NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Robinson, The Mercenary
Lukas looked at the bread that was familiar thanks to his memories. It looked similar to an Italian Filone but it was also very long; longer than a regular baguette that he was used to seeing in his past life.
It's length stood at approximately 90 cm. It was a three foot long loaf!!
'Man that's long… impressive. Wait, that's what she said heheh.' he lampooned as he took the loaf that looked golden on the outside.
'My humour…. it's going to be so so lost and useless in this world, isn't it.'
He felt a little sad but he got to work, cutting up the bread into six inchers and scooping out some of the center part. From the corner of his eye, he saw Nina observing his actions like an eagle watching it's prey and he didn't dare throw the scooped out bread away.
Instead, he put them on a plate and set it aside before stuffing the holes with the potato mixture. He didn't bother mashing them too much as he preferred having some small chunks when combining it with bread.
Once done, he gave four to Nina and left two for himself.
"I'll make soup tomorrow and use these to thicken it up." he said as he looked at his sister before taking a bite.
The outer crust of the bread was slightly flaky while the inside was soft and fresh. It was clear that it was freshly baked bread and Lukas had no complaints. The flavours from the spiced potatoes fused extremely well with the bread, elevating the overall taste by multiple levels.
As he ate, he took a look at the new dish's information.
[Potato Stuffed Bread (FFF)]
It's a six inch long bread with spiced potato stuffed in the middle, giving both flavour and taste while filling up the stomach. Made using more than two special ingredients, giving it an addictive effect.
Effects: +12 Vitality, +10 Perception, +3 Durability, +3 Endurance
Additional Effects: +30% Satiety, +12 Addiction
'Hey system, next time add the buff duration too. Actually do it right now.'
A moment later, the same description popped up but along with that, he saw a new addition.
Buff Duration: 6 hours
Lukas continued eating and to his surprise, he didn't feel like eating after the first one. He looked at the second stuffed bread on his plate and turned to his sister who was staring at her plate with pursed lips.
'Phew, she's in a similar state.' he thought as he picked up his plate and placed it on the stone slab above the stack of firewood, "Nina, we can eat the rest for dinner."
Nina readily nodded as she took a knife and cut up one of the stuffed breads into two equal parts. Lukas placed the remaining three and a half pieces on a plate and covered it with an empty pot before he headed out to roam the streets.
In the name of market research, he looked for restaurants. Asking the locals helped but he only managed to find three restaurants before tasting some of their most famous dishes.
With a full belly, he returned back home and saw a stranger sitting in the living room leisurely while Nina stood in the kitchen and watched him. The man wore a half top hat similar to the baron and had a long trench coat instead of a suit. His trousers were off colour from repeated use and.
Lukas also saw him gently holding a smoking pipe that was unlit.
"Hello, are you the person that the baron mentioned?" he asked and the man nodded as he pointed at the stack of papers in front of him.
"Here's all the information on the town. About competition, potential customers, the places they work at, everything." he said and saw Lukas nod.
He looked at his sister and said, "Bring this gentleman our stuffed buns so he can have a taste." he said and turned to the man, "I hope that you can give me your honest thoughts."
The man nodded, his face serious as he watched the young girl bring a plate to him. On it, was a familiar looking long bread that he usually bought, but the insides were white.
"You're going to sell white bread to the regular people?" he couldn't help but ask.
Lukas chuckled and shook his head, "No, we'll be using the regular mixed flour. The cheapest kind that's also good at making bread. If not, we'll be incurring losses by selling it for low price."
The man nodded as he pushed the papers towards Lukas, "I'm Robinson by the way, I'm a mercenary who takes up various jobs for people who need my services so if you need help in the future, you can look for me."
Lukas took the papers and began to read the report while Robinson gave his food an unenthusiastic look. He was used to eating plain bread with a thick gravy that his wife made daily. In fact, that was the common food that most families ate.
Seeing something different didn't make him excited as his job was to make sure that he guided Lukas in the right direction.
'He's starting off wrong… he doesn't even know what the locals eat and he wants to set up a business. I'll just do what I can. It's not like I can force him.' he thought as he picked up the bread and took a modest bite.
After all, this wasn't his home.
Part bread and part spiced potatoes entered his mouth. At first, he didn't feel like it was anything special but once he began chewing and the flavours mixed, he was blown away.
He gave Lukas a surprised look but Lukas was busy reading the report.
'It's similar to bread and gravy in a way but hmm… it's a little different.' he thought as he couldn't help but take another bite. Unlike gravy whose taste would quickly be overthrown by the bread, the potatoes in the middle blended in well, lasting until he swallowed the food in his mouth completely.
He didn't know how but while he was lost in his thoughts, he had finished eating.
"What do you think, Mr Robinson? Do you think this will work?" Lukas asked from the side.
Robinson thought for a few seconds with a deep frown on his face before saying, "I can see it working but…"