Chapter 37

Chapter 37

The scent of hotpot, especially spicy beef tallow, can be described as a devastatingly potent weapon.

Not everyone can tolerate spicy food, but without it, something seems amiss.

Philos was definitely set on popularizing chili peppers, starting with barbecue stands and fried skewer shops, adding options for mild, medium, hot, and insanely spicy flavors.

After promoting it at the seafood wholesale market's barbecue stands for a few days, the alcohol sales skyrocketed to new heights.

Most of Lansville's customers were commoners and slaves, so to avoid upsetting their already delicate stomachs, only a mild spice level was introduced. Yet, as a “new flavor”, the barbecue and skewer stands saw a significant increase in business.

The mild spice powder wasn't widely adopted in the snack stands along Academy Road, and the merfolk who had always stayed in this area hadn't even experienced mild spice. Suddenly encountering the hotpot restaurant's base with two pounds of chili and three pounds of beef tallow, they were stunned.

Philos knew well how important an actor's enthusiasm was.

There was a play scheduled in the hotpot restaurant in the evening. After filming, the entire crew would conveniently enjoy a hotpot meal – a perfect plan!

The crew wasn't large, but the overall director was a lord!

The staff of the hotpot restaurant, without needing any prompting, energetically prepared for the evening's main event.

When the merfolk rushed in, following the aroma, the staff were having their dinner, fueling up for the night's service.

"So fragrant, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough—"

Overwhelmed by the smell from outside, the first thing some merfolk did upon entering was to take a deep breath, as if trying to inhale the entire shop's fragrance into their lungs, wanting to be marinated in the essence of the hotpot.

However, the intense flavor of the spicy beef tallow hotpot was a bit too stimulating and bold for the merfolk, accustomed to the mild tastes of sea life.

Moreover, strictly speaking, spiciness is a sensation of pain, so just taking a deep breath left the merfolk in a fit of coughing, questioning their life choices.

But it was truly too fragrant; even as the merfolk coughed out tears, they continued to take deep, continuous breaths.

"What is this? It looks so stimulating!" But the merfolk leader, true to his status, felt the urge to drink directly from the pot upon seeing the bubbling red oil in others' pots.

The color of the braised pork sauce was similar, and the merfolk leader imagined how many bowls of rice could be mixed with such a large pot of braised pork, trembling with excitement.

"Hello, dear customer... may I ask if you would like to order the beef tallow base?"

The hotpot restaurant wasn't crowded, being only a trial run, but the space was ample enough to accommodate 29 merfolk without feeling cramped.

The waiter immediately turned off the stove and stood up.

"Please find a table first, customer, and I will bring you the menu."

The merfolk obediently sniffed out their seats, but, now with many tricks up their sleeves, avoided the largest tables, instead choosing single and double seats while eagerly waiting for the menu.

Hotpot was a novel concept in Lansville, and after the waiter brought the menu, he explained, "You can drink the broth, but it’s better not to drink the spicy ones. If you want to drink the soup, I recommend tomato beef bone, seafood, mushroom, rice soup, and sour cabbage rib bases."

The merfolk eagerly asked, "Then what is the flavor of this base?"

"It's spicy beef tallow and Sichuan pepper beef tallow. The aroma is rich, but we don’t recommend drinking it directly. If you want to taste different flavors, we have the divided pots, like the 'yin-yang' pot, four-grid, and nine-grid, which allow tasting different flavors at the same time."

The pricing for the bases was uniform, each at 99 copper coins, the yin-yang pot at 166, four-grid at 366, and nine-grid at 799.

Considering the cost, the single portion beef tallow base was barely breaking even. Even though the giant rhinoceros from the giants’ trade was cheap, a standard pot required two pounds of beef tallow, and other spices were not much cheaper, with 99 copper coins just covering the cost.

But the profits came from other items!

The merfolk generously all ordered the nine-grid pot, determined to try all nine flavors.

The waiter’s smile blossomed like a flower, unceasingly recommending some signature dishes, "Alright, dear guests, please wait a few minutes."

"Ten portions of the specialty dishes, and five of everything else to start with!" The merfolk, admiring their own well-defined abs, boldly declared that with their appetites, these amounts were nothing to fear!

"The self-service sauce area is over here. If you’re unsure about any combinations, you can choose from our pre-mixed sauces."

At the self-service sauce area, the merfolk were almost stunned by the array of bowls that resembled a vast ocean.

The self-service sauce area on Blue Star was already competitive, but Lansville City’s area took it to a whole new level.

Though Tantali's dark cuisine is hardly palatable, the seasonings themselves aren't to blame. Philos has tried them; if only they didn't mix every random spice into one bowl, a moderate and proper addition could enhance the flavor of food manifold!

Philos chose 20 versatile, foolproof spices for the self-service cooking area, along with 30 small ingredients from Blue Star, making a total of fifty large bowls, which at first glance, seemed more abundant than a state banquet of a certain country.

Although the condiment area is self-service, waste is not allowed, with warm reminders everywhere: "Wasting is shameful. Take what you need, waste 100 grams, pay a fine of 1 gold coin."

Yuri, with a soup bowl larger than his face, scooped out spices according to his appetite, discovering the secret to the delicious food of Lansvelli! Over fifty kinds of spices, how could it not be tasty?! Wait, he would note down every ingredient, replicate them back home, and then lie at the hotpot table eating and drinking every day!

The waiter saw this and hesitated. Although the small ingredient buffet was charged at 10 copper coins per person, with a fine for waste, there was no worry about losing money.

But her concern wasn't about profit or loss, rather—this combination might not taste good!

The waiters who saw their approach hesitated and struggled, worried that reminding them might offend the merfolk and lead to misunderstandings, but not reminding them... After eating such unpalatable food, wouldn't they have a bad impression of their restaurant?

The supervisor approached and asked tactfully, "Hello, may I help you?"

The merfolk, immersed in the joy of becoming master chefs, nervously clutched their large bowls, "I'll do it, I can handle it."

Seeing this, the supervisor could only smile politely, "Feel free to ask for our help anytime."

"Okay, okay, okay, you can go now."

Of the 29 merfolk, only one leader hesitated before abandoning the method of trying all 50 ingredients, instead choosing four bowls from a small, lonely stand nearby.

Each bowl had an introduction written in red on a yellow background:

Safest Recommendation: Sesame Paste + Peanut Butter + Sesame Oil + Oyster Sauce + MSG (with optional White Sugar, Salt, and Chili, and a friendly suggestion to add a spoonful of fried soybeans).

Spicy Lover's Recommendation: Sesame Oil + Chili Sauce + Chili Oil + White Sesame + Sugar (with optional coriander and green onions).

Seafood Lover's Recommendation: …

The merfolk leader hesitated, then chose the safest flavor recommendation, adding a large spoonful of fried soybeans.

The self-service condiment area also had cold dishes like cucumbers, sour radish, spicy kelp, etc. The leader simplified the process and even had time to grab a few plates of cold dishes.

Other merfolk, crowded together attempting to try every ingredient, weren't so lucky. Before they could finish their exhaustive exploration, carts and carts of dishes arrived.

"Coming, coming, I'm almost done!" The merfolk at the single tables still leisurely gathered the last few items, but those at double tables were already in a frenzy.

The first item to run out was the crispy meat. All the meat was pre-processed and frozen in a freezer, fried in oil as soon as an order was placed, thoroughly crispy, and even steaming when served, with a fragrance that wafted like waves into the nose, mouth, and ears.

The heat-resistant merfolk grabbed the crispy meat with their claws and stuffed it into their mouths, the loud and rhythmic "crunch, crunch, crunch" sounding like a grand chorus.

"Huff, huff, delicious, truly delicious, so fragrant!"

The first batch of crispy meat was snatched up before it even had the chance to hit the pot.

Patrons at the next table enthusiastically recommended, "Try this, it's incredibly tasty!"

The well-off merfolk ordered a few more plates, following the next table's advice and dumping an entire plate of crispy meat into the tomato broth.

"Twenty seconds, yes, just count to twenty!"

Beef tripe takes 8 seconds, while crispy meat needs 20; the optimal strategy naturally involves waiting for the crispy meat while dipping a few slices of tripe.

"Butter pot! This needs to be spicy to taste good!"

"Mushroom pot! Take it from the mushroom pot and then wrap it in sesame oil—tsk tsk tsk!"

The neighboring patrons argued endlessly. The merfolk chose to try each one! Eating them all would reveal the tastiest. Practice brings truth; only one's own tongue never lies!

"Huff, huff, huff—so spicy, so spicy! What's this sensation, oh my, so delicious!" The tender beef tripe, barely floating in the fiery red oil broth, inevitably soaked up the aromatic oil, leaving Yuri no time for dipping sauces, as he opened his abyss-like mouth to stuff in the red-hot slices.

"Crack." The crunchiness of tripe differed from that of the crispy meat; it was a fragile, tender, and smooth crunch, straightforward and decisive.

Tripe itself is tasteless; its texture is the highlight. The buttery broth gave it a soul, its rough surface dotted with "little spikes" smothered in red oil, bursting with juice at each bite, the numbing spiciness instantly overwhelming all taste buds and the brain.

Overwhelmed by the deliciousness, Yuri began to howl like a dog, so euphoric that he lost control over his speech.

"Huff, huff, so spicy, huff, let's have some mushrooms to cool down—"

Following the advice of the kind patrons, Yuri dipped the tripe from the mushroom broth into the sauce dish, coating it thickly, then eagerly stuffed it into his mouth—

The distastefulness made Yuri, who howled like a wolf, completely lose his merfolk composure: "Ugh—what kind of torture is this!!!"

Successive howls and screams echoed, and the dreadful scene deterred some merfolk from even touching the dipping sauces again.

The waiter, foreseeing the need, promptly brought mouthwash and clean drinking water.

"Guest, guest, are you alright?"

Yuri swallowed the beef tripe with tears in his eyes. As the torturous lump passed through his narrow throat, a bit of the all-inclusive seasoning unfortunately surged out, further contorting his facial features.

"It's, it's okay..." Honestly, it couldn't be described as -100 in terms of bad taste. Compared to the mainstream delicacies (-9999999) on human nobility's tables, it was more like a -9.

But his last bite was a 99999999999-rated beef tripe!

Why did it change so drastically once dipped in sauce!

The waiter considerately switched his dipping sauce to the safest sesame paste with fried soybeans: "Would you like to try again?"

A moment of hesitation flickered across Yuri's face, but in that split second, he saw his dear uncle heartily dipping and eating thousand-layer stomach with sauce, looking utterly content and blissful.

With merfolk's exceptional vision, it was guaranteed that his uncle was eating the same sesame paste and fried soybeans sauce as he had.

How vile! Not even a single warning from him, how mean!!!

"Delicious, delicious, so delicious, wuwuwu, how can it be this tasty!"

The mushroom broth wasn't just a pot of plain water with a mushroom or two and some goji berries floating in a cheap broth.

This broth was a flavor bomb, crafted from Tantali's unique delicious mushrooms and a blend of over a dozen other mushroom varieties!

The refreshing broth gently enhanced the beef tripe's flavor by twelvefold, rich and sweet but not overpowering, subtle yet fully present. It acted like the perfect catalyst, amplifying the tripe's qualities several times over, then coated in the thick, aromatic sesame paste—

The flavor explosion left his taste buds and brain completely overloaded, overloaded, overloaded! Only his hands and mouth continued the mechanical motion—stuffing, chewing, swallowing, and then emitting howls of delight that almost brought tears.

Seeing Yuri's reaction, the other merfolk abandoned their all-inclusive seasonings. There was no time for fried soybeans; they scooped up a spoonful of the safe recommended sauce to satisfy their craving!

The leader at the single table, who hadn't detoured, precisely timed the retrieval of the crispy meat, which after tumbling for 20 seconds in the tomato marrow broth, had softened a bit—just the outermost crust.

But with only 20 seconds of tumbling, it wasn't too soft. It cleverly maintained a state of being soaked in broth while still preserving some of its crispiness.

Biting into it, the rich, sweet, and sour broth burst forth, with the meat's flavor surging out, yet still revealing the crunchy surprises at the edges.

Crispy meat, beef tripe, shrimp paste, fatty beef, yellow throat, thousand-layer stomach... As dish after dish was cooked and consumed, the merfolk who had merely sampled the flavors of the nine-grid seasoning finally lost their ravenous demeanor, though their eating speed remained double that of a normal person.

"What? Isn't he supposed to be working? Why is Noy here filming tonight?" Hotpot and gossip are the normal ways to go. After being thirteen parts full and then using magic to eat thirty parts more, the merfolk finally had time to relax and chat.

"What's this flavor?"

At this moment, voices of new customers also came from outside the hotpot restaurant.

The merfolk, engrossed in their conversation, discussed the gossip heard from the waitstaff: "Being an actor has so many perks! Darn, I wish I could act too!"

This was the first line the people from the Temple of Light heard as they entered the restaurant.

Leo, with his dignified and kind demeanor, tried to maintain composure, but his constantly rolling throat betrayed him.

The priests and paladins, less skilled in concealing their emotions, couldn’t help but swallow their saliva continuously.

Proud as they were, such an unworldly gesture was not their style, but the tempting aroma was irresistible.

The enticing fragrance was more provocative than any demon from the abyss, stirring up a ravenous greed.

Longing to eat, to eat, to eat—under such torment, their minds were no longer their own, even the presence of a group of merfolk in the restaurant was subconsciously ignored.

Leo grandly declared, "Since this is a feast prepared by the lord of the city, we shall graciously accept the hospitality."

The waitstaff froze for a second, unaware of any orders from their lord to host any important group, especially on a night reserved for filming.

Moreover, this hotpot restaurant was not a banquet hall; its trial operation meant—it was not yet officially open.

Despite their doubts, the waitresses, following their smile training, cordially asked, "Hello, guests, how many are you? Would you prefer a small or large table?"

Leo frowned, "Isn’t there a private room?"

The trial-operation hotpot restaurant, with its decor a disposable product of “one-click change” magic, had no such private rooms.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, we currently don't have private rooms."

Leo and his entourage all frowned. Had the restaurant not been so fragrant, they would have turned and left immediately.

"What are you waiting for? This is the venerable Priest Leo of the Temple of Light. Quickly prepare the best seating for him!" The speaker was the undead Morgan, following behind, whose soul was stuffed into a wooden doll; his body served as a janitor and also as a sparring partner (punching bag) at school, with a schedule packed every day.

Soul Morgan had no control over his own body, but fortunately, the soul that knew his body best voluntarily proposed a series of unequal treaties, which the undead Morgan agreed to, allowing actions according to the soul's will.

After becoming undead, the body would decay, but only the flesh, not the bones, and this was a long process spanning over a hundred years.

All janitors in Lansvelli wearing black star armbands were Philos's undead. All citizens of Lansvelli were well aware of this, but outsiders could only sense it if their rank was higher than Philos's.

Therefore, the people from the Temple of Light didn’t realize that the Morgan before them was merely a soulless undead.

"Your Grace, the High Priest, please forgive her insignificant ignorance, akin to that of an ant."

The server was startled. It had been too long since a priest from the Temple of Light had been seen in Lansville, so most had forgotten the insignia of the priesthood.

Reminded thus, they realized that the party indeed exuded the essence of the “Temple of Light” from head to toe.

No matter the circumstances, a healing mother is always an exceptionally unique entity.

Among all magic, the Light school’s healing power is the strongest. This fact alone elevates the status of priests above other professions.

Though the server was not very clear about the internal hierarchy of the Temple of Light, he had heard that the high priests were figures of significant importance!

A priest is already a formidable presence to be revered by ordinary people, while a high priest is an even more formidable presence among priests.

Yet, even such a formidable high priest would find themselves at a loss before a boiling butter pot.

The party ignored the menu the server offered. This was precisely what Boke had counted on, otherwise, he wouldn’t have led them to this hotpot restaurant, where the average cost was several gold coins.

The advantage of the hotpot restaurant lies in this: ingredients can be prepared in large quantities in advance, and serving times are not long.

Although it was just a trial opening, since ninety percent of Lansville was owned by Felos, there was a massive cold storage underground in the city, shared among the shops.

It’s a bit complicated to explain, but simply put, Felos constructed a cold storage area about three hundred meters underground, almost as large as the developed area of Lansville, replicating the storage function in games through teleportation magic and other minor magics.

Every shop could use it, and the movement of goods and costs were automatically recorded and audited by the All-Seeing Eye, making it clear at a glance.

“Hello to the guests at table 66, your dishes are all served. Do you need an introduction to the eating methods?”

After the food was served, the expressions of Leo and his group turned somewhat sour.

Almost every dish on the table consisted of low-grade magical beasts below level 10. Who would treat high priests this way? This was nothing short of an insult!

"You lead—"

"Really?! Then I must go too! I grew up with Noy, no one is more suitable than me!"

Just as the knight of the order, Wil, was about to lose his temper, a quarrel nearby interrupted them first.

Yuli said, “I'm only a mere 100 years older than Noy, practically his peer! I know everything about him, no one could play this role better than me!”

Another mermaid sneered, “The lord demands maturity, steadiness, elegance, and a wild ambition. With your scales not even fully grown, how could you possibly portray even a fraction of ‘maturity’?”

"Enough, stop arguing, all of you. As a young one who’s never experienced love, you can’t understand that feeling of ‘going mad in love and turning dark.’ It's more suitable for me to take the role."

Yuli was the first to disagree: “But chief, you are Noy’s actual father!”

“I’m not playing his father in the movie, and besides, who can deny that I am the best in terms of appearance?”

Ever since the server inadvertently mentioned that a mermaid-hybrid role was still uncast, the 29 mermaids immediately became excited.

They might not be the main male lead, but playing a supporting role isn’t bad either! Their willingness to toil in construction here was motivated by more than just the desire for hotpot, barbecue, fried skewers, cakes, milk tea, beef pies, and fried chicken; they also dreamed of appearing in a movie!

Whether they get to eat from the hidden menu or not isn’t the point; the point is their dream of acting!

To bring beauty and awe to an ignorant world, to add color to their drab lives, that is their dream!

It’s not just for the lamb spine hotpot, boiled lamb, sauce-covered bones, or roasted suckling pig... Damn it, why only actors get to eat those? Can’t they act too?!

They must seize the role, by any means necessary!

The mermaids were practically going insane for their dream (and the hidden menu), with fragile kinship mattering less than a fleeting cloud at this moment.

"Are these... mermaids?!"

The visiting group from the Temple of Light widened their eyes in shock, their faces filled with unbelievable astonishment.