"Mhm."
Victoria smiled and nodded slightly at Aletta.
"Here's the menu. Once you've decided what to order, just let me know, alright?"
Since the restaurant was still rather busy, after handing the menu to Victoria, Aletta hurried back into the kitchen.
Not long after, she came out again carrying a freshly prepared dish.
"Miss Erina, you and your friends can look at the menu first. If there's anything you don't recognize, feel free to ask me. More than half of the dish names on it were written by me, you know."
Victoria didn't look at the menu at all. Instead, she slid it over to Erina and the others.
As for what she wanted to eat, she had already decided before even coming to the restaurant.
Erina accepted the menu and gave it a quick scan. After flipping through it once, she already had a clear understanding of the restaurant's dishes.
Possessing the "God Tongue," Erina had been tasting and judging cuisine at countless restaurants since childhood. She had experienced so many types of dishes.
It could be said that almost every dish in this restaurant, she had already tasted somewhere before.
As for how good the taste here would be, that depended entirely on the chef's skill.
Similarly, Alice, as a professional chef herself, was also familiar with almost all of the dishes offered here.
Only Darkness and Eris were poring over the menu with great interest.
With the chat group, they could easily understand the otherworldly text written on it.
After serving the earlier dish to a customer, Aletta came back again to Victoria and the others.
"So, dear guests, have you decided what you'd like to order?"
Hearing Aletta's words, Darkness and Eris exchanged a glance before raising their hands at the same time.
"One order of fried meat cutlet for me!" the two said in unison.
After some discussion, they had decided to choose the same dish.
After Darkness and Eris finished naming their order, Victoria smiled and said to Aletta:
"I'll have the same as always."
"The same as before means one French fruit pudding here and four to-go, right?"
Since most regular customers here tended to stick to their favorites, and the number of patrons wasn't overwhelming, Aletta could usually remember everyone's usual orders after a few visits.
"Yes."
"Alright, I've got it!"
Aletta nodded, then turned toward Erina and Alice, who hadn't spoken yet.
"And for you two guests, have you decided?"
Erina shook her head upon hearing this: "I won't order from the menu. Go tell your manager to bring out the dish he's most confident in."
Right beside her, Alice quickly added:
"Same for me."
Hearing their words, Aletta suddenly looked troubled.
Since becoming a waitress, this was the first time she had ever encountered such a request. At most, customers had only ever asked her to recommend something—but never directly demanded the chef's best dish.
But since this was what the customers wanted, she could only pass the request to the manager exactly as it was.
"Alright, I understand. I'll go inform the manager now."
Nodding to Erina and the others, Aletta turned and left.
When she entered the kitchen, she immediately relayed the request to the owner.
What had been difficult for Aletta, however, was no problem at all for the manager.
In fact, it was even easier than other orders.
After all, "most confident" simply meant "most practiced." Preparing two servings of his most practiced dish was nothing difficult.
It wasn't as if he hadn't considered the possibility of someone coming to cause trouble. Such things weren't rare in the culinary world.
But he felt no worry at all. In his eyes, the cooking level of otherworld chefs was still far too lacking.
"No problem. I know what to do. Go ahead and keep tending to the customers."
The manager—about thirty, with a thick beard—smiled as he spoke to Aletta.
"Yes, Manager."
After Aletta left, curiosity got the better of him, and the manager couldn't resist glancing toward the dining area.
Right away, he spotted Victoria's table. But when his eyes fell on Erina and Alice, they immediately widened in shock.
"JK uniforms?"
...
While waiting for their food, Erina and the others were chatting in the group with members who were watching the livestream.
[Asuna Yuuki (Level 7, Stage 2): The atmosphere in this restaurant is really nice.]
[Rias (Level 7, Stage 2): Indeed, it also seems like a place where people from different lands and races of another world can gather and interact.]
[Erina Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 2): I just wonder how skilled the manager really is. Hopefully, he won't disappoint me.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): And if it doesn't taste good, what will you do—smash his signboard?]
[Erina Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 2): ???]
[Erina Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 2): What are you even thinking? Do you really see me as that kind of person?]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): Haha, just kidding.]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): So then, what will you do?]
[Erina Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 2): …]
[Erina Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 2): Nothing. I only came to evaluate the food here, not to cause trouble.]
[Victoria (Level 2, Stage 6): Don't worry. Every customer has praised the manager's cooking. I'm sure the flavor will satisfy you.]
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Don't be too sure! You haven't tasted true delicacies yet.]
[Victoria (Level 2, Stage 6): True delicacies? Do you mean the dishes prepared by Miss Erina and Miss Alice?]
Having seen the memory images of Shokugeki no Soma, Victoria naturally knew how outstanding Erina's culinary skills were.
Although she felt that the exaggerated reactions of characters in those images must be dramatized—after all, how could one dish cause someone to lose all composure as if drugged—she did not doubt Erina's and Alice's cooking abilities.
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): Though Erina's and Alice's skills are amazing, if we're talking about the strongest, that would of course be my Aoi-nee!]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 3 / Group Leader): That's right! Aoi-nee's cooking is the best in the world.]
[Asuna Yuuki (Level 7, Stage 2): Hard to disagree with that.]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 7, Stage 1): Exactly. Once you've had it, you'll never forget it.]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 7, Stage 1): Speaking of which, I'm craving it again. I'll definitely come over tonight to freeload a meal!]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 7, Stage 1): Eriri, don't forget to call me when it's dinnertime.]
[Elaina (Level 7, Stage 2): Count me in too!]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): No problem, you're all welcome. Honami, be sure to bring Kei along.]
[Honami Ichinose (Level 7, Stage 1): Of course, that was my plan from the start.]
[Natsuki Minamiya (Level 2, Stage 8): Is it really that good? And who exactly is this Aoi-nee? Isn't she a group member?]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 3 / Group Leader): Who else could it be? Eriri's personal maid and also our household's chief steward!]
[Lalatina (Level 2, Stage 5): No wonder everyone isn't that enthusiastic about Nekoya. Could it be because they've already eaten Aoi-nee's cooking?]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): You're not wrong.]
[Natsuki Minamiya (Level 2, Stage 8): Looks like I'll have to try it someday.]
[Eriri (Level 8, Stage 9): No need to wait for a chance, Natsuki-chan. You can come anytime—I'd be very happy to have you~]
[Natsuki Minamiya (Level 2, Stage 8): Maybe later, we'll see.]
...
As Erina and the others continued chatting with the group members, Aletta began bringing out their food.
First came Victoria's order: French fruit pudding.
The soft pudding paired with creamy ice cream and several kinds of fruit immediately made Victoria pick up her spoon and start eating without hesitation.
Next came Darkness and Eris's order: fried meat cutlets.
Looking at the golden, crispy patties on their plates, both Darkness and Eris couldn't help but swallow hard.
Even before tasting them, just the appearance alone was enough to make their appetites surge.
Even though the group members had told them that there were even more delicious dishes, that was something to consider for later. For now, the most important thing was to properly savor the food that had already been brought out.
Seeing the knife and fork set on the plate, Darkness and Eris immediately knew how to eat the fried cutlet. After all, nobles in their world also used such utensils at meals. As a noble lady, Darkness was naturally very familiar, and Eris, being a goddess, needed no explanation.
Picking up the knife and fork, Darkness and Eris cut directly into the cutlet.
With a rush of steam rising, the rich aroma of the meat instantly invaded their noses, making them unable to wait any longer. They quickly used their forks to send a piece into their mouths.
Soon, expressions of enjoyment appeared on their faces.
After they had eaten nearly half of the cutlets, the dishes ordered by Erina and Alice were finally brought out.
This time, it wasn't Aletta carrying them, but the manager of Nekoya himself, dressed in a white chef's uniform.
"Ladies, here are the dishes you ordered."
The manager set the two plates down in front of Erina and Alice.
"This is my specialty dish—fried rice. Please enjoy."
Although the manager was skilled in various cuisines, what remained most deeply engraved in his memory was the fried rice he had learned to make while working part-time at a Korean restaurant during high school.
The reason he personally brought the dishes out, besides showing respect, was because he wanted to confirm with his own eyes whether what he had seen earlier was real.
From afar, he thought he had glimpsed school uniforms he recognized, but it could have been a mistake. After all, clothing from another world might look somewhat similar.
But upon closer inspection, he confirmed without doubt that the clothes Erina and Alice were wearing were indeed the school uniforms he knew.
At that moment, he began to suspect that Erina and Alice might actually be from the modern world he came from. Otherwise, their clothing couldn't be explained.
Since Nekoya connected to other worlds, it wasn't impossible for people to have been transferred to another world by accident as well.
If they truly were from modern Earth and unable to return on their own, he would gladly help them return through his restaurant.
However, now wasn't the time to ask questions. The manager decided he would wait until after they had finished eating before approaching them.
...
After the manager left, Erina looked down at the fried rice before her.
At first glance, it looked quite ordinary.
The ingredients and appearance were nearly identical to Japanese fried rice she had tasted before.
But the key lay in the flavor, which only her God Tongue could judge.
Without hesitation, Erina picked up the spoon placed on the plate, scooped a spoonful, and put it into her mouth.
Under the watchful eyes of all the group members watching the livestream, Erina closed her eyes and carefully savored the flavor of the fried rice.
Until she swallowed the bite she had chewed, not a trace of emotion appeared on her face.
She neither frowned in displeasure nor smiled in delight.
[Chika Fujiwara (Level 7, Stage 2): Erina, so how is it? How does the fried rice taste?]
[Ruri Gokou (Level 7, Stage 2): Judging by that expression, it probably won't get much praise.]
[Arifureta (Level 7, Stage 3 / Group Leader): Alice also ordered fried rice, right? You've eaten it too, so share your thoughts.]
[Alice Nakiri (Level 7, Stage 1): It tastes alright. But my evaluation isn't as precise as Erina's. Let's wait until she's finished tasting.]
[Lalatina (Level 2, Stage 5): I think the fried cutlet is really tasty, perfectly to my liking.]
[Eris (Level 3, Stage 6): I agree, it's delicious. I just wonder if the other dishes are as good.]
[Victoria (Level 2, Stage 6): Didn't I tell you the manager wouldn't disappoint? Miss Eris, I recommend trying the French pudding—it's very good.]
[Eris (Level 3, Stage 6): Should I order one now?]
[Victoria (Level 2, Stage 6): Of course. Today, everything is on me!]
Taking her words to heart, Eris—who had already eaten more than half her cutlet—immediately called out to Aletta as she passed by.
Without hesitation, she ordered a French fruit pudding as her dessert.
—
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