Ch.135Chapter 135 – Knock, and It Shall Be Abundant (2)

Long ago, when I was still living on Earth—not in this world—I happened to watch a video.

I remember it was a travel vlog about India posted by someone who ran a channel on a video site called NaTube.

It’s been a while, so I don’t recall all the details, but roughly speaking, it was about street food in India.

In particular, I still remember how that person explained about Indian street food and hygiene.

‘Do you know what surprised me most when I came to India? It’s that after using the toilet, they don’t use toilet paper but instead scoop water with their hand to clean themselves.’

‘But no matter how well you wash, some of it still remains on your hands, right? And when you watch them prepare street food… they don’t just use one hand, they use both hands.’

‘So what I’m saying is, when you come to India, never buy street food. If you do, you won’t just end up with an upset stomach—you could catch a really dangerous disease. The locals are used to it, so they manage somehow…’

After that, I vowed never to go to India, even if someone offered to send me there for free.

Anyway, the reason I suddenly recalled India and its hygiene conditions was because of a complaint raised by a customer at the restaurant.

“Hey! Didn’t you hear me? Get the chef out here! Why is there a hair in my food?”

If the hair in your food is your own, you can just remove it and continue eating.

But if the hair in your food isn’t yours, it becomes an extremely unpleasant experience.

So it’s natural for that customer to be angry.

The customer entered a clean-looking establishment and paid good money to order food.

“Do you think I paid all this money to be treated like this? Get the head chef out here right now!”

But… something seems odd?

Why are all the restaurant staff just standing there without saying anything?

“I have a question. Why isn’t anyone moving?”

“Oh, are you curious about that? Please come over here and sit in this chair to observe the situation. You’ll find your answer.”

When I asked the restaurant staff why no one was responding, he instead told me to sit down and quietly watch the situation.

“You might witness something interesting.”

“…?”

I was puzzled by the words of the employee who had been helping with the bill at the counter.

However, intrigued by his promise of an interesting sight, I took Mina and Elena to the chairs he pointed out.

Surprisingly, Mina and Elena seemed curious about how the situation would unfold and followed me.

“No, the chef isn’t enough! Tell the restaurant owner to come out!”

The man holding the hair in his hand was now demanding to see not just the chef but the owner of the restaurant.

I wonder if this is going to be okay? What makes him act so boldly?

“How vulgar. I’ve never seen anyone like that among the nobles of the Gelebrio Empire.”

“Elena, do you think that man might have purchased his title with money?”

Mina and Elena were discussing the man’s identity.

Elena was saying he didn’t seem like a noble, while Mina suspected he might have bought his title with money.

“Is it possible to buy a title with money?”

“Oh, that? Yes, it’s possible. You can buy a non-hereditary baronet title if you pay a high price. That’s why wealthy commoners sometimes offer large sums to the country and receive baronet titles in return.”

I see. So it is possible to buy titles with money.

“Is it impossible above the rank of baron?”

“Yes. Since baron and above can pass their titles to their children, the country strictly manages those ranks.”

“What happens if someone obtains a title through improper means?”

“I don’t know all the details, but I’ve heard they definitely confiscate the title, and all assets acquired after receiving the title are returned to the national treasury.”

Title confiscation and all assets acquired after receiving the title returned to the treasury.

Is there no other punishment?

“And because they obtained the title through improper means, the person is sent to forced labor camps to suffer for life, and their family or descendants cannot dream of acquiring titles or rising in status by any means for three generations.”

“Can’t one become a noble through marriage?”

“That’s also restricted. Even after marriage, you still maintain your previous status. But actually, marrying a noble doesn’t make you a noble yourself.”

“Is that so?”

Hmm. The laws regarding social status seem more complex than I thought, with wide application and scope.

But conversely, that means there must have been many people trying to raise their status, even through improper means.

“I am the manager of this restaurant. The owner isn’t here, but is there a problem?”

At that moment, a man in a black formal suit who introduced himself as the restaurant manager appeared.

He was quite large, with sharp features and a thick mustache that made him look like a retired knight.

“A-are you the manager of this restaurant? Look at this.”

“A hair, I see. Blonde and quite long.”

“Yes! A hair! I was eating my meal and what do you know? I found a hair in my food! Is this acceptable?”

“I sincerely apologize for the hair in your food, but…”

Huh? That’s unexpected. The manager is bowing his head in apology.

But it seems the conversation isn’t over yet…

“Are you certain that this hair came from one of our restaurant employees or kitchen staff?”

“What? Are you saying this hair isn’t from someone at the restaurant?”

“First, none of our servers are blonde.”

Indeed, looking around, as the manager said, the restaurant staff had various hair colors, but none were blonde.

“And one more thing. Our head chef has no hair. In other words, he’s bald.”

“B-but there could be someone else!”

“In the kitchen, everyone wears caps that completely cover their hair for cleanliness. The caps are even tied securely so they don’t fall off.”

Wow. This must not be his first time dealing with such a situation.

His voice doesn’t waver at all as he systematically refutes each point.

“Argh! Do you think I’ll fall for that? Get the chef out here!”

“Chef is here. Are you the one looking for me?”

As soon as the complaining customer finished speaking, a deep, gruff voice introduced himself as the chef.

Looking in the direction of the voice, I saw a man wearing a headscarf and an oil-splattered apron who appeared to be the chef.

‘Wow, those forearms are no joke.’

The chef had intimidating forearms that looked like they could easily grab a person with just a slight movement.

“Are you the chef? I found a hair in my food! A blonde hair at that.”

“Ah, a hair? Sorry, but everyone working in our kitchen is bald. There’s no way for hair to get in the food in the first place.”

With that, the chef removed his headscarf.

The chef’s head was as smooth as if it had been oiled.

It was perfectly bald, without even a trace of hair.

“Since I, the head of the kitchen, am bald, everyone working under me has also shaved their heads. But I do have some conscience, so I let them keep hair in the middle.”

“T-this…”

Hmm. As soon as the chef removed his headscarf, the complaining man’s face turned pale.

Judging by the suspicious smell in the air… he was probably planning to use the hair in the food as an excuse to dine and dash.

“And let me tell you one more important fact. Among all the people working in our restaurant, not a single one is blonde.”

“…!”

“So that hair couldn’t have come from anyone at our restaurant.”

“T-this can’t be.”

Hehehe. So this is why the employee told us to sit here.

We almost missed this entertaining scene.

“And this is a restaurant that only nobles or those accompanied by nobles can enter. But looking at you, you seem like someone who hasn’t even received basic noble education.”

“W-what! How dare you insult…”

“My rank is marquis. What is yours?”

With one statement from the chef, the complaining man became speechless.

Wait, the chef is a marquis?

“It seems you bought your title with money. You’re a baron, aren’t you?”

“H-how did you know?”

“That behavior of yours is typical of those who buy titles with money. Having just become a noble, you probably wanted to return the humiliation you suffered as a commoner. But here, even the staff are all nobles.”

“…”

“Now that you understand, get out. I don’t want money from someone like you.”

With those final words, the complaining man had no choice but to leave the restaurant with his family without saying another word.