"Senior Disciple."
Sensing a wisp of Guter's mana, Lairn followed it with his gaze and looked toward Guter, who had appeared by the street.
"Mm." Guter smiled and nodded at Lairn before turning his gaze to the girl at his side.
Expecting Lairn, his junior disciple who knew nothing of social graces, to take the initiative and introduce this new disciple of their school was clearly asking too much.
So Guter introduced himself first, then looked at the girl, hoping that his junior disciple would understand what he meant.
Fortunately, this junior disciple was not the timid sort. Understanding what Senior Disciple Guter meant, she generously began introducing herself.
"My full name is Gumiel. You can all just call me Gumi."
"My hobby is all kinds of delicious food. As for my specialty, I can eat several bowls at once."
"Don't let my appearance fool you. I actually have a huge appetite."
"So if any of you senior disciples come across something tasty, please make sure to tell me."
As Gumi spoke, she pressed her hands together and pleaded with Guter and Lairn.
Looking at the lively, cheerful foodie girl before him, Guter could not help but smile. This junior disciple was far more interesting than Lairn, that stuffy gourd.
"Since Junior Disciple Gumi likes good food, let's go have a meal together."
"As it happens, I know a restaurant in the city with excellent cooking."
"Eh? Really, Senior Disciple?"
The moment she heard the words "delicious food," Gumi's eyes lit up. Her restless little hands rubbed together as she began to fantasize about it.
To prepare for the exam, Gumi had spent the last two days in the city keeping to herself, gathering mana and reviewing her knowledge. She had not yet had the chance to properly explore Oysaster and sample its local delicacies.
"Haha, of course."
"It really is a restaurant with excellent food."
Guter assured her. After all, that restaurant had been praised by the Hero's party in the original story. Even Frieren, who had lived for a thousand years, had never forgotten it.
Although Guter had also largely kept to himself since arriving in Oysaster, over the past two months, he had still managed to explore the entire city.
As a famous spot that had appeared in the story, Guter had hesitated for a long time before deciding to try it, despite the risk of becoming too entangled with this city.
How should he describe the restaurant's food? In any case, after tasting it, Guter felt that the risk had been worth it.
The head chef's skills had reached the peak possible in this era, limited only by the cooking utensils and seasonings available.
Hearing Senior Disciple Guter make such a confident guarantee, Gumi, the little glutton, naturally had no reason to refuse the upcoming meal.
As for Lairn, Guter saw the reluctance in his eyes at a glance. So he did not bother asking for his opinion at all, simply slinging an arm around his neck and dragging him toward the restaurant.
"Senior Disciple, you should at least ask for my opinion."
Looking at Guter, who had restricted his movements, Lairn spoke helplessly.
"Ask for your opinion? If someone with your personality actually attended social events, then we probably would not have been fated to meet here, would we?"
"Ugh."
For a moment, Lairn was left speechless by the retort.
Because he had come to terms with his past experiences, when they drank yesterday, Lairn had not hidden his past from Guter. Instead, aided by the alcohol, he had poured out every last bit of frustration in his heart.
What Lairn had not expected was for the boomerang from last night to come back so quickly.
"Hey, Junior Disciple, I suddenly thought of something."
With a curious expression, Guter continued asking Lairn, "You're bad at dealing with people and never socialize, so how did you and Duncan gradually become close friends?"
The sudden question caught even Lairn off guard, and certain dust-covered memories abruptly came alive.
Looking at Guter's arm draped over him, Lairn sighed and replied.
"Just like you."
"Whenever I said I did not want to socialize, Duncan would forcefully drag me out, just like you are doing now, Senior Disciple."
"After it happened enough times, I got used to it and stopped refusing."
"I see." Guter smiled and casually patted Lairn on the back. Unexpectedly, the pat made Lairn cough.
That left Lairn saying resentfully, "Senior Disciple, your hand is even heavier than Duncan's."
"Hahaha."
Guter laughed awkwardly and finally released Lairn.
The three of them joked and bickered along the way. Since they were all young, they quickly became familiar with one another.
When they arrived at the restaurant, it was still not fully dark.
There were therefore plenty of vacant seats inside, sparing them the trouble of waiting in line.
Guided by a waiter, the three quickly took their seats, opened the menus on the table, and began ordering.
Lairn ate an extremely light dinner: a salad, half a loaf of bread, and a cup of warm milk. That completed his order.
Guter, seated beside him, curled his lips. He felt that with what his junior disciple had ordered, he need not have come to a restaurant at all; in his previous life, he could have finished that much just standing by the refrigerator.
Still, everyone had their own eating habits, so Guter could not really say anything.
However, Junior Disciple Gumi, seated across from Guter, was completely different.
The foodie girl excitedly rubbed her fingers over the menu. She wanted this, and she wanted that too.
But after considering that, as a girl, she had already ordered three hearty dishes in a row, Gumi became somewhat embarrassed and forcibly suppressed the anticipation in her eyes.
Catching that, Guter hurriedly spoke up, telling her that she could order more of anything she wanted while she had the chance.
After all, this restaurant was extremely popular. It was rare to encounter a time when there was no line and their ingredients were still well stocked.
Guter also said that he had been training his body recently, so his appetite was enormous. Even everything they had ordered so far would not be enough for him alone.
Hearing that, Junior Disciple Gumi's eyes sparkled as she looked at Guter as though she had found her benefactor.
So Gumi stopped holding back and happily selected the dishes she liked from the menu.
For a while, the waiter recording their order did not stop writing.
Even so, Gumi had some estimate of her own appetite. Once she reached her limit, she stopped, handed the menu to Guter, and offered him a smile that was both embarrassed and satisfied.
Guter took the menu, added a few dishes he liked as he saw fit, then closed it and signaled for the waiter to start preparing their food.
"Certainly."
Looking at the long order in his hands, the waiter carried it to the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Head Chef Lake froze for a moment after seeing the menu the waiter handed him. Was there a group order tonight? Why had they ordered so many dishes?
Before long, the restaurant waiter served several dishes.
As expected, the first dishes prepared were Lairn's leafy salad and dry bread, along with a cup of hot milk. There really was not much to prepare.
Guter and Gumi's orders would undoubtedly take longer.
Fortunately, while they waited, the waiter brought them two complimentary pre-dinner drinks.
After taking one, Guter gently swirled the white wine in his glass. Smelling its rich fruity aroma, he could not help nodding in approval at the restaurant's service.
A low-alcohol white wine before a meal not only stimulated the appetite, but also kept diners from feeling too bored while waiting for their food.
After taking a few sips, Guter had nothing else to do, so he summoned the System Interface and claimed the reward for today's Daily Good Deed task.
Daily task: Daily Good Deed completed Random reward being drawn Draw complete Congratulations, Host. You have obtained an otherworldly item: Memory Bread (Enhanced Edition) x100
"Hmm?"
Gumiel (Gourmet-Essen)
Her name came from the German word for delicious, fitting the original work's naming conventions.
Also, among Magic Old Timer's first batch of disciples, there were female mages. When Serie completely crushed Teacher Ma in the manga, there was a single panel showing a group photo of all the disciples, but it seemed to involve copyright issues or overseas network restrictions, so I could not upload it.
Before you continue