Training continued apace until Sol’s party called it a day after defeating the boss of Floor 20 and returned to the surface via a teleportation circle.
Sol looked at his companions, all glowing with the satisfying exhaustion of a good workout, and said, “Now then, shall we finish off with another standard adventurer routine?”
“Oooh!” Reen’s eyes lit up. “Can we?”
Julia shot Sol a look. “You sure?”
“May we really?” asked Eliza.
The three looked surprised but very open to the suggestion.
“What is it?” Rosalind tilted her head, the only one in the dark.
Suddenly looking unsure, Sol turned to Frederica. “Would it be...bad?”
“If it is something you truly wish to do, none can protest,” she replied with a wry smile. Truthfully, she wanted him to refrain, but what he desired took absolute priority, so her hands were tied.
“My lord, are we eating outside tonight?!” Luna cried as Aina’noa whistled in joy.
In the blink of an eye, the monsters flipped from being dejected over their distance from the action during battle to being in high spirits. The routine that Sol had mentioned was, in so many words, to end the day with a feast in town celebrating their safe return after a full day of adventuring. He had stopped doing so as of late due to his position, so the practice was becoming a special occasion.
There were first-rate chefs with access to first-rate ingredients in his rear palace, on his private island, and even on his airship, so he never wanted for delicious food. He was never lonely either. His party members and the monsters were a given, of course, but he also frequently ate with Steve, Gawain, Fritz, Creed, and at times even the Emelian royal family. Even so, partying it up in the entertainment district at night was part and parcel of being an adventurer.
“All right, everyone, we got permission from Frederica!”
“Um, my lord, putting it that way is a little...”
He had been holding himself back because he knew it would make things easier for her, but he was deciding to forget his position and live out his mental image of an adventurer tonight. The thing about getting permission was a joke, but since she understood he had been going along with her wishes, it pained her a little to hear him imply that she had been imposing on him.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But there are restaurants I’ve been wanting to visit.” Sol laughed, reassuring her that it was entirely of his own will that he had abstained and was now no longer abstaining. “So, what do all of you want to eat? Meat for you as usual, right, Reen?”
“Sol!” Reen exclaimed.
Back in Garlaige, Black Tiger used to decide what they would eat together, and Reen had always called for meat. However, she was apparently embarrassed to have this revealed to the other girls.
Julia looked off wistfully for a second, thinking back to those days, before saying, “I want fresh fish.” Every adventurer worth their salt knew this was a moment to be direct and forthright about what they wanted.
“I want to eat all sorts of things!” said Luna, who had developed a fondness for food cooked by humans, which surprised even her.
Sol nodded. “A place that serves all those things...would be a tavern.”
The tavern was the safest option, though a little chaotic. Since its clientele ranged from Rank F to Rank B adventurers, whose respective incomes were as different as heaven and earth, it had a menu far more extensive than a run-of-the-mill high-class restaurant, serving everything from dirt cheap preset meals to high-class dishes. The quality of those dishes would be no match for specialized restaurants, but they were priced reasonably enough and made well enough that no customer would feel they had been ripped off. It even kept in stock the expensive alcohol brands that nobles enjoyed for those who could afford them.
“Given your position, I too think it a good idea to give a tavern the honor of being the first eatery you visit,” Frederica remarked.
“Is that a thing?”
“If you visit the Church-run cafeteria next, then you can feel free to eat wherever you like afterward.”
“Gotcha! All right, let’s go!”
From Frederica’s viewpoint, it was convenient that the first place Sol was stopping by in Atriesta was a tavern that catered to adventurers, as it made the Adventurer’s Guild look good. If he then propped up the Holy Church, she shouldn’t be receiving any complaints no matter where he went next.
Though Sol felt bad about leaving all these concerns for Frederica to manage, he also was glad that he could share the joy of being an adventurer with his new party. And as he continued hitting up the restaurants in Atriesta every night until he conquered Abyss, every first-rate restaurant on the continent eventually moved their main branch to Atriesta.