As promised, Greg took Ellie and Wendy to the barbecue restaurant he had mentioned.
The little restaurant was tucked deep inside an alley, with a wooden sign over its entrance blackened by cooking smoke. Inside, however, everything was spotless. The scent of charcoal mingled with the aroma of meat, making their mouths water.
The three of them took a quiet private room and ordered a tableful of dishes, along with two servings of the signature dessert.
Ellie went from reserved to completely at ease in less time than it took her to eat three pieces of grilled pork belly.
She held her chopsticks in one hand and steadied her bowl with the other. Her table manners were still fairly refined, but she certainly wasn't eating slowly.
The sizzle of fat over the charcoal, accompanied by her occasional little sighs of satisfaction, made for the most soothing soundtrack of the evening.
"Mmm, this is so good~"
Ellie picked up a perfectly grilled slice of beef tongue, dipped it in sauce, and put it in her mouth. Her eyes narrowed slightly as happiness seemed to radiate from her. She was practically a different person from who she had been an hour earlier.
Wendy sat beside her and ate with somewhat more restraint, though her chopsticks hardly stayed idle.
As she ate, she marveled inwardly, So Lady Ellie is this easy to coax. All it takes is barbecue and dessert.
Just in case, she quietly made a mental note of it.
What she didn't know was that Ellie wasn't actually happy because of the barbecue and desserts. She was happy because Greg had specifically treated her to this meal, and that was why everything tasted so delicious.
Watching Ellie's thoroughly contented expression, Greg put away the wallet that had been completely emptied by