“In any case, I’ve been informed that the goal of your trip here is to sightsee. Is that correct?”
They were in a resting room of sorts. Croire had led them here, and upon their arrival, she had produced a number of stools and arranged them around a circular table before seating herself on one of them. On the table were cups — one for each person — filled with a cloudy white liquid. It seemed rather viscous. As soon as Rona saw it, she scowled in disgust. Croire looked at her with a mix of astonishment and contempt before turning to Renya.
“This is a drink known as yogurt, into which some honey has been mixed.” She gestured at the cup. “Please. It’s good for your health.”
Renya sat down at a stool and picked up a cup. Without pausing, he brought it to his mouth and casually took a sip. Shion and Rona stared at him in shock. Even Croire seemed surprised by his sheer lack of caution. Disregarding their incredulous looks, he gulped the liquid down. It was thick but flowed smoothly down his throat. A touch of sourness tickled his tongue, mixing with a sweetness that probably came from the honey.
“How curious,” said Croire as she brought her own cup to her mouth, “I had expected to see some more resistance.”
“I assumed elves were not above basic manners. Like, you know, not serving your guests something vomit-inducing as soon as they arrive.”
Renya set his cup back down on the table. The drink was quite refreshing, but it seemed ill-suited to meals.
Emboldened by his demonstration, the girls also reached for theirs.
“Now, returning to the topic at hand.”
“Hm?”
“What kind of sights do you wish to see, exactly? It may seem strange for an elf to say this, but I doubt there’s anything here that humans would find interesting to look at.”
“Good question.” Renya pondered silently before answering. “It was mostly just curiosity that brought us here, so I’d appreciate it if you could show me some stuff you can’t find in human towns. You know, rare delicacies, uncommon sights.”
While he hadn’t requested a guide, asking Croire to show them around did seem like the more efficient method. Judging by the way Rona kept shuffling uncomfortably in her seat, the reformation movement’s surveillance network was very much functional, so splitting up was not an option. Unless, of course, they wanted to go back with one fewer member than they came.
“I doubt the scenery here will excite you very much,” said Croire as she gracefully crossed her legs and held her knee with her hands. She sounded contemplative and her eyes were distant and wandering. “As for food… We have little love for meat here, so the most I can show you is probably some condiments or dishes prepared with elf beans.”
According to her, while elves were not vegetarians per se, they usually avoided eating meat. In its place, they made use of a variety of plants in developing their cuisine.
“Though they may taste foreign to the human tongue, I personally recommend our elf beans. Once crushed, they are salted and fermented, making for a delicious condiment. An equally savory juice can be wrung from them as well. When green, the beans can be boiled in salt water and served as is. It makes for quite the tasty dish, in my opinion. Fully ripened beans can also be crushed into a powder that is perfect for making snacks.”
“…I can’t help but feel like you’re just describing soybeans to me.”
The latter parts of her description were evoking mental images of edamame and kinako powder. If he was correct in his assumption, the condiments she was talking about would be miso paste and soy sauce.