The duo observed their surroundings nervously as this was their first time traveling outside the village.
Clay realized that many people in the restaurant were wearing armor or some sort of protective clothing.
'They look like the adventurers my dad told stories about' Clay pondered.
..
.
Clay and Josh waited for a while before the same waitress approached them, this time she was carrying four plates along her arms, two plates on each arm.
The waitress placed the plates on their table before bowing and going to other customers to take their orders.
The two boys looked at their food on the table before a fragrant smell drifted into their noses.
The first plate had a bowl on top of it that contained stew with well-cooked boar meat and freshly cut vegetables, the second plate contained the roasted breast and limbs of a duck, the third plate had Soft Fish cooked over a fire and a bowl of bland soup, and on top of the last plate was chicken curry with rice that was black in color, although the rice was black in color it didn't disturb anyone's appetite as it looked kind of harmonious with the curry.
Clay smacked his lips, but before he could dig in, Josh spoke.
"So, how are we going to divide how we eat?"
"Huh? Isn't it obvious? We just take a plate and put the food we want to eat in it" Clay tilted his head.
"Oh, I thought we were gonna just choose a plate we would eat" Josh was relieved as he really wanted to try all the delicacies.
"Why would we do that when we can just share everything, that's so dumb" Clay laughed softly.
"Yeah... That was dumb, thank goodness I didn't think of that, hehe" Josh laughed nervously in response.
"Anyway, let's eat" Clay said as he grabbed a plate and a spoon.
Josh nodded.
Clay scooped off some fish meat and placed them into his plate, releasing a pleasing fragrance that tickled one's nose.
Clay breathed in deeply as he closed his eyes, ingraining the smell into his memories in the process.
Seeing that Clay had already picked up a plate Josh picked up an empty bowl soon after, he poured the boar stew into his bowl leaving half of the remaining stew for Clay, Josh then picked up a spoon and got some chicken curry and rice on his plate.
Clay finished smelling the fragrance that the fish emitted and began cutting off a piece of meat from the roasted duck using the knife that was prepared along with the plates.
Licking his lips, Clay brought the piping-hot piece of roasted duck meat to his mouth before blowing on it gently.
Feeling that it was cool enough Clay inserted the spoon into his mouth, prompting the delicious flavor of the meat to spread throughout his mouth.
Clay began blowing again hastily in his mouth as the meat wasn't as cool as he thought it was, it burned his tongue, it was tasty but it was painful, it reminded him of the first time he had curiously drank the tea that his Mom prepared for herself.
'It's so tasty, but it's so hot' Clay thought as he finally swallowed the duck meat with some effort.
'Phew, that was close, if that wasn't a near-death experience then I don't know what is'
Clay looked over at the curry on the table, he grabbed the whole plate of the curry as Josh had already taken half of it.
Clay inspected the curry first, curious as to what the curry tasted like since it was his first time seeing something like this.
He grabbed a scoop of rice and some chicken before blowing on it gently but longer than before fearing that he might get his tongue burned again.
Clay inserted the spoon in his mouth, not expecting anything delicious due to the color of the rice, moments later he realized how wrong he was, as the combination of rice and chicken perfectly compliments each other as they danced across Clay's tastebuds in perfect harmony. Clay chewed with widened eyes as he didn't expect that it would taste so delicious. The chicken was very thick in sauce and was soft to the point that it melted on one's tongue.
Clay glanced at Josh who was eating like he was starving for a year straight, Clay noticed that Josh actually cried while eating, showcasing how much he had actually waited for this moment in his entire life. Clay felt happy knowing that he fulfilled at least one of his best friend's wishes.
Clay swallowed a mouthful of saliva as he took the bowl of boar stew.
Bringing the bowl up to his mouth, Clay took a sniff.
Relishing the pleasant smell before finally taking a sip from the bowl.
The only word Clay could think of at this moment was.
'DELICIOUS!' Clay exclaimed in his mind as the warm but not too hot broth was slipping down his throat.
The stew was the perfect mix of thick and tasty but not overbearing that it overshadows the meat and vegetables/
'I can now understand why Josh wanted to go to this place' Clay looked at Josh meaningly, thanking him for bringing him to this place.
Josh suddenly shuddered as he looked around, confused why he felt uneasy.
The two enjoyed their meal for some time before they realized that they could not eat anymore, it's not that they didn't want to eat, it's that they just couldn't, their bellies were comically bloated to the point that it seemed like it would pop like a balloon if you were to poke a needle through it.
The previous waitress appeared again seeing that they have finished their meal.
"Good sirs, if you both are done eating may you pay the check now?" The waitress clasped her hands together.
"Yea-Burp, here you go" Clay made an effort to reach his left pocket as his stomach was hindering his movements, feeling that he had grabbed the coin Clay brought it out to the waitress placing it on the table.
"Keep the change" Clay said in a smug way, as he finally was able to squander his wealth like this.
The waitress raised her brows for a moment before bowing and taking the silver coin.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Looking at the door on the right, the man entered through it being greeted by a scene of a person sitting on a chair in a fetal position while staring into a screen that emitted light.
The person clicked on the keys of a board at a fast speed, clearly showing how much experience he had with the object.
The man frowned as the person didn't even seem to notice his existence, he then walked up to the person who had finally noticed his existence.
"What?! You aren't supposed to be here!" The person screamed.
Hearing this the man frowned even more, he reached out to the person that turned his attention back to the screen hastily and began clicking on the keys in a panicked way, but before the man could do anything, he got sucked up by a spacial rift that suddenly appeared beside him.
"NO!" The man screamed as he disappeared into the crack in space.
The person sighed in relief before he continued to click on the keys.
Click
Click
Click
Click...