Chapter 196

"Alright, Xiaomi, you're full of spirit. Hope you can be this spirited when it's time to eat rice later too!"

Broly praised this little girl from a poor Red Demon Clan family, then stood up and followed her out the door.

"Hey, wait for us!"

Darkness picked up her pack and followed.

"Does this place have any good booze?"

Aqua ran up front and asked the small girl.

"Aqua-sama, please don't ask a child about alcohol!"

Wiz persuaded from the side.

"Snap~"

The shabby wooden door was pulled shut, and Houste inside the room, holding a teacup, fell into a silent state.

"I really want to run away right now!"

Houste sighed, but still cleaned up the clay teacups on the shabby wooden table.

But perhaps because he had never done this sort of thing, there was only a crack sound, and a clay teacup was crushed by him.

Looking at the shattered cup in his hand, then looking at this incomparably shabby home, cold sweat broke out on Houste's forehead.

"It's just a clay cup, this should be able to be glued back together, right?"

"Boss, give me one serving of the largest Oyakodon!"

A not-large restaurant; Xiaomi strode in with big steps and ran straight into the back kitchen, ordering from the shop boss busy inside.

"Isn't this Xiaomi? Did your dad give you money for food today?"

The shop boss was not unfamiliar with Xiaomi; the other party had always been brought to the restaurant back kitchen by her older sister before, secretly stealing kitchen waste to eat.

Originally, him looking after the two clan children eating here was no problem, but whether it was Huihui or her younger sister Xiaomi, they were both relatively proud kids.

They never ate food given with contempt, and were more willing to rely on their own two hands to obtain food, even if that was kitchen waste trash stolen by sneaking into their own family restaurant kitchen.

"Of course not, but today someone is treating!"

Xiaomi answered very directly.

"Who? Could it be that guy Green Cauliflower?"

As a Red Demon Clan idle youth who was usually somewhat idle in the village, the other party would sometimes look after Piao Sanlang's two children.

"It's not that NEET big brother who parasites off his parents; the one treating Xiaomi today is the amazing young man who defeated Xiaomi's powerful familiar!"

The shop boss was somewhat curious, and followed Xiaomi out; upon seeing four unfamiliar customers in the shop, his eyes narrowed.

Immediately after, the shop boss took up his own restaurant's menu, his footsteps moving quickly, and in a moment arrived at Broly and the others' side.

"Four customers, good noon. I am this restaurant's boss, I'm called Huoshao Jisi, the Red Demon Clan's number one restaurant chef, and simultaneously one who wields Advanced Magic..."

Still the Red Demon Clan template introduction; Xiaomi added from the side: "He's the Red Demon Clan's number one chef at making Oyakodon; as for number one at Ramen, that's Uncle Lala-san; number one at Bread is..."

"Cough cough, that's not important. The important thing is, what dishes do the four customers plan to sample of my culinary skills in my shop?"

The shop boss handed over the menu, revealing a look of eager anticipation, wanting to show off his most amazing skills.

"Order? No need to order. Put up one serving of everything on this menu that can be made."

Broly nowadays, when eating at unfamiliar restaurants, never orders; instead he has the restaurant serve every single dish once, sees which tastes best, then orders several more servings of that.

"Everything?"

"You can't make it?"

"No, it's just a bit of a challenge, but I am the Red Demon Clan's number one restaurant chef; I will not shrink back."

Speaking thus, this restaurant boss suddenly laughed loudly: "It seems it's time to let the world know my uniquely created Magic Culinary Arts of many years!"

Various cooking utensils were moved from the back kitchen to the front by the shop boss.

"Fireball~"

As flames emerged, he controlled the flames, splitting them into several sustained flames, and began making multiple dishes at the same time.

During this process, the Red Demon Clan restaurant boss before them displayed not only profound culinary skill in grasping heat, but also powerful ability in fine control of magic power.

However, for Broly and company who came to the restaurant to eat, their focus points were each different.

"What an amazing magic performance~"

Aqua focused on the acrobatic performance level the other party displayed while cooking multiple dishes simultaneously.

"These pots made from conductive magic power materials — if some were taken back to sell, wouldn't they sell big?"

Wiz, on the other hand, took some interest in the cooking utensils in the other party's hands.

"Miss Wiz, calm down. Would a normal Mage be a chef? Even if they were a chef, would they cook in this exaggerated way?"

As for Darkness, she persuaded the Lich lady from the side, telling her not to generate the idea of purchasing this kind of magic tool that would only lose money to sell back.

"When can we start eating?"

Various aromas wafted from different cooking utensils; Broly and Xiaomi sitting next to him were somewhat impatient about the matter of eating rice, and bluntly urged the shop boss. Fact proved, the method of controlling heat with magic to cook really has high efficiency, but besides high efficiency, the food made, when eaten, basically has no difference from things made with ordinary methods.

"So, what's the meaning of specially moving the cooking utensils out and using magic to cook in front of us?"

Darkness started complaining.

"That's obviously because doing it this way is cool!"

Xiaomi answered this question without the slightest hesitation, and her mouth and cheeks were puffed up like a hamster's, clearly already stuffed full of food.

After eating and drinking their fill, Wiz asked about when Xiaomi's father would return home, and from the girl's mouth obtained the news that if her dad's business was bad, he might not return until evening.

"This way, we'll have to stay the night here."

Wiz thought a bit, then asked the small girl.

"Is there an inn here?"

"Of course, gulp, there is~"

Xiaomi swallowed the food in her mouth before speaking.

And the inn she spoke of is called Red Romance.

Only, this inn has no red, nor any romance; it is just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill inn.

Even more so because few guests come to this village, it feels more like the home of the Red Demon Clan couple who run this inn — what is commonly called a guesthouse.

Fortunately, the rooms are often cleaned and tidied up, so they count as clean; the tables, chairs, benches, and stools inside are all complete, and the direct impression is actually much better than the situation at Xiaomi's house.

More importantly, the accommodation fee here is not expensive either; only, what is a bit strange is that the price for opening one room is actually a bit more expensive than the price for opening multiple rooms.

"What is this situation?"

Darkness is a bit curious, directly asking the Red Demon Clan couple who run the inn.

"This is the true meaning of this inn 【Red Romance】.

Think about it, Customer: a man and a woman traveling out, encountering an inn with only one room — those two staying together, isn't it possible that while they are in one room, some very romantic things might happen?

And this is this inn's extra charge for guests who open only one room and are of male and female identities."

"Hiss~"

Darkness sucks in a breath of cold air, surprisingly finding this charge suddenly reasonable.

"Customer, you want to open four single rooms, right? Please pay and register here..."

The male innkeeper takes out a dusty ledger, preparing to do the check-in registration, when he is suddenly stopped, his hand covered by the female knight's hand.

"No, please just give me one slightly larger room."

Darkness says seriously.

"But you are three girls and one man, and that man is still an underage child; wait, could it be you want to make a move on that underage child?"

The female innkeeper sucks in a breath, looking just like she is preparing to apprehend Darkness and stop the dirty adult from committing a crime against a child.

"No, things are not as you think; that child is my younger brother, my true target is actually the other two.

I know my own orientation is problematic, but I just can't control myself, and bringing my younger brother is just a cover, a helpless measure; yet please help me~"

"Ah, so that's how it is?"

The innkeeper couple exchange a glance, nodding at each other.

"We'll help you!"

Female knight's Red Romance, they've never seen it in their lifetime; this favor they absolutely must help with.

"Sorry, this inn seems to have only one large room left."

The returning Darkness says so.

"How is that possible? This village doesn't seem to have any other outside travelers, right?"

Aqua is a bit disbelieving.

"I can't do anything about it either; no extra rooms means no extra rooms; tonight the few of us can only squeeze into one room and sleep."

Everyone sleeping together, they'll probably dream together too; if so, Broly probably won't beat himself up too miserably in the dream, right?

But actually, even if he beats himself up miserably, it doesn't matter; at that time, Wiz and Aqua will probably be watching the scene of him getting beaten in the dream too.

Just thinking of that kind of situation, Darkness feels a little excited; this counts as her own humiliation of herself, right? Strange XP female knight's thoughts and schemes — no one understands, and no one knows.

Just in the evening, when Broly and the others, having arranged the accommodation, sent the well-fed Xiaomi home, what they saw was a demon piecing together clay cup fragments beside the house.

"Houste, what are you doing?"

Xiaomi leans over to ask.

"Ah, I— no, this grandpa isn't doing anything!"

The demon is a bit panicked, hurriedly using his body to shield the things he pieced together.

(Chapter End)