Manager Mita suddenly asked, "By the way, Sui, can you start cooking now? These customers have been waiting for you for quite some time."
"This..." Sui hesitated, feeling a headache come on.
He wanted to serve food, but there weren't many fantasy ingredients left. Originally, he had six creamy matsutake mushrooms, but now he had less than two remaining. He could only cut a little to mix into fried rice, but at most, he could make ten dishes—not enough to meet the demand!
It seemed unlocking the Fantasy Ingredient Illustrated Book was becoming inevitable.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have enough ingredients left from last time," Sui explained, feeling frustrated. "I can only make about ten dishes."
"Just ten?" Manager Mita frowned. "That's tricky, but let's sell them anyway. Let's price each at 20,000 yen. What do you think, Sui?"
"Twenty thousand yen?" Sui was taken aback. That was equivalent to around $140 for a single plate of Sinangag fried rice—a truly exorbitant price!
"It's not expensive for a dish highly praised by Miss Hanaya," Manager Mita reasoned. "Besides, you used some incredibly rare matsutake mushrooms, didn't you?"
"That's right," chimed Yuzuki, who hailed from a wealthy background. "Top-quality matsutake mushrooms sell for 100,000 yen per pound, and yours are even better than those."
Yuzuki's words reminded her of how delicious the dish had been. She blushed slightly, realizing she had accepted such a valuable gift from Sui. A single matsutake mushroom could easily fetch more than 50,000 yen.
"Alright, it's decided," Mita confirmed, nodding to Sui. "We'll go ahead as planned. I'm counting on you!"
Sui nodded in agreement.
Overhearing the conversation, Alpho and the other chefs in the kitchen looked sour. They had worked here for years, and the average price of their dishes was only 10,000 yen. Yet Sui, who had only been there for a few days, was already pricing his food at double that. Naturally, they felt envious.
Ignoring their discontent, Sui headed to the kitchen counter, took out the remaining creamy matsutake mushrooms, and began preparing ten servings of Sinangag fried rice.
Meanwhile, Manager Mita explained the situation to the waiting diners in the hall.
"What? You're only selling ten dishes today?" one customer complained. "I've been waiting since yesterday!"
"We're very sorry," Manager Mita responded apologetically, "but due to the special ingredients needed, we can only serve ten dishes tonight. And each dish will be priced at 20,000 yen."
Despite the high price, many customers were fans of Miss Hanaya and trusted her recommendation. All ten servings were sold out in less than ten seconds.
However, some other diners in the corner couldn't help but scoff.
"Supporting a new chef like this? Ridiculous."
"Yeah, he's just a rookie, and he's already charging such outrageous prices. Who gave him the nerve?" they mocked.
These customers were loyal to chefs like Alpho, who had been at the restaurant for years, and they felt compelled to defend their favorites.
An hour later, the ten plates of fried rice were served to the lucky diners. Since Sui fried several portions together, it didn't take too long.
When Sui learned that Hanaya Natsuki had returned that day, he personally brought her a plate of fried rice. "Thank you for your tweet," he said with a smile.
Natsuki sat alone at a table, her face expressionless. No other customers dared to sit near her, and even the waiters were nervous in her presence. Known for her sharp tongue, she had earned a fearsome reputation in the food industry.
However, when she saw Sui, a gentle smile softened her cold demeanor.
Smelling the familiar creamy aroma of the dish, Natsuki's mood improved. "You don't need to thank me," she replied. "In fact, I should be the one thanking you for allowing me to experience the taste of my mother's cooking again."
For a moment, her face clouded with sadness. "My mother passed away when I was ten. I don't know why, but when I eat your food, it makes me feel happy, as if I'm reliving the warmth of my childhood."
Sui nodded in understanding. The effect of his food seemed to bring comfort and joy, evoking memories of home.
Meanwhile, the other nine dishes were served to the remaining guests. However, upon seeing their plates of fried rice, many couldn't hide their disappointment.
"Twenty thousand yen for this? Just a plate of fried rice?"
"Sure, it smells amazing, but is it really worth that much?"
Despite being fans of Hanaya, they began to question the high price of such a seemingly simple dish.
Seeing this, the diners who had supported chefs like Alpho couldn't help but gloat.
"This is absurd!" one of them laughed.
"Right? How can something so simple be worth that much?"
Alpho and his fellow chefs stood by, smiling smugly. But Yuzuki and Miss Sakai, watching from the kitchen, began to worry about Sui.
As doubt started to spread, Natsuki suddenly spoke up, her voice cold. "Do you even know what you're talking about? The ingredients alone are worth the price. The matsutake mushrooms used in this fried rice are of the highest quality I've ever seen, and they're not available on the market."
Her words left the guests stunned. Natsuki wasn't someone who would lie about such things.
Another guest, more knowledgeable about ingredients, added, "Yes, these are indeed top-quality matsutake mushrooms. I've never seen anything like them before. Just the ingredients alone make this dish well worth the price."