"Of course," Aldes said softly.
Illfa turned her head quickly. She narrowed her eyes.
"Are you mocking me?"
Aldes did not answer immediately. His eyes stared straight ahead from behind his porcelain mask.
Alright, now I know how life is in this kingdom. Well, this walk is enough to make me slightly forget what happened last night, Aldes muttered softly in his heart.
"Heyyyy, why are you daydreaming, heyyyy." Illfa waved her hands right in front of Aldes's mask.
"What?" Aldes asked. He jolted slightly.
"Where to now?" Illfa lowered her hands.
Aldes chuckled.
"Are you hungry?"
"Yes. Very hungry," Illfa answered without hesitation.
"We will go to the place recommended by Fiena." Aldes turned his body to face the cobblestone street. "After eating, we will go to the adventurer's association."
Aldes reached into his black cloak and took out a piece of parchment paper from his pocket. It was a location map drawn by Fiena. The drawing was very simple, consisting of street lines and building boxes, but it was very easy to understand. In the bottom corner of the paper, there was a drawing of a smiling face and a small heart symbol.
"This is the place to eat." Aldes pointed to a spot on the map.
"Whoa. She even made you a map. And there is... what is that heart drawing?" Illfa leaned her body forward, peeking at the paper in Aldes's hand. Her red eyebrows raised high. "Are you two close?"
Aldes smiled faintly behind his mask.
"Why are you so interested?"
Illfa looked away.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Let's go," the girl said. She stepped quickly ahead of Aldes.
After following the map's directions, they arrived at a simple restaurant. The room had brownish dry clay walls. Small oil lamps hung from the wooden ceiling, radiating a warm yellow light that illuminated the room. Woven mats covered the floor. Carved wooden tables and short chairs were lined up neatly. There were no customers there at all.
"Is this the place?" Illfa asked. She looked around the completely empty room. "I have never been here. It's quiet."
"Yes. According to the map." Aldes stepped inside through the arched doorway.
As they entered, they were welcomed by an old man. The man wore a faded gray knee-length tunic made of thick, coarse cloth.
"Welcome, sir." The man bowed his head to welcome them.
However, when he raised his face and saw Aldes's appearance in a pitch-black cloak and a smiling white mask, the old man's facial expression turned tense. He stepped his body back.
"Are you going to rob me?" the man said with a trembling voice. His eyes widened in panic.
"What?" Aldes and Illfa looked at each other. "Why would you think that?"
Slowly, the old man raised his trembling hand, pointing straight at Aldes's white mask and black cloak.
Aldes immediately raised both his palms in front of his chest.
"No, no, no. I came to eat. My friend recommended this place."
"Ahh, I see, I see." The man let out a visible sigh of relief. He smiled again. His tense shoulders immediately slumped down casually.
He walked closer and pulled out chairs at the nearest wooden table.
"Please, please."
Aldes and Illfa sat facing each other.
"Uh, I will ord—" Illfa had just opened her mouth.
"I want the most delicious dish here," Aldes said with a deep voice. He raised his hand, cutting off Illfa's words instantly. "Surprise me."
The man fell silent for a moment hearing the deep voice coming from behind the mask, before finally giving a friendly smile again.
"Please wait a moment." He turned his body and walked toward the kitchen area in the back.
Thud.
"Hey." Illfa hit Aldes's shoulder hard.
"Why?" Aldes asked. He rolled his shoulder, which felt numb from the knight girl's punch.
"What do you mean why. You cut off my order." Illfa glared at Aldes. Her teeth gritted, holding back her annoyance.
"Shh." Aldes leaned his body forward over the table. He placed his index finger right in front of Illfa's lips. "Trust me. No. Trust Fiena."
Illfa snorted roughly. She opened her jaw and bit Aldes's index finger hard.
"Oi." Aldes pulled his hand back quickly. He shook his throbbing finger. "Why are you being such a pervert."
"P-Pervert?? What is perverted about it? Since when is biting a finger considered perverted." Illfa glared in disagreement. Her face turned bright red all the way to her ears.
"Tch. Tch." Aldes hissed behind his mask.
He looked away and observed his surroundings. The place was so simple yet radiated a comfortable nuance. There were stone carvings in the shape of a striding lion attached to the clay wall. Brown jugs were arranged neatly on the curved wall shelves.
Reminds me of Mesopotamia. Or Babylonia, Aldes muttered in his heart.
After waiting for a few minutes, the man returned carrying a large wooden tray. He served the dishes one by one onto the table. There was a wide clay bowl filled with boiled meat in a thick brown broth and beans. Hot smoke billowed, bringing a strong savory aroma of spices into the air. Beside it, there was a pile of toasted flatbread, two wooden glasses filled with white milk, and a small bowl of dark red fruits.
Beside the man, a black-haired woman stood accompanying him. From her simple tunic and the flour stains on her apron, Aldes concluded she was the cook of this place.
"Here you go, sir." The man placed the last dish on the table.
Truly traditional. Wait. I think I have seen this in a historical movie, Aldes muttered in his heart. He nodded his head slowly toward the shop owner. "Thank you. Thank you."
"Hmm, hmm." Illfa swallowed hard. Her eyes stared straight, unblinking, at the steaming bowl of boiled meat.
"We are giving you this. Fruits as a token of gratitude for stopping by," the man said. He pointed to a small bowl of pomegranate-like fruits at the corner of the table. "You are our first customers today."
The woman beside him nodded slowly.
"Thank you for stopping by." She offered a sincere smile that made the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes visible.
The man and woman then bowed, before turning and leaving the table so their guests could enjoy the food.
Aldes slightly lifted the bottom part of his mask up to his nose line. He tore off a piece of the flatbread that was still radiating warmth. The texture of the bread felt dense in his fingers. He dipped the torn bread into the thick broth, letting it absorb the savory liquid, then put it into his mouth. The rich taste of beef bone broth and spices instantly spread and exploded on his tongue.
He took a wooden spoon, scooped up a piece of fatty boiled meat along with its sauce, and then ate it slowly. The meat melted softly without needing much chewing.
"Truly." Aldes chewed slowly. His eyes widened slightly. "I did not expect it to be this delicious."
"Damn, what is this. It's better than the palace's cooking," Illfa said in amazement. She chewed with a full mouth, both of her eyes sparkling brightly.
Aldes nodded in agreement.
"Absolutely, absolutely. The meat inside this bread is truly..."
Aldes raised his wooden glass and drank the white milk gulp by gulp. He shook his head in amazement.
"What on earth is this."
"Thank you, Fiena," Aldes said while continuing to devour his food.
"Yeah, yeah, Fiena is the best," Illfa nodded quickly while tearing her second flatbread.
"Fiena?"
In the corner of the room, the old man who was wiping a table turned his head. He seemed to recognize the name Aldes had just mentioned.
After they finished eating until the plates were clean, the man and woman came over to the table again. Both of them smiled widely seeing the completely empty bowls and plates.
"We are glad you enjoyed the meal."
"You were recommended by Fiena?" the woman asked with an enthusiastic tone.
Aldes nodded.
"Yes. Fiena recommended this place." Aldes reached into his pocket and took out the map paper from earlier. "Look, she even made a map."
The old man smiled seeing the paper. His eyes looked slightly glassy with emotion. He then looked back at Aldes.
"Send our regards to her, okay. Tell her thank you from us too."
"Of course." Aldes put his hand inside his cloak, getting ready to take out his coin pouch.
"You do not need to bother, sir. The food is on the house. We are already happy enough that you came here," the old man said, refusing. He raised both his palms forward.
Aldes was stunned. The movement of his hand stopped in mid-air.
Even though their shop is empty. But he chose to give the food for free? Aldes was astounded. He fell silent for a few seconds, digesting this pure kindness.
Seeing Aldes fall silent, Illfa quickly took out her own coin pouch. The girl took out thirty silver coins and thrust them into the man's hands.
"Take this."
"No, no, sir." The old man stepped back to refuse.
Aldes snapped out of his daydream. He immediately swatted Illfa's hand away gently and leaned his body forward.
"Take this one."
Illfa stared at Aldes with a weird and annoyed look.
"Hey. I am paying."
"Where is my pride if I let a woman pay," Aldes replied flatly.
"Shut up." Illfa tried to push her pouch of silver coins forward past Aldes's hand.
The black-haired woman beside the old man looked confused seeing the small commotion in front of her. She looked at Aldes and Illfa alternately. Realizing that her guests would not leave without paying, the woman finally reached out her hand and took the coin from Aldes's hand.
"Alright, alright, we will take this one. Please do not fight," the woman said, intervening.
Aldes placed one round, brightly shining gold coin onto the woman's palm. The thick gold coin clinked softly against the bronze ring on the woman's finger. The eyes of the old man and the woman instantly went perfectly round, staring at the piece of pure gold in their hands.