Chapter 37

Chapter 37: Avoid bar fights, please! part

There’s seven rooms at the inn, currently five of them are occupied. Anne, Helena, Rina, a young miner and myself. we’re charging five copper coins per room, even to ourselves since I can only invest in the tavern what we earn because of the deal I made with Rina. The only problem with that is that the balance of the tavern was only 5 silver coins and 70 copper coins and after my spending spree It was only 1 silver coin and 10 copper coins.

Even if the Inn was full we could make only 35 copper coins a day, so it would be better to just shut down the Inn and use the three rooms as workshops. I already have some things in mind, but first I need to finish today’s balance.

Charging a copper coin just to enter turned out to be a great idea, on the first day we pocketed 1 silver coin and 60 copper coins without taking into account those who after getting inside paid 5 copper for the weekly pass.

Then there’s the food, we raised the prices from 3 copper to 5 copper a meal, and from 1 copper to 2 copper a piece of bread. People started complaining, but staring since the one breaking the news was the silver goddess herself it didn’t last long. She said it was because they hired a new cook that came from far away lands with new recipes and cooking techniques. She may have oversold it a bit, but as long as they liked my food and kept paying I’m ok with it.

Rina advised me to not touch the price of the beer, unless I wanted to be killed on the act. She was so serious I couldn’t tell if she was actually joking or not, but anyways I don’t feel like risking it. But since so many people came, and they couldn’t be bothered to drink water for a change, our beer supply was heavily damaged.

There were 25 full beer caskets in the storage, and now there’s only 21. It doesn’t sound bad, since we made a killing on the first day, but its a huge problem. It was supposed to last the whole winter, and the minute the tavern runs out of beer the tavern will be forced to shut down.

I don’t even want to imagine what would people say if they pay to get inside, only to find out there’s no beer. A cold shiver runs down my spine just by the mere though.

.....

Now I’m forced to turn to Ayumi for help, she’s knowledgeable and pretty cunning too. Her emotions always get the best of her but I’m certain she can find a solution.

Since I need to stay at the kitchen at all times, Rina needs to tent to customers at the bar and the girls are busy serving the tables, my hands are tied.

I could send a message, but I don’t know who to trust. The only person that comes to mind is the guy staying at the Inn. He looks decent, and that’s a lot to say since at this town everyone looks like a battle hardened thug. I hate to say it, but even Rudd has the looks of a criminal, even tough I know he’s helped Hiraku’s group.

“Rina, do you know the guy who’s staying at the inn?”

“You mean the weird skinny guy who looks like a castaway? he works at the kitchen”

“Ha Ha, very funny. I meant the teen boy next to Anne’s room”

“Uh, yeah, he’s an orphan who went on the last mining expedition. I’ve seen him around in town, but he never came to the taverns so I don’t know his name”

“Can you call him please? I need to speak with him”

Rina asks Helena to cover for her at the bar while she goes to find the young miner. I can’t leave the kitchen since I need to keep using my analyze skill, as soon as the food quality becomes ‘good’ I take it out of the stove. There’s a small time window when the food reaches the ‘good’ quality, then it becomes normal again, that’s why people like my food so much.

After a couple minutes Rina walks into the kitchen followed by the young miner.

“What do you want?”

He said

“Hello, I’m Ryu”

I say as I reach for a handshake but he doesn’t reply the courtesy.

“Listen, I’m busy, if you called me in here to waste my time I’ll just leave”

“I was about to ask you to work for me, but it seems you’re not interested”

“Why would I? I made enough money for this winter on the last trip and I don’t know anything about cooking”

the young miner replies annoyed

“Who said anything about cooking?”

“You’re just the cook”

I don’t know where does this hostility come from, but since he’s staying in here hiring him would have some benefits, also he’s one of the few miners I’ve met that doesn’t lack in personal hygiene.

“Listen kid...”

he cuts me short before I can even finish my sentence

“I’m not a kid, I’m an adult so”

“Then why do you behave like one? I introduced myself and you haven’t even told me your name”

“That’s because I’m not interested”

“Why are you still in here then?”

He’s so mad a vein pops in his head, he stares at as if he was ready to punch me in the face, but since I’m taller than him he gives up on the idea and goes outside of the kitchen. He seems naive and eager to prove himself, just the kind of person I need to hire, but sadly everything went wrong.

Just when I was thinking on who else I could hire, the kid walks into the kitchen with Anne.

“What’s the matter Dylan? why did you bring me to the kitchen?”

“It’s about the cook, he disrespected me and I’m a client, please silver goddess do something”

Anne looks at me with a confused look.

“is that true Ryu?”

“I wanted to hire him to do some errands, but mister adult here thinks he’s too big to be earning 10 copper a day”

Dylan’s face betrayed the instant regret he felt as soon as he knew how much he would have been paid if he took the job. Most miners were idle while at town, that’s the reason why they spent all day at the tavern or the brothel, unless they had a family, on which case they would spend the time outside just to be far from their family responsibilities.

“If you didn’t like Ryu’s offer you could have just turned it down”

Anne sighs

“But he’s just a cook! how could I know he could pay so much”

“You would have known if you took the time to listen to me, kid. Like any sane grown up would do, now scatter I’m busy”

Anne starts to leave, but she’s interrupted by Dylan’s complaining

“Are you going to let him talk to me like that?”

Dylan was embarrassed, but it did nothing to diminish his anger.

“I can’t do anything, he’s my boss”

Anne spilled the beans on what was supposed to be a secret. Dylan was astonished, opening and closing his mouth without emitting a sound, he looks just like a goldfish. Anyways, since I need this kid to keep the secret I have no choice but to bring him over.

“Are you willing to listen to me now?”

Dylan nodded still with his mouth wide open.

“I need you to work for me, but nobody must know I’m your boss. Anything you hear from us must be kept a secret and you need to swear this on your life. If you accept I’ll provide lodging and food, I’ll also pay you 10 copper coins a day. You won’t be working specifically at the tavern and I’ll be asking different tasks from you”

“Yes sir!”

Dylan replies in a loud voice.

Rina paid 5 copper coins a day to Claire, without providing her lodging, only food whenever there were leftovers, and she had to work from dawn to dusk everyday. taking that as a base I’d say the deal I’m offering is more than juicy.

But will he be able to keep our secrets safe?

“I swear upon my life that your secrets will be safe with me, sir!”

He says as if he was able to read my mind, and this time as soon as i extend my hand he goes forward for a handshake.

“Fine, I need you to send this letter to Hiraku’s trading outpost and give it to Ayumi. Do not read it’s content. Also, please ask Claire to come back, if she doesn’t want to I’ll look for someone else later”

The kid nods and runs off. Only Anne stays by the kitchen.

“What are you still doing in here Anne? do you want another slap in the ass?”

I lift my eyebrow, Anne shivers and blushes at the same time, but heads to the tavern without saying a word making me chuckle.

Now that I’m alone I can finally focus on my task. The ingredients I have at my disposal are much more varied than those i had back at the settlement, thus giving me a lot of different choices and that’s precisely what’s giving me a headache.

I have enough flour to feed an army, oil, different kinds of meat and fish, potatoes, onions, corn, carrots, eggs, milk, lemons, but not as many vegetables as i wish, since the weather in here is so cold that getting my hands on fresh vegetables is almost impossible, especially this time of the year. The only upside is that there’s a lot of different spices.

It’s still early in the morning, but so many people eat lunch in here that I need to start cooking right away.

Since people are happy with my cooking I can make just about anything, as long as it’s hot enough for people to cope with the harsh climate. Hot soups are always a good choice, but that’s not enough to feed the hungry miners.

I start by peeling off the vegetables, thanks to Rina the kitchen was already spotless when I woke up, and that saved me a lot of time and effort. Once the potatoes and carrots are ready I slice them into big pieces, I chop the meat into bite sized chunks and put the meat at the bottom of the biggest cooking pot along with some oil.

The fire is already burning and once the meat starts sizzling I stir it up a little, then put on the vegetables along with some salt and once it looks ok I add the water. From what Rina told me, Claire would just put everything at the pot at the same time along with some water and barely even stirred the pot, so at this point the result would already be better, but that’s not everything.

This soup will be the same every single day, this will help me get rid of the huge amounts of potatoes and carrots lying around in the storage.

I cook some beans to mix them with some carrot sticks to make a salad. And I make mashed potatoes with grilled meat as a side dish.

As for the spices, since I’m not yet accustomed to their taste I go easy on them. My plan is to improve my cooking step by step so I can learn different recipes. I may have a cooking skill, but people would get tired of eating everyday the same things.

A knock on the door draws my attention, when I open the door Claire is standing on the other side with both hands nuzzled together on her belly.

“Mister Ryu, a young man came to my house saying you wanted to speak with me”

She speaks shyly, this takes me by surprise since she was always so upbeat. Her eyes are red and her face is dry, she has been crying lately.

“Yes, of course. I want to employ you, if you’re ok with this of course”

She nods with a slight smile, squinting her eyes as small holes poke her cheeks. She looks so cute I want to ruffle her hair but I contain myself. Even though she’s just fourteen, she’s almost an adult in society’s eyes. Her clothes are old and tattered, it shows that the fabric they were made of was once white but now it’s brown due to constant use. Her dress has been patched so many times that it looks more like a flour sack. Now that I’m already examining her clothes I may as well use my analyze skill.

Patchwork dress 36/40

.....

Since I stayed silent for so long staring at her, she seemed to have misinterpreted the meaning of my words. She blushed wildly and her eyes got teary, but she started to take off her dress slowly.

“P-Please be gentle with me, It’s my first time mister Ryu”

As soon as her dress hits the floor her soft skin is revealed, showing two magnificent mounds that defy the laws of physics, and a slim yet curvy figure that would go head to head against Anne’s. Her most private parts are covered by her hand and her long and blond hair cascade down her body. It seems that her poor attire somehow was able to hide her stunning beauty, now that she’s naked the sight is so appealing I can barely resist my lower desires.

Even though it’s embarrassing to admit it to myself, the only thing that keeps me from taking advantage of her is the fact that someone might come, and if either Anne or Helena find out about this they would kill me in the act.

“Cover yourself please, Claire, I didn’t call you in here for this”

I say this, but she hesitates, it seems she noticed my mini Ryu’s excitement.

“You can’t blame me for this, It has a mind of his own”

I shrug and she dresses up so quickly that her tender flesh jiggled all over as she pulled it up. A gentleman should look to the other side, but I’m so deprived I can’t help but make the most of the eye candy in front of myself.

“Then, what can I do for you mister Ryu?”

“I need you to help in the kitchen but first You need to fix your appearance a little. Your beauty is lost in those rags. Also, you’ll need to learn before you’re even able to touch a single utensil”

She nods silently

“Last but not least, you’ll need to stay in the tavern”

My last words turned her smile upside down

“But, mister Ryu, I can’t stay in here. I can’t afford it and also... my sister is sick and I need to take care of her”

“That’s not a problem as long as you don’t mind sharing your room with her. Now go talk with Helena and tell her I asked her to make an uniform for you tonight so she can take the evening off to rest”

It was a tough day, it doesn’t matter how much I cook people keep asking for more. Contrary to my expectations, every single client asked for the side dish and I didn’t prepare that much beforehand so we kept running out of it and I was forced to extend lunch hours to satisfy the demand.

“i’m wrecked”

I say as I take a long sip of my beer. The tavern is closed now and the Inn is closed until further notice, so we don’t have any guests staying over. I’m sure this will make madame Bianca happy, but I don’t have a reason to keep it open for mere five copper a day, instead I’ll get as many loyal employees as I can to further my influence in Ironwoods.

“You shouldn’t force yourself that much Ryu, you know we’re here to support you”

Anne says reaching for my hand

“Yeah, at first I was mad about the uniform too but seeing how much you went through I need to endure at least this much”

Anne said showing her tight dress emphasizing her voluptuous bosom.

I’m sharing the same table with Anne, Dylan, Helena and Rina.

“Mister Ryu, I have a question”

Dylan said as he slowly put his beer jug on the table and then grabbing it with both hands and leaning forward.

“Why is the tavern called the silver goddess now instead of Ryu’s tavern?”

“I don’t think people would come over from every part of town just to see me wearing the uniform. Scratch that, they may as well do it but just to mock me”

Everyone chuckles and then I turn to Rina.

“I must say I’m impressed miss Rina”

“Drop the miss Ryu, you’re making it sound too serious”

“It kind of is, you were sly as a fox”

“It’s not really my fault that you didn’t know your money’s worth before bargaining”

Rina shrugs exaggeratedly forgetting she’s wearing thinner clothes that she’s used to, making her two unclimbed mountains tremble wildly. I stared just a split second before getting a poke on the ribs by Anne, who now looks at me as if I was her mortal enemy.

“That’s true, but im intrigued. I asked if you were interested in selling me the tavern and you said you were against it. Instead you made a pointless bet where I’ll end up owning it anyways and you’ll get nothing out of it”

“That’s not true. If I had sold the tavern to the first foreigner, they would just go straight to Thomas and sell it for double the price. Instead, you took charge of it and made it flourish in a single day with so many ideas, good food.

This is the most happy I’ve been since my parents died, and it’s all because of you. I know I’ll end up being your slave, but I don’t mind, as long as you keep your promise and allow me to stay at the tavern I love. I won’t mind even if you asked me to warm your bed tonight”

When she started speaking she sounded emotional, but as she kept talking she got in her usual jokingly tone and even winked at me flirtatiously. Most men would be honored to have such a beauty say such things at him, but the only thing I can think of is flashes of my own death crushed in between Anne’s and Helena’s fists.