A Hearty Lunch
"Time's already flown by. I didn't even notice."
"Yes. Today really is our first stream."
"Thank you so much for the donations. We'll post the donation records every month."
"We'll put them up on the Elf Cafe official site as well as WeTube. The official site has plenty of photos of Liria, so come take a look, everyone."
"Yes, we're planning to start a reservation system from next week."
"That'll be all for the morning stream."
"Sorry. We're planning to upload mukbang videos to WeTube, but we'd like to eat our meals in peace without thinking about the camera. That wraps up today's broadcast."
The moment Kim Gayoung confirmed the stream had ended, she started putting in food orders. Same as always, she meant to order a generous spread for the two of them.
"How was the live stream today?"
"It was most entertaining."
"Hmm. Earth's humans really are a peculiar bunch."
"There are nasty viewers on the internet too. That's why you need someone to moderate."
"I see. Can't you just not read them?"
"Should we close the chat, then?"
"No need to go that far. Some of the chats were pretty interesting."
"Are you planning to stream again this afternoon?"
"If it helps Liria's cafe, I'll do it."
"It helps for now, but eventually the cafe's going to be overflowing with customers anyway. It won't really matter."
"Liria would love to stream again. It was such fun. Hehe."
"Guess we'll keep going, then."
Silvia said it while stroking Liria's hair. Internet streaming had caught her interest more than she'd expected. Watching the viewers talk among themselves was surprisingly entertaining, and Liria had clearly enjoyed herself too.
"What food did you order today?"
"Plenty of meat again — the kind I think you'll like, Silvia. Liria's bound to love it too."
"Hmm. You ordered a lot. Good."
Leftovers were no problem at all with the subspace magic on hand, and that morning they had already eaten together with Liria's family. Next time, Silvia planned to invite her own family as well. The other dragons could be treated later — something she had already discussed with Liria.
"The family all enjoyed it greatly."
"Did they? Then I should order even more."
Hearing that, Kim Gayoung started putting in still more orders. Time-stopping subspace magic was a cheat if there ever was one, and the Subspace Bag built on that magic was, without exaggeration, the finest magical tool imaginable.
Once the morning service had ended, everyone gathered to eat. Silvia was practically buzzing with anticipation over what she would get to try today.
"Today we've got pork belly, pork cutlet, chicken skewers, and white rice. The rest of the food is still on the way. I'll grill the pork belly myself."
"Looks tasty."
"I picked dishes with no gamey smell — things Liria should be able to eat."
Liria's face lit up at the mention of white rice. For all that she carried the memories of a Korean, she had come back to Earth and somehow never gotten around to eating it. Silvia, who had never tasted white rice in her life, was curious.
"What's this?"
"Rice. You don't eat this in Selenia?"
"Never had it."
In Selenia, bread was the staple. Liria had usually eaten hers as sandwiches stuffed with vegetables, or simply had the bread and greens separately — but white rice had never once crossed her plate. Silvia, too, was used to bread with meat and vegetables. Rice was entirely new.
"Bread is delicious, but rice is wonderful in its own way. If you chew it long enough, it turns a little sweet."
"I see."
Na Sujeong immediately started filming Liria's mukbang. Liria set a piece of grilled pork belly and a dollop of ssamjang atop a bite of white rice, wrapped it all in a crisp lettuce leaf, and popped the whole thing into her mouth. It had been so long since she'd had a lettuce wrap that it tasted even better than she remembered.
"An elf eating pork belly in a lettuce wrap. This is amazing."
"Liria is a High Elf."
"Sorry. A High Elf."
"It is quite all right."
Na Sujeong watched Liria's little correction and smiled, thoroughly charmed. How could anyone in the world be that cute? Even the way she ate was impossibly endearing.
"Is it good?"
"It is delicious."
"How about you, Silvia?"
"Not bad. The meat's rich and clean, and you can really taste the fat."
"I'm glad."
"This ssamjang goes well with the meat."
"It does. Usually you stack rice, pork belly, and ssamjang on a lettuce leaf and eat it all together. Liria's eating it just like a Korean."
"She's gone full Korean at this point."
Liria tried the chicken skewers with rice next. No gamey smell this time either, and she ate with obvious satisfaction. As she worked through her lunch, her thoughts drifted to her family. Kim Gayoung, noticing as much, was quietly glad she had ordered plenty.
"I'll grill extra pork belly so your family can enjoy it too."
"Liria is grateful."
"Don't mention it. After everything you've given us?"
"Yeah. If you ever need anything, just say the word."
"We're your staff, Liria. You can ask us for anything."
Kim Gayoung and the others intended to spend the rest of their lives repaying the kindness Liria had shown them. They knew they would never quite manage it — but they had no intention of ever forgetting how grateful they were.
"This is really good."
"It's a hugely popular cheese pork cutlet."
"There's not much of it."
"It's so popular they only allow two servings per order."
"I see."
"We've already tried it, so you two should eat it."
"I'm fine too."
Liria had fallen completely under the spell of the cheese pork cutlet, and the small portion left her aching for more. She wanted her family to try it as well, but there simply wasn't enough. Of everything they had eaten that day, the cheese pork cutlet was Silvia's favorite — and Liria's too. It had climbed nearly as high in her affections as the steak she had eaten before.
"The pork belly's good, but the cheese pork cutlet is the best."
"I'm so glad."
"Liria was quite taken with it as well. She shall share some with the three of you."
Even though there wasn't much to go around, Liria split the cheese pork cutlet with Kim Gayoung, her companions, and Na Sujeong — the ones who had placed the order. At six pieces per serving, even after Liria and Silvia had eaten two each and given one to each of the three women, four pieces remained. Kim Gayoung and the others found themselves moved all over again by Liria's kind heart.
"Four left. Let's put these in the subspace bag and give them to Liria's family."
"Sister Silvia."
"We each had two, so the family will love these."
Silvia had realized Liria was thinking of her family. She had regretted not being able to bring the steak last time. Only four pieces of cheese pork cutlet remained, but the thought of sharing them with the family still lifted her mood. As for her own family, she figured they could wait until later.
"We can always order the cheese pork cutlet again next time."
The cheese pork cutlet was so popular it sold out fast during lunch hours, but Kim Gayoung was determined to land the order somehow for Liria's sake. If it came to it, she would learn to cook the dish herself just so she could present Liria with a cheese pork cutlet of her own.
"The chicken skewers and pork belly are delicious as well."
"Yeah. The other food's good too, so it's fine."
No matter how wonderful something tasted, Liria always found herself wishing there were more of it. The chicken skewers and pork belly, at least, had come in generous portions, which pleased her. The cheese-dusted chicken skewers, in particular, suited her palate perfectly.
"So Liria likes cheese."
Liria said nothing, only nodded as she kept eating her skewer. The salty, nutty cheese was exactly to her taste — which was precisely why the cheese pork cutlet had suited her so well too.
"Dessert."
Once the meal was finished, Park Dahye pulled ice cream and cake from the Subspace Bag — ice cream and cake from a famous franchise brand.
"Liria shall eat well."
"Let's eat."
Silvia's face settled into a look of deep contentment as she ate the soft cheesecake and sweet ice cream. Liria liked the dessert every bit as much, and she made up her mind to buy some to take back before she returned to Selenia. Coffee with dessert put everyone in an even better mood.
"The best dessert really is coffee, isn't it?"
"Eleas Coffee is the finest there is."
"There's no drink more delicious than this."
Meals at the cafe had become a genuine joy for Silvia. The simple fact that she could sit down and eat with Liria like this, every single day, made her happier than she knew how to say.