B4 - Chapter 2 - Expectations

Lily had no idea what to expect from her upcoming dinners, and that also extended to the establishment itself. While Kaeling had plenty to offer students, staff, and visitors alike, it didn't seem like the kind of place that would have a fancy restaurant catering to nobles. Luckily, Rose had paid her a visit, and she could ask her directly, since, as the resident glutton, she was bound to have the answer.

"You're absolutely right. No way Kaeling could keep a noble-tier restaurant running throughout the year, they'd go bankrupt from a lack of customers," Rose explained.

"Then where exactly are they planning on taking me?" Lily asked.

Rose rubbed her chin as she thought about it before answering. "Well, if they are lower-class nobles, they might take you to the best inn in the town. Even though it's primarily an inn, they're still better than pretty much every other restaurant in Kaeling."

Lily nodded, fully trusting Rose's opinions on the matter. While Lily enjoyed good food herself, clearly, Rose, who'd been taking advantage of her newfound popularity among the nobles, knew all the best spots in the area.

"But… If they really want to show off, then they will take you to The Velvet Hearth."

"The Velvet Hearth?" Lily asked curiously, as she had never even heard of it before.

Rose grinned. "I'm not surprised you don't know it, since they only open upon request. It's run by a retired adventuring couple, one of which is a former student of Regarth who decided to settle down."

"Adventurers who can cook?" Lily asked with a frown.

Her surprise and doubt were understandable, as Alice, another former adventurer, was the prime reason. She relied entirely on things like rations, instant soups, and other very simple supplies, and as a result, Lily would rather risk Aura's home cooking than Alice's.

Of course, there were exceptions like Thomas, although she still wouldn't expect him to serve the food expected of nobles, just general, everyday meals. Even someone like Professor Melina, who by all accounts was extremely good in the kitchen, produced stuff that was closer to homely meals, the kind of stuff a loving mother would make.

Rose gave a tiny smirk at Lily's response. "I can already guess you're thinking of someone like Alice, and no, The Velvet Hearth doesn't serve trail rations on a fancy plate."

"That's a relief…"

"Anyway, normally you'd probably be right, but in this case, they both retired super early. They struck it rich in a dungeon, though apparently it was a harrowing experience, and they quit immediately after. Luckily for them, they had enough treasure to buy some land and live out their life, but no doubt they got bored, and that's when they decided to take up a hobby together."

"So cooking… I'm surprised they didn't apply to be professors or something."

"I think they probably did at one point," Rose agreed. "But not everyone is cut out to be a teacher. I certainly couldn't teach anyone…"

"You'd probably try to punch the first kid who badmouthed you," Lily giggled.

"Or throw them out of the nearest window," Rose agreed with a chuckle. "You'd probably make a good teacher, judging by how you taught your friends and even me that Magesight."

Lily vehemently shook her head. "No way, I'd get far too nervous having that many eyes on me. Also, I was basically just repeating Arakil's explanations, so you can't give me credit for that."

"And all the times you tried to get me to draw glyphs?" Rose pressed.

"That's still stuff I got from Arakil…" Lily insisted.

Rose tried a few more times before giving up and returning to the original topic. "Anyway… So they retired early and have spent years trying various things together before settling on cooking. Needless to say, having a magician in the kitchen had its advantages, and with their background, they had all sorts of connections to the right people and ingredients, and the rest is history."

"I guess it's true when they say you never know where life will take you…" Lily murmured, still dumbfounded at how they went through all the effort of becoming adventurers, only to get both a lucky break and cold feet at the same time.

"Well, their food is worth it, and even if you have the money, you can't necessarily get a booking, so if you're lucky enough to go there, make sure you enjoy it."

"They must be doing well if they can afford to turn down customers…"

"I think it probably feeds into their fame by being so exclusive. Anyway, I'll keep my fingers crossed that that's where you are going."

"Um… Maybe it's a bit late to ask this now, but what am I supposed to wear?"

"Just wear your uniform if you don't have anything fancy. Regarth has its own prestige, so it basically counts as formal wear."

Lily raised her eyebrow. "Surely you're joking…"

"Nope, I'm dead serious. I wore my uniform to pretty much everything I was invited to. If you want, you could even wear your first-place medal to show off, I'd even recommend it."

"Didn't Lady Desthu give you fancy clothes?" Lily asked, avoiding the recommendation.

"Outgrew them or damaged them," Rose answered with a shrug.

Lily sighed, wondering if her big sister would one day have an official title of being the destroyer of clothes. After that, they continued to chat, with Rose throwing around little tidbits where she could in the hopes of calming down Lily. Rose repeatedly emphasized that Lily didn't have to agree to anything and to lean on Hana if things got too awkward for any reason.

But that doesn't help me with the Viremonts…

***

Classes the next day continued as normal, with the somewhat relaxed pace persisting, and when the last one was finished, Hana approached Lily with visible excitement.

"I hope you're looking forward to it, my parents booked a really fancy place by the sounds of it."

"The Velvet Hearth?" Lily asked with a hint of expectation. After having Rose go on and on about it, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't a bit interested.

"Damn, so much for the surprise," Hana chuckled. "I'm guessing your big sister told you about it?"

Lily nodded. "Have you been there before?"

"No, but my dad raved about it. He's quite the foodie, so I've got big expectations."

"I'm going in my uniform… Do you mind copying me?"

"Yeah, no problem. I was never one for big fancy dresses, which I probably got from my dad…"

"Do you get along with him more than your mom?" Lily asked curiously.

"Kinda but not really, if that makes sense?" Hana awkwardly answered, then tried to explain herself. "My dad is on the adventurer side, so I just happen to interact with him more than my mom. I'd be lying if I said the noble politics and whatnot aren't a bother, but I don't hate my mom for it. She's doing what's best for the family."

I guess that's kind of like Rose and me… I don't hate Rose because I'm getting pulled into all this noble stuff. If anything, it's probably better that she draws some of the attention away from me.

"By the way, do you want to take a carriage or walk to Kaeling?" Hana asked. "I figured if we choose the latter, we can work up a big appetite."

"That depends…"

"Depends on what?" Hana asked, tilting her head.

"Are we walking walking, or are we jogging walking?" Lily replied while ensuring she was staring straight at Hana.

In response, Hana averted her gaze, followed by a small, awkward chuckle. "Um… I suppose we can walk walk."

Lily smiled and nodded. "Good. Because the last thing I want is to be sweaty when I meet your parents. Unless you want me to embarrass myself?"

"No, I just figured you'd use your cleaning ring after the run—I mean walk!"

Lily narrowed her eyes as she gazed at the guilty girl in front of her. It seemed her intuition had been spot-on; her friend had been planning to drag her through a marathon right before dinner. But, after seeing what became of Arthur countless times before, she knew better…

Even with my cleaning ring, that's not going to stop me from being out of breath! Not everyone has your stamina and joy of running!

"So… Um… We'd better get going then. Since we are walking, we need to leave now, or we will be late," Hana said, trying to shift the subject.

Lily sighed before nodding. Hana was right that if they didn't leave now, they would be late, forcing them to jog, or worse, run the rest of the way.

Wait… If she was trying to get us to run there from the start, what was she planning to do with the free time? Sit around? No… I bet she wanted us to do laps around Kaeling or something equally stupid!

"I already promised we could walk, why are you still looking at me as if I'm guilty?" Hana asked.

"No, I'm just feeling sorry for Arthur," Lily replied.

"What does Arthur have to do with this?"

Lily just shook her head, refusing to elaborate further and leaving Hana wondering what was going on. Before they left, they both said goodbye to the rest of their group, with Lotte looking quite jealous about missing out.

When they were out of earshot of the rest of the group, Hana spoke up to Lily while they continued walking. "I'll ask my dad to get me a recommendation, then maybe I can treat all of us when we pass our exams."

"That's a great idea. I'm sure they'll love it."

"I'm glad you agree. It'll be a good way to welcome the holiday, because I don't think we will be eating too well after that."

Lily blinked in confusion. "Why wouldn't we be eating well during the holiday?"

"Well, it's not like dungeon food is all that good. Although I guess compared to Aura's cooking, even the rations look tasty."

"Ahh, right, sorry, even though Rose told me about the dungeon opening up, it completely slipped my mind. I know she basically lived down there during the entire holiday."

"I don't blame her. From what I heard about the secret rooms, they are amazing. I'd probably try to move my entire room down there if I could."

"They're that good?" Lily questioned. "After Rose dodged the question, I sort of stopped asking about them."

"As long as you find one that's a decent size, I've heard you can do pretty much anything you want with it. If you want to turn it into a home, a bakery, a gym, a workshop, or whatever else you want, you're welcome to do it. I know it's gossip, but I've heard some people completely renovate their secret rooms with all the bells and whistles."

"That does sound exciting. I wonder what Rose did with hers."

"Why spoil the surprise? In my opinion, you should rather reach the floor it's on and see it for yourself."

Lily scratched her head as she mulled it over before finally agreeing. Usually, she wasn't the biggest fan of secrets and such, but this would at least function as a pretty good motivator for her to reach the twentieth floor as quickly as possible.

The pair continued chatting as they walked, though a few times along the way Lily caught Hana secretly speeding up. Lily was fine with the first few increases, but when it started exceeding a brisk walk and entering jogging territory, she put her foot down. Thankfully, Hana listened to reason after a bit of an awkward chuckle. It was like the girl had a fire in her pants, and Lily wondered how she even managed to sit still in class.

When they finally reached Kaeling, they had roughly half an hour to kill before the appointment, and after both used Lily's ring to freshen up, they wandered around and did a bit of window shopping. Most of their talk on the way had been about school, the dungeon, their friends, or just random stuff, but several times Lily had asked about Hana's parents.

Hana had to repeatedly tell Lily not to worry and that neither of them would bite her head off. She also revealed that she had made her parents promise not to push any boundaries, and also swore that she would intervene if any awkward situations began to fester.

Eventually, it was time, and following Hana's directions, they reached a house near the outskirts of the town. Compared to the other houses, this one was notably larger, with what looked like it had undergone several renovations. Rather than knocking at the front door, Hana gestured to the back, and they went around to see, effectively, a second, smaller building stitched to the side.

Standing outside the door, conversing, were two tall figures dressed in relatively modest yet clearly formal attire. Hana practically ran up to greet them, leaving Lily gulping nervously. Despite all the reassurances and feeling relatively fine up until this point, it suddenly felt like hundreds of butterflies were swarming in her stomach.

Damn it, Rose… The food had better be worth it.