NOVEL NEXT Chapter 10: Money Saver Nina
Baron Frascine and his grand daughter sat in the living room as they talked when their butler walked in with a letter.
"Sir, Mister Lukas is waiting outside."
"Let him in." Baron said and soon, he saw Lukas walk in. Compared to yesterday, he looked much more presentable as he wore a nice cotton shirt and dark grey trousers.
Lukas gave them a short bow before he looked at the girl, "What's your answer, miss?"
"I've decided that I want to open a restaurant that is accessible for everyone. But if I do this… we won't be able to make enough money. Is that fine with you?" she asked, looking nervous for the first time.
Lukas shrugged, "We can always make two restaurants. One for the working class and the other for people like you. The experiences will be very different but both of them will produce income. For the luxury restaurant, we can set up an appointment system where the patrons will have to set up a time in advance. We can allow parties and multiple other events at this restaurant. I'll leave the details to you since you would be more knowledgeable than me in this area."
The two of them listened to him attentively as he continued, "Bringing in customers should be easy since you guys can directly invite them in. The first time can be free and our main goal would be making sure that they'll have an amazing experience. One that'll make them want to come back again and again. To help with this, I have a contact who has access to special ingredients. Before you ask to meet them, I would like to say that they wish to remain anonymous."
The girl nodded and looked at her grandfather, "Grandpa, can we do this?"
"Sure, I'll put in some money too. You can use the restaurant we already built for the nobles while we can just renovate another restaurant to fit our requirements for the working class."
The girl's expression brightened when she heard this. She turned to look at Lukas and stood up before bowing slightly, "My name is Alicia Frascine. I apologise for the late introduction, Chef Lukas."
"Uh… I dont' know about noble greetings." he said as he looked at her raised hand.
"Hehehe." the baron chuckled as he stood up, "I know. So my son will be your etiquette teacher. Alicia's father."
Lukas felt exhausted the moment he heard about etiquette, 'I did not sign up to learn how to be pretentious!! Well… maybe I'll be able to bag some girl in the future. Yes, it's free so take advantage of it.'
"Sure but… I wish to learn about the town's population first. The jobs that the people do and their spending habits. This will help me settle on a dish that can satisfy the locals."
Baron Frascine took off his half top hat and ran his hand over his balding head, "I'll send someone who's very knowledgeable in this field. Are you fine with them visiting your house?"
Lukas glanced at the baron and nodded, "As long as it's before sunset. My sister hates it when I turn on the oil lamps so I'm forced to sleep early." he complained.
"Then let me give you something." he said as he walked to the side and grabbed something from one of his drawers.
It was a transparent glass sphere and didn't look like anything special. It was only when the baron said the word, "Light.", did Lukas realise that it wasn't normal at all.
The sphere produced a bright light that could easily illuminate the entire room. Lukas looked around and he immediately knew that this was something extremely expensive.
"Don't worry about the cost." Baron Frascine said as he grinned, "I received this as a gift. Apart from that, this one is pretty affordable and very common in the capital. I remember that it costs around ten silvers each. It'll last a year before you'll need to recharge it, which can be done if you know someone who has unlocked their mana heart. Regular people can also do it if they have a mana crystal."
The baron didn't mention that Lukas could recharge it himself as Alicia was still with them and Lukas understood this.
He appreciated the thoughtfulness as he took the glass sphere and walked out of the room. He stopped outside the door and looked behind, "Is it fine if I take a few ingredients home? I wish to create a few unique dishes."
"Take whatever you like but make sure you come here for your etiquette lessons from tomorrow."
Lukas did not respond as he left the place. He grabbed all the ingredients he needed and headed back home.
Once he got in, he looked at the kitchen.
Under the large stone slab that was attached to the wall, he neatly stacked firewood. Adjacent to it on the right, was the cooking area. It looked like a box with three holes at the top and one large arch at the front.
The wood stove was well built as it wasn't just a hollow box with three holes. It was solid, made with clay and small stones to fill up most of the space. The only free space, were three circular pathways that connected the three holes to the area where the wood burned, helping the fire to travel better.
Right on top of it, was a large rectangular hole that connected to the chimney.
"It cost five bronze…"
Lukas immediately turned around to see Nina standing at the kitchen entrance. She wore a nice yellow gown that had frills around the shoulders.
'I've always called her an evil donkey but she's actually pretty cute if she wears something nice.' he thought as he recalled a memory of her on a hospital bed, scrawny and pale as she grinned at him.
He let out a soft sigh but then, he noticed that she had her lips pursed.
"If you're angry with something, you should talk about it." he said as grabbed a few pieces of wood and tossed them into the fireplace.
"Can't we pick up our own firewood from the forest nearby? Five bronze coins for something you can find so easily feels like a waste of money."