Sally's bakery wasn't anything special looking from first glance. A single story building with a chimney, clean wooden walls with a neat wooden door, with some wooden miniature frames being used as makeshift windows. Aesthetic wise, there wasn't anything too weird or too interesting.
What impacted my first impressions was the smell that the shop gave off. The scent was sweet and savory, one that was attacking my sense of smell and making me want to go inside and pig out.
With the window shutters open, I could see inside the shop and marvel at all the food items they had for sale. The variety of baked goods that they had available was insane, and all of them looked delicious.
Back when I was in Japan, I never really cared much for food at all. Most of the time, I just shoveled the meals into my mouth and ate them without much concern about taste, just caring more so about getting my stomach full and then going on about my day.
Now? After years of having to just eat stew constantly on and on with the incredibly rare treat of something new, my hunger was going into overdrive. I had to use all my willpower just to make sure I didn't drool all over the ground.
Sally opened the door for all three of us, allowing us to enter into this small land of bliss. Inside, I could see all of the goods in high definition, and they all looked amazing.
Rows and rows of different types of bread were laid out neatly on shelves and in baskets, just waiting to be grabbed and eaten. Each and every one of them was clean and golden brown, revealing just how perfectly cooked they were.
As if that wasn't enough, there was a strong beefy smell coming from behind the counter, which forced me to gulp down some saliva down.
The obstacle that was preventing me from just rushing over to the back and eating everything was the female clerk, who was casually resting on the counter. She had long, luscious blue hair, and some bored orange eyes. She had a plain blue sundress on, and she looked up and smiled at all four of us.
While she obviously dressed to not garner any kind of special attraction, there was just one thing that stuck out the most from everything she wore: her chest.
Her chest was large, something that would be easily comparable to a cow. To be honest, she looked a lot like a cow that had been hit by a magical beam that turned her into a normal human being, and the fact that her hair seemed like she had some small horns provided more evidence to that comparison.
Then again, the only thing that she had going with her giant breasts right now was providing some extra mass to intimidate me from making my move. However, she underestimated my desires. Big body or not, my plan was to go eat some delicious food, and that woman was not going to stop me.
"Excuse me!" My voice echoed throughout the bakery, "Can I get some of your best food please?"
"We just came and you're already asking for food?!" Esther shouted in response, “Show some respect at the very least!”
“Hey! That’s my mom you’re talking to! Show some more manners!” Sally said as she cut into my moment, “At least say hello first!”
The woman in question could only chuckle in response to our little act, before leaning over the table. She then took a moment to look at my face, before giving me a big, welcoming smile.
“You’re Feliza, aren’t you?” She asked with such a sweet tone, “I heard about how you saved my daughter from that wolf.”
I blinked, before calming myself down. Of course she would know, Sally probably ran to her parents and cried all day about that event. In all honesty, I really wish she had just lied and said Buan had saved her or some crap, but at the end of the day, you really can’t tell a panicking person what to do if you’re literally unconscious.
Instead of freaking out like I expected to her, she just gave me a kind smile and proceeded to pat my head.
“That must have been so scary for you,” she said soothingly, as she ruffled up my hair, “I don’t think I could ever thank you enough for saving my daughter. The only thing I could do right now is make you lunch as a small thank you.”
My eyes lit up from that single sentence that came out of her mouth. A meal? For me? Suddenly, this entire day started to look up even more, and I could feel myself getting super stoked about this food I was going to get.
After all, if the smell of the bakery was good, then the food that they prepped and made had to be just as delicious, right? Couldn’t be as bad as stew every day.
-----
In just a brief moment, all of us found ourselves sitting at a large table, with a wide assortment of different meals scattered across the surface. There were several large platters that contained numerous types of food, including a whole glazed honey ham with chopped herbs scattered across the top, golden brown fried potato cubes that had several several vegetables steaming amongst them, an overwhelming variety of pastries, and a whole boiled chicken that was dressed in some strange red sauce.
All of these smells formed together to make an incredibly strong stench that filled my senses to the brim, so much so that I could actually taste what I was smelling.
I gaped at the massive amount, and turned over to look at Buan, Sally, and Esther. Buan had a face that was one of complete shock and joy, almost like he was the one being rewarded for this. Esther and Sally, on the other hand, had looks of happiness and confusion.
Sally turned towards her mother, obviously troubled by this feast. “Mama, when did you prepare all this? Why’d you make all this today?”
“Ara…” Her mother said as she proceeded to take a single potato cube with her fork, “When you mentioned you were going to try to bring a friend home early in the morning, I just knew that the person was going to be Feliza. Took me a while to do all this and a small bit of our savings, but that’s nothing compared to your life.”
Sally looked down at the table, with a bit of guilt. I knew exactly why she did that, and I really couldn’t care at this point.
No, the focus of most of my attention was on this feast and her mother’s words. The amount of hard work and money that had to be poured into this gigantic banquet had to cost a lot, compared to what my family makes in a day.
This was something I couldn’t just be disrespectful towards. For once, I should actually pay respect for this kind of gift, and pay my dues to them for this generous meal. Just for today, I was going to bring back my Japanese culture a little bit and indulge myself.
This was the best time to do so, in all honesty.
“
Itadakimasu,
” I muttered softly under my breath, before spearing a potato cube and biting into the steaming block.
Instantly, my sense of taste exploded with familiarity. This wasn’t anything special, anything crazy, or anything mind blowingly delicious: it was average at best.
However, this taste sensation I had was nostalgic. This single potato cube reminded me of my home and my meals with my mother, where we used to go out during the winter season and go shopping for a warm meal. The most important thing we bought constantly during that time was potatoes, and she would always make her brand of fried potatoes at home.
If anything, those potatoes were close to her taste, but not quite there. The connection to those genuinely good times made me tear up a little bit, but I was able to endure the emotional rollercoaster.
There wasn’t any need for me to try to savor this taste. Right now, I needed to show my appreciation for all her efforts by making sure at the very least that I was capable of eating a lot.
My conquest began on that second, and my movements became calculated and quick. Attacks were made in order to secure the best bits of each dish.
I coordinated my efforts, and I got myself a large piece of everything. A heaping pile of potatoes, a big chunk of the ham, a giant slice of the sauced chicken, and finally a minor assortment of the bread. Only the best pieces were analyzed and snatched, and now the time had come to sample my spoils of war.
My experience was a mixed bag in this scenario. The ham was delightfully delicious with the sauce, but by itself, the flesh had become somewhat dry and had been salted a bit too much, resulting in an imbalance of taste and an overwhelmingly salty flavor. The red sauce poured on the chicken was nice, but the meat itself was somewhat bland, almost as if boiling the bird had removed too much of the natural flavor. The bread was nice, but they still left me wanting for something better, like the chicken stuffed buns I ate back ago.
All in all, not the worst I’ve had in this world, and this whole banquet was a good way to get away from the constant stew that was fed to me during my times of illness.
Truly was great to have some diversity in my meals for once.
Still, I moved and continued eating until I felt comfortably full, enough that I didn’t feel hungry, but not enough where I felt utterly bloated. The last thing I needed was for me to do some exercise and then get a stomachache from the extra weight.
After a short while of a temporary rest, everyone else had finished their meals. To my surprise, they haven’t dug in as much as I did, and there was still a decent portion of food leftover, enough for my whole family to have a complete dinner.
I knew at that moment that I needed to get some, so I acted immediately to secure some food for later.
“The food was really good. Miss, is there any way you could possibly let me bring leftovers back home? I know that everyone would appreciate having something this luxurious in their life.”
That of course, was a truth in itself, but also a lie. I had no desire to give any of my family members any of the leftovers if I was capable of getting any: this was going to be for me. I’d have to find a way to hide all of the food
Instead of nodding or agreeing to me, Sally’s mother sighed as she put a hand to her cheek, obviously in deep thought.
“Ara ara, call me Lisette, alright? Sadly, as much as I’d like to do so, I don’t think it’d be possible for me to give you this much food so easily. In fact, this was also going to be my darling’s dinner tonight, especially when he’s out at the marketplace, trying to secure some ingredients we need for next week.”
Well damn, there goes that idea. Guess I should just try to earn money and bu-
“But, how about this?” She said, breaking my train of thought and bringing my attention to her, “Instead of giving you the food, I can teach you how to make your own meals and pastries. Of course, I don’t expect you to do well on the first time, but this is something you could use in the future you know?
I looked at her for a brief moment, unsure of whether or not I wanted to do such a thing, and before I could even say a response or think on the offer, I received a mental alert in my head.
[You have been offered to learn a new skill: Cooking. Do you accept? Yes / No]