Chapter 132: CHAPTER 132 – The owner of the café.
"Pardon my intrusion."
As the voice fell and the sliding voice of the main kitchen's door was heard, every head turned toward the source of the voice.
Max who saw the person coming out of the gate suddenly had his eyes shine with realization.
'Shit, that bad habit of his!'
Max cursed himself for asking the question to Alex.
'Why do I keep forgetting that this bastard hates his food being judged….'
Max could tell what had happened, after all, it was not hard to guess.
He knew the person walking toward them, he had known him quite well since they were childhood friends.
He had known that guy for as long as he could remember, so he knew every good and bad habit of the said guy.
One of those bad habits was that he was very arrogant, especially when it came to his cooking.
The man that was walking toward them was Damien Foster, he was the owner as well as the head chef of the world-famous café, the one they were in right now.
He was a chubby man with fluffy cheeks that vibrated with every step of his. He was short in height as he was around 165 cm even after the changes the world had gone through.
Now, some would ask: What do the changes in the world have to do with the height of a person?
It's quite simple because when the mana shockwave was released in the world, new awakeners emerged, old ones gained power, and many other things.
One of the things that happened was the changes in people's physique.
Most of the people around the world grew in height as their bodies grew stronger.
For example, Frank grew from 174 to 180, reaching quite close to Alex's previous height.
(Alex right now is 188 cm in height)
But Damien was among the few unlucky people to not have their heights increased.
But that didn't mean he was weak; Damien was quite strong as he needed to be powerful to control the world-famous café or it would just be stolen by some powerful person.
Damien was a low-tier S-ranker, but that was after the mana shockwave, he was an A-ranker before that.
Although being Max's friend was enough to keep him safe in the world, he never asked for help. That's how arrogant he was.
"I heard someone say that my food was not that good and it could be improved," Damien spoke as soon as he reached them.
He had his hand crossed in front of his chest, but it seemed hard for him to do it because of his fat body.
Damien had his eyes locked on Alex who was back to eating and was now completely ignoring Damien.
"Let me introduce you, this is Damien Foster, the owner of this café, please don't mind him, it was my fault for bringing it up, it slipped my mind that it was a sensitive topic for Damien," Max stood up with a smile and spoke before the matter could worsen.
He knew why Damien was a bit sensitive when it came to the dishes, so he didn't want Alex and the group to misunderstand him.
But does Alex care about those things?
"I was just speaking the truth," Alex shrugged as he spoke.
"You…." Damien almost cursed when he heard Alex speak, but Max held his hand from behind, stopping him from continuing.
"This is Alex Matthew, the honorary guild master of the Crimson Lotus Guild, then there is Miss Alice, the guild master of the Crimson Lotus Guild, and Miss White, her secretory," Max spoke, reminding Damien of who the people in front of him were.
Damien's head cooled down as he remembered who it was that he was talking to.
Max had told him before about whom he was going to invite and for whom he was booking the whole café, but when he heard his cooking being berated, he couldn't think straight.
Damien knew what Alex had done for Max, and he was very grateful about it. Alex's image in his mind was that of a hero who would go save people.
But it didn't mean that he was going to keep quiet about what Alex had said.
"I am sorry for my disrespect earlier, it is just that this topic is a bit sensitive for me that I could not think straight," Damien apologized by lowering his head a bit causing Alice who was getting annoyed by the guy's attitude to nod her head.
Alice and Ann knew that Alex was not just saying what he said and he must have meant each and every word, so they just found Damien's arrogance annoying.
Ann, however, didn't nod, she could see Damien's eyes, and she could tell that he wasn't done yet, and just like she thought, Damien spoke again.
"But I still can't take your statement lying down, sir.
The dishes served in this café are the result of my father's lifelong efforts, he worked hard every day till the day he died, just to perfect these dishes.
But he died with a smile as he did achieve what he wanted, but hearing you say that it is not perfect would make my father's effort meaningless."
Damien's voice broke a bit when he spoke about his father but it was not noticed by anyone other than Alex and Max.
Max sighed as he patted Damien's back lightly.
'Uh...' X2
Alice and Ann also didn't know what to say now as it was an emotional matter, and they finally found out why this guy was behaving like that just because of what Alex said.
Lily was sitting on the side as she wondered why she was feeling a bit angry at her uncle Damien who always treats her with sweets.
She didn't like seeing her uncle Damien talking to the big brother like he did before.
But she stayed quiet as her dad had always taught her not to speak when adults are talking about something serious, and the talk right now looked serious enough to her.
Alex finally looked at Damien, but there was not a hint of regret, remorse, guilt, or any emotion other than curiosity as he spoke.
"So, you want me to take back my words?" Alex asked with a raised brow.
"Yes, but if you don't want to, then please point out what you think is not perfect, I have been trying to make this dish better from the time my father died, but I have yet to find a single fault in it."
Damien replied as he looked right into Alex's eyes.
Just for the respect he had for Alex and for the fact that Alex had saved Max's family before, he was willing to believe that Alex was not just spouting bullshit.
But Alex's reply shocked everyone.
"Why should I do any of that?"
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