_____Securing a location in the growing city of Stokbon, not as easy as Kaede was expecting it to be. However after some time spent searching, a few dead ends, and about as many turned down deals among the locals selling property Kaedé found a stroke of luck. A older couple was wanting or needed to sell their old restaurant and for a decent price Kaedé was able to pay up front for the building. The older couple still wanted to spend a few more days cooking and serving guest so Kaedé agreed on the condition she got to join them. _____Such came to the restaurant having a special event with flyers sent out around the area. For today only customers could come in for a free appetizer and chance to meet the new owner and see what they would have planned for the small little place. The spot itself was a perfect small time spot with mostly regulars and some new guest every so often. It would not be the best start but Kaedé would be more than happy to get a challenge from something like this. Hands gripped the knife and blade sharpener as the girl got ready to try her hand at cooking in the game. _____The guest who entered would be able to see the new face behind the counter with her back to the old owner of the shop, his wife roaming around to help out guest as Kaedé looked over her tool and down at the carrot with a evil grin. Right hand folding at her knuckle as she set it to the carrot and began to slowly chop the vegetable into odd and uneven cuts. Most of the guest seemed unease about the new girl but Kaedé was not going to give up on this. _____In reality she had her own café, but she could never cook for the life of her so just focused on managing the place. But this time around she wanted to do both, knife moving to just chop the carrot into small cubes before sliding them aside into a salad mix and getting another carrot out with a more serious expression across her face. The old man walking over and pushing her to the side and taking the knife with a light sigh before laughing at Kaedé who looked annoyed he was moving her aside to fix her mistakes. ”Drop the serious act, you can’t cook if you ain’t got flexibility. Sure your knife can cut things perfectly but don don’t mean it has ta. You cook with your heart, all your mind’s got to do is help out every so often little lady.” _____The old man was far better at the job before them as he slid four carrots over and began to dice them at speeds even Kaedé could not keep up with. His free hand getting the next item ready as he added the thin cuts into his pot and cut peppers and onions to mix in with the carrots before he walked off to cook with his new supplies. His Wife hit him with a menu before she talked to him for a bit and went back to serving guest and took a moment to talk with Kaedé as the girl washed some more vegetables. ”We ain’t gonna rush you dear. Cooking takes time and everyone has a different approach or style and when you find it everything else comes into place.” _____Kaedé could only mumble to herself as she scrubbed a potato with her knuckles. That was the same thing people she knew in the real world told her before she burnt a pot cooking and was banished from her own kitchen area. Needless to say Kaedé would take the advice and bring the items back to get back to learning to skin the objects that would needed it. From the start a small smirk rose as she could only imagine the potato as a girl and she was stripping them. @Jace Vale
Jace sighed as he came back from training at Brisshal while he walked down the streets of Stokbon and groaned in dismay. He was really busy with training his Arcanamancy and Magical Tools with his new equipment, that he ignored his food and water meter. And despite he already ate dinner in real life, he already felt the growling noises from his stomach. He already knew that maintaining those needs will prevent him from obtaining negative effects from hunger and thirst, but he never expected he would make a rookie mistake due to his grinding session. However, he looked at it on the bright side. With him in a Full-Dive Virtual Reality, he might able to taste any kind of food that he will never have a chance to do so in real life. In fact, he noticed a restaurant that he passed by was having some kind of event. Seeing a good way to taste some of the game's food and replenish his hunger and thirst, he entered the restaurant and looked around the interior of its building. Just sniffing the smell of food was enough to make him a little excited at what it will offer him as he sat down near the table and waited for someone to come. @Kaede Hoshi
_____Seeing as the older woman was busy and Kaedé's own cutting skills did not yet started to fully develop she chose to go serve the newest arrival herself. Part of running this place meant she still needed to know how to work the ground floor also and in reality she was ok-ish with that if it was female guest anyways. Hands brushing across a small towel as she reached the table where @Jace Vale was sitting as she looked over to him with a smile and bowed faintly before she chose to speak up. ”Welcome, can I get you started with anything today sir?” _____Kaedé's introduction was so standard and bland it almost made her throw up in her mind. Of all the different things she could have said, the gestures she could have made she went basic and default? A small shade of crimson across her face as she felt she was just failing at everything today and wanted to go curl up into a ball in the back room to hide. Waiting calmly for his reply also did not seem possible for the girl as she kept rubbing her hands against the towel or looking around the room trying to find something else to focus on. _____It was one of the main reasons she could not do well at serving guest, she was always more focused on larger pictures than one person or group. If the male did place a drink order she would go back to the kitchen to retrieve it for him. Despite her nervousness and scattered appearance prior when she was pouring his drink she seemed far more composed and had a steady hand on both pitcher and glass, a slight show as she held the two far enough apart so the trail of liquid traveled some distance before finding it’s new container. Sliding him his drink before she spoke up again. ”When you're ready to order just raise your hand and I’ll try to hurry back as soon as I can. Working both kitchen and floor is harder than I recall ha-ha. Oh I’m Kaede by the way.”
Upon he saw the young lady (@Kaede Hoshi) approaching him, he was a little startled at the sight of this. Just staring at her appearance was enough to wonder how she got a job here in the restaurant. Not to mention, due to the game's AI advancements, he wondered if she was a player or an NPC as he can tell from her nervous tone of her voice. Though, returning to the reason why he was here, he already decided what he wanted to take due to this place's event. However, it was not just because he was hungry, but because he wanted to taste the food with the VR's simulation of the five senses. "Nice to meet you, Kaede. Actually, I'm here because I wanted to try out the free appetizers along with the food you usually serve here. Any recommendations for me to try out?"
_____Hearing the male speak to her was a bit of a shock in a small part of Kaedé's mind. Most times she said things that just made them mumble or flop on their words but this one spoke full sentences to her. If she was not working in the kitchen most of the time she would have reached to brush her hair aside to make sure she was hearing him correctly. Mind breaking back a few steps to relay what he had said to the part of her brain that chose what to do next as she tapped her fingers against the back of her other hand before she spoke. ”For the appetizer I’d ask you to try out the fruit salad, ha-ha it’s the only dish the old man will let me make for people right now since I can’t do that well in the kitchen just yet. As for a main dish i’d have to say the grandeur sub sandwich. It’s a bit more on the costly side for the dishes but the old man makes them better than I ever had.” _____Kaedé would chime her words happily about both what she was allowed to make and the best dish she knew currently on the menu. Sure she wanted to get rid of some of the dishes that did not always sell and wanted to add new dishes to the menu the sub was hopefully one to stay if the old man was ok with others making his dish. Outside that she simply would wait for @Jace Vale to make his choice before going to the kitchen to relay whatever it was to the old man so he could set it on his list of dishes to get working on or tasking Kaedé to help with parts he trusted her to do.
So with the choices of a sub sandwich and a seemingly ordinary fruit salad, he felt they might be a little bit ordinary. But with this game as his first VRMMO, he might as well stick with them to see how real these two will taste like. But his worries right now was not the menu, but the fact that this woman might be more than just a helping hand to the owners of this restaurant. From her words, it seemed that she might be an apprentice to them as well. Regardless, he might as well try to support them as he can. "Well, I'll try the fruit salad and the sandwich. And don't worry about it, whatever the sub sandwich's price is, I might able to afford them." And it was thanks to the quest rewards and the loot he got from the monsters he has slain. Yeah, a little accomplishment, but it wasn't a big deal for him to brag on.
_____Hearing his words Kaedé cheered up and smiled before she rushed into the kitchen area and began getting everything she needed. It was the first time in a small while since someone wanted the fruit salad and she was going to give it her all as she pulled her sleeves back and went to rinse and wash her hands off. Spinning her knife in her hand for a few seconds before she began her attempt to actually make the food and reality slapped her. What if she messed it up again, what if she cut herself and got blood in the food… _____Head shaking rapidly as she tried to dismiss the negative thoughts and focus on her task as the knife began moving against the fruits. Slow cuts along the target, no shaking in her hand, but not exactly able to make the pieces even. Watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, and banana easily noticed in the mix for real world like items. But alongside they had an oddly colored green fruit that packed a bit of a sour punch like a lime or lemon but later held a linger sweetness. A frown on her face as she looked at her failure beside the old man’s sub. _____Walking the two items back to her guest as she tried to look a bit more happy about her work. She did it without getting pushed away from the cutting spot or getting lectured at the least. The sub sandwich however still made her small culinary success look like a dwarf star beside the sun. The bread was perfectly slice, just the right balance of seasoning of pepper and some salt. Three different cheese layers thinly sliced, two layers of meat, a layer of lettuce, and some tomatoes and soft flavor sauce to help combine the flavors. Just looking at it made Kaedé want to eat one, but she would need to wait to taste it herself as she went back to the kitchen to leave the guest to enjoy his meal. @Jace Vale
As @Kaede Hoshi headed back to the kitchen to prepare his orders, Jace just stayed in his seat as he spent this time by admiring the interior. Sure, it was nothing fancy or special about it, but one thing he loved the fantasy genre was the rustic feel of a city or town's building that created an illusion that he was really in the world of magic and monsters, void of technology that would ruin the setting. Once Kaede returned to the counter with the food he ordered, he smiled that he was able to try them out. But upon he saw them, he can't make heads or tails to its presentation. The fruit salad was not only messy, but most of the fruits are poorly chopped and all over the place. Though he can't say the same with the sub sandwich as despite it's messy cut, it was an average presentation. All in all, he wondered if she might be an amateur when it comes to cooking. Although, he was a little worried at the food right now as he felt that the taste might be different than he expected. But not wanted to worry the waitress, he slowly picks up his fork and knife as he stared at his food. "Well, time to dig in, I guess..." Without any hesitation, he decided to try out the salad first. While it was hard to chew, the taste of it wasn't any different than the ones he ate in real life. But as he took a bite at his sub sandwich, he quickly froze in shock as several flavors began to overwhelm the poor mage's taste buds.
_____Kaedé figured her salad would not make much of an impact but watching how the male acted after only a bite of the old man’s food made for him made Kaedé a bit annoyed about it all. Moving back to the kitchen and getting her knives back out as she kept trying to cut things better. Sadly each time she tried her temper would cause her to crudely cut into the objects she set down only adding more to her temper. Her hand soon moving down without struggle after the old man managed to take the knife from Kaedé to stop her. ”Stop it. Trying to cook in such a mood won’t make the food better. So far all I have seen you do is try to compete and that is not good for your cooking or the guest. Cook from the heart or don’t step in my kitchen, you might be the new owner but I refuse to let you be here in the last day I own the place if you can’t grow up and cook for the guest and not for yourself!” _____With the rather loud words spoken for most guest to hear the old man would literally toss Kaedé a few feet out of the kitchen before going back to running it by himself. Kaedé wanted to both yell at him to leave, but also knew exactly where he was coming from. He struck her at the home and so she sat down at the back of the area grumbling to herself about everything so far. The only time she enjoyed cooking was when she thought dirty but figured that would not exactly help her in many cases. _____Kaedé wanted to cook, she really did and that was something she knew from the bottom of her heart. But she also knew she was extremely competitive when it came to working with others on the same thing. It was a deep rooted thing since Kaedé used to always compete with Athea, the thought of the girl caused Kaedé's vibe to drop to grim as she frowned and looked down at her hands trembling. It was a bad topic even if just skipped onto and always caused her to feel down when it was spoke of or thought on. _____It would be a few moments before Kaedé would snap out of her little rut and try to think of ways to not try and compete with her limited time staff. Her only idea was to simply try to explore how she could work on more focus to cooking than worrying about how well the old man did it better than Kaedé could. A light series of growling escaped her lips as different ideas got shot down leaving Kaedé only the most basic and likely to fail idea. Just work and see what happens. _____Slowly returning to the kitchen with eyes focused on the ground before she felt a hand hitting her shoulder and looked up. The old man offering her back the knife and shifting his head back to the chopping block. Kaedé was still not trusted to do much more, but she had to start somewhere. @Jace Vale
What Kaede didn't know was that his reaction wasn't because that the sandwich didn't taste bad, but it was actually great as he felt many flavors in his taste bud. In fact, he was so overwhelmed, that he fell from his chair as he can't take any more of it, which to the point that his eyes are starting to tear up. "S-So good..." he muttered as he continued to chew. But as he got up, he noticed that @Kaede Hoshi disappeared after his shock. Confused and worried, he looked around until he noticed her in the kitchen. From what he can tell on her face, he wondered what made her feel down. He knew he wasn't allowed in here, but he might as well approached her and ask. "E-Excuse me? Are you alright?"
_____By the time Kaedé noticed she was being spoken to by the male she took the order of she was trying to slowly cut a carrot and panicked at the sudden sound causing her chop to move at an angle and ruin her so far even cuts. A audible sigh escaping her lips as she took a deep breath, wore a smile, and looked to the male who had ruined her focus and was somewhere he should not be. A few ideas crossed Kaedé's mind and most involved her using the knife on something outside vegetables and fruits but she chose the more reasonable choice this time. ”I am just not so used to cooking is all. But that is not enough reason to allow you to be in the kitchen mister so please leave before I have to ask you to leave the building before trouble arises.” _____To make her point a bit more clear Kaedé accidentally lifted the knife to tab the air near her chin, her gaze changing to a slightly evil expression before she moved her empty hand to point him out of the kitchen and she went back to focusing on the carrot and trying to solve how to fix the mistake. Moving the knife carefully, and as close to the slanted starting point to chop the ruined cut away and discard it before chopping the rest with a slow pace. _____It would be a few moments before Kaedé overheard a beeping sound and took notice as her UI was trying to tell her something. Opening it slowly to not look weird to the NPCs as she noticed the cooking mastery was able to be unlocked. A few blinks was her only real reaction, this entire time she thought it was just something anyone could up and do to a extent. Clicking accept and nodding to herself as she went back to cutting up things she was told to do. There was still a lot to get done and hopefully having the mastery now could help her out just a small bit maybe. @Jace Vale
Well, this isn't how his meeting with the waitress end up to be. Being held knife-point by an offended waitress. Although, he wasn't planning to stay here for long. He wanted to try to cheer her up for her sake. "I-It's alright. I-I'm just about to go back to my table! But... I just want to say that the salad isn't terrible. In fact, if you might continue to learn and train, I'm sure that fruit salad would be on the same par as the sandwich." Fulfilling his promise, he turned and walked out of the kitchen, but not before stopping and turned to @Kaede Hoshi. "Just don't give up on cooking. Who knows. You may able to dish up some amazing food in this game." With that said, he left the kitchen to leave Kaede alone while he gave her a gentle smile. He didn't know more about her, but if she was a strong player, then he would be happy to team up with her in the near future. But for his HP's sake, he will try to watch his words or actions. Otherwise, that knife would end up in his head.
