"Oh, here, Ray. Let's drop in over there."

　Instead of apologizing for causing trouble in front of the store, Ray and Kenny were walking around the city after a small shopping spree.
　Anyone would think it was a date if they saw Kenny walking happily.
　It's a time of day when more people are coming home from work, and many of them look jealous at Ray, who is dating a beautiful woman like Kenny.
　They're tired from working, but they want to go on a date... that kind of stare.
　But Kenny doesn't care at all about what's going on around him, and goes into various shops with Ray to shop.
　Adventurer Ray and Guild's receptionist Kenny.
　There are many contacts, but somehow Ray is busy, and Kenny rarely gets to date Ray.
　Or even though Ray was free, Kenny was busy as a receptionist...
　In that sense, it must have been a happy miscalculation for Kenny that their free time was together today.
　Perhaps that's why he's showing more excitement than usual.

"Do you like the restaurant where you eat? It's like a hideaway, but when the restaurant is full..."
"Well, yes. ... If it were true, I'd like to see a few more things with Ray. Then let's move on."

　Kenny thought a little about Ray's words, but he replied, perhaps a little worried about the high traffic.
　Ray then walks around the city, guided by Kenny.
　Kenny enters a narrow street from the main street.

(I've been there a few times, but did you find such a place? No, it's probably because it's hard to find.)

　Kenny smiles amusingly at Ray's appearance, as he looks around him.

"You didn't know there was a shop like that around here, did you?" ... you know, over there."

　A few minutes down the narrow road, Kenny points to a building.
　It doesn't have a sign that says it's a dining room, but it looks like an ordinary house.
　But following Kenny's gaze, there was no doubt that the building was the intended store.

(It was meant to be a hideaway place, but if you don't put up a sign like this, at least you don't know who the customer is. Do you need someone to introduce you to enter this place, or if you know this is a place without an introduction?)

　When Ray was in Japan, he had seen a restaurant where he could not enter without introduction to manga and anime.
　He decides that this is probably the kind of store, and follows Kenny as he walks into the... the building.

"Welcome."

　As soon as you enter the building, you'll be told so.
　She called out to me a calm woman sitting at the counter.
　He had as good a face as Kenny.
　But the person you've been talking to has a quiet personality, and if you're asked which one you prefer, Kenny, who has a lively personality, it depends on his taste.

"Good evening. Is there a room available?"
"Yes, are you two today?"
"Yes,"
"All right,"

　Kenny and the woman communicate in short terms, which seemed to Ray to be well-communicated with each other.
　No, communication seems to be going well, unless you're actually doing something like that.
　When the woman rings the bell at hand, a maid appears from the back of the building.

"Welcome, Mr. Kenny and Mr. Ray,"

　The maid calls Ray's name without any particular embarrassment, even though he didn't introduce himself.
　However, Ray is a famous person known to many people in Gilmoo, so now he is not wearing the hood of his dragon robe, and his face can be seen clearly.
　That's probably why I knew Ray as soon as I saw him.
　...or perhaps he expected it because he was Kenny's companion, even if he didn't know Ray's face.

"I'll show you to your room."
"Thank you. Let's go, Ray."

　Led by the maid and Kenny, Ray goes through the building.
　I didn't think it was that big when I looked at it from the outside, but when I walked I could see it had a certain size -- it was just a comparison to its appearance.
　And the room was built at some distance, soundproof enough to make Ray's ear hear some of it.

(It's like a hiding place.)

　It was easy for Ray to understand that perhaps some well-known people would use the restaurant when they slowly ate, drank, or had meetings that they didn't really want to see.
　Ray doesn't care that much about the attention he gets around him, but some people may find it.
　Such people may find this shop very useful.

(Well, if you really have power or something like that, there would be a better place to go than this.)

　The corridors and walls are painted in color to make visitors feel comfortable, but this is still just a short distance from the main street.

"Here you are, sir,"

　In front of one room the maid stops and opens the door.
　There's nothing special in the room.
　There were tasteful furniture and spring flowers on the table, but that's all I could say.
　Still, the reason why Ray feels strangely calm is that he is being paid a lot of attention to details that he doesn't understand.

"What about the food?"
"Well, that's right. Ray, you're okay with being lightweight, aren't you?"
"Well, dinner is waiting for us later."

　As Ray tells her so, the maid looks mystified for a moment.
　This restaurant is categorized as a restaurant, but I thought, "Are you going to eat again after you come here?" That's what I thought.
　However, quite a few people use this store for some reason.
　That being the case, there was nothing for the maid to say to Ray.

"Then I'd like to have a light meal.
"What shall I drink?"
"Yes. If you have a good drink, please. What about Ray?"
"Tea... No, if you have fruit water, there."

　With spring, the temperature is gradually rising.
　In the daytime, people sometimes sweat and fruit water was on the market recently.
　...though usually warm fruit water, as it requires magic or magic to prepare cold fruit water.
　And there were many expensive magic items, and the magic items to cool down were reasonably expensive.
　Still, some people who sell fruit water at stalls... No, it's a price that you can buy if you push yourself too hard, so Ray said.

"Certainly. Please wait a moment."

　The maid bowed and left the room.
　Then, when they are alone in the room, Kenny proudly opens his mouth to Ray.

"How is it? It's a pretty good place, isn't it?"
"Well, I don't know what's different about this room, but it feels kind of calming down."

　Kenny looks a little surprised at Ray's remark.

"What? You don't know what's different... You care a lot about the interior of the room, right? You know, the wallpaper over there."Even if you look at the wall, it's true that I haven't seen much of the wallpaper there, but Ray doesn't know exactly how it's different from the ordinary wallpaper.

"I know it's different from ordinary wallpapers, but is it that good?"
"You know... Ray has no complaints about magic items and weapons, but why not about these ordinary articles? ... You know? That wallpaper, this table, this chair, and that sofa over there, are not all things that ordinary people can buy so easily."
"... I see,"

　After being told so, Ray looks around the room again.
　Nevertheless, Ray didn't think the furniture here was so special, even though he gave it back to Kenny.
　That's because Ray doesn't know much about it, but for other reasons, he usually sleeps at the dusk wheat-tei, which is classified as a luxury inn, or at the marina's residence in the aristocratic district where he eats dinner.
　That is, Ray usually sees a lot of what he calls high-end furniture without his knowledge.

"Excuse me. Here's your dish."

　Knocked and allowed Kenny to come in, and the maid comes back.
　No, besides the maids I mentioned, there were many maids who cooked.
　Every maid's plate has an appetizing smell.
　In addition to appetite, the beautifully arranged food was enough to entertain the eyes.
　Perhaps because Kenny said it was easy, there are many small portions of food that make you enjoy the taste rather than being full.
　"However, perhaps it was because there were many dishes, even if one dish was small, it was not surprising that if you ate all of them, you would be full."
　Did you adjust this area at a store where you know Ray is a big eater, or is this the norm?
　Ray couldn't tell it, but the fact that plates of food were laid out in front of him was definitely a welcome thing for him.

"Well, let's eat it. It's a waste to let the food cool down."

　Ray and Kenny begin their meal after confirming that the maid has left.
　...though before that Ray never forgot to drink cold fruit water and Kenny a glass of wine.

"Cheers!"

　I wonder if the glass is just as good as it is, and when we lightly bump into each other, a pleasant sound echoes around us.
　Enjoying the sound that still lingers in his ears, Ray moistens his throat with fruit water.
　As expected, the fruit water was cold.
　Whether it's a magic item or a wizard, Ray didn't know about it, but he's still cold enough to moisten his throat.
　a subtle sweetness and a reasonably strong acidity
　Ordinary fruit water would put sweetness before acidity.
　However, Ray preferred this one, which had a strong sour taste.

(Is this the way the fruit water is originally, or did you know my taste and adjust it to it... which one is it?)

　With such doubts, Ray immediately enjoys cooking.
　The first dish I ate was steamed oak and seasoned with sour fruit sauce.
　Ray has had similar dishes many times before.
　However, the bite-sized dish had a slight pungency in its sourness, which added to the accent and made me want to eat a little more.
　Still, since they only have bite-sized dishes, you'll have to take the next dish to your mouth with a little bit of satisfaction.

"The cook of this restaurant used to work for some duchess,"
"... I see. That's why they serve such delicious food. But isn't it unusual for a chef who worked in such a place to cook around the city?"

　A duke is the highest rank of nobility, second only to the roy.
　Therefore, many of the employees were naturally proud, and when asked if they wanted to work as chefs in restaurants all over the city, it didn't seem like Ray to nod honestly.

"Well, as is usually the case, the cook was quite a freak, and the rumor is that the aristocratic child wanted to eat, but he was left with it."
"Did you quit cooking because you didn't like it? But it's not unusual for a noble to leave a dish, is it?"
"No. The cook forced the child to eat, and he got the duke angry and fired."
"That's..."

　That's all Ray could say to Kenny's unexpected words.
　Should we be glad to be fired for forcing aristocratic children to eat, or should we be surprised to have abandoned our position as Duchess's cook so easily?
　Anyway, Ray and Kenny enjoyed their meal while talking about such a cook.