Gumiel and the Memory Bread

"Senior Disciple."

After sensing a trace of Guter's magical fluctuation, Lairn followed the trail and looked over, spotting Guter appearing by the street.

"Mm." Guter first nodded at Lairn with a smile, then turned his gaze to the young girl beside him.

Expecting his socially inept junior disciple Lairn to proactively introduce this new sect member to him was undoubtedly a bit harsh.

So Guter began with a brief self-introduction, then looked at the young girl, hoping this junior disciple would understand his intent.

Fortunately, this junior disciple wasn't timid. Grasping Senior Disciple Guter's meaning, she introduced herself openly.

"My full name is Gumiel. You seniors can just call me Gumi."

"My hobby is all kinds of delicious food. As for my specialty... I can put away several bowls."

"Don't judge by my looks—my appetite is actually huge."

"So, I'm begging you seniors: if you ever come across something tasty somewhere, please be sure to tell me."

As Gumi spoke, she pressed her hands together in a plea toward Guter and Lairn.

Watching this lively, food-loving young girl, Guter couldn't help but laugh. This junior disciple was far more interesting than the silent blockhead Lairn.

"Since Junior Disciple Gumi likes good food, let's all go eat together."

"As it happens, I know a restaurant in the city with excellent cooking."

"Eh~, really, Senior Disciple?"

At the mention of "good food," light instantly sparked in Gumi's eyes. Her restless little hands rubbed together as she began to fantasize.

To prepare for the exam, Gumi had stayed cooped up in the city for the past two days, focusing her magic and reviewing knowledge, without even taking the time to properly explore [Oysaster] or hunt down its culinary delights.

"Haha, of course."

"It really is a restaurant with great flavor."

Guter confirmed it. After all, that eatery had been acknowledged by the Hero's party in the storyline. Even Frieren, who had lived for a thousand years, still remembered it fondly.

Though Guter had generally kept to himself since arriving in [Oysaster], over two months he'd still managed to tour the city.

As a checkpoint that appeared in the story, Guter had hesitated for a long time before finally taking the risk of forming too many ties with this city to try it out.

How to judge the restaurant's taste? Well, after eating there, Guter declared that the risk he'd taken was worth it.

The head chef's skill had reached the peak possible in this era, limited by the available cookware and seasonings.

Hearing Senior Disciple Guter's confident guarantee, Gumi, that gluttonous girl, naturally wouldn't refuse the upcoming meal.

As for Lairn, Guter saw the reluctance in his eyes at a glance, so he didn't bother asking for his opinion. He just hooked an arm around Lairn's neck and headed toward the restaurant.

"Senior Disciple, you could at least ask for my opinion."

Watching Guter restrict his movement, Lairn said helplessly.

"Ask for your opinion? With your personality, if you ever willingly joined in any socializing, we wouldn't have had the fate to meet here."

"Ugh."

For a moment, Lairn fell silent, stumped.

It was precisely because he'd made peace with his past that, while drinking yesterday, Lairn hadn't hidden his history from Guter. Instead, fueled by alcohol, he'd poured out the last of his lingering frustrations.

But what Lairn hadn't expected was that the boomerang from last night would come back so fast.

"Hey, Junior Disciple, I just thought of something."

Guter's face showed curiosity as he pressed Lairn further. "You're bad at handling relationships and don't socialize. So how did you and Duncan gradually become close friends?"

The senior disciple's sudden question made Lairn himself pause for a moment. Some dusty memories suddenly came alive.

Looking at Guter's arm draped over him, Lairn sighed and replied.

"Just like this."

"Whenever I said I didn't want to socialize, Duncan would force me out, just like you, Senior Disciple."

"After enough times, I got used to it and stopped refusing."

"I see." Guter said with a smile, and casually slapped Lairn on the back. Unexpectedly, the slap made Lairn cough.

It made Lairn say with some resentment, "Senior Disciple, your hand strength is even heavier than Duncan's."

"Hahaha."

Guter laughed sheepishly and finally let Lairn go.

Along the way, the three of them joked and bickered. Since they were all young, they quickly grew familiar.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were early enough that the sky hadn't even fully darkened.

So there were plenty of empty seats, saving them the trouble of waiting in line.

Guided by the restaurant's waiter, the three quickly sat down, flipped open the menus on the table, and started ordering dishes.

Lairn ate very lightly in the evening: a plate of salad, half a loaf of bread, and a glass of warm milk completed his order.

Guter, sitting beside him, curled his lip. He felt that with what his junior disciple had ordered, there was no need to come to a restaurant—in his past life, he could have finished it all just by standing in front of his fridge.

But after all, everyone has their own eating habits, so Guter couldn't really say anything.

However, the junior disciple sitting across from Guter, Gumiel, was a completely different story.

This foodie girl rubbed the menu with excited fingers, wanting to eat this, and that too.

But considering that as a girl she had already ordered three hearty dishes in a row, Gumiel felt a bit embarrassed for a moment and forcefully suppressed the anticipation in her eyes.

Catching this, Guter quickly spoke up, saying that if his junior disciple wanted anything to eat, she should take this opportunity to order more.

After all, this restaurant was extremely popular, and it was rare to encounter a situation where there was no queue and the ingredients were well-stocked.

Moreover, Guter added that he had been training his body recently, so his appetite was enormous, and the dishes ordered so far weren't even enough for him alone.

Hearing this, junior disciple Gumiel's eyes sparkled, and she looked at Guter as if she had found a benefactor.

So Gumiel stopped holding back and happily picked her favorite dishes from the menu.

For a time, the waiter by the table, responsible for recording the orders, never stopped writing.

But even so, Gumiel still had a sense of her own appetite. When she reached her limit, she stopped, handed the menu to Guter, and offered a smile that was both embarrassed and satisfied.

Guter took the menu, added a few more dishes he liked after careful consideration, then closed it and signaled the waiter that they were ready for the food to be served.

"Alright."

Looking at the long order in his hand, the waiter passed it to the kitchen for preparation.

Inside the kitchen, Head Chef Lake glanced at the menu handed over by the waiter and couldn't help but pause. Was there a group order tonight? Why so many dishes?

Before long, the restaurant waiter came out with several dishes.

As expected, the first to be ready were Lairn's leafy green salad and dry bread, paired with a glass of hot milk—nothing much to prepare there.

As for Guter and Gumiel's orders, the wait time was naturally longer.

Fortunately, during the wait, the restaurant waiter brought them two complimentary glasses of pre-meal wine.

Guter took his, swirled the white wine in the glass slightly, and inhaled the rich fruity aroma, nodding in approval at the restaurant's service.

A glass of low-alcohol white wine like this before a meal not only whets the appetite but also keeps diners from getting too bored while waiting for their food.

After taking a few sips, with nothing else to do, Guter called up the System Interface and drew the reward for today's [Daily Good Deed] task.

[Daily Quest: Daily Good Deed Completed]
[Random Reward Drawing in Progress]
[Drawing Complete]
[Congratulations, Host has obtained Otherworldly Item: Memory Bread (Enhanced Version) X100]

"Hm?"