Isekai Izakaya Nobu

The silver-rimmed spectacle-wearing Celes, who had lost track of her surroundings for a bit, guided them to a rather exotic izakaya located near the entrance of Inns & Stables Street .
The name of the shop was apparently Izakaya n.o.bu .

「You sure know a strange place, don’t you, Celes-san?」

「The food here is really delicious, you know . 」

When the gla.s.s door was pulled open, the interior of the shop was surprisingly warm .

「Welcome!」

「…’elcome . 」

Conrad had taken no notice of the cold earlier, as he had been fully absorbed in the conversation . By the time he noticed it, his fingertips were already numb . When Conrad realised that Celes was also like that, he felt resentful at his insensitivity .
He should have at least lent her his coat, but then remembered that he could not do that either . When he sat by the counter in shame, a wet towel was quickly presented to him .

「This is a hot towel . 」

When he received it from the smiling black-haired waitress, he almost dropped it due to its warmth .
The warm towel was comfortable on his cold palms .
Celes was also warming up her fingers with the hot towel . He was a little relieved to see that there was no ring on her finger, but his relief quickly faded .
It did not matter if she was single . Wasn’t he the one who had to go for a marriage interview after this? Conrad was frustrated and wanted to shout at the irony of how despite being the highest ranked person in the Empire, he could not even choose his own life partner .

Ahh, he should have never met Celes .

He should have felt frustrated until after the marriage interview . Instead, he just felt empty
Now that he had met her, he had to live with this regret in his heart .

「Okay . Kus.h.i.+katsu for two, right?」

It seemed Celes had ordered without him realizing . However, he was not familiar with the name kus.h.i.+katsu .

「Kus.h.i.+katsu?」

「Yeah…it’s like fritters…I think it’s called schnitzel here?」

「This is the first time I’ve heard of this dish . 」

It was very rude of him, but it never crossed his mind that an izakaya on the outskirts of Aitheria was capable of preparing dishes with exquisite taste . Speaking of which, the former Emperor told his retainers that he had discovered a new gourmet food in this city, but he should have listened to the details more closely . He had not expected that there would come a day when he would invite a lady to a restaurant, so he felt regretful for not listening to him now .

On that note, his “cousin” Johann Gustav had also said the same thing . Even though he said “cousin,” he was not his real cousin . All men of the same generation with strong blood relations.h.i.+ps were considered cousins .
That cousin had also told him that there was a good place to eat food in Aitheria . He remembered that his niece, Hildegarde, had also said something similar .

He regretted everything . There were only two or three shops in Aitheria that could satisfy a n.o.ble’s palate . The Branton had said that the number of places to eat had increased recently . It was surprising to see that Aitheria could be displaying an unprecedented gourmet trend .
He could not even guide the woman he fell in love with to a delicious shop . What a disgrace he was .
As he was lost in his thoughts, a plate and a container of sauce was placed in front of him . He was also given a short explanation against double dipping . It was the first time he had to listen to rules just for a trifling meal, so it felt strangely new .

「I’m thankful to Conrad-san . 」

「Thankful?」

He should be the one thankful to her . If he had not met Celes today, he would have lived without knowing there was so much enjoyment in life .

「If I had not meet Conrad-san today, I…I would have lived without knowing there was so much enjoyment in life . 」

Conrad stared at Celes’ face .
He was very happy that she had thought of the same thing, but her words were also very painful to listen to .
A calm silence stretched between them .

「Thank you for waiting . First up, a shrimp . 」

A crispy deep-fried shrimp was served to him . He had often eaten fried food in the Imperial Capital, but this was the first time he had ever seen fried shrimp, as the capital was more inland .

*Crunch*

His eyes popped open at the amazing texture .
It was fluffy . Fried food was always heavy, so why was this so fluffy? Was the oil different? The sauce that he could only dip into once also had a nice taste . In short, it was delicious .
On top of everything, it was piping hot . Conrad had not had a warm meal ever since he became the Crown Prince, as his food had always been tested for poison before he could eat it . His chest naturally became warm .

「Delicious . 」

Celes smiled in satisfaction . She was also pretty when she ate something delicious .

「Sorry we couldn’t serve you kus.h.i.+katsu when you came here previously . 」

The waitress apologised . It would not be efficient to prepare all these dishes every day for an izakaya of this size .
Conrad smiled as he stuffed his cheeks with each stick that was served, giving away his impressions .
It was a happy meal and a happy time .

「Ah . 」

He had tried to put the lotus root kus.h.i.+katsu into the sauce container, but he made a blunder .
Only a small part of the edges was coated with the sauce . This was definitely a blunder .
He was the Emperor, why was he not allowed to double dip? He restrained himself from saying that as he turned towards Celes with a forced smile .
Then, the waitress picked up a piece of cabbage leaf that was set aside .

「If you think there isn’t enough sauce, please use this to adjust it . 」

She scooped the sauce with the cabbage leaf as if it were a spoon . He was impressed that he could use it for that purpose .
He finished eating the lotus root without any problems and his stomach grumbled in satisfaction .
He wondered whether the alcohol was delicious too, since this was an izakaya, but he did not want to be intoxicated today .

「Thank you very much for today . 」

「Thanks to you, I was able to have a good time, Celes-san . 」

A gla.s.s bowl was placed in between the two smiling people . A scoop of ice cream was served in it .

「Wow…」

「Woah…」

When he scooped some of it into his mouth with a silver spoon, it immediately melted on his tongue . This did not taste only of milk but also had a scent of vanilla . He decided not to question this, instead ignoring the fact that an ingredient specifically embargoed by the Imperial Family was being used in this shop . He could even bestow an imperial grant for this shop to use vanilla in order to commemorate today if he so wished .

The meal ended on a fluffy note .
He did not know how much he should pay, so he handed out a gold coin that had his portrait etched onto it . The waitress compared the gold coin with Conrad curiously . This was the only thing he had never gotten used to .

「Thank you very much!」

The streets of Aitheria seemed extra cold as he stepped out from the insides of the warm shop .
The sun had already set, and the city had become enveloped a dark and cold winter night .

「Conrad-san, look!」

When he looked up, he saw a shooting star zip across the sky . A shooting star, the child of Otsuki and Metsuki, was said to grant the courage to open up a future and some happiness to those who saw it .
He was speechless, as Conrad continued to gaze up at the sky with Celes .
TL Note: Otsuki is the male moon and Metsuki is the female moon

The cold crawled up from the tips of his feet .

They did not speak a word until they had both arrived at their respective homes .