Kelton, Who Knew Nothing About Fine Food

The verdant lettuce, orange carrots, and light green cucumbers... filled the entire room with life.

Suye made a welcoming gesture to Master.

Master could not bear to stand on ceremony. With trembling hands, he grabbed the first true salad in All of Greece, put it into his mouth, closed his eyes, shut off his other senses, and fully devoted himself to tasting as he chewed slowly.

Though Suye found this behavior rather crude, everyone else thought Master's movements were incomparably elegant.

"This delicacy surpasses the limits of imagination! Suye, your family is practically the Prometheus of the culinary world!"

That assessment startled everyone present, including Kelton.

In Greece, Prometheus held an extremely lofty status.

Not only had Prometheus stolen heavenly fire for humanity, and not only had he helped lower the standards for sacrifices, he had also spread many other things and made tremendous contributions to mankind.

In the end, Prometheus had angered the gods for humanity's sake and was imprisoned atop the Caucasus Mountains.

Kelton half-doubtfully reached out to grab some salad.

"Wash your hands first!" Suye lightly slapped his hand away with a bone spoon, then reached out and grabbed some salad himself.

Kelton froze. Had a second person who dared refuse him appeared in Dolphin River? He instinctively looked toward the five servants. They immediately turned their heads, pretending they had seen nothing.

Kelton helplessly went aside to wash his hands, then grabbed some salad and put it into his mouth, chewing it carefully.

At first, he was full of resistance, but he soon calmed down, and light flickered in his eyes.

An unprecedentedly rich experience burst across the barren palate of Ancient Greece.

Even though he called himself a gourmet and had eaten no fewer varieties of fine food than Master, he was still conquered by this flavor.

Remembering Suye slapping his hand, he snorted. "I'm not sure how much this dish is worth, but I don't agree that it makes you the Prometheus of the culinary world."

Master turned to look at Kelton with an expression of disappointment, then turned back, too lazy to say another word.

Kelton was bewildered. What kind of look was that? Compared to it, the earlier rebuke had been like a spring breeze.

He was the mighty Silver Warrior, the owner of Dolphin River. Why did he have to suffer such humiliation?

Suye said, "Master Chef, there's no need for you to be angry. He's just a restaurant owner. What does he know about fine food?"

Master wholeheartedly agreed and nodded vigorously.

The five servants raised their heads to stare at the Magic Lamp.

Kelton's gaze was blank.

What did Suye mean, he knew nothing about fine food?

Suye added, "How about this? You can personally prepare some roast meat and grilled fish, then pair them with salad for a proper meal. He'll understand salad's true purpose then."

"Please wait a moment." Master happily left to prepare dinner.

The five servants looked at one another, then tactfully shuffled over to the wall farthest from Kelton. They stood side by side and continued staring up at the Magic Lamp.

Kelton's mind was a little muddled.

Suye, meanwhile, took stock of the food on the table and searched through his memories of Greek food. He discovered that Greece did not yet have tomatoes, which would greatly diminish the effect of making Thousand Island Salad Dressing. Yet Greeks were famously fond of sour flavors.

The reason sweet-and-sour foods were popular in Europe was mainly due to the Italians, while the people who influenced Italian tastes were the Ancient Greeks.

Fortunately, there were no tomatoes here, but there were Pickles and fruit vinegar. So Suye began slowly mixing ingredients, eventually creating a sweet-and-sour Salad Dressing. Though it was still inferior to Thousand Island Salad Dressing, it absolutely suited Greek tastes.

As for famous varieties such as Caesar Salad, Suye had no plans to make them.

However, he intended to sell the equally popular Italian Vinaigrette at a better price.

Suye mixed another plate of salad with Sour Salad Dressing and placed it before Kelton.

"Try this one too."

Kelton hesitated for several seconds, wrinkled his nose, and caught the sour scent. Saliva flooded his mouth, and he hurriedly swallowed it discreetly.

"Mm."

Kelton held his chest high with restraint and elegantly reached out to grab some salad. Once it entered his mouth, he chewed while widening his eyes, revealing an incredulous expression.

Compared to the sweeter Salad Dressing from before, he preferred this one with its stronger sourness.

"Is it good?"

"Mm... it's good..." Kelton realized he had let it slip and hurriedly shut his mouth.

After finishing the first bite, Kelton reached out for more, but Suye struck his hand again with the bone spoon.

"Wait until the main course is served before eating more."

Kelton silently withdrew his hand, yet felt no dissatisfaction whatsoever.

He only wanted to eat dinner sooner.

The five servants restrained the subtle expressions on their faces and continued staring at the Magic Lamp.

Suye had spent quite some time making the Sour Salad Dressing. Before long, Master personally entered carrying a tray. He placed a large serving of roasted Pork Chop and a large serving of grilled tuna belly on the table, then hurried out again and returned with another tray.

There were even more items on it: scarce and expensive wheat bread, Vinegar Squid, Herb Eel, and homemade Vegetable Soup.

Master used a knife to cut the Pork Chop and large tuna portion into pieces, then served them onto three clay plates.

"Thank You." Suye accepted his plate.

The aroma of roast meat instantly filled the room. The five servants' throats had never stopped bobbing, and their eyes could no longer focus. Their gazes drifted toward the delicacies on the table from time to time.

In Greece, even wealthy small merchants rarely ate Cattle and Sheep or pork. Besides the high prices, there were all sorts of reasons, such as the difficulty of preserving meat.

The Laws of Athens stipulated that meat sold by butchers could only be sold after it had been used in a sacrifice.

Most people generally ate meat only after festival sacrifices.

Even Dolphin River occasionally could not buy fresh meat.

However, Greece was by the sea, so people ate fish more often.

Pork and tuna belly were both renowned for their rich fat. As they roasted, the meat sizzled, oil droplets spattered, their colors were enticing, and their fragrance made one's Index Finger twitch.

Kelton, whose appetite had long been stirred by the sour salad, ignored how hot the meat was and reached out to grab it.

Suye and Master both cast sidelong glances at Kelton, making no effort to hide their contempt for his monkey-like impatience.

Kelton helplessly lowered his head and chewed. He dearly wanted to say that he was not rushing to eat the meat; he wanted to taste how roast meat paired with salad. That concerned whether he could attract more nobles.

"Is this a new type of Salad Dressing?" Master asked as he looked at the second plate of salad.

"I came up with it on a whim. You can try it. This flavor is more suited to Greeks," Suye said.

Master grabbed some vinegar-flavored salad and nodded vigorously as he ate.

After swallowing the last bit of salad, Master showered it with praise.

"Not bad! I believe this sweet-and-sour flavor can conquer even more people. Suye, would you consider joining Dolphin River?"

Kelton stopped chewing and looked at Suye with a complicated expression, then reached out to grab some Sour Salad Dressing salad.

"I prefer magic." Suye politely declined Master's offer.

"What a pity. Still, the kitchen of Dolphin River will always keep a place for you."

Kelton chewed helplessly. A place in the kitchen was treatment even he did not receive.

The three of them ate silently while the five servants silently swallowed their saliva.

Only today did Kelton realize that his appetite could be so great, and that he did not feel the least bit sick of the food.

After eating the final bite of meat, he reached out to grab more, but both bowls of salad were empty.

In the end, all eight pairs of eyes fell upon the bowl of cold Vegetable Soup.