"Ah so you've noticed. This restaurant is owned by humans, which is rare in the Elves Alliance. To be more accurate, it's owned by a half-elf," Nestor said before he ate a spoonful of his food.
"A half-elf?" Lycster asked curiously.
"Yes, most of the other restaurants in this district are owned by elves, this one is owned by Melissa, a half-elf. She's half-human, half-elf."
The waiter came just in time as Vy's stomach began to growl. He placed down the food they had ordered, as well as the drinks. Vy thanked him and looked down at the table of piping hot food. Every dish looked delicious and mouth-watering. The aromatic fragrance was difficult to resist.
Vy picked up her cutlery and dug into her food, so did Lycster. There was steamed chicken thighs in soy sauce, sesame oil and fried garlic, a plate of fried eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried vegetables. Vy picked up her bowl of rice and enjoyed the ingredients together, creating a myriad of flavours in her mouth.
For a little more flavour, she took some of the chillies that was served together with the dishes and added it into her bowl. The spicy kick of the chilli matched perfectly. Seeing how they enjoyed the food was clear to Nestor that he made the right recommendations.
"This is amazing! It's so different from everything else in the dining district, apart from The Memory Lane of course," Vy said cheerfully.
Nestor choked on his tea. Did he hear that right?
"Wait, did you say, The Memory Lane? You've been there?"
Vy was surprised by Nestor's outburst, "Yes, that's right. Why?"
Nestor's jaw dropped, his eyes widened in shock. Vy found his expression humorous and chuckled as she continued to eat her food.
"How did you get in? The food there is legendary! People would kill for a taste of the food there," Nestor exclaimed.
"Kill? That's extreme! The food there is unique, no doubt on that."
Just then, the doors of the restaurant sprung open and a group of suspicious-looking patrons walked in. As soon as the waiter saw the group, his face turned and he quickly ran to the back of the restaurant.
Vy could sense something was not right, but she did not want to alert everyone around her unnecessarily. She secretly placed her dagger on the table and continued eating while keeping an eye on the situation.
Nestor and Lycster did the same, and so did all the other patrons. Everyone was on edge with the sudden entrance of the group. A quick assessment led Vy to the conclusion that the group was made up of elves.
From the back of the kitchen, a tall burly lady walked out of the kitchen, followed by the waiter who was serving Vy's table before. Nestor whispered to Vy that the lady was Melissa, the owner of the restaurant.
"Is there anything I can help you with," Melissa asked with a smile.
The group's leader, an elf with a scar across his right cheek stood out from his group and spoke, "Yes, are you the owner of this restaurant?"
"Yes, I am," Melissa replied, her expression remained cold.
But Vy could hear her palpitating heart loud and clear. She could hear the hastened breathing and see the sweat droplets that trickled down her forehead. Vy was impressed by how well Melissa maintained the tone of her voice, but all the other signs were screaming other signals.
The leader took a step closer to Melissa, their faces no more than two inches apart. They could smell each other's breath, hear each other's breathing.
"One of my men was apparently denied a meal here, can you care to explain what happened?"
"He caused a scene in my restaurant, so I had him kicked out."
The leader swiped a glass bottle from the nearest table and smashed it on the edge of the table. The glass shards scattered all across the room as almost everyone in the room flinched. Melissa flinched too, but she did not back down. The leader pointed the broken glass bottle at Melissa.
He laughed aloud and his group backed him up. "My apologies, let me introduce myself. My name is Jackson, leader of the Vipers."
Jackson kicked Melissa in the stomach, sending her flying backwards. She knocked into the waiter who was standing right behind her and they were both sent flying. They hit the counter and fell to the ground. The scene caused panic amongst the patrons.
Although they did not dare to leave. Most of them were cowering in fear. Vy and Nestor, on the other hand, were seething in anger.
Lycster felt great unjust for what was happening. All of this reminded him of the bullying he suffered under the hand of the Baron. This was outrageous! How could something like this happen?