The Gourmet Innkeeper: Cooking Monsters in a Fantasy World-Chapter 305: New Mercenaries Arrived

An hour prior

A group of dozen strong mercenaries—mostly toughened and a led by a fortified-level person—traversed the dense forest from the West, taking down the mobs that attacked them with ease. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"Are you sure this is the place?" the leader asked the ebony-haired young man next to him.

The lad’s face was impassive, having heard this question a hundred times today. "Yes, Uncle."

It was here that a group of toughened-level monsters appeared and the leader sighed, walking faster along with two assistants. They barraged through this mob with ease.

Watching them slash around, the lad’s two friends walked side by side with him.

"Wow, you really hid well this time!" Aaron said, giving Ren a look of betrayal.

Zachary nodded. "To think we’ve been friends for years, I had no idea!"

They found out that Ren, in fact, was one of the heir candidates of the Mercenary Guild’s Capital Branch.

The guilds had branches in most towns and each branch had their own guild master. However, whoever were the people in the Capital, the branches still answered to them. Those were also high ranked and had close ties with nobles for generations, so they definitely had noble blood as well.

Ren was the heir to that.

There were even rumors that he was childhood friends with a pretty princess!

It was just that it was part of tradition to spend their youth outside, at least several towns away from the Capital. Ren was already halfway through this trial when they started investigating what had happened to their team back then.

They always thought that those nobles could’ve done something that attracted all those insectoid monsters to them. More than half of the mercenaries died that day!

These doubts were further solidified when someone close to the adventurer guild found out they were investigating similar incidents in the Kaelmorr portal. Hence, their guild started to investigate as well, albeit even more low-key than the adventurers who had no idea about tact sometimes.

Ren, as a mercenary and as someone with a bigger responsibility in the future, naturally went to investigate this. Inevitably, the nosy two friends ended up being roped in.

They didn’t know who they offended, but they were suddenly being targeted everywhere in their town. They were even attacked, and they survived thanks to Ren’s lifesaving token, which had completely consumed it.

Ren had no choice but to inform the ’head branch’ and the things he had discovered.

This team was part of the group who’d be studying and investigating more about these incidents. Since they were already in the danger zone, how could Ren and the others miss the chance to visit the inn?!

Goodness knew how often they dreamed about the food in their sleep! Even essence food they ate in the settlements could not compare!

And so was the current scene of the three young men meeting Finn’s eyes and they immediately approached him for a hug.

"..."

Finn blinked. Why did it feel like he was being greeted by three big puppies asking for food?

.

.

"Ahem."

He blinked and turned to the side, to see the Elders and several other adventurers. Seeing them now, he just realized that Milo and Leez were in the group too.

Still, he wasn’t able to greet them because the eyes of the Elders and the eyes of the leading mercenaries met, and tension exploded.

Someone from the adventurer team sneered, meeting an old acquaintance he had never seen eye-to-eye with.

"Why, I didn’t know you mercenaries could even step into the danger zone. Do you have enough healing potions? I bet you had a lot of boo-boos."

"EH. We’re perfectly fine and healthy. But maybe those old eyes cannot see clearly anymore." It was one of the mercenaries, Ren’s uncle’s right-hand man, said, even mockingly waving his own hands in front of his eyes.

The two were both men in their thirties, by the way.

Neither side saw this as immature, however.

Finn cleared his throat and stepped forward. "Errr..."

But what to do, the momentum had already begun, and they barely saw him.

"How selfish of you to hog such a good resource," the mercenary leader said. "I heard your adventurers have been taking advantage."

An adventurer elder scoffed. "HEH, if you mercenaries weren’t such cowards, you’d have found this place earlier, too. Too bad, we already made a lot of deals. The Innkeeper is one of us!"

At this, all eyes shifted to the red-haired innkeeper.

Finn sweated a lot. According to Zachary’s whisper, the side of the mercenaries also had a high-ranking one from the capital. Conflict between the two guilds here could have very big implications.

In the end, he rushed to gather himself so he could mediate. He clapped his hands and forced a hospitable smile on his face.

"I’d like to cook a wonderful meal for the elders of each side," he said, "And I will personally guide you around. But only if we are all amicable."

...

Finn honestly didn’t want to spend so much time with this tension; it was making him age years, so he made a simple meal but still a Class C essence food for the Elders as well as the three higher-ranking mercenaries.

As for the rest, he sponsored a canteen meal, which was also delicious anyway.

He served them a few bottles of his alcohol, which made people’s eyes bright, and a lovely dessert, using the local chicory for a coffee-flavored tart.

They loved this too. Very much. The more they tasted it, the more they got addicted, in fact.

This was especially fortunate now because, since they were afraid to ruin the eating mood, they were all behaving well.

Great. Finn didn’t have to threaten them that he wouldn’t cook at all until they behaved! That would’ve been very awkward if he had to resort to that.

He then guided them around, through the small parks, the gardens, the workshops, the canteen, and even the delivery room, which they later found out released iron ores!!

The more they heard, the more the Inn, the more energetic everyone became.

And the two leaders immediately rushed to him, oddly in sync.

"WE WANT TO BUILD A BRANCH!"

Finn: "????"