The last of the botanists were being served ten minutes before noon. All the chefs had incorporated garlic and thyme into the sauteed mushrooms. The small line of people had given Lucas time to teach the chefs how to break down garlic and how to use thyme. As Lucas finished teaching the last chef in the line of cooking stations, he heard small footsteps stampede into the building.

It only took a glance to see Scope standing at his station's window, with the occasional head jumping into view. "There you are. What took so long?" Lucas asked once he made the walk back to his station.

"It's not exactly easy, getting the squad ready to roll out, but we're here!" Scope smiled down at the kids circling him. "And everyone is excited about the dragon man's cooking again, aren't they?"

The children were quick to answer.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"More fish, I like fish!"

"Did he cook it with his fire breath?!"

"I don't want it if he breathed all over it!"

Lucas leaned forward, smiling at the kids as they all spoke at once. "No fire breathing, just cooking on the stove and in the oven."

A series of "Aws" came from the kids.

Lucas chuckled, gesturing down to the other serving windows as more plates were put out. "Go ahead and grab a plate as you move forward in line, and I hope you all enjoy the food!"

"Thanks, Dragon man!" Xavier smiled and waved as Scope led the kids forward into the shrinking line.

The Draconian gave a wave to the kids, then turned his attention to his chefs. "Alright, everyone. Once the kids are fed, finish cooking and plating everything you have, then you can have a plate for yourself. Just be prepared. It's going to get busy here real quick." He turned to the cooking station behind him and the Orc that was still working away. "You still doing okay?"

Grunk nodded after a moment, turning around once he finished putting food on to four plates. "Yeah, man. This isn't bad. You get into a groove where your hands go into autopilot."

Lucas chuckled. "Welcome to the restaurant business. Unless someone changes how they want the food to be made, your mind drifts and your hands do all the work."

"Coming in!" Cookie announced as she burst into the kitchen, carrying a tall stack of plates in her arms and handfuls of chopsticks. "Clean plates and chopsticks coming through." She made her way down the room, chefs taking sets of plates and sticks from her arms.

"Whoa!" Raven said as she came in a moment later, her stack of plates nearly tumbling over. "Cookie, slow down, I can't keep up!" She stopped and adjusted her plates, a few chopsticks slipping from her hands and landing on the ground. The elf looked around her plates as Lucas returned the chopsticks to her hand. “Thanks, Art.”

"I thought Cookie didn't want your help?" Lucas asked.

"She doesn't want my help once the doors open up." Raven shook her head, strolling along as plates and sticks were taken from her hands. "I kept insisting, but she says she can handle it."

"I can handle it! I used to be a waitress once upon a time. This will be easier compared to that." Cookie, with her arms now free, met Raven in the middle of the room. She took half of the plates and added them to the stacks each station had. "I don't have to take drink orders, ask what they want, or box up leftovers. All I have to do is gather plates and chopsticks, dip them in some water, then bring them back. It's a breeze, I promise!"

"If you're that confident, then go at it. Just let someone know if you need help." Lucas's scaled brow perked up. "Have you two even eaten yet? I know I saw Izzy grab a plate earlier."

"No, we haven't. We need to eat, it's almost time. Come on, Cookie." Raven emptied her hands of supplies and ushered the woman to follow her.

"Oh, that's right! I've been so busy, I haven't even noticed I was hungry." Cookie followed Raven out of the kitchen and to the front of Lucas's window. Grunk was in the middle of placing four plates when she and Raven came up. "Art, sweetie. Could I have a fork?" She asked with a smile, taking a plate from the window. "I've never really used chopsticks before."

"Sure thing." Lucas went to his bag, placing one of their forks onto the window. "Keep it. Makes more sense for us all to carry our own."

"Thanks, Art!" Cookie set the chopsticks onto the window for the fork, then hurried off to join Raven at a table.

"Well." Lucas paused, looking out into the banquet room. "Looks like all the volunteers have been fed. Finish cooking whatever is in the works and have a plate." He stood by as the chefs wrapped up what they were doing, finishing a few plates before grabbing one for themselves and heading out to take a seat.

"Phew, I could really use a bite. Being around food so much on a hungry stomach is a big pain in the ass." Grunk stepped beside Lucas, already taking bites of food from his plate. "Uh, what are you doing?" He asked, watching the Draconian buttering up filets.

"I'm going to make myself a plate." Lucas replied, loading up several filets into the oven before closing the door. With that done, he turned to the vegetables on his cutting board.

"That looks like a lot of food you're making." Grunk commented, chopsticks delivering a piece of mushroom and fish into his mouth.

"I know. I'm going to keep cooking." Lucas said. He mumbled the name of his skill and made quick work of the ingredients.

"Art, you need to eat, too." Grunk said.

Lucas turned his head to the Orc beside him, hands still working away. "I will. I'll be able to eat as I cook." He turned back to his cutting board, mincing up garlic.

"Whoa, eyes on your knife!" Grunk's eyes widened.

"You don't have to worry about that." Lucas turned away as he kept chopping up vegetables.

"You're gonna cut off a finger!" Grunk had stopped eating. "Are you okay?"

Lucas's hands slowed down, knife set aside. "I'm kind of stressed. We're behind schedule. At this rate, we're going to be opening up half an hour late. The chefs are having a hard time. I'm not a great teacher, and I have to rush them. Cookie is excited to help the hungry, and everyone is relying on me to figure out how to do it."

He took a deep breath to recover from the mouthful of worries he spewed out in one go. "I thought this would be easy. This is a game, and I've played harder. One’s requiring so much planning and thinking, having to command an entire army, manage resources, and so much more."

The Draconian sighed. "And here I am, struggling to manage a bunch of people for just one resource: food. Something I should be good at." He grabbed his cleaver and held it up, swinging it down on his wrist.

"Hey!" Grunk's eyes darted to the knife swinging down, his free hand too slow to stop what he was watching. "What are you—!" He blinked several times as the cleaver was set aside, the Draconian then holding up both of his intact arms.

"We're in a town, which is a safe zone. You can't hurt yourself or others." Lucas's face furrowed. "Well, I guess fall damage is still a thing." He shrugged and shook his head. "Anyway, I figured out earlier I couldn't cut myself."

Grunk narrowed his gaze. "You could have just explained it instead of scaring me."

Lucas smirked. "I always found demonstrations to be more fun." He went back to his ingredients. "Go ahead and eat. I'm going to borrow your pot while you do. Mine is being used to store berries right now."

"Words work fine for me." Grunk said. "About what you said, don't stress, man. Being half an hour behind on a plan you put together yesterday, an impressively in-depth plan, I might add, isn't a big deal. You're not alone in this, and we've got a big team of people here." He patted the Draconian's shoulder. "It's coming along great, and I am going to go sit like you should. But if working more will make you feel better, I won't stop you."

"Thanks." Lucas said to the Orc, who gave him a wave as they left. "Oh!" He was about to grab Grunk's pot when he noticed a child's head peeking over his window.

"Xavier, don't hang from that." Scope said as he came into view. "I know you're all excited about your mission, but we still need to behave." He looked at Lucas once Xavier stopped hanging. "We're all ready to go."

Lucas leaned forward to see the children more clearly. "The soldiers worked hard this morning on their mission? That's great." He smiled, sharp teeth displayed. "Can I see some of the work you all did before it's gone?"

The kids immediately grabbed the packs from their backs, reaching in to pull out stacks of paper. They quickly burst into chatter, all vying for the Draconian's attention.

"Soldiers!" Scope said sternly, causing the kids to get quiet. "Why don't you show him one of your papers? We don't have time for him to look at them all." He watched the children flip through their stacks of papers, and one by one they each put a paper onto the window.

Lucas spread them out over the counter. Each sheet of paper was full of colorful paint. They were each different in their own way, but there was a theme between all the papers. Each one had a painting of a fish and said something like "Fish at the Banquet Hall '' or "Food at Banquit place." There were some spelling errors here and there, but the message came across loud and clear. If someone needed a meal, the banquet hall would be the place to get one.

"Wow, these are good." Lucas looked over at the six drawings. "And you each did thirty of these?"

"I did thirty-seven!" Xavier said.

"I painted thirty-four!" Crystal said.

"I only got twenty-nine done." Arthur said as he looked at the ground.

"Don't worry, Arthur. I did thirty-one, and you can have one of mine." Susie smiled.

"That's more than we asked for. Thanks, everyone." Lucas stacked the papers and held them out to be collected. "Make sure to stick with Sargent Scope."

"That's right. The squadron needs to stick together for their first mission." Scope said. "Do you want us to head out? It's past noon now."

"Um." Lucas glanced over to his chefs that were wrapping up their meals. "Now is fine. You still remember the game plan?"

Scope nodded. "Start at the plaza, then head to the business district while advertising along the way. After that, we just try to cover the rest of the town."

"You got it. Oh, and make sure the kids keep at least one flier so they can carry it around after you run out." Lucas said, catching sight of the kids' excited faces.

"Right. Did everyone hear that? Don't give away all your flyers. Keep at least one." Scope explained to the children, getting various forms of agreement in return. "Anything else?"

"Nah, you're good. Make sure Tony and Izzy are ready for door duty. They should be able to handle it alone until Raven finishes eating." Lucas said. "Good luck on your mission, soldiers." He chuckled, getting salutes from the children.

"Let's roll out, squad!" Scope marched over to where Izzy and Tony sat, the kids mimicking him as they followed.

Lucas could finally grab the cooking pot to start his side dishes. As he worked, he looked into the fairly empty banquet hall. It wouldn't remain this way for long. He could already imagine all the tables being packed full, and a line wrapping from the entrance to the serving windows. "Crap." He took a deep breath. This wasn't the time to get ahead of himself.

The Draconian turned his attention to his work: mushrooms sauteing, carrots boiling, and fish baking. While waiting for the food to finish, he grabbed and prepared ten fish. He just needed to stay busy. If he could do that, he could try to stay ahead of things and keep his mind preoccupied. The filets were cut in half, the mushrooms stirred, then the carrots and baking fish observed. Ten more fish were moved, beheaded and fileted normally because of his skill being on cooldown.

Lucas repeated the process over and over. Check what was cooking, filet more fish, then plate once it was all done. Three plates went out onto the window, one remaining on his counter. This plate was his lunch, taking bites during the time he would filet fish with no cooking skill in his cycle. Ten fish fileted in thirty seconds, dice up mushrooms to saute, check on the carrots and fish to add or remove more, then take a few bites of food.

“Ah!” Lucas jumped, dropping his meat cleaver tumbling to the ground.

Grunk jerked his hand off of the other’s shoulder. “Whoa! Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

Lucas turned his head and saw the other chefs getting back to work. “Sorry, I was—” He bent down and picked up his cleaver. “In the zone.” The Draconian cleared his throat as he stood up, glancing back at the Orc.

“I can see that. You’ve been busy back here.” Grunk motioned to the plates sitting in their shared window, then to the pile of filets. “We’re all done with our lunch break, and people are already lining up outside. Izzy, Raven, and Tony are dealing with the line, and the express lane for the starving has already started.”

“So, people are starving already?” Lucas asked, receiving a nod from the Orc. “Damn.”

“Good thing someone got this whole thing going when they did, huh?” Grunk smirked.

“Yeah, but we’re not out of the woods yet, and I didn’t do it alone.” Lucas said, turning back to his work.

“Even if we can’t feed everyone today, we can stop the ones from starving to death. That’s the main goal, right? Making sure no one dies and feeding as many as we can.” Grunk said.

“Well, yeah. I guess I didn’t think about it like that. As long as the starving and a good majority of the hungry are fed, we can then catch up tomorrow.” Lucas took a deep breath.

“Don’t stress so much. We’ll be fine.” Grunk said. “Anyway, I’m going to need my pot back.” He pointed to the plate on Lucas’s counter. “And you should finish eating before giving the go ahead to open the doors.”

“Right, I probably should, so I can focus. Let me finish cooking these side dishes and I’ll give your pot back.” Lucas picked up his plate, quickly finishing what was left.

“Uh, huh. You seemed pretty focused before.” Grunk commented. “I’ll start handing out all the fish you prepared.” He stepped forward after Lucas stepped aside, grabbing an armful of fish and walking off with them.

It only took a minute for the Draconian to finish his plate and set it aside. The next few minutes were spent plating the side dishes and fish, his stove top and oven now empty of ingredients. By then, his pile of filets were gone. A quick glance down the line of stations showed all the chefs getting to work, fish going into ovens and side dishes prepped and started.

“I’ll take that.” Grunk said as he leaned over and retrieved his cooking pot. “As long as you keep pumping out filets for everyone, we’ll be alright. I’ll help with fish when I can, but I think you have it under control.” He went back to his station and began prepping. “I’ll leave it up to you to decide when we’re ready to open shop. You’re the expert here.”

Lucas had filled up his window with plates of food, but the rest of the serving windows only had one or two plates. “We could let people in from the express line for now. The main doors will need to stay closed for at least fifteen to thirty minutes until we start getting food out faster.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Grunk said as he worked.

“If I’ve learned anything from the food business, it’s that hungry people don’t like waiting.” Lucas sighed. “We can’t keep them waiting for too long.” He grabbed ten fish, removed the heads, then activated his skill and went to work. His hands moved on their own since he had done this so much now, allowing his mind to wander.

A new problem was in his way. Lucas hadn’t thought they’d get so far behind. A quick glance at his pocket watch showed it was getting close to one. In a normal restaurant, this would be the time when a manager would offer a free appetizer to appease customers. An appetizer was something they could make quickly to keep the customer happy while food was finished or remade. The only problem was that they were already using everything they had.

The Draconian set his knife down, having fileted the fish. “I’ve got an idea.”

“I’ve got everything cleaned up!” Cookie declared as she came into the kitchen, clean plates and chopsticks in hand.

“Perfect timing. I need your help.” Lucas took half of the plates from Cookie, then helped her hand them out.

“Sure, what can I help with? I don’t have anything to do right now.” Cookie smiled as she handed out her supplies.

Once they had both emptied their arms, Lucas brought her to the vegetable table. “We’re not going to be able to open the main doors for a while.” He grabbed the large pot full of berries, then held it out to her. “Since you’re free for now, you can go out to the main line and hand out berries for people to snack on while they wait. Hopefully, that will keep everyone calm until we can start letting people in.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea!” Cookie took the pot in her hands.

“I haven’t been outside yet to see how many are waiting, but if you run out, check with Izzy. She probably has more berries.” Lucas said.

“Understood!” Cookie said before she hurried off.

“Remember, chefs, two filets per plate now.” Lucas said as he walked back to his station. “Grunk, keep an eye on everyone. I’m going to head out in a minute.”

“Sure, we’ll be good. I bet there is enough fish to last while you’re gone.” Grunk turned to look behind him and saw Lucas preparing another batch of fish.

“Probably.” Lucas finished the filets and added them to the growing pile. “I figured I might as well use my skill since it’s off cooldown. Should be good for sure now.” He set his knife down. “I’ll be back.” He left through the kitchen door, then went to the back door.

“Everyone, calm down! We’re just delayed some. You’ll get a meal soon!” Tony said, a clawed finger pointing to the few people breaking out of line. “Get back in line and—” His head turned to see Lucas standing in the half-opened doorway. “You guys ready to go yet? This line is getting rowdy.”

“Uh.” Lucas stepped out to stand beside Tony. “How many?” He asked, looking at the line of people.

“Only fourteen right now.” Tony answered.

“Not bad. We should be fine letting them in.” Lucas held open the door. “Alright everyone, head in to the serving windows. One plate per person, leave the plate and chopsticks on the table when you’re finished, and exit through the right door on your way out.”

The line quickly filed inside without another word.

“That shut them up.” Tony said. “I’m supposed to stay here even when I don’t have a line, right?”

Lucas nodded. “You’re the guard for this door. Check everyone’s journal that comes here to confirm the starving status, then let them in.”

“Easy enough.” Tony said, moving to lean against the wall. “Feels like I’m a bouncer at a club.”

“Kind of similar. That would make this the VIP line.” Lucas chuckled. “Anyway, let me know if you need anything. I’ll have someone relieve you for dinner.”

“That, or just bring me a plate. We don’t have a lot of extra hands.” Tony shrugged.

“Scope should be back by then. I’m sure he won’t mind.” Lucas stepped into the doorway, a thumbs up was shot his way before he went inside.

Everyone that had entered was already seated and eating, a few plates still filled the windows. That was a pleasant surprise. Lucas returned to the kitchen, where everything was running smoothly. “Don’t mind me, just going to do another batch real quick.” He explained as he moved ten fish to his counter. His skill was activated, making quick work of the fish.

“Keep up the good work, everyone!” Lucas called out, setting aside more filets. With that detour finished, he headed out of the kitchen once more.

“Thank you so much for the meal!” A red-headed woman said as the Draconian walked through the banquet hall to the front door.

“Oh, uh.” Lucas slowed to a stop.

“Bless you for doing this. We were all starving!” A man with a salted black beard said.

“Yes! I thought it was bad enough that I was trapped here, then I found out we have to worry about starving, and there is no food to buy.” The red head said. “Then those cute children came by and said you were giving out fish. I couldn’t believe it!”

The man nodded, swallowing down a mouthful of food. “I didn’t believe it, especially when that blue lizard wouldn’t let us in. But here we are, having a meal for the first time since this entire ordeal started!”

The rest of the room broke out into appreciation between bites of food. Lucas smiled softly, his tail swaying behind him. “Heh, thanks everyone. I’m glad you’re enjoying the food, but I’m not the only one making this happen. Make sure to thank the chefs, fishers, botanists, carpenters, and people working the doors. It took nearly three-hundred of us to make this possible.”

“Wow, three-hundred people?” The red head said.

“Dang!” the man exclaimed.

“Hey, can we get a meal tomorrow too?” An elf with green hair asked.

“The plan is to open up every day from noon to eight. That way, everyone can get at least one meal a day to fight off starvation.” Lucas explained. “Enjoy the food!” He made a quick exit out the left door before being stopped with more questions.

“Hey, Art. How’s it going inside?” Raven asked, stepping aside as the door she was guarding opened up. “Cookie said we were even more behind, then ran off with Izzy and a pot of berries.”

“Yeah, I sent her out here with that to—” Lucas’s eyes widened. The line of people began a few feet away from him, went out to the other side of the street, and continued down the street. “Damn. That’s a big line.”

“Scope and his squad must be doing a good job.” Raven said. “What were you about to say?”

“Uh, I sent Cookie to hand out berries to keep the people in line calm. Did that help at all?” Lucas asked.

“Oh, for sure. Izzy and I were struggling. The line kept getting longer and people were getting impatient. Then Cookie came out. A handful of berries quieted everyone down for the most part.” Raven said.

“That’s good. I was worried about people forcing themselves inside or something. You don’t want to mess with hungry people.” Lucas said. “Izzy is still moving the starving out of the line for the express lane, right?”

“Yes, she has Cookie with her.” Raven said. “So, what’s the plan?”

“The chefs are getting better, but now the plates need double the filets, which means we’re only doing slightly better than earlier.” Lucas paused for a moment. “Give us twenty minutes, then start sending in fifteen people every fifteen minutes. That’ll give me time to gauge how fast we can serve people.”

“Why not open the door and let the line continue inside?” Raven asked.

“You saw how people were waiting out here. Putting hungry people even closer to the kitchen would be bad. Last thing I need is for my chefs to feel overwhelmed while being yelled at.” Lucas said. “Make sure Cookie goes inside shortly after you send the first group in, then have Izzy take over the berry distribution.”

Raven agreed, then Lucas headed back inside as he heard people in line complain.

“Did he just say fifteen minutes? We’ve already been waiting!” A man said.

“Yeah! Is there food or not?” A young woman asked.

“If you all have another place to find a meal, you’re welcome to leave.” Raven said.

The voices got quiet once the door closed. Lucas felt bad for leaving Raven to deal with that, but he had picked Raven and Tony for door duty because he knew they could handle it. He also had his own job to get back to. On the way to the kitchen, he saw that most of the people inside had finished, or were nearly done. At least people were eating quickly, like he hoped.

“Everything alright back here?” Lucas asked as he returned to the kitchen, eyeing up the serving windows. They weren’t full, only a few plates per window.

“No issues yet.” Grunk replied. “Not opening the doors yet?”

“I told Raven to let groups of people in every fifteen minutes.” Lucas said, already grabbing a batch of fish. “I don’t think we’re going fast enough at this rate to feed everyone, let alone the volunteers again, like we promised.” His cooking skill was activated, and he quickly prepared the fish laid out before him.

He heard Grunk say something, but his mind was already drifting. They needed to speed up. The main problem was the fish still, even with him doing nearly all the fish prep. What could he do to speed things along? He was already limited by his stove and how often his skill could be used.

Lucas leaned forward onto his counter after adding to his filet pile. He looked down at his line of chefs. Every station was full except for the last two at the end. If only he had every station going, they’d be in a better situation.

“That’s it.” Lucas stood straight. “Hey, I need you two to move to the stations at the other end.” He motioned to the two chefs beside him and Grunk.

“Are we in trouble? I haven’t dropped any more food!” The canine woman pleaded.

“Hey, I thought we were cool.” The bunny man said.

Lucas shook his head. “Neither of you are in trouble. I just need your cooking stations. Move all your things and leave whatever fish you have baking in the oven.”

As the chefs moved, Lucas buttered up several filets and loaded up his oven. When he was done, the two neighboring stations were cleared out. “Let’s see.” He checked each oven, the fish inside needing another minute.

“What are you doing now?” Grunk asked, glancing over.

“I’m going to use these three ovens to cook fish and speed things along.” Lucas answered before retrieving more fish.

“You’re going to prep all the fish and work three ovens?” Grunk asked, raising an eyebrow at the other.

“It’ll be fine. I just have to load all the ovens up at the same time. I’ll only need to check one oven every so often to know the progress of them all, and while waiting for that, I’ll prepare fish for everyone.” Lucas said.

“If you say so.” Grunk relented, turning back to his station.