It felt like he was hit with a hammer and the world was spinning, but even then he couldn't ignore the elegant form standing nearby. The result of Royal Evolution was right in front:

Defined feminine features dominated her now undoubtedly semi-human form. Instead of just a white stalk and a cap, she now had a proper waist, arms, chest and head; but her lower half remained firmly planted in the ground indicating the absence of legs and feet. However, from a quick glance, the fault wouldn’t be apparent because she was dressed in a white bridal dress, the long skirt of white fungal mesh touched the ground thus obfuscating her lower stalk and absence of proper legs. She retained her signature brown cap, but now it resembled a fashionable hat. From under the cap, a bridal veil hung loosely slightly covering her face. The gloves, the hat, and the dress were all made out of mushroom flesh, but despite that, the texture gave an impression of exquisite and expensive cloth. And what was not covered by ‘cloth’ appeared like white skin; pristine, smooth and without even a single blemish. Her figure was well developed and gave the impression that it could burst at any time ripping that overly tight dress of hers, but otherwise, she radiated the aura of sophisticated nobility more than the aura of maidenly beauty.

“A Mushroom Bride?” He uttered surprised.

She shook her head, “Myconid Queen,” she corrected.

The result of the evolution was unexpected to say the least. “But how…” Something didn’t add up. “I have Imbued you with Dark affinity.” But the result was this innocent appearance.

“Yes, my King. I have access to the Dark spells now, but even then, I am still one with Nature… Does this form not please Thee?” She turned and twisted her body making her skirt flutter. “I took this shape because I thought it might please you.”

“Well… Yes, you look stylish and graceful. I’m just surprised that is all.” He didn’t think a mushroom could be so beautiful.

“So I am, it turned out better than expected.” She took the hem of her dress and made a curt bow. “Thank you, my King.”

“No problem.” He rubbed the still throbbing temples of his head.

“You look drained.” She offered a fungal cup filled with familiar sauce. “It will help you recover.”

He would never have thought there would come a day when he would drink sauce as if it was water, but here he was thirsty and with a headache.

“The sauce…” He tasted it. [Stamina recovery increased], the message informed him. “Oh, you improved the recipe.”

The Myconid Queen puffed her chest. “Thou are correct, and with these,” she pointed at a certain body part, “now I can make a lot more. All thanks to Thy Mutate.”

He blinked twice. “I would’ve never guessed it could be used in that way…” And then he chose to just ignore the reality of the source of the sauce. “But how much sauce can you supply? A jug a day?”

“Hmm.” She seemed thoughtful for a moment. “With the right amount of nutrients, a barrel shouldn’t be a problem.”

That was a lot! After all, the burger needed only a drop of it to achieve the complete taste.

“With that amount… I think we can start a restaurant chain or something.” He nodded happily. “Yes, there is no reason to keep this discovery hidden. World be ready because the burger is coming!” He announced with a fist pump.

The Myconid Queen gave him a peculiar look. “You seem happy.”

“Of course I am. We invented something amazing. I reckon we should test this first with the Drow and then expand to the Human Kingdom.”

“Then, I’ll prioritise growing the burger-mushrooms.”

“You do that, and I’ll send the spiders with barrels so we can start accumulating the sauce. Hmm…” He became thoughtful for a moment. “But calling it just a sauce is a bit underwhelming. How about the Secret Sauce? But…” That name sounded tired and overused. “You know, what? Since you are the chef who made the sauce you should go and name it.”

It didn’t take a second for her to reply. “Forbidden Dew.” She said it as if the name was obvious from the beginning.

“Eh?” If anything it should be milk but, “Why is it forbidden?”

“Because it’s meant only for the King. Sause so succulent and precious that only a King could afford.” She smiled. “If we name it that, the people will only want it more.”

“I see, what you’re trying to do.” He smiled back. “Yes, that’s a brilliant name. I think people will be curious if not tempted to try it. Impossible Burger with a dash of Forbidden Dew, a food combination worthy of a King! The experience is yours for only a paltry silver.” Then he continued in a hurried voice. “Conditions and terms apply. The Spider King takes no responsibility for stomach aches, poisoning or untimely death. Supply is limited to availability.”

She gave him an amused look.

“And I think I’ll come back, that is then my mana recovers, so that I can Mutate more flavours.” He began to salivate at the possibilities. “Maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll have the divine flavour of chicken again!” Hopefully this time proper and not squirrel-chicken flavour. “But for now, I’ll leave it to you and I’ll see the first restaurant built at the Drow City.”

“I shall have the burgers ready by tomorrow.” She bowed with confidence.

And that was that, so he went to relay the good news to the High Chief.

…

It was convenient that The Mana Spring was close to the Myconid Cavern, it allowed the King to mutate the mushrooms and come back here to recover; rinse and repeat. While the Spider King was waiting for the completion of Glem smeltery he conspired with spiders to build his first restaurant.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The structure didn’t even take a day to erect. The building was that now iconic spider nest-dome made out of intertwined wood and blue ropes. Nearby he erected a thick IronOak pole to serve as a sign; it displayed the massive flag with the spider eating a mushroom. While the design might be interpreted as questionable and spooky even, it was still simple and easy to understand: there was food sold here. Actually, the spidery building might be spooky only for the humans, after all, the Drow had different aesthetics and instead found the design inviting. That was evident by the very long line forming by the entrance.

It might be the novelty of the building, the promise of unfamiliar food or the fact that the King himself was a today staffing the restaurant, but there wasn't a single Drow in an entire city who didn't want to be here; to miss such an opportunity would be a sin.

Two spider guards, clad in decorative and shiny orange armour blocked the entrance with weapons resembling halberds.

“We’re open!” A regal voice shouted from deep within.

The spiders parted their halberds to allow passage.

“Welcome. To Spidery Delicious.” The two chirped in tandem revealing the name of the restaurant.

The Drow flocked inside or tried to, but only a certain number was allowed. The halberds blocked the entrance controlling the crowd.

The lucky first marvelled at the sight of the restaurant proper. The inside was well-lit by lantern light, the flame burned bright and smokeless, betraying them to be a magical device of sorts. The tables were carved out of IronOak, the spider craftsmanship was exquisite, and even the chairs were cushioned with the expensive Blue Cloth; they looked inviting and comfortable. The Drow were met by a spider attendant and led to the tables in small groups. There a small spider waiter dangled from a web affixed by a ceiling, it lowered itself by string and towards the table offering a menu to the drows.

Drows took their parchment marvelling at them.

“Rules?”, “I thought they would serve food, not books?”, “But I can’t read.”, “…”

They voiced their confusion. Of course they would be confused, after all this was their first experience.

“This is the list. Of food items. You can order.” The spider began to explain. “Guests. Shall I read it. For you.” The spider added reacting to the unexpected realisation that not everyone could read.

The oldest guest attempted to read the menu, but the rest of the family just nodded.

“We have. Chicken Of The Woods. Beefsteak Mushroom. Shrimp Russulas. Lobstery Caps…” The spider waiter began to name various kinds of mushrooms. “All served with… Forbidden Dew!” It chirped after a meaningful pause to cause an effect.

“Forbidden Dew?” A drow asked with slight concern.

“Forbidden Dew. A sauce made for a King. And only for a King. A sauce so splendid. It was meant for gods.” it chirped embellishing the story. “The magnanimous King. Wished to share it. With the world. So we serve it. But only for… a moment. So feast now. While you can.”

Drows looked at each other and then picked their mushrooms at random. The spider memorised their order and then ran through the ceiling web and towards the kitchen. Soon it arrived with a tray. One by one the spider lowered the plates to the guests voicing the name of the dish back to them.

“Enjoy. And call me back. For more.” It chirped pleasantly and made itself comfortable on the ceiling web.

A similar scene repeated itself from table to table. The Drow marvelled at their food for a moment but then they dug at it without hesitation. The sound of foodgasm filled the restaurant.To anyone listening from outside, the sounds made were obscene! The repeat of orders were placed to spiders for more of the delightful food.

The King smiled pleased by the success of the Impossible Burgers. Through trial and error, he had managed to replicate various meat flavours and the rich-in-umami Forbidden Dew sauce completed the culinary masterpiece. In the kitchen, the diligent spider cooks worked in conveyor fashion to assemble the meals. The food production was smooth and quick. At the moment the dish was just burger patties with sauce and extras like EarthenYam fries or other fruits or vegetables; the bun still had to be invented because he needed a suitable grain for that.

He was emboldened by the success of the Impossible Burgers, and so decided to launch the second product. It was just a drink, but he was hesitant because it was rather an unusual drink, at least to the Drow.

The Myconid Queen managed to produce a magical type of fungus, Dark Spores. The fungus was microscopic and invisible to the eye forming a fine powder, and it was an alchemical ingredient of sorts. By chance, he had discovered that when it was mixed with Mana Spring Water, the water would become bubbly. The best of it was that despite using something with Dark in the name, the result wasn’t poisonous or anything like that just***… never mind that. The water turned carbonated, that’s it! While, yes, it lost its mana-restoring properties, it could still be used as a base to make a fizzy drink. And a fizzy drink he made. He injected the Dark Water with the syrup of TomGrape and a dash of SlugJelly to make a sweet and bubbly delight named as CocaCola, oops that’s trademarked, Spider-FizzPop™. A complicated name but a classy one never the less.

*** Okay… Despite its sweetness, and perceived richness, The Dark element in the Spider-FizzPop™ gave it a peculiar property – it had negative nutrition. But! In the King’s defence, it worked to his advantage. As long as he served the drink with the plentiful food portions it would have no negative effect at all. If anything he just invented a diet drink which can prevent obesity. Just don’t drink it on its own, alright…

He gave a signal for the spiders to start offering the drink. On the house of course. The spiders lowered the sleek scorpion glass bottles on the table, the bottles had a spider as its logo on the front. The spider waiters chirped urging the guests to have a free sample. The Drow looked again with wonder-filled eyes, and then they uncorked the fungiwood cork and sipped out of the spidery and dark bottle without even a shred of hesitation. The darkness in the bottle swirled and bubbled tickling their tongues as they drank it in urged gulps.

“So sweet!”, “Delicious!”, “There’s a party in my mouth!”, so and such resounded.

In the end, it was well received too. Everything in Spidery Delicious was well received, the restaurant was a great success. However, he was still exposed to a dilemma: should he feed the guest till they were bursting full, or should he dismiss them so that more people could experience the joy of burgers and cola?

But if anything, he’ll have to expand the restaurant, and even start to offer proper and on-the-go fast food options. Maybe two separate areas: one for classy dining and the other for quick meals? A drive, no, a walk-through? Delivery service?

“Running a business is hard.” He just became a victim of his own success. “I’ll just delegate it to competent spiders. Simple.” Indeed, that was the solution.

Just by looking at the seamlessly impeccable work practice they managed to pull off here it was clear that the spiders were perfect for the job.

“Watch out Human Kingdom… It ain’t the Famine you’ll need to worry about now, but the opposite... Ha! Ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha!” He laughed in an evil and conspiratory way.

But of course, he won't be spreading anything nefarious, only the happiness of burgers and delight of Spider-FizzPop™. The story of the Spidery Delicious restaurant empire just began, and it will take the world by storm.