About three days later, Asher sat in the restaurant with his BloodBlades behind him. Asher crossed his legs and kept tapping his hands on the table as he gazed at 20 cooks. All of them had promising grades but he refused to be know.
If he knew, he would have eyes on those ones with high grades and have greater expectations, which might affect his decision. Because of that, it was best they prepared meals with the ingredients before them. Before each of them were Hexakad chickens, slain and fresh for cooking.
Killing ten Hexakads, diamond-ranked beasts wasn’t anything to Asher anymore, as he had thousands of them and with constant intake, he had long lost the effects of eating them. Now he only enjoyed their delicious flesh.
He also had mountain sheep in great numbers, the same for ovoks, Moonlit Starhorn cattle, and Sterling bulls. Above all, the Moonlit Starhorn had the best-tasting meat but because of its delicious milk, which was loved by many in the dominion, only a small percent of the Moonlit cow were slain.
“Go on, cook. I shall select 10 cooks and one master chef.”
Some were nervous after seeing the sort of military this outpost had but due to its grand looks, a good number of them had aspirations.
When the cooking started, Asher’s eyes danced about and the last cook caught his attention. A cook wearing gloves and a strange attire that proved the cook loved being mysterious.
The cook’s chopping skills were beyond the world. The chef knife danced about with the vegetables being sliced so cleanly and fashionably that not only Asher but even his BloodBlades marveled.
Strangely, while others made noises as their chef knife hit the chopping board, this cook’s knife did not make such noise. Before they knew it, carrots were already in the pot, followed by peppers, potatoes, and much more, which were diced in few minutes!
As the seasonings were evenly sprinkled while the soup was being stirred, a mouthwatering aroma burst out like a fragrance, and it tormented not only Asher’s nostrils but also that of other cooks.
The cook glanced at the pot then turned to the table and cleanly divided the chicken into large parts. Putting them into the boiling stock, blue flames came out of the cook’s palm and entered the fire, transforming it into blue flames.
Just by bringing the hand down, the flames reduced, and when the cook took his/her hand up, the flames increased.
Nero blinked.
Although the flames weren’t big enough to inflict serious damage in a battle, it was perfect for cooking. Its properties were out of this world, but to Asher, it was like watching a human regulator.
The cook raised a hand and the flames went up, dancing around the body of the pot. To their shock, the cook touched the flames and nodded.
Seeing this, Asher chuckled softly.
With a snap of his fingers, the flames went down after a short while and the cook brought out the chicken and diced it in a slim rectangular pattern before transferring it to a smaller pot and boiling it for an even shorter moment before it was served to a waiter.
The waiter brought the pepper soup before Asher and when Asher looked at it, he marveled. The water twinkled softly and the chicken looked so soft and juicy that for the first time in months, Asher gulped.
He cleared his throat.
The vegetables arrayed themselves in a perfect pattern, making it almost seem that the cook dipped a hand into the soup to arrange the vegetables, but Asher watched the cook serve the meal and none of that was done so how it looked so beautifully designed was a mystery.
But he did notice that even the way the cook served the meal had a special pattern.
Asher took a spoon but hesitated. Discarding all thoughts, he took a sip.
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Asher’s eyes twinkled.
The moment it touched his tongue, there was a mini explosion of spice on his taste buds, moderately mixed with a much more ethereal taste that he couldn’t grasp. His taste buds jubilated as the liquid flowed down his oesophagus.
In that short journey, he felt a soothing warmth and this was from a meal that had steam! Asher’s mind had a mini shutdown and by the time he realized himself, he saw an empty bowl.
Ahem!
He composed himself.
“Next.”
……………
At the end of the selection, Nero announced the results and those that failed left remorsefully while those that passed kept exercising their gratitude to Asher, all except the cook that prepared the best meal.
All the cook did was bow.
“I was wondering if my lord would make a woman the head of this restaurant.” The cook suddenly spoke and the voice caught Asher off guard.
The cook removed her leather gloves exposing her slender fingers, removed the hat, and untied her gambeson to reveal a developed womanly body.
Even the other cooks were shocked.
Amongst them, 8 were men and 2 were women but it seemed as if the number would be reduced to 7 men.
Some couldn’t believe a woman beat them but as she revealed herself, they gasped at her undeniably beautiful looks.
She had had blood-red hair, pale skin, and a sharp, featured face.
“I am Priscillia, Your Lordship.” She bowed deeply.
“You’re a great cook. Where did you learn?” Asher avoided her prior question and asked his own.
“I learnt from Nightfire Kingdom. I attended their Evernight academy to expand my knowledge and acquire experience against magic cooks.”
“Nightfire!”
Other cooks gasped.
Asher frowned.
People from Nightfire were lunatics that saw mages as the true rulers of the world and had disdain for warrior-ruled dominions even though they traded with them.
That sense of superiority had always been there.
As one of the main programmers, Asher had faced NPCs from Nightfire as a newbie warrior during testing and that experience scarred him.
He was a man who refused to be bit twice before he grew wiser.
“I’m sorry but I have nothing to do with people from Nightfire. Besides, it’s strange that you would leave that magical land to this deserted place.”
“I’m not like the others, Your Lordship. My birthplace is here. I left when I was 14 and I can’t mock my homeland because of a foreign land’s greatness.”
Asher furrowed his brows.
“You expect me to believe you suddenly felt uncomfortable in Nightfire and ran back to this wasteland just because it’s your homeland?”
Asher scoffed.
Priscillia’s shoulders slumped and she sighed helplessly. “A lord wanted me to have me as his concubine and I fled. No matter how far he could search he would never step into the wastelands.”
This time Asher knew she was telling the truth; he could see it in her eyes and sense it in her tone. In truth, no commoner could say no to a Lord. Only nobles of equal titles had the right to reject the other.
“You’re hired. But first, what is your grade?”