Among the 10 great dukes of the Roth Empire, Abraham wasn’t the most powerful one, but he was most definitely the one who had tried out the most types of cuisine.
He could’ve accepted a vast territory to rule over outside of Rodu, but he insisted on staying in the capital as he couldn’t bear to be away from all of the delicious cuisine here.
No other place could match the food capital in his heart.
As such, he had been secretly given the nickname, Duke Foodie. However, he wasn’t insulted by this title at all. Instead, he saw it as a badge of honor.
There was nothing as important as delicious cuisine in this world, so he saw nothing wrong with making it his lifelong pursuit.As soon as he chewed the cube of roast beef Mag had handed to him, he felt as if he had found the true meaning of life. This was what he had been searching tirelessly for.
After chewing into the tender beef, the delicious juices of the meat spread through his mouth, stirring his taste buds into a wild frenzy. A unique aroma then slowly proliferated over his palate; that was the flavor of black pepper, and it elevated the flavor of the beef to a whole new level.
Even though it had only taken him mere seconds to devour the tiny cube of beef, he felt as if an entire century had already passed. It had been a very long time since he had tasted something so delicious that it made him forget about everything else.
“This is absolutely incredible! I don’t have the words to describe just how delicious this roast meat is!”
Abraham gave Mag a thumbs-up as awe and wonder flashed through his eyes.
To him, a chef capable of cooking delicious food was like a skilled craftsman; they were just as worthy of praise and respect.
“Please give me 10 more cubes of beef, Boss,” Abraham requested eagerly.“It’s finally here!”
All of the customers’ eyes lit up. Mag had just turned down everyone else, so no one had managed to get a second cube of beef from him. However, the one making the request now was Duke Abraham; was Mag going to make an exception?
“Father doesn’t ever make exceptions,” Amy murmured to herself as she shook her little head.
Irina turned her gaze toward Mag, and she thought to herself, Is he still just as stubborn as ever?
“My apologies, Duke Abraham, but each person can only purchase one cube of beef.” Mag shook his head with a firm smile. He wasn’t going to change the rules he’d established for anyone.
“He turned down Duke Abraham!”
All of the customers were completely dumbstruck. They didn’t think that a roadside vendor would turn down a high and mighty duke!
He really is just as stubborn as ever. A faint smile appeared on Irina’s face.
“Boss Mag, this is Duke Abraham! He’s a Duke, for heaven’s sake!” Sinclair tugged on Mag’s sleeve with an urgent expression as sweat poured down his face. Was Mag not afraid of being beheaded for his insolence?
Ken looked at Mag with a stern expression, and said, “Do you know whom you’re speaking to? How dare you bring up your rules when you’re speaking with Duke Abraham!”
“My rules weren’t established for Duke Abraham, nor will they be changed for Duke Abraham. The reason I made this rule is because I have a running bet with Cary’s Rotisserie, so I hope you may forgive me.” Mag’s expression remained calm and collected.
“Ken.” Abraham raised his hand toward Ken with an expression of disapproval before turning to Mag with a smile as he asked, “I don’t know what kind of bet you have with Cary’s Rotisserie, but if you can’t sell me 10 more cubes of beef, can you at least sell me one more?”
This duke was quite pleasant and amicable, which was quite uncharacteristic of a noble, so Mag decided to explain the situation to him.
After hearing Mag’s account, Abraham nodded with an approving look. He glanced at Cary’s Rotisserie before turning back to Mag with a smile as he said, “I see. I really agree with your opinion; it would be a tragedy if even food was split up into a hierarchical system. After all, there are many roadside stalls that sell exceptional food. Seeing as you have a bet with Cary’s Rotisserie, then it wouldn’t be right for me to insist that you make an exception.”
Abraham then pointed at Ken and his personal guard as he asked, “However, these two can buy a cube of beef each, right?”
“They’ve lined up to get to this point, so of course they can.” Mag nodded with a smile.
Thus, Abraham departed with two more cubes of roast beef and a content expression on his face. An avid foodie like him was always able to find a way.
Ken hurried along behind Abraham with a rather perplexed look, and asked, “Duke, weren’t you going to dine at Cary’s Rotisserie today?”
“Why? Do they have roast meat that’s even more delicious than this?” Abraham smiled as he answered Ken’s question with one of his own.
“Er…” Ken didn’t know how to respond to that.
“It doesn’t matter what dish it is; once you’ve tasted the best, you can never settle for second best again.” Abraham looked at the two cubes of roast beef in his hands, and sighed. “Looks like I won’t ever be able to develop an interest in any other restaurant’s roast beef again.”
“Thank heavens Duke Abraham is a reasonable man.” Sinclair wiped the cold sweat off his forehead, feeling as if his heart were about to jump out of his mouth. He took a glance at Mag to gauge his reaction, only to discover that he was as cool as a cucumber.
“So the owner only established this rule because he made a bet with Cary’s Rotisserie; everything makes sense now.”
“Even Duke Abraham chose to abide by his rules; we have no hope.”
“Yes, but Duke Abraham also showed us a loophole in the system! I’m going to pay people to line up for cubes of beef for me!”
All of the customers wore rather complex expressions. They were hoping that Duke Abraham would play the antagonist and force Mag to change his rules, thereby giving everyone else a chance. However, they didn’t think that Duke Abraham would be so benevolent.
However, the vast majority of bystanders were all commoners, and they had always been opposed to the signs plastered outside the noble-exclusive restaurants. As such, they were very supportive of what Mag was doing, and no one caused any more trouble for him.
“So you’re saying Duke Abraham was very pleased with that man’s roast meat, and he left right after eating it.”
Ike’s expression had darkened considerably as he heard the report being delivered by the rotisserie employee.
Duke Abraham was one of their most esteemed customers, as well as one of their most regular customers. He was a major driving force behind the popularity of the rotisserie as many royals had been drawn to this restaurant by him.
However, Duke Abraham had immediately left after eating some roast meat from a roadside stall without even entering Cary’s Rotisserie, and that was unacceptable to Ike.
The employee continued, “Also, Roark just told me that the stall has already served 135 customers, and the line in front of the still is only continuing to grow…”
“They’ve served over 100 customers in less than an hour. At this rate, they’re going to catch up to the rate of customers being served at our rotisserie!”
All of the previously confident chefs were now growing very concerned.
Ike forced himself to calm down as he waved a hand, and said, “Let’s speed up in our cooking and strive to serve as many customers as we can during peak hours!”
A massive long line had gathered outside Cary’s Rotisserie, extending almost as far as the eyes could see, creating a spectacle that drew the attention of many passersby on the food street. What was even more surprising to them was the fact that this line wasn’t extending out of Cary’s Rotisserie. Instead, everyone was lining up in front of a small roadside stall!
Irina and Amy made a trip along the entire food street, and they came back just in time to see Mag handing off the final cube of beef to a customer.
“My apologies, everyone, but we’ve sold all of the beef that we have for today.” Mag extended an apology toward the customers in the line, and then glanced down at his watch before turning to the employee from Cary’s Rotisserie as he announced, “It’s already 5 pm; I’ve won.”
