But even if he was doubtful about the meal, he couldn't stop his scent of the food from drifting into his nose.
The smell was a delicious smell that he had never smelled before and he couldn't help giving a gulp as he looked down at the rice in front of him.
After hesitating for a while, he finally couldn't resist it anymore as he picked up the spoon and picked up a spoonful of those golden grains.
The smell was even stronger as he brought the spoon closer. That smell of steaming hot rice with fresh cooked eggs invoked the hunger inside of him, making his stomach grumble and his saliva run.
Before he could take a bite, he wouldn't help giving a gulp.
The moment that the spoonful of rice entered his mouth, it was as if the grains of rice melted.
No, it wasn't the grains of rice that melted, but rather the egg that was wrapped around each grain of rice.
This egg fried rice wasn't made with just stir fried eggs, but rather each grain was coated in a layer of egg that was still a bit raw. This smooth taste of egg slid right down his throat without him being able to control it and he couldn't help swallowing the rice in one gulp.
By the time he came to his senses, the hunter realized that he had already swallowed the whole thing.
But just that single mouthful was far from enough for him.
Without hesitation, he picked up the plate from the table and brought it to his mouth. He raised the spoon at the same time and started shoveling the egg fried rice in his face as quickly as possible.
However, while he quickly shoved the egg fried rice in his face, he was also careful with how he did it. He made sure that he didn't spill a single drop of the egg fried rice, making sure that every grain of it went in his mouth.
He couldn't afford to drop a single drop, that was just how delicious it was.
Croquette had a smile on his face when he saw this as he remembered his own first time here.
It had been the same for him, but the dish that he had eaten was naturally his darling croquettes.
Everyone around him also couldn't help revealing the same smile because they had all experienced the same thing when they first came to this restaurant. That was just the effect that the food here had.
It also made them turn back to their food and start eating with the same gusto as the hunter.
As for the hunter, he continued shoving the egg fried rice down his mouth until he came close to choking. With this, he had no choice but to stop and take a sip of the water beside him.
That sip of the water surprised him since he never expected the strong taste of the water.
This wasn't just water, but rather water that had a hint of a sour fruit to it. While it was sour, it wasn't bad because the slightly sour taste actually helped cleanse his palate a bit after it had been covered in that sticky egg yolk.
After he stopped himself from choking, the hunter shoveled another spoonful of the egg fried rice into his mouth before suddenly stopping.
He looked down at the egg fried rice in front of him before turning to look at the glass of water.
This was…
He stopped after that mouthful of the egg fried rice and picked up the water to take another sip.
With that sip, he felt his palate being cleansed and the residual stickiness of the egg yolk was cleared out.
When he took another spoonful of the egg fried rice into his mouth, he could taste the perfect taste that he had tasted the first time. That feeling of the egg fried rice almost melting in his mouth was perfect that he once again couldn't help swallowing.
But the hunter had learned his lesson and alternating the water and the egg fried rice, he finished off the entire bowl. Of course, there was much more rice than water, so he had to refill his water several times during his meal.
By the end of it, he couldn't help giving a burp as he was surprised by how full he was with just a single bowl of egg fried rice.
The problem was that he didn't understand that rice would expand in his stomach when he drank excess fluids, so this was what caused his stomach to be so full. It wouldn't take long before he was hungry again, but that was a problem for later.
After the hunter finished his meal, he couldn't help looking down at the empty bowl in front of him.
He didn't understand how this worked.
It was nothing more than a simple bowl of fried rice with eggs, there wasn't anything special about it at all…So why did it taste so good?!
He really wanted to have another bowl, but he also knew that he wouldn't be able to finish it, so he had no choice but to stop for now.
As he settled, he turned his attention back to the restaurant.
Just what was this place?
As he remembered, he came through the door that had been in the middle of the cave and then he appeared in this place…
Could it be that the door was teleportation magic?
That did make sense since the Destruction Orc King and the Great Sage Zweit were both here. So was this a special restaurant that was hidden somewhere in their world?
Croquette had finished his meal at this time and he noticed that the hunter was looking around himself at the restaurant. It didn't take much for him to guess what the hunter was thinking since he had thought the same thing when he had first come to this place.
He said in a calm voice, "This is another world."
The hunter jolted when he heard this before immediately turning to look at Croquette with a look of disbelief, "Another world? You're saying that the door brought us to another world?"
He turned back to look at the door that led out of the restaurant before asking, "Can we go back?"
If this really was another world, then the first thing that he was worried about was if he had been trapped here.
Croquette pointed at the door and said, "Just go back through that door and you'll appear where you came from. That's how the magic of the door works."
The hunter revealed a confused look as he asked, "But where did that door come from?"
Croquette gave a shrug before saying, "Even I don't know that. I've tried studying the door many times, but I've never been able to figure out the magic behind it. All I know is that it likes to go to random places and it creates many copies of itself, almost as if it's trying to bring more people to this restaurant."
The hunter was even more confused when he heard this, but since Croquette had said that he didn't understand how it worked, he wasn't able to ask anything else.
Croquette seemed to remember something and added, "The door will appear once a day, so you can come back here for a meal every day."
This was the most important thing for the customers of the restaurant since they were no longer able to live without the food from the restaurant anymore. It was almost like a drug that they were completely addicted to.
It was the same case with the hunter as he let out a sigh of relief when he heard this.
If he wasn't able to have this egg fried rice again, he really didn't know what to do with himself.
Since he wasn't able to ask anything about that door, he snuck a peek at the Destruction Orc King before asking, "Is it really alright for you to be here with him at the same time?"
Croquette wasn't surprised to hear this question again because anyone with a bit of knowledge in their world would ask this.
He shook his head and instead of answering, he asked, "Why do you think that it's not alright for me to be here at the same time as him?"
The hunter revealed an awkward look before slowly saying, "Well, you're one of the leaders of the human race and he's one of the Four Demon Kings, so…"
Croquette then said, "All that means is that we're on different sides because of our positions and our statuses, but does that say anything about us as people?"
The hunter couldn't help being stunned when he heard this.
Croquette continued, "While we have to fight because of our obligations, that doesn't mean that we want to."
The hunter was even more shocked by these words. Were these really things that one of the leading figures of the human race should be saying?
Croquette could see the confused look on the hunter's face, but he didn't try to explain himself. After all, this was just how it was when one gained power to rise above the rest.
Only those at the same level would understand how they felt.
As the hunter stared at Croquette, he started to understand what he meant a bit better.
To put it simply, it was most likely what it felt to have a rival.
After a moment of silence, Croquette suddenly said, "Do you know why I'm called Croquette?"
Hearing this, the hunter immediately gave an interested nod. This was a question that had been on his mind for a long time now.
Croquette pointed at the empty plate in front of him and said, "The thing that I was eating, it's called a croquette. All of us use nicknames based on the dishes that we love the most here. So you would be named Egg Fried Rice."
He then revealed a mischievous smile and pointed at the Destruction Orc King before saying, "Do you know what his nickname is?"
The hunter looked at the Destruction Orc King before turning back to shake his head.
The smile on Croquette's face grew wider as he said, "It's Parfait."
The hunter revealed a confused look as he asked, "Parfait? What's a parfait?"
With the same smile, he pointed at the Destruction Orc King again, but this time he pointed at what was in his hand, "Do you see the glass that he's holding? The one filled with those different colours?"
The hunter turned back to look in that direction and nodded when he saw it.
Croquette then asked, "Isn't it funny seeing such a large orc eating something so small and delicate?"
The hunter shook his head after a pause before saying, "Everyone's free to eat what they want. There's nothing funny about it."
Croquette's smile froze on his face before he said with a sigh, "You're no fun at all…But you are right. That is a good mentality to have here since you'll be able to try all the delicious foods that others wouldn't dare to."
The hunter nodded before suddenly realizing something, "What time is it?"
Croquette pointed at the clock on the wall and said, "That clock tells the time not just in this world, but our world."
The hunter looked over and found that it was already noon, "It's already this late? I have to hurry back or I won't be able to make it in time before the market closes!"
As he was about to turn and run, Croquette reminded him, "The bill."
The hunter's feet stopped as he suddenly remembered that as well. He waved his hand at one of the waiters who came over with his bill.
"One silver? It's that cheap?"
Though he said this, he still quickly dropped a silver in the tray that the bill came in before turning to rush off.
As he was leaving Croquette added, "Remember, the door will appear once a day."
The hunter nodded before waving goodbye to Croquette.
But before he could take two steps, there was a voice that rang out, "Aren't you forgetting something?"
The hunter stopped since he recognized this voice and he turned back with eyes that had a bit of fear to look at the source of the voice. He found that Yami was standing there, holding the deer by one of its antlers.
The hunter revealed an awkward smile when he saw this and he said with a nod, "Right, that is mine…"
He took the deer from Yami before heading to the door again.
When he passed by the Destruction Orc King's table, someone suddenly said something.
"Come back and give this parfait a try. I'm sure that you won't regret it. You're at least open minded enough unlike a foolish sage."
The hunter was once again surprised, but he gave a nod in agreement.
Holding the deer, the hunter went out the door with the dog on it and reappeared in the cave that he was in before.
After the door closed behind him, it disappeared into thin air as if nothing had been there before.
The only sign that what he had encountered was real was the deer that was still in his hand. As well as a grain of rice that was still on his face.
He took that grain off and put it in his mouth, savouring that taste once again.
Maybe he would go back there again tomorrow.