Chapter 4

Chapter 4

#4. Northern Region’s MSG (3)

F-Rank adventurer Ronny clutched the two Copper coins he had luckily earned with great care.

He checked every few seconds if the Coppers in his pocket were still there.

“Finally, I can eat a proper meal!”

Ronny’s eyes were half-bloodshot.

Being an F-Rank adventurer was practically being treated as a vagrant, always living in deprivation of basic food, clothing, and shelter.

His clothes were so worn out they barely kept him warm, and he shared a cramped 5-pyoong room with eight others like livestock.

“Even if I go back to my place with this money, it’ll just get stolen. Let me spend it all here!”

Despite such miserable poverty, Ronny lived each day with hope, believing tough times and good times alternated.

And today, something good finally happened.

Last night, Haven was hit with heavy snowfall.

Compared to risking life and limb carrying loads or gathering in the Magic Realm, shoveling snow wasn’t much of a job.

Though the pay was low, it was one of those tasks that absolutely needed to be done.

Ronny somehow managed to secure the job and shoveled harder than anyone else.

By midday, he finally received the promised two Coppers.

“What should… what should I eat?”

Holding onto his two Coppers tightly, Ronny looked around.

His mouth was already watering, and his stomach was hurting from the growling beyond just rumbling.

Gurgle…

Right at that moment, Ronny caught a smell he’d never experienced before.

It smelled like stew, but this was the most heavenly stew aroma he’d ever encountered.

“Jack’s Inn?”

Turning his head, he realized the smell was coming from Jack’s Inn.

Not just Ronny, but other passersby who caught the scent also hurried their steps toward Jack’s Inn.

As if entranced, Ronny followed them inside.

Inside Jack’s Inn…

The enchanting stew smell from outside was even stronger.

In the inn’s first floor which served as a dining area, not only newcomers but also guests staying on the second floor had come down.

“Hey, Jack! What’s this smell? Did you make a new menu?”

“I’ve never smelled anything this delicious.”

People asked Jack while drooling profusely.

“It’s called Arad Stew. Our newly hired chef made it.”

“It’s really good. Seriously…”

With that, Jack and his son Tom, who had tasted it first, answered with dazed expressions still lingering from the amazing taste.

“Arad Stew?”

“Oh, the healer who treated Leonna’s injury yesterday, right?”

“Does the healer also cook well?”

The customers who entered the shop commented one by one.

“How much? Wait, two Coppers?!”

“Too expensive! Why is a bowl of stew two Coppers?!”

They frowned upon learning a bowl of stew cost two Coppers.

“Two Coppers? That’s all my money…”

For Ronny, this heavenly smell immediately snapped him back to reality due to the stew’s price.

In this world, a bowl of stew costing less than one Copper is an unwritten rule, like free rice in Korea.

“Did the healer make it expensive?”

“Such an honor? We get to eat stew made by the expensive healer.”

People’s gazess shifted towards Arad, the chef preparing ingredients in the kitchen. Of course, they weren’t good looks.

“Can’t help it. Because of the Arad Salt used in this stew.”

“Arad Salt?”

Jack, whose arm was injured and now responsible for business and customer attraction, diverted their gazes.

“Yeah, we’ve given up maximum profit. Two Coppers is our price.”

This kind of attitude saying ‘If you don’t want to eat here, go somewhere else’ isn’t a good approach.

Even if you’re doing bold marketing, you should at least let people try it once first.

“Alright. I’ll give it a shot because of the smell!”

“If it’s bad, I won’t let it slide!”

Thanks to Jack’s explanation, some people eventually ordered the two-Copper Arad Stew.

“…I’ll have a bowl too, please.”

Ronny also handed over his entire fortune of two Coppers to Jack with closed eyes.

“Great! You won’t regret it!”

Thus, the Arad Stew was served in bowls onto people’s tables.

Thankfully, the portion size was generous – about 1.5 times more than other inns.

“At least if it’s expensive, they should give large portions.”

Seeing the hefty bowl of stew, people’s expressions finally relaxed.

Everyone eagerly grabbed their spoons and took bites of the Arad Stew, including Ronny.

“!!!!!!”

Then, as if on cue, everyone started trembling.

Their eyes widened, facial muscles twitched visibly.

They didn’t know how to react or what expression to make to this unprecedented heavenly taste.

There was no familiar stench or fishy smell. The delicious salty flavor that couldn’t be imitated by regular salt, and the rich umami taste – what about those?

The smell, taste, and MAX cooking level texture combined perfectly, creating a divine harmony in their mouths.

If it weren’t for the Arad Stew right in front of them, would they have ever experienced such a taste in their lifetime?

“…”

“…”

When moved too deeply, people often lose the ability to express such emotions through words.

Instead, they silently focused on savoring every bit of the stew with their spoons.

Hem, sniffle sniffle

Some people eating the stew shed tears of joy, including Ronny.

* * *

Rumors about Jack’s Inn Arad Stew quickly spread throughout Haven.

“Praise the ancestors! For just two Coppers, we can eat food with spices usually reserved for nobles!”

“When I was a mercenary in the Empire and accidentally ate spiced food, this Arad Stew tastes far better than that!”

“You have to line up from dawn to get it.”

“They say after having Arad Stew once, other foods taste bland and stale.”

All sorts of rumors spread across Haven.

Every adventurer, mercenary, merchant, and citizen in Haven visited Jack’s Inn.

And where there are crowds, incidents are inevitable.

“I was here first!”

“This is where you cut in?! Our ancestors will curse you!”

“Do we have to line up? And share tables with those E and F rank vagrants? Are you asking me, an Imperial adventurer, to do that?”

Problems related to lining up and seating arose first.

“Let’s create premium and royal waiting lines, charging five times more. That should work.”

And I easily solved this problem.

However, the issues didn’t end there.

“Arad! There are too many customers! We can’t possibly accommodate them all at our inn! The guard might say something soon.”

The problem was the business was too successful.

Arad Salt was simply too incredible for a mere inn like Jack’s to handle.

“Arad, I really shouldn’t say this since you created Arad Salt… How about teaching the method to nearby shops for a fee? That way, we can disperse the customers.”

“Hmm… I’ll have to do that eventually, but not now.”

At Jack’s cautious suggestion, I shook my head.

“When exactly will that be?”

“Originally, I planned to sell only Arad Salt by spring after making as much money as possible from Arad Stew.”

My original plan was to milk as much money as possible from Arad Stew before selling only Arad Salt separately.

However, in this situation, the ingredients and production methods of Arad Salt would be revealed in no time.

Since this world has no copyright protection, expecting any kind of patent is difficult.

That’s why I wanted to hold out until the very last moment.

“Spring?! Ancestors, my goodness… But, Arad, I’m really sorry, but it’s tough even now.”

Jack showed reluctance at my plan.

We had just hired three more employees.

Even though I kept healing them with my treatment magic, it seemed impossible to avoid the tingling sensation in his bandaged right arm after finishing work.

His son Tom, on the other hand, became the highest-earning employee among his peers and didn’t seem to feel the strain at all.

“Of course, I understand your situation, Jack.”

“I appreciate your understanding, but can you suggest a solution?”

“Then, let’s do this.”

“How?”

The next day,

A huge sign was added outside Jack’s Inn.

-Takeout Service!

-Bring your own container, and get stew for only one Copper per bowl!

An additional drawing of a person holding a bowl and a one-Copper coin was prominently displayed.

“Eat that delicious stew for half price?! Praise the ancestors!”

“Get a bowl! Bring a bowl!”

All the Coppers in Haven started flowing into Jack’s Inn.

* * *

Using takeout solved the problem of overwhelming customer numbers.

But as they say, “Good things bring trouble,” and humans never merely celebrate another’s success, especially when it’s a retired mercenary running a simple inn.

“Is Jack’s Inn doing that well?”

“So they must be making a lot of money.”

Where money and people gather, flies follow.

All sorts of trash and thugs in Haven started targeting Jack’s Inn.

“We’ll protect you, so hand over half your revenue!”

“We’re better than those guys. We’ll only take one Silver daily as protection money. You’re making so much money, right? Selling two-Copper stew over a hundred bowls daily?”

“If you don’t pay protection fees, your business won’t be fun. We’ll keep disrupting it.”

“Hey! There’s a stone in the food! My tooth broke chewing this stone! How will you compensate me?!”

From demanding protection money to food complaints.

Even though Jack was once a prominent mercenary in his prime, with old age and injuries, dealing with these troublemakers daily became quite burdensome.

“Hey! Hand over all your money!”

Worse, thieves even appeared when customers left and the inn closed.

“These bastards causing trouble! Do they want to die?”

“Are these bastards feeling too confident lately?”

“Beat them up! So we can eat Arad Stew tomorrow!”

Fortunately, Northern Region adventurers and mercenaries staying at Jack’s Inn helped deal with these troublemakers and thieves.

But relying on them every time wasn’t a viable long-term solution.

“Should we hire guards?”

Ultimately, Jack decided to hire mercenaries.

“Why waste money hiring guards?”

However, I opposed Jack’s decision.

“But Arad, if we keep like this, a big accident will happen.”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

“?…”

Having done some business back on Earth, I had a plan, as always.

The next day,

Jack’s Inn sign featured new wording, along with pictures of stew being offered to the Guard and Bureaucrats.

-Free daily Arad Stew for the tireless Guards and Bureaucrats serving Haven day and night. No need to wait in line; you can enter and enjoy priority access during duty hours.

Even in a world with high illiteracy rates, news of freebies spread accurately and quickly across Haven.