Translator: Nox

Time Healer Ceres

Chapter 20

It was only natural to have such doubts. The stew sold at this shop was incredibly special.

It wasn’t something just anyone could make.

In the past, several people had opened stew shops nearby, trying to imitate this place, but they all went bankrupt and left within a few months.

Even Mark had said he struggled for years just to learn how to produce this specific flavor.

To the bewildered Skal, Jay replied, emphasizing every single word. Her voice was filled with an inexplicable sense of pride.

“Our young lady is the one making it.”

“The young lady?”

Just as Jay said, the one currently in charge of the kitchen was none other than Ceres.

‘Why close the shop?’

‘Pardon? Mark-ssi said there’s no way he can make the stew in his condition….’

‘Don’t we just need someone to make the stew?’

‘Well, yes, but….’

‘I’m here, so don’t worry.’

‘There’s someone other than Mark-ssi who can cook? Who?’

‘Me.’

‘…Excuse me?’

Jay, too, had been left speechless, her mouth agape for quite some time when Ceres first announced she would be cooking.

Did she hear that correctly?

Instead of finding another chef, Ceres-nim was going to cook the food herself?

“Ceres-nim, one more bowl added!”

Jay had been anxious even as she headed to the dining area to help her.

This was a shop with a long tradition; what if the customers were disappointed and left?

“Over here, another bowl for us too!”

“Yes!”

However, as if mocking Jay’s worries, the customers didn’t voice a single complaint about the taste of the stew Ceres made.

On the contrary, many were placing additional orders, saying it tasted even better than usual.

“The stew is ready.”

Ceres, wearing an apron and holding a ladle, looked surprisingly natural in the role.

As she skillfully ladled the stew into bowls, Jay quickly picked them up and headed out of the kitchen.

“Is that all of them, then?”

Having passed along the additional orders, Ceres took a moment of respite to peek outside the kitchen.

Seeing the faces of the customers eating the stew she had made, Ceres nodded.

‘It is strange.’

Ceres’s expression was peculiar as she stared at the stew simmering over a low flame.

And for good reason—when she first arrived at the shop and saw the customers enjoying the stew, she was honestly a bit surprised.

‘It was a very familiar scent.’

Hoping it wasn’t just her imagination, Ceres tasted it and became certain.

‘This is the stew I used to make.’

Back when she was active as Grace, a long time ago.

Among the patients who sought her out, there were quite a few who required long-term treatment. For that reason, many stayed and lived in the separate lodgings she had prepared while receiving care.

This was the stew she used to provide to those long-term patients.

It was designed to replenish the patients’ energy without side effects, while still tasting good.

She had put a lot of thought into perfecting this stew recipe.

And yet, here was this shop, selling stew made from that very recipe.

She didn’t know how it had happened, but fortunately, she was able to handle Mark’s absence.

‘I even added the one missing ingredient.’

There was exactly one difference from the recipe she had created.

She used to add different medicinal herbs depending on the season, but the stew sold at the shop didn’t have that.

Simply adding seasonal herbs elevated the flavor of the stew to another level. Of course, it was much better for the body as well.

Ting.

Just then, the shop door opened and someone stepped inside.

Ceres poked her head out of the kitchen to see if it was a new customer, then clicked her tongue softly.

“Yulia-nim.”

It was Yulia, who had come to the shop today without fail.

Despite Jay calling out to her, the child silently scanned the shop until her gaze stopped at one spot.

“Unnie!”

Discovering Ceres peeking out from the kitchen, Yulia came running at a gallop.

“Whoa—whoa!”

Then, she tripped over her own feet, stumbled, and fell flat on her face.

Thud! The sound of the fall echoed particularly loudly inside the shop.

Whoosh!

“Are you hurt?”

A pair of hands reached out and pulled the child up in an instant—it was Ceres.

At her appearance, the child quickly wiped her eyes and pointed to her knee.

“Here.”

“…….”

Fortunately, there were no major injuries.

Seeing the slightly reddened knee, Ceres let out a short sigh and scolded the child.

“Did Unnie tell you not to come here, or not?”

“You did.”

“And yet?”

“I wanted to see Unnie.”

“…….”

What more could she say when the child looked at her with sparkling eyes and said she came because she missed her?

“Let’s go sit over there.”

A nod.

Watching Yulia head toward a corner of the shop while holding Ceres’s hand, the butler Colin smiled silently.

He had been on his way back from picking Yulia up from the Academy on behalf of Jay, who was busy helping with the restaurant work.

‘She’s still weak for Yulia-nim.’

Ceres had rushed out of the kitchen the moment she realized the child had fallen. There was no time for him to do anything.

After she lost her memory, it was truly fascinating to see Ceres be so firm and decisive in everything. Could a personality really change that much?

But it seemed that even with her memory gone, her affection for her young sister remained the same.

Just like now, even after scolding her, she often gave in to the child’s display of affection.

“…Did you see that?”

“See what?”

Meanwhile, there was someone else who couldn’t easily take his eyes off Ceres as she moved to a seat with Yulia.

“You didn’t see it?”

“See what? All I see right now is my bleak future being torn apart by the other Guild Masters.”

Ignoring Vice Guild Master Lot’s whining, Skal stared intently at Ceres.

Her movements just now as she went to pick up the child were unusual.

In the series of movements as she rushed out and approached the child in an instant, there wasn’t a single bit of wasted energy.

“Hey.”

“Yes, guest.”

At Skal’s call, Jay quickly approached him again.

“Do you need anything else?”

Surely not another bowl…?

Though she was smiling, Jay was inwardly very surprised.

“Is that person the new chef?”

Following Skal’s gaze, Jay realized he was looking at Ceres and shook her head slightly.

“She’s not the chef; she’s the owner.”

“…The owner?”

The very person who had posted the shop’s new management policy?

He had heard it was a woman, but she was that young?

Skal’s eyes were filled with astonishment as he looked at Ceres.

---

“How are you feeling?”

“Much better. It’s all thanks to you, young lady.”

Mark, whose right arm was in a splint and wrapped tightly in bandages, forced a bright smile. Besides the broken arm, his face was covered in wounds.

“The medicine you gave me was really effective.”

After taking and applying the medicine Ceres brought him personally, the pain had definitely decreased and the swelling had gone down. The bruises all over his body had also faded quickly over the few days.

“I see. That’s a relief.”

She could have healed him instantly using her power to turn back time, but since she couldn’t use that power openly, she had only prescribed medicine.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to avoid causing any trouble for the shop, no matter what.”

“Take this chance to get some proper rest.”

She had heard that since Ceres’s parents passed away, the shop had never closed for a single day. And he had done it all alone, without any other staff.

Taking this opportunity to rest wasn’t a bad thing.

“So.”

“Yes?”

“Who beat you up?”

“…Pardon?”

At Ceres’s sudden question, Mark’s eyes shook violently as if an earthquake were occurring within them.

“I, I told you I fell down the stairs….”

“I don’t particularly like asking twice.”

Ceres clicked her tongue lightly.

She had worked as a healer for a long time; did he think she couldn’t distinguish between an injury from falling down stairs and an injury from being beaten?

The state of the broken bones and the location of the bruises weren’t consistent with the position or size of injuries caused by falling down stairs.

“Who was it?”

“…….”

Mark couldn’t easily open his mouth.

Looking at Ceres with anxious eyes, he eventually hung his head low.

Mark remained silent for a long time after that. But Ceres didn’t rush his answer at all.

However, she had no intention of letting it slide.

If only to prevent such a thing from happening again, it was right to find the cause and a solution.

“…I’m sorry.”

Mark hung his head even lower, his voice trembling as if he were about to cry.

“I tried to endure it on my own somehow….”

Mark, finally opening his mouth with difficulty, told her everything that had happened.

“The place where Ceres-agassi borrowed money….”

“…The place I borrowed money?”

Ceres immediately grasped the situation. There had been something strange about it anyway.

The loan sharks.

They took the house and land as collateral and squeezed interest out of them, so why did they leave the shop alone?