#63
“Give me more.”
What the heck? Did I put you in charge?
Noah stared blankly at Benjamin, who had devoured a sweet potato and finished his cinnamon tea in the blink of an eye and was now shamelessly demanding more food.
“Is there nothing left?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? But here’s some.”
Despite Noah clearly saying there was nothing left, Benjamin’s hand, after searching through the machine himself, held a few very small chestnuts. They were too small to have any commercial value and troublesome to peel, but he had gobbled them all up, leaving his hands and mouth covered in soot.
Now, without even asking Noah, Benjamin thoroughly searched the small stand again, and the corners of his mouth turned downward.
“Ah, why isn’t there more? How annoying! Why does this taste so good?”
Benjamin, who was elegant, dignified, and couldn’t tolerate even the slightest foreign substance on his clothes, was now covered in soot, sitting sprawled on the ground, before going back to the machine to peer inside.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you selling these tomorrow too?”
With upturned eye corners that seemed to glare at Noah, his voice wasn’t as cold as it usually was when addressing him.
“Of course I am.”
“Then, make mine first. Six roasted sweet potatoes and six baskets of roasted chestnuts.”
“I don’t take reservations.”
“I’ll send someone at this time tomorrow, so package them nicely.”
As expected, his original personality hadn’t changed. Benjamin straightened himself up and finally adjusted his clothes only after checking every corner and confirming there were truly no more roasted sweet potatoes or chestnuts.
But touching his clothes with hands covered in soot only resulted in more stains on his outfit.
“I said I don’t take reservations.”
Noah replied while holding out a small dish of cinnamon tea to Aeongi, who had worked hard alongside him.
“What kind of business doesn’t take reservations?”
“What kind? This kind.”
“What?”
He’s not completely nice after all. Looking at Benjamin, who had been so helpful earlier but was now returning to his usual prickly self, Noah sighed.
Instead of telling him that he was only spreading the stains more by rubbing, Noah stroked Aeongi’s head as he lapped up the cinnamon tea, and found one of the many signs still hanging around.
[No Reservations]
“It’s written right here. No reservations. If I started taking reservations, I might have to roast sweet potatoes and chestnuts 24 hours a day without rest or sleep, and why would I do that? And don’t even think about asking for special treatment because you helped today. The moment I give you special treatment, the imperial family will use their name, and nobles will cite their status to make reservations. Then I’d have to keep putting ingredients in and taking them out of the machine endlessly while singing my ‘red flower, yellow flower’ work song. Am I crazy?”
After Noah rattled off without taking a breath, suddenly there was a choking sound from behind. He must have been eating too hastily, either because he was thirsty or for some other reason. Noah stroked Aeongi’s back while looking at Benjamin, who was standing with a blank expression.
He might have a prickly personality, but from what Noah had seen earlier, he worked well. Moreover, Benjamin’s appearance was exceptionally superior without even needing to mention it. With black hair and white skin, he had a small and petite build like Noah, and when he kept his mouth shut and stayed quiet, he exuded a pure, refreshing aura.
Noah, with his curly hair and green eyes, had what you might call a bright and energetic image. In contrast, Benjamin, as the youngest son of a prominent noble family and an omega, would have grown up having everything he wanted, without any regrets or resentments. Yet strangely, that pure face of his somehow seemed full of untold stories.
With such a face, if he were to tremble his lips and let a single tear fall, it would be enough to evoke a feeling that one should grant him anything. Even now, with his face and clothes covered in soot, it couldn’t hide his beauty.
Though he was now glaring at Noah for refusing his request, his appearance was not something commonly seen.
Moreover, even though Noah had said earlier that all the stock was sold out and he wouldn’t sell anymore, many people were still gathered nearby. Some were there to use other nearby street stalls, but others were asking if there was anything left, and a few were watching Benjamin and Noah.
And their whispers penetrated Noah’s ears. Though Benjamin, in his agitation, didn’t seem to hear, people who had initially thought these beautiful young men were selling food to help with household finances were now looking at Noah and Benjamin with even more curious gazes after learning about their backgrounds.
What better promotion could there be?
Even if they didn’t know why these nobles had suddenly started a street stall to earn money, it wasn’t common to see such high-ranking noble youth up close. Additionally, the fact that both Noah and Benjamin were male omegas was enough to attract people’s attention.
“How can you be so inflexible? That’s why you weren’t popular at the academy. What time will you open? If I can’t come, I can just send someone, right?”
“Benjamin, be honest. You want to eat it desperately, crazily, madly, don’t you?”
“Are you joking with me?”
Seeing Benjamin’s face slightly frown at his pointed question, Noah’s face, in contrast, slowly blossomed with a smug smile.
“Listen carefully. You want to eat what you just had, right? But did you see me putting that sauce on it earlier? Did you see me selling that drink? It was really delicious when you had the drink with the sweet potato or chestnuts, wasn’t it? But even with the two of us, we were so busy we couldn’t manage to handle those extras. If tomorrow gets as crowded as today, do you think I’ll be able to offer that menu? You know it takes much more time to prepare drinks and add sauce, right? So obviously, tomorrow I’ll sell items without any sauce. And of course, the conclusion is that I won’t sell drinks either.”
“So what!”
Noah dusted off Benjamin’s messy clothes with his clean hands and took out a handkerchief from his pants pocket to meticulously wipe the soot from his face while drawing out the suspense.
At first, Benjamin docilely offered his face, but then, as if suddenly realizing what he was doing, he swatted Noah’s hand away. Noah responded with a bright smile.
“So, whether you come yourself tomorrow or send someone, you won’t be able to eat what you had today. You can only have plain roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts.”
“What?”
Benjamin, who was as tired and exhausted as Noah and lacked the energy to speak loudly, had been talking quietly enough that only Noah could hear until now. But at the news that he couldn’t eat what he’d had today, his voice resonated loudly around them.
He had stayed still when his face was being touched, but was this inability to eat that sweet potato a bigger issue? Well, it made sense—having only tasted a new food without eating as much as he wanted, he naturally would want more. If he had eaten his fill, he wouldn’t be acting this way…
As it happened, the only thing left had been a sweet potato smaller and thinner than Noah’s fist, which he had given Benjamin out of a feeling that he should at least eat that—a move that had now become a masterstroke for Noah. Throughout the sales, Benjamin had been grumbling, “What’s so special about these stupid sweet potatoes and chestnuts?”
“Whoa, whoa, calm down. So listen to me. This is a win-win strategy.”
Quickly patting Benjamin’s shoulders, Noah’s face wore a deep smile, and Benjamin, who had reluctantly listened to everything Noah said, wore a strange expression, unable to either cry or laugh.
A few days later.
“Come one, come all! Roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts so delicious you’d die happily sharing them! I, the handsome one, make them directly, the cool person packages them, and the stunningly good-looking one will ring you up. A feast for your eyes and a delight for your mouth—Aeongi’s special roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts! We’re starting business today.”
Noah shouted loudly in front of the stall.
Cheers erupted from the people who had been lining up as directed by Aeongi since the three boys and the feline appeared to begin their preparations.
At first, many were startled when Aeongi passed through the crowds, nudging people with his body. But after this happened a few times, they realized he was organizing the tangled crowd, and now, even before Aeongi instructed them, they formed two lines so as not to obstruct passersby.
Hearing the cheers of the people, Benjamin at the cash register and Raymond checking the packaging preparations both wore what could only be described as bitter smiles.
But what could they do? Their souls had already been sold to Noah’s roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts.
Noah’s stall overflowed with energy as Aeongi walked forward and flipped the [CLOSE] sign to [OPEN].
—What are you?—
Raymond, who was rapidly moving his hands to package orders while also using magic to fill the machine with piles of roasted sweet potatoes and chestnuts, flinched at the telepathic voice beside him.
—Is the great and noble dragon bewitched by human food, just packaging as ordered?—
—Shut up, you who are bewitched by humans and playing pet.—
—…Who do you think was the first being to taste the strange foods Noah makes?—
At Derik’s words that cut to the core, Raymond looked into the distance and let out a deep sigh.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
