Chapter 221

Despite the fact that she had ordered a dish that looked like it would take a long time to prepare, Yuri's order was delivered hot to her seat in less than five minutes.

The restaurant probably employs waitresses with <Maid> class, and they keep all the dishes listed on the menu freshly prepared in their <Maid Bag> skill.

When you have someone to talk to, it's fun to wait for your food to arrive. Right now, it was just Yuri, so it was nice to be able to have the food served without having to wait.

Yuri's face broke into a smile as the flavor of the rich tomato sauce flooded his mouth. How can the flavor of warm tomatoes be so delicious?

The ingredients were chicken and eggplant. The amount of chicken seems to be small, while the eggplant is large and filling. It was filling enough to fill me up even if I had it on its own.

The wine served with the dish was an ordinary glass of wine, but when I sipped it, it was drier than I expected and had a slightly strong tannin-like astringency.

However, it also went well with the food. It was a combination that whetted my appetite so much that I thought I could easily finish it even if I had ordered one or two more dishes.

“I'm sorry, Your Majesty. Thank you for waiting.”

“Welcome, Rubetta. I'm having fun waiting for you.”

Yuri urged her to sit on the other side of the table, and Rubetta nodded her head and sat down.

When a female waiter approached her, Rubetta ordered a glass of wine, as did Yuri.

Apparently, she was going to have a drink now that the day's work was over.

“Have you had your dinner yet?”

“Yes, about an hour ago, the chef had prepared a prototype for us.”

“I see.”

If Rubetta's dinner was not ready yet, I thought I would actually order one or two more dishes. If it's already done, then the gratin we're eating will be enough.

“By the way, how did you like the food?”

“It's quite good. No wonder Rubetta is so proud of her chef.”

“Thank you.”

Rubetta smiled happily at Yuri's praise.

If the food is served at this level, it will surely be popular.

“It seems that there are not as many customers as I thought. Is it okay?”

“What? Ahh―――There were quite a few customers during the day, and there was a waiting list. But in the evening, it seemed to have settled down to this level.

Perhaps those who wanted to enjoy the ‘free food and drink’ day went to the stores and stalls where they could make more noise.”

“I see. You're right, you can't make noise in this store.”

It's not a stuffy place, but it's still a place that requires a certain level of respect.

As Rubetta said, this is not a place for people who want to enjoy the beginning of the year with ‘free food and drink’ while making a fool of themselves.

“By the way, this restaurant seems to have a wide variety of a la carte dishes and low prices for a restaurant. I just looked at your menu and was a little surprised.”

“We do not cater to the aristocracy or the wealthy, but rather to the common man, so we do study our prices. However, we use the best ingredients and employ excellent chefs, so the prices are usually two to three times higher than what you would pay at a street vendor or public restaurant.

―――Under the reign of Your Majesty Yuri, the country has become very prosperous. Taxes are much lower than when it was under the administration of the Kingdom of Eldard, so ordinary people now have enough money to spare. Therefore, I thought that there would be enough demand for a restaurant that serves good food at a slightly higher price for the common people.”

“I see, that's interesting.”

These days, it's not so unusual for ordinary farmers to come to the tourist resort area in the northern part of the city of Ulysses to enjoy themselves. That's what I've heard from <Nadeshiko>.

I've heard that in the past, the Kingdom of Eldard collected about 60% of the taxes from the people living in the cities and villages under its rule. In addition, it is said that the farmers were even more severely taxed, with a tax rate of almost 70%.

Currently, the Yuri Empire imposes a flat 30% tax on the people of the cities in the country, and a flat 20% tax on the people of the villages.

If taxes are drastically reduced, the amount of money that people can spend freely will simply increase.

It is definitely a good thing that people can afford to eat at a restaurant or take a longer vacation and enjoy swimming in the lake.

“I'm very happy to be doing business in a good country.”

Rubetta said with a carefree smile on her face.

With just one word, Yuri felt as if he had been greatly rewarded.

“By the way… Rubetta. You've gotten younger again in the past two days, haven't you?”

“…You can tell?”

“Of course I can tell when the girl I like is changing.”

“Ah… Uuu.. Th-Thank you…”

Rubetta's face turned an obvious shade of red.

For the past year or so, Rubetta has often looked about 17 years old, according to the Japanese Yuri.

It might not be so easy to recognize a 30-year-old woman if she turned 29 the next day. But if a 17-year-old girl turns into a 16-year-old in just two days, the change is easy to recognize.

At the very least, Yuri, who loved women very much, would not have missed it.

“Fufu. I wonder if you're getting younger just so I can hold you?”

“Ah… Uuu… Y-Yes…”

“I see. Then you don't need to say anything. ―――Prepare yourself.”

Yuri got up from her seat and led Rubetta, whose ears were also dyed red, out of the store after quickly paying for the alcohol.

A moment later, the two of them disappeared from the nighttime cityscape using【 Transfer Magic 】.