Returning to the Restaurant, I Found Bldi Asleep in the Corner, Curled Up
Returning to the Restaurant, I Found Bldi Asleep in the Corner, Curled Up
After spending the afternoon in Lilyan buying a haul of kitchen equipment for the restaurant, I set off back to Britten Castle.
The return trip, unlike our frantic departure, was almost leisurely.
No pursuers, no ticking clock — for the first time in a while, we could take our time heading back.
Practically a vacation, when you think about it.
Of course,
"Can we not hurry? My ears are about to split listening to this lunatic knight's speech."
"I have not the slightest interest in befriending a degenerate elf who barges into men's rooms unannounced."
"Who says I want to be friends with you?"
"I also wish to return quickly. It has been five days since I last ate Sir Lucas's gukbap... I fear my body may not hold out much longer."
Though I can't say it felt much like relaxation, with a traveling party that was a bit too noisy for comfort.
Andrea acted nonchalant, as if trying to forget what had happened that day.
I had no intention of lording a drunken accident over her, either.
Nothing had really happened, after all.
Still, she couldn't quite meet my eyes.
"Ah, I-I'm so sorryyy!"
And she jumped at the slightest brush of a hand.
But aside from that, the whole trip back was uneventful.
We grilled meat at camp, and I took the chance to test out the dishes and cooking tools I'd bought in Lilyan.
One conclusion I came to: human-made cookware is surprisingly far better than dwarf-made.
And sure, the meat at camp was good, but it couldn't compare to grilling in the restaurant's backyard with a view of the whole Britten territory.
Four days after we set out, we finally made it back to the castle.
Evening, with the sun down and the moon up.
The soldiers who spotted me looked unusually happy.
"Sir Lucas! You're back?"
"So are you opening the restaurant today?"
"At this hour? We're not opening. I just got home after a long trip — I need a little rest."
"Ah... But so many people have been waiting for your Knight Restaurant."
"You know Samuel who lives by the gate? He's been staging a protest against his wife because he hasn't had your cooking for days."
"He got a good smack on the back for it, of course."
While I was chatting with them, the guard captain came rushing over, breathless.
"Huff, huff! Sir Lucas! I heard you'd arrived! Are you opening today?"
Do these people think of nothing but food the moment they see me?
Asking a man who just arrived in the evening if he's opening shop.
Admittedly, it's the highest compliment a cook can get.
I mean, what better validation is there than people telling you to open up already because they'll be right over?
But could I maybe get just a little rest?
You guys are too much. Seriously.
"We're closed today."
"Th-then maybe just a little sagol-guk..."
"That's even less likely."
Because a certain gukbap fanatic behind me lit up the moment the word "sagol-guk" was spoken.
"Hmm, can't be helped, then. Oh — the lord is looking for you."
"Viscount Britten?"
"Yes. He said to summon you as soon as you returned."
"Understood."
I turned to the two who'd followed me.
"What do you two want to do?"
"I will train. I must discipline myself until you open the restaurant tomorrow. I gained a few insights during this journey, and I intend to refine them."
Ivan said, patting his sword.
"Andrea?"
"I-I'll head back too. I'm tired."
Hmm.
Guess I'll go alone.
"Alright. Everyone, go get some rest, and we'll see each other tomorrow."
It had been a grueling journey of over a week.
On top of it, we'd been ambushed by knights at our camp and had spent a busy stretch in an unfamiliar city.
A leisurely return trip wouldn't just erase accumulated fatigue.
After sending them off, I headed to the lord's castle with the guard captain.
"Did his lordship say what it was about?"
"No, sir. He simply told me to bring you as soon as you arrived."
"I see."
"By the way, Sir, how do you make food so well? My wife can never get that taste right."
"Hahaha, I appreciate the compliment."
We chatted about cooking secrets that can't be replicated even if you share the recipes, and before I knew it, we'd arrived.
"Have you found him?"
"Ah, you've come."
Viscount Britten brightened the moment he saw me and rose from his seat despite the late hour.
"News from the capital."
"From the capital?"
"An official dispatch came through the direct crystal orb used by the imperial household."
"What did it say?"
"That the nobles who committed heretical acts against the Order and the Saintess have been severely punished."
"So she arrived safely."
"We've received reports that the Saintess came out to the palace square and gave a public address."
Camilla really got the job done.
I knew she would.
She's a capable person, after all.
The sort who accomplishes whatever's entrusted to her without a hitch.
That's why I left it in her hands, and she proved my choice right.
"It seems the nobles involved in this will be branded heretics regardless of rank. Many have already been arrested."
"What about Lord Bellosa?"
The viscount shook his head.
"Unknown. His whereabouts are unclear."
"...He's just gone?"
"The authorities say they're investigating. There's been no official word on what became of the lord."
The ringleader of the attack being unaccounted for — that was what worried me most.
"So something like this could happen again someday."
"That's about the size of it. Still, this has undeniably weakened the Noble Faction backing the First Prince. Their leadership will want to cut ties with the western nobles who orchestrated the attack, but how the Order responds remains to be seen."
"Thank you for informing me. Was this why you wanted to see me?"
The viscount shook his head.
"No. I called you because I wanted to ask something."
He paused, hesitated a moment, then spoke.
"Your Knight Restaurant has brought a good deal of liveliness to the castle lately. Not just the people inside the walls, but those from outside have been coming in just to visit it. Merchants who used to stop by occasionally couldn't forget the taste and started bringing others with them. The number of visitors to the castle has grown noticeably."
"Ah, is that so?"
Caught off guard by all the sudden praise—
"So I have to ask: are you thinking of heading to the capital?"
"Pardon?"
"If I've done something to offend you, please tell me now."
"What do you mean...?"
"Sir Lucas, we need you. If you've been serving us food this delicious and now abruptly left, my wife, my son Henry, and the people of this territory would all be thrown into despair."
He must have assumed that after the Saintess incident, I'd be tempted to go to the capital.
Even though he knew I'd quit the imperial princess's knight order to come here.
But I suppose an event that shook the whole empire would make anyone think that.
Someone who saved the Saintess from heretics after she'd gone missing — that sort of person was bound to attract attention.
You could easily gain a status far beyond simply serving in a knight order.
"Viscount, I'm not going."
"Truly?"
"Yes. Unless His Majesty the Emperor personally summons me, I have no reason to go. I like this city."
No other castle sends real knights to help out at a Knight Restaurant.
I'd heard that Viscount Britten himself had given permission for his knights to assist with chores at the restaurant.
How could I leave when the lord already goes out of his way to favor us like this?
At my words, the viscount let out a relieved breath.
"I'm deeply grateful to hear you say that."
A sigh of relief, and only then did he smile.
"I'd been agonizing over what gift I might offer to win your favor, thinking you might leave."
"Reinforcing my staff with knights was already a wonderful gift."
It hadn't been a huge help yet, but it was a fact that I'd had more time to rest because of it.
"Hahaha. Good thing I curryed your favor early. I'll visit the restaurant soon. I can't wait to eat your cooking again."
I said my farewells and left the lord's castle.
Before heading home, I stopped by the restaurant to play with the kitchen gear I'd bought in Lilyan.
I grabbed the luggage I'd left on my horse and stepped inside.
"...Master?"
Bldi was rubbing her eyes, crouched in a corner of the restaurant, groggily sitting up.
Her ashen hair was a bird's nest, dried drool caked at the corner of her mouth, her face gaunt like she hadn't eaten in days.
"It's the masterrrr."
Still half-asleep, she blinked drowsily and stretched out her hands with a dazed look.
She shuffled over and wrapped her arms around me in a hug.
"I waited for you to come back."
"Why are you sleeping here?"
"I was hungry."
Bldi sagged, looking utterly drained.
Her cheeks were hollow; she honestly looked like she hadn't eaten properly in days.
Grrrrrrroooowl!
Her stomach let out a thunderous alarm.
"What about the blood I left for you?"
"I finished it all."
"You finished all of that?"
I'd left her more than enough.
Ten days' worth.
I'd even told her to drink wild animal blood if she ran out.
"Didn't you hunt?"
She shook her head.
"Wild animal blood tastes bad."
"You used to drink it all the time."
"I did... but lately, the blood dishes you make are so much better."
"So you've turned picky."
Fidgeting with her fingers, Bldi gave a sheepish grin.
"It's all tingly when I eat it. I like that."
A few months of working at the restaurant, and her wild side had completely vanished.
She'd always been a passive, timid bocchi vampire.
Now she wouldn't even hunt — it was like...
'A hopeless bocchi vampire.'
She'd evolved in the worst possible direction.
The one silver lining was that she barely stuttered anymore when talking to me or Andrea.
If she accidentally met a customer's eyes, she'd still flinch with a startled little squeak, but then she'd manage a nod in greeting.
Her social skills had improved. Her hunting skills had declined.
Had I spoiled her too much?
'She won't even hunt her own prey for blood anymore.'
Had I raised a completely useless vampire?
"Master... I'm hungry."
Bldi looked up at me, eyes shining.
"Please feed me."
The problem was, I didn't have any blood in the refrigerator right now.
No blood to make seonji with, either.
'This is tricky.'
I couldn't exactly feed her human blood.
There were stories about vampires going berserk if they drank human blood, after all.
Then I remembered the first time I met her.
The way she'd been frantically sucking blood at the Coco farm that raised its birds on garlic.
Right.
She really hasn't eaten properly. I might as well let her have her fill this time.
Besides, there was something I wanted to test.
"Let's go to the Coco chicken farm."
"Huh? Right now?"
"Yeah. You can drink blood there."
Bldi's eyes went wide, darting around nervously.
"W-we don't have to go all the way there... I could just... drink your blood..."
Unfortunately, Lucas didn't hear her ant-sized whisper.