While the colour outside the window revealed the change of times, the usual silence before dinner enveloped the dining hall. Only three tables had people dining on them, and not one was someone from Tempest.
If he hadn't sat in Checkpoint from the afternoon, he would have thought Tempest was ready to raise their swords against him. But the real reason why there was no one from Tempest currently was due to the feast held in Rimuru City. A feast that was hastily arranged to assure everyone that nothing was wrong.
Ludwig's eyes drifted across the dining hall from behind the bar. Arcanine was still guarding the three little girls at the corner table. His Gastly, meanwhile, was floating near the ceiling like it always did when the restaurant was quiet enough that there was nothing to react to.
He reached for his glass and took a small sip before setting it back down.
Outside, the color had shifted from the orange of late afternoon into something darker. The feast in Rimuru City was probably in full swing by now. He could picture it without much effort. Rimuru was probably somewhere in the middle of it, looking like he was having the time of his life while also pretending to think about six different problems at once.
Then, his gaze moved to the two occupied tables beside the corner table. In one table, Lee Han was munching on a mountain of food he had ordered. His expression was full of a weird combination of boredom and bliss.
But the two boys in front of him clearly didn't share the same thought as him. The one with dyed grey hair kept glancing around the room while trying not to be obvious about it. His eyes drifted from him to Claire, to the three girls on the corner table, to the Pokemon, and to the other customers.
Meanwhile, the one with black hair had stopped looking around and focused solely on Lee Han. Unlike the other guy, the boy sat straight in his chair, arms perched on the table. His eyes were also calm and screamed that he had lots of experience, something which shouldn't be seen in the eyes of a teen.
That made Ludwig quite curious. Though of course, he couldn't just ask about it.
On a table closer to the door, Kashi was sitting with his partner, Kira. But, like today was a scheduled 'Bring-a-friend-to-Checkpoint' day, a new customer had come with them. Like Kashi, she was also an Elf. However, she didn't share the ashy skin that Kashi had. Instead, she had light skin. Something which shone even brighter due to her jet-black hair, which was styled into a ponytail.
After the initial reaction was forgotten, she was locked in a serious discussion with Kashi. Something about making a Guild. That really intrigued Ludwig. At the same time, it also sent him on a trip down memory lane. He once also created a guild in a game with some friends. That guild was precisely why playing the game was fun for him.
Feeling one of his cheeks go up, Ludwig grabbed his glass and took a sip. At least, something good happened in this whirlwind of a day.
The light trickling in from the window finally disappeared, and the runic lamps finally flickered into life. Ludwig left the bar in a few quick steps before stopping once again. His eyes scanned around the kitchen, from the pots, the metal bowls containing fresh ingredients frozen in time, to the drying racks full of utensils. By the end, his eyes stopped at Finka.
"Everything's ready?"
Finka nodded with confidence she normally carried. "Yes, Chef."
That one answer was enough for Ludwig. At least when it came from the two employees stationed in his kitchen. He didn't know about anything else, but when it came to prepping, they were currently the best.
Giving the metallic surface of the large table a few taps, Ludwig returned to the bar. There, he continued the talk with Claire after she sorted his answer. The QnA session kept going for a few minutes, then it came to a complete halt as the door opened.
Ludwig rose to his feet and smiled in the direction of the door, as the restaurant had told him about who was coming. "Hiraku, it's good to see you again."
A small smile bloomed on his face as he crossed the threshold. "It's nice to see you again, too."
After listening to his answer, Ludwig's eyes went down to something the man was carrying. It was not the ridiculous Godly Artefact in the shape of a farming tool, but a small animal of some kind. Dead, judging by how it didn't have a head. However, the fur was still on even though the belly was opened. And judging by how there was no blood trickling from it, it seemed like Hiraku had done a good job on draining it.
Ludwig looked at it for a moment longer before returning his eyes to Hiraku.
"You kill that yourself?"
Realizing what he meant, Hiraku raised the corpse higher and looked at it before his eyes returned to Ludwig. "Yes, I killed it and tried cleaning it myself. But cleaning the fur is hard."
Ludwig looked closer at the corpse after hearing his answer. And just like what he said, he could see some meat was missing in chunks, proof that he cut too deeply. If he continued, he would have nothing to eat. Stopping was the right decision.
"So, do you want me to remove the fur for you?"
Hiraku let out a wry smile before scratching one of his cheeks with his finger. "Ah, no. I'm just wondering, maybe I can trade this for food?"
Ludwig's brows went up instantly upon hearing that. It was the best thing that he had heard all day. At the same time, it was also something he wanted to achieve through Naoki and his family. Unfortunately, it was really hard to convince that man to do it without asking directly. But judging from the recent orders from that family, it seemed like it was about time to talk with him.
"Why not?" Ludwig chuckled and used his hand to make Hiraku come closer to the bar.
The man put the corpse on top of the bar soon after. If Checkpoint was a normal restaurant on Earth, this kind of act would make a lot of customers grimace. But not here. Claire didn't even bother to look at it; her interest lay in the newest patron of the restaurant.
"What animal is this?" Ludwig asked, pulling the corpse closer.
"A rabbit," Hiraku answered. "Or at least, that's what we call them back home."
Ludwig turned it over once. The body was small but dense, heavier than the size suggested. The muscle structure visible through the open belly was compact, something only an animal that moved fast and often could have.
Once the outward inspection was over, he sent some of his mana to his eyes.
What looked like an ordinary dead animal from the outside was anything but underneath. The mana inside it was not faint like the fish and the meat he often bought in Ortus. This one still had a considerable amount sitting in the muscle tissue.
Ludwig moved his gaze slowly from the hindquarters to what remained of the neck. The concentration was heavier toward the legs, which made sense. Rabbit was, after all, an animal that used its legs to move. And if this rabbit was close to the rabbit he knew from Ortus, their leg should be one of their weapons.
He let the mana disperse from his eyes before tapping the surface of the counter.
Until now, he had cooked with ingredients that had a low amount of mana in them. It fits his philosophy of keeping the price low. But looking at such good ingredients falling into his lap, he couldn't help but think otherwise.
Just like what happened to Rimuru after eating the Earth Hog from Jura Forest, ingredients with lots of mana in them would be more impactful to someone who used mana as the source of their power. In Ortus, some ingredients could even make someone stronger permanently.
Those kinds of ingredients were hard to come by, though. Moreover, it's pricey. Even when he wanted to hunt them himself, it wouldn't be as easy as hunting a wyvern. But now, he might be able to get them for a much lower price if he played it correctly. Of course, he wouldn't scam the man even though he was perfectly able to.
Though the amount of mana the corpse of the rabbit told him something else that made him worry. The guy lived in a forest where a small rabbit was that strong. Then, just how strong were the other monsters around?
But that worry evaporated in an instant when he remembered what the guy had.
"First, let me ask this: Can you easily see this monster around?"
Now sitting on a chair, Hiraku opened his mouth. "I saw a few of them around when I walked around the forest. I just killed this one because it attacked me."
Ludwig nodded a few times at his answer before deciding what to do. "Then, I'll tell you this. Ingredients like this fetch quite a lot of money in my world. I can't simply offer you food for something like this. I need to give you more, or my conscience will haunt me."
As soon as he finished, he could hear Claire let out a long, tired sigh. And with his connection with Checkpoint, he saw her shaking her head a few times.
Hiraku shook his head before Ludwig could say anything further. "I appreciate it, but I just need food right now. That's what I came here for."
He then glanced at the carcass on the counter, then back at Ludwig. "A trade is only fair when both sides think it's fair, right? For me, that rabbit for a meal is already even. That's all I need from it."
Ludwig looked at him for a moment before scratching his head strongly. The man meant it, which somehow made it worse. There was no performance in it, no false modesty angling for a counteroffer. That proved his initial judgment about the man. Someone who only wanted to live a modest life when he could rule.
Thinking that the man still hadn't realized just how precious the thing was, he opened his mouth again. "I'll add—"
Or at least, tried to.
"A meal is fine." Hiraku said it pleasantly, with the particular firmness of someone who did not argue often.
The silence that followed lasted about three seconds.
Then suddenly, Claire's voice came from his left, flat and unhurried. "I have sat through a lot of negotiations in my life. I have never once watched two people fight over who gets to lose."
She then placed his glass down and looked at Ludwig, then at Hiraku, then back at Ludwig. "What is wrong with both of you."
Even though her words sounded like a question, it was anything but.
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