Deep in the Dungeon, on the 39th Floor.
The Loki Familia's expedition force gathered on a safe floor.
The wide rocky ground was occupied by a temporary camp. The supporters were counting supplies, and the main members of the exploration team were resting.
Finn stood in front of the stairs leading to the 40th Floor. He didn't rashly move forward because his right thumb was throbbing with pain at this moment, which was more intense than in any previous exploration.
This was very wrong!
Every time this feeling appeared, trouble usually followed.
Finn looked at the stairwell leading to the 40th Floor, his brows furrowed, thinking about whether the expedition team should continue to go deeper.
Just as he was hesitating, Raul Nord, having finished counting the remaining supplies, walked over. He stopped in front of Finn, holding a notebook in his hand.
"Captain."
After handing over the supply list, he said, "The supplies we brought for this expedition can no longer support further exploration. The remaining amount is only enough for the return trip to the surface."
He gazed towards the path leading to deeper floors and asked, "Captain, should we continue to explore? If we go further, some people might have to go hungry."
Hearing this, the brows that Finn had already furrowed became even tighter.
The most troublesome part of an expedition was never the fighting. A shortage of food, recovery potions, bandages, spare weapons, or any item would cause the risks of an exploration to increase exponentially.
They couldn't just eat monster meat, right?
As soon as this thought arose, Finn instantly killed it off completely.
Monster meat cannot be eaten. This is common knowledge that all Adventurers in Orario know.
And the problem their party was currently facing was very obvious. Many expeditions had been halted because of insufficient supplies.
Especially now, Finn felt the pain coming from his right thumb, which constantly reminded him that continuing forward would lead to danger.
He looked at Raul, whom he regarded as his successor. Although the surrounding Adventurers did not approach, quite a few members had stopped what they were doing and cast curious gazes this way.
As the Captain, his judgment would determine the direction of the expedition team. If he was not careful, the choice he made would lead to the sacrifice of members.
A moment later, he turned around and announced, "This expedition ends here. We are now preparing to return to Orario."
— — —
Hostess of Fertility.
Noon was not a bustling time. The vast majority of Adventurers would not waste their return time to Orario at noon, and those Adventurers with relatively average strength, even if they returned to Orario, wouldn't come tothe Hostess of Fertility to spend money. After all, the prices of the dishes were right there.
Zephyr stood at the entrance of the restaurant, carrying the packed Soldier Frog legs in his hand.
He hadn't brought everything over. Let the product do the talking first, then discuss the price later.
Just as he arrived at the restaurant entrance, he was noticed by Syr, her eyes holding a hint of surprise.
Zephyr daily routine didn't require any deliberate investigation, one could ask about it easily. He would head out early every day to explore the Dungeon and return to Orario in the evening.
Syr tilted her head, her tone filled with curiosity. "Zephyr-san, why are you here?"
"I just managed to get quite a lot of fresh, rare ingredients." Zephyr shrugged and replied with a smile.
He raised the Soldier Frog legs he was carrying and said, "I promised Chloe-san that if I came across any interesting ingredients, I would bring them over to share."
"Is that so?"
It wasn't a lie.
Syr cast her gaze toward the extremely large ingredient in Zephyr's hand, where the outline of legs could be seen, and she couldn't help but raise her eyebrows slightly.
She asked, "Isn't this a bit too much?"
"It's fine."
Zephyr didn't think much of it, recalling his current inventory. "There are at least plenty more like this at the Familia base. It would be a waste if they aren't eaten."
Upon hearing this explanation, Syr suppressed the curiosity in her eyes and turned around to call out, "Zephyr-san has brought fresh ingredients over!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Anya poked her head out from the kitchen. She noticed the ingredients in Zephyr's hand, her eyes lighting up as she recalled the dishes she had tasted before.
After briefly explaining the situation, Zephyr went to the kitchen.
He placed the Soldier Frog legs on the table, opened the sealed packaging, and asked Chloe with a smile, "Freshly arrived, do you want to try it?"
"I didn't expect you to remember." Chloe's calm expression gradually became complex.
She hadn't expected that something she had said casually at the time would be remembered by Zephyr, and that he would even go out of his way to deliver it.
She felt a warmth in her heart. As a chef, the only way she could repay Zephyr was probably by not wasting the uniqueness of this ingredient.
After gathering her complex thoughts, she looked at the leg meat.
Cow leg?
But the muscle color of beef is obviously more vibrant red, and it is completely different from pork. To be honest, it looks more like the leg of a bird. Specifically, she really couldn't tell.
Chloe rubbed her chin, looking at Zephyr. "So, this is what you were talking about, those special ingredients?"
"That's right." Zephyr nodded.
He rolled up his sleeves and asked with a smile, "Do you want to try it? I've developed a new dish, and after trying it, I feel it tastes quite good."
New Dish!
Having tasted those special dishes, the cream fruit cake, and the grilled pork chop that Zephyr had corrected the cooking of in front of them, rgarding his culinary skills, the girls present had no doubts whatsoever.
Syr asked, "Then do you need any special seasonings?"
"Sure."
After a brief inspection, he said, "Dried chili, bay leaves, and some rock sugar. That's all I need."
"No problem."
After memorizing all the necessary ingredients, Syr nodded.
She didn't find this troublesome at all. On the contrary, she hoped that through this, Zephyr would come to the restaurant to see her often.
She set off, saying, "Wait a moment, I will go buy them right away. Remember to wait for me."
"Of course. How could I cook without seasonings?"
Zephyr felt like that sentence was a bit strange but he didn't think too much about it.
After washing his hands, he took a boning knife.
Chloe was standing right beside him. She crossed her arms and leaned against the edge of the prep table, her eyes fixed intently on Zephyr's movements.
As the restaurant's head chef, she knew that observing the techniques of other chefs could often lead to learning many things.
Zephyr placed the Soldier Frog legs on the cutting board. He tapped the thicker parts of the meat with the back of his knife to determine the specific processing method, and used the tip of the knife to pick out the fascia that would affect the texture.
Cutting, deboning, chopping into pieces.
All his movements were extremely smooth, and the rhythmic thud-thud sound of the blade hitting the cutting board had absolutely no pauses.
It was as if he didn't need to think at all to determine how to proceed next. This knife skill alone was something Chloe needed to learn.
If the version of herself that was still an Assassin back then could have had such skillful cutting techniques, the customer satisfaction rate would surely have improved.