Chapter 519: Moonlit Spoon
Idan and Arabel, unaware that they were being watched, talked quietly as the queue dispersed. Finally, they entered the restaurant and took an empty seat.
A charming young waitress approached them and offered them a small brochure with dishes. After a quick look at the menu, the couple wasn’t particularly impressed with its variety.
"Other than the high price, I don’t see anything unusual yet," Idan whispered, and Arabel nodded in agreement.
"Oh, how delicious!" A young man sitting at a nearby table moaned, drawing attention to himself. With a burning gaze, he devoured the dish that had just been brought to him like a hungry beast. Looking at him, everyone who was waiting for their order had their eyes alight with anticipation.
"Isn’t it too exaggerated? Or is the cook here really that skilled?" Arabel whispered, finding the guy’s reaction strange.
Idan didn’t answer, he looked at the menu again. After a bit of thought, they both ordered when the waitress came over and waited.
One by one, young waitresses in identical uniforms brought the dishes one by one. Everyone who tried them reacted the same way as the young man.
Idan and Arabel, seeing this, also did not lose hope. Their anticipation and anticipation only intensified.
While they were waiting for their dishes, they were watched by a pair of inhuman eyes from the kitchen. Those eyes were watching their table, or rather, Idan.
Idan himself felt very uncomfortable in this crowded and noisy place.
"Here’s your order," the charming waitress said with a sweet smile, soon placing their dishes in front of them.
The couple stared at their plates in silence, and then looked at each other, puzzlement on their faces.
What was brought to them did not correspond at all to what was indicated on the menu.
Idan was about to call the waitress, but Arabel stopped him.
"Let’s try it first," she suggested. "Maybe it just seems that way."
"Okay," — Idan nodded.
As Arabel had expected, despite the fact that the serving of the dish left much to be desired, its taste turned out to be quite pleasant.
"Although it’s delicious, it’s far from my cooking level," Arabel remarked after tasting her order. She turned her attention back to the other customers, who were devouring their food with great gusto.
"If these people react this way to a dish of this level, what will happen to them if they try ours?" Arabel asked with some doubt.
Idan silently tasted the order, carefully evaluating it, and the more he tasted, the more gloomy his gaze became.
"There’s something wrong with these dishes," Idan finally came to disappointing conclusions, stopping eating and putting down the dishes. He focused on his body.
The food they had prepared was rich in mana and not only delicious, but also very nutritious and healthy. Everyone who tasted Idan and Arabel’s dishes felt their body overflowing with mana.
Idan felt a small amount of mana enter his body after eating only a small portion of the dish.
However, what really surprised him was the unusual behavior of this mana. It was weak, and Idan could easily suppress it if he wanted to, but he chose not to interfere. He was curious to see how this mana would affect him.
The foreign energy began to spread through his body, strengthening his taste buds. Idan’s vision started to blur, and he had to wipe his eyes.
When his vision recovered, he looked down at his plate and saw a completely different dish.
"What the..." Idan almost exclaimed. In front of him was no longer an ordinary dish, but an exquisite and appetizing one, as if beckoning him.
"Is something wrong?" asked Arabel, noticing his strange behavior.
Idan, surprised, silently raised his eyes and, looking at Arabel, nodded.
Knowing that it was the influence of foreign mana, Idan quickly suppressed it and forced it out of his body.
His vision blurred slightly again, but it soon returned to normal, and he saw the dish that had been delivered to him again.
"Drugging," — Idan whispered. "There’s a stranger mana in these dishes that clouds people’s minds."
"What?" asked Arabel, looking down at her plate. Then, like Idan, she began to examine her body, but unlike him, she found no signs of outside influence.
"Hehe," — Idan grinned, watching Arabel’s bewilderment.
"Belle, have you forgotten?" he asked. "What did you get after signing the contract with Esma?"
"Oh," — Arabel exclaimed, finally realizing why she wasn’t affected by the a stranger mana, unlike Idan. She remembered that after signing a contract with Esma, she became immune to various spells and substances that can cloud her mind.
Arabel was now immune to Esma’s strange potions, as well as to seduction and charm spells.
This acquisition came as a big surprise to Arabel. After a little research, she came to the conclusion that it was all due to Esma and her unique abilities. Idan and Arabel realized that Esma is not an ordinary Water Valkyrie, but special and unique in her own way.
"So all these people..." Arabel began, but she didn’t have time to finish.
"Drugged," — Idan finished for her.
They both looked gloomily at the guests and at the queue that was getting bigger.
Both realized that all the visitors were not seeing what they were being served, but a completely different dish. When they taste it, the mana entering their body simply intoxicates them, giving these simple dishes bright colors.
Idan and Arabel, unlike all the mortals present here, were awakened. They didn’t fall under the illusion and saw what the dish actually looked like.
And the amount of mana in the dish couldn’t have affected them if they hadn’t let it happen themselves.
"At least they cook dishes here that can really be called dishes of the new world," Idan whispered. "But it’s a pity that they use such a dubious way of serving."
Arabel nodded in agreement.
Indeed, it was an unusual meal, but, as Idan said, it was a pity that it had such an impact on the minds of visitors.
"Let’s get out of here," Arabel suggested, and Idan nodded.
After leaving the payment for the half-eaten dish, the couple left the restaurant in disappointment.
They had no desire to deal with this situation and make a fuss.
However, they decided to inform Irene and the others about this unusual restaurant so that the famous Guilds of the Capital could figure it out for themselves and decide what to do in this situation.