Chapter 65

Chapter 65: Grand Opening — The Identity of the Restaurant's First Customer Is......?

The main dish this time was a menu item I had never once made for Ria.

It was pizza.

I would be making pizza using the small stone oven installed inside the restaurant.

Not a regular wide-crust pizza, but a Detroit-style pizza using thick, bread-like dough.

'It was my favorite food when I was in America.'

I preferred Detroit-style pizza over regular pizza or Chicago pizza.

In particular, there had been a famous Detroit pizza place I frequented while living in America.

Their dough had been truly extraordinary.

A fantastic texture — chewy yet crispy at the same time.

That place used a firm cheese called Wisconsin brick cheese instead of mozzarella.

The harmony of textures had been outstanding.

First, I lit the stone oven.

Then I dove into making the pizza.

'In Detroit pizza, the dough is everything.'

I took out the well-fermented Sicilian-style dough I had prepared in advance, brushed olive oil onto a Detroit pizza rectangular pan, and laid the dough down thick.

I pressed the edges firmly against the sides.

I sprinkled oregano over the dough.

Then laid pepperoni densely across it.

On top of that, I covered it with Wisconsin brick cheese.

With that, the double pepperoni Detroit pizza was done.

The next pizza was a black and green olive Detroit pizza.

It featured pitted whole green olives, black olives, jalapenos, red onion slices, Bell Peppers, and dried Glace Mushroom slices.

'A pizza with no ham or meat.'

I arranged each ingredient with a harmonious color balance.

I then made two of each variety — four pizzas in total — and placed them in the stone oven to bake.

While they baked, I boiled pasta for the pizza's companion dish.

'Since Detroit pizza is a heavy meal, I will keep the pasta light — a salad pasta.'

I blanched chicken breast and shrimp in boiling water.

I prepped Arugula, chicory, Romaine, cherry tomatoes, and yellow and red Bell Peppers.

I mixed olive oil, minced garlic, Soy Sauce, Allulose, whole grain mustard, and lemon juice to make a dressing.

I rinsed the cooked pasta in cold water, drained it, and tossed it with the dressing.

I then plated the prepped vegetables and placed the cubed chicken breast and blanched shrimp in the center to finish.

With the salad pasta done, I checked on the pizzas in the oven.

'The edges of the dough are just about to char.'

They had a deep golden-brown color.

This was the perfect state.

I removed the pizzas from the pans and set them directly on the oven's stone floor.

This was to ensure the bottoms cooked through as well.

A moment later, I pulled the pizzas from the oven.

The bottoms and edges had reached a perfect brown.

"That looks incredible......"

"That pizza crust must be insanely crispy."

"......That is a Detroit pizza."

The three S-Rank members, who knew their pizza, swallowed hard.

Ria and the knight order, seeing this food for the first time, looked on with fascination.

I then cut the Detroit pizza.

However, cutting it did not mean the pizza was complete.

'The hallmark of Detroit-style pizza is that instead of spreading tomato sauce on the dough, you ladle it on top of the finished pizza.'

I ladled half a scoop of simmered tomato sauce onto each cut slice and sprinkled Parmesan Cheese to finish.

I did not add tomato sauce or Parmesan Cheese to the black and green olive pizza.

It was already an excellent pizza as it was.

"Please enjoy."

I served the pizza alongside the salad pasta.

For the side pickles, I served a tangy, non-sweet pickle with assorted vegetables.

I then sat down beside Ria and Rin.

I served Rin a portion of salad pasta on her plate.

Without the chicken breast or shrimp.

"Rin, this has only plant-based ingredients, so you can eat it without worry."

"Thank you for the food."

What good manners.

Rin twirled a single strand of pasta and some vegetables around her child-sized fork and took a bite.

She then made the specific happy smile she wore whenever she ate something delicious.

"Glad it suits your palate."

I stroked Rin's hair.

After marrying Ria, Rin had become even more precious to me.

Everyone watched us warmly.

"Everyone, please help yourselves."

"Understood. Congratulations once more on the opening."

"Congrats on the opening, and thanks for the food."

"Sir Seon-u, thank you for the meal."

Everyone served themselves salad pasta and took slices of pizza.

I took Ria's plate.

"I will serve yours, Ria."

"Thank you."

I placed salad pasta and slices of both pizza varieties on two separate plates for Ria.

Ria picked up a knife and fork to taste the pizza, cutting a piece of the double pepperoni pizza and bringing it to her mouth.

The moment she bit into it.

CRUNCH!

The sound alone was satisfying.

Ria's eyes widened as she tasted it.

She looked at me and asked.

"Seon-u, what is this dish called?"

"It is called pizza. I have never made it for you before, have I?"

It had not even been on the reception menu.

"No, you never did."

"How is it?"

"It is incredibly delicious. The crust is crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, and the cheese and pepperoni go so well with the tomato sauce."

"I should have made it for you sooner."

I had actually been saving it on purpose.

I wanted to introduce new dishes to her one at a time.

Ria happily continued eating the pizza.

Once Ria started eating, the others began tasting as well.

The biggest reaction came, surprisingly, from Santos.

"......This is the best Detroit pizza I have ever had. The dough is perfect."

The usually taciturn Santos had just given his longest speech yet.

He must have been truly passionate about pizza.

Everyone else was enjoying the food as well.

The knight order quartet in particular were completely smitten with their first taste of pizza.

'Pizza is the kind of food that anyone trying it for the first time can enjoy without any reservations.'

Though the black and green olive Detroit pizza could be polarizing.

It had whole, uncut olives on top.

The Sword Saint, Ruina, and Ria all preferred the black and green olive pizza over the double pepperoni.

"The flavor of the oven-roasted olives is extraordinary. The harmony between the dried Glace Mushroom aroma and the other vegetables is fantastic."

"I prefer this lighter pizza as well."

"I like both, but the olive one is better, I think."

I also preferred the olive pizza.

The meal continued.

Shortly after.

The food was completely gone.

Then.

"Seon-u, can you make more pizza? I will pay in Magic Stones."

"I want more too."

"Me too."

Eriksson, Neville, and Benny requested pizza refills.

"Sure. I will bake a different set this time."

Carabinero shrimp pizza, Truffle pizza, and Wagyu beef pizza.

Three Detroit pizzas made with premium ingredients.

I also made additional Arugula Salad.

And so, the grand opening turned into a pizza party.

***

Before opening for business.

I first checked the current inventory of ingredients.

Ingredients available outside the Rift were already stocked to overflowing.

I checked the ingredients obtainable only inside the Rift — B-Rank vegetables, Glace Mushrooms, Applecherries, Mandragora, Horn Rabbit meat, Drake meat, and so on.

'Over 92 heads of B-Rank lettuce and cabbage, eleven 20-kilogram bags of onions, 12 boxes of Romaine.'

Plus carrots, chicory, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, green onions, scallions, Broccoli, and more.

All crops grown by Ria and Rin.

About 210 Glace Mushrooms, three 10-kilogram boxes of Applecherries left after the fruit wine delivery.

Sixteen Mandragora roots, Horn Rabbit meat from thirteen animals, and plenty of Drake meat.

'More than enough ingredients for a while.'

All I needed now were customers.

Four days passed.

"They should be arriving around now. Maybe something happened on the way."

Two guilds from Korea alone had set out for the Fourth Floor of the Rift.

This was thanks to the Rift Management Bureau publicly releasing the map to the Fourth Floor.

The Hunter Association and various top-ranked guilds in Korea had opposed it, but the Bureau published it despite the opposition.

'It was released to reduce the mortality rate of domestic and foreign Hunters heading to the Fourth Floor.'

Getting through the Third Floor was by no means easy.

Director Jeong Jae-yong had recommended that any party heading to the Fourth Floor include at least one S-Rank Hunter.

'Thanks to that, my business stands to do even better.'

Hunters from countries around the world were heading this way.

Anyway, there were still no customers yet.

Well, actually, there were some.

"We are here for a meal."

Those customers were the three S-Rank members.

Eriksson looked around the restaurant interior and said.

"Another day of nothing but flies buzzing around. At least we are supporting the business."

I said to him.

"It is not really supporting the business. You eat for free without paying."

"Ahem! We provide free meals in exchange for guarding this place, so it is all the same."

The three S-Rank members were still camping here.

I was providing them with meals in lieu of payment for guarding the restaurant.

With three elite personnel guarding the restaurant, free meals were a trivial price.

"So what do you want to eat? What would you like, sir?"

Eriksson answered first.

"Detroit pizza for me."

"Detroit pizza again?"

"It is good, what can I say."

The Sword Saint also ordered.

"I am in the mood for a spicy tuna Kimchi Stew for the first time in a while. Is that possible?"

"That is a simple dish. I will make it."

Santos ordered a dish popular in Brazil.

"......Mortadella sandwich, is that possible?"

"It is."

A dish where thinly sliced mortadella — an Italian sausage — is piled high inside a baguette with melted cheese.

'Most Koreans have a hard time with this one.'

Not because it tasted bad, but because mortadella sausage itself was extremely salty.

In any case, I had mortadella sausage on hand, so I could make it.

I had most well-known sausages and hams in stock.

I began preparing the three ordered dishes.

'Once we get more customers, I will not be able to make whatever they want like this.'

Once customer volume increased, I planned to sell only the menu I decided on each day.

Just as I was about to serve the three completed dishes.

The restaurant door opened.

'There should not be anyone around to open that door right now......?'

Had a Hunter party arrived?

If so, Bell — who was outside the restaurant — would have barked.

But Bell was silent.

I looked up from my cooking to check who had entered.

"Who......?"

White hair with gray eyes.

And pointed ears.

Her clothing resembled something an ancient Greek woman might wear.

An overall aura of mystique surrounded the woman.

Her age appeared to be under twenty.

She opened her mouth.

"Is this the place?"

I was currently wearing the Sigil of Wisdom magical bracelet that Ruina had made for me.

So I could understand the language the white-haired woman was speaking.

She continued.

"Is this the place Fenrir mentioned?"

Fenrir......?

Was she referring to the Fenrir I knew?

"Seeing that there is a young Fenrir outside, this must be the right place. Are you the human living in the Rift that Fenrir spoke of?"

It seemed she was referring to me.

The three S-Rank members, who did not yet have Sigil of Wisdom magical accessories, could not understand her and were on guard.

Only I could understand what she was saying.

Which meant she was either a person from another world like Ria, or possibly not human at all.

I spoke to her.

"I believe I am the person Fenrir mentioned. But what brings you here......?"

She fixed her gaze on me and said.

"So it was you who dealt with the Lich."

"I did deliver the finishing blow, yes."

I had absorbed it at the end.

She walked toward me.

The three S-Rank members drew their weapons and aimed them at the woman.

"It is all right. Please put your weapons away. She does not seem hostile."

"Understood."

Once the weapons were lowered, she resumed walking and stood before me.

"So you are the one who eliminated the undead creature that was disturbing my mother's rest."

Her mother......?

Disturbing her mother's rest.

What did that mean?

'What I eliminated was the Lich, and the one disturbing the rest must refer to the Lich. Then the one who had been resting was......'

Surely not......

"By your mother, do you perhaps mean the Silver Dragon that was in eternal rest......?"

She nodded at my words.

"That is correct. I am Silvares Ashley, daughter of Silvares Elumir, the Silver Dragon in eternal rest."

I had guessed right.

Up close, I could see that her pupils were also slightly elongated horizontally, like a cat's or reptile's.

'She really is a Dragon.'

The restaurant's first customer — besides our own family — was a Dragon......