"Hello, Miss. My name is Jose Yearwood, and I am the Principal of Yearwood Royal Mage Academy. I want to meet the owner of this restaurant."
"Principal of Royal Mage Academy…" Nancy stood up. She was shocked to see someone of that calibre coming to their restaurant.
To say she wasn't nervous would be an understatement. But she took a deep breath and controlled her emotions.
Since her husband's death, she had become extra cautious when dealing with people, particularly those more powerful than herself.
"My son is the owner of this restaurant. Why do you need to meet him?" She asked him cautiously.
Jose noticed Nancy's nervousness. So, he tried to be more amicable.
"You don't have to worry; I came here to thank him on my daughter's behalf.
She has been trying to break through into First-Tier Mage for the last year but has always been unsuccessful. However, your restaurant's food helped her breakthrough."
Looking at Jose's demeanour, she was slightly relaxed.
"I am sorry, but we are still in our operating hours right now. If possible, you can wait for him."
"It's fine, till then, I can try the food at this Restaurant."
Jose looked at the menu and ordered all three dishes. Nancy ordered one: Roasted Chicken and Pudding, her favourite dish.
Both sat on the table near the counter. Until the food came, Jose decided to look at the restaurant.
It was almost closing, but the restaurant was filled with customers.
Most of them were Apprentice Mages. There were occasionally First and Second Tier Mages, too. Everyone was eating their food happily.
He noticed that this restaurant was quite different from the others. The interiors are pleasing to the eyes, and although there are so many people, the restaurant still operates very efficiently.
The restaurant's overall ambience makes its customers spend more time and money on it.
After some time, the food arrived on his table. He looked at the dishes and found them visually appetizing. But he still didn't see any difference from normal food. He decided to check the salad first.
As soon as he ate it, he felt some energy helping him sense the mana. The energy was so minuscule that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't observed it purposely.
Now he understood how the food was helping Apprentice Mages in breakthroughs.
He also checked the ingredients to ensure they were not harmful to the body. Once again, he was pleased to find that his daughter was right.
The energy he gained from eating the entire dish was safe and beneficial, confirming that the meal was both nourishing and healthful.
One thing that shocked him was the price of the dish. As a member of the Royal Family, he had encountered various foods and ingredients that could enhance mana, but their scarcity made them inaccessible to the masses. Yet, this restaurant was selling it at such affordable rates.
After that, he started eating the other two dishes. Once he confirmed that the dishes were not harmful, he started enjoying the taste.
The taste of the roasted herb chicken was unlike anything he had ever experienced. With the first bite, he knew it was the best dish of his life. The pudding gave him the same feeling.
While enjoying his meal, he noticed a young boy approaching him. Initially, he assumed that the boy must be some student from his Academy, but he was shocked at his words next.
"Hello, Mr Jose. My name is Michael, and I am the owner of this restaurant. How can I help you?" Michael's tone was neither servile nor overbearing.
Jose quickly hid his expression. After all, what kind of geniuses had he not met in his life? He never thought that the restaurant owner was such a young mortal boy.
"Mr. Michael, I had doubts about the food you serve in this restaurant, but now I am completely satisfied. Besides, I also wanted to thank you for helping my daughter."
Michael was happy to hear the praise. Although he learned his skills from the System, he worked hard to improve them.
"Thank You, Mr Jose. I am glad you liked my food."
"Mr. Michael, while eating the food, I thought about its magical effect on the Apprentice Mages.
Why don't you partner with our Academy to deliver this food to our students? I am sure it will be a win-win situation for both of us."
Michael was pleased to hear those words but knew he had to be cautious. Although he was eager to complete his first mission quickly, he understood the importance of taking things step by step.
His experience taught him that many businesses fail because they attempt too much too soon. His main focus now was to improve the speed at which he could cook the food.
Only after resolving this issue would he consider expanding the restaurant. Michael didn't want the same thing to happen to him, so he rejected Jose.
"I'm Sorry, Mr. Jose. My business has barely started, and I want to stabilize things in my restaurant before expanding.
Jose was genuinely impressed by what he heard. Delivering food to the Academy was undoubtedly a highly profitable deal for Michael.
Despite that, he remained composed without showing the slightest sign of wavering.
"No worries, Mr Michael. I am glad you are not rashly running behind the money. Okay, then it's decided. When you are ready, you can ask my daughter Jenny to inform me. By the way, she is a huge fan of your food."
Michael looked at Jenny and smiled. Jenny found herself completely captivated by his radiant smile. She was grateful to Michael and loved eating his food. But today, for the first time, she felt something other than gratefulness.
After some conversation, Jose and Jenny went back to the Academy. On her way out, she smiled and waved him goodbye.
While all this was happening, some students of the Royal Mage Academy had seen Jose's reaction towards the food.
Initially, many were skeptical about its safety, though their ambition for a breakthrough had driven them to take the risk.
However, when they saw Jose enjoying the meal and allowing his daughter to eat it, their concerns about food safety vanished entirely.
Michael never knew that his brief conversation with Jose would make him an overnight celebrity in the capital city.
News of their meeting spread like wildfire, sparking countless rumours and conversations.
"Hey, did you hear about the new restaurant in the capital that serves magical food? Some say it helps Apprentice Mages with breakthroughs."
"What's so special about it? There are already some medicines sold in the markets that aid in breakthroughs, but this kind of breakthrough comes at the cost of our future potential."
"No, you're wrong. The food here is completely safe. Some say even the Principal of the Royal Mage Academy and his daughter were happily eating it."
Meanwhile, elsewhere...
"I'm telling you, it's 100% true. I've decided to try the restaurant's food myself. Who knows, maybe I'll have a breakthrough!"
Some rumours were even more far-fetched.
"Did you hear? The food is so good that the Principal promised his daughter in exchange for the recipe."
When Jose learned about this rumour, he ordered his guards to find the culprits. He was going to use his wand to teach them a lesson, but thankfully, Nancy stopped him.
The next day, a huge crowd gathered outside the restaurant, with some people even waiting through the night. Everyone was eager to see if the food was truly as amazing as the rumours suggested.
Michael's dish was sold like crazily.
On the first day after staff hiring, he earned 10,000 Gold coins.
On the second day, he earned 12000 Gold coins.
On the third day, he earned 15000 Gold coins.
By the 7th day, he earned 18000 Gold coins in a single day.
He was shocked to see this figure because, when he started, it took him 6 days to earn
16000 gold coins.
While their business seemed booming, not everything was roses and gardens. His staff worked crazily in the kitchen, but the supply could not meet the demands.
Michael thought this could not go on for long, or he and his staff would die from overwork.
After closing the restaurant that day, he went home and looked at his System.
Michael was currently looking at his status screen.
>> Host Name: Michael Ashbluff
>> Age: 16
>> Level: A mortal with a thrash body.
>> Current Wealth: 61,000 Gold coins (After deductions)
>>SP (System Points): 4980 SP
>> Skills: MasterChef (Beginner), Eyes of Truth (Beginner)
>> Mission: A good merchant is nothing without a healthy body. Complete your first trade and earn 100,000 gold coins as a profit from it (You cannot take help from your family's existing business)
He never thought that, within two weeks, he would complete almost 60% of his mission and have nearly 5000 SP.
Previously, due to insufficient SPs, he couldn't run his business as efficiently as he wanted. But now, with a substantial amount of SPs at his disposal, he intended to reduce the workload and expand his very first business in the world.
"Time to do some shopping. Hey, System, quickly show me things I can use in my restaurant business. Also, filter the list based on the amount of SP I currently hold."
"Ding! Do you want to spend 1 SP for the information?"
"Oh yes, I forgot how blackhearted you are, but who cares? I am now a rich man. Deduct it."
"Ding! 1 SP debited."
Then, the System immediately showed him things he could purchase within 5000 SP.
Surprisingly, the list was very long.
There were everything like recipes, equipment, technologies, machines, etc.
First, he looked for things that would help him reduce his workload and help his chefs in cooking.
He found three machines that would help cook the current dishes more efficiently.
Enchanted Rotisserie Oven: A magical rotisserie that not only roasts the chicken to perfection but also infuses it with enchanted herbs and spices for an added boost of flavour and magical properties.
Price: 60 SP
Enchanted Ingredient Processor: A machine that can instantly chop, blend, and mix ingredients with the touch of a button. It could use magical crystals to ensure every ingredient is perfectly prepared.
Price: 50 SP
Alchemy-infused Bain-Marie: A bain-marie setup enhanced with alchemical runes to ensure even and gentle cooking of the bread pudding, preventing it from drying or overcooking.
Price: 60 SP
He purchased three of each machine, which cost him 510 SPs.
Once the cooking problem was solved, Michael focused on the space-related issues in his restaurant. Nancy had repeatedly pointed out the lack of seating for customers.
Despite combining three stores into one, the popularity of his dishes ensured that every seat was occupied from opening to closing.
The situation had become so dire that customers were taking their food to eat on the street, leading to what was now famously known as the Mysterious Case of Cutlery Disappearance. Waiters had complained about customers quietly taking cutlery while dining outside.
Michael prided himself on providing his customers the highest level of service, and using top-quality cutlery was an integral part of that experience.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that the cutlery in his restaurant was fit for the rich and nobles.
However, Michael had overlooked one fact: this world was still akin to the 16th century in his previous world.
Continuous wars had kept the focus on researching powerful magic spells while advancements in other areas had lagged.
Only recently has there been a shift towards improving aspects of life beyond magic spells, and although progress is being made, it is a slow process.
To overcome this problem, he devised a solution: open a takeaway counter for those who cannot find seats in restaurants or for those who want to take their food back to places where they can sit and enjoy it.
He quickly ordered the bulk stock of eco-friendly cutleries at a discounted price. Tomorrow, he plans to hire someone to look after the takeaway counter.
This solution will also be useful when he starts a home delivery service in the future.
He wanted to buy more things but decided to save his SPs until he started cultivating. He didn't want to find himself in a situation where he discovered a valuable cultivation technique but couldn't afford it due to insufficient SP.
After purchasing the machines, he asked the System to deliver all of them to his restaurant. The System charged extra SPs for it, but Michael didn't care as it would help him from the questioning of his mother and the staff workers.
The next day, Michael arrived at the restaurant earlier than usual.
When he entered the kitchen, Michael found Raziel and the others gathered around the machines, looking at them with curiosity and wonder.
"Hey Boss, what are these things? When I first came in the morning, I saw it was already present in the restaurant." Raziel said.
"Last week, I noticed our workload was increasing day by day. To stop you guys from going crazy due to the overwork, I found a blacksmith and asked him to create these machines.
They will help us with all the tedious tasks, allowing you to focus on the more important aspects of your work."
Michael's gesture moved the chefs. In an age where overworking staff was common, Michael's thoughtful investment in these devices showed how much he valued their well-being.
Raziel, overwhelmed with emotion, began to cry. "Boss, I never knew you thought so much about us."
Unfortunately, his tears were accompanied by snot, which ended up on Michael's shirt. Annoyed, Michael kicked Raziel out of the kitchen and only felt better once he had changed into a clean shirt.
Afterwards, Michael demonstrated how to use the new machines, showcasing the simplicity and efficiency of their design.
The large-capacity cooker was set to prepare Roasted Chicken, while the Enchanted Ingredient Processor seamlessly handled all the chopping and mixing of ingredients.
The chefs were thrilled to learn about the machines and quickly grasped their operation. To Michael's surprise, they were proficiently using the new equipment within minutes.
The speed at which they adapted meant Michael no longer needed to work full time, as the workload had significantly reduced.
Michael, who always aspired to be a hands-off manager, previously had to assist the chefs due to the demanding workload.
However, with the introduction of these magical machines, their tasks were cut in half, allowing him to step back and manage more strategically.
When the restaurant was opened to the customers, they noticed an additional counter near Nancy named Take-Aways.
When the queue reached Nancy, she informed everyone that those who couldn't find seats in the restaurant could take their food away and eat elsewhere. The restaurant would provide properly packaged meals for the takeaways.
The customers standing behind were thrilled.
"So, does this mean we don't have to come early to find seats in the restaurant?" one customer asked excitedly.
"Wow, that means we don't have to line up so early to grab those seats," added another.
"Exactly! I was fed up with those long queues. Sometimes, by the time I started eating, the food was already cold," someone else said.
Everyone loved this new addition to the restaurant's services. The majority of the customers began lining up at the takeaway counter.
That day's financial report showed the impact of the new counter. The restaurant earned more than double what it had earned the previous day.
This was understandable, as many people used to leave the restaurant after seeing the long lines.
Unlike the Apprentice Mages, they only wanted to buy the food for its taste, and standing in line for so long wasn't worth it for them.
In this way, the restaurant started raking in the profits. Soon, the day came when Michael completed his first mission.
"Ding! Congratulations, Host, for completing your first mission."