Chapter 212: A Social Event I

{I wanted to let everyone know that I have a p-a-t-r-e-o-n with two new exclusive stories on it. One is The Aeternus Universe, and the other is a new story with a basketball system. I hope you guys will give it a chance. The link is https://www.p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/easyread. Remove the dashes. Webnovel censors the word.}

I stare at the food that is so familiar to me, food from earth. I pick it up, and the juice leaks out from the other side and onto the plate. I bring it up to my mouth and take a huge bite. A blast of familiar flavor hits my tongue, and I close my eyes as I chew. It's been so long since I had a meal of this quality. I open my eyes and look at the masterpiece that I'm holding in my hands. I look across from me, and I see Sally experiencing something similar.

She looks to be enjoying it just as much, if not more. I move my hand and take a fingerful of fries and notice it's salted to perfection. I bring them up to my mouth, and it's the same texture and deliciousness as it always has. I swallow the fries and bring the hamburger back up to my mouth.

All the wonderful things that are happening in my mouth right now, none of them compare to the food I've had since being stuck here. This restaurant is player-owned for sure. The food wouldn't be this good otherwise. "Tiss ism shom Gohd..." Sally tries to talk as she eats, but all that comes out are messed-up words. What she meant to say is this is so good.

I nod my head in agreement, and I never take my eyes off the hamburger in my hands. I take another huge bite and slowly chew. I'm sure that the quality of this food will put the natives of Gaia out of business. There were millions in the serving industry, and those can be used here if you have the right class and skills. I lean my elbows on the table so I can relax as I eat.

We both eat in silence and enjoy the amazing food. There shouldn't be any words said during a great meal cause everyone is focusing on the food. After a few minutes of going between the fries and hamburger, we both finish our food, and I lean back and release a sigh of content. "I haven't had a meal that good in ages... I've been traveling around everywhere all the time that I figured I'd never get a chance to have a meal like this again." I slowly speak as my body processes the food.

I run my hands through my hair and look towards the ceiling. As amazing as that was, we still have some things to do. The first is asking around to get the location of Amelia. The second is doing so without revealing my identity to anyone in the process. 

I stand up and leave a gold tip on the table. I look at Sally, and she slowly stands up. We make our way out of the restaurant and start walking the streets of Zenith. I know Amelia. She is a kind-hearted person who would try and help as many as possible with her new wealth and title. "Did you get to eat like that all the time where you're from? If you did, I'm going to demand that you take me more places your fellow new people own." I'm drawn out of my planning at Sally's question.

I personally didn't eat like that all the time, but humanity had created some of the best food ever. While extremely unhealthy, it's still something everyone indulges themselves in. I don't mind eating all this food now. I'm on the move constantly and have long bouts of high activity.

Sally wanting to eat the food from earth isn't a problem to me. What I'm concerned about is how much we'll have to stop and eat if this is the case. "Yes, Sally. I could've eaten like that every single day if I wanted to. The origin of us new people had many things your world will probably never see. All of that's gone now, and what we have are the very little remains of our history being served. I won't say no to eating at these places frequently, but they'll be pushed to the side if we are on an important mission." I watch Sally's eyes light up.

It's funny they say to get to a man's heart is through his stomach. The same can be said about a woman too. It is one of the basic things we do. We eat, sleep, shit, and reproduce. Every single creature does this.

We walk in silence, and Sally follows my lead. Amelia would be in the poorer districts the most, helping in any way she can. "We are heading for the poorer districts. Once we're there, we'll ask around and see if anything comes up. There might be people who want to cause us trouble, so you get ready for that." She nods her head, and we slowly walk the path. After about 25 minutes of walking, we start to enter a place that would be called a poorer district.

There are countless people in rags and without shoes. Every time we pass an alley, some homeless person sleeps in it, sometimes more than one. It's also getting later and later in the evening too. It's not dark yet, but it's getting close. 

The people are very wary of us. They know that we are outsiders here. A poor community is a very tight group because they have to rely on each other for safety. I hear a bunch of noise coming from up the street, and that's when I see an inn. It's kind of run-down, but there is a party nonetheless. Asking people questions is hard, but not if they are drunk. "Let's go. We'll ask around in there. I'm sure there are going to be plenty of inebriated people that can answer anything we ask." We both walk up to the inn and slowly enter.

There are cheers and shouts and a circle in the center of the inn. It must be some sort of brawl people are betting on. I look around and see some perfect targets. I walk up to the counter and sit next to a guy slowly leaning side to side.

I take a breath and turn to him. My hood covers my face, so I don't have to worry about that. "Do you know where I can find a Countess Amelia?" After a couple of seconds, the man doesn't respond, and I take a breath to try again, but before I can, he falls over. He hits the ground hard and looks to be passed out. "This might not be as easy as I thought it'd be..." I look around the bar some more, and I don't find any isolated targets, only small or big groups of drunks.

I don't want to use force, and that'll only cause problems. So I have to take my time and be methodical about this. I stand up from the chair by the counter and walk over to the dwarves by the barrel. Dwarves are not common, which means they are here for diplomatic purposes.

They have met with nobility and know some names. They might have the answers I'm looking for. I stand in front of the barrel as they continue to fill their mugs and chug them. "Do any of you happen to know a Countess Amelia?" The oldest of the dwarves looks at me with a mug in hand and rosy cheeks. He runs his hand through his beard, and they huddle up away from me.

I can't understand what they are saying because they are speaking in their native language. "Look, I'm in a hurry here. If you don't want to tell me anything, just say so." The oldest of the dwarves looks back at me and sets his mug on the counter next to him. He releases a roar and balls up his fist. I'm surprised enough not to do anything.

He throws a punch at my stomach with all his might, and it connects. I hear the bones in his hand's crunch. My stats are astronomical compared to his. It'd be like him punching tungsten steel. He howls in pain and rolls around on the ground as his fellow dwarves laugh at his misery.

They quiet down, and the second oldest stands in front of me. "Yeah, she is located on a property north of the city, about a mile." I finally get the answer I need, and I turn around. I look for Sally, and I see her standing on top of a table to see the fight going on. I wave at her, and she hops off. We both head towards the exit and leave. It looks like we are heading north of the city. As a Countess, she probably has a massive property.