28: A plate to go please!

Dain hadn’t left the palace much as a child; heck, even as an adult, he preferred the deep chambers and silence to the busy streets of his father’s capital. Few of the citizens viewed Dain positively, as the rumors of a reclusive prince always portrayed him as a weird hermit who treated his maids poorly. A rumor he was certain came from his brethren and their mothers.

Despite his overall lack of experience, he knew enough from his books and tutors, and the sights before him were beyond his imagination.

After that night, he had barely managed to avoid detection by those two hunters. He was lucky that the woman was arrogant enough to believe her magic foolproof. The headstart her carelessness gave him was more than enough to keep ahead, even if they were a much higher level than him.

‘I always knew those survival books would come in handy.’ While he was safe for now, the memories of the last month still repeated in his mind. Dain had almost been done in by the local wildlife, something that the duo chasing him would probably love. Unfortunately for them, the higher-leveled beasts had disappeared two weeks into his escape, with only a few weaker animals that he could kill and eat.

It was only a week ago that he had stumbled across this city. According to the locals and the guards, it was called Runehold. Originally, he had been en route to a different city, but this worked well enough in his favor. Of course, he knew of the city, as it was a dungeon town, but little information had made it back other than it was still holding against the invading Vexus.

He considered himself one lucky bastard (quite literally), ‘Especially considering the local powers. Dain couldn’t help but think.

While he didn’t know it till a few days ago, the city had a guardian spirit, which by itself was unusual. Even more particularity it didn’t seem to be aligned with any of the churches.

…it even had its own following.

‘A cult, most assuredly, I am surprised my father has put up with it this long, maybe he doesn’t know?’ Dain couldn’t help but think.

Shaking his head slightly, he returned to the present. He was sitting at a restaurant’s window booth. It was flung wide open with white curtains billowing in the slight breeze that filled the strange city.

Despite the ball of flames that his carriage had become, his purse had been able to resist the explosion and the fire, meaning that he fortunately kept all of his money, allowing him to afford the niceties of civilization.

The establishment he was in was a two-story building that occupied the corner of the central market of the city. In his opinion, it was the best location for such a restaurant. It was a rather exotic restaurant named “Kilton’s Plaza”, and while he didn’t know half of the dish names on the menu, the names sounded enticing enough.

‘Sirens Lure sounds quite interesting… let’s get that.’

Relaying his choice to a nearby waiter, he returned to one of his new favorite pastimes, people watching. From this vantage point, he could see quite a few people passing by, as well as the people inside the building.

Curiously, the bustle of the market never seemed to die down even as night crept closer; instead, it seemed that even more people began to creep out of their residences.

Dain had experienced the reason for this the night prior; it turns out this city, in the middle of nowhere, had a fully functional light system! It wasn’t even running off of the oils and other fuels that caused that obnoxious smoke that many of these small towns had, it was mana.

‘I still have no clue where they are getting the mana for it.’ When he had asked a passerby about it, they gave a brief explanation that the patron guardian was the one who set it up for the city. Apparently, the spirit took the form of an obsidian obelisk, it’s main body was hidden away in a separate village that many of Runehold had been to but still couldn’t find.

While there were areas within the capital city that had mana lights, it was particularly focused within the noble district, deep within the city, and never experienced by the commoners that lingered outside of the secondary walls. It was absolutely fascinating to see them used in such quantity.

Caught in his head, Dain barely noticed when the dish he ordered was brought to his table and sat in front of him. For a moment, he didn’t question its appearance, but as his attention returned, so did his judgment.

‘What in Selium’s name is that?’

The Sirin’s Lure was nothing as he expected. Sure, it was a form of seafood, that much he could understand, but a fried tentacle? Really? Who thought that was an appropriate meal? If he squinted hard enough, the fruit and greenery made it look somewhat appetizing, but it was still somewhat repulsive.

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Trying his best to remain polite, he waved over the waitress who had been attending him, “Excuse me. Are you sure this is what I ordered?”

With a laugh, the lady grinned with humor, “Yes, and I guess it’s safe to assume you have never eaten here?” Seeing Dain nod, she continued, “Ah, that explains it, all of the dishes here are ‘unique’ like that, personally, Sirin’s Lure isn’t my preference, but it’s yum. The chef may make some weird foods, but they take pride in them. Just give it a taste.”

Watching her leave with no tiny amount of instant regret, Dain almost wanted to get something else, but frankly, he didn’t want to bother the waitress again, nor seem too picky.

Using one of the laid out spoons to take a bite of the soft fruit in a side dish before taking the leap of faith that was the real meal, Dain couldn’t help but be surprised once again.

It was quite tart but had a nice sweet aftertaste. It was only after eating the rest of it that he set the spoon aside and instead looked toward today’s greatest enemy.

Taking his fork and knife, he gently cut into it, wincing slightly as the crunchy layer gave way to a much softer and more delicate flesh underneath.

Unable to look at the small piece of sea creature on his utensil, Dain took a small bite of the flesh while not looking at it.

‘Oh my’

For whatever unholy reason, it was absolutely delicious. Somehow, it was almost perfectly tender, and the fried exterior helped give it that correct texture where it wasn’t too soft but had the perfect combination.