Chapter 1- Cheeseburger

 Úri P.O.V

“Oi, pick up the pace! We’re almost off the clock!”

The sound of steel striking rock resounded throughout the cave, with grunts of miner’s filling the cave as they swung.

The group of 10 dwarvern miner’s were just one group of many who left their own country and joined another, for the chance of a better life.

Úri was no different. He didn’t have much of a choice, as the situation between countries got worse he knew it was time to make a move. And therefore, this was how he ended up on the human side of the borders.

“Úri, did you meet the daily quota yet!? Didn’t you hear me? Pick it up!”

The team leader was getting more and more aggressive the longer Úri stayed on his team. It wasn’t exactly because he was a bad individual, but he had extraordinary bad habits when working. 

He would always mine out a perfect, even surface. Even if he knew there was no coal or iron, he would still go on and flatten the surface with his pickaxe. Which, in retrospect, was quite impressive.

“ Time’s up! Except for Úri, you ain’t getting paid until you get double that amount! Everyone else, scram!”

The rest of the dwarves hefted the pickaxes over their shoulder as they joked and laughed while exiting the mine. Booming laughter causing dust to fall from the vibrations, leaving Úri in the cave with just a lamp and a half-filled box of coal and iron.

“...I just can’t help it.”

—--------------- 2 hours later —-----------------

“URgh! Finally!”

Úri let out a sigh of relief as he set the box of coal with everybody else’s. By now, the rest of the dwarves were long gone.

As he left the cave, he could feel his stomach twist. He hadn’t eaten since noon, which had only been a handful of grains. However, there were no restaurants near the frontier after all. 

The area where he was working was nicknamed “The Crossroads”. An area where almost every single kingdom’s border, the elven, human, demon, dwarvern, as well as beast kingdoms all intersected here. 

It was one of the most dangerous areas in the world of Rixa. Lawlessness, disputes, bandits and everything in-between happened in this lawless area. And yet, this was the only place that had a job opening for someone like him, perhaps it was a fitting punishment for someone who betrayed their country for a better job. 

The moonlight reflected off his helmet as he trekked his way along the unpaved road, back towards the barracks. Úri could only follow the slightly indented dirt road that was covered by countless wheel tracks from the carriages and wagons that had passed the road during the day. 

“...I’m really hungry”

Úri’s stomach growled. His movement was more sluggish, his vision worse in the nighttime since he didn’t have a lamp anymore, he could only rely on his memory.

And yet, that was when he saw it. 

In the middle of the wasteland, bright lights shone like a beacon in the darkness. Any business out here would have been suicide. It would have been robbed, looted, and pillaged many times over by now. And yet, the light still shone brightly. 

“What the hell..”

…I wonder, would they have food to spare? I don’t know what’s there but, hopefully its run by a dwarf. 

It was quite dangerous to approach a shop in the middle of nowhere afterall, but to Úri it was even worse. Dwarves were more or less looked down upon by other races despite being master craftsmen. If they were demon’s, human’s, or elves he would most likely be kicked out.

But he just really wanted to know.

“Safety be damned! I’m going to look even if it kills me!”

Úri slowly made his way towards the place with shining lights, trudging through the cold dirt as he did. As he got closer, he could barely make out the words on the sign above the door. 

CROSSROAD’S EATERY 

Though ever race had a different language, there was a universal one that everyone at least knew how to write. The sign was written in that language, which didn’t really help identify who ran it. 

But now he knew it was a restaurant. 

“Food, food, FOOD!”

Úri lifted his stout legs up once more to bring himself closer to the restaurant. The moon had already passed, meaning it was past midnight. He had worked all day and all night, this was his only chance to fill up while he still could.

Soon enough, even though it felt like forever to him instead of the few meters that it really was, he stood in front of the lit building. 

The building itself was a bit unusual. Bricks of stone with uniform sizes were combined with colored ones, the paint of which would cost more than a year of his salary. 

Clear glass panes were built into the building as wel, rather than the normal, foggy glass that average restaurants had, or many that didn’t have glass windows at all. 

Lanterns hung on the brick arches, however their light was much too bright to be a normal candle or oil lantern. Something was weird about this place, but Úri couldn’t be bothered to think about that.

Perhaps this will be my deathbed if this is a noble establishment. However, I am willing to take the risk!

Grasping the wooden door to the restaurant, he pulled in an attempt to open it. Pulling outwards, the door swung open and, with difficulty, he trudged inside.

“What the-”

The interior was gorgeous. That’s all he could say. 

There was a spacious interior full of glossy wooden furniture. A fireplace glowed in the center of the establishment as the area was lit up by some sort of light, but Úri couldn’t exactly tell what it was powered by.

At the center of the restaurant was something extraordinary unusual. There was a massive area that had seats in front of it, however only part of it could be used. 

The rest of it had an open area in the back, with multiple colorful bottles stocked on shelves as well as a few metal tubes that led into the table. 

This further led to another area, deeper in the back. He could see small puffs of smoke and the sound of sizzling before smelling a deep aroma that he hadn’t smelled in a long time.

Beef. 

Úri looked closely at the person in the kitchen before taking a step back. The man flipped something on an incredibly large stove, almost like disks, before holding them down. However, through the black hair and brown eyes, he could make out the shape that was undoubtedly a human. 

He was wearing a pure white outfit. Black buttons as wells as a somewhat large white hat. It was something that he hadn’t seen before, but he didn’t think too much about it. There were more pressing matters, such as the fact that he was a dwarf.

He thought about bolting instead of being kicked out, however before he could even make a decision the man suddenly turned around.

“Oh, a customer? It’s pretty late right now for a midnight snack isn’t it?”

Despite Úri being sure that he would’ve gotten yelled out, the man just smiled and gestured to the seats. 

“Go ahead, sit down. The menu’s kind of limited right now so there isn’t much I can make at this time though.”

Úri looked down at the ground as he set his pickaxe that he had been carrying the whole way to the side, leaning it against one of the chairs as he slowly took a seat, sighing as he sunk into the cushioning of the stool.

“Er, just to be sure lad, you know I’m a dwarf right? Aint’cha gonna, well, kick me out?”

The man just rolled his eyes at this, before flipping the disks again.

“Don’t worry about that, I couldn’t care less about what species wanders through these doors. This land doesn’t belong to anyone afterall, I get members of all species in here. Elves, Demons, humans, heck even some beastmen! Dwarves aren’t that high up on my weird list.”

“A-and this is waii we like you hiccup! Boss!”

Úri nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden voice before noticing that there was a third occupant at the table. 

It was an extraordinary drunk human, babbling some nonesense before falling on the table again, much to the displeasure of the chef.

“Goddamnit Richard, go back to the inn! Your caravan is probably worried sick!”

“Don’t worryyyy! They know I like my drink!”

The chef facepalmed before he took the circles off of the metal top and onto some plates before he turned towards Úri.

“I’m David, or more commonly referred to as Chef David if you’d prefer. This place is something called a gastropub, though if you want a special drink you’ll have to wait for my bartender during the day.”

“Name’s Úri, sorry but I’m so hungry I could eat a cow! I haven’t eaten since midday!”

David eyes blanked as he looked at something on his wrist before staring back at him.

“You’re kidding! It’s already the next day! Sorry, but are you okay with a burger? I was planning on making myself and Richard one but I guess he isn’t getting the double stack anymore.”

“A…burger?”

David shrugged before smiling, turning back to the top and finally taking the disks of meat off of the metal table.

“It’s pretty common as a snack or, well frankly, a pretty unhealthy meal from where I’m from. Quite simple actually.”

David goes to the back and reaches forwards before reaching into some kind of tray. He takes out a clear bag filled with what looked like some type of bread, taking two pieces out before putting them onto the flat top again, causing a quiet, sizzling sound before putting them on a wooden board.

Putting the meat back on, he put a square of cheese, as Úri could tell, onto the meat before putting a lid onto it, steaming the entire thing before taking it off.

He then put’s the meat that he was flipping onto the golden-brown roll, before starting to reach for more things from somewhere he couldn’t see.

Úri stared as he watched him layer on a variety of different vegetables onto the existing meal. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, all the while he unconsciously drooled at the sight of the food. 

Is this some kind of torture? Building up the food but not letting me eat it!?

The smell of the buttery roll penetrated his nostrils, which were then replaced with the smell of the slightly burned, charcoal that was emanating off of the beef.

His eyes followed David’s each and every move as he layered everything on. Unconsciously, his bad habit started to kick in again.

Bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, red sauce, yellow sauce, bread. 

Setting the cheeseburger onto the plate, David set the plate on the counter as Úri blinked, snapping him out of the trance. 

“One cheeseburger! Perfect for a 1 A.M snack run! I’ll be making a few more so don’t mind me, enjoy!”

David turned around before rummaging around again, giving Úri time to eat the meal. However, as he looked down at the meal he tilted his head left and right, not noticing any utensils.

“Er, sorry. How do I eat this?”

David glanced back while in the middle of putting the burgers back on. 

“Hands. This might get a bit messy but don’t worry, I got napkins.”

Úri picked up the burger. The amount of different colored ingredients stacked on top of each other perfectly was like art to him. He couldn’t see any imperfections, which he generally liked to nitpick. 

He stared at it for a bit, before opening his mouth and biting down. 

The crunch of the lettuce, combined with the juicy tomato was the first thing he tasted. The slightly sweet sauce as well as the slightly spicy and sour sauce was next.

And then the actual burger.

The soft, tender beef crumbled into his mouth as he bit in, letting out succulent meat juice as he did. His eyes widened as the cheese bound everything together, like a creamy layer that had been molded with the beef. 

…when was the last time I ate beef?

He set the burger down on the plate as he remembered something that he really didn’t want to. Set over pits of fire, parts of beef were roasted over the flames. 

It was the last family reunion before the disastrous earthquake that made him lose everything. He didn’t know where anybody was, his wife, children, his parents…

Everybody.

He had forgotten the feeling, the hands that used to work with steel for his family couldn’t be used anymore, it was just too painful.

However, through the tears, he took another bite of the cheeseburger.

Then another.

And another. 

Perhaps, he just wanted to drown the painful memories out with the good ones instead. With that, he continued to eat.

David let out a small smile as he saw Úri devour the cheeseburger before making another one, stacking the vegetables again before-

“You got the order wrong. It’s supposed to go lettuce first and then tomatoes.”

David’s brows furrowed before looking down and nodding.

“Huh, you’re right. I guess I’m a bit tired.”

As he moved to fix it, Úri suddenly let out a sigh and clutched his head.

“AUGH! I did it again! I’m sorry, I have a bad habit of correcting every single, small thing!”

David paused, before turning to him.

“Hold up, can you do something for me?”

A confused Úri watched the chef go into the back before grabbing a fork and a knife made of steel. To Úri, the craftsmanship far outshone anything he would have produced even in his prime. 

“Try not to do anything. I’m going to place this silverware down now.”

David put the pair of silverware down in front of Úri before stepping back. The dwarf’s eye twitched as he saw the he had put them slightly askew. Almost immediately, he adjusted them to be linear to both the table and each other, doing microadjustments to make them absolutely straight.

“Yeah, I figured. Did you do any work in the past that required precision? Like, for instance, carpentry, pottery, or Smithing for instance?”

Úri let out a sigh before nodding. 

“Yeah, I was a blacksmith before the quake happened. But I ain’t one anymore.”

David glanced at him as he took the now empty plate away. 

“I know, I saw te pickaxe. But, in my opinion, you should probably do it again if you find your current job unsuitable. I’m sure you’d rather have a job that you enjoy, right?”

Úri pondered his words. It had been forever since someone had given him words of encouragement, but..

He was afraid.

Afraid of the skill that he was so proud of, yet could do nothing as he wasted time in the forge, away from his family until the very end.

“I…”

“Look, I’m not pressuring you. Richard! You said you needed a smith right?”

Richard let out a snort, before jerking his head left and right.

“Huh? Oh yeah! Weaponsmith or toolsmith, both work! Pay’s good too, probably ten times your current salary as a miner. You want in?”

“Sorry, I’m just really unsure..”

David let out a warm smile before taking off his hat and pressing it to his chest.

“If you ever want to, Richard’s caravan is always near here during the first and last day of the week. Come by again!”

Úri nodded at him, stomach fully satisfied but heart still in a jumble. As the morning sun started to rise, he walked back, this time with much more force, back towards the door. 

“Oh, and one more thing Úri!”

Úri turned back around, as David waved at him.

“No matter what you choose, Crossroads Eatery won’t change! Come by anytime! “

He nodded again before turning towards the door, but this time with a small smile on his face.

I should probably come back again sometime.

David P.O.V

“Richard, you good?”

“Yeah, I’m good now!”

David shook his head as Richard sat up straight, however this time he was surrounded by the rest of his caravan company.

He had poured them all a few drafts from the taps, on Richard’s tab of course, as a sorry gift from their boss, which they graciously accepted.

Both Richard and David watched as the members of his caravan started to down their drinks, mugs trembling at the pressure they exerted on them. 

“Hey Richard, you better get me some good stuff this time. Remember, I saved you with your first shipment.”

“Don’t remind me. That was hell”

However, David’s mind wandered back in time as he watched grown men become little kids in his Eatery. 

Since when he met Richard for the first time, it was also the first day that he arrived into this world. 

 

Cheeseburger

A common dish around the world,

a beef patty with cheese between bread and a variety of toppings and condiments

Enjoyed with fries, a drink, and friends.

 

And there we have it! The first chapter to this cozy, restaurant story in another world!

Of course, this is based off of Izakaya Nobu and Isekai Shokudo among other food series's, however this time we'll be exploring more than one countries food, which is why David is an international chef for this very reason.

This story will probably update 3 times a week if we're lucky, though my schedule is pretty bad.

Thanks for reading! 

W.O.V