The morning light filtered through the curtains of the inn, but it wasn't the sun that woke us up. It was the smell. Even through the thick walls and the closed windows of our room, the scent of the Town of the Culinary was a physical force. It was the smell of thousands of breakfasts being prepared at once—sizzling bacon, sweet maple syrups, spicy sausages, and fresh, hot bread. I sat up in bed, feeling a bit dazed from the long sleep, while Elphyete finally began to loosen her grip on me. We headed downstairs to meet the rest of the group in the lobby, intending to start our search for the king immediately.
However, the moment we stepped out of the inn and back onto the stone streets, the plan began to fall apart. The town was even more active than it had been yesterday. The vendors were shouting, the grills were smoking, and the sheer variety of food on display was enough to make anyone's head spin. I tried to keep my mind on the task. I kept telling myself that we had to find the king and that we didn't have time to get distracted. I looked at the crowds, trying to spot a royal guard or some sign of a palace, but all I could see were rows of stalls selling things that smelled better than anything I had ever eaten in my life.
Euphyne was already ahead of us, his eyes darting from left to right like a predator looking for a target. He had already finished a large breakfast at the inn, but he looked like he hadn't eaten in days. He noticed me struggling to stay focused, and he walked over with a big, greasy grin on his face. He leaned in, his voice full of excitement.
"Sogha, you're trying too hard," Euphyne said, pointing toward a stall that was selling massive, deep-fried meat pies covered in a spicy red sauce. "Look at that. You really think you can find a king on an empty stomach? In this town, the food is the most important thing. If you don't eat, you're going to lose your mind anyway just thinking about it. Just look at the crust on those pies! It's practically a sin to walk past them."
I tried to shake my head, but the smell of the spicy sauce hit me like a truck. I felt my stomach growl so loudly that even Ishighi looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. I looked at the meat pies, then back at the street, then back at the pies. The more I tried to focus on the mission, the more the image of the golden, flaky crust burned into my brain. Euphyne saw that I was wavering and pushed even harder.
"Think about it," Euphyne continued, his voice like a whisper from a devil on my shoulder. "The king is probably eating right now too. If we eat everything, we're technically just doing research, right? We're going where the people go. Come on, just one pie. Or ten. Ten sounds better."
That was the breaking point. Something in my brain just snapped. The pressure of the journey, the hunger, and the overwhelming atmosphere of the town finally won. I lost my mind trying to focus and just decided to give up on the king for the day. I walked straight to the stall and bought four meat pies. Then I saw a vendor selling roasted corn on the cob dipped in melted garlic butter and cheese, and I bought six of those. Then there was a stand with thick, creamy milkshakes topped with mountain-high whipped cream and caramel. I bought two for myself.
I just started buying as many food as possible because Euphyne convinced me. I didn't care about the gold coins in my pouch anymore. I didn't care about the map or the underground business. All I cared about was the next thing I could put in my mouth. I was walking down the street with my arms full of bags and boxes, eating a piece of fried chicken in one hand and holding a large cup of fruit juice in the other.
"That's the spirit!" Euphyne shouted, his own arms full of skewers and bags of chips. "Now you're getting it!"
It wasn't just us, though. The entire group had completely abandoned the mission. Tokine was already several yards ahead, and as usual, she was dragging Celdrich along with her. She had found a row of shops that specialized in nothing but chocolate and fruit-filled crepes. Celdrich looked completely defeated, his arms loaded with boxes of expensive chocolates and bags of candied nuts. He wasn't even trying to look for the king anymore; he was just trying to make sure he didn't drop the three-tier cake box Tokine had forced him to carry.
Tokine, Celdrich, Euphyne, Sogha, and Elphyete are focusing of the foods instead of finding the king for the day. Even Elphyete, who usually tried to keep me on track, had given in. She was walking right next to me, her hand still holding onto my sleeve, but her other hand was busy holding a large, sugar-dusted funnel cake. She would take a bite, then lean over and take a bite of whatever I was holding, her silver hair fluttering in the wind as she enjoyed the treats. She didn't say a word about the mission. She didn't mention the king once. She was just as focused on the flavors as the rest of us.
We spent hours moving from one street to the next, treating the town like a giant buffet. We found a place that served nothing but giant bowls of spicy ramen, and we all sat down and ate until we couldn't breathe. Then we moved to a section of the market that sold grilled seafood—squid on sticks, buttered shrimp, and massive grilled fish seasoned with lemon and herbs. I bought a whole tray of shrimp and shared it with Elphyete while we walked.
The town felt like a dream. The sun was warm on our backs, the crowds were friendly, and every corner held a new surprise for our taste buds. We saw a man carving a giant block of ice into a swan and then pouring colorful, sweet syrups over it to make shaved ice. We bought five of them. We found a vendor selling "dragon breath" snacks that made smoke come out of our noses and mouths when we ate them. Euphyne thought it was the funniest thing he had ever seen, and even Celdrich cracked a small smile when Tokine made a face after the cold smoke hit her tongue.
The search for the king was completely forgotten. If the king had walked right past us at that moment, we probably wouldn't have noticed unless he was carrying a tray of appetizers. Ishighi and the others seemed to have disappeared into their own food-related quests, but the five of us stayed together like a pack of hungry wolves. My mind was completely empty of any serious thoughts. I wasn't Sogha the leader or Sogha the traveler; I was just a guy who wanted to see if I could fit one more slice of cheesecake in my stomach.
"Hey, look at those!" Euphyne pointed toward a shop that was selling burgers that were the size of a person's head. "I bet you can't finish one of those, Sogha."
"Watch me," I said, my voice full of a strange, sugar-fueled confidence. I walked over and bought two.
Elphyete giggled as she watched me struggle to take a bite of the massive burger. She wiped a bit of sauce off my cheek with her thumb and then licked it off, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "You're going to be so full you won't be able to walk back to the inn," she teased.
"It's fine," I mumbled through a mouthful of bread and beef. "Euphyne can carry me. It's his fault anyway."
By the middle of the afternoon, the five of us were sitting on a stone bench in a small park in the center of the town. We were surrounded by empty wrappers, wooden skewers, and cardboard boxes. Tokine was leaning against a tree, looking at a half-eaten chocolate bar with a look of pure exhaustion. Celdrich was sitting next to her, finally able to set down the mountain of boxes he had been carrying. He looked tired, but he was slowly eating a plain butter cookie, looking like he had finally accepted his fate.
Euphyne was lying flat on the grass, his stomach visibly sticking out, a look of absolute triumph on his face. He had successfully convinced everyone to abandon their duties, and he looked like he had never been happier in his entire life. He had a stray piece of lettuce on his shirt and a smear of chocolate on his chin, but he didn't seem to care at all.
I sat there next to Elphyete, feeling incredibly heavy and very, very full. My mind was still a bit fuzzy from all the sugar and grease, but the stress that had been building up over the last few days was completely gone. We hadn't found the king, and we hadn't even started looking, but it felt like we had accomplished something important nonetheless. We had conquered the Town of the Culinary in our own way.
"So," Elphyete said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Do you think we should start looking for the king now? The sun is starting to go down."
I looked at the giant pile of food containers in front of us, and then I looked at Euphyne, who was currently snoring softly on the grass. I felt a wave of sleepiness wash over me, the kind that only comes after a massive meal.
"Maybe tomorrow," I said, closing my eyes. "The king isn't going anywhere. But those burgers might be gone if we don't go back for dinner."
Elphyete laughed and squeezed my hand. "You're hopeless, Sogha."
"I'm just following instructions," I replied, a small smile on my face.
We stayed in the park for a long time, watching the people go by and listening to the distant sounds of the market. The air still smelled like food, but for the first time all day, I didn't feel the urge to run toward it. We were content to just sit there together, five people who had completely failed their mission but had managed to have the best day of their lives. The king would have to wait. The Town of the Culinary had won this round, and we were more than happy to let it. The search could wait for another day; for now, we were just five travelers with very full stomachs and no regrets.