Chapter 45

Chapter 45: Bring your coat, please! part

Mary led them to their table and she took their coats. The table was set, there was a flower vase and some candles, even though the room was already well illuminated by the hanging crystal chandeliers.

Soon, a waitress came to take their orders but since they didn’t know what to ask for Ryu just asked for their best course. It wasn’t just the hunger that drove him to ask for the most expensive meal, but also his rational thinking, if he was there already he might as well take the chance to learn some new recipes.

Rina felt so small in that place, she felt that she was witnessing something that wasn’t made for her eyes and felt unworthy of such beauty. Not even in her wildest dreams she ever thought of the chance that one day her tavern would look like this. She was, after all, just a small person in a huge world. Just when she thought she couldn’t bear the embarrassment anymore, she took a glance at Ryu who instead of looking at the place like her, was looking at her with concern.

“Are you ok Rina?”

“This is too much Ryu, I don’t think I can afford eating in here”

“What do you mean?”

“Look around you! everything is so beautiful, even the silverware, gods! even the napkins seem to be more expensive than all the furniture at the tavern”

.....

“I can’t afford to look around me when there’s a beautiful girl right in front of me”

With those words Rina’s heart was melted. She felt that, as long as Ryu was by her side, she didn’t feel out of place anymore.

But, it turned out Ryu’s attention lasted only until the first dish came.

It was a small herb spiced quail and nothing else, he fought the impulse to lift the plate and see if they were hiding the actual food beneath it.

“So, Ryu, I’ve been meaning to ask you. Where exactly do you guys come from?”

“We came from the forest in the south”

“You’re joking right? I’ve heard that place is dangerous and no one that ventured in there had ever came back”

“Don’t you think that, if people don’t come back, could actually mean that they found a better place?”

Ryu had a point, but still Rina couldn’t believe they came from the woods because Ironwoods was the last town before the forest and it meant that they should’ve passed through the town, yet nobody knew them before they arrived with all their new products. Despite this, she decided not to ask anymore, if he didn’t want to tell her that was his decision to make.

The next dish was a small plate of sweet potatoes with goat cheese and the third one was a clear soup.

Rina was delighted trying different flavors than what she was used to, but Ryu was still starving. Not only that, he couldn’t shake the feeling that the dishes were served in the wrong order, he would’ve preferred the soup first and the quail after the sweet potatoes.

“Since you asked me a question, I have one of my own. How do you feel now that you’re technically my slave?”

“I don’t feel any different, but if that means you’re taking me to dinner more often, I could get used to this”

She giggled.

“We do need to reach an agreement Rina, I didn’t mean for things to end like this. If you want I can just give you the coins so you can pay your debt to me”

“And why would you do that? no, wait. even if you did, I’d probably just spend the coins in something else”

“Don’t make things more difficult for me, I don’t want things to change between us”

Ryu complained with a saddened voice, though the reason he was sad was that his dish disappeared in just two bites. Rina took a sip of wine and looked at him.

“I told you, I don’t want the rest to think bad of me. I made my bed and now I need to lie on it”

“Then, I’m afraid we won’t be able to date you anymore. I’m not interested in taking advantage of someone in that position”

“Don’t be like that Ryu, I was having fun and you’re ruining the moment. You were on the right path before all this chatter”

She shrugged and both chuckled.

The room wasn’t full, but there were some tables occupied. At first, when they saw who they were they thought that they were just peasants that didn’t belong in there. One of the wealthy merchants that was eating even claimed that his appetite was ruined by their presence. But all changed as soon as Rina took off her coat, showing the delicate dress with an exquisite design accompanied by the most stunning figure they had ever seen. Some people even gasped in surprise and they couldn’t take off their eyes from her chest.

Now that they were talking and chuckling they looked like lovers, filling every male in the room with envy. The only reason why they didn’t go and rescue the pretty redhead from the clutches of the man sitting in front of her was that madame Bianca didn’t take people making scenes at her place lightly. If they had known that she considered them her enemies and would’ve actually paid them well if they did precisely that, they would’ve been all over the couple.

As soon as they finished a dish another would take its place. ‘too many dishes for so little food’ Ryu thought. He kept chatting with Rina about anything and everything not related to their circumstances nor the job and the mood improved rapidly until the dinner was finally over.

Then, the same waitress that had been serving them came to their table.

“Was everything to your liking sir?”

Ryu nodded disappointed and the waitress didn’t fail to notice it, it was her job to do so.

“Forgive my rudeness sir, but maybe you’d like to try our new desert. It’s quite expensive but everyone who’s ever tried it said it was worth it”

Hearing this made Ryu’s eyes shine. He couldn’t let the opportunity to learn a new recipe and fill his stomach at the same time.

“Then I can’t refuse”

What came to their table was a white mushy substance sliced and tipped to the side, showing different layers at the same time. There was a thin sauce line and a mint leaf decorating the plate.

Ryu was surprised to see that something so small was supposed to be shared, he looked at Rina and couldn’t help but think of a way to eat it all to himself.

Rina was the first to grab a slice, and after smearing just a bit of sauce on it, she put it in her mouth. Ryu was staring so hard that he didn’t miss a split second of her movement, when her full lips came in touch with the white substance he felt drawn to them, but resisted the impulse of kissing her in the spot.

Rina never had something so delicious in her whole life and her face showed it, prompting Ryu to grab a bite himself and soon enough he understood everything.

“I must tell you Ryu, at first I thought that your food is better than this, but now that I tried this dessert I have to admit I was wrong. Whoever made this was a genius”

Rina said with both hands on her cheeks, still shaken by the pleasure she felt after savoring it.

“Makes sense, since I was the one who made it”

Ryu puffed his chest

“No way! you’re lying to my face now, how do you explain that this ended in here instead of my tavern then, uh?”

“It’s simple, I made it for Hiraku to sell and we split the earnings. That’s why I came with enough funds to start a business in here in the first place. By the way, its called mochi like my cat”

To say Rina was impressed would be an understatement. This was, without a doubt, the best day of her life.

Ryu too had a great time, he didn’t expect much at first, but Rina was an excellent company. She managed to keep his mind out of his concern and his stress dissipated completely. Every time the conversation became dense, she smoothly would change the subject. She was so easygoing that they laughed to their hearts content the whole evening.

The waitress came back with the bill, it was almost the same price that he had thought, only it was in silver coins instead of copper coins. He didn’t show his surprise anyway, it wasn’t so expensive, he could even afford to eat there everyday. Wine was 1 silver coin, food was 3 silver coins each and the dessert was 1 silver coin.

Back at the tavern, everyone was already asleep when they came back but at least they left the lamps on for them.

Coming back to her beloved tavern and see it in shambles made the contrast with the restaurant even bigger. For a second Rina’s face was saddened, but Ryu kissed her on the forehead.

“It’s gonna be fine, I promise you”

Hearing this got Rina back to her usual self.

“So, is it gonna be my room or yours?”

She slid her fingers down Ryu’s chest looking at him in the eye. It was so alluring that he was about to give in.

“Let’s not rush things Rina, I had a great day, lets go out some other day”

Rina replied by kissing his cheek and rushing upstairs, leaving him wondering if he did something that upset her. Nevertheless, what really happened was that she was so happy for the wonderful day she had, and the fact that Ryu didn’t want to defile her on the first night of her slavery relieved her beyond words.

She made all kinds of jokes and flirted a lot with him because she just wanted to get it over with, it wasn’t that she didn’t like him, but it was just like Ryu said. Just knowing that she was a slave now did change things, but what he did now made her realize it was all inside her mind and she actually felt something for him.