Osmanthus Wine
During the last few days of the week, the cafe seemed to gain quite the popularity boost as customers seemed to just be rolling in every few minutes. He wasn't certain, but Adonis had a feeling it was probably due to Xiangling and her friends.
Well, maybe not Chongyun, but both Xiangling and Xingqiu were the most likely ones to have sent out recommendations around Liyue Harbor for people to come over. He didn't know Xingqiu's influence, but Xiangling was a famous chef, so her recommendation held a lot of weight.
At his current stage, he was almost three quarters of the way to levelling up the cafe. If he were to make an approximation, he'd probably guess that he'd have the cafe level up tomorrow or perhaps the day after at this rate.
Anyway, in regards to the quest, today was the last day. All he had to do was keep up his work and the quest will be complete, and unless something bad somehow happens in the next few hours or so, then everything should go smoothly.
'Hold on, what does the end of the day really mean?' Adonis suddenly thought to himself as he walked away from one of the customer's tables. 'I have no idea whether or not that means the end of the work day, or literally the end of the twenty-four hour day.'
With a small sigh, Adonis just pushed it aside for now. If the latter was true, then he'd have to wait for after he closed tomorrow before he could test out whatever ability and skill he'd get from the quest reward, though that depended on what they turned out to be.
*DING*
"Welcome to the Arcade Cafe!"
"Oho~, this place is as incredible as the rumours say!" A somewhat energetic voice spoke out as a male with orange hair stepped into the cafe. Following behind him was another tall male with long-brown hair tied into a ponytail. "Hopefully, they have other utensils other than chopsticks."
"Being able to use chopsticks will allow you to truly appreciate Liyue's gastronomy, Childe. It would be best for you to familiarise yourself and try to become adept in their use."
"They're not easy to use!"
Adonis gave the two newcomers a curious look as he made his way over to them, and while the brown-haired gentleman was wearing clothes somewhat similar to other people he's seen, although much higher quality, the other individual certainly wasn't.
The one dubbed as Childe, looked to be wearing a light-grey attire that consisted of a fancy looking jacket with a pair of matching pants to go with it. Seemingly attached to the jacket itself was a long red scarf that hung around the back of the person.
The brown-haired individual, who soon took notice of Adonis approaching them, gave a small smile before addressing him. "Greetings, young man. Would it be correct to assume you are the owner of this fine establishment?"
"That's right, my name is Adonis. It's a pleasure to meet you."
A look of interest seemed to flash across the brown-haired male's face, though it quickly disappeared as soon as it came. 'Adonis? I don't recall any of the nations with such a unique naming sense, how peculiar...'
Then again, it wasn't like he was all-knowledgeable about the other nations and their customs.
"Adonis, huh? Interesting name you got there." Childe commented with an interested look before giving a smile. "You can just call me Childe, and this gentleman here is Mr Zhongli. He's a prominent member of Wangsheng, an organization that tend to walk in the shadows."
"Walk in the shadows, huh?" Adonis repeated with a half-joking and half-serious look on his face. "They do assassination work or something?"
Despite Adonis joking tone, his expression was anything but. If they indeed were assassins or something similar like mercenaries, then Adonis would no doubt make sure to keep an eye on them just in case they tried anything. Like hell was he going to let someone die inside his damn cafe.
"That is not the case." Zhongli shook his head when answering. "We at the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor organise burials. We ensure that those who have passed on, do so in peace. You seemed to have had a bit of a misunderstanding of our duties, but I assure you they aren't the case."
"No, I was a bit hasty in my assumption. I apologise." Adonis waved his hand with a small smile on his face. He then gestured for them to follow him. "Please follow me, I'll take you to your table. I have other guests to attend to, so please look over the menu until I return."
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
It didn't take long for both Childe and Zhongli to find themselves a table, and since it was only the two of them, they took over one of the small tables that only had two chairs placed. When they looked through the menu, Zhongli was impressed by the sheer number of options.
Due to who he really was, he had lived for thousands of years, and yet the majority of what he had seen on the menu were entirely new to him. He could only assume that Adonis had thought of the dishes on his own, and if that was true, then it was very impressive indeed.
"Hey~! They do have spoons and forks here." Childe chuckled as he took out one of each utensil from the built-in container on his right. Of course, the only thing he didn't pick up were the chopsticks. "At least I know I'll be able to actually eat my food now."
"As I said before, Childe. Getting yourself acquainted in the use of chopsticks will allow you to truly appreciate Liyue's culture." Zhongli responded before taking a sip out of what looked to be a fancy cup placed in front of him. "Ah... Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember... but where are those who share the memory."
"...Mr Zhongli, I've heard you say that so many times already."
"I apologise if you were waiting for too long." Both males looked up to see Adonis walking over with a small notepad in his hand, along with a pen in his right. "With how busy the place has been getting recently, it's getting a bit hard to keep up with all of the orders."
"It is no issue, Adonis. You have a fine establishment, and your Osmanthus Wine is just as fine." Zhongli assured as he sat with his back straight against the chair. "It is certainly different in terms of atmosphere when compared to places such as the Xinyue Kiosk or Liuli Pavilion. A pleasant difference, of course."
"Thank you, I'm glad you like it."
"Come on now, Mr Zhongli. The owner is busy, we should order quickly." Childe smirked slightly while waving his hand. "You certainly have a wide range of choices. With how many there are, I'm having quite a hard time deciding on anything. You, Mr Zhongli?"
"Hahaha~, I seem to be having the same issue." Zhongli chuckled a bit before turning his attention up to Adonis. "Perhaps the owner can assist us in this endeavour. Would you perhaps have anything that contains a bit of... heart? Literally or metaphorically, of course. I do not mind."
"Hey, I didn't agree to that..." Childe sweatdropped. "Eating a heart..."
"A bit of heart, you say?" Adonis blinked before adopting a thinking pose. After a quick few moments, a smile appeared on his face before nodding. "I think I have something in mind. Don't worry, it doesn't contain a literal heart. I shall be back soon."
With that, Adonis left the table and quickly made his way into the kitchen.
Just like he had stated, it didn't take Adonis long as he soon made his way back to their table. Of course, this time he was carrying a decently large platter balancing on one hand, and glimpses of something yellow could be seen as he walked over.
"Oh, you weren't exaggerating when you said you'd be back soon!" Childe was surprised when he saw Adonis walking on over. Though, the speed made him feel a bit of doubt when it came to the quality of the food. 'Can someone really make something delicious in such a short timeframe?'
"Here you are, gentlemen." Adonis smiled before placing two plates in front of them, one for each of them. Zhongli and Childe looked down curiously, though also a bit confused when they saw a yellow ball-like object atop of an oval hill of fried rice. "You seem confused. No worries, the dish has yet to show its true glory."
"True glory?" Childe blinked as he gently shook the plate. "Is this a balloon?"
Adonis merely chuckled before taking out a knife before cutting open the 'balloon' that was one Zhongli's plate, they widened their eyes when the object was revealed to be a balloon of half-done eggs that, when cut, had completely covered the fried rise underneath while revealing the runny golden eggs inside the balloon.
"And to finish it off..." They then noticed a small bowl on the platter that ADonis carried, to which he use a ladle to scoop up a brown sauce of sorts before pouring it evenlty on top of the dish, to which he then sprinkled a dash of green garneshings on top. "Demi-glace sauce and parsley."
Adonis then quickly did the same thing to the dish that was on Childe's side of the table.
"Kichi Kichi Omurice, hope you enjoy."
With that, Adonis gave them a small wave before walking off.
"Omurice... If I'm not mistaken, it's a dish mainly found in Inazuma." Zhongli commented with clear interest as he eyed the dish in front of him. "However, I don't believe the dish has ever been served in such a unique manner."
"Who cares about that, Mr Zhongli? Good food is good food." Childe spoke up as he quickly picked up a spoon. From a single whiff of the dish in front of him, Childe could feel his stomach yearning for it. Childe then suddenly gave a sly grin. "Though, looking at the dish, it's unfortunate as I don't believe I can eat it with chopsticks, Mr Zhongli. You'll have to use a spoon."
"So it would seem." Zhongli took the words with a smile on his face before placing his chopsticks down onto the table. "It matters not what utensils I use, appreciating the food does take priority. However, I still believe that you should get accustomed to chopsticks."
"Yeah, yeah. Some other time! We're here to celebrate our new cooperation, after all."
"Indeed, we are... Oh, it would seem I've forgotten to bring any Mora. I'll leave it to you, Childe."
"...Of course."
●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
The rest of the day went by as usual, nothing out of the ordinary happening as Adonis soon made his way up to his bedroom that the system provided for him within the cafe. The first thing he did was obviously take a shower before changing into his sleeping attire.
It was nothing crazy, just a simple white t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, a comfortable set of clothes for someone who was about to go to sleep. Anyway, Adonis sat on top of his bed while looking out of the open window while holding onto the clock that was normally placed on the drawer next to his bed.
"A few more seconds now, and it'll be midnight..." Adonis muttered to himself as he watched the hands ticking away. Soon enough, just as the hands all pointed directly up, a familiar dinging sounded resonated in his mind before a holographic screen appeared in front of him. "Bingo, so it was at midnight."
.
『Main Quest - Complete』
● Objective: Keep the cafe's reputation at least 80/100 by the end of Sunday this week
● Time Remaining: 0 Days 0 Hours
Rewards:
● 3,000 Points
● Random Skill Book - [Amount: 1]
● Random Ability Book - [Amount: 1]
.
"Oh yeah, the quest did have a time tracker. I thinking needlessly then..."
『Weekly Points: 1,000 Points Acquired』
Not only was the quest completed, but Adonis had also received the promised weekly allowance of sorts from the system. Since his reputation had remained at its peak, that being one hundred, he had received the full 1,000 points possible at his current level. With the 3,000 from the quest, he had over 4,000 Points now to his name.
As for the other rewards, Adonis was a bit taken back when two relatively large books suddenly materialised in front of him before dropping onto the covers of his bed. One book was a brilliant blue, and the other was an emerald green.
"From the looks of it, the blue book is the Ability Book and the other is the Skill Book." Adonis muttered curiously as he picked up the blue book before turning around multiple times to properly inspect it. "How do I use them? Am I supposed to read through them? They're pretty thick books, this could take a whi- AH, MY EYES!"
As soon as Adonis opened up the book, it released a bright light that temporarily blinded Adonis. He dropped the book in the process, rubbing his eyes before blinking them repeatedly to hopefully regain his vision. The light truly looked brighter than the damn sun!
『Ability Book has been consumed』
『You have acquired: Haki Manipulation (Observation, Armament, Conqueror)』
"Wh-What?" Adonis narrowed his eyes as he turned to look at the notification. As soon as he could read it, his eyes widened considerably upon seeing what he had obtained. "Wait, Haki? Isn't that one of the main power systems in One Piece? Holy crap!"
If the system was true to its word about having now just said that he acquired the ability to manipulate Haki, as long as he trained it, no doubt he'd be able to increase his power far beyond what it currently is. He's seen what those monsters in One Piece could do.
From the looks of it too, it came with all three types in the package.
"Let's see what this Skill Book gives me then."
With a restrained smile of excitement, Adonis quickly picked up the other book. After seeing his recent acquirement, he was excited to see what this book would give him. Of course, he made sure to close his eyes this time, less he wanted to fall victim to the power of Apollo once more.
『Skill Book has been consumed』
『You have acquired: Black Leg Style』
"Another thing from One Piece, what the hell are the chances?" Adonis went blank when he read it. First had gotten Haki, and now the main fighting style belonging to Sanji, both things belonging to the One Piece universe. "Considering I'm also a chef... something's going on here."
He wasn't going to complain in any way, he had always liked how Sanji looked when delivering all of those kicks. His fighting style was very unique, the way he incorporated a multiple of stylish yet powerful kicks to defeat his enemies always had an impression on him.
He'd definitely have to give it a go tomorrow.