章節 52: She Finds Nostalgia in a Cup

"No, but that doesn't stop stories about heroes from circulating around in my world." Robin replied. "Otherwise, I'd have had to ask you what a hero actually is, when I arrived."

"Robin does have a point, there." Jasmine added. "Like how our stories about wonderful cities where the buildings reach the heavens are only myths, but we still know about them."

'Ah. I think she's talking about skyscrapers...' Robin realized. But before she could say anything about it, the royal announcer called out.

"The banquet is ready. Please come in and sit down according to your place card."

Robin followed Christian and Jasmine inside, looking down the long table set with white and gold porcelain. Everything was set perfectly, and each seat had an ivory place card with the name written in gold ink. Remembering that paper this white was usually used for important business, Robin was impressed.

"Ah, Robin!" Christian remembered. "Keep ahold of your placecard, and don't lose it no matter what, got it?"

"I got it." Robin replied as she searched down the long row of seats and cards.

"What are you looking for?" Christian asked.

"My placecard." Robin replied.

"It's not going to be down there at the end, Robin. You're a Hero! You'll definitely be up here, near the king-"

"I found it! You're sitting next to me, Robin!" Jasmine called as she waved at Robin. Jasmine was sitting one seat away from the queen, who sat to the right of the king. Christian sat to the king's left.

"What a coincidence, that I'd be able to sit next to you!" Robin greeted cheerfully. She had never really had any friends among girls before, so being able to sit next to someone close to her age, delighted her. She sat down in between the Queen and Jasmine. Christian, who sat across from them, did not look as pleased.

'Why are you sitting over there, next to mother?' he inwardly sulked. 'Are you two going to monopolize him all night!?' He had finally been able to become friends with the hero, but it felt like Robin was being stolen away from him. Instead, sitting next to Christian was Keith.

While Christian was obviously not impressed with the seating choice, Keith was relieved. 'Thank goodness I'm not sitting next to that psycho-' SHING! Robin suddenly glanced at Keith, which made him halt his thoughts for a moment. 'N-next to that bright and upright lad.' At that point, even Keith's thoughts were restrained.

The first course was a potato cheddar soup with a garnish of parsley. Then the dishes that followed were: melting potatoes, Roast deer and potatoes, radish onion soup with potato bread rolls, and lightly tossed salad with a side of small steamed buttered potato. By the end of everything, because of the potatoes, everyone was feeling quite full.

So, when the dessert dishes came out, no one desired to eat any more. Each dish had a single cream puff surrounded by four meringue cookies in four different colors of green, pink, white, and purple. The green one was flavored with pistacchio. The pink one was flavored with powdered strawberry; the purple one with powdered blueberry. And the white one was the ordinary flavor.

Ponshieu made an announcement.

"I know you're all wondering why I cooked so many filling things for you tonight. You may even think you cannot eat another bite. Well, with this otherwordly confectionary, I will prove you wrong! Even if you are completely full right now, surely everyone can try a nibble of it, right? I would ask you to please try the white meringue cookie."

"These are cookies!" One of the noblewomen exclaimed. "I thought they were whipped cream!"

While many of them couldn't stand to look at the cream puff, the smaller white puff looked possible to nibble on. Many of the noblewomen decided to give it a try.

"Oh!"

"My goodness!"

"This practically melts in your mouth!"

The others, seeing their reactions, became curious, and also gave it a taste.

"By the throne! This is ingenious!" A Nobleman said, before he began eating the other cookies.

Altogether too soon, everyone found their plates empty of the delectable treats. They could only look at the larger cream puff in the center of the plate.

"Is that...pudding?"

"I'm much too full for pudding, thank you."

It seemed like no one wanted to eat any more.

But, one person did venture to eat again. Robin smiled and picked up the dumpling-sized treat, and popped it into her mouth.

"You don't have to force yourself, Robin. Everyone else is refraining from eating this, too, so it's not a breach of ettiquette." Jasmine said, sympathetically.

Robin chewed slowly, savoring the flavor, before swallowing the rejected pastry.

"I'm not forcing myself, Jasmine. These pastries are from my own special recipe book. I guarantee that no one here will feel even a single bite fuller even if they eat five of these." Robin explained.

The nobles who heard that also became curious about the offending pastry. A pastry introduced by the Hero, himself?

'Even if I bust, I'm going to taste it!' was the now prevalent thought running through the heads of the nobles. Many of them decided to take small bites of it at a time, but after having a bite, they quickly finished off the cream-filled puff pastry. Despite being completely full, nobody felt that they had overeaten at all.

After the plates had been cleared, good wines were taken out, along with some complementary snacks such as grapes, cheeses, and nuts.

Robin was also poured a glass of wine from the same bottle that was served to the king. She looked at Jasmine, in surprise. "You can have wine even if you are under twenty-one years of age?" She asked.

"What are you talking about?" Jasmine chuckled. "Even little children on the streets can drink wine. Don't tell me there's a law against drinking in your world?"

Jasmine's question was a rhetorical one. However, Robin answered it seriously with a nod.

"Yeah. It's the law. No alcohol can be consumed by any one under twenty-one years of age."

Jasmine was shocked. "Well, auds badlins, Robin! Why is there such a ridiculous law at all?"

"It's too long a tale to tell, although I can say it had a lot to do with politics." Robin replied, eyeing the vermillion drink. Then she made a decision and picked it up by the stem.

"Oh? You're drinking it?" Jasmine asked.

"There is a saying where I come from: 'In Rome, do as the Romans do.' It means to follow the laws and customs of the land you are visiting. Since you have no laws about this, then I'll have a glass." Robin replied, before taking a sip.

But that sip was a pandora's box.

The flavor was a typical one for red wine, similar to a merlot. But, it was the flavor which reminded Robin of her mother's home cooking. Her mother didn't usually use wine in her cooking, but one dish in particular that was the family favorite was her beef stroganoff. In this dish, her mother would usually add more than two cups of wine, which gave it a strong flavor.

As the nostalgia flooded in, Robin's eyes began to water. She smiled and sat back in her chair.

"So? How was your first taste?" Jasmine asked.

"So, that's why." Was all that Robin said. But inside her heart, she finally knew the reason why so many people liked to drink such a bitter taste. 'What they drank wasn't the drink, so much as the nostalgia, the memories, good or bad. They drank feelings in the form of drink.'

After that, Robin didn't say much. But she did, from time to time, sip from her glass with a somewhat solemn expression, slowly savoring the cheerful, painful memories of good times in the past.

Perhaps there was a spell on that glass. Or, perhaps, Robin was the one under a spell. All around her, people chattered and talked, but Robin didn't hear them. It was as if she were suddenly sitting on a different plane than they. All she did was contemplate that glass of wine. However, the moment she placed her emptied glass back down on the table, her quiet spell was broken.

When the royal announcer called out the end of the banquet, people headed over to the ballrooms for the main event. Robin's odd mood had caught Christian's eye. Before she left the table, Christian asked her.

"Was it that bad?"

Robin looked at him, and blinked. Then said. "What?"