Chapter 126

Chapter 126: The First S-Rank Crop There had been a suspicious customer at the restaurant lately.

A woman who, after tasting each dish she ordered, would scribble something furiously in a small notebook.

She evaluated the food with extreme care.

As if she were meticulously analyzing every single ingredient and seasoning that went into each dish.

'Is that Hunter also a chef? Or maybe......'

For roughly two weeks, she came every day, tasting everything from regular meals to Buff and Stat dishes before leaving.

Three weeks later.

A call came into the guild headquarters.

It was from the Michelin Guide.

I had been away and did not take the call directly.

The guild member who answered relayed the message to me.

"Michelin contacted us regarding a column they want to publish in their magazine. They asked that you call the number they left when you got in."

"All right, I will give them a call."

The Michelin Guide's process.

An evaluation team visits a new restaurant and conducts an assessment.

If the food and atmosphere pass muster, they introduce the restaurant through a published column.

Simultaneously, they obtain the chef's consent and register the restaurant with Michelin.

Once a year, among the registered restaurants, they conduct a comprehensive evaluation of food quality, ambiance, and service and award stars to those that score highly, much like an awards ceremony.

'So many chefs are desperate to earn those stars.'

Earning stars meant more customers and higher revenue.

So if one could earn them, it was certainly advantageous.

However, a considerable number of restaurants deliberately declined stars even when they could earn them.

'Once you get a star, the stress of maintaining it is so intense that many chefs refuse them outright.'

Beyond that, some chefs felt aversion to having their craft ranked by stars.

And there were chefs who took pride in the belief that their culinary skill alone could make them famous without the help of stars.

'In reality, restaurants that operate on pride without stars tend to last longer.'

Pungjeong's downfall was for a similar reason.

Part of it was that the food quality changed after I, the person who had actually been running the kitchen, left.

But the bigger reason was the decisive blow of being demoted from three stars to one.

'Even I would not revisit a restaurant that had dropped in rank.'

Restaurants that failed to maintain their star count often went out of business.

Anyway, since they had called, I might as well return it.

I went into the Guild Master's office and dialed the number on the memo the guild member had left, using the office phone.

A woman's voice answered in French.

I exchanged greetings with her in somewhat clumsy French.

Then I asked about the purpose of the call.

"You would like to publish a column about the food you tried at my restaurant?"

-Yes, that is correct.

"Which dishes are you referring to?"

She listed the dishes she had tasted.

From regular dishes to Buff and Stat dishes.

So she was indeed the woman who had been taking notes so diligently at the Rift restaurant.

We had exchanged greetings several times whenever she entered and left the restaurant.

"You intend to write a column about every dish you tried?"

-Not all of them. I would like to feature about half. And regarding the taste evaluations, there will be no negative content.

"You are welcome to write honestly about what you felt."

-Of course. I will write honestly. Among your dishes, Chef, there were a few that could be polarizing in terms of preference, but overall I was very satisfied, so there simply is nothing negative to write.

That was a relief.

She continued.

-After the column is published, would you allow us to register your restaurant with the Michelin Guide?

"I would prefer not to be registered."

I refused without hesitation.

The Rift restaurant was inside a Rift.

The Fourth Floor, at that.

Being listed with Michelin would be meaningless.

It was a place that not just anyone could visit.

"The restaurant's location does not suit a Michelin Guide listing, and as you saw when you visited, my restaurant changes its menu daily, so it would not be a good fit for Michelin."

-I see. To be honest, I expected you would decline. But you are still permitting the column to be published, correct?

"Yes, that is fine."

-Understood. Then once the column is published, I will leave word with the guild.

"Understood."

-This is unrelated to the business at hand, but after tasting so many of your dishes during this visit, I have become a fan, Chef. If the opportunity arises someday, I would love to visit again. I will be cheering on both your restaurant and your Outpost operations going forward! Keep up the great work, Chef!

"Thank you. I will keep working hard."

I ended the call.

Afterward, I used the office desktop to browse through internet news articles and posts related to me for the first time in a while.

"Hmm......"

Most of the content was positive, but some was not.

There were quite a few articles and posts raising suspicions about my abilities.

Particularly regarding the Gate Portal, or in other words, the Rift-travel ability.

People were raising suspicions that I was not only moving through Rifts myself, but also letting Wind Forest Guild members enter and exit Rifts illegally.

'So the pushback on the Rift portal ability is ramping up in earnest. Good thing I joined the Rift Management Bureau.'

Director Jeong Jae-yong was quashing all of these suspicions.

He maintained the position that everything had been coordinated with the Rift Management Bureau, and that the various abilities of Hunter An Seon-u could not be disclosed because doing so would expose the operational assets of the Rift Crisis Response Team.

It was not just the Rift Management Bureau on my side. The public was too.

-Hey, just leave Chef An alone! He is raising national prestige all on his own!

-These are the same people who would be the first to call for Hunter An Seon-u and Hunter Emeria the second a national crisis from a Rift breaks out lol

-Seriously, when someone does well and makes a lot of money, there are always people who cannot stand to see others succeed and want to tear them down.

-Hunter An Seon-u is under the Rift Management Bureau. The Bureau will handle things just fine.

-Trash journalists and rubbernecking Mutubers in their collab from hell. The country would be fine without you lot, but it cannot do without Chef An!

-A gorgeous wife AND the Rift-travel ability......! In any case, it is all Hunter An Seon-u's fault.

└Where did I put the bleach again.

└I heard they even had a daughter recently.

The conclusion was that there was no real need to worry.

The public was on my side, and so was the Rift Management Bureau.

I had even heard through Director Jeong Jae-yong that other domestic government agencies and politicians would not bother interfering either, given the considerable economic benefits generated by me and the Wind Forest Guild.

'Closing the Third Floor Rift that opened in Mapo District was the decisive factor.'

If I had not been able to close the Mapo District Rift, the economic losses would have been enormous.

Beyond that, as a contingency against future Rift-related disasters, they would never dare treat me carelessly.

Thanks to that, I was free to come and go from Rifts as I pleased today as well.

***

After successfully growing the Arcana Mana Herb, Rin's abilities had grown substantially.

Her crop growth speed had increased accordingly.

HUMMM!

When Rin activated her area-of-effect growth, A-Rank green onions and leafy vegetables shot up to harvestable size in no time.

Ria and I were sitting at an outdoor table, watching Rin at work.

"It feels like just yesterday she was growing things one by one. Before we knew it, her abilities have gotten that strong."

"Hehe! I know, right? At this rate, she might grow far stronger than a typical Adult Dryad."

"Quite possibly."

I could not say for certain, since I did not know the upper limit of the Dryad species' growth potential.

Still, she could at least reach the lower tier of Transcendent-Grade, could she not?

And then there was our second daughter.

"Our Yeona will be at least S-Rank when she grows up too."

"Yeah, she has a Legendary-grade skill, after all. Plus, you will keep feeding her good food to raise her stats."

"Of course. I have absolutely no intention of making her a Hunter, but the higher her stats, the healthier and stronger her body becomes."

"That is true."

I looked at Yeona, who was in Ria's arms.

Yeona was sucking on her pacifier.

A month and a half after birth, her features had become very defined.

Her silver hair had grown out quite a bit too.

"Who does our daughter take after to be this adorable? She looks like a doll."

"She takes after you."

"According to Ruina, she is the spitting image of you as a child. You must have been adorable as a little girl too, Ria."

"Not at all. I was very quiet as a child."

"Really?"

"Yes. Apparently I barely even cried as a baby, which worried my nursemaid a great deal."

"That is exactly like our Yeona."

Yeona rarely cried.

She also never woke up crying in the middle of the night.

She slept well at night and was bright-eyed in the morning.

Including her afternoon nap after nursing at lunchtime, she had a very regular sleep pattern.

'Everyone says child-rearing is so hard, but Yeona is on the very easy end of the difficulty scale.'

I had been the same way.

My late father used to say that all they had to do was lay me down nearby, and as long as someone made eye contact once in a while, I would smile and play on my own without crying.

My mother also mentioned from time to time that raising me as a baby had been on the very easy side.

"She is definitely our daughter. Takes after both Mom and Dad, barely cries, and is well-behaved."

"Hehe! That is right."

And with Ruina, who had volunteered as a caretaker, helping with the child-rearing, there was really nothing particularly difficult.

"Let me hold Yeona now."

"All right."

I took Yeona from Ria and carried her over to Rin.

"Yeona, look, your big sister is growing crops!"

Perilla leaves and cilantro sprouted up in a burst of growth.

Yeona watched the wondrous sight with her bright, curious eyes.

"Hehe! Yeona, wook at this!"

Rin seemed delighted that her little sister was watching and decided to show off a new technique.

Using several pepper plant stems that Rin had pulled up after harvest, she raised three small Wooden Golems, each about fifty centimeters tall.

Yeona parted her tiny lips slightly and stared.

'Our Yeona has great reactions too.'

Rin directed the three Wooden Golems to begin harvesting crops.

She had them harvesting while simultaneously growing more crops.

Rin was doing the work of several people all by herself.

Yeona, who had been watching the spectacle with fascination, then used her Competentia skill once again.

Mana rippled in Yeona's blue eyes, and then.

CRACK-CRACK!

The sound of wood rapidly growing filled the air as the three Wooden Golems, which had been about fifty centimeters, doubled in size to one meter.

A small pumpkin that Rin had been growing suddenly swelled in size.

The effect of Yeona enhancing Rin's special abilities with Competentia.

I tickled Yeona's cheek.

"Our Yeona, you used your ability for the first time in a while?"

Yeona had used her ability a total of five times so far.

Once each on me and Rin when she was only a few days old.

Then two more times when she seemed to take interest in my cooking.

Five times total, counting this one.

"Yeona, you are amazing!"

At Rin's and my praise, Yeona broke into a bright smile.

Rin then tested her temporarily enhanced special abilities.

Vines extended from the raised arms of a Wooden Golem.

She used those vines to harvest crops.

At the same time, Rin grew another pumpkin.

'Rin, how far are you going to grow that?'

Using her amplified growth ability, she grew a single young zucchini into a fully mature pumpkin, then into a giant pumpkin that looked like it would easily weigh over five hundred kilograms.

'She could enter that in a world pumpkin contest.'

There was a competition where the farmer who grew the largest pumpkin won.

This giant pumpkin looked like a worthy entry.

Normally, when a mature pumpkin grew beyond a certain size, its color would lighten and its flavor would deteriorate.

But the giant pumpkin Rin had grown was a vibrant yellow with a lustrous sheen.

Rin finished the growth process.

I walked over to the pumpkin and placed my hand on it.

Then.

[Giant Pumpkin Grown by a Dryad] [Taste & Rarity: S-Rank]

An actual S-Rank.

It must have been thanks to Yeona enhancing Rin's abilities.

"Rin, the pumpkin came out S-Rank."

"Weally? Wow-!"

Rin was ecstatic.

Yeona smiled too.

Rin then turned to Yeona and said.

"Papa, this is all thanks to Yeona!"

Rin was giving the credit to her younger sister.

What a kind girl.

"You both did a wonderful job. This is the sisters' first collaboration."

"Hehe!"

My daughters' abilities were truly remarkable.

The eldest was only about five years old.

The younger one was a mere forty-eight-day-old baby.

"Awoo!"

Bell rubbed her head against my leg as if to claim her share of the credit.

Bell's Golden Egg Fertilizer played a huge role as well.

"You did great too, Bell."

"Awoo!"

If I made pumpkin porridge with this S-Rank pumpkin, it would yield hundreds of servings.

Beyond that, I could also make pumpkin pound cake, mature pumpkin jeon, and more.