The bell rang as the door opened. Passing through behind the three adventurers, Lydianne entered a room as bright as direct sunlight.
“Huh…?” She narrowed her eyes, surprised.
The room had no windows—it seemed to be underground—yet the air was fresh. It was the perfect temperature and not humid in the least.
And then, of course, there was the crowd of humans and nonhumans present. Lydianne spotted monsters she’d seen in her father’s research books—a lizardman, an ogre, a siren. Huh? Is that an elf and a monster…?
Although no lamia were present, all the monsters in the room were often described as dangerous beasts—yet no one seemed concerned.
Lydianne was still standing shocked when a black-haired girl spoke to her. “Welcome to Western Cuisine Nekoya!”
The girl wore a strange outfit. Her skin was darker than Lydianne’s; her features were also very different. She glanced at the lamia’s tail but seemed to pay it no mind, asking “Is this your first time here?”
“Not ours. We already know what we’ll order,” said Cain. The adventurers seemed to have visited this restaurant plenty of times. “But this girl’s new.”
The young woman in the strange clothes—likely a waitress—seemed used to this type of exchange. “Right, of course. Let me take you to your seats.”
Their large table had three chairs, and Lydianne noticed a different waitress carrying another chair away. They’re used to serving lamia, she thought, coiling her tail and standing beside the table.
Lydianne seemed ready to order, so the waitress guided the young lamia a bit. “Um, we serve Western—er—otherworldly dishes here. Have you got any preferences in terms of flavors or ingredients?”
“This place basically has everything from desserts to fish so fresh you actually eat it raw,” Cain added, jumping in to explain the restaurant’s unique qualities.
What should I get? Lydianne wondered. Since she was in another world, should she try something unusual? Or perhaps a dish she couldn’t usually eat that she knew was delicious?
“Um, in that case, I’d like something with chicken and eggs, please,” she said. After thinking for a moment, that was the answer that came most naturally to her.
Foxes had recently annihilated Lydianne’s flock of chickens, so she could no longer eat her favorite food. When she lived with her father, they’d baked their own bread, and they’d boiled or fried the chicken eggs. When a hen couldn’t lay anymore, Lydianne and her father made chicken soup.
“Chicken and eggs—of course. Not everyone’s crazy about rice, so…” The waitress cocked her head, thinking for a second, and then offered Lydianne a dish she’d never heard of. “What about chicken nanban? It’s deep-fried chicken topped with sweet-and-sour nanban sauce and eggy tartar sauce.”
“Um, I’ll have that, then,” Lydianne nodded. She wasn’t familiar with deep-frying, sweet-and-sour sauce, or “eggy tartar sauce”—but that made her tremendously curious to try it all.
“Wonderful! That comes with bread and soup.” The waitress turned to the adventurers. “And what can I get the rest of you?”
“Oh, we’ll all have hamburger sets. And colas for everyone,” replied Jack.
“Right away.” Having taken everyone’s order, the waitress retreated to the kitchen in the back.
“So, what exactly is this place?” asked Lydianne. She’d dropped her guard, and she was dying of curiosity, so all that remained was that fundamental question.
The adventurers began to answer. “This is the Restaurant to Another World,” Cain replied. “It’s a place where people from all over the world eat.”
“Not just humans, either!” said Jack.
“That door we went through earlier appears in all kinds of spots, but they all connect to this restaurant,” explained Terry.
The three were clearly regulars here. This restaurant had actually been the reason they fell in love with the idea of adventuring, so it was tremendously important to them.
“Really?” asked Lydianne.
“Yup! That’s why this place gets guests from all over the world.”
The bell at the door rang, marking the arrival of a new guest. Lydianne turned to look, then froze. Huh?!
A dark-skinned young man and a red-haired lamia were entering the restaurant. A creature the very same as Lydianne sat down as though it were nothing! Her arrival didn’t seem to agitate anyone else. Thinking back, it’d been the same when Lydianne arrived. Other species coming in didn’t faze the Restaurant to Another World’s guests at all.
I see. It’s all right for me to be here. That truth delighted Lydianne.
The dining room had no windows, but it was bright inside, and there was a gentle, cool breeze. The furniture was clean, and there were all kinds of unfamiliar containers on the tables. To Lydianne, who’d only known a cramped life in the tower, it was all so fresh and astounding. She wanted more.
This is another world.
A different waitress delivered their food. “Sorry to keep you waiting. Here’s your chicken nanban and hamburger sets. Enjoy!” Black horns peeked out from beneath the girl’s blonde hair. Was she a demon…?
The waitress gracefully placed down each of their meals. This looks delicious, thought Lydianne.
The chicken gave off a sweet-and-sour aroma that also somehow reminded the lamia of baked bread. It was topped with white-and-yellow sauce; the thinly sliced green vegetables next to the meat brought a splash of color. Beside the plate were some fresh bread and a yellowish soup.
“All right, here we go! This all looks amazing!” cried Cain.
“There ain’t nothing like Nekoya’s burgers,” Jack agreed.
“It’s been a while since we came here, too!” added Terry.
The three happily tucked into their meals—which looked large and bready to Lydianne—so there was no reason for her to hold back. She picked up the silver knife and fork at the side of her plate. I haven’t had chicken in so long.
The thick, translucent brown sauce on the chicken gave off a slight vinegar scent. Invited by its aroma, Lydianne sliced off a large, saucy piece of meat. When she looked at the cut she’d made, she saw that only the chicken’s surface was brown; the flesh was white.
She gulped and took a bite; juices spilled out into her mouth. The chicken skin was crunchy, since it was deep-fried. And the cook must have mixed sugar or honey in, as the vinegar was accompanied by a slight sweetness that brought out the chicken’s mild flavor.
Wha…? Is this really chicken meat?! It’s so tender. And it doesn’t smell bad, either!
The chicken Lydianne was familiar with was tougher, and it smelled horrible. Since she’d usually only eaten tough hens too old to lay eggs, there wasn’t really anything she could do about that. But this tender, crunchy chicken meat was completely new to her.
She took another bite, as if compelled by some unseen force to keep eating. This time, she tried a piece of chicken topped with the white-and-yellow sauce. The sauce’s mild, sour flavor combined with the taste of eggs and crunchy, piquant oranie, enveloping the tender fried chicken’s sour and slightly oily taste. The flavors mixed perfectly in Lydianne’s mouth.
The egg sauce alone is so delicious! It even paired well with the cold, crunchy vegetables and absurdly soft bread. With that egg sauce, Lydianne could eat chicken, vegetables, and bread for the rest of her life.
She again ate a bite of chicken alongside a bite of vegetables, then placed both on some bread and took another bite. She tried all kinds of ways of enjoying the meal, quietly putting it away until there was nothing left to eat.
To finish the meal, Lydianne drank the soup that had come with the set; it was sweet, almost like a dessert. She thought she was satisfied.
“We’re ordering more,” said Cain. “What about you?”
Hearing Cain’s offer, Lydianne nodded not once but twice. “I’d like more, too.”
✦ ✦ ✦
After eating two whole servings of chicken nanban, Lydianne was finally full.
She heaved a deep sigh of joy. It felt as if the darkness that clouded her life since her father died had been chased away. For this one moment, she could forget her anxiety about the future.
Shortly thereafter, Lydianne saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
✦ ✦ ✦
“So, I’ve been thinking,” said Cain. “Have you got any interest in becoming an adventurer?”
His question came out of the clear blue sky. “What…?” asked Lydianne, doubting her own ears.
At Cain’s suggestion, the two men beside him nodded.
“Oh—that’s not a bad idea.”
“No, not at all.”
After a stunned moment, Lydianne found her words. “Um…I’m a lamia.”
“I mean, you could just say you’re a demon who’s often mistaken for a lamia ’cause your bottom half’s a snake. Bam!” Jack suggested.
The group heard someone in the restaurant clear their throat but ignored them.
“A demon? Ah…”
Lydianne had read about demons. That they were an evil race that worshiped the Dark Lord; that they were sometimes born to humans and elves. All demons had unique traits that depended on the blessing the Dark Lord had given them, and there were thousands of variations.
“Yup! There are plenty of demon adventurers, and not all of them are baddies. Heck, this place gets plenty of demon guests,” said Jack.
He looked around, prompting Lydianne to do the same. Now that he mentioned it, the demon guests present did have different features from each other. And, in fact, the hardworking waitress nearby was a demon.
I read demons were evil beings who couldn’t get along with humans. But…
Lydianne had to rethink things. If what was written in the books was true, then, as a lamia, she’d never have been able to share a meal with humans. She would’ve been attacking and eating them instead.
“Mm-hmm. If you go alone, someone might realize you’re a lamia. But if you’re with us, I think you’ll be fine,” Jack concluded. “Most townsfolk don’t get into fights with traveling adventurers.”
“This all rides on you not attacking people, of course,” added Cain. “I wouldn’t team up with an evil monster that hurts others. I’d welcome someone kindhearted and knowledgeable, though.”
The three adventurers seemed set on the idea. “All right. I’d be honored to join you!” replied Lydianne, on the verge of tears.
And so, the party gained its fourth member.
✦ ✦ ✦
Later, the demon king did a bit of investigating about an interesting idea he’d overheard. He found that, in his capital, a group of demons living in a corner of the downtown area consisted entirely of women whose bottom halves were the tail of a snake.