Chapter 143

Karina felt genuinely pleased when she saw the food that Kurt brought.

“Ah… Mr. Kurt!”

Of course, she always felt delighted whenever Kurt brought food, but this time, the joy was something special.

After all, he provided an escape from this awkward atmosphere.

In stark contrast to Karina’s vibe, Mari was just carefree.

“Wow! Fried potatoes!”

She seemed satisfied just to have fried potatoes after a long time.

Compared to that, Arisa’s feelings were different from the other two.

If Karina and Mari felt some form of delight, Arisa felt pressure instead.

She lacked the courage to initiate conversation with Karina, and now that Serena, who had gone to help with Kurt’s cooking, was back, she had no clue on how to approach them.

Not only Serena but now Kurt had joined them, and they were generously sharing what could be considered a rather upscale dish.

To an ordinary person, it might be a simple act of kindness to be thankful for, but for Arisa, who had never even been offered a meal, the gesture felt overwhelmingly heavy.

‘What do I do? Is it okay for me to eat this? What if I take a snack here and then someone gives me a cold look and says, “Wow, she actually eats that?” Maybe they’re thinking, “We’re already short on fried potatoes, and here comes this food gobbler. Shouldn’t she just subtly back off?” Oh, what if I have to pay? This is such a fancy snack; it wouldn’t be strange to assume it’s not free. How much would I even have to pay? Right now, all I have is a few silver coins…’

As Arisa was caught in a whirlwind of self-deprecating thoughts from her long solo life while looking at the snacks Kurt had brought, a voice interrupted her train of thought.

“What are you doing? Not eating?”

“Y-yes, what?”

“Is the food not good?”

“N-no! It looks delicious!”

“Really? That’s a relief. There’s plenty of food, so eat as much as you want.”

“Y-yes, okay…”

Arisa responded instinctively to Kurt’s words.

He then handed her a milkshake, saying it was her portion.

Arisa received the milkshake politely with both hands.

As she accepted it, she couldn’t help but forget about her absurd thoughts just moments ago, utterly surprised.

‘It’s c-cold…’

At the same time, she felt the refreshing sensation of the milkshake on her fingertips.

Holding it, Arisa stared blankly at Kurt’s other companions enjoying their snacks.

Mari immediately grabbed some fried potatoes.

It seemed like Karina had relaxed, and was now holding her milkshake with a more comfortable demeanor after being tense in front of Arisa just moments ago.

Even Serena, bringing the cold milkshake close to her face, was making gestures like she was finally able to live.

It was the sight of Kurt’s crew freely enjoying their snacks as they pleased.

Gulp.

As she watched them eat, Arisa inadvertently swallowed hard.

Before she knew it, the oily, savory scent of fried potatoes was wafting through her nostrils.

“By the way, I heard you like dairy products. This milkshake is made with fresh milk, so I hope it suits your taste.”

“M-milk…”

And there was this mysterious dessert made with milk too.

She just couldn’t guess how that dessert, made with milk, had such a mysterious texture; while the coldness she felt in her palm might simply be cold milk, a closer look showed it had a thick, muddy consistency.

And if she cautiously took a sniff without letting others notice, she could catch the deep, rich scent of fresh milk along with a slight sweetness, mixed with an indescribably aromatic fragrance that wasn’t milk.

In a typical case, it might lean towards vanilla essence, but here it was the scent derived from evening primrose.

Of course, Arisa, having no way of knowing that, simply thought, ‘What a nice smell…’

Additionally, while not intentional, the evening primrose scent resembling vanilla surprisingly had a calming effect, and Arisa slowly got lost in the fragrance of the milkshake, forgetting her tension in this unfamiliar setting.

Surrounded by the satisfying aroma of the milkshake, Arisa soon wasn’t content just sniffing it; she slowly brought it to her lips.

“Alright, time to eat…”

Even though she was alone, she got shy and mumbled a pre-meal thanks as she held the milkshake with both hands and brought it closer to her mouth.

Slurp.

Gulp.

‘I-it’s sweet…! It looks like milk, but the taste is completely different…!’

The first thing she felt was the sweet taste of sugar that hadn’t held back in the slightest.

Normally, sugar without any other flavor tends to blend well with other ingredients due to its lack of distinct scent.

As a result, it naturally formed a sweetness that felt as if it had been part of the milk from the beginning.

If you wanted to enjoy the rich aroma of milk, warm hot milk would fit better than chilled milk.

However, the milkshake was the opposite; it was chilled to the bone, and bore that unique satisfaction only fresh milk could offer.

Gulp.

As she swallowed the milkshake and felt the soft fragrance of evening primrose lingering in her mouth, it elevated the flavor of what would have just been a simple mixture of milk and sugar to a more refined level.

“Hoo…”

Meanwhile, Karina and Serena were busy gulping their milkshakes and then grabbing their heads in pain from a migraine, while Arisa savored every drop of her milkshake slowly.

Content with the taste of the milkshake, Arisa then turned her gaze towards the fried potatoes.

In fact, even before drinking the milkshake, she could not ignore the presence of the fried potatoes that had been teasing her sense of smell all this time.

However, unlike the one milkshake each, the fried potatoes were placed in the center of the table for everyone to share.

After watching others for a while, Arisa noticed a brief moment when everyone’s gaze had shifted from the fried potatoes, and took that as her chance to slyly swipe away one fry.

Then, as if it were a precious treasure, she held the single fry with both hands, nibbling off the top bit as she savored the flavor.

Indeed, the flavor of the fried potatoes—greasy, savory, neutral, and finally salty—was irresistibly addictive, the epitome of delectable.

‘Mmm. These fried potatoes are delicious. No wonder Marisia would love them.’

As she savored the single fry, which she nibbled carefully, Arisa was soon smiling blissfully, raising the milkshake to wash away the oiliness left in her mouth.

‘Eating fried potatoes while cleansing the lingering taste with milkshake… This combination is simply unbeatable.’

Then she picked up another fry, dipped it in ketchup, and tasted it, followed by washing away that flavor with her milkshake.

Finally, she smiled again, filled with joy.

“Oh, by the way, while eating fried potatoes with ketchup is good, they also pair quite well with milkshake.”

Following Kurt’s advice, she dipped another fry lightly in the milkshake, tasted it cautiously, and seeing that she liked it, she sampled a bigger-bathed fry in the shake, much to Arisa’s delight.

Before long, Arisa was completely relaxed, comfortably sitting while alternating between her fried potatoes and milkshake.

…

…

…

Karina was the first to notice this scene.

“Hey, Serena.”

“What is it?”

Karina called out to Serena and, in response to her question, silently pointed forward with a smile.

Swish.

Nom nom.

Slurp.

Beaming.

It was Arisa, in a shy manner completely unlike her known image at the Adventurer Guild, nervously slurping down fried potatoes and milkshake.

Trying to be considerate that if she gobbles down one fry, there might not be enough for anyone else, she couldn’t help but eat because they were just too delicious.

Yet, to others, her actions appeared simply cute.

“Hahaha. What’s this? They say she’s a noble wolf, but… well…”

“More like a lonely rabbit, right? Hahaha.”

Karina and Serena perhaps had been misjudging Arisa all along while just hearing rumors of her adventuring life.

Then, they smiled and spoke to Arisa.

“Arisa, why not eat more of those fried potatoes instead of nibbling them little by little?”

“And don’t hold back with the milkshake. I can just use magic to make more ice!”

“Oh, no… I…”

Suddenly approached by Karina and Serena, Arisa was taken by surprise, her eyes wide, clueless on how to react while still holding her milkshake.

Though it looked like she was struggling, those who witnessed the real Arisa instead found it amusing and kept chit-chatting with her.

That day, Arisa gained four new acquaintances at the Adventurer Guild.

And Mari, who confidently declared she would cover the costs, received a bill for five servings of desserts made with sugar that evening.