Elnea’s eyes were sparkling with anticipation as she watched the simple omelet I had served them turn into a delicious-looking dish. I repeated the process with all of the remaining omelets, and it was soon time for us to dig in.
Elnea brought her spoon to her mouth and let out a delighted moan when the food hit her tongue. “What an incredible discovery! Stewed beef is not an unusual dish by any means, but by mixing it with an omelet and some rice, it has become an entirely different culinary experience!” she exclaimed before going for another bite. She put some egg and rice onto her spoon, then dipped the whole thing into the hashed rice roux to savor the flavorful combination.
Althea seemed to enjoy it just as much; the second she had her first bite, her eyes had shot wide open, and she had been digging into her meal since.
As for Teto...
“Lady Witch, can I have seconds?”
...she had already polished off her plate.
“Sure, but I don’t have any more buttered rice, so I can only serve it to you with regular rice. Is that okay with you?”
“Yup!”
Teto made quick work of her second plate of hayashi rice before absolutely demolishing her dessert.
“It was truly exquisite,” Elnea commented as she sipped on her after-meal tea, a pleased look on her face. “I wish I could just remain sitting here like this.”
“You cannot, Lady Elnea. Miss Chise’s attendants are waiting for you to discuss defense strategies,” Althea reminded her.
“How cruel you are, Althea,” Elnea whined before Althea dragged her off to the conference room.
Beretta and the other maids spent the next couple of hours relentlessly asking her for techniques and strategies to keep intruders at bay. By the time their meeting was over, Elnea looked exhausted.
“I-I refuse to participate in such a meeting ever again. Next time, I shall ask someone else to participate in my stead,” she muttered under her breath.
Shortly after, she and Althea took the transfer gate back to Eltar. They didn’t have time to see everything our Forest had to offer this time around, so I had no doubt she’d most likely ask to come back, which would inevitably lead to another security meeting with her and the maids.
I hope she’ll like the next dish I’ll serve her, I thought.
This would have to wait, though, as next time, it would be our turn to visit them.