Adventurers Are Obsessed With My Cooking

Episode 22. Agitation

“Huh?”

Suddenly, the street stalls became noisy.

I raised my head while wiping my sweat from frying the pan.

“Mister. Someone must have come.”

Mumu and Melissa also lost their eyes.

“Who are you?”

Who the hell is it that makes people so agitated?

“It seems like a famous person showed up?”

“Still, it won’t be as famous as the uncle’s cooking, right?”

People standing in line are raising their heads, and all of a sudden they are buzzing about what’s going on.

Then it split in half like the parting of the Red Sea.

The neat lines were already becoming a mess.

‘I don’t know who it is, but they do a good job interfering with business.’

Through the divided crowd, two people dressed in splendid costumes rarely seen in Salem, accompanied by a small escort, appeared.

Only then did I know what had happened.

“I’ve heard of it, but it’s really not very popular.”

“Have you tried it yet? I tried it this morning. Try the lord too. It will be more than you can imagine. Cheers.”

The old man, whose long gray beard is about to touch the floor, is the head of the Palais Temple.

And the woman next to him is Cecil Salemian, the lord who rules all of Salem.

Two of the biggest names in the novice area suddenly appeared.

‘Is it because this place is Salem that there are few escorts?’

Why did two people who are hard to meet even if you go to the temple or the lord’s castle suddenly appeared?

‘No way… This much?’

This kind of event happens with just a little bit of street vendor business?

It was absurd.

At the time of the game, how much did you work hard to make those two people less likeable?

In particular, the lord was an existence that could only be met through hundreds of quests from the adventurer’s guild.

By the way, the chef class has only reached level 10, but the opponent comes first?

I was about to laugh out loud.

The lord spoke to me, tucking his red hair behind his ear.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Cecil, lord of Salem.”

“Oh, hello.”

“Hmm? Sounds familiar?”

“hahahaha…”

I have cleared about a thousand quests in this area with my current Priest character as well as my main character.

Of course, Cecil, the lord, has a high liking.

I did not work to the maximum level of liking, but only invested up to the most efficient level.

‘I didn’t hear the sound of stagnant water for nothing.’

“Ah, I remembered! The number of quests completed by the Adventurer Guild is amazing, didn’t I give you a medal?”

The Lord’s Medal is an important key to entering several hidden dungeons in Salem.

This is the reason why I spent a lot of time carrying out the quests in the beginner area.

‘I was going to look around the hidden dungeons sooner or later…’

“Chuckles. Yes, he is. He is the pride of our temple.”

“By the way, why did such a person suddenly start cooking?”

I replied scratching my head.

“There were several circumstances.”

“Hmm… I won’t ask. I didn’t come here today for that.”

Yes.

Tell me why you are here.

Business is temporarily suspended because of you.

The guest, who was just about to receive the meal that had just come out, was pushed away by the lord’s party and is looking sad behind the lord’s escort in the other corner.

Anyway, high-ranking guys do as they please.

“I heard about your cooking a few days ago. Even before you started selling here.”

“hahahaha… It’s an honor.”

I am a petit bourgeois.

Even if I don’t like it, I have no intention of fighting the hegemon of this region.

Because this is not a game.

Of course, if you interfere with my business every day like this, then you might overturn everything, right?

“I heard that it is being sold in front of the temple, so I was thinking of having my subordinates taste it as well.”

“Ah, that’s why I took such a difficult step…”

“No. I was trying to get a subordinate.”

“Yes.”

I hurriedly shut my mouth.

“I was going to do that, but I got a call all of a sudden. What is it?”

“Call me?”

“Yes. How could I not try your cooking from an acquaintance in a foreign land? He is really serious about eating.”

What does this mean?

“My dishes are best eaten within an hour of completion.”

“I know. Do you think I don’t have that much intelligence?”

He shut his mouth again.

Let’s just shut up.

What the hell was it for?

Look how cold it is.

“An acquaintance of mine wants you to visit his manor in person. He said he would take care of all the conveniences if you do business there.”

“Youngji?”

“Yes. My acquaintance is the lord of Pellon.”

The neutral city of Phelon.

This is the place where most of the top players are currently staying.

‘Surely…’

I also stayed there a while ago.

“Hmm? You don’t look good?”

“Oh, no. It’s just that I don’t intend to go to Pellon for the time being…”

“That’s right… Well, that’s your freedom. You’re a summoner, not a resident of my land, so I can’t tell you what to do. But they seem to be waiting for you anxiously over there, so feel free to change your mind if you change your mind. Come find me.”

“I will definitely do that.”

Hmm?

But it was a question.

Isn’t it just a matter of having a subordinate tell you this story?

Otherwise, summon me to the lord’s castle.

Why did you have to come all the way here?

“Lord.”

“Oh, I forgot something important. Can I taste your dish, too?”

That’s not a difficult request.

The problem is that she notices the crowd of people waiting in line behind her.

“Gee, now?”

“Yes.”

Ah, should I say this or not.

Do you dare ask the lord to stand in line? Don’t you?

If you tell me to stand in line, I don’t know if your crush will fly away.

If it was a game, I would have just screamed.

It’s not like the medals you’ve already received will disappear.

“Stay away from the evil business owner! Step down!”

“Back off! Back up!”

Back then when I was struggling so much.

Suddenly, a loud voice began to emanate from the back of the crowd.

It seems that another uninvited guest has appeared.

* * *

“Dwellers of Palais! Does this make sense? They raised the price of food tenfold overnight just because they were doing business!”

“That’s right! Even if it’s not the case, because of high prices, our common people can’t even eat a single meal a day, ten times more! Such a vile merchant must be expelled from Palais immediately!”

“Stay away from the evil business owner!”

“Back off! Back up!”

Dylan disguised himself and hid among the crowd to observe the situation.

‘I have to control these things myself. You should be able to trust that stupid bastard.’

There’s nothing wrong with the plan.

It is enough to incite the residents and make Jeon Tae-min a vicious businessman who raised food prices tenfold overnight.

Banished?

It can’t be that simple.

If he got a business license from the mercantile guild, he can’t do anything with this kind of agitation.

But the human heart is not like that.

If there is pressure from people around you, if you get cursed at and receive various criticisms, it will be difficult to endure.

At least you won’t get a higher price than you do now.

Then, all you have to do is send people in and continue the failed operation.

The purchased dishes are immediately sold to other regions, and the money is used to purchase the dishes again.

If you can keep it going, you can call it a decent business.

‘Exile is not what I want.’

However, the more stimulating the agitation, the better.

Dylan gave a signal to the guild members who had infiltrated the crowd with him.

“Well, it seems like that. It was ten times worse in one morning.”

“How much money are you doing that for?”

“I’ve heard that the ingredients required to make one piece cost only one Middle Eastern dollar. Is it worth taking five silver coins to eat? No matter how delicious it is.”

Not the first instigators, but the wind catchers who were placed among the crowds began to move.

When everyone is saying the same thing, it’s very difficult to say no.

If you just ride the flow like this, dissatisfaction with the price will grow out of control.

‘Especially because the people here are stupid.’

Even if you hand out a little cheap food, they treat you like a hero.

He does what he is told to do for a few pennies.

The habits of this neighborhood have already been identified.

It was unexpected that such a large crowd had already gathered, but it turned out rather well.

Even if I can’t buy food today, I can buy it next time.

If we can instill in this large crowd the perception that the food sold by Jeon Tae-min is too expensive, the number of people who want to stand in line from now on will be greatly reduced.

‘Then, from then on, it’s my world.’

Dylan hid in the shadows and smiled fishy.

“Everyone, hey!”

But then, suddenly, a tremendous voice resounded throughout the plaza.

“Who dares to make a fuss in the square in front of the holy temple!”

‘I, who is the author…?’

An old man with a ridiculously long beard.

The head of the Palais Temple has appeared.

“If you have any complaints about the stalls, you should ask the temple or the merchant guild, what are you doing in this sacred place!”

Residents who acted as instigators began to tremble.

To them, the temple and the shrine ground are beings that cannot be resisted.

Having angered such a being, it was natural for him to do that.

In particular, for the lower classes who move with little money, the free meals provided by the temple and the healing skills of the priests who serve for free are like an indispensable lifeline.

‘Chit…’

Sensing the twist in the situation, Dylan narrowed his eyes.

Then, another figure appeared.

“New battlefield. What is this?”

“Ah, lord. It’s no big deal. Some people are saying strange things…”

‘Hey, lord?’

Dylan couldn’t contain his astonishment at the sudden appearance of the lord.

It’s obvious, but there was nothing more to say about the residents who were trembling at the sight of the shrine.

‘Such crazy… Why is the lord appearing all of a sudden!?’

The lord raised his hand.

In an instant, the escort approached.

“Find out what’s going on.”

“Yes!”

The escort immediately sat down on the floor and interrogated the trembling residents.

They did not have the courage to tell lies in front of the head of the temple and the lord.

It took an instant for Dylan’s name and the name of the Gold and Salt Guild to appear.

‘Damn it!’

Dylan had no choice.

‘I have to step in first before those idiots say strange things!’

He stepped forward without hesitation.

“Hey, meet the lord! I’m Dylan from the Gold and Salt Guild.”

Everyone’s gaze was directed toward him.

“Is it you? Who arranged this?”

“That’s not true. I just regretted not being able to eat the food that the residents wanted to eat because the price went up overnight.”

“So you did this kind of incitement?”

“That, I didn’t incite it… I just protested because I wanted the price to be lowered a little.”

‘That year. Don’t you remember me? It’s me! The gold and salt guild master!’

He ran a Merchant Guild in Palais and made a lot of donations to impress the lord.

The same goes for temples.

Thanks to that, he was poisoned once.

‘Are you going to pretend you don’t know now after receiving the money like that?’

However, the lord’s gaze at Dylan was cold and indifferent.

“Who are you daring to speak nonsense in front of? They said they were hired by you for money. Are you saying they are lying in front of me?”

“Oh no, it’s not like that…”

“They are the inhabitants of my territory. What were they trying to do with the inhabitants of my territory! There is a line that even a summoner cannot tolerate!”

‘Damn it…’

Cold sweat ran down Dylan’s forehead.

“If the people of the lower classes were so pitiful, wouldn’t it be better to buy them with your own money? You’d have enough money for that?”

From donations to taxes paid to the estate.

As long as the lord had that information, the amount of money Dylan earned in Salem or the amount of assets he owned was no longer a secret.

Rather, it might have been fortunate for the lord not to remember Dylan.

‘Kuh… The way…’

“I’m sorry. I’m never disrespectful…”

Right now, there was no choice but to apologize.

‘Why… Why is it so twisted?’

He prostrated himself before the lord.

He knelt down and rubbed his forehead on the floor.

He was humiliated.

But he couldn’t help it.

Because this would be much better than coming to this world and being dragged away like a prison.

In that state, he slightly turned his head and looked in the direction of the stall.

‘Damn it…’

She bit her teeth.

Anger rises.

‘It’s all because of him… If only it wasn’t for him…’

At the far end of his gaze, Jeon Tae-min was looking at him with a mysterious expression.

And before long, the lord’s voice, which felt cold, fell toward Dylan.

“From this moment on, I will completely ban the activities of the Gold and Salt Guild within my territory. And, Dylan, I will detain you until I understand the whole story. If that is dissatisfied with you, disappear from my territory right now!”

Dylan closed his eyes tightly.

Jeon Tae-min, who was watching this situation from a stall a little further away, thought to himself.

‘Wow… That woman is scary.’

She couldn’t bear to tell her to get in her line.