Archmage's Restaurant - Chapter 38: Such a Day (1)
“Excuse me, are you still open?”
Just as I was about to close the restaurant due to the lack of customers, a middle-aged man walked in. He looked to be in his mid-50s and cautiously approached the bar table.
“Yes, of course. Please, have a seat.”
“I didn’t know there was a restaurant on the hill. I was just walking and stumbled upon it. By the way, do you serve alcohol?”
The man sighed as he asked. He looked troubled.
“Yes, we do have alcohol.”
After all, our restaurant always has alcohol.
“Hey! Is dinner ready yet?”
Just then, Rurin stomped into the restaurant. She reminded me of my dad coming home from work, bringing back some nostalgic memories.
“Please wait a moment, sir.”
“No problem.”
Rurin, the ever-hungry dragon, was covered in dust. She must have been running around the construction site all day.
“Hey, your hair is covered in dust.”
“Dust?”
Rurin immediately leaned her head toward me, indicating that she wanted me to dust her off.
“By the way, what about dinner?”
As soon as I dusted her off, she started nagging about dinner. Her hair was a mess, so I began brushing it, and she leaned against me, rubbing her belly in a comfortable position.
“I’m hungry!”
“I’m getting it. I said I’m getting it.”
“You promised me something delicious earlier!”
“Did I? I think I said you had to do something if you wanted dinner.”
“So, I told the shorties to make my room pretty. Doesn’t that count as working? Now, give me my dinner!”
As soon as she showed up, the dwarves must have been busy bowing to her. She probably ended up disrupting their work.
“Do you call that working?”
“It is work!”
“No, it’s not.”
“It is. You’re strange.”
Rurin shook her head in confusion. It made brushing her hair difficult. Ugh.
I finally managed to tidy her hair and spoke to her, having no intention of letting her starve.
“By the way, you should change your clothes. They’re filthy.”
“But this is what I’m wearing today. I don’t have any other clothes!”
“What?”
I racked my brain. She only has five outfits in total. Now that I think about it, the clothes she’s wearing are quite worn out.
This is somewhat shocking, or rather, something I haven’t given much thought to.
“I see.”
“I see?”
“Alright, let’s skip the changing for now. Just wait a bit, and I’ll get your food.”
“Okay, but hurry up. I’m starving.”
Rurin sat at the table and immediately grabbed a fork in each hand. Double-forking.
Shaking my head, I turned back to the kitchen and addressed the customer.
“Sorry about that. We were talking about alcohol, right?”
“Is that lady your wife? You seem very happy together.”
“Excuse me?”
The man asked a strange question. I had a feeling the dragon at the table perked up her ears.
“She’s not my wife.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Rurin started banging the forks on the table. She’s not my wife, that dragon!
“You look happy together. I’m envious…”
The man looked at me with wistful eyes. What’s with this guy and Rurin?
“Me?”
“Yes. Your face lit up when she entered the restaurant.”
“No way. My expression changes a lot.”
I denied it and casually took out the meat for Rurin. I handed the man a bottle of soju, hoping he’d drink it.
“This is a special liquor only available here. Please try it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
After handing over the alcohol and a glass, I began sorting the Uka meat. It was the part left over from making sausages the other day.
I deliberately saved some because it’s delicious when grilled.
“Is that meat?”
“Yes.”
“Is it on the menu? Now that I think about it, I am a bit hungry.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll get it for you.”
The man, who had been sipping the soju, seemed to enjoy it and continued to drink.
I nodded and went to the fridge to get the sauce.
After simmering beef bones to make a rich broth, I added ground Belleren meat for umami, enhanced the flavor with red wine, and seasoned it with soy sauce and pepper. Then I added the all-purpose Muntun mushroom powder. The result was a versatile sauce that’s perfect for dipping or drizzling over grilled beef.
I poured the sauce for both Rurin and the customer and placed the meat on the grill.
The first cut was skirt steak, a prime cut of beef.
It’s the muscle around the cow’s diaphragm, and its slightly dark red color is actually a good thing. This shade is full of an irresistible charm.
“Are you grilling it right away?”
“Yes, it’s the part that surrounds the Uka’s internal organs. You’ll notice it’s different from other cuts when you taste it.”
I explained as I started grilling the skirt steak.
Sizzle!
The sound was magical. It made anyone’s mouth water, whether human or dragon.
I served the perfectly grilled skirt steak to both the man and Rurin.
“Wow, the juice! It’s juicier than other meats! Delicious!”
“It really is. I don’t eat meat often, but this is unlike anything I’ve had before!”
The man nodded without hesitation.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I had Uka. Was it about 10 years ago? I remember hearing an interesting rumor about Uka meat while I was in the army.”
“Were you in the military?”
“Well, everyone gets conscripted at some point, don’t they? Especially now that we’ve driven the monsters north, but back then, they kept reappearing despite being driven out.”
“That’s true.”
When I was summoned, it was a time when monsters were most active on this continent. Battles against monsters broke out everywhere.
Unfortunately, I was summoned to a battlefield, so I ended up becoming a soldier naturally.
“What was so interesting about the rumor that you still remember it after 10 years?”
“Oh, I heard it from someone in the unit. For some reason, it stuck with me.”
The man took another sip of soju and continued his story while enjoying the skirt steak.
“It was about an isolated unit that survived thanks to a single Uka. They said they lured orcs with Uka meat and managed to win. It was fascinating.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yes, a desperate survival story of an isolated unit in Lurinbelt. Just hearing it was uplifting.”
The man chuckled and took another drink.
I just smiled as I placed a different cut of meat on the grill. The second cut was ox tongue. People who try it once tend to seek it out again.
When grilled, it turns into cute little rounds. It’s an essential part of my recommended grilled beef selection.
“This time, it’s a completely different cut.”
Sizzle – sizzle –
The ox tongue began to cook.
The isolation in Lurinbelt ten years ago.
That’s actually my story.
I remember the rumor spreading about the survival of an isolated unit that the military had almost given up on. Hearing it again from this man was, well, nostalgic.
Ten years ago, I didn’t even know about Rurin’s existence.
I wasn’t the strongest yet, only a 5th class wizard back then.
It was a time when I struggled to survive. The man, reminiscing, continued talking about those days.
“Well, to be specific, they grilled a whole Uka to lure the orcs and won. The soldiers then celebrated their victory by eating the not-so-tasty orc meat.”
That’s true.
Orc meat was really awful.
It had no taste.
It was tough, like chewing on rubber.
But back then, even orc meat was necessary for survival. The meat I’m grilling now is on a completely different level.
I placed the grilled ox tongue on each plate.
“It’s chewy… I didn’t know meat could be this chewy yet so different from the last cut.”
“This is also delicious!”
Rurin immediately voiced her satisfaction.
If our dragon says it’s delicious, it must be.
The man, also intrigued, began enjoying the ox tongue.
“The depth of this sauce is remarkable.”
“Thank you. By the way, can you guess which part of the Uka you just ate?”
The man looked puzzled.
“This is actually the tongue, a delicacy.”
“What?”
The man’s eyes widened in surprise. Even Rurin, who was busy eating, reacted.
Upon hearing it was a tongue, she brought her fingers to her mouth, stuck out her tongue, and exclaimed, though her pronunciation was muffled.
“The tongue? Really?”
“Yes, that tongue.”
When I confirmed it, Rurin began comparing her tongue to the remaining ox tongue, exclaiming in awe.
The man, though initially surprised, soon mumbled to himself, looking a bit regretful.
“The tongue… I see. The tongue. It’s just like me.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ve lost my daughter because of my own tongue.”
The man’s face became wistful again. It was a heavy topic to ignore, so I asked him further.
“You lost your daughter?”
“Yes, my wife ran away with my daughter 15 years ago. 15 years…”
“15 years? Haven’t you tried to find them?”
“They vanished to another city. I think she ran off with another man… If that were the case, she should’ve left our daughter. I’m not even resentful anymore. I just want to see my daughter. Is that such a hard wish?”
“No, it’s not.”
Was this why he sought alcohol as soon as he entered?
“Because of work… Oh, I work as a bricklayer. When I was younger, I was often too busy to come home properly… I never imagined it would lead to this. I just wanted to earn more… all for the family…”
The man sighed deeply, then looked at Rurin again and spoke.
“So, seeing a young woman like her, around my daughter’s age, makes me happy. She reminds me of my daughter.”
The aura Rurin emitted usually kept men from approaching her.
She didn’t actively emit Dragon Fear, but she had an aura that prevented anyone from getting too close. But perhaps, since he viewed her through the lens of seeing his daughter, the man gazed at Rurin directly.
Rurin, who was eating thinly sliced brisket I had grilled, sensed the gaze and looked over.
“What is it? What is it?”
Rurin, puzzled, tilted her head. But she soon returned to her meat, opening her mouth wide.
The man finished his meal, and the dining wrapped up.
“Well, someday, you’ll meet her.”
I offered him a non-committal word of comfort as I began making a drink.
A suitable drink for the tired man.
I mixed honey and lemon into an aged whiskey I had given to the elder, then cooled some boiling water. Pouring the appropriately warm water, I mixed it to make a hot whiskey drink.
“If there’s a connection, I believe you’ll meet her. Try this. It’s an after-dinner drink. Drink this, warm yourself up, and get some good rest.”
“This is…? Alcohol? Alcohol…”
The man looked at the steaming cup for a while before bringing it to his lips. Then, he murmured softly.
“Indeed… it’s warm.”
“Isn’t it?”
The man savored the drink for a while. I approached Rurin, who had finished eating, and wiped her mouth. She leaned into my touch, and as I wiped her face, the man spoke to us.
“It’s warm, refreshing, and deep… rather than hot, it’s warm. Those soldiers isolated with the Uka survived, so I believe I’ll meet my daughter someday too.”
The man sipped the drink slowly, little by little.
And then he left.
With the night deepening, I began cleaning up the restaurant. Rurin stealthily made her way towards the beer. She sneaked to the fridge, quickly grabbed a can, and held it in her hands. Then, she met my eyes.
She immediately bolted upstairs with the beer can in each hand, and one in her mouth.
Is she planning to drink three cans?
Sigh.
What can I do? She wants to drink.
Just as I was about to close the restaurant, a woman burst in. She immediately shouted at me.
“Excuse me!”
“Yes?”
“That man who was here earlier. Is he a regular at this restaurant?”