After stopping the time around the ready Beef Chili pot, Ludwig decided to busied himself in the kitchen again. But this time, he wouldn't cook anything fancy, nor anything that needed the same amount of effort and time as the Beef Chili soup.
It would just be a simple pasta for the employee's breakfast.
Once he was also done with his employee's breakfast, Ludwig sat on his usual station. A hot black coffee on the counter in front of him, steam curling to tell it was freshly brewed.
The silence was blissful. This small window of silence before his employees came down and turned the kitchen into prep wards was often his favourite time in the restaurant. And taking into account what kind of chaos had just wept through the restaurant, this lull of activity became even more calming than before.
Ludwig let his senses rest as he pulled a book from his Storage Dimension. Not a heavy book, just a history book that was written in more hearsay rather than factual evidence.
Sometimes, this kind of book was quite entertaining. It proved just how much humans could speculate when they didn't know anything. Like the conspiracy theorist back on Earth.
A few giggles and chuckles later, the first employee made her appearance in the dining hall. And as expected, it was the most responsible employee under him: Vilera.
The Young demoness looked around the dining hall before looking at him. "Good morning, boss."
Ludwig closed his book and returned her greeting. "Good morning, Vilera, Hope you have a good sleep."
The young demoness's mouth twitched before she let out a dry chuckle. "I also hope I have a good sleep, Boss."
Ludwig decided to keep silent after hearing her answer. It was obvious that the demoness had a nightmare. An obvious effect after experiencing an attack firsthand.
Even though back in Demon Realm they must have been attacked so many times by raiders, It had been quite some time since she was attacked, so of course it would shake her quite a lot.
Before long, all of his employees were in the kitchen.
"I already got breakfast ready for you." Ludwig announced. "Eat first before doing the preps."
Everyone nodded before Finka went to the Stasis Storage to fish out the pasta Ludwig had cooked a few hours ago.
Finka came back from the Stasis Storage with the tray balanced on her forearms like it weighed nothing. The pasta was still steaming when she set it down, oil-slicked strands, pepper, a simple sauce that smelled like garlic and comfort.
For a few minutes, the kitchen was nothing but clinking forks and the quiet kind of hunger that didn't need conversation.
Bilo ate fast, as usual. Not messy—never messy—but fast, like his body still remembered days when food could be interrupted. Finka, on the other hand, had the decency to look like she was enjoying it, chewing slowly with the faintest satisfied hum.
Ludwig let them get a few bites in before he spoke.
"Alright." He said, voice low enough that it didn't feel like he was cracking a whip. "I want the status of today's prep."
Finka swallowed and sat up straighter, almost reflexively. She wiped her mouth with the back of her wrist, then caught herself and used a napkin instead, glancing at Ludwig as if checking whether he'd noticed.
He had. He didn't comment.
"The menu is unchanged as today should still be your break, Chef." She reported. "Fried chicken, assorted tempura, skewers, and pudding from Miss Akane. Same as planned."
Bilo nodded along, already mentally elsewhere, like he was walking the stations in his head.
Ludwig's gaze moved between them, a small sime appeared on his face.
"The status of the fried chicken?" Ludwig still threw the question even though he already saw that it was already pre-cooked in the Stasis Cabinet.
Finka pointed with her fork toward the very same cabinet Ludwig rumaged through earlier without standing. "Already prepared and pre-cooked during yesterday's prep session. Portioning was also done. We only need to refry in batches."
Bilo added, "We still have a good amount of oil left. Two spare jugs ready. If the lunch rush gets ugly, we can swap oil fast.""
Ludwig gave a small nod. That was the kind of thinking he wanted today, practical, unemotional, prepared.
"How about the Tempura?"
Bilo answered this time, a tempo faster than Finka's answer. "Batter is ready. Vegetables are cut and stored. Carrot, eggplant, and seafood already portioned."
"Good." Ludwig said. "Now, the skewers?"
Finka's eyes flicked to him from her food. "Skewers are threaded and sorted by type. Sauce is ready. We can start the grill as soon as the first regulars want them."
Bilo, chewing the last bite of pasta, said around it, "And we re-counted the sticks. After yesterday, running out something stupi dlike skewers will make us looks really bad."
That got a quiet, almost embarrassed laugh from the other employees.
However, Ludwig didn't smile, but something in his shoulders eased.
"And the puddings? When will Akane deliver them?"
"In a few hours, Boss. Yesterday, she came long before the lunch service started." Valerie answered this time, not Bilo, and no Finka.
"Alright." He said. "Then we do what we always do. We cook and we serve. We don't let outside nonsense affect us too much."
Finka hesitated, then asked carefully, "Boss… are you going to fix more tables before they come back?"
Ludwig's eyes drifted, just for a moment, toward the dining hall. The repaired islands of furniture surrounded by damage he'd left on purpose.
"Not more than we need." He answered. "We have talked with Konoha regarding that."
Bilo's expression tightened, then smoothed back into neutrality. "Understood."
Ludwig reached for his coffee and took a slow sip, letting the bitterness ground him.
"Finish eating." He said, voice returning to routine. "Then go to your stations. And keep your ears open. Claire and the others will be back soon."
The kitchen moved again, quiet, purposeful. Like a machine that had decided to keep running no matter what tried to break it.
As the prep to increase the number of stock inside the Stasis Cabinet ran, the restaurant whispered into his mind. In the next instance, the identity of the person was revealed.
The Pudding Bringer she was called by one haughty little dragon. For the denizens of Tempest, she was their unofficial goddess. But for the restaurant, she was the lifeline of this restaurant when it came to dessert.
Akane. A woman who became a plus one to her little sister's summoning. A happy accident in the spell crafting that not only brought the siblings but also their house and electricity, strange as it might sound.
Behind her, a knight he knew well followed. The kingdom's knight turned Akane's private bodyguard, Jade.
As usual the bell announced their entry a bit later than the restaurant itself. Ludwig didn't look up from the counter at first. He only set his coffee down with care, because hot liquid and sudden movement were how mornings turned into burns.
Akane stepped in carrying three stacked trays covered in cloth while another four stacks were carried by Jade. The scent of chilled milk and vanilla trailing in with her.
Her hair was as immaculate as always, her expression poised for the usual, there's also her smug little smile, a demand for payment in praise.
But, that smile only made it three steps. Then her gaze landed into the dining hall
Akane stopped so abruptly Jade nearly walked into her back.
For a heartbeat, the restaurant's noise went into an abrupt halt.
"What…" Akane said, voice too light to be real. "happened here?"
Jade's hand was already near his weapon—not drawn, but close enough to be a threat. His eyes scanned the angles of the dining hall with a soldier's habit, checking corners that shouldn't need checking inside a place like this.
Ludwig leaned his hip against the counter, posture relaxed on purpose. He'd learned long ago that panic was contagious, and a kitchen was the worst place to spread it.
"Konoha happened." Ludwig said simply.
Akane blinked once. Then again, slower, like she was refusing to accept that answer had any right to exist in her morning.
"Konoha?" She echoed, as if the word tasted wrong. "Kushina's village?"
"Yes." Ludwig's gaze flicked to Jade, just long enough to acknowledge him. "They attacked the place yesterday.."
Jade's eyes sharpened. "Attack?"
"Well, yes. But more like an attempt." Ludwig corrected, voice even. "They didn't get what they wanted. Well, to be honest, they come home with at least something."
Akane's mouth opened, then closed. Her expression shifted through disbelief into an irritation that wasn't quite anger, because anger would imply she'd ever considered the restaurant vulnerable in the first place.
"And you just let the place stay like this?" She asked, gesturing with her chin toward the ruins, as if the broken furniture was personally insulting her.
"I repaired what we needed to operate." Ludwig said. "The rest is… Konoha's responsibility."
Akane just stared at him.
"Konoha's responsibility?" She repeated, tasting the words like they might be bitter. "So you're telling me… someone came into your restaurant, broke your dining hall, and you're letting them walk away with just an invoice."
Ludwig's hip remained against the counter, as if he had all the time in the world. That calm was deliberate. He'd seen too many people spiral when they thought anger made them look strong.
"I'm telling you." He said evenly, "That they signed a contract. If they don't fix it, the restaurant will enforces."
Akane's eyes narrowed a fraction. "And you didn't just rewind all of it?"
"I rewound what we needed to function." Ludwig replied. "Like tables, chairs, a path for customers."
A pause.
Then, very quietly, Akane said, "You're making it a lesson."
Ludwig didn't deny it. He didn't confirm it either. He simply let the silence sit long enough that the answer became obvious on its own.
Jade broke it with a low, practical question. "Any casualties?"
"No." Ludwig said. "Just some bruises and some nightmares."
Akane's gaze flicked, briefly to Vilera. Like she'd suddenly realized the demoness's stiffness wasn't just morning grogginess.
Then Akane clicked her tongue and stepped forward again, as if refusing to let the Restaurant's state steal more of her schedule.
"Fine." She declared, too crisp, too decisive. "If the dining hall looks like a battlefield, then at least the dessert won't."
She turned her head slightly, voice cutting back toward Jade. "Set them down, carefully."
Jade approached the bar and lowered his stack first, controlled and silent. Akane followed, placing her own trays down with the kind of deliberateness that could be found in mother.
"How many today?" Ludwig asked, voice returning to routine.
"More than yesterday. Bilo and Valerie told me the people from Tempest eat it like it was rice." Akane answered.
The restaurant broke into collective chuckles. Not because the picture was strange and amusing at the same time, but because it's true. Despite their appearance, the orc and the goblin quite enjoyed the pudding from Akane.
"Good, good. Tally up what I need to pay you. Tomorrow, I'll pay and maybe we can talk about another dessert." Ludwig said as a smile graced his face.
"Sure." She shrugged.
Just like that, all the food for today's business was ready to be served.
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