The morning air was crisp and cool, a gentle breeze drifting through the cracks in the wooden window shutters. Golden sunlight spilled across the room, casting warm patterns over the wooden floorboards and the simple bed where Ryo lay, sprawled out in complete blissful stillness.
For the first time in either of his lives, he had no responsibilities, no deadlines, and no one breathing down his neck.
He sighed in contentment, rolling onto his side.
‘Yeah… this is the life.’
He could hear faint birdsong from the trees outside, the occasional murmur of villagers starting their day, and—
"YOUNG MASTER, WAKE UP!"
The shrill scream shattered the peace like glass.
Ryo’s eyes barely cracked open before something heavy collided with him, yanking the blanket clean off.
"Ugh—what the—?!"
A blur of silver hair and frantic movement filled his vision as Anna hovered over him, her expression somewhere between panic and despair.
"You need to get up!" she wailed, gripping his arm like a lifeline. "The tavern—it’s—"
Ryo groaned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Can it wait five more minutes?"
"NO, IT CAN’T!"
Anna dragged him up, nearly tossing him onto the wooden floor.
For a petite maid, she had frightening strength when properly motivated.
"Look!" she cried, flinging open the door to his room.
Bleary-eyed, Ryo followed her out—then promptly stopped in his tracks.
The Lazy Dragon Tavern, as he had so enthusiastically claimed it, was…
A disaster.
Dust thick enough to write in coated every surface. The wooden tables and chairs were cracked, some missing entire legs. A few barrels in the corner reeked of spoiled ale, their contents long since turned to vinegar.
The stone fireplace was caked with soot and cobwebs, and the kitchen?
Ryo took one look at the mess of rusted pots, moldy ingredients, and an actual family of rats living inside an overturned crate—
Then promptly closed the door again.
"Alright," he said. "Back to bed."
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
Anna physically blocked the way to his room, her face burning with righteous fury.
"YOU said we were opening a tavern!" she huffed, hands on her hips. "YOU said we were going to have a quiet life! But this—" she flailed her arms at the tavern’s sorry state, "—THIS IS NOT A LIVABLE ENVIRONMENT!"
Ryo blinked, then slowly tilted his head toward the door.
"Well, the rats seem to like it."
"THAT’S NOT HELPING!"
Anna grabbed him by the collar, practically shaking him.
Ryo sighed deeply. He wasn’t surprised, really. He had bought the cheapest, most abandoned building he could find. He just hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
Still, he had no regrets.
Lazy life > Noble life, any day of the week.
"So?" Anna pressed. "What’s the plan, Boss?"
Ryo thought for a second.
Then, in the most deadpan voice imaginable:
"Nap first. Clean later."
Anna let out an ear-piercing shriek.
Realizing she wouldn’t let him sleep again anytime soon, Ryo eventually conceded.
Cleaning first. Fine.
He grabbed an old broom from the corner, blowing dust off the handle. A small cloud of grime immediately made Anna cough violently.
Ryo twirled the broom experimentally in his hands.
‘How hard can sweeping be?’
He took a lazy, half-hearted swipe at the floor.
A notification popped into his vision.
[Passive XP System Activated!]
→ Cleaning Skill Acquired.
→ Cleaning (Lv. 1 → 2).
Ryo froze.
‘…Huh?’
Anna, still coughing, frowned. "What’s wrong?"
Ryo ignored her, staring at the faint glowing text only he could see.
‘My system is activating for this?’
He tested it again, dragging the broom in one slow motion over the floor.
→ Cleaning (Lv. 2 → 3).
Another notification.
‘This is ridiculous.’
But at the same time…
Ryo glanced at the rest of the tavern.
If simply sweeping gave him XP, then… wouldn’t he master cleaning in no time?
A slow, devious grin crept onto his face.
Anna immediately stepped back. "Why are you smiling like that? That’s never a good sign!"
Ryo ignored her entirely.
Instead, he grabbed a rag from the counter.
[Skill Acquired: Surface Cleaning (Lv. 1 → 2)]
He filled a bucket with water.
[Skill Acquired: Basic Water Handling (Lv. 1 → 3)]
He grabbed a chair and wiped it down slowly, methodically.
[Surface Cleaning (Lv. 2 → 5)]
Anna stared.
"What… are you doing?"
Ryo set the rag down, cracking his knuckles.
"Anna," he said calmly, methodically.
"…Yes?"
He turned toward her, his eyes glinting with pure determination.
"We are going to clean this tavern at a painfully slow pace—and we are going to become gods of housekeeping."
Anna screamed.
To any normal person, it looked like Ryo was doing ordinary chores.
But internally?
[Cleaning (Lv. 5 → 10)]
[Surface Cleaning (Lv. 5 → 12)]
[Floor Sweeping (Lv. 3 → 8)]
[Organizing (Lv. 1 → 6)]
His system was skyrocketing.
Anna, completely unaware, was running around in pure chaos, barking orders, scrubbing dishes, and complaining at full volume.
Meanwhile, Ryo was casually wiping down a counter, gaining XP at an insane rate—
And after an hour, the Lazy Dragon Tavern… was spotless.
Anna collapsed into a chair, panting. "I… am going… to die."
Ryo stretched lazily. "See? That wasn’t so bad."
Anna looked up sharply. "Not so bad?! That should have taken days! How did we clean everything in an hour?!"
Ryo shrugged. "Guess we’re just naturally talented."
Anna narrowed her eyes.
She wasn’t convinced.
At all.
But before she could press the issue, a heavenly smell drifted through the tavern.
Her stomach growled loudly.
She froze.
Slowly, she turned toward the kitchen—where Ryo, looking unreasonably smug, was stirring a pot of soup.
"When did you—"
"Breakfast," Ryo said, handing her a bowl.
Anna hesitated. Then, cautiously, she took a bite.
Her eyes widened.
A long, tense silence.
Then—
"...You’re a menace," she whispered.
Ryo grinned. "That means it’s good, right?"
Anna buried her face in her hands.
This was only the beginning.
Ryo leaned against the counter, lazily twirling a wooden spoon between his fingers. The once-filthy tavern now gleamed under the morning sunlight filtering through the windows. The scent of freshly scrubbed wood and lingering soap filled the air, replacing the staleness of decay.
Cleaning complete.
His system had rewarded him handsomely for the effort, though Ryo still didn’t fully understand how it worked.
"All I did was wipe some tables, and I gained… what? Twenty levels in housekeeping?" he muttered to himself, rubbing his chin.
Anna, still catching her breath from their miraculously fast cleaning spree, squinted suspiciously at him from across the room.
"Boss," she said slowly, "I have a question."
"Mm?"
"Are you… actually useless?"
Ryo blinked. "Huh?"
Anna gestured wildly at their perfectly cleaned tavern. "Because in the years I served you at the estate, I have never seen you lift a single finger to do anything remotely productive. And yet, somehow—somehow—we managed to clean this entire disaster of a tavern in one morning."
Ryo scratched his cheek. "Maybe I was just waiting for the right moment?"
Anna narrowed her eyes. "That’s not how laziness works, Boss."
Ryo only grinned.
She wasn’t wrong—but she wasn’t right, either. He hadn’t changed. His passive XP system had just done most of the heavy lifting.
Still, there was no need to explain that.
Instead, he turned toward the kitchen, stretching his arms overhead. "Anyway, since we’re all set, I guess it’s time for breakfast."
Anna perked up slightly at that.
"You know how to cook?"
Ryo opened the pantry. "Nope."
Anna’s entire expression dropped. "…I regret asking."
The kitchen was old but functional.
A large brick oven, a few rusted iron pots, and a wooden counter filled the space. The shelves were lined with various dried herbs and ingredients, some still usable, others questionably aged.
Anna followed behind him cautiously. "You do know cooking is harder than it looks, right?"
Ryo pulled out a knife. "How hard can it be?"
Anna let out a long, exhausted sigh. "You always say things like that, and I swear it shortens my lifespan every time."
Still, she leaned against the counter, watching skeptically as Ryo examined a plump onion from the pantry.
"First step… cutting vegetables," he murmured.
He placed the onion on the cutting board and raised the knife.
Slow and steady.
The blade sliced cleanly through the onion’s skin—or at least, it was supposed to.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Instead, the moment Ryo made the first cut, a notification flickered into his vision.
[Passive XP System Activated!]
→ Knife Handling (Lv. 1 → 3).
→ Basic Cooking (Lv. 1 → 2).
Ryo paused mid-slice, his brow furrowing.
‘Wait. Already?’
Anna raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong?"
Ryo shook his head. "Nothing."
He resumed cutting the onion, but now with intrigued curiosity.
Each precise, deliberate movement sent a small pulse of satisfaction through his body, as if muscle memory was rapidly forming where there had been none before.
→ Knife Handling (Lv. 3 → 5).
→ Basic Cooking (Lv. 2 → 4).
His movements became smoother, faster, more precise—as if he had spent years honing his knife skills.
In just a few minutes, he had perfectly diced the entire onion.
Anna stared at him, unblinking.
Ryo turned to her. "What?"
She pointed at the cutting board.
The diced onion pieces were so perfectly uniform they looked like they had been cut by a professional chef.
"…How?" Anna whispered. "You’ve never cooked before. I know you haven’t."
Ryo stared at the flawless cuts and shrugged. "Guess I have a talent for it."
Anna’s eye twitched.
"That’s not how talent works!"
Now that Ryo knew what was happening, he leaned fully into it.
He moved onto carrots, potatoes, garlic, slicing and dicing each at a painfully slow pace—intentionally drawing out the process.
And with every casual movement, his Cooking skill skyrocketed.
→ Basic Cooking (Lv. 4 → 7).
→ Knife Handling (Lv. 5 → 10).
Anna, who had been growing increasingly distressed, finally snapped.
"Boss!" she grabbed his wrist, stopping him mid-cut. "What is going on?! That’s not normal!"
Ryo blinked at her innocently. "What isn’t?"
She pointed aggressively at the cutting board. "That! This! The way you’re cutting everything so perfectly! That’s the skill of a professional chef, not someone who’s never cooked before!"
Ryo looked down at his handiwork.
It was ridiculous.
But it wasn’t like he could tell her, "Oh yeah, I have a broken system that lets me gain skills at an absurd rate just by doing things slowly."
Instead, he gave her his best lazily confident grin.
"Anna."
"…What?"
He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Some people are just born great."
Anna let out a frustrated screech and threw a potato at him.
After surviving the potato assault, Ryo finally finished preparing their meal.
A simple vegetable stew bubbled in the pot, rich with flavors of garlic, herbs, and slow-cooked vegetables. The scent of roasted onions and butter filled the air, blending with the earthy aroma of simmering broth.
Anna, still suspicious, crossed her arms. "I refuse to believe this tastes as good as it smells."
"Then don’t eat it," Ryo said, ladling himself a bowl.
Anna glared before hesitantly picking up her spoon.
She took a cautious sip.
Her expression froze.
A long, tense silence.
Then—
Anna dropped her spoon, grabbed Ryo by the shoulders, and shook him violently.
"YOU’RE A MENACE!"
Ryo snickered. "That means it’s good, right?"
Anna looked betrayed. "I have eaten meals prepared by royal chefs. And this—THIS—is better."
Ryo took a sip himself.
…It really was good.
Way better than he expected.
And yet, he had barely tried.
He leaned back in his chair, watching Anna take another bite, still looking furious at how good it was.
"Huh," he mused. "Maybe this tavern thing won’t be so bad after all."
The scent of rich, simmering broth still lingered in the air long after Ryo and Anna had finished eating. Sunlight streamed through the windows, casting warm, golden hues over the wooden tables of The Lazy Dragon Tavern. The once-filthy establishment was now clean and inviting, though it still lacked a proper atmosphere—after all, Ryo hadn't officially opened for business yet.
Which was perfectly fine by him.
He had no plans to rush into running a full-fledged tavern. If anything, he wanted to take things as slow as possible—spending his days cooking simple meals, enjoying peaceful countryside views, and sleeping in whenever he pleased.
Unfortunately for him, fate had other plans.
Anna wiped down the last of the counters with the tired satisfaction of someone who had just survived a war."Alright," she sighed, tossing the rag aside, "the place is officially spotless."
Ryo nodded in approval. "Good work, my faithful employee."
Anna narrowed her eyes. "I still don’t remember agreeing to work here."
"Your dedication says otherwise," Ryo said, stretching lazily. "Anyway, now that everything’s clean, I think it’s time for the most important part of running a tavern."
Anna perked up. "Stocking ingredients? Gathering supplies? Managing finances?"
Ryo yawned. "Nope. Naptime."
Anna’s eye twitched violently.
"Boss—"
Before she could launch into another long-winded rant, the front door creaked open.
Both of them froze.
Ryo turned his head toward the entrance, brows furrowing slightly.
‘That’s weird. I haven’t put up a sign. No one should even know we’re here yet.’
The door swung fully open, revealing a group of dust-covered adventurers stepping into the tavern. Their armor was scuffed, their cloaks were tattered, and they reeked of sweat, dirt, and the faint metallic tang of blood.
The leader of the group, a burly man with a heavy broadsword strapped to his back, scanned the room with narrowed eyes. His expression carried the exhausted sharpness of someone who had been on the road for days.
Behind him, three others followed—an elven archer, a scarred mage, and a young rookie carrying a pack stuffed with supplies.
The leader’s gaze locked onto Ryo.
"Oi," he grunted. "You the owner of this place?"
Ryo blinked. What.
Anna was the first to react.
She leaped forward, bowing slightly. "Ah, um, my apologies, sirs! We’re not actually open yet—"
"We just need a meal," the leader interrupted, his deep voice edged with exhaustion. "We caught the scent of food from outside. Haven’t eaten a proper meal in days."
The elf behind him nodded. "Just something warm. We’ll pay."
Anna hesitated, clearly torn. "But we don’t even have a menu, or—"
Ryo held up a hand, cutting her off.
"Sure. Take a seat anywhere," he said, completely unfazed.
Anna whipped her head toward him in alarm. "Boss—!"
He shrugged. "They’re hungry. I just cooked. Might as well serve them something."
Anna opened her mouth to argue, but one look at the adventurers' weary faces made her pause.
With a heavy sigh, she muttered, "This is going to be a disaster…" before reluctantly moving to set up the table.
The adventurers didn't hesitate. They sank into the wooden chairs with visible relief, leaning their weapons against the wall as they relaxed for the first time in what was probably days.
The younger rookie, a red-haired kid barely in his twenties, looked around curiously. "Never seen this place before," he said. "You guys new?"
"Something like that," Ryo said vaguely.
The mage, a middle-aged man with burn scars trailing up his left arm, snorted. "New or not, if your cooking smells half as good as it did outside, we’ll be coming back."
Ryo smirked, rolling up his sleeves. "Well, let’s see if I live up to expectations, then."
Back in the kitchen, Ryo took his time.
If his passive XP system had taught him anything, it was that slow, methodical actions yielded insane results.
He carefully peeled fresh potatoes, watching as his Knife Handling skill continued to level up.
→ Knife Handling (Lv. 10 → 12).
→ Cooking (Lv. 7 → 9).
Every small, relaxed movement added to his skills, increasing not only his efficiency but also the flavor quality of everything he prepared.
For the meal, he went with a simple yet hearty stew—thick broth simmering with chunks of soft potatoes, slow-roasted onions, tender meat, and a blend of wild herbs he found in the pantry.
As it cooked, the rich aroma filled the kitchen, spilling out into the main hall.
Outside, the adventurers stiffened visibly at the scent.
The elf gripped the table. "What… what is that smell?"
The red-haired rookie was practically drooling. "That’s gotta be the best thing I’ve ever—"
The leader clamped a hand over his mouth, his usual gruff expression momentarily shaken. "Stay calm," he muttered. "Don’t show weakness."
Anna, watching this entire reaction unfold, slowly turned toward the kitchen.
"...Boss. What the hell did you cook?"
Ryo grinned as he brought out the steaming bowls.
"Breakfast."
The adventurers didn’t even wait for Ryo to sit down.
The moment the food was placed in front of them, they dug in.
The reaction was instant.
The leader’s spoon clattered against the bowl as his eyes went wide in shock. The mage froze mid-bite, his scarred hand trembling slightly. The elf let out a sharp intake of breath, as if trying to hold back a reaction.
The red-haired rookie?
He slammed both hands on the table.
"WHAT THE HELL?! WHY IS THIS SO GOOD?!"
Anna nearly dropped a plate.
Ryo, watching the chaos unfold, took a casual bite of his own stew.
‘Huh. I did outdo myself this time.’
The leader cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. "...This is dangerous."
Anna blinked. "How is stew dangerous?"
The mage wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, looking serious for the first time. "Because food like this… it’s the kind you never forget."
The elf nodded. "If word gets out about this place, you won’t have a quiet life anymore."
Ryo paused mid-chew.
‘Wait. What?’
Anna grinned wickedly. "Boss… You accidentally made legendary food, didn’t you?"
Ryo sighed, suddenly feeling very, very tired.
‘So much for a quiet life…’
For a few seconds, there was only silence.
The kind of silence that wasn’t empty—but dense, weighted, thick with the aftermath of something monumental.
The adventurers sat frozen in place, spoons clutched in their hands, eyes wide in stunned disbelief. Steam curled from their bowls, the rich aroma of Ryo’s stew still filling the tavern’s air.
Even Anna, normally the first to react, seemed paralyzed by the sheer intensity of what she had just witnessed.
And then—
"Boss… what the hell did you put in this stew?"
Anna’s voice shook, her fingers gripping the edge of the counter as if the very foundation of her worldview was collapsing.
Ryo, still chewing his own food calmly, raised an eyebrow.
"Meat. Potatoes. Carrots. Garlic. Salt." He swallowed. "Pretty basic stuff."
"Pretty basic stuff," Anna repeated in horror.
She gestured wildly at the adventurers, who all looked like they had just experienced enlightenment.
The burly swordsman—who had previously carried the weight of exhaustion on his shoulders—was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed, expression filled with silent contemplation.
The elven archer had lowered her hood, eyes narrowed in deep thought, as if trying to solve a puzzle too grand for mere mortals to comprehend.
The scarred mage had a single tear rolling down his cheek.
The red-haired rookie?
He was fully sobbing.
"This is better than my mom’s cooking," he sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "She’s gonna kill me, but it’s true."
Ryo blinked. "...That good, huh?"
Anna gawked at him. "You mean you don’t know!?"
He gave her a lazy shrug. "Tastes fine to me."
Anna buried her face in her hands.
The burly leader slowly set his spoon down, leveling Ryo with a serious gaze.
"This meal is on another level," he stated. "I don’t know what you did, but there’s something different about it."
The elf nodded. "Food this good—it’s not just about flavor. It restores you. My fatigue is already fading."
The mage wiped his eyes. "I feel like I’ve been healed just by eating."
Anna went pale.
"Healed!?"
The adventurers nodded solemnly.
Ryo hummed, tapping his spoon against the rim of his bowl. ‘Huh. Maybe it’s because my Cooking skill is already so high? If skills in this world work the way I think they do, then…’
[Cooking (Lv. 9 → 10)]
[Passive Effect Unlocked: Soothing Nourishment – Dishes now provide slight physical and mental restoration.]
Ah.
So that’s what happened.
Anna was still staring at the adventurers in disbelief. "So, you’re saying this food actually helps people recover?"
The leader gave a firm nod. "There’s no doubt. This isn’t normal."
Anna turned slowly to Ryo.
Ryo casually took another bite.
Anna’s eye twitched violently.
"Boss," she whispered. "I need you to be very honest with me."
"Hm?"
"Did you accidentally create a god-tier dish without realizing it?"
Ryo chewed. Swallowed. Blinked.
Then shrugged. "Maybe?"
Anna let out a strangled noise that sounded like pure suffering.
The adventurers finished their meals quickly, but the damage was already done.
Before leaving, they handed over a small pouch of silver coins, far more than Ryo would have charged had he actually set a price.
But the real issue wasn’t the payment.
It was what came next.
"We’ll be back," the leader said, slinging his sword over his back.
The elf nodded. "And we’ll bring our comrades next time."
The rookie wiped his nose again. "I wanna try everything you cook."
The mage sighed contentedly. "I’ll spread the word to my guild."
Ryo’s spoon clattered against his bowl.
Anna’s expression froze in horror.
"Wait," she said quickly. "You—You don’t have to do that! It’s not even an official tavern yet—!"
The adventurers were already leaving.
The moment the door swung shut behind them, Anna whipped around to face Ryo.
"Do you have any idea what you’ve done!?" she demanded.
Ryo sighed, leaning against the counter. "What I’ve done?"
"Yes!" Anna threw her hands in the air. "Boss, you accidentally made one of the best meals in the kingdom! And now who knows how many people are going to show up here!?"
Ryo gave it a second of thought.
Then shrugged. "I’ll just cook for them."
Anna let out a frustrated screech.
Anna began pacing the room, her hands clenched into fists.
"Okay, okay," she muttered. "We can salvage this. We can prepare for customers properly—set up a menu, organize ingredients, maybe find extra help—"
Ryo yawned. "Or we can just take it slow and see what happens."
Anna stopped mid-pace, staring at him in betrayal.
"Boss."
"Yeah?"
"If you say ‘take it slow’ one more time, I swear on my ancestors—"
The front door slammed open again.
Anna jumped.
A panting villager stood in the entrance, eyes wide with desperation. "Is it true!?" he gasped.
Ryo blinked. "Is what true?"
"The stew! The adventurers said it was the best thing they’d ever eaten!"
Anna let out a horrified whimper.
Behind the villager, more people were gathering—farmers, merchants, travelers. A crowd was forming.
"Are you open?" another person called.
"Do you take custom orders?"
"Can you make more of that stew?"
Anna clutched her head. "Oh no. Oh no, no, no—"
Ryo, on the other hand, tilted his head thoughtfully.
More customers meant more cooking.
More cooking meant more passive XP.
And more XP meant…
His eyes gleamed mischievously.
"Well," he said slowly, rolling up his sleeves, "I suppose we can serve a few more people."
Anna screamed internally.
And just like that, The Lazy Dragon Tavern was officially in business.
The Lazy Dragon Tavern was never supposed to be busy.
It was meant to be a quiet escape, a place where Ryo could relax, cook at his own pace, and maybe serve a few locals every now and then.
Instead, chaos.
"Boss, we need more bowls!" Anna’s voice rang out, frantic.
Ryo turned lazily from the kitchen, spoon in hand. "Didn’t we just wash a dozen?"
"They’re already being used!" she cried, motioning to the packed tavern.
Ryo scanned the room. Somehow, in the span of an hour, every table had filled. The once-empty space was now alive with the clatter of utensils, the hum of conversation, and the occasional exclamation of pure bliss from people eating his food.
Villagers, travelers, adventurers—dozens of them—had gathered in what was supposed to be a small, unknown countryside tavern.
Even outside, through the windows, more people were waiting, peering in like starving animals hoping for a turn.
Ryo scratched his cheek. "Huh. Guess word spreads fast."
Anna whipped around to glare at him.
"Boss," she hissed, "this is NOT a guess—this is a disaster!"
Ryo poured another ladle of stew into a bowl, completely unfazed. "Seems fine to me."
Anna’s eye twitched violently.
Despite Anna’s growing breakdown, the tavern was running smoothly.
Which was mostly because of Ryo’s absurd skills.
He barely had to think about his actions—every time he chopped, stirred, or plated, his system rewarded him with XP.
[Cooking (Lv. 10 → 12)]
[Serving (Lv. 1 → 5)]
[Business Management (Lv. 1 → 3)]
Wait. Business Management?
Ryo blinked at the notification. He hadn’t even realized he was running a business.
Anna was the one running around, balancing orders, seating guests, and trying to maintain some level of order.
And yet, he was getting XP for it?
‘Huh. Guess delegating counts as a skill.’
Ryo hummed thoughtfully. If his passive XP system worked for business too, then technically…
Could he get stronger just by owning a tavern?
The thought was both ridiculous and amazing.
"Boss!" Anna snapped, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Ryo glanced at her, still stirring the stew pot. "Yeah?"
"We’re out of bread."
He blinked. "Already?"
Anna gestured aggressively at the tables. "Do you see how much these people are eating!? It’s like they’ve never had a meal in their lives!"
Ryo peered at the customers.
Many of them were tearing through their meals with near-religious devotion, their expressions ranging from pure blissto existential crisis.
A burly farmer was openly weeping into his stew.
A traveling merchant had stopped mid-bite, staring at his spoon as if questioning his entire career.
One woman had her hands clasped together, whispering what might have been a prayer of thanks.
Ryo scratched his head. "Huh. Maybe I should make more food?"
Anna grabbed his shoulders. "Boss, listen to me carefully."
"...Yeah?"
"IF WE DO NOT FIND A WAY TO SLOW THIS DOWN, THIS TAVERN WILL NEVER HAVE A QUIET DAY AGAIN."
Ryo blinked. "Oh."
Anna let go of him, exhaling slowly. "So, we have to figure out a way to manage this properly. Maybe set a schedule, limit the number of customers per day, or—"
"Or we just cook more food," Ryo said, already rolling up his sleeves.
Anna let out a strangled noise.
"THAT IS NOT THE SOLUTION!"
Before Anna could continue her spiral into madness, the tavern door creaked open again.
Unlike before, when people had rushed in hungrily, this time the air shifted.
A new presence entered.
Or rather, several.
Ryo glanced up from the kitchen and immediately noticed them.
Three figures stood at the entrance—clearly important by their posture and attire.
The first was a well-dressed nobleman, wearing a deep blue coat with silver embroidery. His sharp eyes swept over the tavern, assessing it with a trained gaze.
Beside him stood a stern-looking knight, clad in polished armor, a sword at his waist. His expression was stoic, but his eyes flicked toward the steaming bowls of stew with something dangerously close to longing.
The third was a hooded woman, her movements graceful and quiet. A dagger rested at her hip, and from the way she moved, she was likely some kind of rogue or assassin.
Anna, noticing them, stiffened immediately.
"Boss," she whispered urgently. "Important people."
Ryo, still stirring a pot, yawned. "Huh. Hope they like stew."
The nobleman approached the counter.
"You," he said, voice calm but commanding. "Are you the one who prepared this food?"
Ryo looked him up and down, then nodded. "Yep."
The knight narrowed his eyes. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
Ryo shrugged. "Dunno. Just kinda figured it out."
Anna internally screamed.
‘WHY DOES HE TALK TO NOBLES LIKE THIS—?!’
The hooded woman studied Ryo carefully, as if trying to read something deeper.
Finally, the nobleman spoke again.
"We’ve heard rumors of a tavern with… unusual food. Food that revitalizes the body and mind." His gaze sharpened. "This wouldn’t happen to be that place, would it?"
Ryo tilted his head. "Dunno. Maybe."
The knight and the rogue both twitched slightly.
The nobleman exhaled. "We would like to place an order."
Anna visibly relaxed.
‘Oh, thank the gods, they’re just customers.’
Ryo grinned. "Sure thing. Take a seat anywhere."
The noble group sat at a table, their presence alone changing the entire tavern’s atmosphere.
Conversations hushed. Some villagers whispered to each other in concern.
But Ryo?
He kept cooking.
He had no idea who these people were—nor did he care.
Noble? Knight? Assassin? At the end of the day, they were just customers.
And as long as they paid and didn’t start a fight, Ryo had no issues.
Anna, watching him work so casually, let out a long, tired sigh.
She glanced around the packed tavern, at the happy customers, at the long line forming outside.
Then she looked at Ryo—who was oblivious to how much he had changed everything in just a single day.
"Boss," she muttered, "you really thought this was going to be a quiet life, huh?"
Ryo grinned, stirring the pot.
"Still do."
Anna buried her face in her hands.