Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Rift Restaurant Grand Opening

Stepping through the door, the restaurant interior came into view.

Ria admired the space.

"Wow, the interior is gorgeous."

"Once we place the tables, chairs, and decorations, it will look even better."

"I bet. Your dream is about to come true, Seon-u."

"Yes. Of my two dreams, one has already been fulfilled, and the dream of opening a restaurant inside the Rift is not far off now."

"Which dream did you already fulfill?"

"Marrying you, Ria."

"That is a modest dream."

"It was not modest at all. If anything, it was too ambitious."

Ria and I embraced and kissed.

"Shall we absorb the restaurant back and head home? Rin must be waiting."

"Yes."

I absorbed the restaurant modules one by one into Acresia, and then, out of mana, we walked back to the Rift house.

***

We did not go on a separate honeymoon.

We felt bad leaving Rin behind for several days.

So we postponed the honeymoon for later.

Instead, we went on a two-night, three-day camping trip to Sky Island as a family, just like before.

We enjoyed playing in the water, had barbecue, and had a wonderful time.

On the third day, we went to the Mandragora field with Rin.

In the meantime, I had been bringing Rin to Sky Island every few days to help the Mandragora grow.

Today was the day to see the fruits of that labor.

Rin channeled earth mana through her hands and pulled the Mandragora out one by one.

"They grew nice and plump."

They were plumper than the Mandragora we had harvested before.

Rin pulled out a total of fifteen roots.

We then collected seeds from the harvested Mandragora, replanted them, and provided nutrients with Bell's fertilizer and Wooden Golem debris.

This time, we planted a total of 50 seeds, and as Rin began making them grow, all of them sprouted.

"Rin, your ability gets stronger by the day."

Perhaps it was thanks to all the Health Juice — Rin's plant growth ability was growing stronger every day.

Rin said to me.

"Rin, help Seonu."

Rin's Korean was also improving by leaps and bounds.

I stroked her hair.

"Thank you for always helping, Rin."

"Heh!"

After enjoying our two-night, three-day honeymoon-slash-family-trip, we returned to the Rift house.

Rin saw the Sword Saint tilling the fields and ran toward him in delight.

"Gwandpa-!"

"Oh, Rin, you are back. Haha!"

The Sword Saint lifted Rin up and held her in his arms.

It looked just like a grandfather and his granddaughter.

'I am glad Rin has taken to the Sword Saint.'

When Ria and I were away, having the Sword Saint nearby helped Rin feel less lonely.

And there was also a friend-like uncle figure.

"Rin, did you have a good time? Not even a hello for me."

Eriksson grumbled upon seeing Rin.

But Rin could not understand Eriksson's English at all.

She just smiled.

"Damn, maybe I need to study Korean."

Then Ruina, who had been sweeping the yard, approached and cast the area Sigil of Wisdom. She said to Eriksson.

"I will make a Sigil of Wisdom magical accessory for you soon. The cost is three High-Grade Magic Stones, payable to Lady Ria or Sir Seon-u."

"Ugh......! You Magic Stone Fiends. But I do need one, so make it."

"Understood. Anyone else?"

The Sword Saint and Santos raised their hands.

The knight order trio raised their hands too.

"Hmm, I could use one as well. I cannot keep asking for the Sigil of Wisdom to be cast every time we need to communicate."

"Ruina, you will make ours for free, right?"

"Ruina, I do not have any Magic Stones......"

Garrett, Neville, and Benny's pleas were met with Ruina's icy reply.

"Everyone except Lady Ria's family must pay. If you do not have the means, go hunting and earn them."

The knight order trio deflated.

"Looks like we need to go on a hunt soon."

"Seems so."

"You are so cold, Ruina......"

But she was making them for Ria, me, and Rin for free.

A true attendant indeed.

***

Since the wedding, Ria and I had barely had any time alone.

Even the two-night, three-day camping trip to Sky Island had included Rin and Bell.

So Ria and I went out at night to have time for just the two of us.

The location we reached via the Gate portal was the hot spring at the entrance to the volcanic zone.

The same place we had visited before.

After arriving, Ria and I wrapped ourselves in towels and soaked in the hot spring water.

Ria leaned against my shoulder and said.

"We are finally alone."

"I know. Being together as a family is wonderful, but we need time like this for just the two of us."

"Exactly."

I reached my arm behind Ria's back as she leaned on my shoulder, wrapping my hand around her waist.

"Starting tomorrow, things will be busy again."

"Because the restaurant construction is starting."

"But knowing that such a beautiful wife will be waiting for me when I come home from work makes me happy."

"I will be waiting with bated breath for you too, Seon-u."

We each had a glass of wine.

And looked at each other.

They say that during the newlywed period, fire ignites with just a meeting of eyes.

That turned out to be true.

Ria and I kissed.

Ria's face flushed.

"Outdoors......?"

"So what? There is nobody here but us."

"That is true."

Just as things were heating up.

An uninvited guest made its presence known.

— SCREECH!

A shriek echoed from afar.

Hearing it, Ria said.

"That sounds like a Drake's cry."

"A Drake? Really?"

"Yes, I have heard that sound before. Should we go hunt it?"

"Hmm......, let us do it."

Things had been quite heated, but I could not pass up a Drake.

'I heard a Drake was recently caught on the Third Floor of the Rift.'

Apparently, a famous American guild had recently captured a highest-grade Monster resembling a dragon.

That was most likely a Drake.

The guild had lost five members in the process of killing it.

Even after that hard-won victory, the Drake's hide had been slashed to pieces during the fight, leaving the leather with virtually no commercial value.

They had at least salvaged one horn.

There had been no mention whatsoever of Drake meat.

They probably assumed it was toxic and did not touch it.

'The true value of a Drake is in the meat, though.'

For a Hunter with cooking skills like me, the meat was far more valuable loot than the hide or horns.

We got out of the hot spring, toweled off, and equipped our leather armor in preparation for the hunt.

Ria strapped her sword to her waist and said.

"This time, I will try to take it down with minimal damage to the hide."

"If you can, I would appreciate it. But do not push yourself."

"Got it."

With our preparations complete, we set off toward the direction the cry had come from.

Shortly after, Ria detected the Drake's presence.

After tracking it, we found a Drake lying on a hilltop.

The Drake suddenly raised its head and looked in our direction.

It must have sensed us approaching.

'So much for a surprise attack.'

As expected of a creature at the top tier of highest-grade Monsters — it was no pushover.

The Drake flapped its wings and took flight.

Watching it, Ria said.

"It will fly toward us in a descending attack and try to breathe fire. When it does, let us hit the wing joints from long range and bring it down."

"Understood."

Just as Ria predicted, the creature descended toward us head-on, preparing to breathe fire.

But Ria's Aura release and my eight Steel Balls struck the Drake's wing joints from a great distance.

"SCREECH!"

Unable to breathe fire, the Drake shrieked and crashed down in front of us.

Ria rushed in and severed one of its wing joints before it could recover.

Now it could no longer fly.

After that, Ria dodged the creature's attacks while focusing her strikes on the head area.

She was deliberately avoiding damage to the body's hide.

The composure of the strong was evident.

From long range, I fired Steel Balls at its head during the openings between Ria's hit-and-run attacks.

The battle lasted over five minutes.

Finally.

CRASH!

The Drake could endure no more and collapsed to the ground.

Ria approached and drove her Aura-wreathed sword into its neck.

The Drake breathed its last.

Ria examined the Drake she had slain.

"Last time I caught one, I slashed the hide everywhere. This time, there is no damage at all. Thanks to your help, Seon-u."

The previous Drake had so many slashes in its hide that only about half had any value.

And even that half had been worth less than 30% due to all the cut marks.

But this Drake's hide was 100% pristine, undamaged leather.

"More than that, I think you have gotten that much stronger, Ria."

"Then let us say it is both."

"Fair enough. Anyway, we were running low on Drake meat, so this hunt came at the perfect time."

"With the restaurant opening coming up, the timing is great."

"It really is."

We then began butchering the Drake.

First the horns, then the hide, then breaking down the meat by cut.

Of course, we also collected the Highest-Grade Magic Stone.

As Ria worked on the butchering, she said.

"After we finish, should we soak in the hot spring again to wash off the blood......?"

Things had been quite heated before the Drake interrupted.

"Let us do that."

Ria and I both worked much faster.

We finished the butchering quickly and headed back to the hot spring.

We lingered at the hot spring late into the night.

After returning home, we continued well into the dawn.

***

In the end, we barely got any sleep.

But being Awakened made it bearable.

Now it was time to work.

I brought Neville, who had construction experience, to the restaurant site.

I then placed the restaurant modules one by one on the leveled bedrock.

Watching, Neville said.

"So each building section is separate, and you join them together through seam work."

"Exactly. I will use high-strength bolts and nuts at the joints to tighten and press them firmly together, then fill any micro-gaps with foam sealant. To conceal the seams, the exterior gets rubber packing while the interior gets putty applied over tape."

"If the initial placement is precise, it is a simpler job than I thought."

"Right, it is not overly difficult. But doing it meticulously will take a lot of time."

Neville and I then began the work.

The work took a total of five days.

We spent extensive time carefully filling the seams and concealing them.

During that period, the three S-Rank members camped here at night and guarded the building from Monsters.

With the seam work fully complete.

I said to Neville, who had helped with the work.

"There is no trace of the modules having been joined — it looks like a single building. Your craftsmanship is exceptional, Neville."

His skill had been evident since the log cabin build, and sure enough, his work was extremely meticulous and clean.

"It is nothing compared to you, Seon-u. I learned a lot this time. And please start speaking casually to me. As the Captain's husband, you are essentially my superior."

"Hmm, rather than that, since we are similar in age, how about we both speak casually?"

"Works for me."

Neville switched to casual speech immediately.

"Let us do that."

I then arranged tables and chairs inside the restaurant.

I also set up the newly purchased cooking tools and tableware.

I lined the wine display case with various wines purchased from Director Jang's shop.

"Now it finally looks like a restaurant."

And so, one of my goals — the Rift restaurant — was established.

Having opened the restaurant, a grand opening was in order.

"Neville, stay here and watch the restaurant for me. I will bring everyone from home."

"Got it."

I headed to the Rift house and announced that the restaurant was complete.

Ria, Rin, Bell.

Along with the three S-Rank members and the knight order trio — I brought everyone and walked to the Rift restaurant.

After arriving, the group admired the restaurant interior.

I stood in the open kitchen and addressed everyone as they looked around in amazement.

"There is nothing particularly special about this grand opening. I simply wanted all of you to be the restaurant's first customers, so I brought you here."

At that, Eriksson eyed me suspiciously and asked.

"You are not going to charge for the food, are you?"

"No charge."

The Sword Saint then shook his head.

"No, you should charge. Traditionally, at a restaurant grand opening, attendees pay for their food as a gesture wishing the business prosperity."

In the typical case, the Sword Saint was right.

The owner hosting the opening treats attendees to free food.

The attendees, in turn, pay for their meals as a virtuous gesture wishing the business well.

"Do as you each see fit. I will start cooking now."