Estio Book 5
- Episode 4
So the first day of return passed peacefully with honey-like rest.
The next day, around the end of the lunch break, Estio headed to the cafeteria with Moobin. Animals and plants were brought out in a separate room. It was because Ahur was enjoying a restful sleep in the warm sunlight, and Neju and Tsuki belonged to hairy animals and it seemed difficult to take them to the kitchen. It was a unique mission that was both simple and difficult as it was the place where the quest was made.
So, on this quest, Mubin was the only person accompanying Estio. Moobin was proud of that fact.
"Heh, I was glad I stayed, didn't I?"
"......Yes, well done."
Estio, who couldn't even say no, gave a clumsy response. In fact, from Estio's point of view, it was not difficult to travel alone, so it didn't really matter whether Moobin followed or not. Still, as he joined the guild and had a social life to some extent, he now had an eye for adjusting the rhythm. Compared to the immature and inflexible appearance of coming out of my hometown for the first time, it was a major development.
It was a soulless reaction that clearly showed empty words, but Moobin was very satisfied with that alone. The blood flowing through his veins is mixed with dragon's blood. Therefore, they respond happily to the petty compliments of their owners, and they feel furious even at simple frowns. That was the instinct the Guardian belonged to. Just as normal creatures cannot control the action of hormones, so was the guardian who was subordinate to the dragon.
He smiled and put his hand on the kitchen door.
"Come on, let's go in. I came here deliberately avoiding lunch, so it's probably quieter by now..."
"Jegi-ra-al! To make such a thing as a dish!"
clink.
As soon as I opened the door, there was a loud shout and the sound of plates breaking. It was a mess. Moobin muttered in an awkward posture, unable to enter or come out again with the door open.
"...I don't."
"Have you seen this crazy chef? Oh my gosh!"
Thousands of swear words starting with 'poetry' resounded throughout the restaurant one after another like a waterfall. Fortunately, there were no other guests except for the angry one, but the atmosphere was going completely bad. The cooks rushed out of the kitchen and bowed their heads to apologize, but there was no sign of quelling their anger. It seems that the cooks made a big mistake with that guest.
Moobin, who was still watching the scene with the door open with one hand, groaned quietly.
"Hey, arguing with someone like that shouldn't be a request, but I should wake up Mr. Cactus and bring him home."
"Were there any kinds of things that Moobin wasn't confident about?"
Estio gave a look of surprise, but Mubin nodded strongly.
"I don't know how to argue at all."
"why?"
"Haha, that's because I first picked up the sword before fighting with my mouth."
No one would ever want to wrestle with the Duke Hei unless he was crazy. Estio's eyes turned to the black scabbard worn by Mubin, and then returned to the customer who was making a riot inside the restaurant.
"Chef! Chef with me! I'm going to tell you right now to reveal the secret of the dish I ate, no, this tongue-in-cheek spiciness!"
"I'm sorry. There was a minor mistake in the cooking process......"
"Damn, it should be spicy enough. My colleague with a weak stomach already collapsed and was taken away!"
Estio couldn't see because he was blindfolded, but Mubin heard that conversation and understood the current situation. The angry customer's face was so red that it almost looked like a volcano just before an eruption.
'I thought it was because I was angry, but it turned out to be red because it was spicy.'
If you look closely, you can see that there were even tears in the corners of his eyes. A guest who unexpectedly ate spicy food almost cried.
It was then.
"I am the chef."
Finally, the chef appeared.
Zorimo and her top were white, but it was a neat look that changed from the waist line to black as if it had been cut in half. The chef was a middle-aged man of some age, and he had a clean chin with all of his beard shaved, and he was a man with a huge body with muscles all over his body because he was constantly training. With his blond hair, which grew like a lion's mane, tucked back and covered with a hat, his sharp-looking eyes gave it an even more feral look.
The customer, who suddenly met a well-formed chef, hesitated in embarrassment, and finally got up by pushing the chair roughly to grab the collar.
"No, I'm a chef."
The same voice came from the other side. Not only the guests who saw him, but also the faces of the other cooks who were present turned pale as if they had seen a ghost.
"Huh?"
Mubin, who was watching the situation with interest, narrowed his eyes. Estio also remembered what was written in his request.
'Real and fake.'
The object to be distinguished was right there.
"I'm the chef! Is this fake bastard playing tricks on cooking again?"
"You must have been kidding me! What are you all doing, without catching that fake right away!"
"Because I'm real and he's fake!"
"Can't you see? That guy is fake!"
Two men who looked completely identical from head to toe were claiming to be chefs. Not only the clothes he was wearing, but also blonde hair like a lion's mane, pointy brown eyes, and even the scars from his clenched fists.
In the wind, the customer forgot that he was angry and looked at the two of them blankly.
"Cheap, twins?"
"Don't be funny, I'm not like a brother!"
"Yeah, I mean, I'm the only child!"
In this case, it was a good match again. Even after shouting at the same time, the two chefs raised their eyes as if they were annoyed with each other.
One of the cooks, who was crying because it was difficult to tell who the real chef was, found Estio and Moobin standing haphazardly by the doorway.
'Black hair!'
I was wearing an eye patch, so I couldn't even check my eyes, but that was enough. The boy chef who sprinted in front of them asked with an earnest voice.
"Are you a leader?"
"Yes. I have received a request."
"Black."
Suddenly, the boy chef burst into tears. Instead of the embarrassed Estio, Mubin grabbed the chef's shoulder.
"Hey, why are you crying? Are you here to help?"
"Gam, thank you. It's been like hell for the past few days... The complaints from customers are repeated over and over again, but we can't really figure out who the real chef is on our own."
It was impossible to hold them both. The kitchen doesn't run without a chef. For the chefs, it is absurd that the real and the fake had the same cooking skills. Even the fiery shouting and commanding method were the same, so there was no confusion in that regard.
"Don't cry, explain step by step. How did this happen? Are they twins?"
"No. There is only one chef. The other one is fake."
The boy cook didn't ask Mubin who he was. Instead, he stopped sneering and tried to convey the situation.
"A few days ago, the monster 'Doppelganger', which the headquarters' Magic Research Department had missed, broke into the kitchen."
"A doppelganger?"
"Yes. A doppelganger is said to be a psychic monster, but its body is like a mirror, and it transforms into the same person it makes eye contact with. Once transformed, it is indistinguishable from the outside."
The two chefs directed with one voice and cooked the same food.
There was no way other chefs had a standard to decide what kind of food should be served to their guests. Eventually, both chefs' dishes were brought to the table, and there was often a commotion as it is now.
The doppelganger was a playful character, so he made fun of pouring spicy or salty sauce on his food.
"Those monsters don't harm people, but they like to be teased and paid attention to."
The boy chef glanced at the two chefs who were struggling with a complicated mind.
"Anyway, thank you very much for coming. If the leader hadn't come, I don't know what I would do with this..."
"You can just kill them both."
This time, it was the sound from behind Estio. Estio could recognize his identity just by hearing his voice.
'With fuel efficiency.'
She was a battle mage who boasted excellent fighting skills in the guild, an exotic girl who hated extraterrestrial races, and she had ivory hair.
Hearing only his voice without seeing his face, he could feel Birang's dislike for the heterogeneous race more clearly.
Mubin also recognized her and waved her hand lightly.
"Lady, it's been a while."
"What happened to a person who was not a guild member at the headquarters?"
Yeon-yeon-rang coldly ignored the greeting. It was the first reaction he saw when he heard that an outsider had come in. In fact, Mubin, who knew that the kindness that the guild had given so far was unusual, simply responded indifferently.
"I'm here to hear your call."
"It's a waste of a sword to only serve that kid with such skills."
"Oh, did you look like you were serving?"
It was sarcastic at best, but Mubin was proud of it. Yeon-yeon-rang looked at him with disgusted eyes and then quickly walked past him.
Jiying.
A blue spear that appeared from the air in response to the magic power was grabbed by Birang.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Extermination of monsters."
Even life was mixed in the cold voice. Estio and Mubin also quickly followed the steps with the clear intention of disposing of real or fake ones with a single knife.
"Hey, wait. You know this isn't your job, right?"
Hearing Mubin's suspicious words, Birang snorted with excitement.
"A request came in from the Magic Research Department. They want you to deal with the monster 'Doppelganger' that they missed in the headquarters."
Yeon-yeon-rang glanced back at Estio, but couldn't make eye contact because it was covered with eyepatch. Birang, who frowned sharply, took a step back.
"Don't bother me this time, kid."
The blue spear in her hand scattered magical energy. It was a magical weapon that looked bloody like a firm will to get things done without mistakes.
Yeon-yeon-rang raised the window at once.
"......!"
The tip of the spear was touching the chef's neck on the left. The shouts of the two chefs, who were growling each other saying they were real, stopped.
"What is this?"
Even with a cutlery on his neck, the chef looked down at Yeon Yeon-rang without a single tremor.
"To carry a weapon in a restaurant without courtesy."
"Isn't restaurant etiquette a luxury for a mercenary working in a guild?"
Birang cut off the chef's polite words and brightened his eyes fiercely.
"I'm an independent combat member 'Rang'. I've been asked to deal with monsters."
She did not reveal her full name, 'Yeonbirang'. The name used by the Birang guild was 'Rang', and there was only one letter. Estio remembered her reaction the day she first met her.
'How do you name it!'
His beige eyes, dotted with bewilderment and surprise, were clearly afraid of him. Then Estio knew. There are circumstances under which the name Yeon-yeon-rang should not be known.
Estio Book 5
- Episode 4
So the first day of return passed peacefully with honey-like rest.
The next day, around the end of the lunch break, Estio headed to the cafeteria with Moobin. Animals and plants were brought out in a separate room. It was because Ahur was enjoying a restful sleep in the warm sunlight, and Neju and Tsuki belonged to hairy animals and it seemed difficult to take them to the kitchen. It was a unique mission that was both simple and difficult as it was the place where the quest was made.
So, on this quest, Mubin was the only person accompanying Estio. Moobin was proud of that fact.
"Heh, I was glad I stayed, didn't I?"
"......Yes, well done."
Estio, who couldn't even say no, gave a clumsy response. In fact, from Estio's point of view, it was not difficult to travel alone, so it didn't really matter whether Moobin followed or not. Still, as he joined the guild and had a social life to some extent, he now had an eye for adjusting the rhythm. Compared to the immature and inflexible appearance of coming out of my hometown for the first time, it was a major development.
It was a soulless reaction that clearly showed empty words, but Moobin was very satisfied with that alone. The blood flowing through his veins is mixed with dragon's blood. Therefore, they respond happily to the petty compliments of their owners, and they feel furious even at simple frowns. That was the instinct the Guardian belonged to. Just as normal creatures cannot control the action of hormones, so was the guardian who was subordinate to the dragon.
He smiled and put his hand on the kitchen door.
"Come on, let's go in. I came here deliberately avoiding lunch, so it's probably quieter by now..."
"Jegi-ra-al! To make such a thing as a dish!"
clink.
As soon as I opened the door, there was a loud shout and the sound of plates breaking. It was a mess. Moobin muttered in an awkward posture, unable to enter or come out again with the door open.
"...I don't."
"Have you seen this crazy chef? Oh my gosh!"
Thousands of swear words starting with 'poetry' resounded throughout the restaurant one after another like a waterfall. Fortunately, there were no other guests except for the angry one, but the atmosphere was going completely bad. The cooks rushed out of the kitchen and bowed their heads to apologize, but there was no sign of quelling their anger. It seems that the cooks made a big mistake with that guest.
Moobin, who was still watching the scene with the door open with one hand, groaned quietly.
"Hey, arguing with someone like that shouldn't be a request, but I should wake up Mr. Cactus and bring him home."
"Were there any kinds of things that Moobin wasn't confident about?"
Estio gave a look of surprise, but Mubin nodded strongly.
"I don't know how to argue at all."
"why?"
"Haha, that's because I first picked up the sword before fighting with my mouth."
No one would ever want to wrestle with the Duke Hei unless he was crazy. Estio's eyes turned to the black scabbard worn by Mubin, and then returned to the customer who was making a riot inside the restaurant.
"Chef! Chef with me! I'm going to tell you right now to reveal the secret of the dish I ate, no, this tongue-in-cheek spiciness!"
"I'm sorry. There was a minor mistake in the cooking process......"
"Damn, it should be spicy enough. My colleague with a weak stomach already collapsed and was taken away!"
Estio couldn't see because he was blindfolded, but Mubin heard that conversation and understood the current situation. The angry customer's face was so red that it almost looked like a volcano just before an eruption.
'I thought it was because I was angry, but it turned out to be red because it was spicy.'
If you look closely, you can see that there were even tears in the corners of his eyes. A guest who unexpectedly ate spicy food almost cried.
It was then.
"I am the chef."
Finally, the chef appeared.
Zorimo and her top were white, but it was a neat look that changed from the waist line to black as if it had been cut in half. The chef was a middle-aged man of some age, and he had a clean chin with all of his beard shaved, and he was a man with a huge body with muscles all over his body because he was constantly training. With his blond hair, which grew like a lion's mane, tucked back and covered with a hat, his sharp-looking eyes gave it an even more feral look.
The customer, who suddenly met a well-formed chef, hesitated in embarrassment, and finally got up by pushing the chair roughly to grab the collar.
"No, I'm a chef."
The same voice came from the other side. Not only the guests who saw him, but also the faces of the other cooks who were present turned pale as if they had seen a ghost.
"Huh?"
Mubin, who was watching the situation with interest, narrowed his eyes. Estio also remembered what was written in his request.
'Real and fake.'
The object to be distinguished was right there.
"I'm the chef! Is this fake bastard playing tricks on cooking again?"
"You must have been kidding me! What are you all doing, without catching that fake right away!"
"Because I'm real and he's fake!"
"Can't you see? That guy is fake!"
Two men who looked completely identical from head to toe were claiming to be chefs. Not only the clothes he was wearing, but also blonde hair like a lion's mane, pointy brown eyes, and even the scars from his clenched fists.
In the wind, the customer forgot that he was angry and looked at the two of them blankly.
"Cheap, twins?"
"Don't be funny, I'm not like a brother!"
"Yeah, I mean, I'm the only child!"
In this case, it was a good match again. Even after shouting at the same time, the two chefs raised their eyes as if they were annoyed with each other.
One of the cooks, who was crying because it was difficult to tell who the real chef was, found Estio and Moobin standing haphazardly by the doorway.
'Black hair!'
I was wearing an eye patch, so I couldn't even check my eyes, but that was enough. The boy chef who sprinted in front of them asked with an earnest voice.
"Are you a leader?"
"Yes. I have received a request."
"Black."
Suddenly, the boy chef burst into tears. Instead of the embarrassed Estio, Mubin grabbed the chef's shoulder.
"Hey, why are you crying? Are you here to help?"
"Gam, thank you. It's been like hell for the past few days... The complaints from customers are repeated over and over again, but we can't really figure out who the real chef is on our own."
It was impossible to hold them both. The kitchen doesn't run without a chef. For the chefs, it is absurd that the real and the fake had the same cooking skills. Even the fiery shouting and commanding method were the same, so there was no confusion in that regard.
"Don't cry, explain step by step. How did this happen? Are they twins?"
"No. There is only one chef. The other one is fake."
The boy cook didn't ask Mubin who he was. Instead, he stopped sneering and tried to convey the situation.
"A few days ago, the monster 'Doppelganger', which the headquarters' Magic Research Department had missed, broke into the kitchen."
"A doppelganger?"
"Yes. A doppelganger is said to be a psychic monster, but its body is like a mirror, and it transforms into the same person it makes eye contact with. Once transformed, it is indistinguishable from the outside."
The two chefs directed with one voice and cooked the same food.
There was no way other chefs had a standard to decide what kind of food should be served to their guests. Eventually, both chefs' dishes were brought to the table, and there was often a commotion as it is now.
The doppelganger was a playful character, so he made fun of pouring spicy or salty sauce on his food.
"Those monsters don't harm people, but they like to be teased and paid attention to."
The boy chef glanced at the two chefs who were struggling with a complicated mind.
"Anyway, thank you very much for coming. If the leader hadn't come, I don't know what I would do with this..."
"You can just kill them both."
This time, it was the sound from behind Estio. Estio could recognize his identity just by hearing his voice.
'With fuel efficiency.'
She was a battle mage who boasted excellent fighting skills in the guild, an exotic girl who hated extraterrestrial races, and she had ivory hair.
Hearing only his voice without seeing his face, he could feel Birang's dislike for the heterogeneous race more clearly.
Mubin also recognized her and waved her hand lightly.
"Lady, it's been a while."
"What happened to a person who was not a guild member at the headquarters?"
Yeon-yeon-rang coldly ignored the greeting. It was the first reaction he saw when he heard that an outsider had come in. In fact, Mubin, who knew that the kindness that the guild had given so far was unusual, simply responded indifferently.
"I'm here to hear your call."
"It's a waste of a sword to only serve that kid with such skills."
"Oh, did you look like you were serving?"
It was sarcastic at best, but Mubin was proud of it. Yeon-yeon-rang looked at him with disgusted eyes and then quickly walked past him.
Jiying.
A blue spear that appeared from the air in response to the magic power was grabbed by Birang.
"What are you trying to do?"
"Extermination of monsters."
Even life was mixed in the cold voice. Estio and Mubin also quickly followed the steps with the clear intention of disposing of real or fake ones with a single knife.
"Hey, wait. You know this isn't your job, right?"
Hearing Mubin's suspicious words, Birang snorted with excitement.
"A request came in from the Magic Research Department. They want you to deal with the monster 'Doppelganger' that they missed in the headquarters."
Yeon-yeon-rang glanced back at Estio, but couldn't make eye contact because it was covered with eyepatch. Birang, who frowned sharply, took a step back.
"Don't bother me this time, kid."
The blue spear in her hand scattered magical energy. It was a magical weapon that looked bloody like a firm will to get things done without mistakes.
Yeon-yeon-rang raised the window at once.
"......!"
The tip of the spear was touching the chef's neck on the left. The shouts of the two chefs, who were growling each other saying they were real, stopped.
"What is this?"
Even with a cutlery on his neck, the chef looked down at Yeon Yeon-rang without a single tremor.
"To carry a weapon in a restaurant without courtesy."
"Isn't restaurant etiquette a luxury for a mercenary working in a guild?"
Birang cut off the chef's polite words and brightened his eyes fiercely.
"I'm an independent combat member 'Rang'. I've been asked to deal with monsters."
She did not reveal her full name, 'Yeonbirang'. The name used by the Birang guild was 'Rang', and there was only one letter. Estio remembered her reaction the day she first met her.
'How do you name it!'
His beige eyes, dotted with bewilderment and surprise, were clearly afraid of him. Then Estio knew. There are circumstances under which the name Yeon-yeon-rang should not be known.
