A Chef at Last
“Do I really look like I’m lying?”
The alley was buried under filth and refuse.
Rotten animal carcasses lay scattered here and there, while insects swarmed over them in dense, writhing masses.
The stench hung so thick in the air that even someone proud of having a strong stomach would have had a hard time enduring this place.
“...Where did my life go so wrong?”
Luke, looking every inch the beggar, let out a deep sigh.
A sticky, unknown slime clung to the soles of his feet, making even walking difficult.
...What exactly am I doing here?
Self-disgust and doubt rose up in him at the same time.
Luke’s face was in no better shape either. Grime streaked down his cheeks, and his disheveled hair was matted and greasy. Every time he scratched his head, white dandruff fell in little showers.
On top of that, stubble had started to roughen his jaw, erasing every trace of his usual neat appearance. Anyone who knew him would have had trouble recognizing him unless they looked closely.
“...Sniff, sniff.”
Luke froze.
He’d unconsciously sniffed himself—and now he jerked in shock. This smell was coming from my own body?
For a moment, he was sorely tempted to give up on the spot and head home to take a long, warm bath.
“...What can I do? I still have to do it.”
With a bitter smile, Luke kept moving.
This wasn’t simply because he had lost a wager against Kael.
Nor was it because of some sense of duty as a guard.
And yet he was still doing all this.
...I’m not even sure myself.
Even with his body and mind both exhausted, there was still one thing he knew.
At least it’s better than back then, isn’t it?
The days when he had drifted through life with no purpose, drowned in alcohol from morning to night.
Back then, Luke had been practically dead. No—he had lived like someone merely waiting for death.
After losing the wager to Kael, Luke had stopped drinking. It wasn’t as though he had quit through sheer force of will.
It was because so many things happened in such a short time whenever he went anywhere with Kael that by evening he was too exhausted to touch alcohol.
Thinking back, it seemed his interest had begun out of curiosity, fascination, and a little personal greed.
The swordsmanship Kael had used—the one that had sent a chill straight through him.
He had followed Kael around simply because he wanted to see that technique again.
But once he actually started accompanying him, his feelings changed a little.
To think he changed Nox this much in such a short time.
The first time Luke saw Kael, he had thought the man was a complete idiot.
He looked like the kind of sleazy, arrogant street thug Luke loathed most of all.
Watching him act, Luke had often felt irritation rising in him, and at times he had even reached the limit of his patience. Still, he stayed at Kael’s side, intending to keep watching.
There was always a lingering question: how could someone so hopeless use a sword like that?
And yet, looking back over the road they had already traveled, far more had changed than he’d realized.
Iron Thorn, one of the major organizations that had ruled Nox, had been effectively dismantled, and its members had been absorbed into the guard force.
Their illegal business operations had been shut down as well.
Maybe the one who had no real thought in his head was... me.
Behind that light, reckless manner of speaking, Kael had hidden a depth of strategy Luke could never have imagined.
That wasn’t an exaggeration.
What mattered was not the process, but the result.
What Luke had considered impossible, Kael had proven with outcomes.
And after that, something inside Luke had begun to change as well.
Whenever he had the time, he trained his body and swung his sword.
Though his body had grown dull and rusted compared to its prime, the memories etched into flesh did not vanish so easily.
Sharpening the blade again, stripping away the rust, Luke was slowly reclaiming the man he had once been.
In fact, his gaze had become strikingly different from before.
Instead of that murky, unfocused light, a clear and intelligent gleam now shone in his eyes.
This mission was especially grueling and irritating, but that didn’t mean he hated doing it.
Bipolar’s people were every bit as disgusting to Luke as they were to Kael.
He agreed with Kael: they were trash not even worth saving.
He could endure this much, knowing full well that what he was doing now was simply part of the process of clearing out that filth.
“...It can’t be helped.”
Luke quietly pulled his mask higher and muttered, “Well... compared to that hell, this is practically paradise.”
The past was something so dreadful he no longer even wanted to think about it.
Compared to what he had gone through before coming to Nox, this place really was no different from heaven.
The business known as The Course, operated by Bipolar, was currently closed.
Outwardly, it had looked like an upscale restaurant, but in truth it was a secret trading house where stolen goods and smuggled contraband changed hands.
Recently, however, Bipolar had temporarily halted the handling of stolen property, and as a result, The Course could no longer remain open.
“...I’m sorry.”
Dining, the manager of The Course, brushed a hand over the restaurant table with a lonely smile.
His heart ached as he looked at the tables and utensils, all buried under a layer of dust.
Dining held a special affection for The Course.
It wasn’t merely because he was the manager here.
Opening and running his own restaurant—that had been Dining’s dream. A dream he had had since childhood.
Though he had never achieved it fully, simply being the manager of The Course had made him feel, for a brief time, as if the dream were real.
“Even if it was... a place filled with filthy desires.”
This restaurant was like a child to him, packed with his affection and his personal taste. Even the name, The Course, had been given by him.
If it were up to him, he would have wanted to run this place as a real restaurant.
A place where anyone could come to taste and enjoy good food.
“Still... I did get to live the dream, if only for a little while.”
The new guard captain appointed in Nox.
Rather than a captain, he looked more like a thug or a foul-tempered mercenary, but that man had used this place not as a black-market trading den, but as a restaurant.
At first, Dining had assumed he was just here to make trouble and planned to placate him with tact and let it slide.
But as the days passed and the same thing kept happening, preparing the food itself strangely became enjoyable.
What course should he present today?
What ingredients should he use, and how should he cook them?
What kind of concept should he use for the plating?
What might once have felt cumbersome and annoying had become, in time, a small source of happiness.
“...It’s a feeling I’ll never have again, I suppose.”
He couldn’t cling to regret forever.
It was about time he let go.
Just as Dining was trying to settle his heart, there came a fierce racket from outside the door.
Crack! Craaack!
It sounded like someone was forcibly snapping a chain.
“W-What was that?”
Startled, Dining looked toward the source of the sound with wary eyes.
Then—
Bang!
With a thunderous crash, the tightly shut door flew open wide.
There, standing in the doorway with a feral smile, was a man with a familiar face.
“You open for business today?”
“...Hahaha.”
The one and only man who had treated The Course like a real restaurant.
At Kael’s appearance, Dining, who had been wearing a blank expression, let out a dry laugh.
“You’ll have to wait a little. Is that all right?”
Kael ate and thought, Well, it definitely tastes good.
The food had been served.
Today’s spread was smaller than usual, but the flavor was flawless.
It was a little unfair to Marin, but it didn’t even compare to what he’d eaten at the Smiling Lion.
This guy really isn’t normal either.
The Course was closed for business. Aside from Dining, no one came and went. Kael knew for certain because he had assigned guards to keep watch.
And yet the food still came out, which meant they were at least keeping a minimal stock of ingredients on hand.
Even though they don’t even have a fridge.
Still, Kael didn’t dislike people who seemed to have one screw loose.
“Does the food suit your taste?”
“Eh, it’s decent enough to eat.”
Dining gave a small smile. Kael’s evaluation of the food never changed.
But the plates were always empty when he left.
A clean plate was worth more than a hundred compliments.
For a chef, there was no higher praise than that.
And today, as always, Kael cleared his plate completely.
He wiped the grease from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief and spoke.
“Why’d you suddenly close the place?”
“That’s... due to several personal circumstances...”
“Isn’t it about time you stopped acting? I’m getting bored of it.”
“...Aren’t you already aware of everything? What exactly is it you want to hear from me...?”
“I told you before. Bring me the ledger.”
“...I’m sorry, but that’s impossible under our establishment’s policy. We can’t violate our customers’ privacy.”
“Yeah, I figured. Your customers are all shady as hell anyway.”
Kael muttered lazily.
Dining’s expression hardened.
“I’m giving you a chance right now. You know that too, don’t you? Bipolar’s done for.”
Bipolar and Iron Thorn were different cases. Bipolar was far more rotten than Iron Thorn had ever been.
Kael had no intention of letting cancerous things like that keep eating away at the city.
“Personally, I like the food here. That’s why it’s such a shame.”
Originally, he had had no intention of making any exceptions.
But looking at Dining, Kael’s mind changed a little. It felt a shame to wipe him out along with the trash.
So Kael decided to give him a chance.
A chance to cut away the rotten rope before it snapped.
“This is the first and last chance I’m giving you.”
The choice was Dining’s.
But one thing was certain: if he missed this chance, Kael would cut him loose without the slightest hesitation.
There was a firm resolve in Kael’s eyes.
It would have been enough to make most people flinch, but Dining didn’t look away.
“...In that case, I have one favor to ask.”
“A favor?”
Kael narrowed his eyes.
A favor in a situation like this?
Dining was in no position to be asking for favors.
That was exactly why Kael became curious. What on earth could the favor be?
“Go on.”
“...Please build me a restaurant. Not a space stained by greed, but a real restaurant.”
“A restaurant?”
Kael frowned.
He hadn’t expected that to be the favor.
After a moment’s thought, Kael made his decision.
“Fine. I’ll set you up with one. A proper place, too.”
“...You’re serious?”
“Do I look like I’m lying to you? Don’t worry. I’m not planning to lie about something like this.”
“...”
Emotion washed over Dining’s face.
But Kael was thinking something entirely different in his head.
Looks like I’ve found a cook.
He had been wondering what to do about the canteen anyway, and now the perfect person had appeared.