Chapter 240: House of a Thousand Thrusts (1/2)
Both Calvin and Christine casually walked into a somewhat high-end restaurant.
Taking a corner table on the highest floor of the restaurant, it was only when Christine noticed that there wasn't someone else on this floor did she sigh in relief and removed the hood that hid her face.
”Wheeew... That was so scary! What were you thinking?!” Christine immediately criticized.
”Now, now... What was done was already done. Also, can we not fight in front of the food?” Calvin patiently asked.
”A-All right...”
Having learned the art of etiquette, Christine knew that it was rude to fight in front of the Goddess's grace since the Goddess might not be more inclined to give them any grace in the future.
Speaking of the Goddess, Christine didn't dare to forget to say her prayers as she closed her eyes and took the lead in praying.
”In the Goddess's name!”
”In the Goddess's name!”
The two ended the prayer and they were finally able to feast.
The culinary culture of Las Felipinas and Earth greatly varied due to the lack of existing spices and seasoning.
Right now, salt was somewhat of a rare commodity since it has to travel all the way from Laguna to Ashmelion, which often took a lot of time due to several other factors such as bandits, weather, and unforeseen accidents.But in short, most restaurants in Ashmelion, or even home-cooking recipes didn't call for the use of salt.
The appetite of the Joselian people mostly consisted of meat and grain.
Surprisingly though, they often mixed their water with some kind of alcohol.
Even Charlotte and Cecilia consumed watered-down wine on a daily basis.
It was to be expected since water without alcohol was often toxic and caused a lot of problems such as diarrhea and even dysentery. This restaurant wasn't different. The meal on Calvin's table was white bread with fish sauce. It was pretty tasty, although it smelled quite disgusting.
Calvin was able to stomach this food, but Christine frowned upon it.
But it wasn't that she found the food unworthy of her status—it was simply because she found it unpalatable and disgusting.
”I really have to commend your stomach, Calvin... To think that you'd be able to eat Ginamus!”
Christine smirked, ”Do you know that Ginamus—which is what you are eating right now is literally made from fermented fish guts?”
”Are you trying to disgust me to death? Don't even try, my stomach can handle a lot worse than this!” Calvin retaliated.
A smirk also appeared on his face as he said, ”Do you also know that the sweet and tangy chicken that you are eating right now has Ginamus added into it in the cooking process?”
”Wha—Impossible!” Christine's eyes widened in shock, ”You're lying! How could this deliciously sweet and tangy chicken have any Ginamus in it?”
”Ginamus is made from fish, and I can't taste any fishiness in this dish! You're deliberately trying to attack me while I'm eating! That's cowardly! You're shameless!”
”Oh, you don't believe me?” Calvin wasn't provoked at all. ”Cover your head, I'll call the waitress over, so you'll understand!”
Christine's provocations landed on deaf ears. Instead, she was the one that got provoked as a serious look washed over her face.
”All right, call a waitress over, right now! I will prove you wrong!”
”Hehehe, I wonder if you won't regret it?”
”Why would I? Just call someone over here that can confirm the recipe!” Christine glared.
”As you wish, my lady.” Calvin sarcastically said.
Then, he walked downstairs and returned with a waitress who seemed to be in her mid-twenties.
The waitress and Calvin returned to a hooded Christine who didn't dare to raise her head.
”Mister?” The waitress asked in doubt.
”Oh, don't mind him, miss. He's a cherry-boy that hasn't touched a woman since he was born.” Calvin stared at Christine and teased.
Christine's figure trembled. She repeatedly cursed Calvin in her heart, but what happened next further exacerbated her anger.
”A cherry-boy, eh?”
The waitress walked forward and placed her supple thigh onto the table, ”So this is why you deliberately came to the highest floor to eat, young boy. You were too embarrassed to ask for 'those ' services with so many people downstairs, eh?”
”Don't worry, Elder Sis here will be patient and guide you in the pleasures of adults...”
The waitress even hooked her arm around Christine's neck.
Calvin was observing all of these in the side as his shoulders constantly trembled, trying his best to suppress the laughter that was about to come out of his mouth.
Unfortunately, the show ended too soon for Calvin could already feel the freezing glare that threatened to spill out of Christine's eyes and inundate him entirely.
”Ahem...” Calvin cleared his throat and interrupted. ”Miss, we came here not to ask for a service. But we came here to ask you if our guesses regarding the recipe of this sweet and tangy chicken are right.”
”You came here for that?” The waitress was exasperated.
She didn't look bad, to be honest. If she was to be rated, then her looks would be seven out of ten. But these men summoned her here, not for her service but to solicit information about their well-guarded recipe?
The competition was fierce in the food industry of Ashmelion—no, throughout the entire Joselian Kingdom.
But it wasn't that people were just stingy of their recipes, but it was because food had always been a part of their culture. One of the teachings of the Goddess of Compassion and Light was to treat one's guests with a lot of food and to empty one's plate after every meal.
This was why the people of the Joselian Kingdom valued food a lot, and so—the restaurants' always valued their recipes.
It was a violation of etiquette for someone to ask about the recipe of a restaurant.
The waitress coldly glared at Calvin and Christine. ”I apologize but I will never divulge the recipe of this restaurant to anyone, please look for someone e—”
The waitress abruptly stopped in the middle of her sentence.
It was because Calvin had brandished a peso note to her and smirked. ”Does it really matter? Come on, it's just for a competition. You're not going to divulge the entire recipe anyway.”
”Just tell us if our guesses are right.”
The waitress stared at Calvin for a moment before she hurriedly stuffed the peso note into the ravines of her exposed chest.
”O-Okay... But I'll only answer one question!”
Calvin softly nodded, ”My question is—does the recipe for this sweet and tangy chicken includes Ginamus?”
The waitress was quick to nod. ”Yes. Most of our dishes include Ginamus for seasoning.”
”Hahaha! See! I told you!” Calvin boisterously laughed.
Christine slammed both of her hands onto the table and said, ”Impossible! You don't use salt and pepper to season, but Ginamus?!”
All of a sudden, the delicious sweet and tangy chicken on her plate didn't look as appetizing as it did before.
The waitress quickly retreated in fear after she realized that she had been bribed and coerced to reveal a part of the restaurant's recipe.