Kit gazed wildly around at his companions. His mind was blank, he couldn’t think of a single name for his restaurant. What was he supposed to do! Slowly the names he had previously came up with started to filter into his mind.
He dismissed all of them! They weren’t good enough to be used. He wanted his restaurant to be something people remembered after hearing the name for the first time. All the other names could be forgotten in the sea of already named restaurants. He wanted his to stand out.
The name would also have to be connected to Spartan Fire. He wanted people to remember where his restaurant was built so they could return when they thought about it.
If he had a great name but people couldn’t remember what town it was in, then that would be no good. The Fornax continent was huge. Each state had thousands of towns scattered throughout. It would be easy to forget which town his restaurant was in if he didn’t name it properly.
How was he going to achieve this? Kit started to swing his sight to the surroundings. Maybe naming it after something that was only found in Spartan Fire would help people to connect his restaurant to where it was situated.
Kit could not identify one thing that was special to the area besides the picturesque view. He decided to ask for help.
“Is there something that can only be found in Spartan Fire? I need a bit of help getting some inspiration in naming my restaurant.”
All three of the people surrounding Kit gave him a strange look.
“Kit, you have been wanting to build a restaurant since I met you. Have you really not come up with a name yet?” Mars had a look of utter disbelief on his face.
Kit had the grace to blush.
“It’s not that I haven’t thought of names. I realised I will need something that is only special to Spartan Fire, so people remember where they visited my restaurant. There are so many towns across the Fornax continent, if I don’t name my restaurant right it will be lost amongst all the other places people visit.”
“Until I can make it so that when people visit, no one will forget my restaurant because of the amazing menu, I will need a good name. I’m far away from standing out from all the other restaurants in other towns. I know I’ll have to work hard to make my restaurant a name that will make people drool with hunger at its mere mention.”
Kit was not a fool when it came to his restaurant. He had long thought of the problems he would encounter when he first opened a restaurant. He had planned to open in a larger town so he was already starting to think about the extra issues he would run into with a small hamlet. This was why Kit needed to work hard to promote Spartan Fire as fast as possible.
Grandpa was the first to answer Kit’s question.
“Hmm, then the only thing that is unique in Spartan Fire apart from the spectacular view is the Spartan Fire flower. It is what the town is named from after all. It only flowers once a year in a hidden location that is only known to founding members.”
“The flower has quite a unique appearance so it would not be a bad symbol for your restaurant. I guess I can show you the flower tomorrow when we head out for training although it won’t be in bloom yet. Does that help at all with the naming of your restaurant?”
Grandpa looked towards Kit to see if he had helped at all. Kit felt a shiver go down his spine at the mention of a rare flower. He wondered if he could use it in a dish. A flower that only bloomed once a year should be extraordinary. He couldn’t wait to see it in full bloom. His fingers itched to test it out in a cooking capacity.
Kit became excited when found out the name Spartan Fire was not just associated with the town, it also shared a name with a rare flower. Naming his restaurant after a rare flower wasn’t a bad idea. Plus, the flower and his restaurant would only be found in Spartan Fire.
Why not go with a simple name, Spartan Fire Restaurant? Could that work? People would know right away where his restaurant was located just by the name alone, plus his restaurant would be connected to something rare even if it was in name only. The more Kit thought about it the more he felt the name was the right choice.
“That is actually very helpful Grandpa. I think I have already come up with a name for my restaurant. How does Spartan Fire Restaurant sound?”
Grandpa beamed at Kit. “That sounds perfect my boy.”
“It has a nice ring to it. Simple yet elegant.” Mars was nodding his head as he spoke.
“I like it.” Twix smiled at Kit.
“Well then, that’s settled. I name my restaurant Spartan Fire Restaurant.”
Kit felt his body swell with exhilaration. He couldn’t conceal his delight, Kit felt like the sun was shining from inside his body. He had a name for his restaurant!
Ding!
Please confirm restaurant name.
Spartan Fire Restaurant.
Yes/No
“YES” Kit couldn’t help but to shout. He felt like he was about to burst from happiness.
Ding!
[Spartan Fire Restaurant]
Player Kit now has access to Spartan Fire Restaurant menu. Please work hard to make your restaurant into a legend.
Kit blew out a breath through his lips. He had officially constructed his dream. Now all that was left was to get it up and running. Kit couldn’t wait any longer and ran towards the door. He ran straight inside, then stopped to stare at the bare walls.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Kit blinked. His excitement came to a halt. There was nothing inside the room! He swung his head from side to side, all that he could see was half a wall that divided one circle from the rest of the room. A section of the half wall had a gap where a person could walk through into the other space.
Kit could see bare walls on the other side of the half wall. There was absolutely nothing inside! All he could see was orange walls. Where was the rest of his restaurant!
Kit did another lap around the inside with his eyes. Still nothing could be seen. Kit suddenly heard a popping sound behind him. He spun around to see what the noise was.
“Kit what the hell is this? Can you even call this a restaurant? It’s a mud hut! Where on CAL did you build this shack?”
Large bright eyes with a furious glint met Kit’s shocked ones. Snickers was standing in front of Kit with her hands on her hips. Kit had a feeling that Snickers was not as happy as he was about his restaurant opening.
“Don’t just stare at me, answer! What the hell is this place?”
Kit swallowed. He could feel her unhappiness radiating off her in waves. He tried to formulate an answer that would calm her down.
“Hi Snickers! This is my restaurant.”
‘Ahh, that was a stupid answer. I was too nervous and just blurted it out.’ Kit could see a fire start to ignite in Snickers eyes. Kit felt his panic rise. He was going to be killed by a little loli! Kit’s mind started to race to think of something to defuse the situation.
Kit couldn’t figure out where all her anger came from. He knew she was upset about the mud building, but he had just opened his restaurant. He was always going to have to start with a small restaurant. There was no way to jump to a restaurant with stars without going through the promotion steps.
“I can see that stupid! Why is it a mud shack in the middle of nowhere?”
Kit’s brain was not working properly from the pressure from her anger, so he kept blurting words out.
“Ahh, that. Well, you see I came here to find something then I ended up becoming a founding member of Spartan Fire, so I built my restaurant here. Umm that’s all.”
Kit didn’t have time to come up with a plan to deal with Snickers, so he just went with the truth. He was surprised when all the fury Kit felt coming from Snickers disappeared in an instant. Snickers blinked at Kit with a strange look on her face.
“Are you sure you’re a founding member. Maybe you heard it wrong?”
Kit was a little puzzled why she was asking about him being a founding member instead of talking about the restaurant. He mentally shrugged, Snickers had never been normal to him anyway. He was just happy she had calmed down.
“No, myself and two of my friends have taken over the role from the elder who held the position previously. He wanted more time to enjoy fishing.”
Now that Kit thought about it, why would Grandpa need more time to enjoy fishing. Spartan Fire was small. There wouldn’t be much for him to do as a founding member. ‘Damn it he really is a crafty fox. He was giving us an excuse, so he didn’t have to help us out!’
“Do you have access to the founding member menu?” Snickers voice had changed from having an angry tone back to her cute little loli voice.
“Umm yes, why?”
“Well hot damn, Kit. Ok I take it back, this is a great place to start a restaurant. Let me just get Leonard.”
Snickers lifted her right hand and a swirl of pink glittering fog started to cover her body then a pop was heard. Snickers disappeared right in front of Kit’s eyes. Kit stood there stunned.
“Popping raspberries, I love magic.”
“Kit, who was that?”
Mars was standing in the door with a look of surprise on his face. Kit suddenly remembered that the two of them had not met each other before.
“That was Snickers. Remember I told you about the contract I made with her.”
“That’s the girl from Flower Field town. How old is she and what level is she that she can teleport to wherever she likes?”
Kit had a feeling Snickers wouldn’t like it if he asked about her level. He wasn’t willing to upset her just to find out the answer. He was sure she would let it slip at some stage in the future. He would quite happily wait for then to find out. He told Mars his thought about finding Snickers level, he then told him her age.
“Holy shit! You have some luck Kit, I can’t believe you got her as an employee for only a meal a day. I really want to know what her level is even more now. I have no clue what her personality is like, so I’ll listen to you and wait for her to let it slip. Umm Kit on a different note, why is your restaurant bare?”
“That I have no clue about. I thought it would be fully equipped when I completed it.”
“I thought so as well. Guess we were both wrong. Does it come with a restaurant menu?”
Kit felt like an idiot. He remembered that there was a notification that even told him he could now access the restaurant menu. He laughed at himself, how could he have forgotten about it so fast. Kit felt a thrill of anticipation thrum through his body. He couldn’t wait to see what was inside.
He quickly opened the restaurant menu.
Spartan Fire Restaurant
Restaurant Funds: 25 gold 500 silver 71 bronze crowns.
Culinary points: 11,142.
Employees: Snickers, Mars.
Menu:
Bonuses: Restaurant will have an additional unlockable feature on completion. High chance to receive extra restaurant fittings or upgrade to appliances upon restaurant completion/reconstructions.
Spartan Fire Restaurant promotion requirements. (Not available)
Spartan Fire Restaurant Blueprint
Spartan Fire Restaurant gleamed in bold script in front of his eyes. Kit couldn’t help but break out in a smile looking at the words. He didn’t dwell on the words long, he was too excited to see what else was in the menu, his eyes moved down to the next line.
The capital he had set aside for his restaurant had converted over to his restaurant funds. Kit was happy about the amount he already had accumulated. Hopefully it would be enough to purchase the basics for his restaurant.
Kit looked at the number of culinary points he had managed to collect already. He had a feeling having so much would come in handy. He wasn’t sure what they were used for yet, but he knew it would be important.
When he finally looked at the next words written his eyebrows shot up. How the hell had Mars gotten on his employee list? Kit didn’t remember making a contract with him. He hovered his finger over Mars name.
Employee Mars: Official adventure of Spartan Fire Restaurant.
Job description: Travel all over CAL to collect the best ingredients for Kit to create dishes for Spartan Fire Restaurant.
Kit started to laugh out loud at the words written. He remembered the promise they had previously made to each other. Who knew CAL would take it as Mars being an official staff member. Kit couldn’t wait to tell Mars.
“Mars, you are my employee.” The laughter was still clear in Kit’s voice as he informed Mars.
“What? Seriously, what is my job?”
Kit told Mars what was written in the Spartan Fire Menu.
“Well, it really was my plan to help. I’m glad I have an official title.” Kit closed the menu to look at Mars face. Happiness was twinkling in his eyes. Twix walked in as the two of them were looking like goof balls.
“I want a job too. I overheard Mars title. Can I be the same as him?”
Kit started to laugh. He really was going to have more employees than customers.
“Sure, why not. There more the merrier. I’m not paying you though, I will just give you free food.”
Even though he was happy for Twix to join he didn’t want to be stuck paying someone a wage for something that had not happened yet. If the two of them really started bringing back ingredients from all over CAL, then he would have to revisit how to pay them for their effort.
“Great, free food is fine by me.”
Kit smiled at his new employee, then reopened the restaurant menu. He hadn’t finished looking at all the new features. Kit noticed Twix name was now next to Mars in the employee section. He frowned for a moment. There was nothing to confirm their employment except for their words.
Kit was sure he hadn’t signed a contract with either of them. The magical thread hadn’t appeared either to bind a contract. Kit stuffed that thought to the back of his head, he would deal with it later. He continued to look at the screen.