So, after hearing Burnice's sincere request, Wise gave his promise.
Not long afterward, the restaurant's construction team finally arrived.
The entire project progressed at an astonishing pace. Cheesetopia was completed before the residents of Blazewood even had a chance to complain to Kasa about the noise.
At last, it finally looked like a proper restaurant.
Seeing the finished interior, Wise suddenly felt the urge to show off his cooking.
Now that he thought about it, no one in the Outer Ring had ever tasted his cooking before.
With that in mind, he headed straight into the restaurant's back kitchen.
After experimenting for a while, he eventually prepared a dish with flavors distinctly suited to the Outer Ring.
Kasa hesitated, uncertain whether she should try it first, but Burnice beside her had already eagerly taken a bite.
The moment the food touched her tongue, Burnice's eyes widened. She immediately shoveled in several more bites without pause.
"So good! This is insanely good! Wise, your cooking is attacking my taste buds so hard I can't even fight back! All I can do is give in and enjoy it!"
'Okay, maybe don't word it in a way that sounds so easy to misunderstand...' Wise complained inwardly.
Even hearing Burnice praise it so enthusiastically, Kasa remained a little skeptical, though curiosity quickly got the better of her.
The instant she tasted it, she understood exactly why Burnice reacted that way.
"This is amazing! Seriously, what did you put in this? How can something taste this good?! I'm adding this to the restaurant's signature menu immediately!"
Burnice had already voiced everything Kasa wanted to say, and now both of them stared at Wise expectantly.
"It's ice," Wise replied honestly. "I also added a bit of rock candy for seasoning."
"...Honestly, I don't even care what you used."
Kasa shook her head in disbelief.
"With this dish alone, Cheesetopia could become one of the top restaurants in the entire Outer Ring."
Not long after, the restaurant officially opened for business.
The town residents, filled with both curiosity and nostalgia, poured into the restaurant one after another.
Without exception, every single customer was completely captivated by Wise's cooking.
Business exploded almost instantly. Unfortunately, their ingredient consumption did too.
Just as Wise was about to contact Kasa and request another shipment of supplies, the restaurant door suddenly slammed open.
A "beast-like" figure with "sharp fangs" rushed inside.
It was none other than Caesar, and the moment she spotted Wise, visible relief spread across her face.
"Wise! Thank goodness I found you! Ah, wait, no, this is bad! Really bad! We've got a full-on Cheese-tastrophe emergency here!"
"...Uh, what exactly does that mean?" Wise asked blankly. "Is that supposed to mean a Cheesetopia catastrophe?"
Even now, he still couldn't fully understand Caesar's unique way of speaking.
"Cheesetopia without cheese is like the Sons of Calydon without Boar Thirens! You get how serious this is now, right?!"
After hearing that explanation, Wise finally understood the situation.
A convoy transporting important supplies had been ambushed by robbers near the Hollow of Cinderglow Lake.
And among those stolen supplies was a shipment of premium cheese personally selected by Caesar from New Eridu.
After learning that the ingredients couldn't be delivered because of the attack, Wise decided to accompany Caesar personally to recover the shipment and get the restaurant running again as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, once they entered the Hollow, the two quickly located the missing cargo.
Apparently, after inspecting the goods, the unfortunate robbers realized the shipment was practically worthless to them and abandoned everything on the spot.
Not only had they failed to make any profit, but they had also managed to offend the Sons of Calydon in the process.
Just where had these robbers come from to be reckless enough to pull something like this?
"Now that we've recovered the supplies, want to grab something to eat?" Wise asked after they finished moving the goods back.
Caesar immediately nodded, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Absolutely! I still haven't properly tasted this thing called cheese yet. Ingredients like this are pretty rare in the Outer Ring since animal husbandry isn't very developed here. I've heard the original Cheesetopia became famous because of its unique cheese dishes."
Honestly, that explanation sounded convincing enough.
Otherwise, why would the restaurant be called Cheesetopia in the first place?
"Cheese waits for no one, Wise. Let's eat!"
"Alright. Give me a moment."
After saying that, Wise headed into the back kitchen.
Several chefs were already hard at work inside, but the moment they saw him enter, they instinctively straightened with respectful expressions.
At this point, Wise's cooking had practically become the restaurant's signature attraction.
He casually waved a hand, signaling them not to mind him, before beginning to prepare the ingredients himself.
Fortunately, the previous Cheesetopia had left behind several old recipes.
Using those as a base, Wise quickly prepared dishes like cheeseburgers, cheese pizza, and cheese fried shrimp.
The rich aroma alone was enough to make anyone's stomach growl.
The moment Caesar took her first bite, her eyes widened instantly.
"Wise, you actually made this yourself? This is insanely good! The cheese is so soft and rich... it's like comfort food for your soul! I think I finally understand what Burnice meant earlier about her taste buds getting 'assaulted'!"
'...Alright, putting aside whatever kind of comparison that was supposed to be, why is Burnice spreading that phrase around already? And why does everyone insist on wording it in the most misleading way possible?' Wise complained inwardly.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he picked up a nearby tissue and gently wiped the sauce from the corner of Caesar's mouth.
"I'm glad you like it," he said softly. "If you want, I can make this for you every day."
"Eh...? A-Alright..."
Caesar's face flushed slightly at the intimate gesture, though she clearly hadn't noticed the deeper meaning hidden in his words.
"Oh, right."
As if suddenly remembering something important, she quickly changed the subject.
"I just got confirmation that the people who robbed our supplies earlier were already caught. Turns out they came from another region."
After enjoying a satisfying meal together, Caesar brought up another matter.
"One more thing! I ordered a new batch of tables and chairs for the restaurant. They should arrive in Blazewood tomorrow, so I'll need you to sign for them personally."
"Got it. Leave it to me."
Once she finished explaining everything, Caesar finally left the restaurant.
Wise watched her departing figure for a moment before turning around, only to notice Kasa staring at him from nearby.
And on her face was an especially meaningful smile.
"Miss Kasa..."
"Ah, my apologies, my apologies."
Kasa chuckled knowingly.
"I was simply admiring the beauty of youth."
The look in her eyes made it obvious she had already noticed the ambiguous atmosphere between Wise and Caesar.
Fortunately, the restaurant had only just reopened, so there weren't many customers around.
Otherwise, by tomorrow, rumors about the two of them would probably spread throughout all of Blazewood.
The next day, Wise signed for the restaurant's newly delivered tables and chairs before personally helping replace the old furniture.
Only after finally finishing everything did another familiar figure burst into the restaurant.
A girl even more passionate than wildfire itself.
"Burnice is here! Wise, long time no see! Did you miss me?" Burnice declared energetically before pressing a finger against his lips.
"Shhh, don't answer. The Nitro-Fuel already told me everything."
"We literally saw each other yesterday," Wise replied helplessly. "And isn't it a little early in the day for you to already be drinking Nitro-Fuel?"
Burnice completely ignored his complaints and immediately wrapped herself tightly around his arm instead.
Wise could only sigh in resignation, especially since Kasa was still watching from the side with that same amused smile.
+- - -+
-[ AD ]-
+- - -+
+- - -+
Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
+- - -+
✨ 55+ Advance Chapters • Early Access ✨
📚 Read Ahead Here:
[- p - a - t - r - e - o - n . com / DysFiction -]
💖 Enjoying the Story? Support My Work:
[ ko - fi . com / dysfiction ]
+- - -+
📖 Available Novels
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: The Almighty Incubus of Sixth Street
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Azur Lane: Don't Fight! You're All My Wives!
↳ (Translation)
🔹 Zenless Zone Zero: Death in White
↳ (Original Story — Exclusive Until Chapter 30)
+- - -+