A Feast at the Peace Restaurant
The kitchen of Peace Restaurant, a beloved eatery famous among autocarriage drivers for its generous portions, outstanding value, and exceptional flavor, was bustling with its usual frantic energy today.
"Aigoo! You fool!"
The thunderous roar of Anna, the sharp-tongued mistress who ran the kitchen with absolute authority, echoed throughout the restaurant.
"I told you over and over—if you're going to do something like this, discuss it with me first!"
Of course, if Anna had heard about it beforehand, she would have nodded without a moment's hesitation. Feeding a warm meal to children who were working hard wasn't difficult at all. The real issue was that among those children were none other than the kingdom's princess and direct descendants of a marquis family.
Still, Anna knew that if she had been told in advance, she would have eventually nodded in agreement. That was why her current outburst was nothing more than a way to vent her frustration. She simply needed an outlet for the anxiety that had been building up inside her.
"I'm sorry! I really am!"
Hemming, fully aware of this, accepted her anger without offering a single excuse. He simply bowed his head and apologized again and again. Inviting a princess to this humble little restaurant on a whim, just because he wanted to give the children some encouragement, had clearly been his mistake.
Clatter! Chop-chop-chop!
The interior of Peace Restaurant, filled with the sounds of their heated exchange, resembled a tiny battlefield. Yet even as they moved with such frantic haste, the couple worked in perfect sync, never once getting in each other's way.
Perhaps the reason they were raising their voices so much was to pump themselves up and keep fighting through the difficult situation.
I did my absolute best.
One after another, an excessive amount of food—far too much for just a few children—was laid out across the tables. Galbi-jjim that had been marinated overnight in a special secret sauce, a light and clean chicken baeksuk simmered in vegetable broth, an abalone and mushroom hotpot, stir-fried spicy pork that had reached the level of a true master's touch after being made day after day, seafood kimchi-jeon made with aged kimchi secretly taken from her parents' refrigerator last night, and even a thick rolled omelet that Togun loved.
Thanks to the money Marily had given them in advance, every single ingredient was of the highest quality. Whether it would suit the refined palate of a princess accustomed to expensive cuisine remained to be seen. But at the very least, Anna was confident she had done everything humanly possible. She had quite literally burned herself white-hot in the process.
"So when are the kids supposed to get here?"
Wiping the sweat from her forehead in front of the lavishly prepared table, Anna turned to Hemming and asked. Her tone had returned to normal now that the battle was over.
Hemming glanced at the clock on the wall before answering.
"Hmm. They should be here any minute now, right?"
Arina and Jeon had said they needed to meet with their professor briefly for some business, and that they'd all come together once they were done.
Ting-a-ling.
Was it true that even tigers came when called? The closed door of Peace Restaurant swung open, and a group of people stepped inside. Since a sign saying the restaurant was closed for the day had been posted outside, it couldn't be regular customers.
"Hello."
"Sorry to intrude."
Just as expected, the cheerful ringing of the bell was followed by the lively chatter of children. Togun and Arina bowed politely to Anna and Hemming the moment they entered.
"Hmm, so this is the restaurant. It's cozier than I expected."
"That's a bit rude, you know."
"Don't misunderstand. It was a compliment. I quite like how small and warm it feels."
Marily and Jeon, who immediately began appraising the interior of the shop and nodding in approval.
"Yahoo. I'm here too."
And trailing behind the children was none other than Karlsen, the advisor for the first-year Academy Tournament team.
"Eh? Professor?"
An uninvited guest. Hemming froze for a moment, completely caught off guard by Professor Karlsen's unexpected appearance.
"Professor, why exactly did you follow us?"
Noticing Hemming's reaction, Marily shot a sharp glare at Karlsen, who had shamelessly tagged along. But Karlsen, as usual, deliberately ignored her gaze and let out a bright laugh.
"It's our club's very first dinner together. Isn't it only natural for the club's advisor to come along?"
He had claimed he was part of the same team. At the same time, he had begged them not to leave him out just because he was a professor. From behind his heavy dark circles, Karlsen sent Marily a pitiful, wordless plea as she continued to scold him.
Don't tell me this guy actually felt left out because we were only going to eat among ourselves?
But how did he even find out we were going out for a meal?
With that question in mind, Marily turned to look at Jeon, only to see him deliberately avoiding her gaze with his slightly swollen face.
So it was you!
With a single sharp glance, she had identified the culprit who had leaked their private dinner plans to Professor Karlsen.
"It felt wrong to show up empty-handed, so I brought a small gift."
Perhaps Jeon felt awkward under Marily's incredulous stare. He quickly changed the subject by handing over something he had been carrying since entering the shop.
"It's an automatic cleaning robot recently released by the Magic Tower. I heard Togun mention that the restaurant has been so busy lately that housework has become difficult…"
"You didn't have to bring anything like this."
Even as he said that, Hemming's hands moved with surprising speed to accept the gift. Anna wordlessly slapped her husband's back for his shameless behavior, then stepped past him with a warm smile for their guests.
"Welcome, everyone. Please, come this way."
Following her guidance, the children took their seats one by one. Their eyes widened at the sight of the food spread out before them.
"You two really made all of this?"
Although Marily had been born a princess and knew next to nothing about cooking, she understood very well just how much effort went into preparing a spread like this.
"My wife did most of it. I just helped out in the kitchen."
"That's even more impressive, then."
It must have been a very sudden decision yesterday. The card transaction notifications had started coming in from last night, which meant they had probably prepared the ingredients yesterday and started cooking today.
And I heard they were open for business this morning too.
Was this woman made of iron? Well, the essence of a drivers' restaurant was high volume and low margins. Handling that many orders alone would naturally make one's hands faster. At this rate, she might even be quicker than the royal head chef when it came to cooking speed.
Thinking this, Marily gazed at Anna with a hint of admiration for a moment before suddenly frowning.
"Now that I think about it, the card statement from yesterday looked a bit strange."
"Ah, I'm sorry. Did we spend too much after all?"
Hemming carefully watched Marily's expression, worried by her complaint.
"It's the opposite. The complete opposite. Why did you spend so little? I told you to use it freely."
She had meant for them to replace all the kitchen equipment while they were at it. To do any remodeling that was needed. To stock up on expensive ingredients in the fridge and secretly enjoy them with their son later. She had given them the card with the explicit intention of letting them embezzle a bit, yet their usage had been far too honest. It was the complete opposite of the cunning nobles who ran the political circles.
"If you're going to be like that and can't even spend it properly, then just give the card back right now!"
In the end, Hemming found himself being scolded for a completely unexpected reason. The man shrank his shoulders as a girl who was easily three times younger than him lectured him for not knowing how to spend money properly. Marily snatched the card from his hand, stood up abruptly, and marched straight over to the register. Without the slightest hesitation, she inserted the card and paid 50 million shillings.
"Consider it compensation for all your hard work. Buy something delicious for your child later."
"W-what is this?!"
Hemming, who had been watching from behind, jumped in shock and grabbed her small shoulders.
"C-cancel it! Cancel it right now!"
It was a clear criminal offense for a commoner to lay hands on a member of the royal family without permission. Especially if that royal was a woman. But Hemming was so flustered that he couldn't even consider such things.
"No."
Despite Hemming's desperate gestures, Marily's attitude remained firm. Paying a fair price for the hard work of one's subjects was an obvious duty that a member of the royal family must fulfill.
"If you dare cancel this after I leave, I'll have you thrown in prison for insulting the royal family."
"Ugh..."
"Or is the amount not enough? Should I add another 50 million?"
"No! That's more than enough!"
So this was what they called royal flexing. It was an amount of spending that common sense simply could not comprehend.
I never intended to receive any payment at all.
He had simply wanted to give some strength to the struggling children. How had things ended up like this? Hemming watched Marily's triumphant back as she returned to the table with a complicated look in his eyes.
"Mmm! It's delicious!"
Right as Marily claimed victory in her little dispute with Hemming, the others had already begun eating. Togun bit into a chicken leg that Jeon had given him and let out a sigh of admiration.
"It really is."
Arina, who was also holding a chicken leg, nodded in agreement with his words. The tender meat, soaked with broth and juices, burst with flavor in every bite. A relentless barrage of rich umami exploded in their mouths.
"Wait, where's my chicken leg?"
Marily tilted her head as she returned to her seat, watching the two of them chatting casually while savoring the food. Jeon, who had given one leg each to the pair, looked at her with pity in his eyes.
"Are you really going to complain when I gave the legs to the two people who work the hardest among us every single day?"
"...I never said I was complaining."
Looking into Jeon's eyes, she somehow felt like she had become a petty person making a fuss over a single chicken leg. And this guy—did he actually want to fight her? Every single thing he had said to her since earlier had been strangely aggressive.
"Hmph."
Marily turned her head sharply to avoid Jeon's gaze. Then she picked up a rolled omelet that looked thicker than her own slender forearm and took a big bite.
"Mmm, it's good."
It crumbled as softly as pudding the moment her teeth sank in. Since it didn't allow for any fancy techniques, it was the perfect dish to judge the cook's fundamental skills. From what Marily could tell, Anna's cooking ability was quite impressive.
Clatter! Clatter!
Unlike the other children who expressed their enjoyment through words, Professor Karlsen hadn't said a single thing since sitting down in front of the food. He was devouring everything with shocking greed and speed. It seemed he had thrown table manners away along with the morning trash during separate collection.
The look of pure ecstasy in Karlsen's eyes was more than enough to convey how delicious he found the food. It was as if he were on drugs.
Thank goodness.
It seemed everyone was enjoying the food. The exhaustion from the entire afternoon's hard work melted away in an instant, and Anna let out a deep sigh of relief. Hemming gently patted her shoulder as if to say she had done well.
"You should eat too."
The moment he finished speaking, Jeon placed a small plate of food he had portioned out in front of her.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing."
He was remarkably mature for his age. Like a responsible older brother, Jeon took care of all the other children first, only beginning to eat himself after making sure everyone else had food. He was doing what Professor Karlsen should have been doing.
"The food is really good. I think I'll be craving it again once we get back. Would it be alright if I came here again with Togun next time?"
"Of course. You're welcome anytime."
Truly, a noble was a noble. His conversational skills in making others feel comfortable were quite polished. Hemming let out a small chuckle as he watched Jeon continuously talking to Anna, perhaps worried the situation might feel awkward. Considering how usually blunt and silent Jeon was during academy life, it was obvious at a glance that this was his way of being considerate.
It's nice.
Togun, Arina, Marily, and Jeon. Every single one of them was kind and upright. It was easy to see why they had become friends.
If only our Andy could grow up to be like them, I wouldn't have any other wishes.
As expected, inviting these children had been the right decision. Watching them laugh and chatter, a warm, content smile gradually spread across Hemming's face.