Greg woke up to the smell of something delicious. That was unusual because he couldn't cook to save his life, and his cottage didn't have a proper kitchen anyway. He stumbled out of his workshop, following his nose toward the village square, and stopped dead in his tracks.
Where yesterday there had been an empty storefront that the old baker had abandoned months ago, there now stood a bustling eatery. A hand-painted sign hung above the door reading "Lylia's Kitchen" in neat letters, and through the windows.
Greg could see people crowding around tables. The smell of roasted meat and fresh bread wafted through the air, making his stomach growl despite his confusion.
"What the hell?" Greg muttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
"Morning, Master Greg!" the village chief called out, waving from a table near the window.
He was halfway through what looked like the biggest breakfast Greg had ever seen. "You have to try Lylia's cooking! It's incredible!"
Before Greg could respond, Lylia herself emerged from the building, wearing a simple apron over her traveling clothes. She looked remarkably cheerful for someone who'd only arrived in the village yesterday.
"Greg! Perfect timing." She gestured for him to come inside.
"I need to commission some proper cookware from you. What I've got now is borrowed, and it's not holding up."
Greg let himself be pulled into the eatery, his mind still trying to catch up with events. Inside, nearly every table was full. Farmers, merchants, even some adventurers passing through, all digging into plates of food that looked and smelled divine.
"You opened a restaurant," Greg said slowly. "In one day."
"Technically I rented the space and started cooking this morning," Lylia corrected, leading him to the back where a modest kitchen had been set up.
"I couldn't just sit around doing nothing, and I've always enjoyed cooking. Plus, this village needed a proper eatery."
"But you were a Royal Knight. Doesn't that pay well? Why work in a kitchen?"
Lylia laughed while stirring a large pot of stew. "Knights get paid well for risking their lives, yes. But now that I'm retired, I need something to do."
"Something peaceful that still lets me use my hands." She tapped the ladle hanging at her belt.
"Besides, this way I can test your magical cookware in a real cooking environment."
Greg had a sinking feeling. "What exactly do you need?"
"Well, for starters, this borrowed pot is already showing signs of wear." She nodded toward a somewhat scorched cooking pot.
"I'm working with high heat to keep up with demand, and normal cookware can't handle it."
"I need something durable."
"Just durable?" Greg asked suspiciously.
"Maybe with some heat resistance? Oh, and if it could somehow keep food from burning while I'm handling multiple orders, that would be helpful." Lylia's expression was innocent, but Greg caught the glint of mischief in her golden eyes.
"Nothing too fancy, of course."
"Right. Nothing fancy." Greg sighed. He knew where this was going. "What else?"
"A proper frying pan. The one I borrowed keeps sticking, and I'd rather not serve scrambled eggs that taste like yesterday's fish." Lylia counted off on her fingers.
"A large roasting pan for whole chickens. A griddle for pancakes. Oh, and maybe a good stirring spoon."
"You want a whole kitchen set."
"A modest kitchen set," Lylia corrected with a smile.
"I'm not asking for anything unreasonable. Just good quality cookware that won't break under regular use."
Greg looked around the busy kitchen, then back at Lylia. She was serious about this restaurant, and despite himself, he respected the commitment. A former elite warrior choosing to run an eatery instead of becoming a mercenary or guard captain took real courage.
"Fine," Greg said. "But I'm warning you now, my cookware has a tendency to be weird."
"I'm counting on it," Lylia said cheerfully.
...
...
Over the next three days, Greg worked on Lylia's commission. He started with the pot, crafting it from thick iron with careful enchantments for heat distribution and durability. The runes appeared as expected, swirling around the rim in patterns that looked like flames.
[Crafting Complete!]
[Item Created: Pot of Endless Simmering]
[Quality Rank: SSS]
[Special Properties: Indestructible, Self-heating, Food never burns or overcooks, Slight enhancement to flavor]
[Note: You've created a pot that can probably cook better than most professional chefs]
The frying pan came next, and Greg tried to keep it simple. Just a good non-stick surface and even heating. Nothing crazy.
[Crafting Complete!]
[Item Created: Healing Skillet]
[Quality Rank: SSS]
[Special Properties: Indestructible, Perfect non-stick surface, Food cooked in this pan has minor healing properties]
[Achievement: Kitchen Miracle Worker]
[The gods wonder if you're secretly a chef]
"Of course it heals people," Greg muttered. "Why wouldn't it?"
The roasting pan turned out to be fireproof to an absurd degree, capable of withstanding dragon fire without even getting warm to the touch. The griddle somehow made perfect pancakes every time, regardless of the cook's skill level. And the stirring spoon could mix ingredients without anyone holding it.
By the time Greg delivered the complete set to Lylia's kitchen, he was fairly certain he'd accidentally created a cooking arsenal that would put most magical artifacts to shame. Lylia tested each piece immediately, her eyes growing wider with each impossible feature she discovered.
"Greg," she said, watching the stirring spoon mix a pot of soup by itself while she worked on something else, "this is insane."
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Sorry? This is amazing!" Lylia pulled out a tray of perfectly roasted chicken from the dragon-fire pan, the meat golden brown and steaming.
"Do you know how much easier this makes running a restaurant?"
She plated a portion and handed it to a waiting customer, who took one bite and immediately declared it the best chicken he'd ever tasted. Within minutes, word had spread, and a line formed outside the eatery.
"People are going to figure out your food is magically enhanced," Greg warned.
"Let them," Lylia said, already working on the next order with practiced efficiency. "I'm still doing all the cooking and preparation."
"The tools just make it easier to maintain quality. Besides, you said it yourself, these are cooking tools, not weapons."
"There's nothing wrong with using good equipment." She had a point, though Greg suspected the line between "good equipment" and "magical cheating" was getting pretty blurry.
...
...
Over the next week, Lylia's Kitchen became the talk of not just Ferndale, but the entire region. Travelers went out of their way to stop by.
Merchants adjusted their routes to include the village. A food critic from the capital showed up, ate three full meals, and declared Lylia a culinary genius.
The healing properties of the food were noticed quickly, with people reporting that their aches and pains vanished after eating there. Adventurers started visiting before dangerous quests, claiming the food gave them extra energy. Someone even started a rumor that Lylia's cooking could cure hangovers, which only increased business.
Through it all, Lylia handled the attention with the same calm competence she'd probably shown as a knight. She hired two locals to help with serving and cleaning, trained them efficiently, and kept the quality consistent. She even started offering cooking lessons in the evenings, teaching villagers proper techniques.
Greg watched all this from his workshop, feeling a strange mix of pride and embarrassment. He'd set out to make peaceful items, and somehow he'd accidentally helped establish the most popular restaurant in three counties.
"This is your fault, you know," Marina said one evening, sitting at Greg's workbench with a plate from Lylia's Kitchen.
The adventurer had become a regular visitor, always eager to see what Greg was working on. "That healing food is amazing."
"My party's survival rate has gone up thirty percent since we started eating there before quests."
"I just made cooking tools," Greg protested.
"You made magical cooking tools that turned a retired knight into the region's best chef." Marina took another bite of her healing stew and sighed contentedly.
"Admit it, you're pretty good at this whole 'helping people peacefully' thing."
Greg wanted to argue, but the evidence was hard to ignore. The village was prospering. Lylia was happy.
People were being fed well, and some were even getting healed in the process. No weapons, no violence, just good food made with quality equipment.
[Quest Complete: Create a Peaceful Economy]
[Reward: Skill Points x7, Title: Accidental Entrepreneur]
[Achievement Unlocked: Master of Domestic Arts]
[New Quest Available: Your reputation has reached the capital]
[Warning: Important people are taking notice]
That last notification made Greg pause. "The capital? Why is the capital noticing?"
[Because a retired Royal Knight opened a restaurant using legendary cookware]
[And she's telling everyone you made it]
[Congratulations, you're famous]
Greg groaned and buried his face in his hands. So much for his peaceful, anonymous life.
"What's wrong?" Marina asked.
"Nothing," Greg lied. "Just trying to figure out what disaster I'll accidentally create next."
Through the window, he could see Lylia's Kitchen still packed with customers even as evening fell. Lylia moved through the dining area, chatting with guests and ensuring everyone was satisfied. She caught Greg watching and waved, her smile bright and genuine.
Despite his worries, Greg found himself smiling back. Maybe his peaceful items were causing more chaos than he intended, but at least it was the good kind of chaos. People were happy, healthy, and well-fed. That had to count for something.
[The gods are pleased with your progress]
[They're also placing bets on how long until the capital sends someone]
[Current odds: Three days]
"Three days?" Greg said aloud.
"Three days until what?" Marina asked.
"Until my quiet life gets even less quiet," Greg muttered, already dreading whatever was coming next.
But for now, at least, things were good. Strange, chaotic, and increasingly absurd, but good. He could live with that. Probably.