Chapter 211: And The Disaster Dinner May Begin
The Incubus System Chapter 211. And The Disaster Dinner May Begin
04.12 PM
After we went to Nighthallow City using my portal skill and took a short walk, we finally stood in front of a building in dark warm paint. An elegant 'Unusual Fest Cafe' board sign in front of it. The cafe looked full of guests even though it was not dinner time yet. The waiters moved swiftly between the seats to deliver food or take orders from the guests. All the seats in the cafe, both outside and inside, were already occupied by guests. Now I understood why Larry asked his mother to take the seat for us first.
"I wonder what makes this place so crowded," said Emma. Her eyes swept over the guests' tables to find out, but she found a different menu on each table.
I turned my gaze to a wooden menu board sign near us and immediately found why. My hand gave her a tap on her shoulder.
"I think that's the reason." My other hand was pointing towards the board.
'Choose two kinds of your favourite menu, we'll fusion them for you!'
'Our signature menu: Spicy Curry Ravioli.'
"That's interesting," said Emma without turning her gaze at the board since a menu like this didn't exist even at the five-star restaurant.
"Indeed." This was the first time I had come across a cafe that made fusion dishes like this. And I could guess many guests came to this place out of curiosity. Although I couldn't imagine the taste, from the other guests' satisfied expressions, it seemed that this cafe food was far from disappointing.
Emma turned to me.
"Shall we go inside?" she said excitedly.
"Sure."
- Tring!
A small bell rang when we opened the door and we were greeted by a waiter.
"Welcome to the Unusual Fest Cafe, sir. We are sorry, our seats are full now. Would you like to take a waiting list?" he said politely.
"We've made a reservation," I said.
The waiter took the reservation list.
"May I know the name, sir?"
"Larry Grandroar," I replied.
"Larry Grandroar," the waiter repeated in a low voice, his eyes sweeping the long name list in front of him.
"Oh, a guest named Susan is already here."
He turned his gaze to me.
"She's in table 12. Let me accompany you, sir." His hand deftly put the list down.
"Thank you." Then we followed him.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," I greeted Larry's mother who sat alone accompanied by a cup of herbal tea and an empty plate.
She turned to me and stood up.
"Good afternoon, Ethan." She smiled. Then her gaze turned to Emma.
"Wow, your girlfriend is really pretty."
"This is Emma," I introduced her.
Emma held out her hand with a smile and Larry's mother took it.
"I know Ethan is too formal by calling me 'ma'am. But you can call me Susan if you want," she said in a casual tone.
"Thank you. But I'm not used to it. I think ma'am is more polite," said Emma.
"Haa ... Okay."
We sat across Mrs Susan.
"Shall we order the food?" asked Mrs Susan.
"Are you sure you don't want to wait for Larry?" I asked.
"The waiter gave me the advice to make the order in advance. They said they were very busy today, if you don't order right away, the food options will be limited later," explained Mrs Susan.
"Okay." I waved my hand towards the waiters and one of them approached us.
"May I have the menu list, please?"
He gave a menu list with two types of list.
"You may choose a menu from each list," he explained.
I put the menu on the table, between Emma and me. My eyes moved from top to bottom, sweeping at the writing that was there.
"I want--- Chicken honey lemon and sushi," I said. Then I turned to Emma.
Her eyes swept across the list for a moment followed by a humming sound before she finally answered.
"Beef rendang and enchilada," she said.
The waiter wrote it in his note.
"Okay, one chicken honey lemon sushi and beef rendang enchilada."
"What do you want for the drink?" asked the waiter.
"I will have tea," said Emma.
"Me, too," I said. Then I turned to Mrs Susan.
"Would you like to order something, ma'am?"
"No, thank you. I already ate." Her gaze pointed at an empty plate in front of her.
"Okay." I returned the menu to the waiter.
"I will bring your order soon, sir." He took the empty plate from our table and left.
"I'm sorry, I can't accompany you for too long," said Mrs Susan suddenly.
"It's fine, ma'am. Do you have any other important business?" I asked. Mrs Susan rarely had urgent matters like this.
"I just got a message from my husband that he's coming home tonight. So I have to go home early and prepare his dinner. Besides, I can't possibly let him come home just to find an empty house."
"Did something happen? He usually doesn't come home suddenly like this," I said in confusion. Usually, he told them a week before he went home.
"He said he was worried about Larry and me after he saw the news about the demon attack near our house. Moreover, the victim is our neighbour," explained Mrs Susan.
Well, that was definitely a strong reason to come home.
"May I know your husband's job, ma'am?" asked Emma.
"She's a magic pharmacist, Emma."
Emma stiffened in surprise since she couldn't believe even though Larry looked like a mess, his father was an intellectual. Just like magic tech, we also had magic pharmacy, but that was an uncommon job since only a few people had this kind of intelligence. What distinguished it, if the magic tech was dominated by the devices to fight demons, then magic pharmacy was dominated by the medicines to heal wounds faster. And I guessed it was the medicine that the hospital used to heal the demon hunters' wounds. Emma quickly returned to her composure and cleared her throat.
"May I know the company's name, ma'am?" asked Emma again.
"It's Tundra Pharmacies."
As soon as she heard that name, Emma stiffened in silence again.
* Ding! *
The message ringtone rang and Mrs Susan picked up her cellphone in her purse.
"Oh, Larry's here. I'll pick him up at the entrance," she said. Then she stood up and walked away.
"What's wrong?" I said as I turned my gaze to Emma who was sitting beside me. From her reaction, I was sure there must be something about Tundra Pharmacies.
She waved her hand, asking me to come near her. I did her request and she also drew near to me.
"I heard that Tundra Pharmacies has a close connection with the association," she whispered.
"I thought they only made the demon poison's antidote. Do you think they are related to the Demon hunter's vaccine?" I asked in the same low voice.
"Maybe. But that company always managed to brush that rumour and was willing to show their production division as the proof."
"Does Larry know about this?"
"I'm sure he doesn't know it. Besides, I know this from my dad, not from the association and this is just a rumour among the international companies' owners. But since the company is related to the government, they don't dare tell this to anyone and only become an internal conversation among them. "
It was interesting, unfortunately, when it came to the vaccine rather than that company, my guess was more towards Kingdom of Serpent Rock, but it could be that Tundra Pharmacies also had a connection to that kingdom.
Amid my thoughts, Emma spoke again.
"I think you and Larry were switched at the hospital when you two were born," she said with a teasing smile.
"What do you mean?"
"Mr Renart was the best demon hunter, yet you were a model student who couldn't fight at all before. And Larry's father is a magic pharmacist, yet Larry fights and aims for the best demon hunter," she teased with a giggle.
"It can't be helped. I don't know why I was that weak before, when my dad was so strong," I said with a pout.
Larry's voice interrupted us.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting."
After hearing those words, Emma's giggle stopped as her eyes shifted behind me. Her eyes widened and her face turned shocked. Intrigued by her expression, I turned around. Just like Emma, I couldn't hide my shock from my face.
In front of me, Larry smiled triumphantly with a girl with pink hair who had the same expression as mine and Emma's. At their side, his mother smiled proudly.
"Ethan, this is my girlfriend Ruby." Then he turned to Ruby.
"Ruby, this is my best friend, Ethan."
After those words, none of the three of us made a voice, while our expressions remained the same. But one thing for sure...
'This is gonna be a disaster.'