"Ehlri! Elhri, are you-"

"Excuse me! Excuse me! Exc- Gwaaah!"

Crashing pots and plates shattering filled my ears as we opened the door to the kitchen.

The place was a mess now, but at least it was just empty plates and freshly cleaned pans. No food was wasted today.

"S-Sorry."

"Ehlri! A-Are you okay?!"

The receptionist rushed over to the Elf's side. With each heavy step, shards of glass cracked and broke beneath her feet. I  followed after her, careful not to step on any of the broken glasses laying on the floor.

The girl lifted her head up, her delicate hands rubbing the slightly swollen spot on her green head. I couldn't help but sigh at the pitiful sight in front of me. Her pointed ears twitched at the sound of me accidentally stepping on a glass shard beside her.

"Heal."

Light gathered around her head, forming a halo of sorts while the swollen bump slowly disappeared.

"You okay?"

"Y-Yeah... Thank you, er..."

I picked up the pots and pans laying on the floor around her.

"Arthur. You must be Ehlri."

She nodded, her blue eyes following after me as I put away the pans on the empty sink. 

"Anyway... What happened here?"

The two were eyeing me as I looked around for a broom and dustpan to clean up the dangerous fragments of glass on the floor.

"Is... Is there something wrong, sir?"

The receptionist asked softly. Her puzzled look just made me even more uncomfortable.

"No. Nothing."

There's actually something wrong.

When that old farmer told me that the Elfgirl was a small girl, I thought she was gonna look like someone around JIn's age. I wasn't expecting someone that looks to be about my age with a chest about to burst open! I mean, just look at the buttons on her uniform! It's barely hanging on by a fucking thread!

The more I look at that damn Elf, the more my eyes start to drift down.

"Fucking fantasies..."

"W-What? Did you say something?"

"Nothing. Just, help me clean up here."

The two looked at each other before looking back at me. 

"I'm sorry for making you-"

"Clean. Now. I want to cook and to cook properly is to have a proper kitchen."

I didn't mean for my voice to snap, but by the sound of it, it was like I'm chastising the two.

The two immediately bowed and trembled as I walked over to them with a pair of brooms. I grumbled as I handed the Elf the broom in my right hand.

"Thank you for letting me use the kitchen. You can go-"

"O-Of course, sir!"

The receptionist immediately rushed out of the door, leaving the two of us alone inside the small kitchen.

"That's... gonna be troublesome."

"S-Sir?"

The girl slowly reached out for the broom with her trembling hands. I flinched a little in surprise at the slightest touch of her fingers since I was still looking at the door, but that was enough to send the girl reeling behind one of the small tables.

Jesus, all I want is a plate of fries.

The floor was now clean. I didn't ask for Ehlri to mop it, but she did anyway. That girl was currently cutting up some vegetables and the tomatoes to be put into the large pot of stew simmering behind me.

Slice.

Slice.

Slice.

The potatoes are now long strips soaking in the bowl of water near me. There was still a sack of potatoes, but I just wanted enough fries to satisfy my craving. 

"I'm impressed. Your cuts are even and there is barely any flesh on the skin after you peeled them."

I nearly dropped the knife in surprise when I suddenly heard a voice beside my ear. 

"Are you perhaps a high level Cook?"

"L-Level? There's a Class for something like that?! Cooking?!"

She was a bit startled by my sudden outburst, but she was fine.

"Of course. That is the will of the Gods, and the Goddess, Eahna, blesssed me with the gift of cooking."

"You say that smugly but the way you say it sounds like you're not proud of it at all."

"Ah."

Oh shit. 

The Elf girl pouted and I could tell she was holdiing back the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Sorry."

"Y-You better be! Humans! Always so insensitive."

I don't know if it was because she was angry, but the carrots were immediately diced in an instant as she ran them through her knife.

"Look, if it's some sort of family problem or whatever, I'm not interested in learning about it."

"Wha-?! No! Y-You're supposed to pry into why-"

"I'm not that kind of per- Ow! Fuck... [Heal]!"

The bleeding immediately stopped and the wound on the tip of my finger disappeared. 

"You're a Swordsman but you can use Healing Magicl? That's strange..."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"What? Why?"

Ehlri shook her head as she dumped the carrots into the stew.

"Well, from what I heard, you need to be chosen by the Gods to use Healing Magic. Or you could go for the Healer class and use herbs and potions. But those can't really help in life threatening situations unless the potion is really potent."

For some reason, I felt someone laughing... no, snickering at me. It was as if I was suddenly indebted to someone.

"Well, anyway, back to the topic. This 'Cook' Class of yours, how did you acquire it?"

The Elf pondered about it for a moment before turning towards me with a serious face.

"Cooking. I cook a lot."

"......."

"......."

I took in a deep breath while the gentle sound of a thick sauce simmering filled the silence.

"Of course you'd- (Breathes in) Yes, cooking.... that's it?"

The Elf nodded as she flashed me a sly grin. This girl is definitely messing with me.

"Yup. If you keep cooking, the Skill [Basic Cooking] would appear. Mine's already at [Advanced Cooking] as well as [Advanced Knife Skills]."

She pulled out a spoon to taste the stew.

"Cooking... Wait, where's the damn Job for Cooking?"

"Hmm? Oh, there's none. Needs more salt... salt... Oh, here's the salt."

"So how- I think that's too much salt. So how did you get that Class?"

"Well, once a month, everyone could go to the townhall to use some magical item to view their stats and class. It's a piece paper that when you hold it, shows everything you need to know. For example, Leric over there is a level 20 Barkeep and has high levels in [Alcohol Creation] and [Drink Creation]."

"It keeps track of... the way you live."

The Elf tilted her head slightly while I thought to myself about how could a system like that work.

Is it magic? How can magic even keep track of how you live your life?

That's all bullshit to be honest.

"In a way, yeah. The Gods give us the skills to follow our dreams, our destiny..."

She sighed as killed the heat on the stew. 

"I wanted to be an Adventurer, but I'm not skilled with fighting and I scare easily."

She frowned at her own words. It must've left a sour taste in her mouth.

I groaned as I dropped everything I was doing and walked over towards her stew. Instinctively, she gave me the wooden spoon she used to stir the pot from time to time. 

"Just, go cut the potatoes like that. Your sadness is gonna ruin the stew's fla- Hey, there's no meat here!"

"Elves don't.... We do not partake in meat. Eggs and milk, we could eat but the meat of any living creature is a great taboo in our culture."

"Oh, so you guys are vegetarian."

I muttered out before giving the soup a taste.

It's... surprisingly good. It has the strong flavors of the tomatoes but it has a gentle aftertaste to it. It didn't have any meat in it, but the potatoes, carrots, and the vegetables in the dish is a fine substitute. But what strieks me the most is its distinct taste, it was something I've never tasted before but it felt so comforting.

"That stew is for the Elven adventurers in the guild."

"What about the other dishes?"

"There's still two hours until we start serving the lunch dishes. The rest of the staff are resting in the lounge."

The girl peeled and sliced the potatoes in a significantly faster pace than I ever could. 

"What about the adventurers in the guild right now?"

"They know the policy. Besides, I'm pretty sure there's only a handful of adventurers right now."

Two more potatoes were dropped into the large bowl before being soaked in water. That was fast.

"I think that's enough potatoes. Do you have any cooking oil?"

"Cooking... oil?"

Right, I forgot. Medieval times.

"Right... Right... Bacon fat? Rendered fat? Basically anything that has a lot of oil in it?"

The words clicked in her head and the Elf girl pulled out a pot beside the grill.

"Bacon fat from earlier's breakfast."

The smell alone tipped me off that it was bacon, but after taking a look at the greasy liquid, it was definitely bacon fat.

"That will do."

I cooked burgers swimming in fat before, what's wrong with doing the same to fries? Although I felt like I should give some to he girl beside me. She did help and I was and still am, in her kitchen.

"Nevermind. I think we should just bake this. Give me some butter and a tray."

The fries turned out a little bit browner than I thought but it was still delicious. Salt, pepper, some herbs sprinkled in there, and the butter really helped make it taste delicious. But in the end, it was still fries. Potatoes cut up into long str-

"Delicious~! I've never thought of this before!"

Ehlri was enjoying the fries like a little kid.

"Ahh, so cwispy and fluffy in the inside! What's more, it's a dish I could share with my kinsmen!"

"You're enjoying it."

"Who wouldn't?! This will be a hit in the guild!"

The plate between us was already half-empty but I don't think Ehlri noticed it. She was happily snacking away at what's supposed to be my comfort food.

But I didn't mind.

"Well, whatever. You could go ahead and keep that recipe for your own. Say, can you cook up another batch for me?"

Ehlri finally noticed the almost empty plate. She blushed profusely, staggering and fumbling for an apology but no words left her mouth as she sat silently in embarrasment.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. Anyway..."

I stood up and patted her on the shoulder awkwardly. She must've felt even more embarrased now judging by the way she was shaking. Even I am cringing at myself for what I just did.

I have no idea how to make a cool exit, don't I?

"T-Thanks for letting me use the kitchen."

I hurriedly went out the door while I mentally beat myself up.

The cringe I felt made me not blind to my surroundings since the moment I got out of the door, I felt someone tackle me from behind. 

"Yo!"

The cheerful and upbeat voice from behind me was the party's Archpriest, Olivia.

"Hey, Olivia."

"Hmm? What's wrong? You look a bit disappoin- Oh! I get it!"

The Archpriest finally let go of me only to slook at me with a mischievious smile.

"Ehlri turned you down, didn't she?"

"W-What?! What?!"

"Ahaha! I'm right! To think you have a thing for Elf-"

"Shut up! I'm not into her! I was jsut cooking- Nevermind! What's the deal? Why are you here?"

"Well, Emilia told me you were in the kitchen and the others are still not around... so..."

"Ah. So you were lonely."

Olivia chuckled nervously while she fidgeted with her fingers. 

"Right. Anyway, want to sit down and eat with me?"

"Your treat right? Of course! Let's order some drinks as well for the sake of it!"

God, this girl is hopeless.

Olivia sat at the table nearest to us before flagging down one of the barmaids. She ordered ale and some bread, only to be told that they were out of bread. She settled for the ale instead while I waited for the second batch of fries.

"Weeeeeell?"

"What? What do you want?"

Her lips curled into a sly but cute smile while I raised a brow at her.

"She's pretty, isn't she? Ehlri? Big boobs, long hair, cute face."

If I had a drink in my mouth, I would've surely spat it out at her. It was a surprise to hear the words "boobs" coming from the Archpriest's mouth. Then again, it's not unexpected since I'm already pretty familiar with what kind of person Olivia is already.

"Well, she's beautiful. True, true... But! But, I'm not looking for romance right now."

Olivia had that bored and unimpressed look in her eyes as the barmaid served us our drinks. 

"You're pretty damn strange, you know? The usual norm for guys in this place whenever you get to meet Ehlri is to immediately try and flirt with her."

"S-Seriousl? Well, she does look pretty- Wait, isn't that sexual harrassment?!"

"Yeah, but the moment the other cooks and staff finds out, the guy in question would immediately be met by some sort of punishment."

Olivia chugged a large amount of alcohol down her throat before wiping away the foam at the edges of her lips.

"Man, I remember the last time someone tried to make a move with her. Rupert froze his lips shut and left him like that for a few hours. Good times, good times."

This place is pretty fucking scary. A total disaster in terms of customer service and safety hazards.

"Anyway, what's up with you? I heard that you went on a quest this morning."

"Hmm? Oh, it's just a simple quest. 2 hours of labor for 500 Weis and a sack of potatoes."

I was pretty proud of myself until I saw Olivia smirking at me.

"5 silver coins? Well, it's not a lot but..."

"It's worth it considering-"

The sound of the kitched door flying open made me jolt up in an effort to try and catch whatever is about to fall. Thankfully, the only thing that fell onto the ground is my Adventurer's Plate and nothing more as Ehlri walked over to us with a large bowl of fries.

"Arthur, here's your- Ohhh! Olivia!"

"Ehlri! Good morning!"

The two girls greeted each other before the Elf placed the large bowl of fries in front of us. Instead of the first batch I made earlier, this batch has a nice golden brown color to them. 

"Are you acquianted with Mister Arthur here?"

I tuned their voices out as I began to snack on the bwl of fries. Can they even be considered fries at this pont? They're pretty well seasoned not just in terms of salt but of actual spices as well. It would go great as a side or with some ketchup but that condiment surely does not exist in this world.

My heart sank a bit at the thought of a world without ketchup. 

While they continued their conversation, I picked up the Adventurer's Plate from the ground. The crunch I made everytime i bit or chew into a handful of fries drowned out their voices as I took a close look at my levels and stats. It didn't look any different to me. 

At first.

At the bottom of my Skill list are two different skills written with a weird color.

[Basic Cooking(Level 1)]

[Knife Skills(Level 10)]

I bit into a lone piece of fry as I furrowed my brows. The two were still busy talking about something related to games or something. I didn't really pay much attention to them while I thought about the strangeness of the two new skills.

Crunch

I bit in to another mouthful of fries as I thought about the levels beside the skills. It only meant one thing. 

"I need to grind levels."

I clutched my head in despair while the two ate away at the now small pile of fries in front of us.