"EVERYONE! THE FEAST IS READY!" Uncle Orso announced to everyone in the cafeteria with excitement.
"OOOHHHH!!!" Every demon in the cafeteria reacted with cheers of excitement, especially Mira, who had been leading these fellow hungry demons to the cafeteria for a feast. Alex was a bit taken aback by the chaotic and rowdy energy that these demons radiated through their excitement, but he let out a sigh and then showed a big smile towards these rowdy demons, joining in their excitement as well.
"Line them all up!" Uncle Orso ordered all of his kitchen staff. He then raised his right hand into the air, which suddenly enveloped in mana as if he was about to cast a spell, and he did. Suddenly, the cafeteria's many dining tables and benches started to float and move around. Some were cast aside to the near wall, creating an empty spacious room in the middle of the cafeteria, and then some of the tables were lined up together to create many large serving tables. There were also some unfortunate demons still eating on one of them who were brought along by the floating tables and benches.
The kitchen staff then began to fill up the large serving tables in the middle of the cafeteria with many, many servings of food and cuisines. Alex watched in wonder how fast these kitchen staff moved, shuttling back and forth between the kitchen and the cafeteria. Eventually, the serving tables were all filled to the edge with tons of delicious-looking and wonderfully smelling foods.
"Oooohhhh!" The demons who saw these amazing foods exclaimed in awe.
"Wow..." The only thing Alex could utter as he beheld the array of foods before him. He had a premonition that demon cuisine might be strange and chaotic, but the dishes brought out by Uncle Orso and his kitchen crew were all amazing-looking. Not only were they appetizing, but some were also foods he recognized. "Hold on, are those...?" Yes, some of them were foods that originated from his Earth, or at least looked similar to his Earth world food.
"Pizza, burgers, tacos, spaghetti, French fries..." Alex began to list every food he recognized from his original Earth world. When he finished recognizing the food that he knew or had seen before, he estimated that at least 30 to 40 percent of the food here resembled Earth cuisines, specifically the most popular food choices in his world. 'Must have been the influence of heroes summoned from our world,' he thought to himself, recalling what Anna had just said about the tale of a noble family that ventured to the human realm in search of human cuisine and cooking techniques. So, it wouldn't be surprising if some of them were cuisines brought by the summoned heroes of Earth.
"Ah...! So many wonderful foods...!" Mira commented in awe herself over these wonderful foods that had been shown to them. She was really trying her hardest to not immediately jump into these foods. "But... I know Uncle Orso has always cooked something more extravagant than just these..." She said to herself. It seemed that she knew full well that her Uncle Orso still had something else that he hadn't pulled out yet from the kitchen.
"Ahaha! My dear-a Mira knows me best!" Uncle Orso laughed heartily upon hearing Mira's muttering. "Lads! Bring 'it' out from the oven!" Uncle Orso ordered his kitchen staff again to bring 'something' out from his kitchen.
"YES, CHEF!" They all acknowledged his order and then went back to the kitchen once more. There was an intense silence in the cafeteria as all the demons were anticipating what seemed to be the Star of the Feast. Suddenly, a burst of aroma came out from the kitchen to the cafeteria, enticing every one of the demons in the cafeteria.
"Oooohhhh!!!" Everyone exclaimed once again in awe, but they were getting more excited than before. A few moments later, many of the kitchen staff began pulling and pushing out a large moving tray from the kitchen. What was on this large moving tray? It was a large whole roast of some sort of cattle-like mammal animal, but its size was almost as big as a car or a van, or even bigger. It was fully cooked with its dark-golden brown coloring, and its smell permeated through the whole cafeteria. It was brought to the center of the cafeteria, as if it really was the Star of the Feast.
All of the kitchen staff who had brought the large roast swiftly left the premises as Uncle Orso approached the side of the giant, steaming roast. With a discerning glance, he inspected the roast, nodding slightly in approval of its quality. Then, he raised his right bear hand into the air once more, but this time, sharp claws extended from his bear fingers. Swiftly, he swung his clawed bear arm towards the roast in a quick motion. A few moments later, the large roast was cleanly sliced into multiple long pieces from its neck to its rear, revealing its tender and juicy meat to everyone in the cafeteria.
Uncle Orso then turned his back to the assortment of cuisines in the middle and faced the hungry demons. "Everyone, dig in!" he shouted with excitement.
"OOOOHHHH!!!" Everyone cheered with excitement once again. As soon as Uncle Orso stepped away from the center of the feast, everyone rushed in to get their hands on the spread before them. Mira also joined in the rush. As soon as they all took their first bite of the food, they shouted in unison, "TASTY!!!"
On the other hand, Mira was enjoying the food at her own pace. She piled up various dishes on her plate and then carried them to a nearby cafeteria table. After neatly arranging the food on the table, she picked up a fork and knife and began tasting each dish one by one.
"This! Ah, the aroma of the braised yeduck is simply divine! The tender meat practically falls off the bone, and the savory sauce adds a delightful depth of flavor!" she exclaimed, judging an avian-related dish, apparently made from a 'yeduck.'
"The stir-fry mandragora... a delightful fusion of flavors and textures! The crunchiness of the mandragora pairs perfectly with the crispness of the emberfern... A harmonious balance that dances on my palate!" she commented again, this time on a dish made from stir-fried vegetables, including mandragora and something called 'emberfern.'
"Stone cockatrice curry... quite a bold and adventurous choice! The richness of the curry sauce complements the succulent cockatrice meat, while the subtle hint of spice adds a tantalizing kick... Truly a fine dish that fully utilizes the meat from the King of Chickens!" Once more, she commented on another avian-related dish, this time featuring 'cockatrice.' Mira continued to taste and enjoy the food she had chosen.
Meanwhile, Alex, feeling the excitement of the demons around him, also felt hunger creeping in. "Oi! Share some of that!" he yelled to the demons, making his way towards the crowded serving tables to get some food for himself.
Demons who heard Alex's exclamation all turned to look at him as he approached. "Sir Alex! Come join us!" they invited him to their feast.
"Don't mind if I do!" he replied to their invitation, soon joining them in partaking of the food. "Tasty!" he exclaimed, echoing the demons' enthusiastic shouts as he sampled the dishes.
Uncle Orso, who had been overseeing the demons' feast, noticed Alex joining in. "Signore Alex! How's the dish, my boy?" he inquired as he approached the human "hero" indulging in the food prepared by him and his kitchen staff.
"It's really damn good, Uncle Orso!" Alex answered enthusiastically, still enjoying his share of the food.
"Ahaha! Glad to hear it!" Uncle Orso laughed heartily in response to Alex's compliment. "By the way, Signore Alex... I heard that our Demon Queen Anna sang at the battlefield thanks to your power. Care to tell me the story, my boy?" he asked out of the blue, surprising Alex and made him choked on his food.
"Mamma mia! Easy there, my boy!" Uncle Orso reacted with surprise to Alex's choking.
"Oi, Sir Alex, careful there, man!" a demon near Alex tried to help him dislodge the food.
"I know Chef Orso's food is great, but don't choke yourself to death, Sir Alex," another demon chastised Alex, thinking he was eating too quickly.
Alex tried to thump his chest to ease his choking, but to no avail. In a panic, he reached for any drink on the serving tables, managing to grab a cup and immediately drink its contents, unaware of what it was exactly.
"Ah, my drink!" The beverage turned out to be from Lieutenant Akai, the bald red oni demon knight. Alex had to apologize to the red oni guy in his head, but he needed something to force the food stuck in his throat down into his stomach somehow... but soon realized his mistake...
"This drink... what is it...?" Alex asked the red oni demon from whom he stole the drink.
"Ah, that? That's spiritus," Lieutenant Akai simply answered Alex's question. "You sure know how to chuck that one down, Sir Alex," he commented while laughing heartily, thinking he had found a drinking buddy.
Alex stared blankly at the empty cup of spiritus that he had just consumed without thinking. Something inside of him was awakened by the strong beverage he had just consumed. Soon after... Alex jumped on the serving table, pulling out a strange device from his item box: a single mic.