- Hey, you gotta hear this!
- What's up, Raphael? You're looking extra
[cdb]cheerful today.
- Have you seen the looks on all the soldiers' faces
[cdb]lately? Don't they seem way more motivated?
- Oh yeah, I was wondering what was going on
[cdb]with that.
- Well I was curious too, so I asked!
And you know what they said?
- Their pay has gone up.
- The war has turned in our favor.
- Is it because they got a pay bump?
Finances are always a great motivator, I've found.
- C'mon, not everyone's fighting just for the money.
- Sorry, guess I can't help but look at things
[cdb]from a mercenary's perspective.
- Is it because we're winning the war?
Lots of victories always boost morale.
- Makes sense. Anyway, that's not the reason this time.
- They all said it was 'cause of the food!
- You don't mean—
- Yep, they've all been eating the dishes we came up
[cdb]with! You know, with the smoked meat and the
[cdb]rotten food!
- Hey, didn't I tell you not to call it "rotten"?
- In any case, our hard work definitely paid off.
And the food's great too, if I do say so myself.
- Right? I could eat that stuff over and over again
[cdb]and never get sick of it!
- And it's a big hit with the soldiers, too. They said
[cdb]they actually get excited for mealtime now!
- Plus it's made them fight way harder in battle!
- I'm really glad everyone's so happy with it.
Makes all our effort feel completely worthwhile.
- You bet! See, food's important no matter who, when,
[cdb]or where you are!
- Yeah. Back in my mercenary days, I'd scarf down any
[cdb]old scraps so long as I was full at the end of it.
- But I've changed my outlook. Honestly, I feel like
I can work even harder now that I can look forward
[cdb]to all my meals.
- And I never would've gotten here without you,
Raphael. Thanks.
- Huh, I was just thinking the same thing about you.
Guess we helped each other equally!
- You know, I scrounged up every last piece of gold I
[cdb]could find just so I could go to the Officers Academy
[cdb]and become a knight.
- But once it shut down, opening the inn was basically
[cdb]my only option.
- But then running the inn helped me realize all sorts
[cdb]of important stuff, too.
- And now I'm sure—once this war's all wrapped up,
I'm gonna do whatever it takes to become the best
[cdb]innkeeper in all of Fódlan!
- Sounds like a solid plan. But you'll probably need
[cdb]to up your cooking game even more if that's the
[cdb]end goal.
- Yeah, I bet I'll have to train under a real great chef to
[cdb]get me where I wanna be.
- Oh, and while I'm at it, I'm gonna come up with
[cdb]a brand new style of cooking! Something that'll
[cdb]really work my muscles!
- What would that even look like?
- Well I dunno, I haven't invented it yet!
Whatever the case, I know what I wanna do now.
- Hey, what do you say to tagging along with me?
I think you've got a real knack for this cooking stuff!
- That does sound pretty tempting.
- Probably shouldn't make any promises I can't keep.
- Hmm... I'll think about it. Just be ready to have me
[cdb]showing up at your doorstep if the mercenary work
[cdb]ever dries up.
- I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm gonna have to
[cdb]pass. Mercenary work's where I belong.
- So you're gonna stick to being a hired hand, huh?
Well, as long as that's what you wanna do!
- Oh, but keep an eye out for an invitation from me!
You'll definitely have to come over and try all the
[cdb]rotten food I cook up!
- Seriously, stop calling it that. But thanks.
I'm looking forward to it, Raphael.