"Back then, because of my family's business, we often had to entertain guests."
"To be honest, I didn't like eating with them. Most of the guests were nobles from various city-states, and as a girl, I had to act like a proper lady. I had to mind all sorts of rules while eating, with this restriction and that restriction. It was such a hassle."
"For example, I had to constantly pay attention to where the knife and fork were placed; there were even limits on how wide I could open my mouth while eating, and I couldn't make the slightest chewing sound. There were standards for where I held my cup, and I couldn't fill it too full. I had to watch the expressions of the guests being entertained and react in all kinds of ways according to changes in the banquet's atmosphere, and so on."
"Just thinking about all that gives me a headache. How could anyone seriously savor delicious food while being bound by so many rules?"
Gumi complained helplessly. After recounting those old memories, the girl muttered in an especially quiet voice, "And I never even got full."
"But..."
"Mom and Dad only had me as their child, after all."
As she said that, a smile had somehow appeared on Gumi's previously helpless face. Her eyes, looking back on the past, softened further because of that familial affection.
"As the sole heir of the merchant guild, since I enjoyed an abundant life and all of Mom and Dad's love, I naturally had to shoulder the corresponding responsibilities."
"It's just a pity that after attending so many banquets over the years, I developed a certain... attitude toward restaurants like this and the food they cooked."
"Um..."
"I suppose you could call it... 'prejudice.'"
"I always felt that the atmosphere here was stifling and unpleasant, that the food here was cold, and that the meals here never filled you up."
"Of course, of course, it wasn't the restaurant's fault. It was my own problem."
The girl waved her hands as she earnestly explained.
"I always thought it was a punishment the God of Cuisine had bestowed upon me."
"Because I was always thinking about accommodating the guests' feelings, maintaining the bearing of a lady, and doing everything possible to maximize the merchant guild's profits, I neglected countless delicious dishes."
"By the time I finally had the time to care for those tasty little darlings, they had started sulking. They greeted me with coldness, blaming me for arriving so late."
"So much so that later on, even when I came here alone and tried to savor the food wholeheartedly, that chill never went away."
"Perhaps..."
"It was the same reason I didn't like high-end restaurants. Whenever I was here, I would think of how my father, who could normally do anything, bowed and scraped before distinguished guests. I would remember how my mother, who usually hated alcohol, drank one glass after another for the sake of the atmosphere. I didn't like scenes like that, so I came to dislike the fancy restaurants where they happened."
"Whenever I spoke with the creations carefully crafted by the chefs in the kitchen, my taste buds would always recall the feeling of food going completely cold at the end of a banquet."
"So it isn't that I dislike the food here. It's that the little darlings here have come to dislike me."
Looking at the girl beside him, whose eyes were already glistening with tears, Guter opened his mouth, but for a moment, he did not know what to say to comfort her. In the end, he could only gently pat his Junior Disciple's shoulder.
"Sorry, sorry."
Gumi held a hand beneath her nose and took a light breath, drawing back the emotions and tears that had begun to spill out. Then she stood and apologized to her teacher and senior disciple.
"I just went on and on by myself, and I even brought all my own emotions to everyone. I'm really sorry."
"It's fine. Sit down."
Serie waved at her disciple, telling Gumi to sit.
"I chose this place not only for a meal together, but also because there are some things I need to tell you."
After receiving her teacher's instruction, Gumi bowed to everyone once more before sitting back down.
But the moment she sat down, she felt the senior disciple beside her nudge her.
"Senior Disciple, what is it?"
Gumi quietly asked Guter.
"Don't rush home after dinner. Come take a walk through the Night Market with me. There's a festival tonight, so it'll be lively over there, and there'll be lots of good food."
"Really? It's a promise, Senior Disciple!"
Seeing Junior Disciple Gumi extend her little finger toward him, Guter froze for a moment. Then he smiled and extended his own little finger, and the two hooked them together.
"It's a promise."
Beside them, Serie silently watched her disciples' little gestures. She tapped the table a few times with her fingers, deliberately waiting until they had finished talking before continuing.
"The First Mage Examination organized by the Continental Magic Association at the Oysaster Branch officially ended today."
"Tomorrow, I will leave the city with Guter and head to the association's designated headquarters, Holy City Hutrall, to hold another examination. We will remain there for some time and will probably not return until next year."
"Hm?"
For a moment, aside from Guter, who had expected this already, both Gumi and Lairn were quite shocked.
They both knew their teacher was going to the Holy City to organize another Mage Examination, but first, they had not expected her departure to be so sudden, and second, they had not expected her to be gone for so long.
"During this time, Lairn and Gumi, the two of you will remain in Oysaster."
"Although the Mage Examination has concluded, construction of the association branch here has not yet been fully completed and handed over. I need the two of you to stay here as representatives of the association, assisting with and supervising the remaining construction work."
"I understand, Teacher."
Lairn nodded in acknowledgment.
"Teacher, remember to come back early. I'll miss you and Senior Disciple."
Unlike her Senior Disciple, who was so clueless about social niceties, Gumi expressed her concern in addition to accepting her teacher's assignment.
Whether it was merely a farewell courtesy or a sincere expression of feeling, it warmed the heart to hear it.
And from his Junior Disciple's earnest expression, Guter believed even more that it was sincere.
Afterward, Serie gave the two of them a few more instructions regarding the association, as well as assignments for her disciples, who would soon be beyond her direct supervision. When she returned, she would assess each of their cultivation results according to those assignments.
Once they had finished discussing those matters, all the dishes everyone had ordered in the private room were ready. The restaurant attendants waited outside with their carts, prepared to serve them at any moment.
Serie, seated at the head of the table, gave the attendant at the door a look. Their teacher-disciple dinner that night officially began.
One exquisitely prepared dish after another was brought in. Although they had sat for a while and missed their ideal tasting window, they were still excellent in flavor.
While enjoying the food, Guter could not help glancing several times at Junior Disciple Gumi beside him.
How should he put it? Gumi really seemed like a different person now. Even though it was obvious that she was deliberately restraining her movements, her every gesture still unconsciously followed the rules she had learned in the past.
Dignified and elegant, restrained in manner, she seemed to have transformed from the girl next door into a noble lady in an instant.
Those movements really were like...
Like Lairn on Guter's other side.
Well, Junior Disciple Lairn did seem to be a genuine noble, so it was not really strange for Junior Disciple Gumi's trained manners to resemble Lairn's.
After dinner, everyone stood at the entrance of the restaurant, originally intending to say goodbye as usual before going their separate ways.
Guter and Junior Disciple Gumi exchanged a glance. Both still remembered their promise.
However, Teacher Serie did not turn and leave as she usually did. Instead, she stepped closer to her disciples and said with a smile.
"Tonight is our last night before we part."
"Just now, I heard a certain disciple mention that there is an event at Oysaster's Night Market tonight. Come take a look around with me."
"Yay!"
Gumi jumped in celebration, while Guter deliberately glanced at his teacher, only to meet Serie's gaze head-on.
Giving his teacher a smile and a thumbs-up, Guter quietly thought to himself.
It seemed Frieren's judgment back then had not been entirely correct. The way Serie expressed affection toward her disciples was not that hard to understand.
That old lady is kind of cute.
Before you continue