Capítulo 17: Starlight Inn
After saying goodbye to Esri, I went straight to the Starlight Inn. Since there was no reason for me to hurry up, I was moving at a lazy pace, while my idle thoughts went to an important topic. 'I wonder what kind of food they will cook for today's lunch.' Well, actually it wasn't important at all, since it would certainly be a delicious meal anyway.
After a while, I finally reached my destination.
"Welcome to the Starlight, how can I help you?"
A well-built, albeit a little chubby woman emerged from the kitchen and went to the counter. She had a lovely face and looked like she was only in her late twenties. This was the landlady of this Inn and her name was Marina.
"Oh, it's you, Kazuya. Have you eaten lunch already?"
This Inn also served as a restaurant. And it was by far more popular in this role as well. Just look at all these people, who only came here to eat the delicious food cooked by the landlord. The whole first floor was built as a dining hall, while rooms for rent were on the second and third ones.
"Not yet, ma'am. I just finished my quest and decided that It's best to just go straight here for my food. I was eager to taste your husband's cooking. again."
"Oh, my~ Should I feel threatened? Or would you rather join us?"
I knew she was teasing me, but once again couldn't help but be surprised how tolerant and free in the matters of love were people of this world.
"As much as I love your husband...'s cooking, I'm sorry, I just don't feel this way about him." I scanned her figure with my eyes. "You, on the other hand..."
She heavily slapped my shoulder and laughed it off.
"What food do you want to eat today?"
"Anything. I doubt that anything the landlord cooks won't be delicious enough."
"Alright. Just find a free table and wait. I will serve it to you right away."
I nodded and went to the dining hall. As usual, it was packed with customers. Well, not surprising, when the chef has that ability it would be strange if no customer was around. I looked around and found an empty table and then sat, waiting for the food to arrive.
After waiting for a few minutes, the landlady finally appeared with a tray in her hands.
"Here is your food, enjoy your meal," She told me with a smile.
When I saw the food in front of me, it felt so nostalgic. Isn't it a Bicol express? There was that time when my father and I ate it when his business partners from the other country visited us. It's also one of my favorite foods.
I took a wooden fork and picked a piece of meat to taste it.
"Wow. It has the same flavor, but somehow this one is much juicier than I remember."
Most likely it was because the air here is clean and the meat in this world is nourished by mana in the air. I started to gobble the food in front of me.
It was delicious, the meat melted in my mouth as I chewed it and the spice blended perfectly. Is this just a coincidence? I was craving this food for a while now and now it was in front of me. Did that goddess pull some strings again? I shook my head and put it at the back of my mind, and decided to simply enjoy this nostalgic food.
I asked Mrs. Marina for another helping and ate till my stomach was bulging.
"Phew! What a great lunch" I muttered and caressed my stomach.
[Master, you should be careful with eating this much or you will get fat!]
'... Ugh, Hestia, you're too serious, you don't need to worry about that since the energy of the food will go straight to my qi'
[I know, Master. I was just trying to make a joke since you looked so happy right now]
'Hehe, After eating Bicol express again after so many years, of course, my mood is so good.'
[So, if I want my Master to be happy, it's a must to learn about various foods as well.]
'Haha, you don't need to worry about that. I was already happy enough that you were accompanying me on my journey. Because of you, I don't feel as lonely.'
[Yes, Master. I will follow you wherever you go, as long as you need me.]
'Thank you, Hestia. I appreciate this. And I hope that our friendship will last for a long time.'
[I am just a tool to help you in your journey, master. Why would you treat me as a friend?]
'You see, Hestia, for me you are more than "just a tool". You are a companion on my journey, my friend. Don't ever think like that ever again or I will get angry.'
[Understood, Master.]
'Good girl, Hmm. I need to talk to the landlady's husband to check if he knows recipes for burgers and pizza. Or Fries. Since he knows about Bicol express, he might know how to cook it. Or, at least, he knows where to get ingredients'
—
After a short break to digest my food, I went to the counter to talk with Mrs. Marina again.
"Landlady, I want to ask your husband something. Is he still available at the moment?"
"You want to talk about something?" She winked at me. "Wait here, I will call him now, he is taking a break at the moment"
Before I could tell her something to refute her accusations, the landlady already entered the kitchen and, after a few moments, a tall bulky man with a towel tied around his forehead walked out. He looked ferocious, especially with that scar on his face. It went through his right eye, which was hidden by an eyepatch.
"What did you want to ask me about, Kazuya? I should warn you though: no matter what my wife told you. I'm straight as an arrow so please leave your hopes right now. And if you want to steal my wife, I won't cook any food for you ever again."
"Good day to you too, Mr. Kevin. Please, don't frighten me like that, my stomach would never forgive me if that happened. Actually, I wanted to ask if you knew about certain recipes."
"Hoh! Certain recipes? If it's about food then sure, ask away?"
"Do you know about burgers and pizza?"
"Burger? Pizza? What is that? We are talking about food here right?"
"Yes, it was food I learned about from my grandpa's guest."
His face turned serious. looks like he didn't know about them, but he was certainly eager to learn new recipes.
"I didn't hear those names before, but maybe I know something. Can you show me a recipe?"
"The thing is, I'm not sure if it's possible to even find every needed ingredient in this city."
"Well, I most likely have anything you will possibly need. And I know where to buy exotic stuff as well. Well, my break is about to end, so maybe we should talk later."
"Good. Let's talk about this later then."
"Alright. So how is your stay in our inn so far?"
"It's good. The room is comfortable and the food is superb. I can't think of a better place than this Inn"
Mr. Kevin laughed and patted my shoulder.
"Haha, I see, I see. Of course, my Inn is awesome. You won't be able to find a better Inn and my skills in cooking were enhanced through the years of travels when my wife and I were still adventurers"
"Oh, you're an ex-adventurer?"
"That's right."
"Then why did you quit? You still look strong enough to be an adventurer"
"Well, My wife became pregnant during our expedition. So we decided to retire since we had enough money to build this Inn. It was also my childhood dream before I became an adventurer. With my talent in cooking and my wife's skills in handling people, isn't it a perfect idea to build an Inn? Also, staying as an adventurer was always a risk, so we decided to live a peaceful life with our kids."
"I see, becoming an adventurer is not the only way to earn money to live"
"You got it right"
"By the way. I am kind of curious, why did you decide to name this inn like that?"
"We name this inn because 'It's better to sleep under the roof than under starlight", hahaha"
After saying that the landlord returned to the kitchen again as he continued to laugh.
[You should go to the guild and complete your quest, Master.]
'Yes, thanks for reminding me, Hestia. What would've I done without you?'
With that, I left the inn and went slowly towards the Adventurer's Guild building.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder