The Max-Level Chef’s Magical Town Game

Isaac’s laughter was hearty, and Ye Mu, originally lost in her thoughts, couldn’t help but join in. After laughing, Isaac began to detail the “rumors among adventurers.”

It was only then that Ye Mu realized just how outrageous her reputation had become in everyone’s minds.

The label of “culinary god” was the most fitting description for her, while the other descriptions were strange yet widely circulated rumors.

According to Isaac, everyone generally agreed that she must come from nobility, possibly as a noble’s illegitimate daughter—someone wealthy but without a title. If neither of those were true, then she must be the daughter of a top chef serving nobles, while her bloodline might not be noble, she would still belong to the upper class.

Regardless of which category she fell into, her decision to run a restaurant in Dragon Town was seen as a way to experience life and, by extension, to do charity!

After hearing this, Ye Mu was stiff for a moment: “Uh, excuse me… according to this reasoning, I understand the life experience part, but the charity part still doesn’t make sense?”

She thought her dishes were quite pricey.

Isaac shook his head, unable to contain his amusement: “It’s not like that.” He looked at her with a smile, “Nobles are high above, so the price doesn’t matter. As long as someone is willing to let ordinary people enjoy noble cuisine, that’s kind-hearted in itself.”

Ye Mu was speechless.

“Besides,” Isaac’s gaze swept across her face, “do you really think your dishes are expensive?”

“Isn’t it?” Ye Mu propped her chin in her hand.

If she roughly calculated, the average income for ordinary people here was likely a few thousand copper coins a month, similar to the real world. However, in the real world, people earning a few thousand wouldn’t buy dishes priced at two or three hundred each every day.

Indeed, there was a significant difference in mechanisms: adventurers needed to level up and improve attributes, and her quality dishes were a shortcut, making that expenditure worthwhile for them.

But proportionately, the price was still not cheap.

Isaac found her rebuttal amusing. He couldn’t imagine what kind of environment she had grown up in, being so oblivious to all this.

After pondering for a moment, he finally decided not to probe into her past and sighed, “How should I put it? Actually, I’ve always known that what you sell isn’t noble cuisine.”

“But in my opinion, the price your dishes are worth still far exceeds your current pricing.”

“Is that so…” Ye Mu shrugged. “But I think it’s already quite expensive.”

It could even be considered extortionate.

If it weren’t for that huge tax, it really would be a huge profit.

For a moment, she was tempted by the prospect of a higher price, but as the lively events of the past month flashed through her mind, she smiled: “This is quite good as it is.”

As she clicked her tongue, savoring the rumors she had just heard from Isaac, her mood was complicated. She asked him, “Well, now that you know those rumors are false… I haven’t done any charity work. Are we still going to discuss establishing a territory?”

Isaac spread his hands: “If you don’t plan to impose heavy taxes, I’m willing to make this investment.”

“Why do you trust me so much?” Ye Mu asked, staring at him, her tone very objective. “Have you considered that I might deceive you? Even though my combat skills are poor, what if I run away with the money?”

Isaac was taken aback by the question, as if he only realized how unreasonable his trust was upon hearing it.

He fell into a sort of confusion about himself. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly replied, “Maybe I think someone who loves food shouldn’t be too bad.”

“That…” Ye Mu opened her mouth and finally chuckled, “It seems to make sense.” She then gave him her assurance: “I won’t impose heavy taxes, that kind of taxation makes no sense. To develop long-term, ¹you can’t bleed the residents dry.”

“Alright, then I will withdraw the money over three days, and then we can go choose a location,” Isaac said.

Ye Mu asked him, “Why not transfer the money directly from the bank?”

There was a withdrawal limit, but no limit for bank transfers. So if they transferred the money, they wouldn’t need to stretch it over three days.

Isaac’s smile suddenly became a bit forced: “My account is under surveillance, and transferring money to you could get you into trouble. It’s better if I withdraw it and hand it to you, and then you can deposit it.”

“…” Ye Mu didn’t know how to respond for a moment. She looked at Isaac and wanted to ask: Buddy, what illegal activities have you been involved in?

Was it something like gambling, drugs, or telecommunications fraud? Or maybe illegal fundraising? Otherwise, why would it be like this?

But judging by his series of charitable ideas, he didn’t seem like that kind of person.

She even felt he was somewhat of an idealist, who’s detached from reality. He clearly knew that the poor state of the environment couldn’t be changed by one person alone, yet he still wanted to try, willing to spend a lot of money to do so.

This was the first time she had seen someone like that, and she couldn’t quite describe her feelings, but it was certainly novel.

Therefore, she didn’t pry into his past and nodded calmly: “Alright, I’ll wait for your news.”

For the next three days, Isaac really brought money every day. The daily withdrawal limit at the bank in this world was 3 million copper coins, and he delivered 3 million each day for three consecutive days. They agreed to head out on the fourth day, and he had prepared an additional 1 million copper coins for that day, totaling 10 million.

Ye Mu knew that this journey would not be short, so she hung a “Closed for Today” sign on the door and gave her employees the day off.

As she looked at the astronomical sum in her backpack, she teasingly asked, “Are you this rich? Do others know?”

She thought he looked more like a noble’s illegitimate child—someone who couldn’t inherit a title but was incredibly wealthy!

The two walked south from the Nightfall Restaurant and exited the town through the southern gate. Ye Mu had prepared to trek all day, but as soon as they stepped outside, Isaac took her to a secluded corner and raised his right arm. “Hold onto my arm.”

“Uh?” Ye Mu looked at him, confused, and reached out, doing as he said.

Isaac added, “Hold on tight.”

Ye Mu used a little force, feeling his solid muscles through the thin fabric of his mage robe.

Then she saw Isaac softly chant a spell, and a white paper page appeared in his hand, with golden runes shimmering faintly on it.

He casually tossed the runes into the air, and Ye Mu felt a sudden darkness engulf her, a rush of wind roaring in her ears. Just three seconds later, light returned and the sound vanished, but the scenery before her had completely changed.

She found herself in a place she had never been before, the ground was flat, but looking into the distance, she could see mountains surrounding this open space on three sides, with only the north side unobstructed.

Ye Mu was shocked and asked her first question: “Where is this?”

“At the foot of the Qiana Mountains,” Isaac pointed to the mountains surrounding them, “And that is the Qiana Mountain Range.”

“Oh…” Ye Mu replied.

It seems this introduction would help her know exactly where she was!

Then she asked her second question: “What was that just now? Why did we get here in the blink of an eye? Was it some kind of auxiliary magic?”

“It’s a teleportation rune,” Isaac answered while squinting his eyes and looking at her seriously for a moment, then added, “I now believe you’re completely unrelated to the nobility…”

Ye Mu stared at him, “So you didn’t believe me that day?!”

“That’s not my fault,” Isaac replied nonchalantly. “It’s hard to believe that an ordinary person could have maxed-out culinary skills.”

Ye Mu rolled her eyes silently in response and casually opened her map to determine her location.

This game clearly had a map exploration mechanic, only places she had visited were displayed, while others remained completely dark.

Now, she had lit up the large area of the “Qiana Mountains,” with everything around it still black. However, when she zoomed out, she quickly saw the illuminated areas again, realizing that the Night Dragon Town and the Qiana Mountain Range weren’t too far apart. If she walked from the northern side without mountains, she could probably return in half a day.

Isaac couldn’t see her panel but guessed she was looking at the map. He pointed north, “Well, that way is Dragon Town.”

He then slightly adjusted his hand to point northwest and northeast: “There are a few villages on those sides, and they’re pretty close too… Can you see them on the map?”

“I can’t see them,” Ye Mu shook her head. “I’ve only been to Dragon Town.”

“That’s okay,” Isaac shrugged. “What do you think of this place?”

Ye Mu looked around, “Are there any criteria?”

“Well… considering the initial resources, there’s a forest, stone and coal mines, and the land is fairly fertile. There are rivers too, you should see the markers on the map. Plus, there are quite a few nearby villages, making it easy to attract residents.”

“Don’t be too hasty!” Ye Mu laughed.

In front of her was a vast wilderness, and while she was thinking about how to start the initial construction, he was already eager to dig in!

She continued to look around, “Can you be more direct? In your opinion, is this place suitable for establishing a territory?”

Isaac replied, “If I didn’t think it was suitable, I wouldn’t have brought you here.”

“Oh…” Ye Mu chuckled dryly, “That makes sense!”

“So, if you think it’s suitable as well,” Isaac said without wasting any time, “The initial territory is 10 million, and the money is already in your backpack. Open your personal information panel, and you should see a ‘Claim Vacant Land’ option next to your avatar. Click it, and after confirmation, the area will be designated for you.”

Ye Mu asked, “Then I’ll be the lord?”

“From a permissions standpoint, yes. But to truly gain the lord title, you need to develop to a certain scale before you can request a title from the palace.”

The contrast between the straightforward system application and the formal request to the palace gave Ye Mu a strong sense of absurdity.

However, Isaac didn’t seem to find it odd and continued calmly, “Once the territory is established, you’ll have periodic tasks. The first task should be to attract 10 residents.”

Ye Mu was taken aback: “…”

Her friend list only had about ten people at most.

But then she heard Isaac say, “I’ve already found the people, they’ve been waiting. Good luck, my lord.”

Ye Mu was confused: “???”

It was clear he was quite eager.

He was indeed an idealist, willing to spend lavishly and exert effort for something he wanted.

“I’ll do my best,” Ye Mu sighed, following his instructions to complete the operation.

Perhaps because a territory without a lord was insignificant in this world, her application was approved quickly. Within half a minute, she saw a pop-up saying “Application Approved,” and then a button for “Enter Territory Construction” appeared in the upper left corner of her view.

She pressed the button, and the colors around her changed. The vacant land beneath her feet was covered by a light green filter, extending several hundred meters outward from her as the center.

At the same time, a naming interface appeared. Ye Mu initially thought to name it “Nightfall” as a silly pun. But considering the recent malicious encounters, she worried that such an obvious name might attract more hostility, so she asked Isaac, “Is it possible for me to keep my status as the lord a secret from others?”

Isaac shook his head, “Once you submit the lord application, the palace will know.”

“I don’t mean the palace,” Ye Mu paused, “I’m talking about others, like the residents moving in or other townspeople.”

“Oh, that’s possible. You can set the information to be hidden. Others will think it’s another lord expanding their territory nearby, usually, no one will dig deeper,” Isaac confirmed.

“That’s great,” Ye Mu said, relieved, and typed the name in the naming interface: Qiana Town.

She lazily named the place after the nearby mountain range.

After completing the naming, several building icons appeared at the bottom of her panel.

The public facilities included a service hall, tax office, and bank, all provided for free by the system, ready for immediate construction. In addition, three residential buildings were offered, she could either build them with one click or sell them once constructed.

For any other buildings, whether public facilities or residences, she would need to plan and construct them herself.

Ye Mu then looked for suitable spots to place the three public facilities, moved a few dozen meters away, and set up the three small houses as well.

Returning to Isaac, she cleared her throat and asked, “Um… can I hire you… to build the houses?”

It felt quite shameless to hire an investor to do the work.

But what could she do? She had a construction level of zero and only knew him as a construction player!

Isaac laughed, “Sure.”

Ye Mu hesitated, “About the payment… um…”

She couldn’t bring herself to suggest paying with meals.

She didn’t want to be too shameless about this!

Isaac hesitated for three seconds between “taking advantage and extorting a year’s worth of high-end meals” and “being a good person,” and finally said, “Look at the ‘Territory Resources’ button in the lower right corner of the panel.”

“Hmm?” Ye Mu clicked the button as he said, discovering that there was an initial fund of 1 million copper coins. In addition, this panel would record the territory’s existing stock of food, minerals, and more, but all those had an initial amount of zero.

“Can I pay you 100,000 copper coins as your fee? Consider it a month’s worth?” Ye Mu offered a generous price. She knew this amount was likely well above the average income for this era, but since building all day would be tiring, giving a bit more seemed reasonable.

Moreover, the 10 million needed to establish the territory had come from Isaac, so this 1 million also counted as his contribution. Why should she be stingy?

Isaac bargained, “That includes three meals. I’ll eat whatever’s sold for dinner, and for breakfast and lunch, I’ll have what you eat.”

“Deal!” Ye Mu agreed eagerly. After paying Isaac, she granted him construction permissions on the panel, allowing him to build freely, while the costs would be automatically settled by the system, eliminating the hassle of accounting later.

Closing the panel, she asked him, “Could you start by building some houses for me? Is there anything else that needs to be done first?”

Isaac glanced at the sky, “No rush. You should get back to managing your restaurant now.”

“Ah…” Ye Mu thought about how she had planned to close for the day and had even put up the “Closed” sign. However, since it seemed there wasn’t anything urgent on the territory side, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep the restaurant open after all, so she nodded in agreement.

Isaac then activated the teleportation rune again, and the two of them instantly transported back to the outskirts of Dragon Town, before walking back to the restaurant. Before leaving, Isaac gave Ye Mu a few teleportation runes, telling her that these were directional ones, set to the coordinates of her territory, she just needed to tear them to use them.

Ye Mu thanked him, and he left. About an hour after he walked away, while she was frying the dinner dishes, Ye Mu realized… she could teleport there, but how would she get back?

…Forget it, she could just walk back.

That was her final conclusion.

The next morning, Isaac arrived for breakfast at 8:30. Ye Mu’s breakfasts had always been simple, she usually bought ready-made items from the market and then processed them.

Today, she bought some bread, cut it into small squares measuring two centimeters each, dipped them in an egg mixture made with milk and sugar, and then fried them in a small pan.

It was a low-budget version of French toast.

After frying the toast, she sliced some sausages, chopped tomatoes, and made a simple yet rich sauce by adding sugar, salt, mashed potatoes, and minced meat.