Chapter 185 (1/2)

The man seemed confused by Daital’s request. “Errrr, this one has infinite understanding, but your request…. Look at this menu, what-”

“The best!” Daital repeated, relishing the woman’s gaze. Then the woman snorted in derision, and turned away, and Daital slumped to the side, wishing he could die. What had he done wrong…?

“Uh…. hey, little one, are you well? You have become slightly tilty…” The man said, still extremely confused.

With dull eyes, Daital looked up at the man, then down at the money he had slammed on the counter. A thin trickle of life made it back into his eyes and he straightened. One thing his father had taught him was never to take back money you have placed down for a deal. It offended the honor, of a merchant or a warrior. You were only as good as your word.

So while simultaneously regretting his decision, and wishing that the Spearman himself would appear and slaughter him, Daital asked. “Well what do you make?”

“Ah! These things.” The man said proudly, pointing to a list on counter.

“Well yes, I get that,” Daital said, getting annoyed at the block headedness of this man. Was he really even a merchant…? “What are they?”

“Food.” The man said, seemingly congratulating himself for having the correct answer so quickly.

Daital rolled his eyes. “Well obviously. What sort of food. How is it made? What is a cheesesteak? What is a Hot Sausage sandwich?”

The man opened his mouth, then closed it. Then, in a very deliberate decision that Daital could almost see playing out on the man’s face, the man decided to get angry at him. “Now listen here you inferior swine-”

“Do you want to come back and see?”

This voice was low, and reasonably quiet, but it carried a strange heaviness to it that instantly cut off the now angry idiot before he could even begin. The slim man who was working on the food in the back stepped forward, looking mildly at Daital. His eyes glowed a strange green color, like fresh grass.

Daital nodded decisively. The beautiful woman was back there, and closer to her was better, even if she had humiliated him previously. After all, perhaps with proximity would come understanding of his charms. He hadn’t quite given up on her yet.

So in the fashion of a teenage boy, Daital simply leapt over the counter, landing lightly behind it, abruptly finding himself in a much hotter environment. The strange apparatus the green eyed man was used to cook the food produced a lot of heat.

And then, for what must have been at least an hour but swiftly became an exciting blur to Daital, so much so that he forgot about the woman, the green eyed man explained the operation. He showed Daital how the meat was prepared. How some meat was soft and juicy, while other meat was tough and spongy.

The man demonstrated how to cook each, and how each could hold flavor. He pointed out the different spices that he had and had Daital try them all. There were flavors and sauces that Daital hadn’t even seen before, and he had to gulp down water to wash away, because some of them were quite strong and overwhelming. Then there were the french fries.

French fries, Daital decided, were the greatest thing ever invented. And Daital found himself swiftly consuming handfuls at a time, even when they were fresh from what the green eyed man called the ‘frier’. All the while, the man just watched Daital with a small smile, and moved onto the next thing.

Soon the man was explaining recipes, and flavor or consistency combinations in the food, and he showed Daital the different toppings that could be added to the different foods. The whole concept of the strange things that the green eyed man was doing with bread to make the food portable was incredible. A way to transport juicy and greasy meat, as well as flavorful sauces, all the while complimenting the meal with a fluffy softness that was extremely appetizing.

Then the green eyed man showed Daital how to wrap and package everything, and then he started showing him how this could all be done fast. Unbelievably fast. Which they needed to, because the earlier explanation had caused the line to build up quite a bit, for people waiting for food. So Daital abruptly found himself working, making the food, carefully measuring the spices, wrapping things up.

What was perhaps the most surprising thing was that he gained 7 levels in his Cooking skill, and gained the Skill Grace, which was a pretty difficult passive skill to obtain, but would be infinitely useful to Daital once he became a spear user.

Some of that excitement was dampened by the realization that he again wasn’t training with the spear, but cooking like a woman, but Daital tried to ignore that part of him that whispered things.

But very quickly, it was all he could think about. So much so that, in the middle of adding cheese to finish off the ‘cheeseburger’ Daital blurted out, “But isn’t doing all this a waste? Isn’t it better to just be strong?”

For a moment, everyone in the stall stilled. There was the beautiful woman, the showy man, the green eyed cook, and also a man sitting in the back, that Daital hadn’t noticed until he came back and began working. They all grew very still, and looked at Daital.

And then everyone but the green eyed cook began to laugh. Daital flushed crimson, specifically because the woman was laughing at him, slapping her thigh and muttering, “Funniest fucking thing I’ve heard all year,” while turning back to the customer.

But the cook with green eyes didn’t laugh. Instead, he nodded seriously, and then set down his metal cooking utensils, seeming to think very carefully about the question.

“Yes… perhaps this is a waste. There are more efficient activities I could be doing. But… what is strength? The power to resist others? Or even the power to kill?” The green eyed man’s face darkened, and he shook his head. “Or is power… the ability to do what you want? I do not know. But I do think… living without regrets takes strength. And I want to do this, so I will do it, and I will not regret it.”