“Hey, kid, stop standing there like an idiot. The monster’s dead. Go ahead and collect the venom from its fangs—we need to move on.”
The adventurers had just taken down a Giant Mother Spider, and the rookie in the squad reluctantly stepped forward, dipping a container into its mouth.
After they left, a blonde little girl stealthily peeked out from behind a Gargoyle.
Once she confirmed no one was around, the corpse of the Mother Spider vanished into thin air.
……
“Waiter, hotpot with sesame sauce, and five plates of fatty beef!”
“Waiter, a double serving of Emperor Crab Legs!”
“I’ll have two Hamburger and Fries Sets, please!”
…….
At the entrance hall of the dungeon housing the Giant Magic Spring, an arch-shaped sign crookedly bore the words “Labyrinth Tavern,” a door mysteriously added to the wall sometime recently.
Su Yao had spent 600 DP setting up a large room and a smaller one for the dining area and kitchen, originally planning to serve just a dozen or so customers each day.
But things changed…
This place now catered to almost half the adventurers in the Maze.
Don’t get it twisted—half here doesn’t mean half of the initial 190 adventurers when the Maze first opened.
Now, over 350 people were exploring this Dungeon, hunting for treasure.
That number accounted for about two-thirds of the registered adventurers at the Moravia Adventurers’ Guild back then.
Though these days, Su Yao didn’t really know how many adventurers there were in Moravia overall.
There were clearly many newcomers in the Maze.
Or maybe some came without registering as adventurers, drawn by the tavern’s reputation.
Thanks to this, both the number of people lingering in the Maze and the casualty rates had increased.
Su Yao had discovered a new business opportunity.
“F-f-f-sir, hotpot with sesame sauce, five plates of fatty beef, one gold coin total. P-please pay in advance.”
The stammering, timid voice was unmistakably Latina’s.
Chlorel planned to send her south alone to find her foster father, Duke Gerald, to update him on their situation here—but first, they had to cure her social anxiety.
If Latina panicked at the slightest questioning, whether she could even leave Moravia was doubtful.
“Ah—sorry, sorry, sorry…”
The burly adventurer only glanced at her once, but she kept apologizing endlessly. Looks like being a waitress was still too tough for someone with social anxiety.
No idea why Futini wouldn’t just give her a “Calm as Still Water” buff—this should be an easy task for a water spirit like her.
Could she be holding a grudge? Fair enough, Latina almost tore the Magic Spring apart in the first place…
“Sir, Emperor Crab Legs.”
“Sir, double serving of Emperor Crab Legs, 80 silver coins, please pay.”
The Dorodori sisters performed steadily, though the metal collars around their necks caught some attention.
Most people were merely curious about their identity, but a few with certain fetishes ogled them with pervy grins.
Su Yao could understand those gentlemen. Twin maids in matching outfits with metal collars—this combination would probably cause them to surrender within a minute.
Ugh, what perverts. Luckily, the sisters only called themselves “Master,” or else the damage would be unimaginable.
“Sir, your two Hamburger and Fries Sets. Three gold coins total. Please pay and enjoy.”
“Oh! Beautiful lady, would you care to join me for this delicious lunch?”
“Thank you very much for your invitation, but I’m working right now. Please excuse me.”
Sofia deftly dodged the man’s lecherous hand, dropping the coins into the front pocket of her maid apron, holding the tray with both hands as a shield, bowing politely before retreating gracefully.
Who knows where that male adventurer learned his half-baked etiquette—this kind of flamboyant speech and performance wouldn’t catch a white-haired, red-eyed beauty.
So naive!
Looking at the situation, they really needed more help; just three and a half waitresses were struggling to serve and settle payments for over a hundred adventurers.
Why “half”? Joking aside, did that pink-haired, socially anxious little girl even count as a waitress?
If only they could hand the whole tavern over to experienced staff.
Speaking of which, the day to meet Sylvie was approaching. Wonder if the “Fortune God” brought back any specialties from the royal capital…
“Wah!”
Su Yao’s thoughts were interrupted by a scream from the kitchen. He rushed into the smaller room.
“What’s wrong, Chlorel?”
“This thing’s still alive! It twitched just now—I clearly already roasted it!”
The chestnut-haired chef pointed at the massive spider leg before her, its shell and fur burned black and crisp, resting quietly on the stone stove.
“Leave the rest to me, Chlorel. Once this one sells, we’ll close. You should go rest.”
Certain insects have strange nerve distributions; even after death, external stimuli can trigger muscle twitches. Maybe that’s what spooked Chlorel.
Then again, she could’ve just been exhausted—she’d been casting Fire Magic for three straight hours.
Before leaving, Chlorel asked the blonde girl for today’s reward, hugged her briefly, then Su Yao began preparing the “ingredient.”
He lightly scraped the knife’s back along the spider leg; the carbonized fur all fell off.
Cutting through the crispy shell revealed white protein fibers wrapped in an orange-red membrane.
The aroma was identical to steamed crab back in the original world. Considering the size of the leg, calling it “Emperor Crab Leg” was a bit of a stretch.
But as the signature dish of the “Labyrinth Tavern,” the grand name was popular with adventurers.
Its origin was another story.
Two days ago, Chlorel went to Su Yao’s room to confess her feelings. The overly proud blonde forgot the spider leg resting on the cutting board behind her.
When the torch was lit, the chestnut-haired maid’s priceless expression was unforgettable.
Of course, Chlorel mercilessly “tormented” her in bed that night.
At the dining table, only the Dorodori sisters remained calm upon hearing the truth. Even usually elegant Sofia twitched and left the room.
Su Yao wanted to tell her that the trash in the room could be “transmuted” directly—no need to run all the way to the dungeon entrance—but for safety’s sake, he swallowed the words.
Only after Sofia returned did she learn that monster meat was generally inedible due to its magical energy.
Eating it didn’t just cause a nosebleed like some hearty folk taking tonics in the original world.
At best, it would cause magical overflow, disrupting the body’s condition. At worst, it led to fatal magical disorder.
Of course, these were the usual cases.
Su Yao explained how the spider leg became food.
When the Mother Spider respawned as he rushed to put out a fire, Latina’s flames had already roasted it.
Casting water magic consumed much of her mana, which caused all nearby magic energy to gather around her.
While alive, a monster’s magic rarely escapes its body. Dead, however, it seeps out freely.
Smelling the familiar aroma and worried about how to solve dinner without DP, Su Yao decided to put it on the menu.
Turns out, it wasn’t just edible—it was delicious!
Unfortunately, Chlorel and the others wouldn’t accept it.
They really should learn from the Dorodori sisters; as long as it tasted good, the twins didn’t care about appearance at all…
In any case, with the birth of the “Emperor Crab Leg,” the Pandora’s Box of dungeon “ingredients” had been opened.
Su Yao drew inspiration from this—walking mushrooms, crawling fish, and even a chubby Minotaur gentleman were soon added to the menu.
The “Labyrinth Tavern” was born, and Su Yao had decided the Dungeon’s second floor environment would be a subterranean cave—ideal for gathering ingredients.