Chef Vikram faced Sayaka with a lot of awkwardness. He did not know how to handle the matter as smoothly as possible. The woman was not only a member of one of the five major families in Mountain Ridge. She was also related to the little giant before him.

If anything went wrong, he could lose his little paradise.

"Mrs Yamazaki, it was indeed my fault for making extra spicy food. I hope you will not hold this against me in your heart." Chef Vikram bowed in apology.

Sayaka knew that the man was comforting her and providing her with an excuse. He was offering his kindness and an olive branch after they created a spectacle that was only seen in a vegetable market. She wanted to say something, but the words were stuck in her throat.

Chef Vikram turned to the rest of the restaurant. "I apologise to everyone for this matter. Today's meal is on the house."

After apologising a few more times, Sayaka still decided to leave the restaurant. She did not think that she could take even another sip of water after the incident.

Akira followed behind while the two servers 'helped' out Hanae who was not talking but still sobbing like there was no tomorrow.

"Mom, why doesn't the chauffeur take Hanae back to the house first? We can take a walk around since I don't know the area." Akira spoke up.

She was not a warm person, but she was also not cold-hearted.

Sayaka was distracted because of her bad emotional state. However, she still heard Akira call her 'mom' for the first time. It did not matter if she was just trying to comfort her. It counted.

"Alright." She said with a little cheer returning to her voice.

Hanae sobbed a little louder, but no one paid her attention as Sayaka called the chauffeur. The pitiful cries sounded like they were from an injured animal. After the dramatic occurrence, she realised what a scene she had caused.

Things might not be salvageable.

"I need to use the restroom." Akira suddenly said. "Can you handle things here?"

Sayaka was touched by the concern. "Go ahead. I will wait for you here."

Akira took one last glance before walking back into the restaurant. Instead of going to the restroom, she walked in the direction of the kitchen. Vikram saw her through the glass door and stepped out of the kitchen quickly.

His face was no longer serious. He smiled widely and grabbed both of Akira's hands in his.

"I thought I dreamed of you. I am so glad to see you in this dreary place." He said.

Akira detached her hands from his. "I came back to thank you for controlling the situation."

Vikram sighed.

"I did nothing. You will still need to control the backlash from the occurrence. The people in Mountain Ridge might seem civilised, but they are relentless gossipers. This incident might affect the Yamazaki family and business." He said.

"The much you did was enough. I will repay this favour." Akira said solemnly.

"No, it is not necessary." He refused immediately.

Akira did not respond, but she already decided to repay the favour. She turned to leave without another word. Vikram looked at her before going back to the kitchen to deal with the situation that had spiralled out of control.

He faced the young man who was in charge of Akira's table.

"Did the guest ask for extra spicy paneer tikka?" He asked the server on the hot spot.

The young man trembled. Since the moment that girl accused her cousin of tricking her into eating spicy food, he had known that he messed up. He had made adjustments to the order because he wanted to punish the greedy girl.

However, he did not expect his little action would cause things to spin so crazily.

Moreover, it seemed like he was wrong about his assumptions. The girl he thought was mooching off from rich relatives was the true daughter of the affluent Yamazaki family. The person he thought was suffering injustice was the one who took a position that did not belong to her.

He regretted his impulsive actions. But in his heart, he also blamed the girl for saying that she worked in restaurants while she was a rich miss.

His silence answered the question.

"It is alright to lack good judgement. However, your work is quite simple. Take orders from guests and convey the orders to the kitchen staff. It is not rocket science. This is not a place to seek justice. We are only here to feed people." Chef Vikram was positively steamed.

"Yes, chef." The staff spoke out in one voice.

He looked at the server.

"You are fired." He said without mincing words.

"Chef, it was one mistake. Just one mistake." He cried out.

"You think so?" The man laughed angrily. "You should already know the power of the Yamazaki family. Moreover, you understand Mrs Yamazaki's position in the family. If word gets out that you were involved in this matter, you can forget about your survival in this city."

His actions might have not directly harmed anyone, but they had set into motion the entire incident.

"Consider this my merciful action towards you. If I was a harder man, I would deliver you to their doorstep." Vikram turned away and waited for his people to deal with the annoyance.