The boy smiled at his sister as they headed out of the field towards the entrance to return back to the path. In the distance, a familiar face looked on at them. His basket was only half full, though his jaw was covered in red juices too. Looking back down at the strawberry he had freshly harvested, his skull head was now masked with an illusion spell. He now had a more human-like appearance. Placing the strawberry in his mouth, he chewed it slowly as he continued to observe the siblings.
For a moment, the elder sister turned back and noticed him watching them. The man was taken aback.
Vy realised that the human-looking man was Dygo. When their eyes met, she gave him a nod and a smile. Together with Lycster, they returned back to the path and made their way back towards Yama Yoma.
On their way back, they remembered to stop at the small hot spring to pick up the eggs they had left. Vy took it out of the boiling water and ran it through some cool water from the river nearby.
Once the eggs were sufficiently cooled, they sat down on some rocks and cracked their eggs open to eat. The eggs had white sh.e.l.ls, different from the regular brown sh.e.l.led eggs they were used too.
Vy carefully cracked the sh.e.l.l on the side of the rocks that they were sitting on before she started to peel the sh.e.l.ls. Once she was done with one, she handed it to Lycster who quickly took a bite.
Despite the lack of any seasoning, the fresh egg still tasted really good. Not to mention, the yolk within it was still a little runny. Seeing as the sun was going to set, Vy and Lycster decided to enjoy their eggs as they walked back towards Yama Yoma.
As they got closer, they noticed that there were lamps on the side of the path that had been lit. This allowed them to see with ease despite the dimming sunlight. When they entered the entrance hall of Yama Yoma once more, Vy realised it was now a lot livelier.
There were a lot more guests in the entrance hall. Yoon and Yuna were busy serving other guests when they noticed Vy and Lycster returning. As soon as Yuna finished serving a guest, she quickly came over to check on them.
Seeing that their baskets were filled with strawberries, she was glad that they had a pleasant time.
"Dinner is almost ready, would you like to return to your room to freshen up before heading to the Dining Hall?" Yuna asked.
"Yeah! That sounds good!" Lycster replied.
Vy smiled and agreed with her younger brother.
Yuna nodded, "Very well. New sets of yukatas have already been prepared for both of you. You will find them in your room, along with a fresh set of towels."
Nothing was better than a quick shower and a relaxing hot bath.
~
Returning to the Dining Hall feeling refreshed, Vy and Lycster were once again greeted by Monma. The Dining Hall was a little less busy as the dinner crowd was starting to slow down. Monma guided them back to the same seats that they had at lunch.
Piping hot food was served as soon as they were seated. The spread of food served was different from lunch. Dinner began with silken tofu in soy sauce, followed by a bowl of fresh udon noodles.
A small hot stone, fueled by charcoal fire was prepared for them to grill their own beef steak which had been marinated in soy sauce and minced garlic. Monma taught them how to grill one of the slices before she left them on their own.
Vy preferred her steak medium-rare. When she saw the meat juices oozing out of the meat when she pressed it gently with her chopsticks, she took it off the hot stone. Blowing on it to cool it, she placed it in her mouth and allowed the flavours to take over her sense of taste.
The salty sweetness of the soy sauce paired well with the fresh beef steak. As Lycster was still young, his steak was pregrilled for him. Seeing Vy enjoying her self cooking experience made him envious.
He also wanted to try out cooking the steak on the hot stone. Seeing his longing looks, Vy read his mind in an instant. So, she called him over to her side and had him sit on her lap. With her careful guidance, he got the chance to grill the beef.
Seeing the meat sizzle on the hot stone excited him. He was about to remove it from the hot stone when Vy stopped him.
"It"s not ready yet," she explained.
"But I"m hungry!" Lycster cried out in impatience.
"Good things are worth the wait," she replied.
After a few seconds, she flipped the meat to allow it to sear a little more.
Finally, it was ready!
Using her chopsticks, she picked it off the hot stone and blew on it to allow it to cool before she fed it to Lycster.
"Mmmm! This is much better!" Lycster exclaimed as he chewed on the meat.
Vy called for Monma and had her prepare another beef steak for them to grill. One steak was good, but who could resist two?
It took them a while to finish their food, but the excitement for dessert was building up. As they enjoyed their steak, Lycster noticed that the other guests were enjoying an interesting looking dessert. It was served in a tall gla.s.s filled with different coloured sauces, ingredients and flavours.
When they were done with their main meal, Monma and another staff member came over to clear their plates. Monma listed them the dessert options available for the dinner so that they could take their pick.
Additionally, Monma also offered Vy the option of liquor.
"For dessert, we have strawberry mochi and parfait. There are four variations for the parfait. We have strawberry, matcha, chocolate and milk," Monma explained.
Lycster pondered over the options for a while. He would have preferred to have one of each, but he only had the stomach for one.
"I"ll go with chocolate!"
"I"ll have matcha, and I will take you up on your offer for the liquor."
Minutes later, Monma returned to their table with their desserts. The tall gla.s.s cup was layered with flavoured ice cream, small b.a.l.l.s of rice mochi, flavoured chocolate bits and topped with a matching sauce.
Monma also served Vy her gla.s.s of ume plum liquor. It was served in a transparent gla.s.s cup with large pieces of ice in it.
"Enjoy your desserts," Monma said as she bowed towards them before going off to attend to the other guests.