Chapter 9: The Vile Knight (2)

Patrick swiftly drew the dagger before him and hurled it backward.

Pak! Whoosh—! Pwak!

The dagger shot through the air in an instant, grazing the ear of the man standing at the very back before embedding itself into the wall.

The men all turned their gazes toward that direction, their expressions blank with shock.

By the smallest margin, the man’s ear had only suffered a scratch.

The bartender, who had thought Patrick to be a composed gentleman, swallowed hard at the display.

Turning his head back toward him, Patrick spoke with his usual calm expression.

“Wouldn’t you lend me the hunting dog quietly?”

Swish!

At that moment, the curtain at the far-left end of the bartender’s counter was drawn open, and a man stepped out.

“This way, sir.”

“Very well.”

Patrick followed his lead and went inside.

They descended a narrow staircase leading downward until they reached a door at the end, which opened.

Inside sat a woman with shoulder-length ash-gray hair, dressed in a splendid crimson gown.

“Welcome. You’ve come to Eye of the Moon. I apologize for the disturbance upstairs.”

Rising from her seat, the woman smiled softly with her eyes as she greeted him.

“So the branch manager has changed, I see.”

“It’s already been four years since the change. My name is Regina.”

The two sat facing each other.

“I’ll get straight to the point. I wish to request a search for several individuals.”

With those words, Patrick pushed forward a note listing three names he had prepared in advance.

Dike / Half-Dwarf / Male, early to mid-teens

Fordman / Male, late twenties

Caldein Flavan / Male, thirties to forties

After checking the list, Regina glanced between the paper and Patrick, her expression intrigued.

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but with only this much information, finding people will require quite a bit of time and cost.”

“Let’s hear it.”

At Patrick’s composed reply, Regina mentally calculated the necessary expenses for the search.

When she finished, she wrote down the amounts with a quill on the paper before sliding it over.

Upfront deposit: 50 gold

Post-payment per person found: 150 gold

“Not a bad price.”

Without any hesitation, Patrick pulled out a pouch and placed it on the table.

Clink!

The heavy sound it made suggested it contained a substantial number of gold coins.

Regina took the pouch and counted the coins.

Exactly fifty—just enough for the deposit.

Clatter. Clatter.

“Perfect. Then how shall we notify you once they’re found?”

“When they’re located, raise a red flag atop the tallest spire southeast of the royal castle. I’ll come in person.”

With that, Patrick rose from his seat.

As she watched his departing back, Regina’s eyes gleamed.

“Just what sort of man can wield a blade that well and still call himself a butler?”

Even the atmosphere around him made it hard to believe he was an ordinary servant.

Regina was curious but restrained herself—after all, investigating clients was strictly forbidden.

---

“Haaah… haaah…!”

Raion collapsed flat on the training ground floor, drenched in sweat.

Before he realized it, the sun had set, and evening was drawing near.

“Your Highness, you’ve worked hard again today.”

Standing beside him, Jade was also drenched in sweat.

“You’ve done well too, Sir Jade.”

Monica approached and handed towels to both of them.

“Dinner’s almost ready, so please wash up and come to the dining room.”

“Thank you, Monica.”

Raion immediately headed to the bath to wash.

As he was washing, he heard footsteps outside.

“Your Highness. Butler Patrick has returned from his errand.”

“Welcome back. Took longer than expected, didn’t it?”

“There was a slight issue on that side, so it took some time. But it’s been handled cleanly, and the request has been made.”

At Patrick’s report, Raion nodded, wiping the water from his body as he stepped out.

After nearly two months of training, the once-scrawny Raion had begun to build muscle.

“How much did it cost?”

“I paid 50 gold as the initial deposit. They said it’ll be 150 gold per person once found.”

On the Phalon Continent, Gar, Silver, and Gold were the standard currencies.

This had been established centuries ago when the kings of various nations gathered to create a unified monetary system.

One Gar equaled about 10 Korean won, and the denominations increased by powers of a hundred.

100 Gar equaled 1 Silver (roughly 1,000 won), and 100 Silver made 1 Gold (about 100,000 won).

Thus, 50 Gold corresponded to roughly 5 million won in Korean currency.

“1.5 million per person. If all three are found, that’s 4.5 million… including the deposit, 5 million total.”

Raion subconsciously converted the cost into Korean money in his head.

It wasn’t a small amount by any means.

Patrick, standing in front of the bathroom, tilted his head slightly.

“I beg your pardon, but… what does that mean?”

“It’s nothing. Just a way of thinking. More importantly, that means at least 500 gold total, right? Could even cost more depending on how far they go.”

The amount quoted was only applicable within the Canel Kingdom. If the search extended into other nations, the cost would likely double.

“Most likely, yes.”

It wasn’t that Raion lacked money.

He was still receiving a generous living allowance from the royal castle.

However, he knew he would soon need much more than that.

He had delayed it while focusing on training and developing his abilities, but now, he had to think of ways to earn money.

Of course, he could request more funds from the castle.

But doing so risked Queen Elina noticing and tracking his expenditures, which he had to avoid.

“I understand. Let me know once they send word.”

Raion changed clothes and walked with Patrick to the dining room.

A meal for four was prepared in the large hall.

Normally, as royalty, Raion would have dined alone—but he had grown tired of the loneliness and dismissed the formality.

Unless guests were present, he had decided they would all eat together.

Tonight’s menu was steak made from beef cattle.

Seeing it, a faint hum escaped Raion’s lips.

“Hmm…”

He was hungry, but the sound that came out of his mouth wasn’t because the food looked delicious.

At that moment, Patrick immediately noticed the unpleasant expression on Raion’s face and asked,

“Is something the matter, Your Highness? Are you feeling unwell?”

“Does it… not look appetizing, perhaps? S-Should I remake it?”

Monica’s expression shrank with anxiety, unsure of what to do.

“Ah, no, it’s not that.”

Since returning to the past, Raion had found one thing particularly unbearable—food.

The old Raion would have eaten it without complaint, but now, he had tasted the rich and varied flavors of another world.

Even if his soul was the same, the difference in culinary experience made this ordeal difficult.

“I really do feel sorry for you, Monica. But… let me make some adjustments to the cooking.”

“……Excuse me? Your Highness, you’ll cook personally?”

A member of royalty stepping into a kitchen—saying such a thing inside the royal castle would have caused a commotion.

But this was Taron’s Palace.

Even the knights standing guard were not permitted entry into the inner quarters, so no one would know.

“Yes, personally. Patrick, bring the plates along.”

“As you wish.”

As the cart carrying the dishes was rolled into the kitchen, Raion went ahead and began checking the seasonings and ingredients.

“Hmm… the ingredients look similar enough.”

He tasted small bits of the seasonings one by one. The names were different from those on Earth, but the flavors were mostly the same.

Of course, Raion had never once set foot in a kitchen or handled ingredients in his previous life, so he had to experiment by comparison.

“I brought them over.”

Raion began by cutting the large steak into square chunks and trimming the vegetables.

Then he lit the fire and placed the meat on a mesh grill used for roasting fish.

After a short while, he sprinkled salt and squeezed a sour fruit over the meat.

Patrick, Monica, and Jade all watched with curious eyes at the unusual cooking method.

The process wasn’t complicated.

When it was done, the neatly sliced steak pieces were plated anew.

“Now, have a taste.”

At Raion’s invitation, Patrick was the first to pick up a fork and put a piece in his mouth.

“Mmm~! To think meat could taste like this. It must be from adding Tros and Nomel together just now.”

Tros referred to salt, and Nomel meant lemon.

“Not bad, right?”

Next, Monica and Jade took a bite.

“It’s really good!”

“Truly! How did the meat become so tender?”

The meat they had used earlier had been full of sinew, tough and chewy.

Raion had sliced it along the grain, making it much easier to eat.

“It’s not hard. Could you try cooking it this way from now on?”

Gulp—!

“M-Me?”

Startled, Monica hurriedly swallowed the piece of meat she had been chewing.

“If you’re unsure, I’ll teach you.”

“Y-Your Highness, you’ll teach me yourself?”

Her face paled even further from the pressure.

“I’ll handle it instead,” Patrick interjected calmly.

“Butler Patrick? You can cook too?”

“A butler must be capable of everything, after all. I’ll prepare the meal once more.”

Everyone returned to the table.

Soon, Patrick brought out the newly prepared dishes and placed them before each of them.

Their reactions were identical to before.

“This is really delicious!”

Monica exclaimed in awe, continuing to eat eagerly.

Jade, beside her, was no different.

“I’m glad it’s to your liking. How about you, Your Highness?”

Raion was genuinely satisfied—the flavor of the meat was far better than before.

Honestly, he had been worried they would find it strange that a prince suddenly wanted to cook.

But now, he felt more determined than ever to take initiative in all things.

“It’s wonderful. I guess from now on, we can rely on your cooking skills, Patrick?”

“If Your Highness knows of other recipes, please do share them. I’ll do my utmost to replicate them.”

“I’ll do that. Ah!”

Raion suddenly remembered something mid-conversation.

“What is it, Your Highness?”

“If things go well, we might even be able to sell cooking recipes.”

“Selling recipes, you say…”

He didn’t know about other kingdoms, but within the Canel Kingdom, culinary culture was quite underdeveloped.

Even the dishes served by royal chefs were not much different from those Monica prepared.

They simply grilled, fried, or boiled the ingredients, seasoning them with only the most basic condiments.

Of course, Raion hadn’t been a professional chef in his previous world either.

But his experiences traveling across the globe and tasting various cuisines gave him an edge over any chef here.

And since he would eventually need funds, this could be a good place to start.

“I’ll look into it through the merchant guild. It should be possible.”

“Good. But instead of selling to individuals, make sure to deal with restaurants. Private buyers might resell, but restaurants won’t dare.”

“That makes sense. An excellent idea, Your Highness. I didn’t expect you to think along those lines.”

“Find out if it’s feasible, and if it is, determine a fair price and method.”

“Understood.”

Meanwhile, Jade and Monica were too absorbed in devouring their meat to pay any attention to the conversation.