After checking in, we went straight out into the city. Since Mera had a perch set up for her in Kimishima’s room, she stayed behind at the hotel. Gradually, she had started to transition from a chick to a bird and was becoming more capable of being away from Kimishima.
Well, she mostly just slept anyway.
Even though we were in the city, it was already evening, so there weren’t many stores we could visit. We decided to walk around Kapto aimlessly, looking for a place to have dinner.
Durham State had a lot of Noin people, so the cuisine there was heavily influenced by Noin culture. However, in Spelt State, there weren’t as many people from a specific race. Given that nearly half of the world’s population was Martin, there were many restaurants serving Martin cuisine. Martin cuisine was similar to Western food found in Japan.
As it gradually got darker, the streetlights came on.
“Wow, the night is so bright in a different city.”
“I wasn’t allowed to go out at night during high school, so this is kind of exciting.”
“Yeah, though some students stayed late studying at cram schools.”
Kimishima was also looking around curiously. Before the Federation treaty, this city was the capital of a single nation. Living in Dudur Valley for the past few months, we had gotten used to the standards of that place, so this was quite a culture shock.
“Oh my, are you guys looking for a place to eat?”
“Huh? Well… sensei!”
While we were looking around, Nishina was approached by a woman from one of the night establishments. She was a tall woman in suggestive clothing, and Nishina was flustered. Though she was quite beautiful, her shoulder muscles were impressive, and her physique was quite different from a typical Japanese person.
I stepped in with a wry smile.
“Ah, we’re looking for a place to eat. Do you have any recommendations?”
“Oh, we only serve light snacks at our place, but it’s fun. We have plenty of drinks and girls.”
“No, none of us can drink, so we’d prefer a restaurant.”
“Is that so? What a shame. How about Warwick cuisine?”
“Warwick? I’ve never had it. What kind of food is it?”
“It’s from our world. If you like meat, you’ll love it. And if the kids fall asleep, come back by yourself, big brother.”
“Oh, um, sure.”
Kimishima frowned at the woman’s words, while Sakuragi looked delighted.
“Sensei, let’s have meat!”
“Miki, you always go for meat.”
“Hehehe.”
Well, I didn’t mind meat either. Everyone liked meat, so we decided to try it out.
The woman, though it wasn’t her own establishment, led us to a restaurant run by people of the same race.
As expected of the large-framed Warwick people, each dish was enormous. We ordered enough for the group, but the portions were overwhelming. The main dish seemed to be large skewers of meat grilled and seasoned with unfamiliar spices. The various spices allowed for customization, which was fun.
Meat was universally loved, it seemed. The customers weren’t exclusively Warwick people; various races dined here.
Everyone had a no-waste policy, but…
“Phew, Sensei, can we take this to-go?”
“Takeout, huh? Let’s ask.”
Everyone was satisfied with the taste but reached their limits, so I asked the server for takeout containers. They quickly brought paper bags with some kind of waterproof lining, suitable for the greasy food.
We packed the food and thanked the staff.
A nearby Warwick man watched us and spoke up.
“What’s this? Small eaters, huh?”
“Ah, yes. Warwick people eat a lot.”
“Of course. We Warwick are the strongest in the world, so we eat the most too.”
“Haha, you guys are big.”
I vaguely recalled fighting Carton and Gordon, and tried to end the conversation with agreeable nods. However, the man, possibly tipsy, started talking about Warwick supremacy.
“Now, there are only five Warwick in the Celestial ranking, but at our peak, there were twelve.”
“Twelve? That’s amazing.”
“Yeah, it was. The top Warwick now is Dargon at 21st place. He could even beat a Great Celestial.”
“Wow, a Great Celestial.”
“That’s not all. Do you know ‘Iron Princess’ Ismeralda, ranked 42nd?”
“Uh…”
“What? You don’t know the Iron Princess? Are you mocking me?”
I didn’t know. Coming from the countryside, there was no way we could know that. But the man got irritated when he realized we didn’t know his race’s heroes. Clearly drunk, I hurried to placate him.
“No, we’re new to this world, so we don’t know the rankers well.”
“Is that so? Anyway, the world revolves around Warwick.”
“Heh, I see…”
The man slammed his hand on the table. Other customers glanced over.
“Then why did Carton lose? He could’ve been a Great Celestial! ”
“Oh, I see…”
“At 87th on the 8th step, he could’ve reached the 9th or 10th rank, maybe even become a Great Celestial. Don’t you agree? He could’ve even gotten Tianyao! Don’t you think?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Damn it… to some nobody named Kusunoki…”
“Y-Yes…”
“Sniff…”
This was bad. The man, getting emotional, began to cry while extolling Warwick strength.
At that moment, another Warwick man at a different table started singing a song I’d never heard. Other Warwick customers stood up and joined in, turning it into a chorus.
It must have been a song from their world. The Warwick people sang joyfully. The lyrics were in the language of this world, but the melody was likely from their world. Since there were Warwick born in this world, they might have translated the lyrics.
Other customers from different races watched in silence as the song reached its climax.
With the proud lions, grilling on skewers♪
The taste is exquisite, Liu Restaurant~♪
Huh?
…A commercial jingle?
I glanced sideways, seeing my students wearing indescribable expressions.
We decided that we wouldn’t visit another Warwick restaurant for a while.
