Chapter 352: My Eyes Sting
“System, just the medium spice level is inducing wardrobe malfunctions; will the insanely spicy level make the customer explode?” Mag was a little concerned. The spicy grilled fish was heavily endorsed by the customers following its release, but most of them chose the mildly spicy and medium spice levels.
Urien was the only one who had asked for the super spicy level, and after taking his first bite, a vast expanse of water vapor rose from his body, making the restaurant appear as if it were a concert venue with dry ice wafting everywhere.
As for the insanely spicy level, that was the first order of its kind.
“Please do not doubt the safety standards of the food provided by the system!” The system’s serious voice sounded, and it launched a long spiel. “All of the spicy grilled fish ingredients were carefully chosen by the system. The rainbow fish combines the best qualities from both grass carp and crocein croakers. It’s very high in protein, and also contains traces of elemental selenium, which possesses anti-aging and nourishing properties. The tobasquin pepper derives from cross-breeding Tobasco and pequin peppers of the highest quality, and was grown on the poison fire island of the demon islands. They’re baked by toxic flame daily, filtering out all impurities, and are imbued with the thermal energy contained within those flames, so they’re extremely useful for combating the cold. The wild ice heart pepper was planted in the extreme north of the Roth Empire, giving it a hint of refreshing coolness to complement its spicy taste. When used in conjunction with the tobasquin pepper, it can effectively nullify the fiery energy within the latter, preventing it from harming the consumer’s body—”“So that’s why the ingredients cost me 600 copper coins just for a small portion?” Mag pursed his lips upon hearing the system.
“Your prices are set at at least twice the cost of the ingredients, so I’m sure the more the ingredients cost, the happier you are…” The system’s disdainful voice sounded.
“Who told you that? My wish is to bring the best food to everyone for cheap prices, but life is too difficult, so I can only set prices this high,” Mag responded in a serious voice. He then placed two marinated fish into the oven, and continued to work on making braised chicken and rice.
“Father, Ugly Duckling ate all my fishbones! Can I beat it up?” At that moment, Amy appeared in the entrance of the kitchen with a grumpy expression. She held a box in one hand and Ugly Duckling by the scruff of its neck in her other hand.
“Hmm?” Mag turned around upon hearing her complaints. The box that she was holding housed the skeleton of the fish that they had consumed for lunch, but almost all of the bones were gone, and the rest were in complete disarray.
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling was being held by the scruff of its neck, and it cried to Mag for help. However, it was looking quite guilty, which indicated that it was indeed the one who had messed up the fishbones.
“Alright, you can teach it a lesson.” Mag shook his head with a resigned smile at the sight of the ruined fishbones. He had spent quite a bit of time washing and organizing the bones before carefully attaching them together using thread and needle, so he was a little frustrated that Ugly Duckling had ruined the fruits of his labor.“Meow~” Ugly Duckling was hoping that Mag would save it, but he had already turned around, abandoning it.
“Alright.” After receiving Mag’s permission, Amy nodded with a solemn expression. She set the box in her hand aside before placing Ugly Duckling onto a stool, and scrunched up its chubby face in her little hands. She interrogated, “Ugly Duckling, do you know what you did wrong?”
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling hurriedly nodded with a pitiable expression in its sapphire eyes.
“What did you do wrong?” Amy asked.
Ugly Duckling turned, and pointed at the box of fishbones with its paw as a hint of desire flashed through its eyes.
“Do you feel like you did me a favor by leaving some?” Amy twisted its face back so she could look into its eyes.
“Meow~” Ugly Duckling nodded unconsciously before immediately shaking its head.
“Ugly Duckling!! How could you!!” Amy was a little angry as she squished Ugly Duckling’s face with her little hands.
What a smart little kitty, and what an adorable half-elf girl! Vivian’s eyes immediately lit up at the sight of Amy and Ugly Duckling. Her gaze then rested on Amy. She was most likely the half-elf girl that Luna often mentioned.
Even though they’re very adorable, I definitely don’t have the urge to hug them or anything. I hate annoying little kids and stuff. Vivian quickly averted her gaze.
The customers also looked at their adorable interaction with benevolent smiles on their faces. Aside from Mag’s unforgettable food, watching Amy play with her little orange kitten was also an attraction of the restaurant. Both of them were so cute that they were adorable no matter what they did.
Schonard sat nervously across from Vivian. He opened his mouth to say something on several occasions, but refrained from saying anything in the end. Normally, he was very good at smooth-talking the ladies, but those skills had completely deserted him. Vivian was the city lord’s daughter, so he didn’t dare to run his mouth; additionally, she was in male clothing, so he wasn’t sure if he should converse with her as a man or a woman.
Vivian’s eyes rested on Amy momentarily before looking away, making it appear as if she didn’t really like children. That small detail did not escape Schonard’s notice, and he smiled as he said, “Little delinquents really are annoying. I have to discipline a few annoying delinquents almost every day, teaching them how to be good people.”
“She’s quite an adorable kid, and she’s just disciplining a misbehaving kitten; how does that make her a delinquent?” Vivian pursed her lips as she looked at Schonard, and said, “In any case, shouldn’t you learn to be a decent person yourself before you try to teach others?”
Schonard was a little annoyed by the mockery in Vivian’s words, but he still repressed his vexation, and said, “The kitten is too small to understand anything. If it does something wrong, shouldn’t it be forgiven?”
“Heh, even if little girls make mistakes, they have to be disciplined so they can learn from an early age.” Vivian pursed her lips, and didn’t say anything further. She didn’t want to talk to Schonard anymore. He was just an arrogant rich boy, and not a very smart one at that, so she was not interested in wasting any more words with him. In comparison, the owner of this restaurant was a lot more intriguing.
“Looks like the insanely spicy level isn’t spicy enough.” Mag tossed another handful of tobasquin peppers into the wok. He was also very good at educating delinquents like him.
Yabemiya placed a medium-sized grilled fish in front of Vivian, and smiled as she said, “Here’s your grilled fish, please enjoy.”
“Thank you.” Vivian nodded. Her eyes had been completely drawn to the grilled fish before her. It was about the width of a hand, and was roughly 30 centimeters in length, enough for about two people. The rich spicy aroma of the fish wafted toward her, causing her to salivate involuntarily.
“Gulp.” Schonard also swallowed at the sight of Vivian’s fish. He was quite skeptical of Mag’s prices, but he had to admit that the aroma of the fish was far too alluring.
“Here’s your insanely spicy grilled fish.” Yabemiya soon arrived at their table again with an even larger grilled fish. She placed it in front of Schonard, and a fierce spicy aroma swept toward him. Schonard instinctively closed his eyes. The aroma… was making his eyes sting.
