Chapter 66 The Boss of All Pies

“Being taken away, held by grimy, scum-of-the-world men like that with the idea of being sold off,” he answered, “It’s just the worst. As simple as that.”

It was clear that there was something inside of the young boy that spoke of firsthand experience, but Reno chose not to pry as she parted her lips quietly, stopping herself from emitting a word.

“I understand how you feel though,” he replied with a smile.

“–” Reno looked at him.

“You’re afraid of Urming getting hurt, aren’t you? I have a family that I care about, too,” he told her, “–Though, my old man definitely doesn’t need me worrying about him.”

Reno nodded slowly, “…Gramps Urming has done a lot for me–I can’t cause trouble for him. I don’t want to. He loves this place, ya know? It’s his pride and joy.”

“Is it?” He questioned.

“You’ll see,” Reno smiled again.

Amidst the wait for the “Big Bear Special”, an alluring aroma billowed from the kitchen, filling the dining area with the pleasant, sweet-and-savory fragrance.

“–“

Both of their stomachs ended up growling in response to this aroma, prompting him to shyly cover his stomach, but Reno just laughed out.

“Ya know, people around here say Gramps Urming has a special spell on his pies that can make stomachs talk!” Reno laughed.

“…I’m starting to believe that’s true,” he chuckled.

It wasn’t long after that the black-furred, bipedal bear stomped out, carrying with him a tray with a massive dome of steaming dough on top of it.

“…Woah…” He let out quietly.

For a moment, he didn’t even realize it was a pie as its size was so out of the ordinary, but it was undoubtedly a pie as through the veil of steam, the perfectly cooked, golden crust of the pie could be seen.

“One ‘Big Bear Special’ comin’ on up!” Urming announced.

The sparkle in Reno’s eyes was not unlike that of a child on Christmas morning as she giddily watched as the towering bear placed the massive pie down on the table.

Meanwhile, he watched in silent awe and horror at the meal that was just set down on the table. The pie itself was heavy enough to where the table squeaked beneath its weight. If that wasn’t enough, the amount of steam exuding from the specially-crafted dome of pastry was enough to make him sweat.

“This is…” He gulped, “…A lot.”

Urming laughed out mightily, “Hah! Why do ya think it’s called the ‘Big Bear Special’?”

“Why?” He asked.

“It’s the amount of pie it takes to fill this old bear up!” Urming laughed, slapping his own stomach.

Though it was almost too much to believe that the pie as large as the table itself was something of the norm for the restaurant owner, it wasn’t difficult to buy after another look at the towering bear.

“…You eat this much? Is that even possible?” He asked.

Reno laughed, “Are ya scared or something? Not up for the challenge?”

He glanced up, “I didn’t say that.”

It was still exuding enough steam to be inedible for another few minutes, which was a scary idea since it was likely a lethal amount of heat if one wound up inside of that pie.

“How much is this, anyway?” He asked.

Urming scratched his chin, “Depends.”

“Depends?”

“That’s right,” Urming nodded, “If you can finish it all in one sitting, then it’s free of charge! I won’t charge ya a single copper for it!”

That was an alluring idea–getting all of this pie for free, but he knew better than to think that was possible.

Yeah, right. I had a little bit to eat, but even if I was totally starved, I don’t think I’d manage this. And Reno is a small girl–she’s lighter than me! I doubt we’d even get through a tenth of this, he thought.

“…Well, what’s the price if you can’t finish it?” He asked.

“Oh,” Urming said, holding up three fingers of his paw, “Three thrones!”

“Three thrones?!” He let out.

Urming laughed out, “What? Little Reno didn’t tell ya?”

He realized now that this was completely on purpose, since he was the one who offered to pay for a meal, the girl took complete advantage of that offer.

Dammit, that little…whatever…It stings, but it’s not a big deal, he thought.

“He-he,” Reno chuckled.

Urming left a pat on each of their backs, “Well, I’ll leave ya to it, then! Best of luck to ya both!”

Just like that, he was left with a monstrous mountain of pie in front of him. In his hands, he held a fork and a knife, gulping as he prepared himself for the challenge.

“…Have you done this before?” He asked.

Reno thought about it for a moment before nodding, “Yeah! A few times! Usually Gramps Urming has a lot of ingredients left at the end of each day, so he’ll throw together something like this!”

The way the girl spoke of the bear’s homemade pies sounded as if they were forged from the culinary graces of Heaven, but he was still intimidated by the size of it.

“Alright, next question…Have you ever finished it?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nope,” Reno answered quickly.

“Thought so…” He sighed.

Though he was mostly bummed about practically all but guaranteed to lose three thrones, the palpable excitement oozing from the girl was enough to dissuade his pessimistic side.

After a couple minutes of letting it cool down to some degree, it was time to dig in.

“…Thanks for the meal…” He mumbled wryly like a last prayer.

As he gulped in preparation, he cut into a portion of the grand pie to section off onto his plate. The moment he cut into it, delving the knife into the crispy, but tender crust of a golden complexion, a new layer of steam exuded, though it was interlaced with the savory aroma even further.

“–“

He didn’t know beforehand what was actually inside of the pie itself, but now that he saw its interior–he had to stop himself from drooling. There was some sort of creamy gravy flowing inside, caressing a variety of fresh meats and vegetables that resembled a grandiose stew.

Holy crap! This looks amazing! He thought.

Reno was already digging in; eating without any semblance of table etiquette as she shoveled spoonfuls of the meat-filled pie into her mouth.

“Hurfy op! Gef it while iz hot!”

–It was a bit hard to decipher what the girl was saying as she talked with a mouthful of pie, but he understood the sentiment and finally took the plunge.

The moment he allowed the spoonful into his mouth, his taste buds thanked him from the bottom of their heart.

“–!”

Instantly, a warmth flooded his body as if he was cozied up by a campfire at him, snuggled into a blanket. That’s what the pie instantly felt like as it laid on his tongue.

While it was still hot enough to burn his tongue just slightly, the taste bypassed all of that as he quickly began shoveling more of it into his mouth.

…This stuff is amazing! He thought.

Though that joy for the well-made pie died down after enough bites.