Chapter 14: The Burger and the Boy (4)
The boy gathered the eggs. His forehead was drenched in sweat, yet he showed no sign of exhaustion despite repeatedly bending and standing up.
Unlike the boy, Greike was visibly struggling. For Greike, born into nobility, this was his first experience with manual labor. Unlike the skilled boy, Greike was drenched in sweat, his face twisted in discomfort, his body on the verge of collapse.
Greike, exhausted, turned to the boy beside him.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Nope. But, you must be from a noble family, right? You have guards and all.”
The boy glanced at the guards standing behind Greike.
“Well, yes.”
“Hey, can you move? There’s a bamboo shoot right there!”
The girl spotted a bamboo shoot at Greike’s feet and shouted.
“Oh, really?”
Startled, Greike stepped aside. He felt a bit embarrassed that he was more of a hindrance here. Determined not to let it show, he tried to do better by mimicking the girl’s actions.
“I must give my mother a gift. With my own strength, without anyone else’s help.”
The boy continued to crawl through the forest, muttering to himself as he searched for bamboo shoots. His determination was impressive, and Greike couldn’t help but feel admiration.
“How were you treated at other restaurants before coming here?”
Greike asked the girl, who was using her small hands to dig up bamboo shoots with a tool, curious about their previous experiences.
“We were turned away at the door. They didn’t even listen to us.”
“I see.”
Greike nodded and fell silent, focusing on gathering bamboo shoots. Despite the difficulty, his last bit of pride kept him from giving up before the younger girl.
***
“You’ve gathered quite a lot. Plenty of eggs too. Good job.”
By evening, the three of them returned with hands covered in dirt. They had been working since lunchtime, gathering enough to avoid returning to Rimon Forest for a while.
Seeing their efforts to achieve something was beautiful.
I lived that way too.
I wasn’t strong from the start. I rolled and tumbled at the bottom.
I nearly died and worked to the brink of death.
I crossed the threshold of death countless times.
Surviving solely through perseverance because effort was all I had.
So, if they had only pretended to work, I wouldn’t have given them anything. But the dirt on their hands was worth it.
“Go wash your hands and bring your mother. As promised, I’ll prepare a meal for the whole family.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
When I emphasized again, the boy shouted excitedly.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! Renna, let’s go get her!”
“Yes, brother!”
The boy, holding his sister’s hand tightly, headed down the hill. Greike watched them and spoke.
“It was an embarrassing day. I couldn’t even work as well as that girl… But I worked. For the first time…”
“You did well, future lord.”
Greike looked a bit dazed, possibly from exhaustion, but it seemed he was deep in thought.
Leaving him to his thoughts, I picked up the basket and returned to the restaurant.
Though the world here doesn’t value them highly, eggs and bamboo shoots have considerable worth. So technically, I’m not doing free labor. And I have no intention of doing free labor.
“Future lord, or rather Baron, join us for the meal when the family arrives. You worked hard, so you deserve to eat.”
“Yes, that’s right! I’ll eat too. It’s a meal I earned with my effort, so I’ll eat it all.”
Smiling at the nodding Greike, I headed to the kitchen to prepare the meal.
Soon, the boy and girl returned with their mother, who was dressed in shabby clothes.
As soon as she saw me, she bowed repeatedly, looking distressed.
“I’m sorry. I heard my children caused trouble… about the meal and all… I’m so sorry! So sorry!”
The boy’s mother kept apologizing without even straightening her back.
“No, it’s not a problem. They saved up their money to give you a gift. That’s nothing to be sorry about. If you think that’s something to apologize for, it’s even worse.”
“But I know it’s just a small amount of money. How could you prepare a meal for all of us with such a small amount… especially a meat dish…”
“Yes, it’s a feast. Don’t worry about that. Their filial piety is commendable, but I can’t give it for free, so I had them help with something. It was nothing strange. They helped gather essential ingredients from Rimon Forest for the restaurant. It’s a gift they earned with honest work, so refusing it would be worse. Look at their faces.”
I whispered the last part. The mother looked at her children, whose faces were mixed with worry and anticipation.
Seeing her children’s expressions, she bit her lip as if holding back something and nodded.
“I see… then, please, just give us as much as they earned. We’ll be grateful.”
“Don’t worry about it. Please sit at this table.”
After showing them to their seats, I began heating the grill. A meat dish, huh?
I’ll prepare a proper course meal.
First, I made chicken soup.
I didn’t use chicken itself, just the broth. While chicken dishes are banned, eggs and chicken broth are used in various dishes to enhance their flavor.
First, I diced various vegetables and sautéed them. The key is to use green onions. The more vegetables, the better. It would ease the mother’s financial burden.
The chicken broth, simmered with monton mushroom powder, pepper, and salt, was added to the sautéed vegetables and reduced. A simple vegetable soup was completed.
The taste of the vegetables is the key.
“This is not the main course. It’s a soup to stimulate your appetite. Please enjoy it slowly.”
“Wow! Mom, there are multiple dishes!”
The girl stomped her feet in excitement. Her mother nodded, watching her daughter.
The girl picked up her spoon, eyes shining.
Greike was already drinking his soup.
I moved on to the second dish.
The bamboo shoots the children had gathered.
Nothing beats this for a healthy dish.
I peeled the boiled bamboo shoots and cut them diagonally. I sliced a bit of beef and fresh monton mushrooms, sautéed them together, and seasoned them with soy sauce, then boiled green vegetables, seasoning them with salt.
The bamboo shoot salad, infused with the flavors of the beef seasoning and soy sauce monton mushrooms, was nutritious.
I served the dish.
“This is the bamboo shoot dish you gathered. Since you worked hard to gather it, make sure to eat it all. It’s very healthy.”
“Oh my!”
The mother exclaimed.
Greike was the first to taste the bamboo shoots.
“This is crunchy. The clean flavor spreads as you chew. It’s even better with the mushrooms and beef underneath.”
He commented while eating. The boy, girl, and mother ate the bamboo shoot salad without stopping. Satisfied with their enjoyment, I returned to the kitchen.
For the boy’s mother and Greike, who had already tasted my hamburgers, I prepared a meat dish. For the boy and girl, I planned to serve hamburgers as the main course.
I placed thick slices of Belleren meat on the grill. Belleren, a monster with strong vitality, is known among mercenaries for being safe to eat raw due to its lack of parasites.
The Belleren meat began to cook from the outside.
Sizzle!
The smell and sound of the sizzling meat drew attention from the dining table.
Once the outside was fully cooked, the inside remained red, similar to a medium-rare steak.
This is the key. Belleren meat tastes best in this state.
I cut out the rare center of the Belleren meat and plated it.
The sauce, made with chicken broth as a base and enhanced with red wine Chambértin and monton mushrooms, was poured over the meat. The hamburger sauce is demi-glace, but the Belleren steak sauce is chicken broth-based.
Pouring the sauce over the meat completed the Belleren steak.
I quickly prepared two hamburgers.
The boy and girl’s eyes widened.
“Wow!”
Their enthusiastic exclamations filled the room.
“I’ve never had such luxurious food… How much is this going to cost?”
The mother looked worried. I shook my head.
“This is Belleren meat. It had to be eaten by today, so I cooked it. Otherwise, it would go to waste.”
This was a lie. But sometimes, reassuring the customer is necessary. The Belleren meat was, of course, top-quality, caught just yesterday. But avoiding making the customer anxious was more important.
“This is amazing! The meat melts with the sauce. I’ve never had anything like this.”
Greike kept exclaiming. The boy’s mother also cut into the Belleren meat and chewed it.
The boy and girl watched their mother, not touching their hamburgers, wanting to see her reaction first.
Their faces were filled with anticipation and hope.
Seeing this, the mother began to cry.
“Kids, this is the first time I’ve had such food in my life. Thank you. It’s delicious.”
“Mom!”
“It’s okay. It’s delicious. Your food looks good too, so eat up.”
As their mother continued to eat, the boy and girl finally took a bite of their hamburgers.
“Wow!”
The girl’s happy face was adorable.
With dessert, the meal ended. The mother, boy, and girl kept bowing as they left the restaurant.
“If we succeed, we’ll definitely come back!”
The boy shouted. Sure, I’d be grateful if they came back. Watching this, Greike asked me.
“Isn’t this meal more expensive than the work they did? I’ve never had such a dish, even at home.”
“No way. Our restaurant’s food isn’t that expensive. It’s my principle.”
In truth, the bamboo shoots the kids gathered alone were worth that much. Haha. I don’t lose out. That’s who I am.
“I think I’ve learned a lot. From this and that, you feel like a teacher to me.”
“If you’re grateful, how about exempting my taxes when you become the lord?”
“That won’t be possible. A good lord doesn’t give special privileges, right?”
“Haha.”
He’s a quick learner.
“But I’ll come more often. You’re on my side, right?”
“Perhaps.”
On your side, huh? That’s a familiar phrase.
Anyway, satisfied with my answer, Greike left the restaurant.
I earned 500 runes, and I won’t need to gather eggs and bamboo shoots for a while, so it’s a win.
I went up to the second floor. I didn’t wake Rurin on purpose to avoid causing a commotion.
But not waking her means she’ll never wake up on her own. If left alone, she could sleep for a hundred years. This dragon.
Shaking my head, I went upstairs.
But I still need to feed her.
