Amelia the Level Zero Hero

Chapter 141

His name was Xakor. He wasn’t a native to Vacuos. He was an otherworlder— which meant that he was used to seeing things the people of this world had never seen before. It wasn’t meant to be an insult. It was simply a fact.

He had a variety of experiences to draw from back in his world which an ordinary vacian couldn’t possibly imagine. That was in addition to everything he had experienced ever since arriving here. As the Patron of the Culinary Sciences, he was well-known throughout Vacuos.

He was well-traveled— he had been to all continents of the world, and he had cooked for all sorts of different people. Some of them were even quite… disagreeable in their worldviews and their actions. However, despite the mileage he had in life, he had never quite met a person like her.

Amelia the Unranked Adventurer.

An otherworlder just like him, but with the power to destroy entire nations. She had no Class, for some unknown reason. Not that she cared too much about getting one. All she cared about was living a normal life.

It wasn't a stretch to say that most people had ambitions. Very few people had truly no goals in life. And while the desire to live a normal life was certainly a life goal, it was… rather unusual.

Xakor had met ordinary people who were rather content with their life— but that normally came with the caveat that they never really had much in the first place, so they never had high goals. He had also met rich people who wondered what it was like to be poor. And he had met famous people who wished that they weren’t famous.

But he had never once met someone who had the strength to move mountains, but only wished to cook.

It was so odd to him. So… curious. Amelia was such a fascinating individual because he really couldn’t understand her in the slightest. If Xakor had the power she did, he would be trying to work a way back to his world.

And yet she showed no interest in doing such a thing. He wondered why— he had even asked her why. In response, she just shrugged back at him.

“It’s a pain in the ass,” Amelia had said back then.

Xakor didn’t question it further since they were both busy at the time. Well, they were usually busy with cooking for Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant. But he had asked his question right before the whole ordeal with Guardian Angel Z357 first happened.

When the kretus boar attacked Wolfwater, before Noele fended it off. So Xakor got distracted, and he never found the time or the moment to ask the question again.

And he could only wonder why such a powerful individual cared not for returning to her home. He shook his head as he glanced back at her— she was already back at the restaurant after only half a day being out. During that time, she traveled across the Astrad Kingdom, defeated a group of high-leveled soldiers, and saved Guildmaster Evan.

Xakor had expected the whole trip to take at least a day, but she once again exceeded his expectations. Now, she was back to cooking. And there was quite a large crowd gathered— compared to this morning.

There were still fewer customers queuing up for the restaurant than when Guardian Angel Z357 worked here. However, the ruckus Amelia caused when she returned ended up drawing a handful of extra customers for the lunchtime rush.

So both of them were very busy at the moment. As a [Chef] and a former inventor, Xakor found cooking to be rather fulfilling— it served as an outlet for him to continue creating something, even if it was just food. Because of that, he didn’t mind how tedious and tepid it was to spend long hours cooking. But he expected Amelia to be bothered by it.

After all, she got annoyed by every little thing— every problem she encountered, no matter how infinitesimal it was, would grate on her nerves. Or at least, that was his impression of her. But right now, he glanced back at Amelia and saw the look on her face.

She was smiling.

It was a small smile. She wasn’t beaming from ear to ear. However, she was still smiling. Even though she had probably a hundred orders to go through before the day came to an end, she didn’t mind it. For whatever reason, she seemed content with herself right now.

Xakor biologically didn’t need to blink, but he did so anyway. And he wondered whether he was going mad.

—--

I was in a good mood today. First of all, my trip to Windrip didn’t take as long as I thought it would. It only took me a few hours, and it was less of a hassle than I expected. Guildmaster Evan was still alive too.

I genuinely feared the worst could have happened to him when I heard about his predicament. But when I got there, he was… well, he wasn’t in the best of shape. However, he hadn’t been killed by the [Hero King]. And I was glad for that.

Secondly— business was booming.

Well, technically business had been booming for a while now. And it was even less crowded today than yesterday. But there was one main difference between today and yesterday that had to be accounted for.

And it was that Z was no longer working at Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant.

It had been a possibility— at least in my mind— that all my customers would evaporate once there was no angel around as an attraction. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case because the bulk of them still showed up today. It meant I had more work to do, but I actually found cooking relaxing, so I didn’t mind it.

I stepped out of the kitchen as I carried a bowl of pilaf, raising it into the air.

“Order’s up!” I called out.

And a blond man rushed up to me, taking the bowl from my hand. I smiled at him as he nodded back.

“Thanks for subbing in for today, Arthur. We needed the extra pair of hands today. But I promise you I’ll hire someone else by the end of the week.”

“It’s the least I could do,” he said as he drew back. “So do I just bring this to table five?”

“Yeah, it’s the table right over there.” I gestured past him, and he pursed his lips.

“Right, I’ll do my best.”

With that, he slowly walked forward, careful not to spill the contents of the bowl all over the floor. I rolled my eyes as I folded my arms. Arthur was my [Bartender]. Or rather, he worked as my bartender. And since he didn’t have a Class, he wasn’t really confident in… anything he ever did.

Today, he was helping out as a waiter because my only other employee was Harlan. And Harlan was probably overworked as he already was. I looked up, watching as the brown-haired man rushed from table to table to take orders.

“So one order of falafels, two orders of kebabs, and for drinks—” Harlan quickly repeated a customer’s order.

Without Z around, I really needed Arthur’s help, and he was kind enough to oblige. I appreciated his help, even though he wasn’t really confident in himself. He was a good man for that.

He was also a former Lich King. But we didn’t talk about that.

I shook my head, and a voice drew my attention from behind. I glanced back to see Xakor emerging from the kitchen, carrying four plates— one on each of his hands. He had a smile plastered across his face as he looked curiously at me.

“Xrr, you’re in a good mood today, aren’t you?” Xakor chuckled, before calling out. “Order for table seven!”

“I’ve got it! I’ve got it!” Harlan said as he rushed back to the kitchen. He carefully balanced the four dishes, before slowly walking back out into the restaurant.

“You know you can bring them out one by one, right?” I raised a brow.

He nodded back to me. “I’ve got it,” he repeated himself.

And I watched him go. He managed to reach the table just fine, although there were a few moments where I really thought he was going to mess up. I sighed in relief before muttering under my breath.

“I should buy some serving trays…” I turned back to Xakor and answered the question he asked me earlier. “I’m just glad the restaurant is doing well.”

I glanced towards the bustling room. It was a full house, and there were a lot of unfamiliar faces here today. Supposedly, a lot of travelers were coming to Wolfwater— at least, dropping by here on their way to Whiteridge— just to give Bucky’s Out of this World Restaurant a try.

So word was spreading. Things were looking good for my restaurant. I still had plenty of returning customers, although some faces were clearly absent today. Nolan and Nicole were busy tending to the malim fruits back at his farm, and Noele had dragged Jax out of the village to spar with him.

But overall, I was pleased today.

“Xrr, I see,” Xakor said as he nodded. “I, too, am glad to see your restaurant doing well. It is a shame I shall be leaving soon, so I cannot continue to watch it grow.”

“Yeah, that’s a shame…” I agreed with him, sweeping my gaze over the crowded room. And then I paused. I blinked a few times before turning back to the [Chef]. “Wait, what did you just say?”

He shook his head as he crossed his four arms together. “I know it is sudden, Amelia. However, I shall be leaving Wolfwater in a week’s time.”

I just stared at him as my jaw dropped. “What…?”