400 - - Episode 398 Consultation with Mr. Turk

For some reason, my heart was damaged, but I managed to get some rejuvenating herbs wholesale to Marie and finished everything I wanted to do in this visit to the labyrinth city. Just when I thought I could relax during my stay, I received a call from Mr. Toruku. Only Mr. Torque wouldn't bring me any trouble, would he?

"I'm going to make delicious food." "Coo-coo-coo," "I'm looking forward to it." "Coo-coo," "Koooo," "Kuze!" ......"

(Hey, guys, you know what, it's not like I'm supposed to make a new dish, right?)

I've been summoned by Mr. Toruku, so I'm heading to the inn after breakfast time, when it's somewhat less busy, but I'm afraid that Bell and the others are very excited.

I told them to go outside and play, but they seemed to think that being invited by Mr. Toruku = good food, so they followed me.

Since he said "consultation", it must be about cooking, but I doubt if there will be any new dishes on the menu.

（I wonder if they will serve any new dishes. (Sylphy, will you be disappointed if they don't?)

"You will definitely be disappointed. Well, it's part of the experience. Besides, I know I can't eat the food right away even if you show it to me, so I'm a little disappointed."

Flair seems determined to eat it, though. Also, just imagining Bell and the others' dejected faces is damaging to my heart. .......

"Ah, Yuta, you're here! Your husband is waiting for you!

As soon as I entered the inn, I was greeted by Martha's cheerful voice. She seemed to be full of energy. Vita's treatment has done wonders.

"Hello. You seem to be in good spirits.

"Oh, yes. I've been feeling tired lately, and I thought I was getting old, but I guess I'm still young. Ha-ha-ha."

I think it was just hard work regardless of age, because you were tired too, Kirk. No, I have an image of Martha as a person who can get through any situation with a smile on her face. If she is so tired, is it because of her age?

"What's wrong with your face? What's wrong?"

I don't remember making a funny face. ....... Well, it seems that talking about age to women is taboo no matter how old you are, so let's not continue this topic.

"No, it's nothing. I heard you have something to tell me.

"Oh, yes, that's right. Wait a minute. You! Yuta's here!

Martha called out to the kitchen, and Mr. Toruku came out, his feet thudding. Gina and Sara peeked out from behind him and waved. Those two seem to be helping out in a good way.

"Yuta, thank you for coming. Let's talk over here. Martha, make me some tea."

"Oh, yes."

As soon as I arrived, Mr. Torque pulled me to a table in the back of the cafeteria. The expression on his face was not serious, and it did not seem to be a difficult conversation.

I sat down on the chair opposite to Mr. Toruku, and Martha, who had made tea, came and sat down next to him. Hmm?　So it's not just Mr. Torque who is consulting, but Ms. Martha is involved as well. Then it seems that cooking is not so relevant.

The belles floating excitedly around Mr. Torque and Martha don't seem to notice at all. .......

"Um, so what's this about?"

"Yeah, remember when I told you I wanted to make the inn bigger?"

"Yes. I think you said you wanted to expand the inn, not to open more branches, right?"　

That's right. So, the old man next door has been asking me if I want to buy his store. I've been putting it off because I'm busy, but I need to make a decision soon. Now that Martha and Kark are feeling better, we decided to go ahead and buy it.

...... you mean you're feeling better, you're in a better mood, and you're in the mood to buy next door?　The effect of dispatching Vita in a strange place. Anyway, was this inn next door a store? I wonder if the store went out of business or if there was no successor since you said you were an old man.

"Well, even if you're feeling better, it doesn't mean you're any less busy. If you increase your workload any more, you'll seriously damage your body."

Even Vita's treatment can only be done when I am in Labyrinth City, so if I don't come to Labyrinth City for a long period of time, I will die of overwork, won't I?

Should I honestly say that my health improved because of my treatment?　But they're so loyal that if I told them that, they'd have a hard time talking about repaying the favor again.

"Yes, of course we are thinking about that. Not only the commercial guild, but I'm going to talk to the cooking guild as well, and I'm going to put someone in the kitchen as well. It's a lot of work to pick the right people, but it also takes time to buy the place next door and renovate it. Well, I think we'll be okay."　

I heard that Martha yelled at the commercial guild the other day, so if we can get more people, I think we'll be okay.

"I'm glad to hear that. But it doesn't seem like Mr. Toruku to add more people to the kitchen. I thought you wanted to do all the cooking yourself?"

Yes, yes, that's right. That's why I'm asking for your advice."

"What do you mean?"

"Actually, I'm having a hard time deciding how much I want to cook, and what kind of lodging I want to renovate, including the facilities. I thought Yuta might have some interesting ideas, so I wanted to talk to him."

Oh, there's a tremendous amount of anticipation in your eyes. I don't like it when you say that all of a sudden. .......

"You, calm down. It's not easy to make an inn grow. You can't make decisions on the spur of the moment. And even if we have to expand the kitchen, we won't allow you to buy all kinds of expensive magic tools so easily.

"I know, I know."

...... now I know why Martha is sitting next to Mr. Torque. It was to control Mr. Torque's outburst. It's true that the kitchen equipment alone would be very expensive for just Mr. Torque. Oh, the belles are looking a little down.

"Look, we're talking about renovating the inn today, so there won't be any cooking. Go play."

Yes, cue, sorry, coo, I'm so jealous! ......"

Sylphy has kindly let Belle and the others go out to play. Thank goodness. But Flare, you didn't betray anyone.

Well, now that Belle and the others have gone to play, let's hear more about what Toruku and Martha have to say...

******

If we're going to remodel, I want a great kitchen.

I want to make the flow of the inn more efficient.

Lately, I've been getting so many orders for dishes using milk that I can't cook anything else.

I want to cook with all my heart and soul.

I want to have time to study new dishes.

I'm tired of making the same dishes all the time.

Well, I guess that sums up the story of Mr. Torque and Ms. Martha. The latter half of the story is mostly Toruku's complaint. He said that he got tired of making only milk-based dishes because of the popularity of milk-based dishes.

I guess he didn't have so many dishes on his menu to begin with, but now that he knows new dishes, his cooking spirit has been ignited.　Well, once you know, you may not be satisfied with what you were satisfied with when you didn't know, right?

But I don't know what to do. The flow line in the inn is completely out of our jurisdiction, so we have to ask the carpenters to consult with us. As for the kitchen, I can only say that you should try your best to persuade Martha.

So, we should think of a way to offer various kinds of food to the guests?

If you are talking about various cuisines, buffets come to mind, but I hear they increase the amount of food waste, so it's a bit difficult. Food court is a bit different, since it has ...... many stores and is fun.

Hmm, how about a daily set meal?　This way, we can change the dish we want to make that day. ...... I don't think they will order the daily special, since they come all the way to eat the popular dishes made with milk. Oh, I can't solve the problem of dishes using milk, but I have an idea.

"Mr. Torque, if the cafeteria is going to be bigger, how about making some private rooms?"

"Private rooms?　I don't see why we can't make one, but if you're staying at an inn, you can eat in your room, so why do we need one?"

"If it is a private room for meals, we can provide some of the necessary items for meals ahead of time, so it will be less time-consuming. That's why we're making the private rooms available by reservation only."

You don't seem to be getting it at all. Anyway, let me explain in more detail.

"I see, so you're going to have a private room for a more luxurious meal and another room for a banquet for about five people. With luxury food, you can be more elaborate, and with banquet food, you can make many different kinds of food.

"Yes. Adventurers are big winners, and many of them have money, so it should be interesting. It might be a good idea to ask for a budget when you make a reservation and cook accordingly. It takes a lot of time and effort, but you may be able to spend as much as you want on the food.

Well, normally you might go to a fancy restaurant, but the food at Toruku's inn is very popular. If it has a private room, I think that many rich people will visit the restaurant. And I think I would use it too. It is quite awkward to have a lot of dishes brought to your room.

"That sounds interesting!

Does Mr. Torque look excited ......?　Maybe he is excited, but his face looks scary and threatening to someone.

"But the more time you spend cooking in the private rooms, the harder it will be for the cafeteria. If you are going to have a private room, you need a cook who can take care of some of the food in the dining room. The inn will not be able to operate without more time and personnel to accept reservations, negotiate prices, and so on. Please discuss this point with Mr. Martha and make a decision. If you want, maybe you can consult with the commercial guild or the cooking guild.

What I, an amateur, came up with, there are bound to be holes. It would be a shame if we built a private room on the spur of the moment and the restaurant collapsed because it couldn't keep running.

Martha, what do you think?

"Huh. It says on your face that you want to do it. But like Yuta said, we don't even know how many people we need to hire. If you want to do it, I'll help you, but the minimum requirement is that you consult with the guild and see if you can make it work.

"Oh!　I'm off to the commercial guild for a bit!"

"If you're going to throw me out of work here before I've even finished my lunch preparations, we'll never have talked about this."

Mr. Toruku stopped dead in his tracks. When we had talked about charcoal before, I had let him do whatever he wanted, but this time I guess I couldn't. That's how busy he must be.

But if Martha is in control, I feel safe even if the lodge is getting bigger.

Anyway, it wasn't anything serious, so I guess I should leave now. Let's take it easy for the rest of our stay in the labyrinth city. Oh, I'll have to order some food to take back to paradise. I'm sorry to keep you so busy, but this will allow me to cook something other than the popular dishes and relieve some of my stress.