Nicasia was planning to have lunch today with Murmur at the most famous and popular restaurant in Holimpia.
It was a restaurant where it was impossible to get a seat without a reservation made days in advance, so the taste was guaranteed.
In fact, you could even smell the appetizing aroma from the entrance.
“…Did I hear wrong?”
At the entrance of such a restaurant, Nicasia distorted her bright expression and spoke to the man in front of her.
“I’m sorry, miss.”
“This is blatant discrimination, isn’t it? You’re aware of what you’re saying…?”
Nicasia forced a smile as she spoke.
She was tightly holding Murmur’s hand with her right hand.
“You seem to be misunderstanding.”
The man, neatly dressed in a black suit, was the manager of this restaurant.
“Our restaurant does not discriminate against the Demon Race as you might think, miss.”
Nicasia clenched her teeth.
“We’re just… informing you. That we cannot serve the food that the Demon Race prefers.”
“That’s what is commonly called discrimination.”
“No, it’s different, miss. You’re welcome to take a seat if you wish. It’s just…”
The restaurant manager glanced at Murmur.
“…I’m not sure if it will be a pleasant lunch.”
“That’s an absurd thing to say.”
“We’re just providing important information that our guests should know.”
The manager even smiled slightly and took a step back.
“You’re welcome to dine here as much as you like.”
We don’t discriminate.
We’re just stating the facts.
Feeling the discomfort from the restaurant manager, Nicasia forced a smile.
“No, I’ll eat somewhere else.”
Thinking it wasn’t worth getting angry over, Nicasia turned away.
“Understood. I hope you have a pleasant day…”
The restaurant manager smiled and spoke, then suddenly took two steps forward.
“However… if the Demon Race you brought is a pet…”
“… …”
Nicasia smiled brightly at the manager, then without a word, walked out of the restaurant with Murmur.
“Hmph… let’s eat somewhere else, Murmur.”
“Okay, Murmur is fine. It’s just a trendy restaurant anyway.”
“Right! It’s a restaurant run by fools who can’t even recognize that I’m a princess. It’ll probably go out of business by next year.”
Forcing a smile, Nicasia unknowingly let out a sigh.
‘Pet Demon Race… just how old do they think I am?’
Nicasia, who didn’t want to grow up, felt strangely frustrated.
* * *
“… … I’m sorry, Murmur.”
After watching me for a while, Nicasia spoke after taking a sip of water.
“Murmur doesn’t understand why Nicasia is apologizing.”
“We’re an hour late for lunch, aren’t we?”
As expected, after being kicked out of the first restaurant, we wandered around for about an hour.
Because of me, Murmur, Nicasia experienced a lot of ridiculous things.
“Murmur is fine. Thanks to that, I got to see various places in Holimpia with Nicasia.”
“R-really? If Murmur is fine, then that’s a relief.”
Contrary to Nicasia’s worries, this restaurant was quite nice.
It was so neatly organized that you couldn’t tell it had a long history, and the sparkling crystal chandelier emitted a soft light.
The pure white tablecloths on each table were spread like white petals, and the silverware on top sparkled.
“…I’ve eaten here before, but I’m not sure if Murmur will be okay.”
She’s really worried about something cute.
During this brief conversation, a maid appeared and served us.
“I mentioned it before we came in… but this restaurant specializes in seafood.”
Nicasia’s eyes were filled with concern.
Unfortunately, the core here is a perfectly fine adult, right?
“Murmur thinks it looks delicious.”
I picked up a cute spoon that fit my small body and spoke.
“Don’t force yourself to eat it? Surely you can eat it without any trouble…”
Before Nicasia could finish speaking, I scooped up some white soup with the spoon.
A savory, rich, and slightly salty flavor filled my mouth.
“Yum yum… this is delicious, Nicasia.”
“R-really? That’s a soup full of clams.”
“Yeah, it’s really tasty.”
Nicasia made a slightly relieved expression and ate the soup just like me.
“Murmur thinks this is delicious too.”
I stabbed a fork into a baguette topped with salmon.
“Hehe, that’s really delicious. No one could dislike it.”
“Yum… Nicasia, were you planning to order a lot of this?”
“If we couldn’t eat other things, I would have.”
Nicasia gave a pretty smile.
She must have gone through a lot of stress, so it’s good to give her a little reward.
I carefully stabbed the baguette with a fork and brought it to Nicasia’s mouth.
“Ah… ahh.”
At first, Nicasia was slightly surprised, but she brushed her shiny silver hair away from her mouth and ate the baguette I offered.
“Mmm… gulp, it’s really delicious.”
“Yeah, Citrine and Esme would enjoy it too.”
“Hehe, Esme would scream if it were clams or octopus, right?”
Esme was the type to absolutely refuse to eat clams or octopus, screaming in protest.
That kind of mindset was strangely common.
“But everyone likes fish.”
“Right. If you just change your thinking a little, you can enjoy it.”
The moment we finished cleaning our plates, the maid appeared again with a cart.
The main dish, emitting a delicious aroma, was set in front of us in an instant.
“Lobster Thermidor and abalone steak.”
“Please enjoy, miss.”
Unlike the other restaurants that turned us away for an hour, the waiters and maids at this store were kind.
They even called me, Murmur, “miss” every time.
“Have a pleasant time.”
The maid, who gave a graceful greeting, poured wine into Nicasia’s glass and a sweet-smelling drink into mine before stepping back.
“Ah… this…”
Nicasia, who had ordered a course meal, looked at the wine with an awkward expression.
“Nicasia, can you drink that?”
“…I can drink it.”
…Can you really drink it?
I didn’t know that.
“But I won’t drink it. I don’t particularly like alcohol.”
Nicasia smiled and gave a slight cough.
“Have you tried it before?”
“Ah, yes. Well, when you go around attending social parties to make connections… it just happens.”
“Nicasia is still young.”
“But I’m a royal. I won’t get drunk even if I finish this glass.”
In that aspect, royals are indeed royals.
I couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed.
“Anyway… Murmur, can you eat the food here…”
Before Nicasia could worry again, I picked up the abalone with a fork, cut it into three pieces with a knife.
I wanted to eat it whole, but it was too big for my, Murmur’s, mouth.
“Is this how you eat it? Is there any sauce?”
“Ah, yes! The dish is already well-seasoned.”
Sorry, Nicasia, but I’m not the type to freak out at the sight of abalone.
In fact, I’m the type who thinks it’s a shame there’s no dipping sauce!
In front of Nicasia, who was looking at me with great concern, I devoured the abalone steak in one go.
“Yum yum… yum… gulp! This is delicious, Nicasia.”
“Y-you’re not forcing yourself, are you?”
“Yeah, it’s really savory and tender, with a chewy texture that’s fascinating.”
Nicasia pressed her chest with her right hand and let out a sigh of relief.
“Nicasia thought Murmur wouldn’t be able to eat it, huh?”
“It’s not a universally liked ingredient.”
“Then you thought I wouldn’t be able to eat this either?”
What was this called again?
Lobster Thermidor?
“Are you really okay, Murmur?”
“Yeah, it looks really delicious to Murmur.”
How could anyone dislike this?
The lobster shell is topped with thick meat, garlic, butter, and cheese, perfectly grilled?
Even the meat falls off smoothly when you stab it with a fork, making it easy to eat.
Having eaten crab before, I can’t dislike this dish.
“Yum… mmm…! Mahiher! The meat is so tender…! It melts smoothly in Murmur’s mouth! And, and! The seasoning is amazing! Salty yet strangely sweet!”
“R-really? You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“Gulp…! It’s really delicious! Murmur likes this. I can have another one.”
The lobster meat was surprisingly tender, and the strange fishy taste was perfectly balanced by the butter and garlic.
Finally, the cheese melting stickily in my mouth enhanced the flavor incredibly.
“I would have regretted not having this for lunch today.”
“R-really? Phew… I’m glad Murmur and I have similar tastes.”
Nicasia finally relaxed and started moving her hands.
“Nicasia, have a bite too.”
“Are you feeding me again?”
“Yeah, we’re on a date today, aren’t we?”
“Hmm… then, ahh…”
Nicasia smiled prettily, brushed her silver hair aside, and opened her mouth.
I placed a piece of lobster meat on the fork and put it into Nicasia’s mouth, where her red tongue was visible, and she chewed it happily.
“Mmm… this is really delicious, isn’t it, Murmur? The meat is so tender, I really like it.”
“Yeah, Murmur thinks so too. It’s a different taste from regular meat.”
“Right. That’s called texture. Pork, beef, and chicken don’t melt in your mouth like this, do they?”
Nicasia’s eyes sparkled as she spoke, then she skillfully cut a piece of abalone steak and took a bite.
“I’m glad Murmur likes it.”
“Yeah, Murmur can enjoy both abalone and lobster.”
I tapped the abalone and lobster with my knife.
“I really like it too. If only abalone looked a bit more normal, more people would like it.”
“Looks? Why? Murmur thinks it looks normal.”
“Hmm… doesn’t it look a bit embarrassing??”
Nicasia laughed after saying that.
“Murmur has only seen cooked abalone. If you see a live abalone or oyster later, you’ll find it creepy.”
Is that how it seems with the cute sensibilities of a fifth grader?
I smiled slightly and nodded.
“But it’s delicious.”
“Right. Some people think lobsters look like giant bugs and dislike them, but they taste good, don’t they?”
Nicasia said as she fed me a small piece of abalone steak.
“I think the appearance doesn’t matter at all.”
“Yeah, I think food is all about taste.”
But if they suddenly brought out snail dishes, I’d have to close my eyes, right?
I happily ate the abalone Nicasia fed me and sipped my drink with both hands.
If our enjoyable meal could have continued like this, it would have been great.
“…The world has really changed, hasn’t it? A Demon Race sitting in a restaurant with such history and tradition.”
The world didn’t seem to want to leave this pleasant atmosphere alone, as a group of ladies in fancy flower-patterned dresses started glancing at us and gossiping.
I had felt their gaze for a while, but they started talking after deciding among themselves that Nicasia was just a ‘normal lady’?
“The Crown Princess should quickly get rid of those bugs from the surface.”
“Well, who knows? Hehe, maybe that lady is keeping a pet Demon Race?”
“Hahaha, maybe? Maybe they’re playing lovers?”
“She looks young, doesn’t she? Acting all spoiled… pfft.”
There’s no way Nicasia didn’t hear what even I could hear.
I, Murmur, wasn’t particularly upset because I expected such perverts to exist.
But Nicasia, who had been enjoying her meal, stopped and sipped her wine with a blank expression.
“Nicasia, Murmur has a question.”
“… … Ah, yes? What is it, Murmur?”
Nicasia was startled and put down her wine glass, looking into my eyes.
The wine glass was already half empty.
“You said we’re going to see an opera today.”
“Yes, it’s a very popular opera. Among the nobles who came to Holimpia, there’s no one who hasn’t seen it.”
“What’s it about?”
I asked, hoping it wasn’t what I thought.
“I don’t know the details, but… I heard it’s a fun and enjoyable opera featuring a great hero from the Holy Nation.”
“The hero from the Holy Nation appears?”
“Yes! Murmur likes heroes too, right? Hehe, it’ll be really fun~”
Nicasia spoke with an excited look, and I silently sipped my sweet drink.
I’ll probably cry later, so you better think about how to comfort me.
…A kiss might be too much, right?
