It was the System that had created the menu and the price of the dish.
Had it been up to Lucian, he would have priced the dish for hundreds if not more Low-Grade Mana Stones.
No… since Netherbane Chives only grew in Hell, the price should be astronomical. Forget Mana Stones, the price should be in Divine-Grade Stones.
In fact, Lucian even felt Divine-Grade Stones were not enough.
Unlike the Mortal, Immortal, and Divine Plane; Hell and Heaven worked differently.
There was a Hell and Heaven for each plane; however, they could not be accessed unless you had died.
That meant unless Lucian died and his soul was judged to be evil, thus being placed in the Mortal Hell, he would not be able to acquire Netherbanes Chives.
And even if he died and acquired Netherbane Chives, what would he do with them? After a Soul was sent to Hell, the possibility of leaving Hell was practically zero.
Had his restaurant been in Hell, the price of five low-grade Mana Stones would have made sense. But then again, how would he acquire the other ingredients?
Bribe the guards of Hell?
Doing so would result in him being placed in the eighty-one layers of Hell…
The System, which had remained silent, finally began to speak, [Host, the System did not make an error in its calculation. The price is fair and reasonable. If the Host can procure your own ingredients, you may charge as low or as high as you like. Until then, the price will not change.]
Instead of flaring up in anger, the System's words were like a bucket of ice-cold water being poured over his head.
What was the point of being frustrated? The ingredients were provided by the System. At the end of the day, the System was making a loss, not Lucian.
Even though Lucian still felt they could make more profit, at the very least, his anger had subsided.
As for procuring his own ingredients? Yeah, right…
Lucian looked at the still-stunned Garrett and coughed to get his attention.
"Please wait a moment, sir. Your plate of Siren's Melody Poached Egg will be out shortly."
Lucian turned around and was about to enter the kitchen when an enraged roar came from behind him, causing him to stop in his footsteps.
"STOP RIGHT THERE YOU BLACK-BELLIED HUMAN!"
—-------------
Immortal Plane, Planet Elysium, within Luna's futuristic room.
A silver-haired, silver-eyed beautiful woman wearing a black European frilly maid dress that showed off her beautiful, slender legs covered in transparent black stockings was inscribing complex Runic Symbols onto a teleportation circle until she stopped and turned her head in the direction of the hologram displaying her Darling and a disgusting creature,
Suddenly, her hair and eyes turned blood-red, and blood-red chains came out of her body.
[System, I want him dead! Kill him! KILL HIM! How dare he call my Darling black-bellied!? How dare he yell at my Darling!]'
Hearing the voice of its Mistress, the System sighed to itself. After a moment, it began to speak, [Mistress, the System is currently too low Rank to affect the real world. Unless…] The System paused, hesitating to continue.
Luna narrowed her eyes in displeasure, [Continue!]
[If the Mistress were to create an autonomous robot, the System could then issue a quest to the host with the reward being the Mistress's creation.] The System solemnly explained the method that it thought of.
Luna's eyes lit up, [Inform me if something happens!] Her hair and eyes returned to their normal color. The metallic chains receded back into her body. At the same time, metallic double doors with thick transparent tubes filled with nanofluid appeared on the wall behind her throne.
Luna calmly walked in front of the double doors and stopped.
Then, a blue wave swept her body from her head to toe.
"Access granted. Welcome Luna Elowen Astoria III, Royal Princess of Astoria Royal Family."An emotionless, robotic voice came from the doors after it was done identifying the person who was trying to enter.
The doors then opened, revealing a high-tech laboratory.
Meanwhile, Luna grimaced after hearing her name. Her eyes and hair flashed blood red as she corrected, "My full name is Luna Drak'thul, Empress Drak'thul!"
Then, without waiting for an answer, Luna entered her laboratory.
A second later, the doors closed and disappeared.
—-------------
Without missing a heartbeat, Garrett continued, "WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS!?" He shouted incredulously while pointing at the words on the menu. He had never cussed in his nineteen years of life. Crass language was not befitting of a young master like himself… even if he was not a young master anymore. But today, he could not help but curse after reading the menu.
He had never seen something so ridiculous in his entire life.
For a single poached egg to be priced at five Low-Grade Mana Stones was utterly insane!
Even if it was the egg of a Siren. It was insane!
Had it been the egg of a Dragon that would have made more sense. …However, had it been a Dragon's egg, the price would have been in Mid-Grade Mana Stones.
Anyway, that was beside the point. The point was that not even the Dragon's Feast Restaurant priced their dishes in Mana Stones.
Who did Lucian think he was to price his dishes in Mana Stones?
Did he not know the value of Mana Stones?
A single gold coin would allow an ordinary family to live comfortably for an entire month in Thunderfall City. And if they were to move to a town, they could even live sustainably for a year off a single gold coin.
Food, shelter, clothing, medical treatment, heck, if the family wanted, they could even start a business. If they were lucky and smart when running their business, they could even move up in the world. They might even become mages.
A single gold coin was too valuable for an ordinary family.
Even weak rogue mages would find it difficult, or next to impossible, to acquire a gold coin. That is if they do not rob or kill…
The Dragon's Feast Restaurant's most expensive dish was priced at a hundred gold coins.
For most non-mages that was a sum that they could never obtain. Even if they had a hundred gold coins, they would be stupid to spend it on food.
In Dragon's Feast Restaurant for non-mages, there were many dishes listed in bronze coins and silver coins since non-mages were the restaurant's main source of wealth.
For non-mages, gold was immensely valuable, but for mages like himself, what could he do with gold? Could gold help him increase his Mage Rank? Of course not.
Gold was just a simple mineral that contained no mana. Even the entire world's supply of gold coins did not equate to a single Low-Grade Mana Stone.
Yet, this owner actually priced his dishes in Mana Stones.
What were Mana Stones?
Mana Stones were naturally occurring minerals that contained pure mana, unlike the mana in the air, which was polluted.
They were a valuable resource that could cause wars among non-mages! Just a single Low-Grade Mana Stone could create a mage!
From what Garrett knew, there were Low, Mid, High, and Peak-Grade Mana Stones.
A thousand Low-Grade Mana Stones were equivalent to a single Mid-Grade Mana Stone.
A thousand Mid-Grade Mana Stones were equivalent to a single High-Grade Mana Stone.
Lastly, a thousand High-Grade Mana Stones were equivalent to a single Peak-Grade Mana Stone.
Only a greedy Human would price a single poached egg in Mana Stones!
Hearing Garrett's angry shout, Lucian sighed, turned around, and looked into the Orc's eyes with an indifferent face.
"My restaurant's prices are fair. If you do not feel the same way, you are more than welcome to leave. No one is forcing you to stay and order."
Internally, Lucian thought differently, 'Fuck, it's like the pot calling the kettle black. You're the one who is profiting, yet I'm black-bellied!?'
Garrett was taken aback. He never expected the owner of the restaurant to have such an attitude. For a moment, he thought of leaving, there was no point in staying and ordering an overpriced dish. However, his gut was telling him he would regret his decision.
Garrett stared at Lucian and tried to glean any information from his face.
'Haah, what an eccentric!' Lucian's face was unreadable, and Garrett's mana sense did not work on him either. Not even a tiny strand of mana left his body. Usually, that would mean the person was not a mage. Yet, Garrett felt like he was staring at a mountain. The feeling was the same as when he had once used his mana sense on the Harmony City's Tie Family Ancestor, Tie Xuan.
Instantly, Garrett believed the owner was the same Mage Rank as the Tie Family Ancestor.
As for the owner's young appearance? He must have heaven-defying talent that allowed him to break through fast, therefore, his physical appearance remained youthful.
Garrett hastily stood up and bowed in Lucian's direction."Owner, please forgive my earlier rudeness." Then he continued after sitting back down. "I would like one plate of Siren's Melody Poached Egg."