“I could make dinner myself, but I would end up wasting ingredients. I hate wasting things.”
“I think anything you make would be tasty.”
“Shush, Lacey.”
At a glance, Dana seemed like she could do anything, but her one weakness was that she couldn’t make a decent meal. She had been another reason Wayne’s cooking skills had improved in leaps and bounds over the course of their quest.
“Eating out is expensive, so I don’t like to do it. But I checked the prices this afternoon and it was comparatively reasonable.” Dana was merrily humming a song, but when she accidentally walked wrong, she groaned and crumpled to the ground. “Ngh!” It was like her whole body was screaming.
That seems really painful. Lacey raised her eyebrows in dismay as she walked down the dirt road. They were headed to the restaurant, so Tee was staying home. It was its bedtime anyway.
Hoo, hoo! came a birdcall from afar. Insects were quietly trilling in the grass. The sun which had beaten down on them during the day had gone down completely over the mountains, and now a cool wind was blowing. It was like another world entirely.
If Lacey used ignition magic, they wouldn’t need a light, but she didn’t want to be conspicuous. Instead, Dana and Lacey each held a small lamp in their hands as they walked along. Lacey had been down this way many times before, yet Dana had a more confident stride. She was always bold and seemed to fit well at Wayne’s side.
Lacey’s pace abruptly dropped. The lamplight rocked, illuminating only her feet.
“This should be the place.”
Lacey jerked her head back up when she heard Dana’s voice. They had arrived at the only restaurant in the village. Just as Sasanqua’s name suggested, there was a lofty camellia sasanqua tree standing gracefully next to the entrance.
Lacey slowly lifted the lamp. Its dim glow, along with the light of the moon, illuminated the perky green leaves. It wouldn’t be long now before it would bloom with lots of lovely, eye-catching flowers with red petals and yellow stamens. The idea of enjoying a to-go lunch underneath its boughs was tempting.
The restaurant was run out of a quaint log building which complemented the tree well. Faint light could be seen through its windows. It had been some time since the sun had set, so there was nobody else around.
Lacey was worried that the restaurant might be closed already and tried giving the door a push. It was unlocked.
“Welcome,” came an unwelcoming greeting. The only person inside was the proprietor, and there were no more customers around.
“Are you still open?” Dana asked.
“Shop’s open till I go to bed. Sit wherever you want,” answered the proprietor, who was sitting on a stool next to the counter.
His curt attitude made Dana blink a little. “Oh, really? Thank you,” she replied simply, then exchanged a look with Lacey standing behind her.
It was free seating, but there were only two tables anyway.
The lone employee was the proprietor, Cedric, who wore thin-rimmed glasses and was reading a newspaper. Dana gave Lacey a glance and shrugged. Lacey knew what Dana wanted to say, but she knew that despite the proprietor’s gruff appearance, he was actually quite amiable. Most of all, he played an important part in selling the insulated thermal bags.
“G-Good evening, Mr. Cedric.”
Even so, Lacey was still nervous about greeting him. Was that enough? Would it have been better to not say anything? But... She fretted.
“Good evening, Miss Lacey.” Cedric took his eyes off the paper and greeted Lacey.
“Um, yes! Good evening! Good evening!”
“No need to repeat yourself. Also, you there. You came in the afternoon too. Thanks for the repeat business.”
“Oh, you remembered me.”
“Yep.”
He’s not very cordial, but he certainly has an unusual sense of intimacy, Lacey awkwardly smiled to herself.
∗ ∗ ∗
Dana sat down in a chair and looked around the restaurant. I guess it’s okay, she thought before casually removing her hat. There weren’t any other customers, and although Lacey wasn’t aware, Cedric had already seen her face and hadn’t reacted at all. It felt silly to be wearing a hat at night inside.
“Here’s some water for you. And a menu.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s evening, so most items are sold out. Also, I’m astonished to see the Saint of Light come to this little village.” Cedric spoke without a trace of surprise on his face, as detached as ever.
Lacey recalled that Dana had mentioned visiting during the day, so she decided to just watch and let Dana and Cedric talk to each other.
“You don’t look all that astonished.”
“There were other customers around during the day. I’m doing my best to express it now though. Also, today’s recommended item is the hamburger steak.”
Cedric was getting surprisingly involved, so Lacey got the sense that maybe he was cheerful at heart after all. The first time she’d met him had been when they’d surveyed the village together with Allen and Kargo. There had been apprehensions about structural damage after a storm had passed through the village, so Lacey had spent about half a day around him before.
When she’d completed the insulated thermal bag and miniaturized cooling chamber and Allen had suggested having Cedric use them at his restaurant, Lacey had jumped up with a small squeak. She would definitely appreciate having someone test out the utility of her artifacts, but the thought of imposing on him made her tremble. When she and Allen went to Sasanqua to ask, Cedric had simply said, “Sure,” and nothing else, so Lacey had been unable to ask what his motive was.
While Lacey was reminiscing, Cedric had said to just tell him once they’d decided on an order and then returned to his stool at the counter.
Dana whispered to Lacey. “He’s a strange person.”
“Yeah,” she replied simply. Allen had previously called Cedric an eccentric.
They decided to order the hamburger steak, as was recommended. It was served on top of a sizzling iron plate, steaming hot and drizzled with lots of sauce. When the steak was stabbed with a fork, it dribbled warm, savory juices.
The second she took a bite, Dana patted her cheek. “Yummy!” Lacey was in total agreement.
“Do you not come here that much, Lacey? It’s absolutely delicious. I think it’s far healthier than just eating raw cucumbers.”
“I don’t come by much, no...” She wanted to argue that cucumbers were great too, but restrained herself. Despite her misleading inclusion of the word “much,” she’d only visited once before with Allen.
Dana made a pensive face. Lacey spoke bit by bit, mentally sorting things out.
“I was a bit scared of visiting the village at first, so it kind of became a habit...and besides, I usually cook potatoes for myself. I can do that, at least.”
“Yikes. The best retort you can come up with is that you can cook potatoes? Yikes. Come to think of it, you were the sort of person to claim you could easily go days without eating.”
“I am eating meals now.”
“But you don’t care what’s on your plate, right?”
Lacey wanted to respond with “That’s not true,” but she couldn’t say it very loudly.
Dana stared fixedly at Lacey, observing her complexion. “What about Wayne? He used to seem rather happy to make meals for you.”
Happy? Before Lacey could break down why that sounded odd, Dana took a bite of piping hot steak. It’s true, Wayne always does seem like he’s having fun when he cooks. I don’t know if “happy” is the right word for it, though.
He was overly helpful, and when he cooked for everyone, his eyes sparkled as he eagerly awaited to hear their opinions. When she closed her eyes, she could almost hear him now, asking How is it, Lacey? When she answered honestly that it was tasty, that made him grin from ear to ear.
Wayne’s cooking was always warm.
“The food Wayne makes is special.”
When Wayne smiled, it automatically made Lacey feel happy. But the food she was eating now was tasty too, of course. It was something Lacey wouldn’t be able to make no matter how hard she tried.
When she gulped down the steak, it warmed her stomach. It was the taste of bliss. Lacey ate slowly, using her fork and knife. Dana had finished before her. She set her elbows on the table and laughed meaningfully.
“Wh-What is it?”
“Nothing. I just felt a little jealous hearing you call it ‘special.’ Anyway, the tree out front here is quite lovely too, so you should come more often. I don’t know anywhere else you can get such a big piece of steak at such a low price.” Dana ruminated at her own words and nodded, then leaned over the table toward Lacey.
Just as Lacey was about to respond in agreement, Cedric suddenly loomed near their table. “I’m glad you’re enjoying the food, but you should know that it’s thanks to Miss Lacey that I can cook steak at this late hour.”
When they noticed the lean Cedric suddenly pop out of nowhere with his glasses reflecting a cold light, Dana and Lacey yelped. However, Cedric didn’t seem to pay that any heed and just kept talking.
“Ground meat doesn’t keep at all, but because I have the miniaturized cooling chamber that Miss Lacey created, I can cook it without a hitch.”
Cedric remained emotionless, so it was difficult to understand what he meant. After turning over his words in her head a few times, Lacey finally realized that he was probably trying to say “thank you.”
“And the fact that I can serve this at all is fully thanks to you, Miss Lacey. Here’s some dessert for both of you.” He placed two bowls of ice cream on the table.
“O-Oh my!” Dana placed her hands on her cheeks. Both the bowls and the accompanying spoons were freezing cold.
“We didn’t order this,” Lacey said with some confusion, repeatedly switching her gaze from Cedric to the ice cream and back again.
“It’s a special treat for the last customers of the day,” he told her.
Is this really okay?
But, she thought as she stuck her spoon into the ice cream, it would be a waste to just let it melt. When she took a bite, a sweet taste spread through her mouth.
They didn’t have to say anything—their expressions said it all. “I’m glad you like it,” Cedric stated.