It has been three years since I arrived in the lower world. I was originally from Earth, and it was rough. I was summoned to the empire of Rakia, and there, I met my boss and patron, Froese. She was not a member of the Ares Familia, in fact, she is one of the few deities who were allowed in the empire without being a subordinate of the nation-based organization.

The Froese Familia, my Familia, was a small nomadic Familia focused on providing food to the people. Lady Froese cooked the ingredients gathered by us, her children. We were a small family, yet it was a fulfilling life. I was one of the three in charge of cooking the ingredients, and as the newest member, I was in charge of preparing the ingredients.

I cut myself a lot, messed up a lot, and probably burnt myself several times. Despite them all, Lady Froese smiled and kept on teaching me along with big sis Setsuno. While not working, I helped gather ingredients with the others, and while I am mediocre at cooking and gathering, I learned a lot.

Mastering a martial art that required intensive knowledge and precision while drunk was terrifying!

After leaving the empire of Rakia, our family split up and went our ways. That happened a month ago, and now, here I am in Orario. With the clothes on my back, my things in my bag, and cooking utensils.

Life was hard. I got rejected in a total of a dozen restaurants, and even then, I got kicked out of some when they found out I arrived from Rakia. This was not as easy as the anime showed. Why do I have to face these things? I just want an easy life without too much stress.

"Maybe, I can get hired in a simple restaurant," Finishing the rather delicious yet simple fried treat on my hand, I threw the wrapper at a nearby bin and continued my wandering.

WHY?!

I arrived in this fucking shithole of a city in the morning! I was rejected by a dozen restaurants before noon, and I got rejected by another dozen before sunset. I'm sorry for not being as good as Lady Froese!

If push comes to shove, I'll just be a bootleg adventurer and start from the ground up! I might only have my cooking knives with me, but I can cope with any ingredient... as long as I have the recipes for them... Why didn't I learn more Recipes from lady Froese.

Is this punishment for messing up the recipe and using sugar instead of salt?

"Watch it, kid!" Oh, no! My cookie!

"What's the big ide- that's a long line." In front of me was the restaurant/pub/inn or something called the Hostess of Fertility. I have initially decided to work there bu-

A few hours earlier

This is it! The Hostess of Fertility! The hotpot of pretty girls, information, and more! If I can work here then I can have a life without too much stress!

My popular phase is here! Lady Froese! Big sis Setsu! Please look over me-

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE AND NEVER COME BACK!"

Holy shit! Two guys just flew past me, and the impact on the ground left a pair of indents on the ground.

"What is it?" The owner of the Hostess said, and she still had that terrifying glare on her face. I'm sorry for being such a coward, lady Froese!

I am a pathetic coward.

It seems like the sign is still there.

Wanted: Cook

I might as well jump out of the pan and into the fire.

What more do I have to lose? Other than my pride, cracking sanity, and possibly, my manhood.

"Excuse me,"

"What? You're the one from earlier," The owner said as she recognized me. Stay strong, my legs! Don't give up on me!

"I saw the sign, and I was wondering if you were still hiring," I said with as much confidence as I could gather, which was not a lot. Damn it, Ren! Stop shaking!

"Oh? And why should I hire you?" She said, and I could feel her look at me. Scanning me from head to toe.

Noticing how many people were in the restaurant and the noise from the kitchen, I could feel an old memory from before I was rescued by Lady Froese. The way my stomach growled as hunger seeped in, corroding, cracking my mind.

"I'm not good with words, and I might not be as good as my teachers, but I will let my skills do the talking." I saw a vicious smile form on her face.

"Good, then go to the kitchen. You don't know our recipes, so you will be in charge of preparing the ingredients." She said as she opened the door towards the kitchen. There were a lot of people! "Mess up, and you're out."

"I see," I said as I washed my hands before opening the small wooden suitcase containing several cooking essentials I always have. Pulling out a simple yet elegant knife given to me by an old friend from Rakia, I gave the other person preparing the ingredients a nod. I could feel everything around me disappear, with only the chopping table and ingredients remaining.

"I give all thanks to the bounty of this world."

Letting three years of cooking experience guide me, I moved with the knife.

"Mother," The oldest son of the Froese Familia greeted with a smile as the dining table was filled with numerous food.

A light-skinned woman of great beauty with short dark hair, big bright eyes, and supple lips. Her outfit appears to consist of a simple dark-colored top with a v-neck line, and a dark-colored choker with a white trim around her neck looked at her son with a smile from the kitchen.

"Yes, Ichi-chan?" The woman asked with a kind and gentle smile.

"Why didn't you teach Ren more of your techniques?"

"Are you worried for him?" Froese asked with a teasing smile, making the young man nod. "I taught him the basics because I want him to develop his own style of cooking."

"I see,"

"Ren will be fine," Froese said with a smile.

The former captain

The kid was strange. I saw him try to come into the restaurant earlier, and he stopped after seeing me dispatch those two hooligans earlier. The kid was strange, a year or two younger than Anya, and only dressed in essentials, a traveling chef, eh?

From what I heard, the kid has been rejected by two dozen times already. I wanted to test him, and to my surprise, he did not back down and even challenged me. For a split second, I saw a being behind him, an enormous centipede with six eyes and six wings smirking at me. Interesting,

It was already fifteen minutes since he started working. I better check up on him.

Once I was inside, I could see how some of the girls looked dejected. Did he do something to them?

Who is this kid?!

These potatoes have been peeled in a way that only the peel itself was removed. All the ingredients needed to be cooked were already prepared, and he was already cleaning his knife, a knife with the symbol of an emperor of Rakia, a dragon,

"Miss May, the ingredients are ready," He said as he handed her the potatoes. "Miss Irina, the tomatoes are ready," he said as he flowed, easily transitioning from one station to the other, reacting to the name of the orders alone while preparing the necessary batch.

I hit a jackpot.

While my restaurant only has female employees, I can make him an exception.

"Miss Lyra, your stew is done now." He even smelled that?! Impressive! Very impressive!

Who knows, maybe he can even teach Freya to cook.