So of course, I'm seated at a table on the front balcony of some overly fancy cafe.

With Shaya.

Which is fine, I just… don't entirely understand why exactly we're here, apart from Alice telling me to take my best friend and go look at 'the modern fashions' in the academy town, eat at this specific cafe (for which she'd already made a reservation), and walk around the park in the center.

She'd even dressed me up in halfway fancy men's clothing, which would probably look good enough on a man. On me though? It just seems to emphasize the limited amount of muscle I've managed to bulk since I became an ascendant to begin with.

I guess I'm at least a lot more toned than I used to be.

…

And thin.

…

…

Well, whatever. If this is all Alice wants for the first favor then I guess I don't have any choice but to play along.

Shaya, however, seems completely out of her depth. She keeps looking around, rubbernecking as though she'd never seen this town before, even though I know for a fact she has. It's getting a little bit annoying, I'll admit, so finally I snap my fingers and she flinches, eyes immediately shooting to me.

｢What?｣ she sharply signs before seeming to catch herself. ｢Sorry. What is it?｣

Even if I know them at a glance by now, I still don't know how to make most of the words to express what I want to so I simply gesture around and simply say, ｢New?｣

｢Yes, no. Town no. Here yes.｣

That makes sense. I haven't been here either and nod back. ｢Same.｣

We sit in silence a bit longer – not that we ever actually talk – until a server in a simple uniform over almost perfectly concealed light armor sachets over to us carrying an unnecessarily fancy platter… which is still less fancy than all the crap Alice always has.

Oh. Am I getting spoiled?

I shake my head lightly to clear my thoughts as the man sets dishes before us with grace clearly born not just from stats but extensive training. Why is an ascendant working here? And how do I know he's an ascendant?

Well, whatever. With a polite bow and a prim and proper "enjoy your meal," he glides off again. It takes me a moment to realize that he'd vanished after moving only ten feet or so away, but it's easy enough to explain with a Skill so I don't fixate on it.

My friend just looks at me expectantly for a moment before I remember that weird tradition… I don't usually bother since nobody else at the table ever does – whether we're in the portal mansion or the cafeteria – but whenever it's just us, she always wants to do this, and I always oblige her.

｢We eat,｣ we sign together before picking up one of the utensils in unison.

I wonder how this kind of weird whatever-it-is even gets started. It's not like any of it matters…

Although I guess the small smile on Shaya's face says otherwise, so it's fine. It's good that my best friend is happy with this, and I can play along.

...And then, after all that ceremony, I set the fork back down. I'd gotten a sandwich, after all. There's no need for utensils.

It seemed strange to me to begin with that a place this seemingly fancy would even have a variety of sandwiches, but I guess that's just the kind of clientele you get in an academy town. A lot of the people here are much fancier and well-to-do than I am… even if my mom is rich and I live in a mansion with a terrifying yet incredibly helpful maid.

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The first bite clears away my confusion though…

It's good.

It's really, really good.

Resisting the urge to eat faster isn't an easy feat, not now, but I do my best anyway. Shaya seems to appreciate when I maintain at least a little bit of decorum, and she seems to have noticed from the satisfied look on her face.

Or maybe it's just that what she ordered is as good as my sandwich.

…

What even is it? It looks like some kind of bug, maybe. It's definitely not a crab, it doesn't have any pincers… at least I recognize the greens around it, but the sauce and little things on top of the shell aren't familiar to me either.

She must have noticed my glance, considering the next moment she's already scooped a bit of meat from it and swirled it in the sauce before holding it out toward me. At first I'm not sure how to respond… it doesn't seem like anything too strange to me considering Judy always used to badger me to feed her for some reason, but I'll admit that eating a bug doesn't seem too appetizing.

But since she's actually offering… and really seems to like it… and besides, she's my best friend…

I take the morsel from her fork while trying to block out its origin.

An almost fishy flavor coats my mouth before it gets much more savory, with an overtone of some kind a very slightly sweet fruit… was this marinated? And the sauce… I don't even know what it is. I've never tasted anything like it, but it definitely complements the rest.

…

…

After another moment or two of unexpected bliss it registers that Shaya has been watching me this entire time.

"What?" I ask absentmindedly.

She smiles back. "Is good?"

I nod sheepishly. There's no doubt in my mind that she could see my trepidation plain as day, but it doesn't seem to bother her.

We stay at our table for while longer after finishing our meals, long enough that the server reappears and offers us a dessert menu. I'm not exactly in the mood for it, but since my friend looks curious I take him up on it anyway.

…

…

I have no idea what most of this is, and there's no pictures…

To my momentary horror Olive hops from my shoulder directly onto the table before it registers that she's incorporeal, so the odds of fur or dirty paws or anything getting on the tablecloth is out of the question.

But Olive certainly doesn't seem upset, instead looking at the menu herself before slapping a paw down on one of the options and letting out a small yap.

That one?

(Yes.)

Huh.

Well, she hasn't steered me wrong before. Shaya doesn't seem to recognize anything either, so it's not like we have any other options besides guessing.

That's when it occurs to me that the server is still right there waiting, though he's done such a fantastic job of masking his presence that I'd entirely forgotten. It's actually not a bad idea, not at all, considering a lot of people probably can't decide well if they're aware of someone right there watching.

"Oho, an exquisite choice!" the man says with a flourish before beginning to fade back into the shadows, but I quickly catch him before he completely vanishes.

"Hey, uh, mister. What exactly is it? I can't read whatever language this is."

"Ah yes, many do not know the obounis tongue, let alone read it. This dish is the black truffle compote a la mode with a desert cinnamon garnish."

And then he leans toward me conspiratorially and subtly flicks his eyes toward Shaya before continuing. "It's quite popular with young ladies."

I blink in confusion but by the time I've gathered my wits enough to ask what the hells he's talking about, he's already disappeared.

My System Assistant seem happy enough though. Well, whatever. I'm sure she picked something good.

…

A short while later we've got a platter in the center of the table holding a thin crust with a syrupy something-or-other inside in the center of the table with a scoop of ice cream to one side. Two scoops of ice cream each containing an artistic swirl of dark brown sit on the edge, drizzled with a bright red sauce of some kind. And true to his word, there's a few sticks of cinnamon sticking from them.

"I guess this is it then," I idly muse as I reach for the… wait, why is there only one set of silverware?

Shaya watches me intently, leaning forward to rest her elbows on the table, chin on her folded hands, seemingly waiting to see what exactly I'm going to do next.

Not like there's much else I can do. I'd ask the server for another set but he's nowhere to be found.

Sighing lightly, I carefully spoon up some ice cream before dunking it in the truffle goop, then offer it across the table. After a moment of apparent surprise, my friend carefully takes the bite, holding her hair back on one side to keep it out of the way.

The rapturous look on her face doesn't leave any question as to whether it's good, but before I can think too much about it she's deftly taken the spoon from my outstretched arm and is already returning the favor.

…

…

It's good.

Oh, it's good.

Olive smiles smugly up at me from where she still sits to one side, and I can't help but offer her an appreciative nod.

…

But…

Why exactly does this taste familiar?

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