Dragon Flame Tavern

On the first day of opening, they served four customers, nearly exhausting all the ingredients Nami had planted in advance. After closing, she immediately planted new vegetables. The harvested vegetables could be stored in the [Cabinet Refrigerator], remaining as fresh as when first put in, no matter when they were taken out.

This time, the vegetable harvesting work was handed over to Rusen. Being new to the task, he was clumsy and couldn't grasp the timing of when vegetables were ripe, harvesting many old carrots.

Nami casually stir-fried these carrots whose cores had become pithy, gained some cooking experience points, then sent them to the Slime Recycling House.

"Perhaps you could consider using 'Mage Hand,'" Nami suggested aloud. Mage Hand was a zero-level spell that consumed little mana but was quite useful—it could create a virtual hand to manipulate objects, flexible and convenient.

Rusen was reminded and instantly realized this would be much more convenient than harvesting by hand. Mage Hand had a larger range and could simultaneously pick all the crops in the bathtub. He wasn't surprised that Nami had discovered his identity—high-level mages' sensitivity to elements allowed them to instantly assess lower-level mages' abilities. Rusen had no doubt that he was practically transparent before Nami.

With Rusen supplying ingredients nearby, Nami focused on practicing her cooking skills. She found the [Complete Guide to Home Cooking] that the system had rewarded her with, searching for dishes that could be made with the tavern's current ingredients.

The figure bustling around the kitchen worked through the night, and Nami finally maxed out her skill proficiency, successfully becoming a Level 2 Chef.

[Chef (Secondary Profession)

Level: 2 (5/1000)

Skills: Cook's Intuition (You have a hint of elusive understanding about cooking)

Cook's Tongue (Your tongue is very sensitive, but this also means the pain is multiplied when you taste your own dark cuisine)]

Nami smiled contemptuously—she no longer made dark cuisine! The system-rewarded [Complete Guide to Home Cooking] was truly a conscientious recipe book. Not once did it contain words like "some," "a little," or "to taste." As long as one followed the standard procedures strictly, even the most basic completion rate was 80%, which gave Nami great confidence.

Due to using Mage Hand too many times during the night, Rusen was mentally exhausted and slept deeply. But this didn't prevent him from discovering that his boss had pulled another all-nighter, with nearly half the ingredients in the cabinet gone.

A qualified employee should promptly replenish consumed ingredients. He crouched by the bathtub, endlessly repeating the process of planting-harvesting-planting, like an emotionless vegetable-picking machine. When his arms got sore, he switched to the [Mage Hand] spell; when his mana was depleted, he continued harvesting manually.

The accelerated plant growth rate was also a challenge for Rusen. Picking too early meant the vegetables weren't ripe; too late and they would rapidly age.

Later, Rusen became famous in mage circles for his sharp eye and precise, swift operations. When people asked about his experience, he always answered: "Perhaps you need a bathtub inscribed with a time-flow array."

Somehow this phrase spread, and by the time Rusen learned of it, the version had changed several times:

—Mage Rusen could create exquisite magical machinery because he had a workbench converted from a bathtub!

—Clean water affects the feel of potion brewing, so Mage Rusen never bathes!

—The reason Mage Rusen delved deep into magical machinery was because he fell in love with a bathtub!

Although uncertain whether any customers would come for breakfast, Rusen still took down the small blackboard hanging on the wall under Nami's direction and wrote today's breakfast offerings on it.

[Today's Breakfast: Vegetable Pancake Rolls (80 copper coins), Wolf Fang Potatoes (50 copper coins), Chocolate Hot Milk (40 copper coins)]

Rusen was very confused about today's menu. The first dish's literal meaning was easy to understand, the second he'd never seen but might be a new dish the boss had developed yesterday, but this drink...

He turned to Nami: "Miss Nami, do we have milk?"

"We'll have some soon." Nami was chopping vegetables rapidly, not looking up.

There was a knock at the door. The knocker was obviously impatient—the sound had barely rung twice before the door was pushed open. The red-haired werewolf hurried in, setting down the milk bucket in her hands.

"Miss Nami, I'm here to deliver the milk you ordered yesterday."

The wooden door had already been repaired by Rusen yesterday. He had applied some liquid to the door hinges and used a putty-like material to fill the gaps. In any case, the Dragon Flame Tavern greeted its day of business in perfect condition.

Nami collected the milk Kayla had delivered, looking at Kayla who was reluctant to leave. "Miss, is there anything else you need?"

Kayla stared intently at the words on the blackboard, disappointed not to find what she was looking for. Somewhat awkwardly, she said: "Um... are you still selling fruit preserves?"

So it was for the fruit preserves. Those were rewards from the system's prize pool—10 in total. Yesterday she'd given one each to Kayla and Hannah, leaving 8 remaining.

Nami smiled: "The next week is Dragon Flame Tavern's activity week. We have a consumption lottery where winners can get a jar of fruit preserves."

Kayla looked confused, so Nami explained in detail: "As long as you buy food at the tavern, I'll put a slip of paper with your name in this box," she took out a paper box from under the bar counter, "and tomorrow morning I'll randomly draw one slip. The person on that slip gets a free jar of fruit preserves. The activity lasts 7 days, meaning a total of seven jars will be given away."

The rules were simple and clear. Kayla immediately sat down: "I want a Vegetable Pancake Roll."

[You have received an order: Vegetable Pancake Roll. Please complete the order promptly!]

A pancake of uniform thickness wrapped around julienned cucumber, ham, and blanched potato strips, brushed with sweet bean sauce exchanged from the system. The taste was refreshing and very suitable for breakfast.

Just as the plate was placed in front of Kayla, the dusty Hannah walked in. She immediately spotted the conspicuous red-haired woman and secretly regretted being late because she had baked an extra batch of bread.

Her purpose was the same as Kayla's. After Rusen explained the tavern's lottery activity, Hannah also sat across from Kayla.

She looked at the woman whose mouth was stuffed full and signaled to Rusen: "I want the same thing as her, plus a cup of chocolate hot milk."

Opening the doors to two orders right away was a good omen. Nami was already considering whether to write the lottery activity on the blackboard and hang it outside for publicity. But thinking that most townspeople and mercenaries probably couldn't read, she fell into a dilemma. She certainly couldn't count on just Kayla and Hannah to advertise for the tavern—after all, the more people who came to consume at the tavern, the lower their chances of winning would be.

Hannah and Kayla chatted while eating.

"You actually didn't order chocolate hot milk—that's incredible. I thought you'd spend all your earnings on sweets," Hannah teased, taking a sip of her chocolate milk.

"I'm trying to quit, but it's very difficult," Kayla said seriously, taking a big bite of her pancake.

"You really should quit. A werewolf with tooth decay would be a joke."

This challenged a werewolf's dignity. Kayla immediately retorted: "My teeth are perfectly fine. During last month's full moon, I nearly bit to death a ram I'd been raising for two years."

Facing Hannah's follow-up questions, she seemed somewhat regretful: "Maybe the fog was a bit thin that day, and the moon was particularly round. That ram still died in the end—I guess it was scared to death."

The cucumber and potato strips made crunching sounds in her mouth: "This pancake roll tastes really good. I bet the new boss came from some big city outside. The old tavern owner could only boil food until it was cooked."

Nami was frying Wolf Fang Potatoes. The serrated potato strips tumbled in the pot, the sizzling oil bubbling with hot steam. She preferred a crispier texture, so she didn't fry them too long—she scooped them out when they turned an appetizing golden color.

The fried Wolf Fang Potatoes were sprinkled with chili powder, cumin, and other seasonings, quickly mixed together. Simple and convenient to make, no wonder they were a staple at street food stalls.

The tavern's only two customers had finished their Vegetable Pancake Rolls and were preparing to leave when they were attracted by the fragrant Wolf Fang Potatoes.

Hannah's bottom was firmly glued to her chair: "It's the clear month season, I'm incredibly busy with work all day, and my appetite has grown considerably."

Rusen was understanding: "Then you must try our Wolf Fang Potatoes. You need to eat your fill to have energy for work."

Kayla was quite direct: "I'm just not full yet. I'll have another serving."