“Explain yourself, my Little Chef.”
Earlier, inside the reception room of the Sword Saint Manor, Yiweite sat on the sofa, her long legs in white thigh-high socks crossed, while her fingertips toyed with a small spatula.
This was one of the “tools of the trade” from Yelena’s first venture to earn money at the Mercenary Street Tavern last night.
Yelena stood in front of the coffee table, her fox ears lowered from guilt, her nine tails swaying restlessly, almost sweeping the floor clean.
“Yesterday, I really just wanted to go for a walk at first.”
Yiweite’s brow twitched as she said,
“You were walking just fine, and even Anna couldn’t hold you back, and then you casually fed that guy Morey and made him cry?”
Yelena blinked and said in an innocent tone,
“It was the onions, I added onions. Not all char siu rice can be called Soul-Stirring Rice. One day, I was so desolate that I started singing there…”
As soon as she finished, Yiweite continued to stare at her with a scrutinizing gaze. Under that stare, the tips of her tail curled up bit by bit—this was indeed a sign of guilt.
Last night, Yiweite hadn’t said much either. She sent her back to her room and had Anna assist her with bathing and resting.
But this kind of behavior instead made Yelena feel uneasy. She even used the system to check Yiweite’s Affection Points—no increase, no decrease.
As a result, she couldn’t sleep well in the first half of the night.
Her dreams were full of Yiweite drawing her longsword and chasing her, shouting as she ran,
“Little Fox, if you dare cook for others, I’ll confiscate your tail!!”
Thinking of this, she instinctively hugged a big pile of her Fox Radishes, feeling a bit dejected.
Yiweite watched Yelena’s small movements, the anger in her eyes fading, but her tone remained firm.
“Why did you go to work on Mercenary Street? There are too many bad people there! It’s not that I don’t want to give you freedom—just look at your delicate self right now. What if you meet a bad guy that even Anna can’t deal with? Have you thought about the consequences?”
Hearing this, Yelena pursed her lips, lifted her eyes, and looked at her through her fine black hair, speaking calmly.
“I can’t keep eating your food and using your things forever. My cooking needs more people to taste it, and my family heirloom forces me to use this method to continue improving my Culinary Heart.”
“If I keep doing this, I can open my own restaurant. Maybe one day, I can open it in the most bustling central area of the royal capital!”
Open a restaurant that belongs to her, no longer having to read others’ expressions.
No longer being casually abandoned for some unfounded reason.
Yiweite watched her quietly.
But after Yelena finished saying all this, she felt a bit regretful.
That’s right, she still had to live under someone else’s roof for a while; saying this now was clearly too ungrateful.
[Ding, Yiweite Affection Points +5, current Affection Points: 60]
Thinking of this, she originally wanted to add,
‘I’ll cook for you later.’
But Yiweite suddenly spoke.
“Okay.”
Yelena thought she had misheard. She was stunned for a moment, then quickly asked,
“What’s okay?”
“You can set up a stall.”
She was so happy that her fox ears shot straight up.
“Really?!”
“The stall will be set up at the back gate of the Sword Saint Manor. I’ll have the servants renovate it for you. The ingredients will be prepared, Anna will be in charge of collecting money, and all the money will be kept for yourself.”
“Oh, and I’m going to assign a squad to serve as your guards. Of course, I’ll also be keeping watch on the side. If anyone dares to have lecherous thoughts and touches you, I’ll chop them into meat filling.”
“…”
This wasn’t quite what she had imagined. Yelena tried to protest politely,
“Isn’t this a bit too much?”
Yiweite stood up, smiled happily, and placed the small spatula back in her hand, then said,
“Not too much. You are now my most precious treasure, so of course I have to protect you well.”
Yelena silently complained in her heart,
‘Isn’t this kind of life getting further and further away from my previous male life…’
But at least being able to set up a stall was good.
She immediately perked up and turned to start giving orders to the servants.
“Help me prepare flour, green onions, soy sauce, olive oil, and eggs must be fresh!”
“Lady Yelena, please rest assured, we’ll go right away!”
Yiweite glanced at the lead butler and said,
“Remember to buy the best of everything.”
—
Today was the opening day of Yelena’s snack stall. Some passersby in the city had helped spread the word, and combined with her previous illustrious achievements on Mercenary Street, the anticipation of the entire city was maxed out.
An hour later, the temporary stall was ready.
Next to it was the day’s menu written personally by Yiweite: Special Edition Scallion Oil Noodles, limited to fifty bowls, three gold coins each.
As soon as Yiweite set up the sign, a commotion came from the street corner outside the back gate.
Sure enough, they were all familiar faces—the “Tears of a Tough Guy” mercenary Morey and his squad of followers behind him.
“Is the Veiled Chef really going to set up shop today?”
“Three gold coins? Isn’t that too expensive?”
Hearing the complaints about the price from not far away, Morey snorted and said,
“Three gold coins is absolutely cheap! Anyway, I don’t care—whoever cuts in line today, I’ll cut them down. I must be the first to eat!”
Heh, it seemed Yelena had underestimated the purchasing power of these deep pockets in Antal City.
She still appeared in a full black cloak, showing only a pair of eyes.
Seeing the overwhelming crowd in front of her at the start, she felt a bit nervous.
Yiweite’s eyes flashed with amusement, and she whispered softly in her ear,
“Don’t be afraid. I’m here today.”
Yelena’s heart warmed. She shyly turned her face away and muttered quietly,
“Who’s afraid…”
But the last of her tails still honestly wagged a few times behind her.
It was time to get down to business. She first skillfully used the Noodle-Pulling Technique, turning the kneaded dough into long, thin hand-pulled noodles, which drew continuous cheers from the crowd in line.
The people of this other world had never seen the traditional culinary art of Yuan Kingdom before; they only felt that this chef cooked like performing magic.
After fiddling around for a while, the hand-pulled noodles were ready. She lit the magical stove and prepared to heat the wok and add oil.
After pouring in the olive oil, she added the chopped green onions to the wok.
With a sizzle, the aroma of scallions instantly burst forth. Every technique was executed perfectly.
Mercenary Morey suddenly clutched his chest, his expression as reverent as a believer, and said,
“My gold coins willingly sacrifice themselves for this.”
In the specially made noodle boiling bucket beside him, the noodles were also cooked and ready to be taken out.
Yelena meticulously watched both sides. She quickly poured the sauce into the bottom of the bowls, and then the noodles were immediately taken out of the bucket.
The chewy noodles were coated with hot oil and scallion aroma, instantly glowing with an enticing food luster.
The first bowl was served. Morey received the food with a sacred demeanor, like a priest receiving a holy relic in a church.
Just as he twirled the noodles with his fork and took a bite, his eyes turned red.
“Mom…”
Here we go again. Just how many moms does this embarrassing guy have to call out for?
But the next instant, the Myriad Food Box inside her resonated—it was Morey’s emotional feedback flowing into her body.
Nostalgia, satisfaction, grievance, stubbornness… The progress of the complete activation of the Emotion Menu had made new headway.
Good, she realized she could speed up the production.
Bowl after bowl of scallion oil noodles came out enthusiastically, the aroma spreading along the back street of the Sword Saint Manor. The strong emotions Yelena collected today were becoming richer and richer.
But at the end of the line, she immediately recognized that group of people.
Leading them was a familiar platinum-blonde girl, followed by a female mage wearing glasses and a gentle female priest.
It was the Golden Lion Holy Alliance Squad.
Yiweite followed Yelena’s gaze, the corners of her lips lifting slightly, as if anticipating something.
“Ah, the unlucky ones are here.”
Yelena quickly covered her eyes too, and while still keeping her own vision clear, she lowered her voice and said to Yiweite,
“Don’t let them see me.”