Amber and Mara were obviously very satisfied with the food, both of them letting out a sigh of content when they finished their food.
"That was… So good… I didn't know food could taste this good…" Amber moaned.
Mara dabbed her lips delicately with a cloth, "We've been eating what could be said to be trash after all. This is real food."
Amber turned to me with a grin, "And the fact that Tera could turn that trash into delicacies that could even rival the food we just tasted… I wonder what would happen if she gets to cook with real ingredients instead?"
Mara nodded, "I'm sure it would be much better than the food we have tasted here."
I scratched my cheek, "Umm… You girls are giving me too much credit… I'm just a self taught cook though."
"Ahahaha! And yet you're already this good?! Ahhhh~ I have the best girlfriend ever!"
Thomas finished clearing our table and gave us a bow, "I hope you have enjoyed your meal with us, my ladies. As per our customs, we would like to ask you to rate the food on a scale of one to ten with ten being the best and one being the worst."
Amber considered for a moment, "Hmm… I suppose I'll give it an eight."
"An eight for me as well," Mara added.
I decided to be honest, "I'm afraid I'll have to give it a six."
I knocked two points off for the fact that the food was pretty average despite how over the top the location and presentation was and another two points for the price not being worth it at all. Like all these could have been even more delicious if a competent chef had prepared it instead of whoever did this.
All that for five hundred thousand Credits per person? I basically paid fifty grand for food that you could have found in a family diner. Definitely not worth it.
Thomas straightened and turned to me, his eyes flashing a little red, "May I know what has displeased you, my lady?"
I shrugged, "The food is pretty average if I had to be honest and it didn't feel like the chef took care when preparing the food. The steak was a little overcooked, the soup tasted like it was microwaved and the dessert was just bland. I would praise the wine though, they were good."
Thomas stood still for a moment before his eyes returned to normal, "Your complaint has been logged, my lady. We hope that you will have a better experience with us on the next visit.
Yeah, fat chance of that happening. I might as well just stick to cooking food myself to be honest… Or maybe find somewhere else where the chefs have a bit more passion in their cooking instead.
As I got up to leave, I noticed Amber and Mara staring at me with a complicated look on their faces.
I raised an eyebrow, "What? Do I have something on my face?"
"No… Err… Were you being serious with that feedback?" Amber asked.
"Yes?"
Mara pursed her lips, "For you to say all that… Does that mean you have tasted food even better than this?"
Amber jumped in, "Wait! Didn't you lose your memories?"
Oh crap… I suppose that's a little problematic, isn't it?
For me to make such comments, it must mean that I have tasted something even better to even call the food that we have just eaten average.
I won't lie, this food had better texture and feeling when compared to my synthfood so I could say that they were objectively better than what I've made so far. But I also remember the food that I've eaten in my old World including the really high class dining experiences when I had to attend company functions.
When compared to that, this one just fell short, especially for the price they charged us for.
Quick! I need an excuse to get out of this!
I scratched my head, "Umm… I did tell you I have fragmented memories right? It's just that when I tasted it… It didn't taste 'right' I guess?"
Mara frowned and turned to Amber, "That's the first I've heard of that?"
Amber grimaced, "Right… I suppose we forgot to tell you. She went through an anomaly and her memories got messed up. Apparently she had memories of living on Earth or something."
Mara widened her eyes at me, "Truly?"
I nodded.
She then tapped her finger on her chin thoughtfully, "This is interesting… Assuming that you didn't actually come from Earth through some wormhole and those memories were fabricated inside your head after passing through the anomaly… The fact that it is also able to influence your taste is something that I've not heard of before."
Amber raised an eyebrow, "Has this never happened before?"
Mara shook her head, "Not that I know of. I've heard about some people displaying skills or knowledge that they should not possess when afflicted by this but this is the first time something like taste was affected. Wait… Could it be that the food you have been making so far was because you remember the food you supposedly 'remember' is supposed to taste like so you're recreating them?"
"Ah… I suppose that is an accurate way to say it, yes."
"This is… Indeed very fascinating. Now I'm wondering if these memories aren't just fabricated but perhaps your actual memories except with some that had been lost when you went through the anomaly? Maybe Earth is still around and the people on it are experimenting by sending people out into space once again and you're the first amongst the many?"
Amber shuddered, "Oh gods, please don't make this into some conspiracy shit, I don't like to get involved in any of that especially if the government is involved…"
Mara raised an eyebrow at me, "Do you have memories of your life on Earth? Like how you had lived before being in space?"
I wondered just how much I was supposed to tell her?
Should I just say that I was actually an office worker playing a game back on Earth and then suddenly woke up in my spaceship after the game malfunctioned?
I'll be lucky if these two didn't give me weird looks after I said that…
I shook my head, "I don't think I do… At least I don't think so… Nothing comes to mind when I try to remember it at least."
Amber suddenly let out a gasp, "Oh right! We went to the Archives the other day and she tried to get some information implanted in her head but it didn't work at all!"
Mara frowned, "Didn't work? Did the machine malfunction?"
"Err… I don't think so? The machine started like normal I guess? Everything seemed to be normal and she just came out of the pod knowing nothing new. She even said that she didn't fall unconscious either and was awake through the entire thing."
Mara was now looking at me with clear interest, "This is… Quite interesting… I wonder what happened to you? Were you perhaps… Hmm…"
Now I felt a little worried that my small lie may have implicated me in some matters with how serious the doctor looked.
I hope I didn't just accidentally tell her some symptoms for a medical condition or something like that…
That's why I tried to change the topic.
"Ahem… Anyway, I think we should leave now? Since we're all done with the food and all?"
Mara perked up, "Hmm? Oh. I suppose we should. Are you done as well, Amber?"
"Of course, I cleaned my plate didn't I? And we all know what's going to happen after dinner, aren't we?"
"Oh gods, you were serious about that?"
"Hell yeah I was. Don't even try to lie and say you weren't expecting it! I even found several hotels that we could stay at tonight! Although if you want to bring this back to Tera's ship… I wouldn't mind that either~"
Mara rolled her eyes and turned to me, "Well, I'll leave the decision to you, Tera. I will admit that I wouldn't mind experiencing what we had that night again so there's no need for you to hold back."
"That's the most roundabout way I've heard of someone saying 'Please fuck me'."
"Shut it, Amber. You'll gladly spread your legs for her whenever she asks, wouldn't you?"
"Huh? That goes without saying of course? I'm her girlfriend. Why? Jealous?"
Mara elected not to answer her and merely nodded at me instead, silently asking me to decide.
Err… Well… I suppose we can go back to my ship instead. Because I kind of want to try cooking something again while the taste of these foods is still fresh in my mind.
I may not have the ingredients to make a meal that was a hundred percent similar to this one, but I believe that I might be able to recreate at least an eighty percent similarity with this.
…
Am I turning myself into a chef?