A few hours later, Apollo stood up from his beggar spot and went to the street. He wanted to find a place that sold cheap food. He didn't want to go back to the Filly Restaurant, as diners kept looking at him like he was some sort of animal in a zoo.
But the moment he stepped onto the streets, someone shouted from his side.
Turning to the sound, he saw Ned standing beside the door of the restaurant. He had a smile on his face, and in his hands was a wooden basket.
"Good morning, Mr... Beggar?" Ned greeted.
"Hello," Apollo nodded, his eyes glancing at the basket in the server's hand.
"Here," Ned handed the basket to him. "I was tasked to give this to you every morning from now on."
"What's this?" Apollo raised an eyebrow, though he already guessed the contents.
"It's your morning breakfast. Bread, scrambled eggs, and fried chicken from the Scavenger," Ned said, his eyes glancing at the basket, and he couldn't help but gulp, thinking about the food inside.
"Oh? They already know how to make fried chicken? They're fast," Apollo muttered in amazement. He didn't open the basket and stared at the server. "Why so generous?"
"Miss Filly said you deserve such treatment. All meals from us will always be at your service," Ned smiled. He already had an idea of what was happening. Gail had specifically instructed him not to offend Mr. Beggar and to treat him with the utmost respect. Furthermore, he personally saw his goddess, Filly, giving a token to the kid in front of him.
There must be something going on deeper than what was on the surface.
Hearing this, Apollo's eyes lit up. He raised his hand and patted the man's shoulder, though he had to tiptoe to do so. "Good. Tell her I won't forget this."
"Sure will do, Mr. Beggar," Ned smiled.
"It's Yoma, call me Yoma," Apollo said.
"Alright, Mr. Yoma," Ned nodded.
Then the two of them just continued to look at each other. Ned couldn't help but become confused.
Seeing this, Apollo coughed. "Do you have something to push the food down in my stomach?"
Ned tilted his head. "What do you— Oh! I'm sorry, I forgot!" He hurriedly went inside the restaurant and returned with a glass of milk in his hands. "Here you go."
"Haha, thanks," Apollo laughed, taking hold of the glass of milk. "Where do I put this after I am done?"
"You can just put them in the corner. I'll go get it immediately," Ned said, pointing to the corner where most people wouldn't see.
"Okay," Apollo nodded.
"Mr. Yoma, regarding your lunch and dinner, I will personally deliver it to you," Ned said.
Apollo smiled. "You guys are really thoughtful."
The two talked for a bit before Apollo went back to his beggar spot.
"I guess it wasn't bad befriending her," Apollo muttered while lifting up the cover of the basket. The moment the basket was opened, the smell of fried chicken permeated the air.
Apollo sniffed, and his eyes lit up. "Wow, they also make spicy fried chicken?!"
Looking inside the basket, there were scrambled eggs, bread, and two pieces of fried chicken. One was golden brown in color and the other reddish brown. His eyes naturally fell on the spicy fried chicken. The oil and the chili made the fried chicken more appealing to the eyes.
Reaching out his hand, he placed the chicken in front of his nose and sniffed. Suddenly, his excitement died down. "Such a shame, they only use simple spices."
Apollo could tell they only used 3 to 4 ingredients to make the chili spices. They didn't even use soy sauce. Most of the 'juices' probably came from the oil. Even so, Apollo opened his mouth and took a bite.
A crunching noise echoed as the beggar pierced through the meat. He wasn't expecting anything, but the moment the taste of meat touched his tongue, an explosive flavor erupted.
"What the?!" Apollo stared at the fried chicken in his hand with wide eyes. The flavor of the meat was too intense! He continued to chew, and the flavor became even more delicious as he swallowed. "This… what's this?"
It was a kind of chicken he hadn't tasted before. It was juicier and more savory. Some of the juice even dripped down the side of his mouth. This balanced the spiciness of the chicken perfectly. No, the chicken even enhanced it.
Then Apollo recalled that Ned said the chicken came from the Scavenger. "Scavenger? Is that some sort of monster?" Apollo muttered, taking another bite of the chicken.
Soon, the only sound in his small corner was that of him eating.
With a burp, Apollo tapped his stomach a couple of times. "That's delicious." Although it couldn't compare to the top restaurants in his previous life, the fried chicken made from the Scavenger was good enough to place the dish between a middle-tier and a top-tier restaurant. And they were only using simple ingredients excluding the chicken!
Should I provide them with more recipes, Apollo thought. Just thinking about the food from his previous life made him crave it more. "Hmm, if their restaurant becomes more popular and people get used to their food, they will need more recipes for new hype. I should help them when the time comes."
After cleaning up, he put the empty glass inside the basket and placed it in the corner where Ned had indicated.
Apollo clapped his hands a few times to get rid of the dirt. "Now now, should I go back to cultivating or should I go see my friend?"
The beggar referred to Big Chub, whom he hadn't seen for the past two days. Because he always buys bread from him, Apollo wanted to see how his friend was doing. It didn't take him long to make a decision, so he went out to the streets and headed to the place where Big Chub said he lived.
Apollo walked for at least 10 minutes before arriving at the street where Big Chub previously sold his bread. Glancing at the new stalls that were made with materials only meant for restaurants, Apollo couldn't help but think how extravagant the city was.
Shaking his head, he went in the direction where Big Chub lived. After reaching the end of the road, he turned left and looked for someone to ask where Slumstreet was.
"Slumstreet? You go straight, then right, then…." An old woman gave directions.
"Thank you," Apollo said.