The Luze Café
After examining the physical evidence and the other clues, the group left the Shadowchasing Court, intending to find somewhere to sort through everything they had learned.
They wandered about for a while, curious, and came across all manner of strange buildings and facilities — the blacksmith's shop from earlier among them. Before long they had also spotted a rail-cruiser gliding along its track, powered by some energy source nobody could identify, an odd alchemical crafting bench, and a girl standing perfectly still outside what was apparently an Adventurers' Guild outpost, so motionless she might have been a doll. And that was only the beginning.
Faced with so many wonders, even Mouri Ran — who had been quietly anxious the whole time — felt her worry loosen its grip for a few moments as she looked around, curious, at sights she had never seen before in her life.
As for the children, whose curiosity was boundless to begin with, they had barely made it out of the Shadowchasing Court before they were darting this way and that again.
Even Conan, whose mind was still fixed on cracking the case, couldn't help glancing around with interest at every turn.
Honestly, if not for the looming threat of Noah's Ark, this whole Cocoon game would have been a genuine delight — they really were having a wonderful time.
Then suddenly, up ahead, Genta spotted an open-air café and dashed straight toward it, throwing a shout over his shoulder as he ran. "Everyone, come quick! There's a café over here! We've been in this game forever and I'm starving. Let's buy some stuff at the café and eat while we talk."
Mitsuhiko hurried after him. "Genta, don't run so fast! And we haven't been in the game that long, you know. Didn't you eat a bunch of stuff back at the venue? How are you hungry already?"
Morofushi's curiosity was piqued too. "So you can get hungry inside a game?"
"I'd assume so..." Xia Yu answered after a moment's thought. "Though we really haven't been in here long at all. Genta being hungry is purely a case of him wanting to eat, plain and simple."
"Heh heh." Genta scratched his head sheepishly. "Okay, that might be part of it. But come on — aren't you even a little curious what the food in this game tastes like?"
Hearing that, Haibara's own interest stirred. "Now that you mention it, I am curious what the difference might be between eating in a game and eating in real life."
With everyone in agreement, they headed for the café.
"Welcome to the Luze Café! What can I get for you?" The shopkeeper beamed at them. "We have the sweetest cakes here — I guarantee every single bite is as sweet as a Melusine's smile."
The children pored over the café's menu, chattering among themselves.
"This Fonta seems to be the local specialty drink," Haibara said, pointing at the listing. "It says here it was invented by the Research Institute. Let's order a bottle — I'd kind of like to know what a drink invented by a science academy actually tastes like."
Ayumi, meanwhile, had eyes only for the beautiful desserts. "This Bulle Soufflé looks so pretty — like a flower! It says the cake is baked inside a hollowed-out Bulle fruit... it looks absolutely delicious. Wait — Bulle fruit? What's that?"
Mitsuhiko had noticed quite a few unfamiliar ingredients on the menu himself. He thought for a moment before answering. "No idea. Probably something that only exists in the game."
Genta wasn't thinking about any of that. His eyes were locked on the gorgeous desserts lining the menu. "Why bother wondering? It just has to taste good. Let's see... this Crystal Conch Cake looks good. That Frosted Dew has a weird name, but it looks tasty too. Which one should I get...? Hmm — you know what, why not just order both?"
Conan had been studying the menu as well, and at Genta's words he hastily cut in. "No way! You already ate plenty earlier — eating more on top of that is bad for you. Besides, we don't have that much money."
"We're in a game, though," Kikukawa said. "No matter how much you eat, it won't affect your body at all."
Genta, the earlier argument entirely forgotten, nodded along eagerly. "Yeah, exactly! What he said."
"Still, the money really is a problem," Morofushi said. He turned toward the only two adults in their group. "Is what that Melusine — Trista, was it? — gave us going to be enough?"
"Miss Trista gave us some of the local currency before she left. Apparently it's called Mora — an odd name for money. As for whether it's enough, let me see..." Ran said, opening the coin pouch for a look. "It should be enough. But if we end up staying in the game for a while, shouldn't we try to spend it sparingly, just in case?"
"There's no need. I don't think we'll be in here very long," Xia Yu replied. "If we stay too long, our bodies out there won't be able to take it, so the game time can't stretch on forever. Besides — this is a rare chance to eat things you could never get in the real world, with zero risk of putting on weight. Obviously we should eat our fill while we can."
"And Ran, don't overthink it. If the money runs short, we can just put it all on the Hydro God's tab. She's the one who wants this courtroom showdown with us, so it's only fair she cover our expenses, right? This is a game — and if it's a game, then play it properly and stop worrying so much."
"You know, Xia Yu, you're right." Having heard him out, Ran had to admit it made sense, and she resolved to set at least some of her concerns aside and enjoy this rare moment of leisure inside the game.
Seeing that Ran was now on board, Xia Yu turned to the children. "Order whatever you want, everyone — enjoy the game to the fullest!"
"Yay! Alright!" the children cheered.
Their attention snapped right back to the dessert menu.
"This Bulle Crepe looks like it's made with Bulle fruit too," Kikukawa said. "Let's get one of those as well."
Conan thought it over, decided Xia Yu had a point, and turned his attention to the menu as well. It couldn't hurt, either — the menu might tell him something more about Fontaine, and who knew, that might even help with the case.
"In that case, I'll have the Crystal Conch Cake too," Conan said.
According to the menu, the cake was molded to imitate the shape of the pale crystal conch. So the pale crystal conch was a species of snail that lived in Fontaine?
Just then, Xia Yu noticed Morofushi looking his way, and gave him a small smile — a silent hint to pick whatever he wanted and hurry it up.
Morofushi blinked, slightly startled, then collected himself and turned back to rejoin the others. "Then I'll take this Ode to the Hydro God. The menu says it was created in honor of the Fontainians' love for their Hydro Archon, and it looks like a real test of the chef's craft. That one's my choice."
Hearing Morofushi's order, Emori found himself interested too. "Then I'll have the same."
...
Once the children had finished ordering all the desserts they wanted, Xia Yu and Ran added a few treats that had caught their own eyes, and then the whole group settled into the open-air seats off to one side to wait for the shopkeeper to bring the desserts out.