"Boss, I'll head back downstairs first, in case any customers come to order."
Sara said this as she wiped her hands.
As much as she wanted to stay here with the boss and Barbara, this level of spiciness was not something she could handle. Chopping Jueyun Chilis this fine was brutal. When she made Spicy Grilled Bass, she always used pre processed chili powder instead, so the heat was nowhere near as intense.
Even like that, there were not many people in Mondstadt who could handle that dish.
Only merchants and travelers from other regions would occasionally order it.
"Alright."
Jensen nodded.
He took down the fresh game meat Sara had hung up that morning, then chopped it into fine mince.
The fresh meat came from Springvale outside Mondstadt. Every household there was made up of hunters, and they provided the city with fresh meat every day.
Then he opened a crate, took out a Wolfhook, and squeezed a small amount of its juice.
The juice, along with the minced Jueyun Chilis, was sprinkled into the pan over the tender white cubes of tofu.
"This single stalk of Small Lamp Grass goes for 1,000 Mora at Flora's shop."
Jensen held up a glowing stamen, a Small Lamp Grass that shimmered with a faint blue light.
Used as a cooking ingredient, Small Lamp Grass brought out a deep, bright savoury taste in a dish.
Using it to cook this mapo tofu for Barbara meant he was taking a heavy loss.
When even Mondstadt's own Small Lamp Grass was this expensive, there was no need to even mention Liyue's specialty, Jueyun Chili.
So with such a huge loss, why still do it?
Do not ask.
If you ask, the answer is still the same: Barbara is extremely cute.
"I know, I know, Jensen is stingy too."
Barbara rolled her eyes at him, but her mood was completely locked onto the red broth and white tofu in the pan. Just lightly inhaling the aroma rising from the boiling sauce made her feel a slow, pleasant heat spreading through her entire body.
"Done."
Before long, Jensen brought out the steaming hot mapo tofu and set it on the table.
In the pool of bright red broth and white tofu, the finely cut, finger length slivers of Small Lamp Grass stood upright in the dish, a vivid green tinged with bright blue, glossy with oil, as if they had just been freshly picked from some hidden forest and chopped an instant ago, full of life.
"Wow..."
Barbara's eyes practically lit up. Little seven colored magic stars sparkled around her as she eagerly grabbed a bowl and chopsticks and sat down.
"Barbara is going to start now!"
She pressed her hands together in a short prayer, then picked up the spoon and scooped up a big spoonful of mapo tofu into her mouth.
"Mmm!"
The silky smooth tofu and the minced meat that practically melted the moment it touched her tongue, the heat, the spice, the numbing tingle, the savory fragrance, all those flavors exploded against her taste buds at once.
Barbara clapped her hands to her cheeks and squeezed her legs together under the table. It took everything she had not to let out an unladylike cry right then and there.
Sweat started to bead on her skin again and again.
Glistening droplets gathered on her smooth shoulders, catching the light. Her warm white stockings were quickly soaked through, and the faint outline of the calves beneath could just barely be seen.
Jensen lounged casually by the window, watching her eat with a leisurely smile.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a familiar tall figure outside waving up at him.
Jensen turned his head and nodded.
That figure stepped into Good Hunter.
"Jean is here."
Jensen said.
Barbara, who had been completely immersed in the bliss of mapo tofu, froze on the spot. Her blue eyes lifted toward him, full of silent questions.
"Look, she is already coming up."
Jensen motioned toward the staircase.
That tall figure, dressed in a white knight's uniform, the Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, was already making her way upstairs.
Her eyes were a soft grayish violet, and her pale, refined face was nothing short of pleasing to the eye. Her golden hair, naturally wavy at the tips, was tied up into a ponytail, with two locks left hanging down on either side of her face.
Her white knight's uniform was traced with gold patterns. A black leather swallowtail cape hung from her back and the sides of her waist, stretching down to her calves.
Over her shoulders and chest she wore a black on the outside, teal within mantle and a gothic high collar. At her waist, a golden belt shaped in the style of the Knights of Favonius Acting Grand Master's insignia hung at a slanted angle.
She was, without a doubt, the very definition of a beauty.
"Jean, what a rare guest."
Jensen greeted her with a grin.
"It is not that rare, is it?"
Jean smiled back at him, then noticed there was someone else in the room. Her tone softened even more. "Barbara, you are here too."
Barbara's face went scarlet in an instant. Just like a mouse caught stealing food, she bolted.
"I, I, I am full!"
"Jean, Acting Grand Master, Jensen, I will head back to the church first!"
Barbara took two running steps, then realized she had forgotten to put on her shoes. She hurried back, slipped into her little black dress shoes, and dashed downstairs again.
The fact that Jean had caught her sneaking out of the church at noon, not to do her duties but to eat at Good Hunter, was something that would weigh on her conscience for a long, long time.
"She did not have to run that fast. Am I really that scary?"
Jean said helplessly.
If she had known this would happen, she would have stayed downstairs.
"In Mondstadt, whoever it is that gets caught resting or slacking off by Jean will probably want to cover their face and flee in shame."
Jensen commented with a chuckle.
Jean's shoulders drooped a little. "Sounds like I have become someone nobody wants to run into."
"That is not true. I am very happy to see you."
Jensen folded his arms across his chest, giving her a very serious once over. "A beauty like Jean is not something you see every day."
"Thank you for the compliment."
Jean dipped into a ladylike curtsey.
Then she added gently, "Barbara works very hard. Sometimes she pushes herself too far. I can tell that she is really happy when she is here with you. I really should not have come up and disturbed her."
Jensen blinked, then stepped forward and reached out to touch her cheek.
"Jensen?"
Jean took a step back, her face coloring.
"I was wondering if your face would heat up while you said that." Jensen sighed. "In all of Mondstadt, you are the last person qualified to say such things, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius."