“O-Oh, right.”
Estelle had a puzzled look on her face, but I turned my back on her and went to get myself some more complimentary water. I stopped and took a deep breath to calm down, then filled another cup, cooled it with Freeze, and walked back to Estelle.
“Oh, did you freeze this for me? Thank you very much. I am feeling a bit hot... I can cool water myself, but freezing it is a bit difficult.”
“Ice water right after a bath tastes really good, so I figured you’d enjoy it,” I said. “I can also make some actual ice cubes if you want, Estelle.”
“Really? I’ll take you up on that offer the next time we come back here together.”
“Sure! Feel free to invite me whenever,” I said. “I’d love to come back—this place is really nice!”
Honestly, I’d fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. If Estelle would invite me, I wouldn’t have minded coming here daily.
“So what should we do next?” I asked. “Do you want to just head back to the inn and get lunch?”
“Hmm. That’s not a bad option, but there’s actually a dining hall I drop by whenever I come to this bathhouse. I quite like their food, although I’m not sure it’ll suit your tastes, Sai.”
“Oh, really? Well, I’d be curious to find out. If you like it, I assume there’s no way the food is bad.”
Don’t worry, Estelle! I can just force myself to enjoy the food even if it isn’t my kind of thing! All that matters is the chance to spend more time with you!
“Do you, now?” said Estelle. “In that case, let’s head there together. I’ll lead the way.”
“Thanks. I’m looking forward to it.”
As she strode ahead and I followed right on her heels, I did a little fist pump.
★★★★★★★★★
After two or three minutes walking through a section of the city that adventurers usually stayed away from, we arrived at a dining hall that had a serene ambience. It was still somewhat early in the morning, so there were only a few customers inside, and none of them looked like adventurers. They were mostly women—maybe that was the clientele the menu was targeted at.
“Hello. Do you have a table for two available?” Estelle asked the hostess.
“We do! Please have a seat over there.”
When we took our seats at the table the waitress had indicated, I glanced at the menu posted on the wall, but...
“Hmm, none of this looks familiar to me. Have you already decided what you’re going to order, Estelle?”
“Yes, I have. It’s possible that the dishes I have in mind won’t be enough for you, however.”
“Nah, I’m sure it’ll be fine. Whatever you get, please just order the same for me. I want to try out the kind of food that you like, Estelle.”
“Really? Very well, then. What about drinks? Are you interested in alcohol?”
“Sure, why not? Can I just go with your recommendation for drinks too?”
“Of course. In that case, let’s order some wine to celebrate our day off.”
Estelle gently raised a hand to summon a waitress over and began to order. She was obviously pretty familiar with this place. The waitress seemed relaxed and friendly too, so they must have known each other. Looking at Estelle and me sitting together, she smiled, then asked us to wait a moment and strode off.
“Now that I think about it, you usually don’t drink, do you, Estelle?”
“I don’t, no. I don’t hate alcohol by any means, but I was a solo adventurer. I’m not sure whether I should say this, but it’s dangerous to overindulge around other adventurers.”
“Oh yeah, I get what you mean.”
Man, the idea of a beautiful girl like Estelle getting drunk by herself at a bar really scares me. I bet even adventurers who are good guys under normal circumstances might be tempted to stray from the straight and narrow if they saw a girl like Estelle in that state.
“Something horrible could happen to me,” Estelle was saying. “Being robbed would actually be one of the better outcomes.”
“...I guess I can’t let my guard down either,” I said.
At first, Estelle just cocked her head in confusion. “Huh? You’re a guy, Sai, so—oh.” As she examined my face, she covered her mouth.
“I know what you’re thinking, so please don’t say any more, Estelle.”
Estelle colored and quickly averted her eyes. “O-Oh, yeah, okay. Be careful, Sai.”
Initially, she’d had the wrong idea about the relationship between me and Adonix-san’s party, so she must have been pretty knowledgeable about that kind of thing. Luckily for me, my ass remained safe and pure, but I had parted ways with Adonix-san’s party, so I had to protect myself and stay on high alert at all times. People would be way less likely to save me than they would a girl.
After we’d been chatting for a bit, the dishes we’d ordered arrived, but...
“Oh yeah, I understand now why you thought that this wouldn’t be enough for me,” I said.
The platters on our table contained mostly vegetable dishes. All of them looked like they’d been made with care, and they looked tasty too, but compared to the kind of stuff adventurers ate, they didn’t look all that satisfying.
“Mm. They’re also somewhat expensive because of the fresh vegetables,” said Estelle. “In Ivalia, unlike in other towns, meat is cheaper than vegetables. Would you like to order some additional dishes, Sai? There are some meat options if you’d like...”
“Nah, no need,” I said. “I’m not a big eater by any means, and I don’t hate vegetables either, so this is fine with me.”
“Really? I’m glad to hear that.”
“Besides, once we get back to the inn, we’ll have plenty of meat for dinner.”
A somewhat heavy-sounding sigh escaped Estelle’s lips.
“Yes, you’re right. The amount of meat served there is a bit much for me, especially for breakfast. The Independence is a good inn with affordable single rooms, but I really wish there were other options for meals.”
A single meal at The Independence was enough to satisfy your average muscular dude, so honestly, clearing a whole plate was a struggle for me too, especially given the lack of veggies. I guess that’s one of the reasons that Estelle is a regular patron of this dining hall.
“Sadly, there aren’t any better inns for a solo adventurer,” said Estelle. “Although, actually, we’re a party of two now, so...”