You can see the picture of Meowki on the comment section!
***
The party entered the restaurant, taking seats at a table with five chairs, close to where Ashtarot was seated.
Landon still dragged the mysterious woman along, as she seemed about to faint. Once they were settled, the server approached to take their orders.
"Ah, just tell Master Lai, the usual for the..." he whispered to the server, "Hero party." His face turned red with embarrassment.
"Ah, you're the wannabe hero party, understood," the server said loudly, jotting down the order.
"Ah! Don't say it like that! It's embarrassing!" Maelyrra screamed, whispering fiercely at the same time.
The server just shrugged and headed to the kitchen to inform Master Lai of the order.
"What's wrong with 'wannabe hero party'? It's not that bad, though it does sound like a twelve-year-old's dream."
The woman suddenly chimed in with a teasing tone, grinning. Her voice was so loud, that even people on the outside could hear her.
"You! You did that on purpose, didn't you!" Ismene pointed at the woman, irritated, while the woman just stuck out her tongue in response.
"Why did you name it 'wannabe hero party' in the first place, if I may ask?"
Ashtarot interjected, curious about their conversation. This group intrigued him; after watching their action on the 14th floor, they might one day be the ones to clear this dungeon.
"Ahh! That's... just, you know, a hero phase," Landon said, eyes darting around as his face turned red. "Anyway, thank you for letting us in." He smiled gratefully.
"No problem. Eating just the three of us is boring anyway," Ashtarot replied, taking a bite of his ice cream.
"Wow, you must be rich to book this whole place," Maelyrra exclaimed. "And you are gorgeous too!" Her eyes shone; like many women, she appreciated a handsome man.
Sorrush now pouted and hugged Ashtarot's arm protectively, her jaw clenched as she glared at Maelyrra, who seemed oblivious to the situation.
'What a parasite. If she dares touch my beloved Ashtarot, I'll make sure she dies the most painful death!' she thought fiercely.
"And what do you mean, three? There are only two of you?" Ismene asked, wondering about the rest of their party.
Ashtarot then pushed something forward to show them. It was Meowki the First, dressed in a white robotic outfit and helmet, its pastel blue and white colors giving it a cute appearance.
"Oh wow! That's adorable! Is it a cat? A monster? Why is it so tame? Are you a monster tamer? What floor is it from?" Maelyrra stood up from her seat to observe Meowki, touching its ears and causing them to move.
"AAAWWWW~" She kept touching Meowki and even hugged it. It was soft like a plushie.
Ashtarot, happy to find someone who loved his creature, stood up and grabbed Meowki's shoulder.
"This! This!" he exclaimed, full of spirit.
But the realization hit him, he couldn't reveal everything about his beloved Meowki, he sighed in disappointment, "This is a monster from my hometown. Yes, he is a cat."
"Poor you, you must miss your hometown," Landon said sympathetically, clearly misunderstanding the situation.
"Understandable. I kinda miss mine too. But it was destroyed a long time ago," Osson, who had been silent, chimed in, his face nostalgic.
"You are wrong, I jus—" Ashtarot started to clear up the misunderstanding but was interrupted.
"We know how you feel. We are true comrades now," Landon nodded in determination, standing up and nodded at him.
Ashtarot furrowed his brows in disgust. "What?" There was no way he would be friends with a human being; he found them utterly repulsive.
"AKH! STOP ALL OF THIS BULLSHIT! WHERE IS THE FOOODDDD?!" The woman hit the table vigorously, her spirit rising as she smelled the aroma of food from the kitchen.
"STOP IT, YOU SHAMELESS! We don't even know your name!" Ismene grabbed the woman's hand to stop her from hitting the table.
"UGHHH!!! HUNGRRYYY!!!!" The woman flopped onto the table, hitting it once more before finally saying, "My name is Bel..."
The rest of the party and Ashtarot sighed at Bel's behavior, as she acted like a child. Meanwhile, Sorrush was busy glaring at Maelyrra, cursing her internally while trying to get Ashtarot's attention.
"Ashtarot! Look at me and talk to me only! Huhu, why are you busy with them" Sorrush pouted, hugging him tightly, she almost cried.
"You're not a child anymore, stop acting like one," he said, trying to let her go, but she clung to him like glue. In the end, he gave up and let her do whatever she wanted.
"This is our date! Just give attention to meee!!!" she gazed at him with puppy eyes, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.
Ashtarot closed his eyes, resigned. He knew Sorrush was just acting like a crybaby and wanted attention so badly that she would annoy him to get it.
He patted her head, indulging her antics until they were done eating. He even fed her food to make her happy, already planning to punish her later—a punishment she liked as much as he did.
Ashtarot smiled from ear to ear, imagining it, while the hero party suddenly felt a shiver run down their spines because of that.
Soon after, the food for the wannabe hero party was served: a giant stack of meat. Bel immediately grabbed a piece and ate it in one go, having been starving for a whole week due to being lost in the dungeon.
Maelyrra ate with equal vigor as if she hadn't eaten in ages. The rest of the party shook their heads, eating peacefully and elegantly.
After everyone was full, Bel became aware of her surroundings and remembered all the annoying things that had happened in the dungeon, especially how other parties had kept their distance and not helped her. This made her clench her fists in anger.
"Ck, this dumb dungeon is the worst!" she exclaimed, drawing everyone's attention.
"How can all the hallways look the same?! Where is the map?! Why did I get lost in the first place?! Stupid ass!!!" she continued to protest.
Ashtarot, hearing this, became annoyed and eventually angered to the point that he almost blew his disguise as his horns started to appear. He wanted to blast his aura but knew that would kill all the humans present.
So he stood up and approached Bel, looking at her with his menacing red eyes that bore into everyone's soul.
"Can you repeat what you said again and explain it in great detail?" he asked, trying to be polite even as his temple throbbed.
One of his jobs was to receive criticism, so he needed to be ready for whatever harsh words the dungeon dwellers might say, even if he wanted to strangle them.