Stephen is an NPC who first appeared during the Chronicle of Simmering Flavors event. A food critic known by the title of "Infernal Connoisseur", he serves as the event's antagonist.

Profile

Stephen is an investor who resides in New Eridu. Prior to becoming an investor, Stephen was a food critic; given the nickname of Infernal Connoisseur, Stephen was known for his harsh and meticulous reviews of various restaurants across New Eridu, with a restaurant's popularity significantly affected, positively or negatively, based on his reviews. Following the events of Chronicle of Simmering Flavors, Stephen announces his formal retirement from being a food critic to become an investor for Simmer.

Stephen is an ostentatious and loud individual who is as rowdy as he is passionate. He has a deep love of food and an incredible ability to perceive flavor, being able to recognize the words spoken by Anton who had been pounding rice cakes through the food's taste alone.

History

Originally hailing from Waifei Peninsula, Stephen came from a poor background, barely scraping by in Sailume Bay. He came to obtain a pet mouse he named Meister, and became inspired by them, eventually becoming a food critic. His popularity grew with time, and he eventually came to try out the hot pot from Simmer, but was told by the owner Blaze that pets weren't allowed in the restaurant or in the outdoor eating areas. While waiting for their order, Stephen took Meister in to the nearby alley, but Blaze had recently disinfected it, and though she tried to warn them Meister ingested the disinfectant and died as a result; Meister's death enrages Stephen, becoming the catalyst for his actions following this, with him swearing revenge on Simmer.

Stephen's popularity grew exponentially, and he became the star of a TV show titled NEBC: Infernal Connoisseur, where he became well known for his biting and scathing reviews of various restaurants. He visited Simmer again, and was appalled by the food selection, heavily criticizing Blaze's work, and challenging her, stating that the loser of the challenge would have to retire from their profession. This prompted Blaze to close Simmer for a short while as she started reworking her dishes, getting help from various parties including the Angels of Delusion, Belobog Heavy Industries, Yunkui Summit, New Eridu Public Security and Phaethon.

During this time, Stephen was caught in a Hollow, and suffered from corruption. To alleviate his symptoms, he was prescribed a medicine called CorruClean, though he had to manage it carefully as eating various foods after taking the medicine caused side effects. When he returned to sample the food, he was astounded by the quality, and praised Blaze for her work even though he still planned to post a negative review of Simmer out of spite. However after hearing of her resolve in the face of losing her taste due to the same medicine he was taking, Stephen retracts his negative review and accepts defeat. He also elaborated on the side effects of CorruClean to Blaze and everyone present, who had all been unaware of these effects and explained much of Blaze's rash behavior over the entire period.

Reflecting on his loss at the riverside path, Stephen encounters Jane Doe who was looking for Cissia; on seeing Jane he believes that Meister had been reincarnated into a rat Thiren. Stephen's antics annoy Jane so much that she handcuffs him to the railing as he spirals into a mental breakdown as passers-by look on and wonder what was happening; he is left handcuffed for some time, but is eventually freed. Following this, Stephen formally announces his retirement from being a food critic, instead taking Blaze's words to heart and wanting to create "something delicious with friends" and becomes an investor in Simmer. He also offered to fully pay for all rat Thirens who dined at Simmer - a promotional campaign that only further boosts the restaurant's popularity.

Despite having promised to retire from his role in Infernal Connoisseur, he would later appear as part of a broadcast celebrating a famous foodie that he and Blaze would dub the Pot Hunter.

Dialogue

Commission and Event Appearances

Events

• Chronicle of Simmering Flavors
  • Cuisine, Reconciliation & Side Effects
  • Infernal Connoisseur
  • Job Well Done... Right?
  • These Rice Cakes' Got a Real Kick

Trivia

HoYoverse Shared VA

• Stephen shares the same Chinese voice actor, Lengquan Yeyue (冷泉夜月), with:
  • Shepherd
  • Abyss Herald: Wicked Torrents in Genshin Impact
  • Mauve Moon in Honkai Star Rail

Other Languages

Language	Official Name
English	Stephen
Chinese (Simplified)	史蒂芬 Shǐdìfēn
Chinese (Traditional)	史蒂芬 Shǐdìfēn
Japanese	スティーブン Sutībun
Korean	스티븐 Seutibeun
Spanish	Stephen
French	Stephen
Russian	Стивен Stiven
Thai	Stephen
Vietnamese	Stephen
German	Stephen
Indonesian	Stephen
Portuguese	Stephen

Change History

References