Finn looked around frantically, going through the shelves until he received another notification.
[You have arrived at the target’s location]
Right in front of the eggs.
Seeing him freeze, the sous chef who was accompanying him narrowed his eyes. Meanwhile, Finn was absolutely frozen.
An egg? What —
He would be able to think of all the metaphors ’shell’ could refer to if he had been given the time. Never, in his wildest dreams, would he think that it was a literal referral!
This was not within Finn’s expectations, and he was shocked, forgetting where he was. He was pulled back to reality by an annoying screechy voice next to his ears.
"What’s taking you so long?" he yelled, grabbing Finn’s shoulder. "You’re not stealing anything, are ya? We’ll be checking on you!"
The kitchen assistant, understandably, probably didn’t know about his ’space rune’. If he did, he probably wouldn’t dare say something like that in the first place.
"Ah, yes, let me just check on this..." he said, forcing some composure.
It was not bright in such a storage room, and there were a lot of shadows. However, thanks to his many skills and food rewards from the system, Finn’s already good vision was improved even more. He was just one step away from having night vision.
Soon, he saw it: An unusual egg. The eggs already came in different sizes and colors (and some were rounder than others), but he could tell one egg at the back was special.
It was placed at the cornermost part of the cabinet. Because it was dark and even the lamps would only create shadows at this angle, it had been wholly unnoticed until now.
In terms of appearance, it wasn’t that different, not in a way that people would marvel at it as a unique thing. If it were, it probably wouldn’t even be here. But Finn could tell by feel.
He used his skills and confirmed it.
[Mysterious Egg (Live)]
[Information: Fragile! Mission Target]
He gulped, compartmentalizing, and grabbed the egg to subtly place in his space.
[Living things cannot be placed in the space.]
"Shit..."
"OI!"
"This...keep these eggs here, alright?" he yelled, and the sous chef was naturally offended. However, Finn was not to back down. "The main guest hates eggs! And hates the smell of them!
"Be sure that you don’t touch any of these eggs while they’re here, keep them well!"
...
For the meal he’d prepare, he decided to go with ingredients that he knew. He didn’t have the mind to explore and experiment now. His mind was whirling. He could only choose to do something in his comfort zone.
Anyway, considering the wide variety of his offerings, people wouldn’t put two-and-two together, especially if the food he offered here would not be essence food.
He chose herbed pork (they had domesticated boars here) with salad.
The difference between domesticated meat versus monster meat was quite a lot. This was just like on Earth, and definitely easier to cook. Monster meat was just important if one didn’t have any other choice or if they wanted to make essence food, which wasn’t something he wanted to show at this time.
He was also made aware that there were really fewer spices in the safe zone. He was already in the Lord’s palace, and there was only salt, something mildly sweet, and two minor spices to choose from! They both gave mildly savory and umami tastes, but nothing to compare to his own sauce.
Then, he had an idea. He wasn’t about to lose this chance to do a bit of promotion since he was already there.
Not to mention, he knew the value of these sauces. If he could use them to get his sister out there without problems, why wouldn’t he try?
He took out some of his own sauces, two of them, and pretended they were from his supposedly large pocket. The appearance of unknown bottles made the chefs frown, suspecting the substance, and he smiled.
"You can get an appraisal tool to check if this is poison," he said. "It’s just special sauces I bought from somewhere, and now I can’t cook without them. It’s definitely tried and tested."
At this, the butler took his appraisal tool and checked it, simply mentioning it as a special culinary sauce.
Getting the clear, Finn started his cooking journey in a whole new kitchen. He wasn’t so fast at first because he was still getting used to the layout, but when he did, the other chefs thought his movements were beautiful.
There was just something in the way he cut his vegetables, stirred his soup, and the like that looked very graceful.
These people probably didn’t know what showmanship was, and they got a peek today.
"Ohhh"
"Ahhh~"
"Knives can move like that?"
"Do you see how thin he cut the matis fruit? That’s thinner than my fingernail!"
In time, the cynical looks turned curious, especially when the drool-inducing aroma spread out.
He finished cooking after about an hour and plated it well. When he looked at the chefs, they just took back their drool.
He smiled. "If you have appraisal skills, check it if you’re suspicious of anything."
"No need," the chef said, taking a fork. "We watched your movements."
Without another word, he ate a piece. The others also did the same, claiming their enthusiasm to ’check out his work and study it’.
They ate and gulped, eyebrows rising. "This is delicious!"
They all had different expressions on their faces. Someone moaned, someone’s eyes were shut as he immersed in the taste, and someone even teared up.
Finn subtly pushed the sauces he made forward, making sure that when people opened their eyes and looked at the plates, the bottles would also be within their line of sight.
They were too distracted during the first few minutes, though, eating up everything in record time. It was only then that they saw the sauces and were reminded of his earlier words.
Suddenly, their eyes sparkled as if they were looking at treasure.
"What were the sauces again?"