The place Chao Lu led Ellie and her group to was actually... a restaurant?
Because from the rectangular long table placed in the center, it looked like a dining table no matter how you looked at it, especially since it had candles, plates, and other things on it. Just as Chao Lu brought Ellie and them in, other maids were still setting the table. It was clear that as soon as Chao Lu learned of Ellie's arrival, she had already instructed the other maids to prepare.
It was indeed time for dinner. Ever since she obtained this new body, she had lost the feeling of hunger, and it didn't matter if she didn't eat for a few days.
However, when she was still in Nazarick, Ainz had told her that she must eat three good meals a day. So, Ellie still ate at normal meal times in Nazarick, and it was the same when she arrived in the Empire.
But after arriving in the Slane Theocracy, it wasn't as strict. Almost every time, Bell had to remind her before she remembered to eat.
Upon seeing this setup, everyone understood that Chao Lu was going to host them for dinner, and they felt somewhat relieved. Being invited to eat at least meant they had no ill intentions towards them, right?
However, in her previous world, there was a famous event: 'The Feast at Hong Gate'. Get it?
Even if someone invites you to eat, they might not have good intentions. But from the current situation, Chao Lu had no reason to set up a 'Feast at Hong Gate'.
So, everyone took their seats under Chao Lu's guidance. Before Ellie sat down, she noticed that there were eight chairs at the dining table, arranged four on each side, facing each other, with the head of the table empty.
Usually, isn't the head seat the boss's seat? From this arrangement, it seems the Eight Greed Kings also had a relatively peaceful time, sitting together and eating nicely. With that said, why did they fight amongst themselves? That remains unknown.
From the details observed, this was indeed the dining room used by the Eight Greed Kings. Compared to the luxurious main hall, the dining room was much more subdued, without the dazzling, golden decorations that hurt the eyes.
"Everyone is Lord Ellie's guest, so please look forward to E-Rantel's hospitality!" Chao Lu said, standing beside Ellie after everyone had taken their seats.
After speaking, she clapped her hands. The side of the dining room was pushed open, and then maids one by one pushed in small dining carts. Each cart held a large plate covered by a cloche. It seemed Chao Lu had indeed prepared in advance.
It had only been about half an hour since she entered Sky City until now, and dinner was already prepared. She must have started preparing immediately after the Heavy Armor Knight at the gate notified her!
Seeing the food being served, everyone except Ellie showed very curious expressions. At first, Ellie wasn't uncurious; she also wanted to see what kind of dishes E-Rantel could serve. However, with a nose more sensitive than a dog's, Ellie already knew what was being served as soon as the dining carts were pushed in.
Well! After all, the Eight Greed Kings also came from the game Yggdrasil, so it was understandable that the dishes they served were the same as those in Nazarick. Ellie thought with some disappointment.
That's right... when the maids served the plates one by one and opened them in front of each person, everyone except Ellie widened their eyes without exception.
Ellie, on the other hand, had eaten these countless times in Nazarick, so she didn't feel much. Moreover, she still had to maintain her disguise as Bai Xia, so she naturally couldn't show too much surprise.
"This... what does this mean?!" However, when the cloche in front of Bell was removed, Bell immediately had an opinion! Because Bell was sitting at the very back, she was the last one to have her cloche removed. Everyone else had Jotunheim Frost Dragon Steak, but only Bell had a live, jumping fresh fish, and that fish looked quite ferocious, with a mouth full of sharp teeth, clearly a carnivorous species.
"Hmm? Do you have an opinion? I prepared this specially for you. You should thank me properly." Chao Lu said, without even looking at Bell, her expression blank and her tone flat.
"This... it's still alive! How am I supposed to eat this?!" Bell looked at the lively fish, which was opening its mouth at her and trying to jump towards her. Bell quickly snatched the cloche from a nearby maid and forcibly covered the fish again.
"You really don't understand my painstaking efforts, do you? Don't stinky cats love to eat fish the most? This Helheim Man-Eating Fish is Snow Elf's favorite food. Logically, you, a thieving cat, should like it just as much as that bitch, shouldn't you?" Chao Lu still replied in her emotionless tone.
"I'm not a thieving cat! Please... please give me the same food as them! Please!" Bell pleaded, pressing down hard on the cloche, resisting the struggling Helheim Man-Eating Fish.
"Chao Lu, I also ask you..." Ellie couldn't stand it anymore. Although Ellie found Chao Lu toying with Bell quite amusing, seeing how pathetic Bell looked, she decided to help her. So, Ellie spoke up.
"Tsk... Since Lord Ellie has spoken." Chao Lu clicked her tongue, showing a slightly displeased expression, but it was only for a moment.
This was the second time she had shown what could be called an expression since Ellie met her, which was very rare. Then, Ellie saw her clap her hands again, and another maid pushed in a dining cart. This time, Bell was given the same food as everyone else. It seemed Chao Lu simply wanted to toy with Bell.
After this small prank, everyone began to eat. Perhaps it was due to the different dining culture here, but when others started eating, not a single person spoke.
Even Uncle Ged, who looked like a rough man, silently ate the rare food in front of him, which he had probably never seen before, without saying a word. One could see his utterly surprised look and his hurried, wolfish manner of stuffing piece after piece into his mouth, yet he still didn't exclaim, "What the hell is this?! It's so delicious!" or similar remarks.
Is this what they call table manners? Bell was much the same as Uncle Ged. Only Ligurit and Ellie remained calm.
The table manners here were really troublesome. When she ate in Nazarick, it was always lively. What was originally prepared for Ellie was indeed similar to what was here: an empty dining room, with only Ellie.
Waiting for maids to serve her meals, and then Albedo, or Shalltear, Aura, Mare, or whoever was free would occasionally come to accompany her. But most of the time, she ate alone.
Ellie naturally found this atmosphere difficult to accept, so she proposed eating with everyone in the cafeteria. Although Albedo and Shalltear strongly objected, Ainz still smiled and agreed.
After that, Ellie would eat with the Pleiades and the regular maids in the cafeteria, so it was always lively. Every time, the regular maids would vie to feed her, turning the cafeteria into a chaotic mess.
Later, under Sister Yuri's "pressure," everyone agreed on a rotation method to solve the problem. However, Ellie quite enjoyed it; it felt good to boost her popularity among the regular maids.
"..." Thinking of this, Ellie couldn't help but glance back at Chao Lu, who was standing behind her, waiting. It felt just like when she used to eat alone in Nazarick!
"Is something wrong? Is the food not to your liking, Lord Ellie?" Chao Lu immediately noticed Ellie turning her head to look at her and spoke directly.
"Nothing... it's very delicious. I just don't like this atmosphere." Indeed, Ellie genuinely disliked this quiet, everyone-eating-their-own-meal atmosphere. Isn't eating supposed to be fun when everyone eats happily and with laughter?
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