บท 25: Chapter 24
After a very short-lived visit to Syrup village, which was uneventful, Prominence has set sail again. Its course has been slightly adjusted to safely arrive at Baratie; Carina was very confident after missing it once.
After sailing for a day, they sighted a red buoy floating on water. Approaching it, they saw that it had a word 'Baratie' written on it, and was tied to a rope that extended very far.
"Ah, right. Baratie tends to move around within its boundary. Therefore, the restaurant places the buoys all around itself to ensure that sailors manage to find them. *Phew* We managed to find it!" Carina explained while pointing at the rope. "All we got to do is to follow this rope all the way."
Nodding, Rowan turned the knob to face the direction of the rope. The ship changed the direction, and continued its sail.
Eventually, they noticed the floating building-ship hybrid. The three-story building was mainly composed of green and red coloured outer walls, with some white colours in between, which shined brightly as the light was reflected.
There were many ships parked around, which indicated the popularity of this restaurant.
"Amazing. First time I've seen a ship like this." Rowan was impressed by its magnificence. 'How do you make a building float even?'
"Well, we are finally here, Baratie, the one and only sea restaurant of the East Blue!" Carina exclaimed excitedly. Although she knew pretty well about this restaurant due to the information she collected in the past, she never got to visit herself, due to its expensive costs.
Finding a space around Baratie to park, they used the anchor to hook Prominence around the metal pole of Baratie tightly, before getting off from the ship.
"You said that we have 50 thousand Beli, right." Rowan asked, in which Carina nodded as a reply. "Ugh, I hope this goes well."
They entered the restaurant through the door. As they stepped in, they immediately noticed how crowded the place was. Most of the tables were occupied, and the noises of the utensils clattering with the plates and people chattering filled the space.
There was a waiter with black suit, situated right at the counter on the side. He noticed Rowan and Carina, and quickly responded.
"Hello, welcome to Baratie. Please sit on the table over here. We will bring menu boards swiftly." The waiter pointed his hands to the nearby table, guiding the duo to the spot. Immediately after, he placed two menu boards in front of them.
"Full-course meal, 13 thousand Beli for each person... is this the reality?" Rowan muttered as he stared at the board. "Baratie special salmon steak, 10 thousand Beli. Deep fried Red Lobster with garlic, 9.5 thousand Beli."
Rowan felt conflicted. Should he just yolo and try the signature dishes, or embrace the harsh reality and order cheap ones? He took a long time to think about it, before deciding to choose the cheapest food, which is the bread sticks dipped in butter, costing 800 Beli.
"I would like to order bread-"
"I would like a full-course meal for myself!" Carina said joyously, earning a jaw drop from Rowan. "And margarita for a drink, please."
"Got it." The waiter said as he wrote the orders down. "As for the gentleman, what would you like?"
"I... I would like to order a full-course meal, and... that's it." Rowan could not bring himself to order a beverage, which cost around thousand Beli by itself.
"Please wait diligently. Your orders will be out soon." The waiter took the menu boards back and left their table. Rowan and Carina kept themselves seated, staring at each other while sweating hard and with widened eyes, having realized what they have just done.
"Two full-course meals, and a margarita. That's like, 27 thousand Belis for just one meal!" Rowan said in frustration as he grabbed his hair. "I remember binge eating in Aurum city, which cost me only 5 thousand Belis. In the past, I thought even that was a lot. But holy, 27 thousand!"
"Haa... I couldn't resist myself. Everywhere I go, I hear about how good the foods from Baratie are; what's the point of coming here if we are going to have bread sticks dipped in butter??" Carina slouched on her chair.
"Ohoho! I pity your soul. The rich flavour of steak, the crunchiness of the crusts that encase the soft flesh! Ah, to think such heavenly dishes cannot be eaten, simply because one has no money!" From the neighbouring table, someone suddenly exclaimed.
Turning around, Rowan met the person face to face, before immediately avoiding the gaze. 'What the...' What came in Rowan's sight for a second was one of the most horrific scene he has ever come across.
The strange person had a long, straight green hair all the way to one's waist. This person was wearing a blue dress and red high heels. However, the exposed legs were one of the most hairy ones he has ever seen, and most importantly, the face! The size was humongous; it was at least twice the size of his head! With a square jaw, there was a masculine beard on the face; such appearance scared Rowan all the way deep in the soul.
'I saw a titan... a titan...' Crouching down, Rowan hugged his knees, trying to erase the horrific scene from his memory.
"Umm, just wondering, uh, ma'am, are you a cross-dresser?" Carina asked the person with a forced smile.
"Eeexcuuuse me??! Cross-dresser?!" Said person shouted in anger, with a tick on his/her forehead. "I am an elite Newkama, Nyaruko, who had a glory of receiving Emperio Ivankov's blessings 25 years ago...! Do not compare me to a mere cross-dresser!!" Said Nyaruko hmphed before turning back to Rowan.
"That being said... hey handsome~" Nyaruko winked, who shuddered in an absolute fear. "I like you~ why don't we enjoy a cup of tea together~"
Rowan abruptly stood up with a very pale face. "NO, JUST NO!!! PLEASE, THIS CAN'T BE REAL!!!!!" Rowan screamed so hard that the other customers looked at him in frown.
"P-please!! I am just an average joe. Handsome?! I am the ugliest bastard in the world!! H, haha, there is nothing interesting about me!!" Rowan said as his legs shook so hard, that he was about to collapse at any moment. Eventually, his legs gave in, and he fell on his knees, with a terror apparent on his face.
"The food is rea-" A blond with spiral eyebrows, wearing a black suit like the waiter, approached Rowan's table with plates of food, before abruptly stopping upon the sight of Nyaruko. "How, how can this be??" He almost dropped the plate, however, managed to lay it on Rowan's table before his legs gave in, which caused him to fall on his knees as well.
"Is this the real life? Is this the fantasy?" The blond man whispered as his hands shook violently.
"Kyaaa! Two men are proposing to me at the same time~!" Nyaruko squealed at the sight of two men on their knees, in front of her.
""NOOOO!!!!"" They stood up with all their might at hearing this.
"P-please!! Spare me!! L-look, this blondie next to me is much more appealing than a bulky guy like me!! I smell a lot!!!" Rowan pleaded desperately, which caused the blond man's eyes to widen so hard that veins could be seen.
"NO!! No no no no no!!!! Look at m-my toothpick arms and legs!! I shower once every year!!! This man next to me is the i-ideal man for you!!" The blond man hurriedly shrieked.
Meanwhile, while watching the scene, Carina was enjoying the sweet pea pesto crostini served by the blond man, which was hors d'oeuvre or the first of the full-course meal.
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