The Herb King

After waiting for a while, the waiter came back with a trolley filled with various refreshments. Most of which are vegetables, fruits, and other healthy food. The plating of each dish lacked the artistic image that Leric was used to in his past life, but they didn't look that bad either. He smiled warmly at the waiter despite the lackluster food presentation of the refreshment dishes.

Samira, Kathlyn, and Skylar nodded their heads appreciatively after seeing the food being placed on the table. To them, they looked appetizing and great.

Meanwhile, the twelve newly hired workers were ecstatic at the sight of the luxurious food. "Thank you!" They said to the waiter who smiled back at them.

"How many minutes are left before our main dishes are served?" Leric asked as he looked at the waiter. The man was wearing a smile on his face, but Leric could sense that he was hiding a sense of anxiety and distress. He didn't reveal this kind of expression earlier and Leric became curious as to why there was a sudden change in the waiter's mood.

"The main dishes will be ready in another twenty minutes. I can tell the chefs to hasten the cooking, but it might negatively impact the resulting dish." The waiter answered patiently.

"Alright. Thank you for your hardwork." Leric nodded his head in acknowledgment.

The waiter smiled as he lightly bowed his head. "If you need anything, just press that button over there." He said as he pointed at the small blue button near the right portion of the door.

Leric gave a sound of understanding.

The waiter didn't linger after seeing that they no longer need anything. He left the room and silently closed the door.

"You guys can dig in. You don't need to wait for me." Leric smiled at the ladies when he saw them looking at him nervously.

The ladies smiled shyly as they started eating the food.

Samira noticed that Leric didn't touch the food and she couldn't help but ask him in low voice. "Aethelwolf, is the food not to your liking?" She tasted the vegetable salad and fruit pie. Both of these are great and can be compared to the dishes served in their mansion.

Leric shook his head as he replied with a grin. "It's not that I don't like the food. I just want to starve myself so that I can eat more meat later."

In truth, Leric truly felt that the food didn't look appealing. He tasted a small bite of the dessert earlier, but he almost spat it out of his mouth. It felt like he was eating coarse bread. The texture was rough, and when he started chewing, it felt as if he was biting on grains of sand.

Now that he recalled it, the food he ate in the Reynolds Household wasn't any better. He even wondered why he thought it was great. Perhaps it was because he became used to their small city's food after eating it every day for more than two years. During that time, he had forgotten the usual taste of the food in his past life.

However, at this very moment, the smell of roasted meat lingering in the restaurant evoked a memory that made him recall the heavenly taste of the food in his past life.

Samira stared speechlessly at Leric. She had only known him for about a month, but she knew that this guy was not telling the truth. "Their roast meat won't disappoint you." She said.

"I hope so." Leric let out a smile, but his mind was moving elsewhere.

'I think it would be a good idea to open my own restaurant. The food in this world lacks flavor and artistic image. The only issue is that I'm currently tied up with the affairs of my clinic. I'll rethink this matter once I hire more Doctors and Alchemists that will work for me.'

While Leric was immersed in his thoughts, the waiter came back after twenty minutes. A few more servants came with him, pushing a couple of trolleys that are filled with piping-hot dishes.

The fragrant smell of meat made him wake up from his stupor.

The smell is almost there, but Leric has to taste them first before he could give his opinion.

The waiter introduced the dishes as he placed them on the table. "This one is the roasted boar ribs dipped in our restaurant's secret sauce... This one is..."

'Secret sauce my ass! Isn't this just a cheap version of gravy? No. Even the cheap version of gravy would taste better than this.' Leric muttered in his heart after tasting a small amount of their so-called secret sauce. It tastes similar to the gravy in his past life, but the sauce didn't have the thickness of the gravy as well as the savory aftertaste.

Leric put on a calm expression as he cut a small portion of meat using a knife. He then dipped it with a small amount of their sauce before eating it. "Oh? Not bad..." He muttered. To be honest, it tasted okay-ish, neither good nor bad.

If it were not for the fact that the meat came from magical beasts, the prices of the dishes were definitely not worth it.

Leric ate his food in silence, but he was inwardly commenting on how bad it was.

Samira smiled upon seeing this and she thought that Leric liked the meat. "Tastes good, right?"

Leric turned his head at her and nodded his head calmly. "It's alright, but what if I tell you that I can make something better than this?" He had a playful look on his face as he was saying these words. Luckily, the waiter and the servants have already left the room or they would have secretly cursed him for being too boastful.

"Eh? You also know how to cook?" Samira let out a surprised expression, but when she recalled that Leric lived as a wanderer before they met, she found this believable.

Leric nodded his head. "Of course. Tomorrow, let's skip watching the battle event and I'll let you guys taste my cooking." This way he could escape watching those boring fights and he would even be accompanied by many beautiful women.

Samira and the others looked at him and hesitated. The battle event tomorrow will be a lot more exciting since they would start the one-on-one matchups. They didn't want to miss it, but Leric's confident tone made them want to have a taste of his cooking.

"I promise that you guys won't regret it. If I fail to impress you with my cooking, then each of you will get one high-rank soap from me!" Leric's confidence stemmed from his experience and in his skills in cooking. Heck! He had lived alone in his past life and he had to cook food for himself. Although he didn't possess the abilities of a Michelin-rated chef, he was confident that he can whip out a dish that was a hundred times better than what was served to them. Not to mention that he can use his Status Screen to enhance his cooking skills.

Leric smirked evilly as he thought about this.