dragon.

But I can’t not charge for the food. They aren’t people who help without reason. So I thought of killing two birds with one stone.

Release Palenque into the market and remove the label of a Palenque restaurant. Since the Palenque in the market would come from me, it’s not a losing business. This also helps the Knoll couple.

The odd location of Limon Forest. The couple, unable to refuse my earnest request, asked with puzzled faces what was going on.

“El, why did you suddenly call us to a place like this? Is something wrong?”

“Yeah, man. Are you planning to run away because your restaurant failed? Are you here to say goodbye?”

Seeing Mr. Knoll’s eyebrows twitching constantly, it seemed he wasn’t being sarcastic but genuinely worried.

Well, every time Mr. Knoll came, the place was deserted. Plus, Limon Forest is like an exit from Greek City. Did he misunderstand it as me trying to run away?

“No, it’s not that. Actually, too many people are coming because of Palenque, it’s becoming a nuisance.”

“Oh my! Really? Congratulations!”

Mrs. Rayne smiled with genuine joy. She didn’t show even a speck of jealousy. Her beautiful smile suited her well. Seeing someone like her getting more wrinkles on her hands from working so hard because of Mr. Knoll made me feel sorry.

“It’s not all good. People are only asking for Palenque, so I can’t cook my other dishes. It’s a bit uncomfortable.”

“Really?”

“Right. You’re uncomfortable despite barely getting settled? Do you want to prosper continuously so we can sell you more meat?”

“Prospering isn’t always good. I’m like you, Mr. Knoll. I want to sell my food to people who love my restaurant. I don’t need people who only seek Palenque. But it’s a waste to get rid of Palenque completely, so I’ll distribute it to the market.”

“Palenque?”

The couple’s eyes widened. They wondered if it was possible. Now for the main point.