LIGHT NOVEL Chapter 95
“I guess it’s a bit of an awkward time to eat.”
Arriving at the restaurant floor of the hotel via the elevator, I noticed it was unusually quiet.
Well, it was nearing the end of lunch service for fancy restaurants, and they were preparing for dinner.
It’s no wonder there’s hardly anyone around. Who eats at this hour, anyway?
Thus, while wandering around a bit, we decided on the buffet restaurant as our destination.
As long as you pay the set entrance fee, you can eat as much as you want until closing time.
Of course, it wasn’t so high-end that you needed a reservation to get in.
Still, since it was a restaurant within the hotel, maybe that’s why the food was pretty decent.
‘Whoa… There’s delicious-looking food everywhere! Chicken, shrimp, beef… Mmm, I’m salivating.’
Meat, seafood, noodles, bread, Western, Chinese, Japanese…
The buffet seemed packed with all kinds of dishes, lacking a specific theme.
Sure, by offering such diversity, the quality might naturally drop, but for someone with relatively cheap tastes like me, quantity outweighed quality. Eating a lot and filling my stomach was more important.
I came in prepared to eat to the point of an upset stomach, and thankfully, it looked like I could keep that promise. Hmm, is that a good thing?
“Let me show you to your seats.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Following the staff’s guidance, we entered and took up a large table.
We were split into two groups, those who came by car and those by train, three on each side.
Next to me was Alice, and across from me was Sabrina. Both of them liked me a bit too much, which was a problem.
So now, can I eat whatever I want?
Sitting across from Sabrina, I couldn’t help but wiggle in my seat in readiness for battle.
I wanted to pile my plate high with meat, and stuff my face as quickly as possible.
Maybe Raven saw me looking like I was about to explode out of my seat?
He got up and, with a face like an evil villain, declared, “Alright, let’s go! Haha! We’re going to drive this buffet into the ground!”
“Jin, could you keep the weird sounds down a bit outside? Haah, I’ll take care of Yuria and Sabrina. Guys, shall we go?”
“Yes, yes!”
“…”
But Alice scolded Raven for being too hyped up outside, saying stuff like we shouldn’t learn from him, and quickly led me and Sabrina away from the table.
Well… Alice and Raven already eat several times more than normal people.
As long as we act like usual, they could cause quite the financial disaster for the place.
I tried to ignore that and followed Alice, who was holding my hand.
Honestly, I was just too hungry to worry about the buffet’s future and just wanted to shove something in my mouth.
“Have you both used a buffet before?”
“No. There’s never been a buffet where I lived…”
“Oh, I see. Then how about following my lead? Grab one of those white plates down there, and just take what you want and put it on your plate. Easy, right?”
“…”
Well, it’s not that different from what I already knew.
I nodded vigorously, showing I understood, and started my serious shopping with a plate in hand.
Pork, chicken, beef… always meat over vegetables.
I piled so much food on the plate that it was heavy enough to make my hands tremble.
On the plate formed a kind of tower made of fried foods and roasts.
‘Oops, maybe I was a bit greedy…?’
However, this so-called “great meat tower” was rather precarious.
If I stood still, it was fine, but just walking sent the whole thing teetering.
So I quickly glanced around to make sure no one was watching and used telekinesis to keep the meat tower from crashing down.
As soon as I reached the table, I let go of the telekinesis. It should be fine, probably.
“Hehe, Yuria, your plate is full of meat.”
“…!”
Raine, who had already taken a seat, giggled while covering her mouth, finding it cute.
Does she think I’m being picky? But isn’t the buffet about only eating meat?
So I shot her a disgruntled look, as if asking why she was laughing.
In response, she just smiled sweetly with no answer and poked at the salad on her plate with her fork. Ugh, I’ve lost….
Looking around the table, I noticed Raine was the only one with a light plate.
It seemed like the others were taking their time deciding what to eat.
‘I guess I was faster just piling on whatever I saw. When are the rest getting here?’
Just as expected, when I thought that, Raven and David arrived at the table.
Raven expertly balanced three plates loaded with all sorts of food, while David’s plate had a nicely balanced selection.
It seems the choice on the buffet plate reflects one’s usual taste.
Suddenly, I wondered what Alice and Sabrina’s plates looked like, since they hadn’t arrived yet.
“Cough, what’s with this tower of meat and fried foods? How obnoxious.”
“…!!”
Raven, seated safely, looked at my plate with an incredulous expression.
Then he immediately stood up and snatched a piece of meat off the top with his chopsticks.
If you want to eat, eat your own, not mine!
Of course, I was furious and punched Raven in the side as he stood.
But maybe it was because his skin felt as tough as stone.
Instead, my punch hurt me more. How annoying.
“Raven, why are you stealing Yuria’s food? That’s not nice.”
“Honestly, that was too much. I might start questioning your humanity…”
Thankfully, Raine and David, sitting opposite me, defended me.
Honestly, I was just sitting there, eyes open, and had my nose picked. It was just so unfair.
But it seemed Raven had more to say.
Casually, he replied, “Shut up. That careless guy messed up, you know? Tsk, alright. Sorry, wanna share some of mine?”
“…”
In that case, some steak and duck roast for me.
I forgave Raven, who apologized, and transferred some precious meat onto my plate.
Nice. The great meat tower was still in business.
Returning to my seat, I speared some meat with my fork and brought it to my mouth.
Sure enough, it was high-end hotel food; it tasted wonderful.
I smiled as I leisurely chowed down on the meat tower from the top down.
While I was enjoying all kinds of meat, suddenly, a familiar male voice came from the back table.
“Hmm? Raven? Did I hear Raven?”
Clatter!
Someone noisily pushed their chair back and shot up from their seat.
Naturally, our group turned their gaze to the noisy man.
There stood a tall man with spiky blond hair, wearing sunglasses.
He was so tall that he cast a shadow over us.
With sauce smeared all over his mouth, it looked like he had just been inhaling food.
Taking a closer look, there were piles of stacked plates in front of the chair he had just vacated. A real glutton.
“Huh? I’m Raven… Huh? Is that you, Victor?”
“Ah, yeah. Long time no see, Raven.”
The spiky-haired blond, Victor, smoothly removed his sunglasses and flashed a grin.
I recognized him. Not necessarily from real life, but from the source material.
A friend who used to be in the same unit as Raven, and rival fixer close to him.
But something was off. It should be our first meeting right now…
Yet oddly, his face looked strikingly familiar.
Who is he? Who was he?
While I rummaged through my memories, one recollection popped up from that face.
‘Ah! Could it be that pervert in a gown from long ago who followed me?’
Now that I think about it, this was strange.
The power of a telekinetic slap is enough to knock out even a beastman with a basic spec.
And yet, here was a guy who could casually take a direct hit to the head and remain unphased.
It could only be concluded he was a super-soldier.
A super soldier stronger than most beastmen, and skilled enough to chase someone flying with just a hook gun.
How many people fit all these descriptions?
Looking back, I should’ve noticed back then.
‘…No way, but is that pervert in a gown actually the fixer Victor? No wonder I couldn’t shake him off. I must’ve been through unnecessary hard times. Should I just pretend I don’t know him?’
With that thought settled, I felt flustered and deliberately averted my gaze to eat my food.
It’d be bad if Victor thought I was the same person as that ghost. I just wanted to avoid any attention.
Thankfully, it seemed Victor wasn’t too interested in me as he just focused on chatting with Raven, who he hadn’t seen in a while.
“I never thought I’d see you here. This must be fate!”
“What fate? It’s just a coincidence. Speaking of which, what are you doing here?”
“Hmm, unfortunately, it’s not for fun. I’m here for work, actually.”
Victor said this while flashing a grin wide enough to show his teeth.
His bright smile felt borderline overwhelming just from a glance.
However, Raven seemed unfazed by it, picking his nose with his pinkie while asking with a quizzical expression.
“What’s up? Is there enough variety around here to hire a fixer?”
“Huh? Raven, don’t you know there’s a massive auction being held at the Saint Maria starting tomorrow?”
“Auction? So you…?”
“Yeah. I got a request to guard the items and people in case something gets stolen. There are probably several other fixers here in the hotel too. Eating so late is part of the reason.”
“Haha! I could manage guard duty alone, though!”
Victor raised his voice with a cheerful laugh that seemed to pull up some PTSD.
Well, he surely is rated as top-tier in terms of skill.
It wasn’t arrogance or pride; it was probably just a reflection of his genuine abilities.
‘An auction, eh? That sounds interesting. The Saint Maria Hotel… end-of-year vacation… auction… Huh. This isn’t something from the original story.’
Considering it’s an event not found even in the source material, isn’t there the possibility of some strange incidents occurring?
Regardless, with a lineup like this, even if incidents do happen, I should be okay.
I naturally felt a wave of anxiety wash over me, quietly praying that this time, my vacation would be as peaceful as it seemed.
Of course, whether this prayer would actually bear fruit, who knows?