"Welcome." Dnanta greeted cheerfully, taking a peek at the person who had just entered the restaurant. "Hmm? You are not alone?"
President Orto smiled. "Itās an honor to receive the information from you, Master of Ingredients. My apologies for coming with another person."
"Well, you can bring whatever you want. But you know the rule, right?" Dnanta frowned.
"Of course. Anyone who receives an invitation is allowed to bring up to two people. However, if itās getting taken advantage of, which can harm or hurt the chefās interest, the chef reserves the right to withdraw the invitation. Donāt worry. This person here wonāt do anything like that," assured Orto.
"Well, weāll see. Isnāt he the reason this city became so lively?"
"!!!" Evan looked surprised. "Do you know me?"
"Dark Moon Mercenaryās Dark Supreme, Evan Kohl. Who doesnāt know you? Even if Iām a chef, I still watch outside things like I observe my ingredients." Dnanta shrugged.
Evan fell silent while Orto laughed out loud. "See that, Van? Heās definitely a unique chef. Well, it looks like the menu here is like the rumor."
"I have heard the rumors about it, but there are really only three options. I will go with whatever the chef recommends."
Orto nodded. "In that case, I will be the same."
"Hoho. I donāt think you will be disappointed with this choice. Weāve received some special ingredients today." Dnanta chuckled.
"Oh? That makes us look forward to the food." Orto smiled.
Dnanta nodded but remained still.
Orto and Evan looked at him, but they ended up staring at each other without doing anything. The atmosphere became awkward. They wanted to ask why Dnanta didnāt go to the kitchen, but they kept hearing the sizzling sound from the kitchen.
"Youāre not cooking for us, Chef?" Orto asked.
"Nope. Havenāt you seen the invitation?"
"Hmm?" Orto was confused and took out the invitation. "This is not your invitation?"
"Not mine. Check again."
Orto examined the invitation but couldnāt find anything weird. Evan, on the other hand, instantly understood what was going on. "Well, it only says the invitation comes from Chef Len as well as the mark of this restaurant. There are two Chef Lenās in the world that can make this invitation."
"Ah!" Orto gasped. "Donāt tell me, the one who invited us is your daughter?"
"Correct. I wonāt be cooking today."
"What?" Orto was stunned. "Isnāt this unfair, Chef?"
"I donāt understand what youāre talking about." Dnanta shook his head casually. "Letās see. You guys are so deceiving to those youngsters, so why are you complaining now?"
"Those youngsters?!" Orto and Evan obviously understood who the āyoungstersā he was talking about were.
"Donāt tell me, you are influenced by their group? You? Who is known to not work for everyone?" Orto simply couldnāt believe it.
However, Evan seemed to have seen through everything. "Ahahaha. Looks like we have been outplayed this time."
"Van?!"
"Come on. You should be able to see it." Evan grinned in amusement.
Before Orto could say another word, Rin came out of the kitchen, bringing fried rice with some special ingredients from Another World Mall.
"Here you go. Special Fried Rice." Rin placed down the food in front of them before extending her hand. "As for the payment, you just have to hand it to me."
"!!!" Orto widened his eyes in shock. Evan finally spelled it out. "Thatās how it is. Chef Dnanta Len still sticks to his principles. However, the same canāt be said for his daughter. Am I right, Chef? Isnāt that the reason your daughter sent the invitation?"
Dnanta nodded. "Not 100%, but you are 80% correct. I remain an outsider, but my daughter is currently working as Clovis Hacfieldās chef, though sheās not a part of the Libation Fiesta. As long as my daughter doesnāt join the fight or something, I donāt plan to do anything."
Orto was stupefied. As Evan said, they had been outplayed. Clovis actually took advantage of this connection to lower their guards.
Evan slapped Ortoās back multiple times. "Hahaha. We have been had, right, Orto? Looks like the younger generation is really meant to surpass the older generation. Iām looking forward to the mission itself."
Orto facepalmed and shook his head helplessly. He looked at Rin and asked, "May I finish my food first, young lady?"
Rin nodded. "Please enjoy."
After saying those two words, Rin returned to the kitchen. Before Orto realized it, Dnanta was already sitting next to them with a beer bottle.
"Hahaha. Chef. Iām truly amazed. How can such a person even convince you?" Evan cared a lot about the successor battle. He wanted to see what kind of person Clovis was to figure out whether he was the correct person for Vina or not.
Dnanta smiled. "Well, heās my fated customer. Just a bit more fated than this guy."
"Haha, Orto." Evan laughed.
"Then again, isnāt that why youāre doing this succession thingy?"
"Well..." Evanās smile disappeared almost instantly. He sighed before scratching the back of his head. "Thatās true. I created three divisions in my mercenary group so that they could keep each other in check. If one were to attack, they would risk being ganged, and so on.
"Thatās why they need to be bold, calculating, and decisive. And by creating this succession battle, I can let them grow. Besides, you need a good eye to choose a good partner. Thatās why Iām curious about this person, not as the successor of the Hacfield family, but as an individual.
"After all, he could convince a chef like you. I just hope that theyāre able to see through the true meaning of the succession battle."
Dnanta shrugged. "Are you fine with saying that in front of my daughter?"
"Itās fine even if she wants to tell them. It doesnāt really matter." Evan shook his head. "Since I have given you this information, may I eat for free today?"
Dnanta laughed. "No way. Iām about to go bankrupt because of a certain boy. You still need to pay."
"Eh..." Evanās face was twisted as if he had been wronged. But they ended up laughing again.
Orto looked at the two next to him and couldnāt help but sigh, saying, "Why are you guys so carefree? Iām having a headache right now because of all this stuff."
The two abruptly stopped before laughing as if they were the same kind of people. They even said the same thing. "Hahaha. You need to laugh a lot if you want to live long."