Chapter 193 - Assault! Dinner on the Road 10: Lucky Seven is a Goddess's Kiss!?
On the night before their departure, a grand farewell party was held. Though it was just a modest gathering at Qiuzi's shop with Touo and the other boarders, what made it grand was the ridiculously lavish spread of food.
Ritz himself, who had been helping with the prep, had even asked Luan just how many people he was planning to invite. Franz, who had been working silently, seemed to share the sentiment, but he still hadn't been released from the kitchen.
Luan's skill in handling such a large amount of food was superb. Or rather, it was a豪快さ (goukai-sa, boldness/heroism) that didn't match his appearance at all.
A huge amount of stir-fry danced elegantly over a fiercely burning flame in a deep wok. The only thing he used to mix it was the iron ladle in his hand. With that one tool, he determined everything from the seasoning to the thickness of the sauce.
Luan, using his whole body to create his fiery dishes, with his bright red hair adding to the effect, was truly a sight worthy of the title 'The Fiery Chef'.
...Even though he's from the Soukai Clan.
Now, everything that fiery chef had prepared was laid out on the table, but each dish, served on a large platter, was piled high. Beside the platters of food, an almost excessive number of small plates were stacked.
The dishes, from the front, were sweet and sour pork, green pepper steak, chili shrimp, chicken and cashew nut stir-fry, and so on, all rich, oily dishes. In between them were several steamers of shumai. But since Luan still hadn't come out, this probably wasn't all of it.
And on the counter was a refreshingly chilled, delicious-looking almond tofu. This was apparently the dessert. There was also a plate of appetizers, but the quantity was limited, and it was clear it was meant for Touo and Edward, who were mainly drinking.
"How many people is this for?"
Stunned by the food, he asked Qiuzi, who had ordered this much. Qiuzi answered with a cool expression.
"Who knows? I was thinking of having Luan sit with us today, so I made enough so he wouldn't have to get up in the middle of things. Besides, several of the young people from the boarding house are coming. What's the point if you can't satisfy a growing appetite?"
"I see."
It was true that Luan rarely sat down with them. But he had been through the most during this recent commotion, so this was probably a way to show their appreciation. And the boarders. Most of them were young people with big appetites, and they would probably devour even this much food.
As the time came, people gradually started to gather.
Edward and Touo, who arrived first, were wide-eyed, but Anna's eyes crinkled in delight, and the young people from the boarding house looked so happy they were practically drooling. Many of them were living a poor life at the boarding house, and they were probably overjoyed to see so much food laid out. And it was all-you-can-eat for free. An opportunity like this was rare.
Once everyone had gathered, Edward and Touo deferred to each other on who should give the opening remarks, and in the end, the grand banquet began with Touo's words.
"First of all, I'm glad everyone is safe! Though we barely had time to rekindle old friendships after our reunion, nor to deepen our bonds with our new acquaintances, I hope this will be an opportunity for you to visit our city anytime. Now, to a forward-looking farewell, cheers!"
"Cheers!"
And so the farewell party began. The food, which they had worried they wouldn't be able to finish, was devoured by the young boarders at an incredible pace, to the point that if you didn't secure your own portion, it would be gone. Ritz, who had managed to secure one plate of each dish, sat at the counter and watched the young people's appetites with amazement.
"Youth is energetic, isn't it?"
"What's with that, old man? If we're going by looks, you're on their side."
Qiuzi, who also had no intention of competing with the overwhelming appetites of the young people, sat down next to him at the counter with a drink in hand.
"Sorry for being an old man."
"Hehehe. If you don't act a little younger, you'll be abandoned by your true love, you know? Being a jaded lover's tea-drinking friend has no charm at all."
"Shut up."
It was true he was a bit of an old man, but it wasn't that bad. After all, his true love herself had called him a 'child'.
He popped a piece of Luan's exquisite sweet and sour pork into his mouth. The perfect balance of sour and sweet, this blissful taste was irresistible. He could never taste this flavor in his home country. It was strange how different the taste was just because of the spices and seasonings.
If he were to try to make this same taste in the Yuresla Kingdom… could he make this sourness with balsamic vinegar? Or wine vinegar? Neither sounded very good. It would probably be impossible to replicate the deep flavor of black vinegar.
The primary reason he wandered was for the unproductive purpose of searching for something without meaning, but when he encountered delicious food, he sometimes thought that maybe, deep down, he was searching for delicious food.
In other words… a food explorer? Trading his greatsword for a kitchen knife and wandering the world?
That was a bit of a forward-thinking idea.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing."
She peered into his face, and he gave a vague answer. He didn't want her to know he was thinking that his wandering was a journey to eat his way around the world. That would make him seem too much of a glutton.
"Hey Ritz, you made up with Anna, didn't you?"
"...Yeah."
"So… you're quitting being a mercenary, then?"
Though her tone was light, Qiuzi's eyes were serious. He looked back at her and tilted his glass. He had been thinking about it for a while. If he was going to be with Anna from now on, he couldn't continue being a mercenary. Qiuzi had seen Ritz being warned by Anna not to kill people during the recent riot, so she had probably realized it too.
He spoke to Qiuzi while keeping his eyes on the ice in his glass.
"...Once I take her back to the Yuresla Royal Capital, I plan to come back to Suien one more time."
"May I ask why?"
"Yeah. I want to settle things. With this."
He lightly tapped the greatsword that was now resting by his seat. This greatsword was an item entrusted to him by his captain when he had just become a mercenary. As long as he had it, he felt like he had an escape route into the mercenary business. That's why he intended to return to the battlefield one more time and find someone to entrust this greatsword to.
"I see…"
"That's right. It's not until then that…"
"You can't make Anna your wife?"
He almost spat out the distilled liquor he was drinking.
"Wh-What are you talking about?!"
"What's with that reaction? Weren't we just talking about that?"
"D-Don't be ridiculous. How many years in the future are you talking about?"
"Oh, so you think it will only take a few years? She's that age, and you haven't even proposed yet?"
"Well, I…"
As he tried to evade, he looked around the shop and saw that the young people from the boarding house had also finished eating their fill and had returned to their seats, enjoying light drinks and having a good time. Looking at the food, most of it was gone, with only about a single serving left in the corner of the plates.
Franz and Luan, who had been released from the kitchen at some point, were talking seriously with Touo and Edward while eating. It looked more like some secret meeting than a farewell party. But there was still plenty of food for them. Luan had apparently portioned it out with the boarders' appetites in mind.
But he couldn't see the most important person, Anna, and as his gaze wandered around the shop, he found her in an unexpected place.
She was sitting in the center of the young people, surrounded. In front of her were plates of food, though he didn't know who had served her. Firmly keeping his seat next to Anna was Suneel, the aspiring mercenary. He was making everyone laugh with his lighthearted jokes, and even making Anna laugh.
On the other side of Anna was another rival vying for her attention, a man named Rishial who worked at a dress shop in this city. He was flamboyant but had a soft impression. These two were polar opposites in everything they did, and were known as the oddball duo at the boarding house, though it was hard to tell if they were friends or not.
He felt a little annoyed at the sight of Anna laughing at the words of these men, who numbered several around her. It must have shown on his face, because Qiuzi burst out laughing.
"Oh my, are you jealous? How interesting, I can't believe this is the you from before."
"Shut up."
Though he was sulking, he desperately tried to eavesdrop on the conversation between the young people and Anna.
"It's strange, isn't it? Do you really not have a boyfriend or anything?"
"Not right now."
"So you had one before?"
"I didn't have one before either."
"You're so cute, that's a lie, right?"
"No, I'm not particularly cute, I'm just average."
"Come on, then maybe I'll throw my hat in the ring. What do you say?"
"No, no, a man with a rough profession like you isn't right for Anna-chan. On the other hand, I'm a man who will be a first-rate designer in the future, you know?"
"You call yourself first-rate?"
"You hit where it hurts…"
The place erupted in laughter. In his heart, as a former mercenary captain, he couldn't help but sulk and think, Hey, deny that a mercenary isn't so bad. But he was disgusted with himself for even thinking something like, Suneel, you bastard.
Until just a little while ago, he thought he had been given up on by Anna and had resigned himself to it, but what a change. He had a feeling he was becoming a complete fool, and he wondered if it was just his imagination. His future seemed bleak, thinking that his entire world could change just based on whether Anna rejected him or accepted him, and how little self-identity he had. The moment after he sighed, Qiuzi pinched his cheek hard.
"Ouch, what was that for?"
"...I was just checking if you were really Captain Alster."
"Why now?"
"Because, those facial expressions are just impossible."
"Shut up."
"A victory for the desireless, I see. As expected, even I lost to Anna."
"Huh?"
Qiuzi said with a smile, her eyes downcast as she swept her hair back. She then downed her clear cobalt blue cocktail and stood up.
"Hey, you…"
At her suggestive words, he couldn't help but grab Qiuzi's shoulder. Qiuzi smiled brightly.
"Your princess is in a bit of a pickle, you know?"
"What?"
He turned to see Anna looking utterly distressed between the two men. He stood up instinctively and a voice called out from behind him.
"Let's meet again, Captain. Be happy."
He nodded without turning back at her words, which were not those of a former lover, but of a subordinate.
"...Yeah."
"Now, go and rescue your princess!"
Pushed hard from behind by Qiuzi, who practiced martial arts, he stumbled forward and was pushed out in front of the boarders and Anna.
"Ritz."
Anna, who had been in trouble, looked up and her expression was one of complete relief.
"Yo. Having fun?"
He gave a completely lame greeting, and before Anna could open her mouth, Suneel and Rishial spoke up cheerfully.
"We were just talking, but you guys are leaving tomorrow, right, Captain? So, as a memento of our meeting and a farewell, we decided to have a match for a kiss from Anna-chan. Me and Rishial."
"That's right. It's fine, right? As a memento, since we won't be able to meet again."
Rishial said, flashing a pearly white smile at Anna. Anna looked up at Ritz with a troubled expression.
"...The hell did you say?"
"Ah, um… of course, just a peck on the cheek… you know?"
"Th-that's right. You know, just for fun."
The two young men were completely flustered. It seemed Ritz was quite scary. Of course he was. Even Ritz had never received such a thing from Anna. There was no way that could be allowed.
"Ritz, Ritz."
Anna tugged on his clothes, bringing him back to his senses. Her eyes were telling him to be gentle, since it was their last time, and he took a deep breath. It was true that getting angry here would be childish. Suneel and Rishial, thinking they had been given permission by Ritz, high-fived joyfully in the air.
"We got the guardian's permission, so it's okay, right?!"
"Alright, I won't lose, Suneel."
Ritz placed a hand on the shoulders of the two jubilant men and forced a smile.
"Who gave you permission?"
"Huh?"
"I'm in on this match, too."
"What?"
Suneel and Rishial froze, and Anna pouted.
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"If I win, you give up."
"Jeez! Ritz!"
Ignoring the angry Anna, he stared at the two men. This was a man's battle.
"How do we compete?"
"...Cards."
Suneel took out a deck of cards from his pocket. It was a well-worn deck. This guy might always be challenging people to matches here and there.
"Alright."
Just as the men were about to come to an agreement, Anna shouted.
"Not alright! If it's cards, then I'm joining the match too!"
"What?"
In front of the dumbfounded men, Anna took Suneel's cards.
"If you lose, I'll kiss all three of you on the cheek. But if I win, Suneel and Rishial have to clean the roof of the boarding house. And Ritz has to clean up this party all by himself."
"Ugh."
"Are you serious?!"
"Why me too?! And aren't I the one with the hardest job?!"
"Ritz's punishment also includes breaking the rule about not deciding things about me on his own."
"...Sorry."
There was nothing he could say. In front of the three men, Anna shuffled the cards with practiced hands. It was the first time he had seen Anna handle cards like this. Eventually, Anna divided the deck into four piles. He was puzzled by the unfamiliar arrangement for a moment, but Anna's declaration made him lose all his strength.
"The game is Sevens!"
"Sevens?!"
"Got a problem with that?"
"...No."
Before he knew it, everyone, including Edward and Franz, had gathered around the table surrounded by the four of them. He couldn't lose at a children's game like Sevens. In front of the confident Anna, the three men looked for an eight or a six with tense expressions.
...And so, the three men who had incurred Anna's wrath were soundly defeated. Anna was terrifyingly good at Sevens.
Anna, who had won every single one of the several 'one more time' rounds, stood up tall and declared.
"The roof cleaning is to be done on a sunny day, with a bucket and water, until it's sparkling! Everyone here is a witness! Right, Qiuzi-san?"
"That would be a great help. I hadn't quite finished cleaning off the winter grime yet."
"And Ritz, you're cleaning up by yourself! Luan-san, please don't help him, okay?"
"Of course. I'm sorry, Ritz."
"...Yeah."
A loss was a loss. It couldn't be helped. He glanced at Anna and saw her looking at him with a slightly angry expression. He felt so pathetic he was at a loss for words.
Eventually, the party came to a close, and after Franz, with a dumbfounded expression, and Edward, with a teasing look on his face, left, he received instructions from Luan on how to handle the large number of dishes. Since many of them were oily, he was told to scrape everything clean with a rubber spatula first, and then wash them with hot water boiled from the large amount of water he had to draw from the shared well with the boarding house.
Eventually, Luan, after asking him to lock up, returned to the boarding house with an apologetic look, and Qiuzi, at a loss for what to do but laugh at the pathetic state of her former superior, retired to her home in the back.
He washed the dishes all by himself, trudging along. He was supposed to be taking Touo's ship to the front-line city with Zeum tomorrow, yet his last night in Suien was ending with him washing dishes. How pathetic. By the time he had finished washing and polishing the last plate, it was late at night.
"...Done."
He couldn't help but mutter in the empty shop. The sink for commoners was quite low and painful for Ritz. He had to bend over more than necessary to wash the dishes. As he stretched and patted his back, he came out of the kitchen into the shop and saw someone sitting at the counter, asleep.
A lamp was placed on the counter, and when it saw Ritz, the lamp made a sound and chirped. It was Sara. There was no way he wouldn't know who was next to her.
"Anna."
He called out and gave her a gentle shake.
"Hey, I'm done."
"Mm… oh, I fell asleep."
"What are you doing here? We're leaving tomorrow, so you should be sleeping properly."
"Yeah. I know, but…"
As she murmured this, Anna took something out of the bag she always carried with her. It was a small, cutely wrapped box.
"This is for Ritz."
"For me?"
"Yeah. Your birthday's coming up soon, right?"
"Ah…"
"I didn't know what would happen once we got to Zeum, so I thought I'd give it to you now…"
He had completely forgotten. When you've lived for 150 years, you tend to forget your own birthday. At the same time, he remembered. He hadn't celebrated Anna's birthday at all during the chaos in Tashkur. And Anna had never brought it up.
"I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"Well, your birthday…"
"...Yeah."
It was painful to even talk about what happened then. It seemed Anna felt the same way, as she put on a bright expression.
"But you made me a cake for my birthday before that. And I didn't do anything for you last year."
"You did, though."
"I didn't!"
Ritz nodded at Anna, who was staring straight at him. This was not the time to argue childishly.
"Thanks. Can I open it?"
"Yeah."
He opened the cute present, which seemed somewhat out of place for him, and inside was a set of a jar of coffee and a cup to brew it in.
"You haven't really been drinking coffee since Tashkur, right? Tea is cheaper and easier. But in Sears, Ritz, you always liked to drink coffee, right? So I thought it would be nice if you could drink it on our journey… You know that street with all the general stores? Where we met Kuchiba. There was a coffee shop there… um…"
After saying all that in a rush, Anna fell silent and looked up at him with an apologetic expression.
"I thought it might be a nuisance…"
It was true that pottery was not suitable for traveling. It was also a time when they were trying to avoid increasing their luggage as much as possible. She must have been hesitant because she knew that.
"I was just thinking I wanted to drink some soon. Let's have some tomorrow morning before we go."
He said cheerfully, and Anna's expression lit up.
"Okay."
"But you didn't have to wait up this late, you know."
He said gently, and Anna pouted.
"I was going to give it to you at the boarding house after the farewell party, but then Ritz had to say something like that."
It was true that being stuck here was Ritz's own fault.
"I thought you would help me, but you said something like that. I get a little angry too, you know."
"I'm sorry."
"Really, don't decide things on your own anymore, okay?"
"Yeah."
He was so sorry he had no words to reply. He hung his head, and a soft sensation touched his cheek. A moment later, he understood what it was and couldn't help but stare at Anna.
"Anna…?"
"...I have the right to kiss the person I want to, you know."
Anna said, her cheeks flushed as she smiled softly. It was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen, and while Ritz was speechless, Anna quickly slung her bag over her shoulder, picked up the Sara-lamp, and showed her usual smile.
"Well then, good night!"
As he stared blankly at Anna's retreating figure as she hurried out of the shop, he touched his own cheek, where the sensation still lingered.
He had lived for so long, and on the surface, he held several grand titles, but for some reason… he was so unbelievably happy, he was at a loss for words.
Where would she be and what would she be doing on her birthday next year? He prayed that she would be smiling happily at that time. And if he was allowed, that he too could be smiling by her side.
For the first time in his life, Ritz prayed to the Goddess not as a pose, but from the bottom of his heart.