Chapter 700 - Stop Cooking Fish, Try Cooking Chicken Instead

“So it’s decided? Just like that?”

“What else did you expect? Have you ever seen His Highness eat so much in a single meal? Those three dishes must’ve been amazing!”

“I heard that he defeated Head Chef Beate of Ducas Restaurant in a cooking contest in Chaos City. As expected, he really is an extremely good chef.”

As soon as Josh left, the slightly oppressive atmosphere in the dining hall was immediately lifted. Everyone had thought that this was going to be a complex judging process, and all of the chefs had already prepared themselves to weigh in with opinions of their own.

However, Josh finished almost all three dishes by himself, and then made the executive decision to allow Mag to cook during the king’s birthday banquet. He hadn’t inquired anyone else’s opinion, and the process went completely differently from what everyone had expected.

“Father is so awesome!” Amy looked up at Mag with admiration shimmering in her eyes.

“Let’s go eat as well.” Mag patted Amy’s head as a huge weight was lifted off his shoulders. He had vented some of his rage for Josh by feeding him that three times insanely spicy grilled fish. Furthermore, judging from Josh’s reaction toward him, he seemed to have completely convinced himself that Mag wasn’t Alex. As such, he had completed half of the objective that he had set out to achieve by coming to Rodu.

“Can we eat your cooking, Father?” Amy asked with an expectant look on her face.

“Of course. I made enough braised chicken and rice for three people, and I can cook another steak for you.” Mag smiled as he held onto Amy’s little hand and made his way toward the kitchen.

“Yay!” Amy yelled with elation.

“Meow~” Ugly Duckling let loose an urgent cry as if it were desperately trying to tell them something.

“You’ll get your share as well,” Mag consoled with a smile.

“Ugly Duckling, if you pretend to fall unconscious like you did earlier today, you’ll be getting no food from now on.” Amy prodded Ugly Duckling’s head with her finger as a disdainful look appeared on her face.

“Meow~” Ugly Duckling pouted in a pitiable display as if to argue that it hadn’t been pretending to be unconscious.

“Even if you really did faint, you’ll still get no food!” Amy added.

“Meow…” Ugly Duckling lowered its head in a sheepish manner.

Mag appraised the interaction between Amy and Ugly Duckling with a smile on his face. Even though a pair of white wing-like marks had appeared on Ugly Duckling’s back, it was getting fatter every day, and it really didn’t look like it would ever be able to fly.

Just the imagery of a round ball of an orange cat flying with a pair of tiny white wings brought an amused smile to his face.

Mag and Amy exited the dining hall, and the deathly pale Matthew quickly rushed over to the table. He picked up the chopsticks that the second prince had used before plucking a morsel of fish into his mouth.

Hot! Hot! Hot! Matthew’s mind was entirely dominated by thoughts of how spicy the dish was as soon as the morsel of fish entered his mouth. He felt as if the intense spicy flavor had been condensed before spreading through his mouth and exploding with reckless abandon. The scorching flavor struck him with a sense of dizziness and asphyxiation, and his face immediately turned as red as a tomato as steam began to waft into the air from the top of his head.

This was definitely no ordinary chili pepper. No matter how many ordinary chili peppers were used, there was no way that such an insane level of spiciness could be achieved. He had only tasted a small piece of fish, yet he felt as if he had almost suffocated.

Matthew couldn’t understand how such a horrendous fish could elicit such scintillating praise from the second prince.

Right at this moment, pure flavor of the fish burst through the sea of fiery heat, blossoming like an oasis amid a scorching desert.

Matthew had been born in a fishing village, and he learned how to cook his first fish dish from the mayor when he was just 12 years old. He was taken to Rodu by a wealthy merchant at 15 years of age, and worked as a student chef at the Moissan Fish Cottage for 10 years. He learned how to cook a full fish feast from the old head chef there, and he went on to become an even more exceptional chef than his master had been. At 26 years of age, he became the head chef of the Moissan Fish Cottage, specializing in all types of fish dishes, and making the Moissan Fish Cottage the most renowned fish restaurant in the entirety of Rodu.

It could be said that he had been cooking fish exclusively for 30 years.

He had once thought that no one knew more about cooking fish than he did, and that there was no way anyone could cook a more delicious fish than he could.

However, all of Matthew’s beliefs were completely shattered in this moment. The skin of the fish was charred and crispy, while its flesh was succulent and tender. Its delicious flavor spread through his mouth, and not even the suffocating spiciness could prevent the flavor of the fish from shining through. Instead, the spiciness only worked to enhance the fish’s flavor.

“Master, perhaps this is the unachievable flavor that you were aspiring to create your entire life…” The chopsticks slipped from Matthew’s grasp and clattered to the ground while tears streamed down his face.

The entire dining hall had descended into complete silence, and everyone wore complex expressions. Even though all of these chefs were constantly competing with each other, the exemplary cooking skills that Mag had displayed today struck everyone with a sense of peril and urgency. If the second prince were to hire Mag as a chef in his manor, all of the other chefs here would most likely have to reconsider their future.

“Don’t worry, I won’t be staying here. I’ve only come to Rodu to cook for His Majesty, and I’ll be returning to Chaos City in five days. I still have to go back to my restaurant there,” Mag said in a nonchalant voice as he carried two portions of braised chicken and rice and two portions of steak into the room. He placed the dishes onto a table before indicating for Amy to sit across from him.

Everyone’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. They were all rather surprised, but they also heaved an internal sigh of relief in unison. If Mag were to stay at the manor, all of them would most likely be unemployed in the near future.

Matthew wiped the tears away from his face and made his way over to Mag’s table.

His face was still quite flushed, and he was staring intently at Mag, making Mag feel rather uncomfortable as he pulled the portions of braised chicken and rice closer to himself in a cautious manner. “There are only two portions of braised chicken and rice; I didn’t make any extra portions.”

“I’m going to eat a portion, and Father is going to eat the other portion, so you have to go cook for yourself,” Amy said with a serious expression as she shielded her bowl with her little hands.

“My name is Matthew, and I apologize if I offended you earlier. After tasting your spicy grilled fish, I was made aware of the wide gulf between our cooking skills, and I’m greatly ashamed for what I said earlier. I hope you may forgive me, Mr. Mag.” Matthew bowed deeply to Mag as he spoke.

Mag heaved a sigh of relief and released his bowl upon seeing this. All was well as long as this fat chef wasn’t here to steal their food. He nodded, and replied, “It’s good that you can learn from your mistakes.”

Amy also released her bowl and picked up her spoon before digging into her braised chicken and rice.

Matthew hesitated momentarily before continuing, “Mr. Mag, I have a question; how were you able to cook such a delicious fish? I’ve been dedicating myself solely to the craft of cooking fish for three decades, yet the flavor of the fish I cook continues to be quite lackluster. Would you be able to tell me why that is, Mr. Mag?”

You’ve been cooking fish for 30 years and you don’t even like your own fish? What a tragic life! Mag pursed his lips upon hearing this. If a chef didn’t even like his own cooking, how could he expect his customers to enjoy it?

Mag thought about this for a moment before giving an earnest suggestion. “I suggest you stop cooking fish, and try cooking chicken instead. Perhaps you’ll suddenly make a name for yourself and earn way more money than you did while cooking fish.”