Archmage's Restaurant - Chapter 69: The First Snow (3)

“Don’t worry! I’m a man, I can just swallow it!” Knoll declared confidently, nodding his head with determination. I handed him the food he had chosen.

He began chewing boldly, as he had said, but within moments his face contorted, and he let out a loud scream.

“AAAHHH!”

Unable to handle it, Knoll spat the food into a bowl and rushed outside, rubbing his mouth in the snow. It made sense—he had eaten a *habanero*, a pepper so fiery it made the local green chili, with its 4,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU), look like a child’s plaything. The habanero measures a scorching 350,000 SHU. Chewing that was a disaster waiting to happen.

Spitting it out was the only sane choice.

Seeing this, the others grew more cautious. The game suddenly became more about surviving rather than winning. It made me wonder who among them had the resilience and bravery to see this through.

Next up was Linte.

After nodding firmly at his brother, Mate, Linte stepped forward with determination. He dipped his fork into the pot and quickly made his choice.

He had picked *Nerto*, a wild root herb from the hill. Though it was incredibly healthy, it was also unbearably bitter and pungent when eaten raw. Elena, recognizing it instantly, winced.

Everyone held their breath as Linte began chewing. His face scrunched up in agony, and he gagged. I held a bowl in front of him, ready, but Linte shook his head and forced himself to swallow.

“How about that, Mate! Senior! I’m used to eating garbage. This is nothing compared to the… strange food we had at this restaurant before…”

Linte began bragging, only to freeze when he saw the dragon glaring at him. He stumbled backward, falling on his rear, and immediately knelt in apology.

Though he didn’t know Rurin’s true identity, both Linte and Mate were terrified of her for reasons they didn’t fully understand. It was probably due to the subtle but undeniable aura of fear she exuded.

Still, I had no idea what they meant by “garbage” food at the restaurant. Judging by Rurin’s reaction, she knew exactly what they were talking about. I’d have to get to the bottom of that later.

I let Linte pass and called the next participant.

Seral couldn’t handle sour foods and was eliminated quickly. Elena, who didn’t eat meat, was unlucky enough to pick a meat dish and had to drop out. Mate, surprisingly fearful, spat out a gelatin-like jello at the first hint of bitterness.

Finally, it was the dragon’s turn.

“Hehe, I won’t lose!” Rurin declared with confidence as she donned the blindfold. I guided her hand to the pot, and she picked—of all things—a piece of candy.

A modern *Chupa Chups*, cola-flavored, to be exact.

“What’s this? It’s delicious!” she exclaimed, her cheeks puffed up with the candy. Of course, she was delighted. Rurin loved sweets more than anything else, and her smile lit up the room.

When Greik’s turn came, his noble upbringing betrayed him. Unaccustomed to the harsh, bitter flavors common among the people, he couldn’t stomach the bite and dropped out.

“I… I still have so much to learn… This must be the taste of the common folk…” he lamented dramatically.

Leaving the young lord to his existential crisis, I called the next person.

“Next up, Reine!”

Reine, determined to silence her husband Knoll, stepped up confidently. But before she could even take a bite, Knoll sabotaged her with a whisper.

“Dear… a bug…”

“Pfffff!” Reine spit out her food in horror at the mere thought. What she had eaten was just a fried snack, but Knoll’s well-timed scare had done the trick. A team kill if there ever was one.

Next was Ment.

He drew *Infinity Chili Pepper*, an even hotter pepper than the habanero, with a staggering 1,200,000 SHU. It was a monster of a chili, so spicy it felt like swallowing fire and getting pricked by a thousand needles simultaneously.

But unlike the reckless Knoll, Ment approached the challenge cautiously, biting into the chili with slow deliberation. To everyone’s shock, his face lit up.

What is this monster?

The sound of his chewing filled the room, and even standing nearby, I could feel the heat emanating from the pepper. It was enough to make anyone cough, but Ment smiled calmly.

“This… is intense. But delicious… Haha.”

Unbelievable.

Ment, known for his love of spicy food, had polished off the entire chili like it was nothing. A true beast.

In the end, the three who passed the first round were Ment, Linte, and Rurin.

“Oh my, Senior! What did you eat? It’s making me cough just standing here!” Miltein asked, coughing.

Ment simply laughed it off.

“Now, for the final round, we’ll decide the winner. Whoever eats this will be the champion.”

What’s the hardest food in the world to eat?

One contender is *stinky tofu*, with its rotting foot smell that can drive anyone unfamiliar with it away. But there’s something even worse.

“First, let’s open all the windows. And the door, too,” I said, pulling out a can of *surströmming*.

This fermented herring, notorious for its unbearable stench, is known as one of the world’s hardest foods to eat. The overpowering ammonia smell makes it nearly impossible for anyone unaccustomed to it to even attempt a bite.

“Eat this, and you win!”

As soon as I opened the can, I regretted it.

The stench filled the room instantly, and everyone—except Ment, Linte, and Rurin—backed away in disgust. Even the three finalists recoiled at first.

Ment shook his head, waving away the idea.

“No, no. I’m out.”

“Senior! That’s too bad!” Miltein shouted as Ment walked off, refusing to engage with the rank odor.

Linte stared at the surströmming, his face expressionless. The herring floated in the can, daring him.

“Do you really need that tax exemption certificate, Rurin? This smells worse than urine!”

“Would you eat it for me if I needed it?”

“If you really needed it…”

Rurin looked at me with her pleading eyes. But I knew Rurin had no tolerance for bad-tasting food. She couldn’t handle anything unpleasant, and she didn’t really need the tax exemption anyway.

“Rurin, if you eat that, your breath will stink for days, and I won’t be able to stay near you.”

I executed my own team kill.

Rurin, horrified at the thought, immediately ran off, shouting, “You weird humans! I’m not eating that!”

That left Linte.

Without any hesitation, he walked up to the can and started eating the surströmming.

This guy was fearless.

Whether it was the mention of eating garbage earlier or his tolerance for terrible smells, Linte seemed completely unfazed. Either his nose didn’t work, or he was just that determined.

“I did it! I’ve eaten it all!”

Linte had won. He had eaten the surströmming, and his victory was undisputed. Everyone in the room accepted the outcome, and the stench of ammonia filled the restaurant.

“Let’s get out of here…” Elena muttered as she and the others hurriedly excused themselves.

Once everyone had left, I had to use magic to clear the air. The tournament, while fun, had ultimately backfired.

With a sigh, I cleaned up the restaurant, and soon it was nightfall.

The snow had long stopped, and the snow that had piled up was now frozen solid, reflecting the moonlight like glittering jewels. It was a beautiful sight, with the snow sparkling under the clear night sky.

“Rurin, let’s eat.”

“That smell earlier killed my appetite… Ugh.”

“You’re not eating?”

I asked again, and Rurin shook her head before reconsidering.

“No, I’ll eat! I’m hungry!”

The dragon’s bold declaration was expected.

I grabbed a shovel and started clearing some snow next to the restaurant.

“What are you doing?”

“Come help.”

I handed her a shovel, and she gave me a confused look, wondering why I was making her work when I had just promised food.

“I’m going to show you something special. The restaurant still smells, so we can’t eat inside. We’ll spend some time outside while I air out the place.”

“Why not just use magic? There’s no one around.”

“No, this is a delicate process.”

I piled the snow in front of the restaurant, packing it tightly, then began carving out the inside. The snow had absorbed moisture and frozen solid, making it sturdy.

After hollowing out the center, I used ice magic to reinforce the ceiling. A simple igloo was complete.

I dug out a hole in the ground, placed a small fireball inside, and set up a pot above it.

I filled the pot with broth and added *Pallenque* chicken and special seasonings to make a delicious chicken hotpot.

The rich aroma of the simmering chicken filled the igloo, mixing with the crisp night air. The snow around us sparkled like diamonds.

“Come here.”

The igloo was just big enough for me and Rurin to sit closely together, with space for the pot between us. But, as expected, Rurin squeezed herself between my legs, resting her head against my chest, right in front of the pot.

“I told you to sit next to me.”

“No! This is my seat! My personal seat!”

“Personal seat?”

“Yes! I’ll eat from here, in your arms! This smells great!”

Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at the bubbling hotpot.

“Take off your hat and gloves.”

I removed the hat and gloves I’d dressed her in earlier. As her black hair tumbled down, a pair of diamond earrings peeked out, gleaming in the light.

Rurin’s eyes sparkled, the earrings sparkled, the snow sparkled, and above us, real stars sparkled in the clear sky.

“Nice atmosphere, huh?” I remarked as Rurin ladled some of the chicken hotpot into her bowl and nodded.

“It’s sparkling. I love sparkly things. But most of all, I love being in your arms!”

“That’s a bold thing to say. Maybe if you said it shyly, my heart would race.”

“Shyly? How do you do that?”

Rurin tilted her head, genuinely curious.

“Don’t you realize? You’ve been acting shy sometimes lately without even noticing.”

“I haven’t! I’m a dragon! I don’t feel shy!”

“Really?”

I leaned in and blew a soft breath into her ear.

Her earrings trembled as she jolted.

“Wha-?”

“See? That’s what being shy feels like.”

Rurin wriggled in place, nearly dropping her bowl in surprise.

“Huh?”

“What do you mean, ‘huh?’ You almost dropped your bowl!”

“Did you see that?”

“I did!”

At that moment, we both looked up to see a meteor shower cascading across the sky.

“Rurin! You have to make a wish when you see falling stars!”

“Oh! So those stars… they belong to the gods, even dragons can’t touch them. If you make a wish, it comes true?”

She put down her bowl and clasped her hands together in prayer, though the stars had already fallen. I didn’t tell her she was late—just seeing her make the wish was enough.

It’s the act of wishing that matters, after all. It gives you something to live for.

“What are you wishing so hard for?” I asked.

Rurin picked up her bowl again and whispered softly.

“I wished that you would die later than me.”

She then took a sip of the broth, a soft breath escaping her mouth and rising into the starlit sky.