Hurry with my change, please.
The pickup artist wannabes lost their patience and raised their voices.
“Hey, we’re talking to you!”
“Look at us, damn it!”
They should’ve just given up as soon as she ignored them.
Clearly irritated, Eldrid turned her head toward them and said, “What?” Her voice was cute yet threatening, which should’ve been contradictory.
One glare was enough to leave them completely frozen in fear. I supposed they’d been hit with an intense and murderous metaphysical force that could only be controlled by high-level Divers. Of course, no commoner in the modern world stood a chance against it, and they could’ve easily been knocked unconscious. When I looked more carefully, I saw they were sweating bullets, and their faces went pale, then ashen. That couldn’t be healthy. It made me wonder if Scrael’s solution could’ve been considered more peaceful.
I got my change and order number then sprinted over to Eldrid.
“S-Sorry for the wait!”
“No problem!” she said with a smile that made me wonder where all that malice had gone.
My apology wasn’t just directed at Eldrid. I immediately asked the two guys, “Are you okay?”
“Ah, eh, uh...” they stammered.
“Hellooo? Snap out of it.”
“A-Ah... Oooh, ehh...”
It was no use. They seemed to have forgotten how to talk, and only unintelligible noises came out of their mouths. This was bad—I had a feeling it’d lead to PTSD worse than if they’d gone to war. I gestured for them to leave while Eldrid was still in a good mood, and they scrambled away.
Meanwhile, Eldrid was pouting a bit.
“What was with those jerks?” she said.
“They go around hitting on girls. Lots of them around here. Aren’t they in your world too?”
“Not the kind that raises their voices like those two,” she said.
“The people here don’t have a sense of danger...” I said.
Besides, Eldrid usually carried a massive sword with her. She may be cute, but there weren’t a lot of guys who’d casually hit on a girl like her. One wrong move and there was a nonzero chance they’d be cut in half.
The food I’d ordered eventually arrived: cola, fries, and various types of burgers.
“I got different kinds. This one’s teriyaki, and this one’s a cheeseburger,” I said.
“Can’t go wrong with cheese,” said Eldrid. “Never heard of ‘teriyaki’ though.”
“Oh, can you eat onions, by the way? It won’t make you sick or anything?” I asked.
“Onions? I can eat them fine, why?”
“Never mind then,” I said.
I thought there was a chance she couldn’t eat them because of her ears and tail, but it seemed that wouldn’t be an issue. I mean, I figured it’d be fine because she was mostly human, but it never hurt to make sure.
I handed Eldrid a teriyaki burger, and she quickly unwrapped and bit into it. Her mouth was surprisingly small for the amount of enthusiasm that went into the bite.
“Oh! This is good!” she said excitedly.
I was glad she liked it. She continued digging into the burger with a smile on her face.
Suddenly, she paused and looked at my burger.
“That one looks good too...”
“Wanna try some?” I offered.
“Can I?!”
I peeled back the wrapping and handed her my burger, and she took a bite.
“Oh! This one’s good too!” she said, her smile even wider.
I decided to start eating too, then I realized something. “Oh...we’ve— Never mind.”
“Hmm? What’s wrong?”
“N-Nothing. Don’t worry about it,” I said and took a bite.
Of course, it tasted just exactly the same as it usually did.
After we checked out the pet shop and ate, we arrived at a small local amusement park. I’d used to occasionally visit this place with friends, but with me adventuring all the time, it’d been a long time since I’d last come here.
Today, the park was busier than I’d expected, probably because it was a weekend. Everyone was here with their families, but the place wasn’t so crowded that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy ourselves normally.
“Whoooa! What is this place?!” exclaimed Eldrid as she noticed all the attractions she’d never seen before.
Her eyes shone with wonder, her ears flapped, and her tail wagged so hard she looked like she was about to take off into the sky. I couldn’t help but wonder what would’ve happened if I’d taken her to a certain mouse’s kingdom instead, but I was glad she seemed to be into this park.
“Everyone’s riding on those things,” she observed.
“Yep,” I said. “People come here to have fun.”
“I like that!” she said with a dazzling smile.
These rides must be especially interesting for her since horse-drawn carriages were pretty much the only ones available in Do-Melta.
Suddenly, Eldrid slapped my shoulder with even greater excitement and said, “Over there! Akira, look! Look!”
“What?” I asked.
“I wanna check out that stall!”
“Stall?”
I looked over to find a food stall selling freshly cooked chicken legs. Eldrid’s eyes were positively sparkling, and she was so amped-up she looked like she was about to bolt off at any second. She reminded me of a puppy trying to contain itself in front of a new toy or a snack—well, maybe she was one. She really seemed to want that chicken leg. Glancing over at her face, I could see her fangs peeking out of her mouth. She looked like she was about to go feral, and I wasn’t sure if she’d listen if I told her to wait.
“L-Let’s go get it,” I said.
“Yeah!”
We walked over to the stall, and Eldrid dropped a bomb with a big smile on her face. “I think I’ll start with ten for now.”
“Huh?” The worker at the stall and I said in unison.
She’d said it as if we’d walked into a bar and ordered beer to start off the night. I had no idea where she was gonna fit all that food, but the way she’d said it made me think she could eat way more than ten with ease.
The worker stared at her wide-eyed, and Eldrid hurriedly corrected herself. “Ah! N-Never mind! I meant...”
We were relieved that she seemed to have reconsidered. As the worker and I tried to convince ourselves we’d misheard her the first time, she spoke up again.
“I’ll take five!” she said.
“Huh?!”
“Huuuh?!”
Eldrid had attempted to be conservative and failed miserably. In fact, it was even more shocking that five was what she considered conservative. She seemed to have realized her mistake when she noticed our stunned silence and tried one more time.
“T-Two please...” she said quietly with her head down, her face red with embarrassment.
She must be very passionate about chicken legs considering how she still didn’t want to order just one. We’d just had burgers not long ago too. Maybe there was a bottomless black hole or something in her stomach.
“I’ll take one, please,” I said timidly.
“Y-Yes, of course! Three legs, coming up!” replied the worker.
We’d both sounded pretty awkward, but who could blame us? We’d just encountered a situation that would normally be unthinkable. It took all our effort for us just to act like nothing had happened.
Eldrid looked embarrassed for a while, but she immediately perked up once the food came. I handed her a smoked chicken leg and a teriyaki chicken leg, which she dual-wielded. She could’ve been a tribal warrior if she’d started dancing then—not that she’d do that though. Actually, a certain someone I knew had done something like that with soy sauce.
“Let’s eat,” I said.
“Yeah!” said Eldrid, all traces of her earlier embarrassment now gone. She only had eyes for the chicken legs now.
I bit into my chicken. The skin was nice and crispy, and juices overflowed as my teeth sank into the thigh. It was nicely seasoned and tasted delicious.