After catching up with the busy merchant, Naell and the others continued heading to where they intended to have their lunch. That day, their destination was located in the southern part of the estate where most restaurants were situated.
Since the Beryldot mansion was in the northern outskirts, their destination was quite far from where they began the trek.
Not to mention, the many side quests they completed to get there; including but not limited to catching up with Talus, visiting the town square's many stalls, and even admiring the renovations of few establishments.
Clearly, they were not at such a hurried pace as they already had a place in mind and didn't struggle in choosing where to go. Restaurants were not typical in Beryldot in the first place.
Fharom and Naell often contemplated how they could increase tourism in Beryldot but even now, it was hard to do so, especially in times of war.
That was why in the end, they decided to put it on hold. In the first place, they couldn't really offer anything aside from its usually cold climate, and dangerous forest paths; a thing they really couldn't advertise.
Beryldot had no aspects competitive enough to garner tourists, aside from their stalls. Even as they were known to be the location of a great war's end, their produce was nothing unordinary. The estate was humble and only appealing to their own residents and merchants.
It was also far from the sea, so only harsh land travel could be done. And if one wanted to visit the northern Autumn kingdom, not many (no one) would consider their estate, as they would of course rather choose the renowned Arigare Dukedom.
Known for its grandeur and centuries-old castles, the Dukedom of Arigare was almost as famous as Taglagas.
The Dukedom also didn't lack restaurants and establishments, having both an adventurers' and merchant's guild. They also had a variety of inns for weary travelers.
And although the scenery in Berlydot was picturesque in terms of its appealing nature, the risk of losing one's life was greater than the tourists' desire to sightsee.
Even adventurers from lower ranks avoided it due to its unusual high-ranking monsters.
It was far unlike Arigare where the paths were always safe due to the high numbers of knights being deployed, and the adventurer's guild consistently helping with the monsters' subjugation.
Whereas Berlydot only had the guild quarters that couldn't really receive more than a few quests. Hence monsters were spawning faster in each nature bound location, from the grassland even to the deep forestlands.
That was why in the past, Fharom would often request the main guild for subjugation quests to decrease the monsters population and control their breeding.
Yet now, because of the Yeti's appearance, Fharom could sigh a breath of relief and allocate more of their budget to other things. However, as the war was still in progress, tourism was not really anyone's priority at the moment.
Let's eat, HOOT!
Owly telepathically urged them all to eat as all the food they ordered was already served.
While the young owl, as usual, had meat on a platter; roasted black pork that was one of the delicacies in Beryldot, paired with steamed potatoes and carrots, Lily chose a more adventurous meal that was called sinigang.
A stew with tender pork, sour fruits and leafy greens, with its famous characteristic being its sour yet savory taste brought about by tamarinds. Paired with white rice, Naell could see how happy Lily was just by eating the hearty meal.
Both ordered the same refreshing cool melon juice, a drink that could reset their palates from the juicy meat or sour soup.
As for their elder Sebastian, he had a lighter meal consisting of a tuna sandwich on wheat bread, bundled with fresh cheese, garden fresh tomatoes, and lettuce.
His preferred drink was coffee much like Naell, who at that moment was treating his food as the first meal of the day. He had a heavy bacon sandwich with a poached egg on top, paired with fried potatoes on the side.
As they each took their first bites, warmth and contentment showed on their faces. If there was one thing Naell appreciated deeply, it was the homely nature of Beryldots' food and ambiance. Even the lanterns during festive days never failed to ease him alongside the kind villagers.
'Ah, if only we could showcase this to all of Mundo.' Collectively they all thought.
However, they were still thankful as Beryldot was at the very least booming with stalls placed at the center of the town.
In cases where they also had a rare influx of tourists, houses would open temporary stores or restaurants. But it really was just seasonal, unlike larger villages or towns like Taglagas that had high-end restaurants open from dusk till dawn.
Even fast-food joints were a thing among other villagers like Lamasep but sadly not in Beryldot.
However, what large villages often lacked were heartfelt dishes that small villages like them did immensely well. Therefore it was a delight for all of them to eat in such a place, and merrily chat while doing so.
Perhaps it did have something to do with his school life, Lily's training, or even Sebastian's rants about his dad and uncle Drew's bantering. Yet the reason didn't matter to Naell, as all of it were things that he often looked forward to.
He never knew when it started, but the Beryldots, his master, and even the oddly fat owl were people he had long considered his real family, and surely he'd do his best to keep them safe.
By the time Naell caught himself thinking of sappy thoughts and happy memories, he could only smile and think as they shared a meal, 'I guess I'm not that bad after all.'
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