486 Another Challenge In The Sweets Shop

"Ehehe~ So you kissed Del already?" Lisa asked with a smirk the day after the challenge with Samuel.

"Oh, I didn't tell you?"

"You didn't need to, anyone could tell when you see how she's been behaving."

I know what she means…

Delmare has been literally singing about it at home… I think she's made like twelve songs so far about our kiss in the park…

She sang each of them to me first using her Siren Voice and I caught her singing them to herself a few times when she thought no one was nearby.

It was both cute and embarrassing at the same time.

Speaking of which, I'm currently out with Lisa to cash in on that all you can eat buffet ticket.

Hey, after being dropped the bomb about needing to give a speech, it's obvious that I want something to cheer me up!

I initially wanted to go on my own but Lisa somehow found out and asked to accompany me as well. She assured me that she was fine with simply watching me eat.

I didn't think that would be interesting but I didn't really have a reason to reject her so I let her tag along.

The ticket was only valid in one of the branches and required a reservation ahead of time so we were headed to that place right now.

Which just so happened to be the same place that tried to scout me to be their poster girl before they found out that I was a Special Class student of the Academy and changed their minds.

That was pretty awkward for me…

Oh well, at least I know that they won't try again and I'm just here to eat sweets!

The patisserie came into view and I have to admit that it was a little eerie seeing the place so empty. I'm guessing the reservation was needed in order to reserve the entire store for this? I wonder if this was specially arranged for me or it was something they already had?

There was a young man standing in front of the door and he perked up when I approached him.

"Ah, you must be Lady Aster I presume? We are prepared to receive you today."

I nodded at who I presume must be one of the staff working here, "Hello~ Thank you for the invitation~"

"Please think nothing of it. This way please," He ushered, opening the door for us.

I stepped through the open door with Lisa and into the patisserie that was devoid of any customers. The only people inside were Aruule Laruule, the owner of the chain, and a young woman with chestnut brown hair standing beside him in a chef's outfit.

The staff that ushered us in closed the door behind us, the man remaining outside so it was just the four of us in the store.

"Welcome back to our store, Lady Aster. If I had known you were a noble Lady back then I would have not embarrassed myself like that," Aruule greeted me with a bow.

I returned his bow with a curtsy, "There's no need for that Sir Laruule. I understand your concerns."

"Please, there's no need for such formalities here. Today I am simply your host, just call me Aruule."

"Thank you for your consideration."

He then shifted his gaze to Lisa, "And it's nice to meet you again Miss Lisa. I assume she is only accompanying you tonight, Lady Aster? If she would like to eat any sweets, I'm afraid that it will be charged at full price."

"That is fine. May I presume that the lady by your side is…"

He stepped aside, "Yes, she is. May I introduce to you our very own--"

He did not get to finish his words as the woman pushed past him to walk towards me, stopping just an arms length away.

Interestingly, Aruule did not seem to mind and merely sighed at her, indicating that this has happened before.

She crossed her arms, "So… You're the self-proclaimed sweets lover?"

I tilted my head at her, "Mmm… I'm not sure where you have heard that from but it is true that I do have a love of sweets."

She shook her head at me, "The only reason why I even agreed to do this was so that I could meet you in person without anyone else present in order to avoid embarrassing you. You are definitely not a sweets lover."

Eh?

Out-of the corner of my eye, I could see Lisa's tail twitch in annoyance, though she maintained her silence for now.

I maintained a neutral look on my face, "May I ask why you say so?"

She raised a finger in the air, "You claim that you are a sweets lover but yet you are simply gorging yourself on them. A dessert is meant to be savoured, enjoyed and tasted slowly in its entirety, something that you do not do. To call you a sweets lover is akin to calling a rabid dog a gourmet."

Ow.

No, I did not say "ow" because her words hurt… It's just that Lisa was holding on to my arm and her grip tightened when she heard her words.

In fact, Aruule was also looking a little panicked behind her.

I smiled at her, "I apologise, but may I first know your name?"

"Eldoria," She huffed, turning up her chin at me. "And before you ask, I do not care for the nobles and acting all polite. I believe in my art and if you take offence to that, it only means that what I said was true."

"Fufu, that's not what I was thinking at all, Miss Eldoria. I was simply wondering what gave you this opinion of me when you have never met me before?"

"Is it not obvious? I have heard how you can eat enough sweets for several people in a single sitting. That is not the way a true lover of sweets would enjoy their sweets."

"So Miss Eldoria is of the opinion that a sweet can only be enjoyed if eaten slowly?"

"That is but of course."

I giggled, "Fufufu~ But don't you think it's a shame?"

She raised an eyebrow at me,"A shame? What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that there's so many sweets in existence, yet if you were to slowly take your time to enjoy them, you would not be able to enjoy them all. Not to mention the fact that you would be missing out on enjoying the way the sweets would blend together in your mouth too."

"That… That does not mean you would just stuff your mouth with them! It is impossible for anyone to truly enjoy sweets like that!"

I nodded, "True. An inferior lover of sweets might not be able to pull it off, but I am not that inferior."

Her brows furrowed, "Are you saying that, despite me being the chef… I am inferior just because I can't do what you do?"

The sides of my lips lifted slightly, "Perhaps. So am I still getting the sweets buffet or not?"

Her jaw tightened but she said nothing and turned back towards the back of the store.

Aruule wiped a drop of sweat off his brow before stepping forward and gesturing to the interior, "Thi… This way please, Lady Aster. Though I must first let you know that the first few courses would be decided by Eldoria. After that, you can simply ask her to make the desserts you fancy."

I nodded and followed him towards the end of the patisserie where they had a counter set up with an entire kitchen behind it.

Eldoria was already standing behind it and doing the finishing touches on several plates of desserts behind the counter that she had prepared ahead of time.

I'm guessing she would be preparing the rest of the desserts as I eat them?

Hmm… I wonder if she would be able to keep up with my speed?

I don't really want to say it, but maybe this was why she was advocating against eating desserts fast because she could not keep up with faster eaters. Heh.

I took a seat at the counter and she placed the first dessert on the table in front of me, which looked like a slice of apple pie with chocolate and strawberry sauce drizzled on top.

She was eyeing me with an inscrutable expression as I picked up the fork.

I stabbed the silverware into the pie and brought it up to my lips…

Mmm!!! The sweetness! The taste of the apple blending with the chocolate and strawberry sauces! There's also honey inside it!! Ahhhh!! The bliss!! Om nom nom nom~

Something else was placed in front of me and I started eating it before I checked what it was.

Ohhh! It's tiramisu!! This one is good too!! The creamy insides are so soft that it melts in my mouth!

The next one was a chocolate mousse that was just as creamy and soft which blended well with the tiramisu that I just ate.

Ahhhh~ They're all so good!!

Another plate was brought in front of me and I shovelled the treat into my mouth.

Then I stopped and looked down.

It was a mango pudding and it was sweet but… Something about it just felt… Incorrect?

Eldoria raised an eyebrow at me, "What's wrong?"

I pointed to the pudding, "Did you do something to this pudding? It tastes weird?"

Lisa leaned over and picked up a spoon to scoop a little into her mouth to taste.

"Mmm… It tastes ok though? What's wrong with it?"

"It just feels… Incomplete?"

I looked at Eldoria who was staring back at me with pursed lips.

She then reached under the counter and brought up a small container that was filled with sugar syrup.

Without a word, she continued to look me in the eye while she poured a layer of it over the top of the mango pudding.

I then picked up my spoon again to scoop a small bite into my mouth.

Mmmm!!! Perfect!! Nom, nom, nom~

Gimme more!!