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Chapter 44 Part 2

Anyway, all of the food that was lined up on the table looked really good.

It’s hard to decide which one I should try out first…

 

「Sybilla, do you have any recommendations?」

 

「I do have a recommendation, but rather than the food, it’s more of how I’d like to eat it.」

 

As she said this, she took the tongs and placed a small amount of the food in front of her onto her plate.

 

「Are you fine with only that much?」

 

「Russell, let me ask you this. Do you know what’s the greatest luxury when it comes to eating, regardless of the restaurant you go to? …It’s being able to enjoy as many types of food as you want all at once!」

 

I see… that makes sense.

So what Sybilla is trying to say is that the greatest luxury in eating is trying out a little bit of everything, rather than eating lots of the most delicious or expensive dishes.

 

「Preparing a dish takes time. Even in a restaurant like this, where you have to assume one dish will be consumed by a large number of people, preparing each dish must’ve been troublesome.」

 

And it would take twice as long to prepare two different dishes.

Taking this into consideration, the fact that I can have a little bit of this many varieties of dishes… and if we think about the time it took to cook each and every one of them, then I can see why she said that this is a luxury.

As expected of Sybilla, her ideas about things like this are very convincing as always. Well, she does seem like the type of woman who won’t cut corners when it comes to the things she likes.

 

「Alright then! I will also try out as many dishes as I can…」

 

It was when I was about to take the dish in front of me, I saw an unbelievable sight.

Even Sybilla was frozen when she saw it too, which was rare for her.

 

「Ah, Russell, I’m going ahead to find a table for us, okay~?」

 

There stood Emmy with a small mountain of seafood dishes on top of her plate. Just how many people’s worth of food are you planning to eat?

 

When the waiter told her midway that she was not allowed to leave anything behind and that she would be charged extra if she did, Emmy replied readily with 「I understand~」.

 

「……Let’s pretend we didn’t see anything.」

 

「Yeah.」

 

Sybilla agreed with me and I started putting a little bit of every dish on my plate until it was almost full with every dish available as Sybilla suggested, then looked for the table where Emmy at.

Emmy, who chose a table that was relatively nearby, had already started eating her food.

 

「Russell, the food is soooo good!」

 

Seeing Emmy, who’s a sucker for delicious food, reacts that way, I guess I can have high expectations for the food.

I first try out a strange-looking red-colored dish in front of me, which has something like bumps on it.

 

「……!」

 

The dish had a chewy texture and a refreshing flavor that seemed like it came from the combination of olive oil and something with a hint of sourness.

I can’t describe it well, but I can definitely say that it’s delicious.

 

「Oh, are you trying out that dish too, Russell? It’s really delicious, isn’t it? It’s squishy, and you can taste the flavor of the sea every time you chew it.」

 

「You’re right, this is something! And even though it looks a bit weird, it’s surprisingly easy to eat…! Just what is this, Sybilla?」

 

Seeing the strange-looking dish in my hand, Sybilla raised her eyebrows with a very wide smile that showed her teeth as she looked at me.

……Ah, yes, this is definitely that. This is the expression of someone who’s going to tell me I just ate something unbelievable.

 

「It’s not a monster meat, if that’s what you’re wondering.」

 

「….What?」

 

「It’s a sea creature, not a monster. It’s called an octopus. You know, that round creature with long, wavy legs we both saw at the market.」

 

Emmy and I look at each other and turn to the dish in our hands.

……Y-You’re telling me that this delicious dish with vibrant red and white meat is a piece from those strange creatures that change color when you touch it……!?

 

「And then for that red stuff. That’s the shrimp after you cook them. Their black-colored bodies turn bright red when they are boiled, and that’s what it looks like after you peel their shells and legs off.」

 

「So this is a shrimp, huh…」

 

What Sybilla pointed at next was a meaty, red, round object. The dish looked as if it had no resemblance to what I had just seen at the market after it was cooked.

I nervously put it in my mouth, and……!

 

「This one is also very tasty!」

 

The more you chew, the more flavor comes out, and it doesn’t feel bad when you swallow it.

It also has a good chewy texture and is easier to swallow than the octopus from earlier.

Above all… the taste was divine. I didn’t know strange-looking creatures like shrimp and octopuses could taste so good.

 

I was surprised that the seafood and other dishes made from strange creatures other than fish could all be so appetizing.

If anything, I think fishes were rather bland and plain compared to these strange-looking creatures.

Right after that, Sybilla introduced me to a dish called marinated smoked salmon, which surprised me and Emmy even more.

 

Afterward, I and Emmy went through the other seafood dishes while asking Sybilla about every single one of them, all of which we finished with great delight.

I see… this was certainly the most luxurious meal I’ve ever had. We ate all the dishes that I couldn’t experience at ordinary restaurants.

In just this one meal, I felt like I had eaten everything this city of Seiris can offer and it was extremely satisfying.

 

By the way, Emmy finished the mountain of dishes on her plate before I did.

……Right, now that I think about it, Emmy was always the glutton, wasn’t she……?

She looked embarrassed after she finished eating all of those dishes, but the way she rushed ahead without thinking about what would happen next was very Emmy-like and I couldn’t help but smile seeing that Emmy.

I’m sure she will eat a lot next time, too.

 

With our bellies full, we decided to head back to the inn.

As expected, I could at least tell that Sybilla didn’t choose this place just so that she could go sightseeing.

The sun hadn’t completely gone yet. However, we wanted to sort out the information we had with each other.

 

I was walking in a daze when something suddenly hit me from behind.

 

「Woah…」

 

I fumbled on my feet and almost fell down, but I managed to fix my posture, and when I looked in front of me… I see a young boy lying on the ground.

And riding on his back is Emmy.

 

「L-Let go of me!」

 

「I will if you show me what you have in your hand there.」

 

「……Kuh!」

 

In the boy’s hand was a familiar bag of silver coins which is mine.

I had been carrying it around because I just couldn’t have Sybilla paying for us all the time. Looks like this young boy stole it from me in the moment when he bumped me earlier… even though Sybilla had warned me about pickpockets earlier.

He was pretty quick for a pickpocket, but it seems Emmy’s reaction time was faster.

 

Now then… what should we do with this young boy?