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　And so we have arrived at the restaurant.¹

　The time was a bit early for dinner. It should be around six now? With this we should be able to avoid some of the crowds. I see, it seems the two took this into consideration. Lily and Arisa sure were good kids.

　Additionally, Norn and Bell were house-sitting. Sorry…….it wasn’t much of an apology, but I left them some Mad Bull meat for dinner. I grilled it using the yakiniku sauce I made myself. It goes without saying that Lily and Arisa were staring quite intensely at me.

　We traveled from the inn to the restaurant on foot, but since it was quite close, we arrived in less than five minutes. When we entered inside, Lily got us a waiting room and we waited for a while. Meanwhile, Lily was giving various orders to the waiter. I guess she’ll be handling the orders? Well, that was fine with me since I was the one being treated. It was my first time in this kind of place, so I wasn’t really familiar with things too…….

　After a while, we were led into a large hall. The tables weren’t evenly spaced apart, but they were spaced some distance apart. I guess there weren’t any private rooms since this area was for ordinary people? But it still looked quite high class despite being an area for ordinary people. Apparently, each area had different course meal selections.

　Incidentally, the area for nobles was further back, and were private rooms. Lily told me all this while we were moving, I see.

　We were guided to a table and a situation occurred where I had tried to pull the seat and sit down when the waiter was supposed to do it for me. And it seems there were issues with me keeping my cloak on.

　I thought I was allowed to keep my cloak on? When I asked, I was told that it used to be the case, but the rule had been revised due to recent issues with the appearance of some adventurers. What should I even say here.

　There was no way we were going to return without eating after having come this far. So I gave up and took off my cloak.

“I’m sorry…….for something like this to happen……..”
“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.”

　I felt apologetic towards Lily who felt that the incident was her fault. So really please don’t mind it, okay?

　When I gave up and took off my cloak and gave it to the waiter, the eyes of the people in the surrounding seats immediately gathered on me and I became a bit restless. The waiter’s eyes were also wide with surprise. Mumumu.

　But since we were already here, I have no choice but to ignore it, so just ignore everything!

　After I recomposed myself, we chatted for a bit and the food was finally brought out. I feel excited! All the dishes were placed onto the table at once. It didn’t seem like it was course-style.

　Lily explained that even though this area was used by people with more wealth, most of the people were still commoners and thus didn’t know formal dining etiquette. As such, some people would complain or be confused when the food was brought out course-style.

　To begin with, when it comes to ordinary people who have money, it would usually be top adventurers or something similar. Which would make it difficult to enforce formal dining etiquette.

　But it might be different if the person was a big merchant who was associated with nobles, so…….I wonder how that would work out? When I asked Lily about it, she said those types of people would usually book a private room. I see, understood.

　Anyways, time for the dishes then. The contents were salad, soup, and something like fried chicken. There was bread placed inside a basket, and from the looks, white bread? It was the first time I saw white bread since regaining my memories.

　Apparently, the main meat dishes would be brought out later. Lastly, there was also dessert too. But I wonder if I would be able to eat the dessert after eating everything else? The portion of everything was quite large so I felt quite complicated…….

　I was worried about various things, but I started eating regardless. There were several utensils lined up on the table, since they didn’t look any different from the ones in my previous life, I assumed it would be fine if I used them in corresponding order. Rather, it was due to the various complaints from the past that the current situation came to be. As expected, it felt weird to have all the food on the table alongside various utensils.

　When I casually glanced at the tables around me, I saw that there were many people who were using only a single utensil to sample various dishes. When I slightly tilted my head in confusion, the waiter told me it was fine if I didn’t follow the formal dining etiquette. That said however, I was still curious about what the various utensils were used for. I didn’t know about it, but I still wanted to find out.

　It also wasn’t easy for me to let go of things I was curious about, so I would like it if he would teach me. Furthermore, it was also a hit on my self-esteem. Even if I didn’t understand the formal dining etiquettes, I still would like to act elegantly since the utensils were all lined up!

　Well, anyway, it’s just that when people go out for luxurious dining once every year or so for things like anniversaries and such……I understood how they felt. The feeling of class was definitely important, you see~

　Moving on. Everything was on the table, but I suppose I should eat everything in the order of a course meal? As such, I took a sip of water and began with the salad that acted as the appetizer.

　It was lettuce-like vegetables with sauce drizzled on it. I stabbed at it with a fork, put it in my mouth and started chewing. Yep, it was lettuce alright.

　Hmm, this sauce was kind of a bit like gravy? I would guess the base used something like beef broth? The amount of oil appeared to have been carefully adjusted to make it easier to eat, though it was still a bit heavy as an appetizer. It still tasted quite nice.

　That aside, the main meat dish was supposed to be brought out later, right? Although, I suppose that would go against its meaning? Since red wine was supposedly being used to adjust the flavor, I guess it would be something like steak simmered in wine?

　When I checked with the waiter about the main meat dish, he was surprised that I knew. After I followed with an explanation on salad dressing, I was met with a look of disbelief. Huh? Knowing this is normal though? Eh? Not knowing is what’s actually normal? Even if you tell me that…

　I finished off the salad, and the soup was next. Chock full of ingredients too. However, its clearness showed how thoroughly the scum had been removed. I took in a spoonful. Mhm, quite like consommé. It wasn’t really a true consommé, but these ingredients wouldn’t have made that possible anyway. Using a spoon to eat all these ingredients did feel rather inconvenient though. Well, it was good regardless.

“Ren, it seems you quite like it.”
“You can tell?”
“Yes, you look really happy.”

　It seems that my cheeks had unconsciously loosened. Which was a bit embarrassing. But eating good food was a wonderful thing, so it couldn’t be helped. Thus, I told them that.

“Right. Eating good food is a wonderful thing. Fufu. The people around us are also captured by Ren’s expression, you know?

　……Everyone was looking at me? Let’s just concentrate on eating the food. Nom, nom, nom.

“But I’m surprised. So Ren knows about formal dining etiquette. You’re even better than me……where did you learn it from?”
“It’s a secret.”

　I learned it from my past life. But I didn’t say anything, it wasn’t like I could tell them that it was because I used to accompany my superiors out for luxurious dining. As such, I ended up learning formal dining etiquette. Engineers and researchers didn’t just have to deal with development and research. There were various other difficult matters, such as negotiations and handling development expenses.

　But it was obvious Lily wouldn’t see it as such. Regardless of my past life, I was an adventurer now, so most people would think that I lack basic education. Plus I was only eleven. But even so, I had almost perfect formal dining etiquette, so it could be considered strange.

　However, since I couldn’t give a clear answer, I merely tilted my head and smiled back in response. It felt like I have done this a lot recently.

“Lily, look, it’s because it’s Ren…….”
“…….Right.”

　Huh? Why did it feel like I was being perceived rather negatively?

　Anyways, I finished with the soup so I reached for the bread and took a bite. Yep, nice and soft. Naturally, it was harder than bread using natural yeast, but the bread I had eaten until now were basically just black bread, so I haven’t had soft bread for quite a while. Or rather, this would be my first time ever in this world? I began thinking back upon it some more……. Ahh, but speaking of natural yeast, it might be a good idea to use it for making my own bread next time. Rather, it was disappointing that I didn’t think of this before.

　Next up was the possibly fried chicken. I used a fork to eat it. …….Yep, this was definitely fried chicken. So this world did have actual fried food.

　The frying skill of the chef was not bad, the chicken was very juicy. Unfortunately, the texture of the outer skin made it obvious it hadn’t been fried twice. And the taste of the meat. It was just seasoned with salt and pepper without marinating in any sauce. It was still delicious, but this area still needed improving……which was regrettable. Additionally, there wasn’t enough pepper on it. Spices were considered expensive products……not that it didn’t taste good. But personally I was dissatisfied, so I wanted to try making my own version next time.

　But wasn’t it a bit strange that it was just continuous meat dishes? Well, I do understand that it was difficult to transport fish inland, but……

“The continuous meat dishes are a bit heavy……”
“Well, there were various things…….”
“Was fish supposed to be the original dish?”
“That’s right, wait, how did you know!?”
“Well, there’s various reasons, I guess? But was it supposed to be something like river fish?”
“The nobles are given priority for the larger river fishes for their course meals. It seems that there are even times when a lot would be bought from here. If you want to eat it, you might be able to find it at one of the restaurants for commoners, but…….”
“…….But the taste wouldn’t be something to look forward to.”

　Additionally, monsters would sometimes appear, so fishing peacefully in the river was also quite difficult. As such, it would seem that merchants would usually hire escorts to handle them, and capture large quantities of fish to sell to restaurants.

　Thus, it seems that river fish were generally also rather expensive. So if I wanted to eat fish, I would have to work hard and catch it myself. Aside from pests, there were also monsters in this world, so when taking life into consideration….… Well, I actually have a lot of river fish inside Storage.

　The main meat dish was brought out while we were talking. And it was wine-simmered beef as expected. It was quick to make after all, so that only seemed correct, or at least a reasonable guess.

　But quick to make didn’t mean sloppy; the scum had been properly removed and the expert crafting of the dish was easy to see. The meat was so soft it practically melted. Mmmm this was good. My face was turning droopy, it was just that good. Mmm!

“……Ren, your expression, please be a bit more discrete.”

　Oops, the surrounding people! But it’s just so delicious, I just can’t endure it!

　After finishing the steak, the dessert was finally brought out. This…..hotcakes? There was even butter and honey on top. Yep, definitely hotcakes. Did they use baking soda to make it more fluffier? Ah- ..with baking soda I could make various dishes…..I should go look for some next time so I can make them.

　Ah, this would be the first time I’ve ever eaten a sweet in this world……aside from my own. Ah~ But it’s so good~

　And so we finished eating everything. I was completely full. I feel heavy! I ate too much! As expected, the portions are too large!

“……It’s a bit hard to move. It was delicious, but don’t you think it was a bit much?”
“Oh, that’s because there are many top-level adventurers who come here.”
“I see, I get what you’re saying.”

　Adventurers relied on their bodies, plus the food served here was very good. Top-level adventurers also made a lot of money, so they could often enjoy luxury.

　As I stroked my stomach on the way back to the inn, I began thinking that it would be bad if I didn’t exercise a bit. But I gave a shudder upon realizing that I wouldn’t be able to get any exercising done since I would be riding inside of a carriage tomorrow.

　Ah, I see. Then I’ll do my best once I arrive at the royal capital…….

1. Robinxen: Who’d have guessed food would be involved?!
2. Robinxen: Let’s rename this entire series Illegal Oneechans Cooking Adventure In Another World