Chapter 76. Victoria’s Ordinary Afternoon (2)
The three men opened the door to Restaurant Shelley with tense expressions.
A warm, comforting aroma of food drifted toward them.
“It’s more normal than I expected.”
Jincheol muttered as he looked around.
Yuhyeok immediately scolded him.
“Don’t let your guard down. The Philosopher’s Stone has to be somewhere in here.”
The Philosopher’s Stone is somewhere inside this restaurant.
With that single thought in mind, the three desperately scanned their surroundings.
But all they could see was an extremely ordinary restaurant.
[Welcome, worthless lumps of flesh.]
Suddenly, a large metal robot-like figure leaned toward them.
Yuhyeok, who had been carefully looking around the restaurant, swallowed a scream.
“Eek!”
[I am Waiter Robert. I shall guide you. Follow me.]
The creature beckoned to them with a series of mechanical beeps.
Apparently, it wanted them to follow.
Yuhyeok stared at the bizarre being in horror.
“W-What is that?”
Sewoon quickly recognized it.
“A golem. Artificial life-forms alchemists create to use as servants.”
Jincheol glanced at Robert as he walked ahead and muttered nervously,
“He looks strong just from looking at him.”
“If he’s guarding the Philosopher’s Stone, there’s no way he’d be weak.”
Yuhyeok answered tensely.
The existence of such a powerful gatekeeper was practically proof that something valuable was hidden here.
And that something was probably the Philosopher’s Stone.
Lost in that thought, Yuhyeok sat down at the table Robert led them to.
Even then, his mind kept racing, trying to figure out where the Philosopher’s Stone might be hidden.
“Oh my, aren’t you the owner of that cat from earlier?”
While Yuhyeok was desperately thinking, Victoria greeted him warmly.
He immediately stopped and answered awkwardly,
“Ah, hello.”
“Is your cat doing well?”
“Thanks to you. Hahaha.”
In truth, it had just been a stray cat they had grabbed from the back alley for their little act.
But to avoid suspicion, Yuhyeok quickly played along.
Fortunately, Victoria did not seem suspicious at all.
[So, lumps of flesh. What will you order? Speak quickly. I am a busy golem.]
Robert urged them.
The three glanced at each other.
If they sat there without ordering anything, it would obviously look strange.
After a moment of thought, Yuhyeok answered casually,
“Just give us three servings of anything.”
Robert froze.
Then he asked in an unusually serious tone,
[...Are you certain?]
Had he just ordered something incredible?
Yuhyeok began to stammer at Robert’s ominous reaction.
“W-Why?”
[No. I merely admire your courage. I never expected anyone to order ‘Anything’ at Restaurant Shelley.]
Unlike Robert, Victoria’s face lit up with interest.
She even praised Yuhyeok.
“Exactly. You have surprisingly good taste. I can’t believe you actually ordered ‘Anything.’”
What the hell was “Anything”?
Yuhyeok suddenly had the distinct feeling that he had made an irreversible mistake.
[Yukgap! The customers ordered ‘Anything’!]
Robert shouted toward the kitchen.
A man called Yukgap came rushing out.
His face was filled with disbelief.
“What? Are they insane? They really ordered that?”
[Prepare ‘Anything’ immediately. The customers are waiting.]
Robert urged him coldly.
Yukgap stared in horror.
“Ugh. I never thought anyone would actually order it.”
Shaking his head in disbelief, he returned to the kitchen.
Sewoon turned angrily toward Yuhyeok.
“What the hell did you order? Why is everyone reacting like that?!”
“I don’t know! I just said to give us anything!”
But Yuhyeok had no idea either.
All he could do now was helplessly wait for whatever terrible event was about to occur.
“Here are your three servings of ‘Anything.’”
Before long, their order arrived.
It looked vaguely like a stew served in individual miniature pots.
But whatever had been boiled inside, the broth was completely black.
Chunks of unidentified meat floated on the surface.
It clearly was not normal food.
“What is this?”
“I don’t know. Some kind of porridge?”
Yuhyeok and Sewoon quickly whispered to each other.
Neither of them had ever seen anything like it.
Even the smell was bizarre.
“It might still taste... Kgh! What the hell is this flavor?!”
Jincheol, who had bravely taken a spoonful, screamed.
Yuhyeok jumped.
“What’s wrong?”
“This isn’t food meant for humans!”
Jincheol trembled as he stared at the dark contents of the pot.
“It’s a disaster pretending to be a dish!”
At this point, Yuhyeok was beginning to feel genuinely afraid of what he had done.
Gathering his courage, he asked Victoria,
“E-Excuse me... what exactly is this dish?”
“It’s the ‘Anything’ you ordered. Didn’t you look at the menu?”
“What?”
The three immediately opened their menus.
In one corner was written:
Americano.
Nabe made by slowly boiling boneless chicken feet.
Yielding a proudly rough texture.
Thing.
Yuhyeok stared.
“What kind of dish is this?! Why are you boiling boneless chicken feet in Americano?!”
A nabe made from Americano and boneless chicken feet.
The combination was so grotesquely mismatched that Yuhyeok was speechless.
Victoria laughed softly as though she had been waiting for that reaction.
“Hehe. You simply don’t understand.”
She confidently explained,
“Americano is an essential after-meal drink Koreans cannot live without.”
“And boneless chicken feet are also a beloved late-night snack.”
“So I combined the textures of those two dishes in an attempt to create an entirely new culinary realm that transcends both dessert and late-night food.”
Sewoon and Jincheol stared at her in disbelief.
“This?”
“You’d have to be insane to eat this.”
Victoria immediately launched into a rebuttal.
“Ha! When Galileo Galilei said that the Earth revolved around the Sun, everyone ridiculed him!”
“But with time, history proved that he was right!”
Victoria raised her chin proudly.
“Pioneers are always persecuted! One day, my creation will open a new horizon in the culinary world!”
No one knew what kind of future would have to arrive before Americano and boneless chicken feet became an accepted combination.
But Victoria’s voice was overflowing with confidence.
She did not doubt her creation for even a second.
[My apologies. The Doctor’s head is somewhat full of flowers. She also has a tendency to go out of control in strange ways, and despite our objections, she added this bizarre dish to the menu.]
Robert awkwardly apologized on her behalf.
Even Yukgap, the chef, avoided eye contact and made excuses.
“Honestly, I assumed nobody with a functioning mind would order it, so I was surprised when you did.”
“I never thought I’d actually have to cook this.”
Both of them practically radiated guilt over failing to stop Victoria.
Victoria, however, seemed utterly delighted that someone had finally chosen her special creation.
“Now, eat every last bite!”
She spread her arms enthusiastically.
“And experience the new wave of the culinary world with your own bodies!”
The three stared silently at the unidentified monstrosities placed in front of them.
Only Yuhyeok, the man responsible for all of this, laughed with empty eyes.
“Haha... hahaha...”
“Uuugh... uuuugh...”
“I-I can’t eat anymore.”
Sewoon and Jincheol sat trembling after somehow forcing themselves to eat the “Anything.”
There was good reason for that.
The combination of Americano and boneless chicken feet was even more disastrous than they had imagined.
“So? How was it?”
Unlike them, Victoria watched their reactions with shining eyes.
“Did you enjoy our restaurant’s new menu item?”
She looked full of anticipation.
Yuhyeok saw his chance.
“There’s something I’m curious about.”
He carefully began,
“How did you come up with such... intense dishes?”
“That?”
Victoria brightened, pleased that someone was interested in her masterpiece.
“When I’m doing alchemy experiments, ideas sometimes suddenly flash into my mind.”
“And when that happens, I immediately put them into action.”
She happily kept talking.
Laboratory.
That single word caught the attention of all three men at once.
Their suspicions solidified.
Yuhyeok deliberately showered Victoria with praise to win her favor.
“A-A laboratory that creates amazing food like this must be an incredible place.”
Victoria smiled brightly.
“Are you curious?”
“A little...?”
Victoria nodded readily.
“Well, since meeting like this must be fate, I’ll let you tour my laboratory!”
“I happen to be working on a few experiments right now too. Come take a look!”
Yuhyeok briefly wondered if he had misheard.
She was agreeing that easily?
He asked again in disbelief,
“All three of us?”
“Of course!”
Victoria smiled.
“My laboratory is open to everyone!”
Apparently, she did not suspect them in the slightest.
At that moment, Robert stepped forward.
[Doctor, that is dangerous.]
Victoria pouted at him.
“What? I’m always completely prepared. There’s no problem!”
[No. The guests are the ones in danger. I am not particularly concerned about you.]
Yukgap immediately agreed.
“I’m with Robert. Outsiders shouldn’t casually enter that place.”
Their plan was in danger of falling apart.
The three men immediately jumped to their feet and shouted desperately.
“No! We definitely want to go!”
“That’s right! We’re incredibly curious about what the laboratory looks like!”
“Don’t worry about us! We’re very healthy!”
Seeing their enthusiasm, Victoria defended them.
“Look at how excited they are! How can you stop people like this?”
“Ugh... fine. If you insist.”
Yukgap finally backed down.
Then he looked at the three with an extremely serious expression.
“I have very good hearing.”
“If anything happens, call for me immediately.”
Robert also warned them firmly.
[I will be standing by as well. If anything dangerous happens, scream immediately.]
Had Yuhyeok just made another irreversible decision?
His face went pale as he nodded.
“O-Okay.”
