After all, it was either flying or running before...
"It's so lively," Lexon couldn't help but murmur as he stood inside the crowded Yukihira Restaurant.
It must be because it's the peak dining hour...
He looked at the spiky red-haired youth, Soma Yukihira, who was busy stir-frying behind the counter. He suppressed the urge to go over and touch him, instead taking a seat that a customer had just vacated.
"One Tuna Donburi."
Lexon said loudly while looking at the menu.
"Right! Please wait a moment!" Soma Yukihira replied while cooking.
Before long, a steaming hot dish was brought out.
"Please enjoy!" Soma Yukihira said with a wave of his hand, wearing his chef's uniform and a headband tied around his forehead.
Having said that, he went back to his work.
'The Pill King's dish, huh...'
Lexon looked at the rising steam and the enticing aroma, involuntarily swallowing his saliva.
'He didn't actually put drugs in it, did he...'
'Why does it smell so...'
Lexon had eaten many delicious foods.
As a salted fish, he was never careless when it came to eating.
That was why he would use money to hire master chefs to cook for him in his original world, and why he bought so much delicious food in the Main God Space to keep in a time-frozen space ring for his enjoyment in the plot worlds...
In other words, Lexon was actually quite the foodie.
Lexon had eaten food from Food Wars before.
The roast chicken he once shared with Naruto had come from this world.
However... that roast chicken paled in comparison to the delicacy Soma Yukihira had prepared before him.
Lexon lifted his spoon, scooping up some tuna meat along with the golden grains of rice and putting it into his mouth.
His God's Tongue vibrated, and he was instantly captivated by the flavors transmitted by the dish.
Layers of intense, fresh, and savory sensations washed over Lexon's tongue like a staircase.
Lexon's spirit felt as if it had arrived in a spring where all things were reviving. Looking out at the sea where tuna leaped, his heart felt an immense sense of peace and leisure.
"Delicious," Lexon murmured, his face looking a bit dazed as he stared at the dish in his bowl.
He quickly finished the entire dish.
Spiritually, he felt incredibly satisfied.
Satisfied...
Satisfied...
'Something's a bit strange...'
Lexon suddenly noticed something unusual. After finishing this dish, he actually felt a sense of mental fullness.
'A buff?'
Lexon thought to himself as he looked at the empty bottom of the bowl.
Not just delicious, but it also has a good special effect.
Lexon reached this conclusion about Soma Yukihira's cooking.
'This is quite interesting...'
It seemed there were indeed factors in the Main God's restricted missions that could lure people into becoming penniless.
Time passed steadily. Lexon just sat there until evening, until the customers in the Yukihira Restaurant gradually left.
"We're about to close, customer," Soma Yukihira said to the remaining handsome guest after wiping down the tables and noticing he was still there.
"The Tuna Donburi was very tasty, but you used a bit too much seasoning. Although the fresh flavor is still there, it ultimately ruins the aesthetic a bit," Lexon said, pointing at the rice bowl.
"Hmm?"
Hearing someone point out a problem with his dish, Soma Yukihira's expression turned serious.
His cooking was what he was most confident in. In recent years, except for his constant losses in duels with his dad, no customer had ever been dissatisfied.
"What seasoning? Customer," Soma Yukihira asked seriously.
There were many types of seasonings. Without the other person specifying, Soma Yukihira wouldn't know which one it was.
"It should be something like salt... a bit of astringency within the saltiness." Because of Lexon's lack of food knowledge, even though he possessed the God's Tongue, his cooking level was only [PROFICIENT], making it hard for him to pinpoint exactly what it was.
"Is that so..." Soma Yukihira thought, rubbing his chin.
Then he said, "Customer, please wait a moment."
Having said that, he went back to the cooking station.
After a flurry of activity, he brought out two bowls of Tuna Donburi and placed them in front of Lexon.
"One is made according to what you said, and the other is made according to my previous habit," Soma Yukihira explained.
Clearly, he wanted Lexon to test if following his suggestion would improve the flavor.
Picking up the spoon, Lexon scooped some fish and rice into his mouth.
Two bites.
One bite from each bowl.
Compared to the stunning feeling from before, perhaps due to his personality or perhaps because his God's Tongue was adapting, Lexon's reaction to the food had dampened considerably.
Thus, Lexon pointed to the bowl on the left and said, "This one tastes better than the other."
'It's the one improved by this customer's suggestion...'
Soma Yukihira was somewhat surprised.
'Could it be... that what this customer said is true?'
"You can try it yourself. With your sense of taste, you should be able to tell the difference," Lexon said to Soma Yukihira.
"Yeah." Soma Yukihira nodded, took a new spoon, and also took one bite from each bowl.
He first tried the bowl made with his usual method.
'Just as delicious as before...'
Then he tried the bowl improved by Lexon's guidance.
The moment he took a bite, his eyes lit up.
'The taste... it really is different!'
It was much tastier!
Soma Yukihira looked at Lexon in surprise and said, "It really is just as you said, customer..."
'This person pointed out my flaw and improved it so easily. Could he be... a very powerful chef?'
Soma Yukihira couldn't help but wonder.
"Do you want to know how I knew?" Lexon asked with a smile.
"Mhm, mhm," Soma Yukihira nodded.
"Then just let me eat at your place for free from now on," Lexon said with a smile.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]