I’m a Young God, Won’t You Raise Me?

The start couldn’t have gone any better.

I sold skewer after skewer to the customers terrified by the chain letter.

Since there was only one item on the menu, the time required for each order was drastically reduced.

The twins and Mo Haein carried dishes nonstop while system windows appeared like crazy.

You have sold a Flame Lizard Tail Skewer and received 500G.

You have sold a Flame Lizard Tail Skewer and received 480G.

You have sold a Flame Lizard Tail Skewer and received 490G.

You have sold a Flame Lizard Tail Skewer and received 510G.

When the maximum tip was received, the selling price reached 700G.

For the time being, however, every sale was hovering around 500G.

Perhaps because the restaurant’s atmosphere left much to be desired, the tips weren’t very high.

In reality, it was practically a place with no conditions that encouraged tipping.

The only reason we were receiving tips at all was because of the food’s flavor.

Still, a few extra G in tips wasn’t what mattered.

What mattered was speed.

If sales moved at an overwhelming pace, tips stopped mattering.

I carefully watched the outside of the restaurant.

The line just kept getting longer.

In comparison, the customers in the dining area were taking too long to eat.

Of course, since they were eating skewers, the average dining time was shorter than that of a normal meal.

But I still wasn’t satisfied.

As soon as they finished eating, they should leave immediately.

Instead, the customers would set their empty skewers on their plates and continue chatting for quite a while.

One of Slay to Plate’s drawbacks was that food could only be sold inside the restaurant.

In the game, I had tried everything.

Setting up tables in the front and back yards.

Extending the restaurant’s carpet outside.

All kinds of experiments.

But in the end, sales only counted if they were made inside the building.

In this situation, there was only one option left.

Increase customer turnover even further.

‘And on top of that, I have three employees.’

With the twins hired, labor costs weren’t exactly low either.

I had set business hours until eight in the evening.

However, if we managed to sell all five hundred prepared skewers, I planned to close early.

That would give me time to take care of other matters and, at night, enter the dungeon to conquer the upper floors.

I decided to take a drastic measure.

“Captain Mo.”

“Welcome… Wait, are you about to say something crazy again?”

“No. I just want to increase turnover a little.”

I leaned over and whispered,

“Let’s get rid of the chairs.”

Mo Haein’s eyes trembled violently.

“Get… rid of the chairs?”

“Yes. From now on, this will be a standing restaurant.”

From that moment on, every time a customer left, we removed their chair and carried it up to the second floor.

And sure enough.

Once the chairs disappeared, turnover increased dramatically.

Customers who had planned to linger and chat after finishing their skewers were completely bewildered by such a radical setup and ended up leaving.

But it still wasn’t enough.

“Captain Mo.”

“What…?”

“Let’s get rid of the tables too.”

“…Is this still a restaurant?”

“It’s a standing restaurant.”

When we removed all the tables as well, the restaurant became packed.

People came in, ate a skewer, and left immediately.

With turnover this satisfying, sales kept soaring.

However, the constant stream of customers was hell for a pair of rookie employees.

The Fire Dragon Clan twins, who until then had spent their days intimidating adventurers in front of the dungeon, looked as though their souls were about to leave their bodies.

Even so, they worked with all their might.

Ella flapped her wings as she served dishes from the air.

Ellun weaved through the customers with admirable efficiency.

“Plates! We’re about to run out of plates! Lamb, what do we do?! Ah, welcome!”

“Skewers… skewers… skewers…”

The two of them ran back and forth serving skewers and collecting dishes.

I took the stack of plates Ella was carrying and went into the kitchen.

Standing before the mountain of dirty dishes, I put on my rubber gloves.

The Passive Skill “Muscle Memory” has been activated.

Crafting Speed increases by 120%.

The crafting speed increase didn’t apply only to cooking.

It also worked for washing dishes.

I finished the entire pile of dishes at an incredible speed.

I placed fresh skewers onto the newly washed plates and immediately carried them back out.

The twins served them while running back and forth.

After watching everything run so smoothly, Dominic commented,

“Mr. Gunbam, it seems the Industrial Revolution has arrived at this restaurant.”

Was that a compliment?

Maybe not.

But I decided to take it as one.

Mo Haein and the twins were too busy to even look toward the kitchen.

I took the opportunity to whisper to Dominic,

“Thank you, Mr. Dominic.”

Dominic let out a soft laugh before asking,

“Do you need many customers to come?”

“Yes. The more that come, the better. And if they leave generous tips, even better.”

“I understand. I should contribute a little as well.”

The moment I heard those suspicious words, I immediately became alert.

The pudding slime was about to do something outrageous.

“There’s no need, Mr. Dominic. I want to do this through my own efforts. I’d be embarrassed if I always depended on you.”

Before he could reply, I began showering him with praise, telling him he was the best companion.

I only relaxed after getting him to promise that he would trust me and wait.

At that moment.

Riiing!

The classic ringing of a telephone echoed through the restaurant.

‘Right. This game had telephones too.’

Customers could use the telephone to place food delivery orders, or the villagers could use it to relay important information.

Although ninety percent of the calls were nothing more than pranks or meaningless conversations.

Even so, since it was the very first call, I decided to answer it.

It had been so long since I had held a landline instead of a smartphone that it actually felt strange.

“Lamb Restaurant. How may I help you?”

There was a long silence on the other end.

Only static could be heard.

Just as I was about to hang up, thinking it was another prank.

A voice suddenly came through the receiver.

— Ahhh! We finally got through! The connection usually fails so many times that I didn’t expect it to work this time either.

It was a man’s voice.

His tone was extremely polite, yet at the same time carried a certain air of superiority.

I had the impression that he wasn’t one of the village’s NPCs.

As I listened carefully, he said something surprisingly ordinary.

— I’d like to place a food delivery order. Is that possible?

However, the line was in terrible condition.

His voice was constantly mixed with interference.

Did he live somewhere in the middle of nowhere?

By then, there were fewer than one hundred and fifty skewers left in the inventory.

Even without accepting delivery orders, they would probably sell out before the afternoon was over.

Business was booming.

But since it was the first delivery order in history, I thought it might be nice to fulfill at least one as a keepsake.

I took out a notepad and asked,

“Please tell me the delivery address.”

— Send it to PSR B1919+21. Pulsar Sector!

“…….”

The customer seemed to be an alien.

When a restaurant flourished in Slay to Plate, its fame eventually spread beyond the village.

Little by little, the range of customers expanded; visitors began arriving from cities and even from overseas.

And when the restaurant’s reputation exceeded 990 points, alien customers also started to appear.

It was just a simple easter egg that only appeared for a brief moment right before the ending.

But for an alien to place a phone order on the restaurant’s very first day of business.

‘I’ve never made a delivery to an alien.’

The game didn’t even describe what they looked like, precisely because it was only an easter egg.

The only thing I knew was that a hooded alien visited the restaurant, bought food, and left an enormous tip.

Since everything had been full of glitches ever since I entered Slay to Plate, I answered calmly.

“Uh… I’m very sorry. Today is our first day of business, and on top of that, our restaurant doesn’t deliver to space.”

— What?! That can’t be! I thought you even delivered to PSR B1919+21! Is it really impossible?

I had no idea where PSR.

was.

In any case, there was no way to send a delivery into space.

“I’m sorry.”

I began hearing sobbing on the other end.

Literally.

He was going, “Sniff, sniff.”

He definitely didn’t sound like a very normal alien.

I decided to keep a certain mental distance and took the opportunity to indicate that I was about to end the call.

“The restaurant is very busy right now. If you ever come here in person, we’ll be happy to serve you.”

— I’m afraid I can’t come in person. What a shame.

He replied in a dejected voice.

But then, all of a sudden.

— Heh, heh… hehehe…

He started laughing.

— Even so, I’m so happy I was able to hear your voice. Hahaha!

‘Should I hang up now?’

I had kept talking just in case he showed up in a spaceship.

But if he couldn’t even come in person, there was no reason to continue.

Just as I was about to hang up without another thought.

The person on the other end spoke hurriedly, as though he could see me.

— I’ve been your fan for a long time! I’ll keep watching you, Lamb! Well then, goodbye…

Beep… beep… beep…

The call ended.

I stood there for a few moments with the receiver in my hand.

“Mr. Gunbam?”

“…Ah, Mr. Dominic.”

“Was it someone you know?”

I didn’t know how to answer.

He seemed to be an NPC that didn’t exist in Slay to Plate.

So where on earth had he called from?

Aside from the fact that he clearly wasn’t very sane.

I couldn’t stop thinking about his last words.

A fan for a long time.

It wasn’t an expression that suited the chef of a restaurant that had only opened that very day.

But what unsettled me the most was the part about continuing to watch me.

Because it inevitably reminded me of the ones that appeared at the end of every Trial.

[■■ ■■■ Expresses admiration. Watches him with interest that seems to have no end.]

As I recalled the last message from those Black Blocks.

I slowly lowered the receiver.

“Recruit! We’re out of plates!”

Mo Haein’s shout brought me back to reality.

I immediately ran to the sink.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such a strange phone call.

I decided to pay close attention to whatever message appeared when this Slay to Plate Trial ended.

And I went back to washing the enormous mountain of dishes.

***

3:30 p.m.

All five hundred skewers had been sold.

After earning such a fortune, we were now unbelievably rich.

We could finally go down to the village and enjoy a luxurious shopping spree.

But first, there was one small matter to deal with.

When I announced that the restaurant was closing, the customers erupted into panic.

“The skewers! I have to buy skewers!”

“Aaaah…! I’m going to have bad luck…!”

The chain letter had left them completely obsessed with the idea that they had to buy food.

So I gathered everyone together and explained the situation.

“What? Something like that happened? Our restaurant knows absolutely nothing about it. In fact, such a malicious and terrible message… Could it be the work of a rival restaurant?”

First, I firmly denied any connection to the chain letter.

Then I added,

“If you read the letter carefully, it says you only had to visit the restaurant during today’s business hours. All of you already did that, didn’t you? So you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”

I reassured them that buying food wasn’t necessary to avoid bad luck.

“We hope to see you again tomorrow. We’ll serve you even more delicious dishes.”

Finally, I sent the now-calm customers off with my best professional smile.

Business hours have ended.

— Dishes sold: Flame Lizard Tail Skewer (500)

— Sales: 249,560G

— Current Restaurant Reputation: 20 points

— Customer Reviews: “A garbage restaurant. The owner is obsessed with money.”, “If you can endure it, an unforgettable feast of flavors awaits you.”, “The food is amazing, but the place is far too uncomfortable. A restaurant where employees and customers alike remain standing.”, “The employees are delicious and the skewers are very kind!”, “A heavenly taste with hellish decor.”, “This review was originally written in Mournvale, England…”

The maximum reputation was 1,000 points.

Despite turning the place into a standing restaurant, we had earned twenty points.

It was an excellent result.

Without a doubt, the food had been delicious.

I looked proudly at the dining room because of my Flame Lizard Tail Skewers.

Mo Haein and the twins were completely exhausted.

“Good work, everyone.”

Mo Haein looked at me, but she seemed so tired that she didn’t even have the strength to answer.

She merely sighed and slumped back down.

The twins, who had sold five hundred skewers on their very first day as employees, were already nodding off.

Even so, everything was going exactly according to plan.

‘Tonight I’ll prepare something even more delicious for the Captains and the twins.’

Especially the twins.

So far, they had only tasted the skewers.

It was time to truly show them what I could do.

Just as I was about to tell them that I was going to stop by the general store while they rested.

“…?”

A system window suddenly appeared.

Today’s Fee: 249,000G

Displaying an utterly absurd amount.