Claire downed the whiskey he put in front of her in one gulped before slamming the glass into the bar. "So, you are telling me, both Rimuru and Kushina are products of imagination from humans from Earth? Does that make sense? How about me then? Am I also a character in a story made by humans of your world?"
Ludwig sighed inside his head. Her question took him back to Rimuru's episode of questioning life, something he preferred not to come in touch with ever again. "Well, a restaurant that connects to many worlds didn't really make sense as well. And for your next question, I don't know. Rimuru also doesn't know."
Before Claire could open her mouth again, Ilea's voice rejoined the conversation. "To be honest, it makes more sense if my life is a story. Being sent into another world full of monsters and fighting my way up? Yeah, zero to hero story. Classic but always works."
"Ilea!" Claire shouted. "How can you accept it so easily? You know, it means that everything that happened in Elos is written by somebody! Even the fact that Cless is being sent to Elos!"
"I know that. But it's real for us, isn't it?" Ilea shrugged and surrendered her back to the back rest of the chair, creaking it. "I feel happy, sad, hungry, hurt. I felt everything. Moreover, this restaurant connects to 'World' not 'Story', so I prefer to think at least we are real now."
Ludwig let out another huff of hot air. But this time, it was releasing the lump that was choking him throughout the conversation.
This talk about the meaning of existence was well above his pay grade. He simply didn't have the mastery of both words and philosophy to shower them with advice regarding the matter. But that didn't mean he couldn't symphatize with Claire and Rimuru. To be honest, he had also thought about it after seeing Rimuru's meltdown.
If his life until now was something which was written by someone, he really wanted to meet that author and beat the shit out of them. However, what's the difference between being a character inside someone's story and a normal human? It's the same for him. He just got a bad lottery draw. Moreover, the fact that he could think about it made him feel that his thoughts and actions were his alone. After all, why would an author even make him think about his origin?
Ludwig sipped the cold coffee from his glass and looked at the two women in front of him who were still arguing. The tension between them was palpable. One side was trying to wrap his fingers around the fact while the other one easily accepted the fact. However, probably because they were best friends, the tension started to decrease the more they traded words.
In the end, "Ludwig, refill my whiskey." Claire said to him with a resigned tone.
"Sure." Ludwig said, tone careful but friendly. He had seen enough to know threading carefully in front of a woman with fluctuating emotion was a must.
"You know. You are also like Ilea. You are too calm. Does the thought that your life was written by someone not bothering you?" Claire muttered as she swirled the liquid inside the glass.
"I've come to terms with it." Ludwig shrugged. "But don't ask me how. You better ask Rimuru about it. I'm not debating about the meaning of existence anymore."
"But you are the one who told me about it! I can live easier without knowing about it." Claire protested.
"That's why I gave you a solution. Talk with Rimuru." Ludwig answered flatly.
At that moment, the restaurant buzzed inside his mind. Knowing who was about to walk in, Ludwig dispersed the isolated space that had surrounded him and the two women. Chatter, laughter, utensils clinking with each other, and humming of the runes all over the restaurant returned to them like a tide.
The two women looked at them, probably realizing what he had done. But rather than explaining it to them, Ludwig just looked towards the door. When it moved with a creak while the bell on top of the door chimed, a blue haired man walked in.
"Welcome to Checkpoint." Ludwig shouted in his professional tone.
"Welcome to Checkpoint." His employees who all had returned from their break followed right after.
Rimuru chuckled before walking to the bar, Shuna and Benimaru following behind. "I see you finally get some employees?"
"Thanks to a certain someone." Ludwig answered.
"You are welcome." The chair scraped against the floor as Rimuru pulled it slightly. As he sat down, he looked at Claire, the corner of his mouth curling upwards. "You look awful Claire. Having a bad day?"
The woman gave him a pointed look, ready to bite back. "I heard from Ludwig you have a full blown existential crisis after hearing what I just heard."
Rimuru tilted his head to the side, forehead creased. "What is she talking about?" He asked after looking at Ludwig.
"I told her about manga and anime." Ludwig delivered those words in low volume. Making sure it didn't travel too far.
Rimuru's eyes went wide. But to Ludwig's surprise, rather than asking him why he told Claire, he just smirked and looked at Claire. "So, you are the Mewtwo now?"
"What is Mewtwo?" Claire shot back.
"Huh? You don't watch Pokemon? Well it makes sense since you don't even know Kushina." Rimuru asked, probably bewildered because he met someone who didn't know much about anime.
"What is Pokemon?" Claire asked again.
At that point, Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle. Did he tell him Claire was someone from Earth? No. He just told him she had an existential crisis. However, before thoughts about letting more and more misunderstanding pile up between them, another set of chuckle graced their surroundings.
"She's not the one from Earth. I am." Ilea moved her head towards Rimuru and said so.
Probably ready to tease Claire further, Rimuru's mouth hung open as his eyes locked into Ilea. Even though he was frozen, he could tell that his mind was running on overdrive. He's probably playing a quiz with the Great Sage right now.
Even though Ludwig didn't want to do anything but to look at his stupid face right now, he was forced to move as Vilera was already done on taking Shuna and Benimaru's order.
"One today's special, one fish menu, skewer set, and two cups of water, Chef."
"Coming right up." Ludwig answered as he stepped into the kitchen. The quiet that had stretched around the kitchen for hours finally shattered. Fire came alive as the sound of metals hitting another metal as well as the sound of meat being cooked echoed.
As he was moving with precision, whipping out several pieces of food in the kitchen, the restaurant told him that Rimuru was walking to an empty table with Claire after finishing his talk with Ilea. As soon as they sat down across from each other, Ludwig flicked his wrist, isolating them in a different space. He could feel both of them nodding at him, but rather than looking at them he just focused back on the food in front of him.
The food was finally served to Benimaru and Shuna not long after. But as soon as he returned to his seat, Ilea looked at him and opened her mouth. "You know, for a restaurant, you lack a variety of menu."
Ludwig crossed his hands in front of his chest, face serious. "Yeah. It's something that bothers me as well. But, I can't really make a dessert. I just never learn."
"I see. You are someone who just focused on the food then?" Ilea asked.
"It's not like that. I just don't have a sweet tooth back on Earth." Ludwig chuckled. "And after being transported, I don't really have a chance to learn how to make dessert."
"A shame. It seems like I still have to eat dessert from another restaurant for the time being." Ilea shrugged. "What about beer or ale? I don't think you have that."
Ludwig ruffled his hair at that point. "Well, I have beers. Beers from Earth. But, the price is ridiculous, so I just don't sell them. The reason I haven't sourced it from my world is because I lacked time." He explained.
The matter regarding alcohol had always been in his mind. However, just like finding employees, he just couldn't squeeze the time to do it. In his opinion, buying alcohol in Ortus would take more time than finding employees. So to do it, he would have to at least close the restaurant for a day, something he couldn't do this past month because he felt the restaurant was still too new to have a day off. After all, closing the restaurant meant he would turn away potential customers, something he really needed right now.
Though, he probably needed to do it soon. After all, those dwarfs from Rimuru's world promised him to visit often. And unlike Claire, Rimuru, or Raon's human, they shouldn't have much money.
"Beer from Earth? Seems like my conjecture is true. You can summon things from Earth, can't you?"
"Rather than summoning, it's buying. However, even the cheapest thing on Earth costs 1 gold coin in my shop."
"I see. How much is it for the beer?" Ilea asked.
Ludwig willed his shop window to open and bought one can of beer. He then willed his converter window to open to see how much it cost in Ilea's currency. However, just like when he did after Rimuru wanted to buy the cola, the price displayed on the converter was the same as the price of the goods in the shop window. "It's 1 coin for this can."
"How about Budweiser and Guiness?"
"It's the same." Ludwig answered after browsing through the shop again.
"Then, give me 100 Budweiser and 100 Guiness." Ilea said nonchalantly.
Ludwig felt his eyes go wide when he heard her order. "That much?"
"I tend to be away from this city for a long time." Ilea shrugged before summoning gold coins on the table "Since I have the chance, better buy it."
Ludwig chuckled at her display. It seemed like she was quite loaded. Well, from how strong she was, it seemed like that friend of Claire that she told him about was the woman in front of him. Truly, slaying strong monsters was always a good business.
Ludwig bought her orders at once, filling the bar with cans. But after Ilea waved his hands above the rows of cans, it all disappeared at once. "Fascinating."
"You haven't seen Storage Ring before?" Ilea raised her eyebrows.
"There's no storage ring in my world. But we have a storage box."
"That's a shame. You haven't seen Claire use it too?"
"She rarely took out anything while she's here. Just money."
"Ah, that's so like her." Ilea chuckled as she summoned one can of Guiness and cracked it open. As he chugged down the bitter bear, Ludwig took his chance to sit down. Unfortunately for him, the bell on the door chimed at that moment.
From the opened door, he could see a bustling market or some sort. But before Ludwig could be sure about it, a woman with black hair dressed in a dress and a man with black hair dressed in a fancy uniform walked in.
Ludwig rose, "Welcome to Checkpoint."
"Welcome to Checkpoint."
But just after taking a few steps into the restaurant, the woman stopped. Her face told the story just how shell shocked he was. A dull thud echoed as the woman took a step back, then a sharp sound of blade being drawn from its sheath as well as footsteps stomping the wooden floor beneath echoed right after.
Ludwig snapped his finger quickly. The sword disappeared to the void in an instant, leaving the guy quite surprised. "Customer, no weapon allowed in this restaurant. Before you leave, please let my employee explain this restaurant to you. If you still want to leave after that, we won't stop you." He then signaled to Vilera who stood the closest to the new customers with his eyes.
Vilera nodded, her face still as stoic as ever. He then walked closer to the two guarded customers, footsteps slicing through the silence. However, even though he knew nothing could escape his sense inside the restaurant, he's still watching them carefully.
"Is it always like that? I mean, new customers?" Ilea said in an amused tone.
"No. That reaction tops the most dramatic reaction until now." Ludwig chuckled as he placed his hands on his waist.