Chapter 7:
Donuts Are Delicious
THE NEXT DAY, Filia and I were out and about. We weren’t out doing a request, of course. No, we were celebrating Filia’s recovery. I couldn’t let her do something reckless like accepting a request in her state, not just after getting better.
“It sure is nice, being able to eat good food again,” said Filia. “It cheers me right up!”
“That’s good.” Filia had been feeling chipper about the prospect of more decent vittles all morning.
She really seemed to be enjoying that wonderful, lively feeling you apparently got after recovering from illness. I’d heard that health was something you only appreciated after you lose it, after all.
Filia, walking in front of me, almost bouncing with every step, turned back to look at me, her hair fluttering as she moved. “Oh, but I truly am grateful to you for this, Yuri. You know that, right? For making me porridge and things. Your cooking helped me get better in a jiffy. Thank you.”
“Nah, it was the power of muscle.”
“Ah, yes. I’ve decided to erase that part from my memory. Too scary.”
Jeez, she altered her memory? I sighed and walked along beside her. She wore a blank expression, playing innocent. “Was there anything you wanted in particular? Get whatever you want. Even that slime whatever-it-was is fine by me.”
“Slime Jelly sounds wonderful, but I’m in the mood for donuts today.”
Donuts, huh? Well, I didn’t have any particular objection to that. We headed on over to the donut shop in town, Filia leading the way.
“This must be it!” Even though it was just before noon, the donut shop was packed. The pleasant aroma permeating the store really got my appetite going. The people at their tables happily munched on donuts. I supposed that, as a foodie herself, Filia’s choice in restaurants was impeccable. Once we entered the shop, she looked around happily.
By the time I was done reading the menu, I was salivating so much that I had to gulp it down. There were dozens of donuts to choose from.
“Oh, wow, they have quite a variety, don’t they?” In stark contrast to my glee, Filia stood there looking downright intimidated or something, eyebrows furrowed and everything. “This isn’t good…” she muttered.
“What isn’t?” I asked.
“There are too many! I just can’t choose…”
“Uhh.” She had to be messing around, right? The gap between her enthusiasm and her words was simply too much. But she seemed quite serious. She put her hand to her mouth and pondered the matter like a skilled general analyzing a map. “Yuri,” she declared, “let’s share half of every donut we order. That way, we can eat twice as many different kinds while ordering the same amount.”
“You seem, uh, kinda super serious about this.”
“Eating is like battle. I can’t eat all the food I want, so I have to focus on quality,” she explained.
I reflexively rubbed my eyes. I could almost see an aura rising from her. Where was this fighting spirit when we handled requests? I guessed that just went to show how passionate she was about food. Either way, I wanted her to eat as much as she desired.
“I don’t really get the difference between half of these flavors,” I said. “You can order for me.”
She understood my true intentions at once, and she clasped my hand tightly. “Oh, Yuri! I’m so fortunate to have met you, Yuri!” she exclaimed in a clear, bright tone.
Boy, she could lay it on thick!
Filia ordered the donuts, her peach-colored lips moving quickly from one word to the next, effortlessly spinning her order like pure silk. After she’d finally finished placing the order, she nodded in satisfaction. “I’m sure that I’ll be satisfied with an order that large,” she said aloud.
“Well, that’s good.”
“Since we’re here, let’s eat inside,” said Filia, and the two of us took a seat together at a table with our haul. “Time to dig in!”
Filia picked the first donut off of our tower and brought it toward her small mouth. After she bit into it, her eyes opened wide, and she patted me excitedly on the shoulder. “Mmm! It’s delicious, Yuri!”
I happily took the second half when she handed it to me. The flaky texture was truly delightful. “Oooh, it sure is tasty!”
“I know, right? Eeeee! I’m so happy!”
Holding her hand to her cheek, Filia bit into another donut and exclaimed over its deliciousness as well. She went on to eat another, then another, and another…sighing in pleasure after every one. Each time she went to eat another, she handed me the remaining half of the one she’d just finished, so I ate just as much as she did. Some were flaky, some were moist, and some were springy.
Around the time that Filia started rubbing her stomach, I was starting to feel full too.
“If I eat any more, I’ll probably get fat! Oh, no, what should I do?” Filia groaned, looking down at yet another newly cleaned plate.
“If you do muscle training, you won’t get fatter. Wanna do it together?”
Filia barely seemed to register my words before quickly turning away. “If I eat any more, I’ll probably get fat! Oh, no, what should I do?”
“Don’t pretend you can’t hear me.”
“World, have mercy on me!”
Once again, she was completely hopeless. She fully intended to completely shut out anything that was inconvenient for her to hear. Then again, Filia was pretty skinny, so in my opinion, it would have done her some good to put on a few pounds.
While Filia and I bantered, I happened to notice a white-haired man at a table in the back. A slender guy dressed in a black coat, he seemed out of place in the bright store. The white-haired man ate his donut in complete silence, as if he didn’t have the least bit of interest in the people around him. But it wasn’t really the man’s appearance that caught my attention, or the way he carried himself.
What I noticed was his presence. It stood out from the crowd like a sore thumb. I shot up from my seat.
“Yuri? What’s the matter? What’s the standing about?” Filia gave me a puzzled look.
“I’m gonna go talk to that guy over there. He looks strong.”
“Being Yuri again, I see. That’s fine, I suppose, but please don’t make any trouble, okay? Not for that man, and not for the whole store.”
“I know. I am a gentle muscle man, you know.” I headed over to the white-haired guy’s table. My ever faithful companion Filia followed right behind me. “Excuse me. You got a minute?”