Kumi didn't have to wait long.
A few minutes after ordering, the chef she was speaking to came back with her order.
Placing it in front of her, Kumi thanked him and started eating.
What she had ordered was a light and clear soup with finely chopped ingredients. There was no greasy taste and the ingredients weren't uncomfortably big like some soups. The broth was more like slightly coloured and flavoured water. It felt strangely healthy.
Her drink was a cup of strange liquid that tasted like some kind of multi-fruit juice. It was coloured red.
Kumi enjoyed the meal. A lot actually.
She made a mental note to come back here every once in a while.
The head chef, seeing no change in expression as Kumi ate, was pretty disappointed and thought to himself.
'Maybe the idiots in the kitchen didn't do good enough. I should increase their training. For now, next time she comes I'll make her food myself.'
Not knowing that he just set himself up for disappointment, he calmly waited for Kumi to finish.
A minute later, the bowl was empty and Kumi was now savouring the juice left in her glass.
'This was better than... the last good meal I ever ate.'
She thought as a good comparison just wasn't available in her mind.
Placing her glass on the table, she wiped her mouth with a napkin as the head chef took the dishes.
"How did you like it?"
"I like it. It was nice."
She said, not really having the mental power to give any better compliments.
"Hmm. Lass, what's your name?"
The head chef suddenly asked.
"Kumi."
"Alright, Kumi. The next time you come here, hopefully at the right time when the waiters are at work, by the way, ask for Raymond to make your food. You may specify and say that you are the one who is ordering."
"Okay."
"Good. The Place is open early in the morning for breakfast, from sunrise to noon and then from sunset until an hour passed midnight."
The head chef, Raymond, turned away and walked toward the kitchen.
"Thank you for the food."
Kumi silently said before the head chef could get out of range.
He turned his head only to see Kumi giving a small wave.
Turning back, he entered the kitchen.
...
Inside said kitchen, every chef was silent.
The Head Chef Raymond had personally served a small kid. From showing her the menu, giving her his own recommendation and even watching over her as she ate.
Every chef present in the kitchen that worked under the man was shocked.
In their minds, he wouldn't even be this nice to his own kid. Not to even mention a sudden new addition to the house who they were told to serve just like any other high-class guest.
The head chef who had placed the dishes in the sink and had personally washed them dried his hands while placing the dishes aside.
He turned to the chefs who he had taken under his wing and taught from a young age.
Placing the towel in his pocket, he took off his pure white flat cap hat and slammed it on the table.
"I'm disappointed. All of you idiots."
The chefs had no idea what was going on.
"Haven't I taught you braindead monkeys how to make good food that could blow away a royal family from the Central continent?! Hahh!?"
The chefs were silent, ready to hear his criticism, not like they haven't heard it before.
"The dish you just made. Did you not put in effort just because the receiver is a kid?! Hmmmmm?!!!??"
The chefs were confused.
"No Chef. We definitely gave it our all just like with every dish we have made."
"Then how would you explain that this kid, who has probably never had a proper dish in their whole life, show no reaction whatsoever to the food you made??!"
The chefs were silent, almost all of them speechless.
"You Goblins. 'It was nice. I like it.' Does that sound like good praise to you!?! Now tell me again! Do you think this food you made was adequate?!?"
"No Chef!"
"Then next time give it more than everything you've got! Understand?"
"Yes, Chef!"
"Tch. Next time she comes, I'll make the dish myself. Hopefully, at that time you may learn some things."
This statement shocked the chefs in the kitchen.
The head chef had not prepared a dish personally in years. Not even when a coronation and birthday party were held for the Boss. Of course, they would be shocked.
It would also be a great learning experience for the young chefs.
Though the shock of having this hardcore, rarely cooking legend of a chef cook a meal for a kid they just met today was everpresent.
...
Kumi, however, had long left the house and returned to the garden.
At the entrance, she was told that the threat had been taken care of and she no longer had anything to worry about.
Reaching her hidden base, Kumi retrieved all her things and continued her crafting activity.
Hours passed until the sun was long set and it was dark and cold outside.
Kumi had finished a good amount of sharp wooden tools and a very small amount of plant fibre strings.
Hiding them across a small area where she usually worked, she made her way back to the house and went to bed.
...
The next morning, as Kumi woke up, she used the toilet that appeared strangely modern before going outside to check her loot just in case.
Using the same strategy of random turns and roundabout routes, she soon made it to the place.
She was using this strategy since she didn't have any Skill to help her find people who weren't a threat to her.
After searching through the area, she was stunned.
Every item she had made until now was gone.
It struck her rather hard since she sweat a lot to make the things she did, crafting items, unknowingly enough provided a nice calmness to her stressful situation.
After double-checking the area in and around her spot and finding nothing, she gave up.
Sitting down at the spot she had usually worked at, she took two random stones from the ground near her and started banging them together, sharpening the larger one.
'I guess I'll just have to start over. Things like this happen, I think my hiding methods were a bit too easy and the area to hide them was too small.
Just in case, I'll move my workspace somewhere else. Whoever took my stuff would find my stuff again if I hid it here or around here.'
Kumi thought, still a little disappointed at all her lost progress.
'This is a bit annoying. I'll have to follow what Hilde said and fully explore the Garden area and learn the landscape before setting up my next workspace.
Strangely enough though, even if it is a little annoying, this difficulty is a bit fun. It's almost like that one game that I don't remember.
Almost unfair in difficulty but learning how to master and overcome it is what makes it fun.'
Kumi thought as she looked at the stone in her hand.
Staring at the sky, she didn't see a single cloud nor a single good branch.
'I guess that's one of the reasons this place was found.'
'Failing is a byproduct of Learning. I better be a bit more cautious when it comes to my stuff since it takes quite a few hours to get all this done.'
Kumi let out a sigh, continuing to sharpen the stone in her hand that was still too dull to cut any wood.
{Preparatory Item Creation Becomes Level 2!}