Chapter 96

Chapter 96: The Unshakable Bond Between Ria and Me

Ria, Bell, and I headed to the Honeybee Queen once more.

When we arrived at the tree nest, the Honeybee Queen descended before us.

"Have you been well?"

BUZZ BUZZ!

"No monsters harassing you like those hornet monsters from before?"

BUZZ!

It felt like we were communicating and not communicating at the same time.

"Woof!"

Bell conveyed the Honeybee Queen's answer through body language.

Bell shook her head from side to side.

"There were none?"

She shook her head again.

Then —

"There were some, but you managed?"

"Arf!"

Bell nodded as if to say that was correct.

So there were natural predator monsters that attacked, but they were manageable.

'Well, the bees need to survive in the wild too, so helping them too much would not be good.'

They needed to maintain an appropriate level of tension and struggle fiercely to improve their survivability.

Still, I should come check on them from time to time.

I brought out Applecherry fruits and jam from Acresia.

Plus dungeon wild grapes and wild grape jam as well.

"I brought new berries and jam. They should taste good."

BUZZZZ! BUZZZZ!

The Honeybee Queen seemed excited, beating her wings vigorously.

I set out four empty jars.

Soldier honeybees carried them into the nest.

Shortly after, they returned with two jars filled with Royal Jelly and two with honey.

"Thanks for the trade. Let us do this again next time."

BUZZZZ!

***

I added grape pie as a dessert menu item and began selling it.

I made the pies large so that even a single slice would trigger the buff.

The price was one Mid-Grade Magic Stone per slice.

That was 5 million won.

Once the pie went on sale, the Royal Jelly yogurt ice cream — which raised Growth Stat caps — began selling briskly as a set alongside it.

As a result, the far edge of the bedrock zone where I had installed workout equipment like the power rack was —

"HRAAH!"

"HUFF!"

"HAH!"

"URGGH!"

— thick with the smell of iron and sweat day after day.

There was a fierce determination to raise Growth Stats within the buff's ten-day duration.

So many people were using the outdoor gym that I had to order and install additional equipment.

Beyond the gym, many Hunters were also running laps around the outpost to raise their Stamina stats.

'As expected, selling the grape pie has sparked a fitness craze.'

Recently, guilds and parties visiting the Fourth Floor of the Rift were reportedly bringing enormous quantities of magic stones.

The reason: to purchase stat dishes at my restaurant.

Since these could only be bought here, they wanted to raise every stat in a single visit.

'Each individual stat point is extremely valuable, after all.'

Eating all the stat dishes had become an essential part of the Fourth Floor "itinerary."

After finishing those, Hunters would buy the Growth Stat-boosting Royal Jelly yogurt ice cream and throw themselves into training.

'Hunters below the B+-Rank Fourth Floor cutoff are clamoring for me to sell to them too.'

A minimum of B+-Rank was required to come to the Fourth Floor.

Otherwise, one would only be dead weight.

Even B+-Rank Hunters only accompanied parties as porters.

A minimum of A-Rank was needed to come as a combat member.

Getting past the Third Floor was reportedly that difficult.

'I have never actually been to the Third Floor myself.'

I had only traveled between the First and Fourth Floors to obtain cooking ingredients.

I would probably visit the Third Floor soon enough.

'Anyway, the bottom line is that restaurant revenue continues to be excellent.'

Last month's revenue exceeded 6 billion won.

Ingredient costs amounted to roughly 2 percent of revenue.

Only 2 percent, despite using only the finest ingredients.

Stat dishes and buff dishes — which made up the bulk of revenue — were sourced entirely from within the Rift, so ingredient costs were virtually zero.

Another lunch service concluded successfully.

That was when a massive guild arrived at the Fourth Floor for the first time.

None other than the WPA Guild.

The World Powered Alliance.

Leading them was Gerald, the world's number-one ranked Hunter as chosen by multiple media outlets.

Eight S-Rank Hunters accompanied him.

He had brought every single one of the alliance's S-Rank Hunters.

"No way, it is actually Gerald."

"Unbelievable — he brought all his S-Rank officer corps? Hyera, Lisson, Shigeru, the whole lot."

"Is this not the largest group ever to come to the Fourth Floor?"

He had brought a full 32 people.

When coming to the Fourth Floor, more people was not necessarily better.

Lower-ranked Hunters in the group could actually hold everyone back.

So the ideal size for a guild or party visiting the Fourth Floor was reportedly between six and eleven members.

But the WPA Guild was different.

"The WPA Guild does not even accept Hunters below A-Rank. So every one of those 30-plus people is A-Rank or above."

Listening to the Hunters' conversation nearby, I was newly impressed by what a formidable guild it was.

All 32 members A-Rank or above.

Global guilds really were on another level.

The WPA Guild was headquartered in the United States but reportedly maintained branches in South America, Europe, China, Japan, Russia, and many other countries.

It also had subcontractor guilds in various nations.

And it was said to have connections to politicians across multiple countries.

'That is why it is a guild you absolutely cannot afford to make an enemy of.'

One notable detail: the WPA did not yet have a branch or subcontractor guild in Korea.

In any case, their arrival significantly boosted the number of people at the restaurant outpost.

With seating insufficient, I had expanded to 60 tables.

I would probably need to consider setting up outdoor tables as well.

While I was thinking about that —

'Huh......? Why are they coming this way?'

Normally, guilds and parties arriving at the outpost would first claim a camping spot and set up a base camp. But they were heading straight for the restaurant.

Were they very hungry?

Today's lunch service was already over.

Gerald led the 30-plus members and stood before me.

"Are you Hunter An Seon-u, the owner of this restaurant?"

He must have recognized me from the chef's uniform.

"That is correct. Hunter Gerald."

"You know me."

"Of course. There is hardly a Hunter who does not know you."

Even I, who had little interest in famous Hunters, knew his face, name, and affiliation.

He was in his early thirties and quite popular for his handsome appearance.

He had reportedly surpassed ten million subscribers within just five days of opening a Mutube channel.

Gerald then said,

"Then this conversation should be quick."

What conversation was he referring to?

He continued.

"Hunter An Seon-u, please join our alliance. We will spare no support."

Ah...... this again.

Why did the Hunter Association come to mind?

The answer was obviously NO.

I was about to refuse, but he preempted me.

"As I understand it, aside from being affiliated with the Korean Rift Management Bureau, you currently have no guild affiliation."

"That is true, but —"

"Come to the WPA and become the representative of our Korean branch. I promise you immense wealth and prestige."

Wealth and prestige sounded nice.

But I already had more than enough wealth.

And I was earning plenty of prestige as well.

Therefore —

"I appreciate the offer, but I must decline."

"Please do not refuse so quickly. Think it over."

"I am declining because I plan to create my own guild. I prefer a light family guild over a hardcore one."

"Hmm, is that so? That is unfortunate."

He had likely wanted to recruit me after learning about my Blessing of Dexterity and Acresia-related skills.

"In any case, please take your time and consider it."

This man was persistent.

I simply did not respond and smiled awkwardly.

He had not been particularly rude to me.

However, the S-Rank Hunters behind Gerald were a different story.

They glared at me with fierce eyes, brows furrowed.

'Are they upset that I declined the offer?'

Or did they think I had been rude to their leader, Gerald?

'Their loyalty to Gerald as alliance head must be considerable.'

Among them, a Hunter named Hyera narrowed her eyes at me and wore a faint smile.

'What is with that look?'

It was a sticky, seductive gaze.

While doing so, she crossed her arms beneath her deeply cut neckline and subtly lifted her elbows to emphasize her ample chest.

'......Thank goodness Ria is not here.'

Had Ria been beside me, that Hunter named Hyera would have been subjected to a level of murderous intent she had never experienced, and would have been paralyzed with terror.

Ria helped with the restaurant until about 2 PM, when things slowed down, then returned to the Rift house for the rest of her routine.

Gerald and his entourage then departed, saying they would set up their base camp.

'Even refusing people is exhausting.'

***

The next day.

The lunch service was in full swing.

Today's menu was a braised dish special.

Braised fried tofu, braised wild pine mushrooms, braised scallop adductors.

Braised chicken wings, braised pork jowl.

Each ingredient utilized different braising techniques from Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine.

The side dish was chive salad tossed with sesame oil for a nutty fragrance.

White kimchi, cucumber tsukemono, and steamed egg custard.

For soup, I prepared a refreshing dried pollack soup.

"If you scoop rice with your spoon and top it with the various braised dishes, it is delicious. You can also eat them separately, of course."

The front-of-house staff explained kindly.

The Hunter customers were thoroughly satisfied with today's menu.

"This braised fried tofu is amazing."

"The braised scallop adductors taste like something from a fine dining restaurant."

"Try the braised pork jowl — it is incredibly tender."

Everyone had a different favorite.

That was how good all the ingredients were — impossible to rank.

A female Hunter customer sitting at the bar counter said to me,

"I literally live for lunchtime these days."

She had been visiting the restaurant daily for three weeks.

"Is that so? Is home cooking not better, though?"

"I do miss home cooking sometimes, but your food is still more delicious, Chef. When I head back tomorrow, I know I will miss your cooking until my next visit."

During slower moments, I chatted with customers at the bar counter.

Bar counter customers enjoyed watching me cook.

That made the bar counter the prime seat in the Rift restaurant.

For such customers, I occasionally put on showmanship like fire displays.

During the service, Gerald and Hyera arrived — they had made a reservation.

"I will show you to your table."

Kim Myeong-hun tried to guide them to a regular table.

However —

"Would it be all right if we waited until bar counter seats open up? We will defer our turn until seats become available."

Customers like that came by occasionally.

Those who wanted bar counter seats badly enough to let others go ahead and wait.

I had trained the front-of-house staff to simply accommodate such requests.

"Understood."

The two stepped back outside.

Shortly after, the customers eating at the bar counter began eating noticeably faster.

They must have felt self-conscious about making the head of the world's largest guild and the strongest Hunter wait.

Being on their bad side would do no one any good.

'I wish they would take their time and enjoy the meal.'

It was not a cheap meal, after all.

Two bar counter customers quickly finished and left.

Kim Myeong-hun wiped the counter, laid down table mats, and set the place settings.

He then called Gerald and Hyera in from outside and seated them at the prepared bar counter spots.

Gerald greeted me as he sat down.

"Good afternoon."

I returned the greeting.

"Welcome. Thank you for visiting."

Hyera, seated directly in front of me, removed her outer jacket.

This revealed an outfit with a neckline every bit as plunging as yesterday's.

Having lived abroad for a long time, it did not particularly faze me.

Ria glanced at me, and I looked back at her, raising my eyebrows slightly.

'I did not look at anything.'

That was the message I conveyed.

With a wife like Ria, no matter what anyone else was wearing, it would not catch my eye.

Gerald looked back and forth between us, then addressed me.

"Hunter An Seon-u. Ah — in the restaurant, I should call you Chef An."

"Whatever is comfortable for you."

"Understood. Chef An, your wife is quite the beauty."

"Thank you. My wife is rather pretty."

"Yes, she is very beautiful."

He then gazed at Ria with a soft, gentle smile.

'This guy......?'

Slightly irritating.

Just then, Hyera propped her chin on her hand, narrowed her eyes at me, and smiled.

"You are quite handsome too, Chef. You are my type."

She then used the elbow of her propped arm to press her chest together.

She seemed to be doing it deliberately.

Ria's knife work on the ingredients grew slightly rougher.

'What are these two playing at?'

It seemed like they were trying to drive a wedge between Ria and me.

In any case, I could not ban a customer from the restaurant over something like this.

Instead, I spoke to Ria.

"Ria, want to have a glass of wine tonight after the lunch service? I will make us some snacks."

Ria smiled and nodded.

"Sounds good."

"Then let us push through a little more. Fighting."

I held out the back of my hand.

Ria bumped it with hers.

"Yeah. Fighting."

Deflecting the conversation, Ria and I focused solely on our work.

We moved our hands busily as if we had no time for conversation, cutting off any further exchange with Gerald and Hyera.

Ria seemed to have caught my intent.

'Whatever game they are playing, they do not stand a chance.'

Ria and I were not the kind of couple that could be shaken just because someone tried.

Our mutual trust and conviction in each other ran that deep.