Raised in Dungeon



(DRAFT / UNEDITED)

In the morning, a female dungeon explorer with a large sword entered. Her body was muscular, with some scars left. This restaurant was her favorite because of its cheap price.

"Lately, I've been so lazy to explore the dungeon. The minerals have started to run out, and you have to dive to deeper floors if you want to profit. Unfortunately, I don't have any priests to invite, and I can't find any party that needs a silver vanguard like me. Maybe I should look elsewhere? I will try to go to Boldenville's dungeon next time."

Ever since she first ate the soup made by the master at that tavern, eating that soup became her routine every morning before he went to the dungeon.

"The soup they serve here tastes so ordinary, but somehow it's addictive. You will want it again and again, and there's some warmth and a nostalgic feeling to it. But since I've been tasting it every day, I'm starting to feel bored; maybe this will be the last time I am eating here," she thought.

"Welcome, soup as usual, right?" asked Susan as soon as the woman sat on the chair.

Susan brought the soup from the kitchen. This soup was not the usual one made by the master but one that had been slightly modified by Allen.

"Please enjoy…"

'Hmm? Does this soup always smell this good?' she thought as Susan put the soup on her table.

Once he put the soup in her mouth,

"Hmm."

She covered her mouth with her finger; her eyes widened slightly in surprise, and then after that, she downed the bowl, finishing it all in one gulp.

'It's so deliciouus!'

After finishing it, she realized that there was a black-haired boy peeping at her from afar.

'A new worker? Did he make it?'

The woman put her money on the table and gave a tip because the soup she ate was delicious. She then left without saying anything.

"Today, I think I will try my best to explore the dungeon... I might stay in this region a little longer," the woman said, showing a bright face and ready to start her day.

Inside the tavern,

"Hmm... that woman has always been quiet since she came here a month ago; I thought we could see her new expression after tasting Allen's soup." Susan said.

To Susan, the woman just looked like a starving person who wanted a quick meal.

Susan looked at Allen.

Allen was petrified, still looking at the table where the woman was sitting. He clutched his chest tightly.

At that moment Allen felt a new sense of satisfaction,

'What is this? What should I call this emotion? There is… there is a blooming flower in my heart'

Susan may not have realized it, but Allen knew. The woman's expression was really satisfied after eating his cooking. As soon as she finished her meal quickly, he felt a flower blooming inside his chest; he had just discovered a new sense of feeling.

He felt that he did something that was appreciated by others.

Susan picked up the bowl and the money on the table.

"He left more money." There was a small note under the bowl that said, "Thank you; this is from me to the cook."

As soon as Susan gave it to Allen, Allen took a long look at the paper and money on his palm, making him feel the warmth once again.

The next customer entered, a mother and two children. The mother who ate it also showed the same expression as the woman earlier, while the children ate it with gusto, saying, "yummy! Mom its tastes so good!"

"Yeah..  yeah you're right… you are absolutely right. Thank goodness we came here."

"Tomorrow will we come again?!"

"Sure, fortunately the price is cheap."

The next customer

Then the next one

Next again

And the next one

Everyone who came, at least, will order the soup. After they ate, they walked out of the restaurant with satisfied faces.

"Allen, have you ever cooked somewhere?" Susan asked.

Allen nodded,

"In the past, I cooked for someone." But he used to only do that inside the dungeon, without knowing there were cooking methods and types of food that Rodion told him about.

"No wonder your cooking is so good, that someone must be happy to be able to eat this delicious food every day."

Susan's words made Allen think back to his time in the dungeon with his mother.

'Are mom really happy to eat my cooking?'

Back then, Allen didn't understand how to look at other people's expressions at all. And his mother never gave any opinion on his cooking. But once he remembered that Lavinia had complimented his cooking, he hoped that his mother also liked it too.

"I hope so."

"Ah! You're finally smiling!" Susan shouted.

"Is that so?"

"It is! Even if it's just a little, you just smiled!"

"How's smiling?"

"How you said? Like this!" Susan showed a smiling face.

"There is no way I am putting that kind of face on."

"Duh, I am really sure!"

'Smiling, huh, did I also have that face when I lived with my mother?'

Until finally in the evening, Susan returned to her house.

"Bye, Allen."

Allen answered her with a nod.

After Susan went home, she looked into the cauldron of her soup from earlier, which now had a little left.

Looking at his soup, Allen recalled the faces of the people who had eaten it. Allen clutched his chest, trying to accept the new feeling that came to him.

"Seeing people finish their food with satisfaction is the highest pleasure of a cook," Rodion said beside Allen.

"Master Rodion."

"That's the reason I keep cooking even though this place is deserted. So what about you? Do you like cooking?"

"I-I still don't know," Allen replied, with a hint of doubt in his voice.

"Well, I understand your hesitation. You can't suddenly throw away all the things you've worked so hard to achieve."

"What do you mean?" asked Allen.

"From the way you walk, the way you swing the knife, and the look in your eyes, it's obvious that you're not just a mere kid. You must have a certain goal you want to achieve, and I'm sure it's not a good one. My advice is to give up. Give up and do something better—something that you like and that other people like. Something that doesn't harm others."

"I-"

"I know, you don't want to tell me. No need to mention anything; I don't care about that either. Maybe today is not the right time for you to tell me. But at least I'll give you some advice."

Rodion looked at Allen and then said

"Sometimes, once you realize that you've fallen too deep, remember the smiles of the people who enjoyed your cooking. I hope you can still climb up. You're still young, you have a long life ahead of you," Rodion said.

The advice Rodion gave was incomprehensible to Allen, but he knew that it was deep and he was just too stupid to understand what it meant. The reason he thought so was because Rodion's face when he said it was really serious and full of emotion.

"What does that mean?"

Without answering Allen's question, Rodion left him and said

"Clean up everything as I instructed you yesterday; I'm going to bed first."

Allen looked at his hand again and said,

'If I start cooking, what's the point of my training this whole time?'

The next day, the tavern was crowded for the first time. It seemed like the rumors about the delicious soup in the town tavern had spread among the dungeon explorers. And since the one who made it was an other-worlder, they were all the more curious about the soup. The people in town might not be too familiar, but the dungeon explorers already knew about Otherworlders. Otherworlders were important in the cultural development of that world, so once they heard that the soup was made by Otherworlders, they knew that they shouldn't be surprised by it.

After all, what Allen made wasn't anything extraordinary, he just added some recipes from the soup made by Rodion.

Due to the large number of people who came, Rodion told Allen to stay in the kitchen all day.

Then in the evening, once all the customers had gone home and the tavern had closed. Allen, Susan, and Rodion start to clean everything.

"Wow. This is the first time this tavern has been filled with visitors. Master, can I ask for some extra money?" asked Susan.

"Hmph! Do you think this soup was made with ordinary ingredients? We add expensive salt, chicken stock, and a lot of extra spices that this kid gave us. We only have a small profit."

"Eeh?! Then raise the price!"

"Only the rich can eat this soup if it's raised."

"What does that mean? We're selling food; of course only people with money can eat our food!"

-PUK

Rodion hit Susan on the head with the broom.

"Ouch!"

"Susan, the fleeting nature of wealth can sometimes cloud our moral compass, leading us down a path of greed. Remember that you are the ones who are almost swallowed by the cruelty of this world; you don't need to be the one who swallows others."

Rodion closed his eyes, then said

"It's not only the wealthy who crave the taste of delicious food."

The words went straight into Allen's head like a gentle breeze.

Allen once again squeezed his chest. Remembering the customer, especially the mother and children who ate his soup yesterday. They are coming here because of its cheap price, and they look so happy because they could eat the soup before them.

'That feeling again...

The tremor I felt in my chest when I heard it

Like something inside me is slowly changing.'