Rambunctious was the only word Elanore could use to describe the crowd of dwarves. They only paid attention to the strange newcomers for a couple of seconds before they went back to their drinking and talking to each other a bit too loudly.
A waitress came up to them, holding a tray of grog for the tables. "Hope you don't mind the noise. We have some special seats for travelers."
"Really?"
The dwarven woman smiled and nodded. "Gretta! We have visitors!"
Gretta came from the back right away. Elanore was expecting another dwarf, but she wasn't one at all. This girl looked more like an elf. Though, she was a bit shorter than the elf Elanore had seen before.
"Coming!" She called in a high voice.
The dwarf woman clicked her tongue. "You're always so slow on the uptake, darling. Give them a seat in the back, and make sure you give them good service."
"Y-yes, ma'am." Gretta grinned at the group of girls, her green eyes lightening. "Right this way, please."
Elanore's group was led to the back of the inn's first floor where they passed through an archway. Incredibly, the sound behind them died the instant they crossed it. They were led to a room with a long booth and enough room for all of them to sit. Elanore's mother sat next to her, and Naela sat next to the basilisk. The little girl climbed into Naela's lap the instant they were seated.
"Hello, travelers, I am Gretta. Before anyone asks, I am a half elf, and I will be serving you today. You can also ask me if you want rooms. Though it may seem busy, there are plenty of free rooms, and if you don't like the noise, we employ the same noise canceling magic we use here."
Penelope smiled. "Oh wow, it sounds great."
The group was handed several menus, and Gretta took out a small sheet of paper to write it down. Elanore was surprised how sophisticated the place was. She kept finding herself astounded by a lot of advancements in this world. Even the pen Gretta used had some kind of magic power attached to it, visible when Elanore narrowed her eyes.
Her mother looked down at the writing. "I can actually read all of this, but I'm unfamiliar with these pricing. I guess they use things like gold and silver in this world?"
"Yep, don't worry about any of the prices and just order whatever sounds good. I won't be eating any of it."
"Oh! Mistress, can I have your portion?"
Elanore released an exaggerated sigh. "Of course, you can."
Gretta looked down at Ella with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want anything? The chefs here are quite good." Elanore pointed to her teeth, and the girl's eyes widened. "A vampire? That's rare...Do you really drink blood? I think we could get some of that as well."
"No, it's fine. I really don't want to trouble you."
I really don't want everyone to know I eat mana crystals. Maybe that's an even bigger taboo than blood. Why has everyone been surprisingly fine with vampires? The witch thought about it, but she didn't understand it at all. At most she'd only gotten some surprised glances or the occasional sneer. Though, there were no vampire hunters or people trying to kill her.
Naela raised her hand and pointed at the menu. "Give me one of these for me and the mistress."
"Oh, oh," the basilisk said, "one for me, too!"
Penelope looked at them, and her pink eyes darted towards the item. "Iguano-doner? Would I really want to eat meat from a dinosaur?" She looked towards her daughter.
Ella shrugged. "I don't mind if you want to eat dinosaurs. Just because I always like dinos, doesn't mean we can't eat them. These are not contradictory positions."
"Is that how it works?"
"Yep."
The half elf looked down at them with a perplexed expression. "Um, so that will be four Iguano-doner kebabs?"
"That's correct. We would also like two rooms."
"Alright, four kebabs meals and two rooms. That will be four gold coins. You can pay now or later."
Ella placed four pink coins at the edge of the table. "Even better, you can be the first to sample my imperial coins. Don't worry, it's worth real gold. You can weigh it yourself."
"Ugh...sure, I will go see if the owners will take this." It didn't take long for her to get an answer. The girl left and came back fast. "It seems, they're willing to take them. I'll come back with your dinner next."
Penelope looked at Elanore as the server walked away. "I can't believe you invented your own coins, and I can't believe you made them pink. The more I learn about you over here, the more I realize that you've changed a lot." She smiled and ran her fingers through the witchpire's hair. "It makes me happy knowing we'll get to experience so many things together again. And eventually..."
"We'll get married," Naela said, "and you will be the best man."
"Hey, mothers aren't supposed to be the best man!" Elanore protested. "Besides, which one of us is going to have a best man anyway? Usually, it is the groom that has the best man."
"In that case, I am the groom, mistress."
Elanore's face went red, and she slumped lower in her seat. "All of you are impossible."
Luckily for her, she was saved by the smell of food and a tray of kebabs. She couldn't believe her eyes as the plates and cups of water were lowered onto their table. The Iguanodon kebabs were inside of a sandwich and smelled heavenly. They were plated with a side of white rice to Elanore's shock.
Penelope gripped her sandwich and took a bite. Her eyes widened. "Wow, this is really good." She reached over and poked her daughter's cheek. "Are you sure you don't want a bite?"
"Mom, I am practically allergic to normal food at this point. Trust me..."
Elanore looked over to the other two and saw them gobbling down their food at an astounding rate.