Lothair pulled the door open, and I was greeted by a peaceful atmosphere. It wasn't quiet, however one could see how carefree both customers and attendants were. The decoration wasn't extravagant, nor was it shabby. It simply brought a sense of calmness to anyone who entered. There was also a slow music in the background which contributed to the pleasant atmosphere.
We did not wait much before a worker came to greet us and offered a place to sit. It was a table of two with glamorous chairs and shiny utensils. The light of candles and the simple white tablecloth invited us to be at ease and relax.
Thereafter, we were given the menu and left alone to discuss comfortably.
"You really are giving it your all, inviting me to such a place... I didn't know you were into young children."
The man sitting across from me raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"What are you talking about? Do you, perhaps, not wish to eat?"
"No, hey! Can't you take just a little joke? I'm sorry!"
Oh my goodness, that moron was so dense! And I was starving actually! Nevertheless, this restaurant looked way too romantic to not be considered a dating place so don't blame me for being suspicious!
The pervert chuckled seeing my reaction. What a creep, laughing all by himself.
"Then pick whatever you want, and no need to worry about the prices, you won't have to owe me anything."
"Oh, how generous! I'll take everything on the menu then."
"..."
"Do you perhaps have a problem against that?"
"...Do as you please."
Heh, I managed to piss him off. I'm simply that good.
"What's with that smug look on your face, Eliza?"
I ignored his useless comment. He then wanted to add something but the timing couldn't have been better as we were soon asked,
"Have you, lady and gentleman decided on your order?"
Standing to my right was quite a handsome fellow. His sharp face contrasted with a welcoming expression and the white attire fairly complimented his shiny black skin... ooh that bald head almost blinded me though; too much light!
"Yes, I would like to order from here... to here!" I beamed, excitedly pointing from one top corner to the opposite bottom corner."
Hm. That surprised face of his was quite pleasing to witness. Unfortunately, professionalism took over and he promptly composed himself.
"No problem. And anything to drink with that? Or would you like to taste every drink too?"
"Of course, that sounds great! I'll take you on the offer then, thank you!"
The idiot on the other chair sighed, and said to the attendant that he wouldn't order anything and instead steal my food. Well, he did not exactly say that but it was what it sounded like to me.
"Your meal will be ready as soon as possible." With those parting words and a slight bow, he left, probably to relay our order to the kitchen.
As I was distracted by the bald head's luster, I did not immediately notice Lothair standing up and leaving, until he was already nowhere to be seen.
The guy just straight up walked out and left, leaving me alone in a restaurant without any money! Oh, but I could use the magic fibers since condensed energy were also used as currency... but still! He told me that he would pay for it...?
Oh my ears be damned, he never said that actually.
I picked up the menu again and checked the prices... and, well. I was pretty much fucked.
According to Isaac's worldly class, a normal person would need 25.000 Suros (Nebula currency) a month to live comfortably, but the less expensive dish in this restaurant cost 1.500§ (Suros symbol), and there were 20 more with increasingly higher prices. Fortunately, the ratio condensed energy to Suros was close to 1:10, and I had 9854 magic fibers. So, I could pay up, but it would leave me broke as hell...
Wait, I was freaking out too fast. Maybe he only went to the toilet or had something important to do and would come back soon.
...But what if he did not?
*
Twenty minutes had passed, and I sat alone in front of many different dishes and drinks. In the end, he did not come back. Was it because I teased him about taking me on a date so he left to teach me a lesson? I never would have thought that he would turn out to be such a callous bastard.
'Haa... might as well help myself.'
Thus I started digging into the first plate. It was a dish centered on meat, complemented by a salad of lettuce and onions with potatoes on the side. The sauce was a dull brown and irrigated every part of the serving. Honestly, the presentation looked somewhat simple, even crude; however, I believed that taste was everything in food! Hence I delicately cut one slice of meat, then with the salad and one potato, the fork went straight into my mouth. And oh! How glad I was that I came to this place.
The bittersweet aroma brought by the seemingly dull sauce served as a welcome to the salty and juicy meat. It melted inside of my mouth so naturally, so cleanly, that I was jolted by the sudden introduction of the salad and the potato... how savory, how delicious! Ah! It ended too fast. I had already gulped down half of my plate. Lucky me, I had sixteen other different meals ready for my gustatory sense. I needed more! It had been so long since I had last tasted such incredible food. I would gladly use up all my fortune if it meant tasting more of it!
In that manner, I had continued to fulfill my gluttony without any care in the world, even when a bomb had exploded right next to the restaurant and I was one of the sole persons left inside.
* * *
Outside, ten minutes before a certain explosion, Lothair had already left the restaurant and met with other agents from Arcane, Agathe and Morris. Both were publicly acting as historians investigating on a case about an emerging cult that had already launched several terror attacks across the whole world. Not long ago, they received word from an anonymous source that a bomb was planted in this exact location. They first thought it was a hoax, however the critical information that was sent along suggested otherwise. That person seemed to know a whole bunch about the unknown cult but still trusted the local authorities to handle the situation.
However, the goal for them was not to prevent the bomb from exploding, but to trace down the perpetrator of the act. It would be good if they could even infiltrate a member or two inside the cult but for now, just capturing was enough.
Lothair felt a little bad for Eliza whom he left alone in the restaurant without a word, however he believed that it would be too dangerous to engage her with another probably dangerous organization.
With a sigh, he activated his spatial ability, forming a dodecahedron shape around the Arcane members, big enough to fit a dozen more. This was a pocket dimension, useful to spy on enemies unnoticed as the artificial spacial fabric disconnected them from the whole world. From the inside, one could observe the outside like a scene seen from a screen, but from the outside, they were completely invisible and ungraspable.
Then soon, an explosion rang out, loud and powerful, forthwith followed by the screams of horror and the cries of help; and along with the newly born chaos, slowly, moved the object of disturbed space.
*
*
*