Ch.47Date? – 1

“Y-Your Majesty, K-King Charlotte de Gargantua, I-I am honored to meet you.”

The shop owner trembled as he greeted Serena and Charlotte.

He seemed to be trying his best to maintain a smile and keep his movements natural to avoid giving any reason for complaint, but it didn’t appear to be working.

He looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.

Behind him stood all the restaurant’s staff and chefs lined up in a row. And every single one of them wore the same expression as their boss, looking like they might break down crying at any second.

They were shaking so pitifully that, considering Charlotte’s extremely displeased mood, it seemed like that alone might be enough to cost them their heads.

We were currently in the restaurant with the red roof tiles that the old man had introduced when I was with Serena.

Being just past 11 o’clock, it was an awkward time with few customers, but with Charlotte’s sudden appearance, even those few had scurried away, practically fleeing the place.

Recalling that the second and third floors catered to wealthy customers, they must have been fairly rich or powerful people, but even so, they were like candles before the sun when faced with Charlotte.

No matter how strong their influence might be, how could it compare to Charlotte’s?

The owner, who had been doing good business until the king’s appearance struck like a bolt from the blue, rushed out to greet Charlotte. As soon as he noticed that Charlotte appeared to be in a very bad mood, he began sweating profusely.

One wrong move and both his life and his establishment could be gone in an instant.

Meanwhile, the source of all this terror was looking around at the interior structure with an attitude that suggested complete indifference to whatever these lowly beings might do.

To the owner and staff, even that behavior probably looked like searching for any excuse to find fault with the place, but from my perspective, Charlotte was simply looking around.

“Show me the way.”

“P-Pardon? Yes! Right away!”

Despite the abruptness of the command, the owner somehow understood what Charlotte meant.

He signaled to a staff member behind him, who brought several bundles of red carpet and laid them along Charlotte’s path. It must have been quite high-quality material, as it completely muffled any footsteps.

The place the owner guided us to was a room at the very back of the third floor, visibly opulent beyond compare.

While the second and third floors were generally decorated in an aristocratic style, this room was far more extravagant.

The table and chairs were adorned with gold, and the chairs in particular were so large they could easily be mistaken for sofas.

The softly lit candles gave off a peculiar scent, suggesting they were closer to aromatic candles. Black and gold curtains hung on either side of the door.

The structure allowed for complete privacy when the curtains were drawn.

The staff who had followed us entered first with disciplined steps and carefully pulled out the chairs for Serena and Charlotte to sit.

I thought they were impressively composed in this situation, but their expressions, like those of the other staff, revealed they were gripped by the fear of death should they make any mistake.

Incidentally, they didn’t pull out a chair for me, as Charlotte had cast an existence-erasing spell on me targeting everyone in this place. Yes, the same one used in the royal palace.

Apparently, if this spell hadn’t been cast, we would have had to extract the memories of everyone here after finishing our meal.

As Serena and Charlotte took their seats, other staff members filed in and began the basic table setting.

Plates, knives, and forks were placed, and small patterned bowls of salad were set next to the knives. Soon after, a bottle of wine was carefully placed on the table.

When the table setting was complete, the staff filed out, leaving only the owner with a pen and paper in his trembling hands and the two staff members who had initially pulled out the chairs.

Serena and Charlotte remained indifferent.

“U-um, what would you like to eat?”

“The most expensive items. I’ll decide on the rest later.”

“Y-yes, of course! I’ll have it prepared immediately!”

The owner quickly left as soon as he had an excuse to vacate the room. The sliding door closed, leaving me, Serena, Charlotte, and the two petrified staff members in the room.

Charlotte issued one more command.

“Leave.”

“Y-yes, of course. P-please… enjoy your meal.”

The two left, trembling but with expressions of relief, and the door closed again. The room with just the three of us was utterly silent.

This was especially true since both Serena and Charlotte made no effort to hide their discomfort.

Since Charlotte naturally occupied the head seat, I pulled out the chair to Charlotte’s right, opposite from Serena, and sat down.

The feel was completely different from an ordinary leather chair. It was soft and enveloping, yet by no means flimsy.

There was nothing in front of me—no plate, no cutlery. This was natural since the staff couldn’t see me due to the existence-erasing spell.

Seeing this, Charlotte made a gesture, and my seat briefly glowed blue before an identical table setting appeared.

I ran my finger over the plate. It was a real plate. The fork and knife placed on either side were also real. It seemed they had been brought here using teleportation magic.

Such precision was something other mages wouldn’t even dare attempt.

“So.”

Charlotte was the first to break the long silence.

“How did you come to know of this place, my dear?”

“I heard about it from someone who lives here. I don’t know every city in the kingdom, after all.”

“You’ve chosen a rather shabby place, but not a bad one nonetheless. I shall commend you for that.”

“Shabby? This?”

I glanced around the room. The interior was fit for a city lord’s dining experience.

Considering Charlotte’s status, such a comment wasn’t incomprehensible, but I wouldn’t call this place shabby by any means.

“I call what is shabby, shabby. What else would you have me call it?”

“Aren’t your standards a bit too high?”

“Everything under the name of Gargantua is as good as mine, so why should it be wrong to seek only the best among them?”

“I didn’t say it was wrong. It just seemed surprisingly fancy to me, so your reaction was unexpected.”

“Have you not indulged in luxury and pleasure throughout your life? Think of it as an extension of that. It’s quite simple. It’s just that my standards for luxury and pleasure are a bit higher.”

Charlotte said this with a proud smile. Usually, that’s what people mean by having high standards. Despite the fancy wording, Charlotte was essentially agreeing with me. It seemed very characteristic of Charlotte.

“As you once mentioned, even an immortal being cannot ignore the pleasures that beauty and food provide. So, enjoy yourself at ease. I can promise you in the name of Gargantua that I have absolutely no intention of charging you for the cost.”

Charlotte added, “Of course, you must also absolutely refrain from seeking beauty elsewhere,” and lightly flicked a finger.

With the sound of friction, my wine glass filled with red wine. I wondered how this was done, but figured it was probably through some kind of transfer portal.

Not that I could imitate it even if I knew.

“Except for you.”

Charlotte’s finger pointed at Serena. The glass in front of her was empty.

“There is only one person in this world worthy of my hospitality. I would like nothing more than to throw you out of here right now, but I shall charitably provide you with food as if giving alms to a beggar. Get down on all fours beneath this table and eat gratefully. Isn’t that the appropriate way for a beast?”

“Charlotte, at your age, how can you be so child—”

Her words were forcibly cut off. The tip of her tongue, caught between her front teeth, fell onto the table with droplets of blood, leaving a crimson stain.

A metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. Should I be grateful she didn’t send an ice spear through my throat like last time?

I focused on my tongue to accelerate its regeneration and picked up the wine bottle sitting a short distance away.

It was only because I had suggested coming here and was present that their argument ended with just verbal sparring; if not for that, they would have long since demonstrated how bad their relationship was through actions.

“How dare a loser who forcibly inserted herself between my lord and me talk so much. They say people talk more when they’re anxious, and that seems exactly right.”

“Forcibly inserted? I simply found a more suitable match for each of us. What meaning could there be in a human walking around with a beast, other than taking a pet for a walk?”

“Have you never considered that it’s far better to be a beloved pet to my lord than to be an unloved loser?”

“So you finally admit that you’re nothing but a beast. Very well. I shall graciously let it pass. Nothing is more foolish than getting angry at a beast that cannot understand words.”

“I notice you don’t deny that you don’t receive my lord’s love, which means you’ve accepted that you’re a loser.”

The conversation stopped there.

Perhaps they had both reached the limits of their patience, as forks and knives floated up on either side of Charlotte.

Serena also picked up the knife beside her plate and infused it with mana. That they were still showing this minimal restraint was at least something to be thankful for.

“Both of you, stop.”

As soon as I spoke, the forks and knives that were about to be launched like projectiles returned to their places.

The knife that had nearly carved human flesh instead of steak was placed back on the table with a clatter.

The terrifying atmosphere between them had somehow subsided.

“Did you really have to fight like this after coming all the way here?”

“I apologize, my lord.”

“…I will not apologize.”

Unlike Serena, who immediately bowed her head to me, Charlotte sniffed and projected an “I’m sulking” aura with her entire body.

Sighing, I poured some wine into Serena’s glass while the two were arguing, having already removed the cork.

Serena was startled and hurriedly cupped the glass with both hands. Given how quickly she moved in that short time, she must have used physical enhancement.

I was about to put down the wine bottle after matching the level with my glass by eye, when I felt someone tugging at my sleeve from the left.

That would be Charlotte’s position. Wondering why, I looked to my left. Charlotte was holding a wine glass in her left hand and gently pulling at my clothes with her right.

“Pour for me too.”

“Why you?”

“My glass is empty, is it not?”

“What are you talking about? Yours was filled along with mine at the begin—”

Charlotte lightly swirled the wine glass in her left hand. It was completely empty. There wasn’t even a trace of wine having been in it.

She must have used some trick. When I gave her a brief glance, Charlotte smirked as if she had never been sulking.

After going to such lengths, what could I do? I had to give her what she wanted. I poured wine into her glass to roughly the same level as mine and set the bottle down.

Serena was blankly staring at her glass with the wine I had poured, while Charlotte was examining the contents of her glass, turning it this way and that.

“This isn’t such an elegant wine.”

“Really? How much does it cost?”

“Two digits in gold coins should be sufficient. This is surely the most expensive wine here, yet it proves how shabby this place truly is.”

“…”

Charlotte’s critique of the establishment continued until the appetizers arrived.

When the owner entered the room and heard Charlotte disparaging his establishment, he collapsed to the floor in terror, but when nothing happened for a while, he explained the dishes with a face contorted by fear before crawling out of the room again.

In Charlotte’s words, “He reacts that way because he has something to feel guilty about,” but I’m not so sure.