Chapter 26: Their First Date (VI)
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Main Road: Food District
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Onto the journey of their date, the first thing on the list that they decided to do was-
List #10: Try the Street Foods in the City.
The morning sun cast long, golden fingers through the gaps in the tall wooden stalls, the marketplace alive with the energy of traders and townsfolk. The air was thick with the scent of roasting ats, fresh herbs, and the earthy fragrance of ripe fruit. A clamor of voices filled the space, haggling, laughing, and shouting above the thrum of busy activity.
A woman in a bright yellow shawl passed by a butcher’s stall, where a burly man with a beard the color of smoke was expertly carving a boar’s haunch.
"Are you going to order so fruits for your wife?" The woman in the shawl asked the butcher.
The butcher shakes his head, his wife has already ordered from another fruit vendor so they don’t need more fruits. "No need! We still have so fruit leftover, I’ll call you if we need so more."
The sizzling sound of it hitting the fire was almost drowned out by the calls of another vendor, a wizened old elf with silver hair, who sold dried mushrooms and rare spices. He leaned over the edge of his counter, whispering to a curious child, "That there? Moonshade mushroom, picked at midnight, brings luck to those who eat it."
A little further along, a group of dwarven traders had set up a stall piled high with golden loaves of bread, their crusts crackling as steam rose from them in the cool morning air. The sll was intoxicating.
A plump baker with rosy cheeks was handing out samples to a line of eager custors, her apron dusted with flour as she grinned widely, "Best bread in the kingdom, I promise you, none else cos close!"
At the far corner of the market, a massive tank of water bubbled with the movent of squirming fish, their silvery scales glinting in the sunlight. A fisherman, his face withered and wrinkled from years on the lake, hawked his catch to a group of soldiers lounging nearby. "Fresh as the morning! A fish for a silver, or a dozen for a gold, you won’t find a better deal, I swear!"
A juggler spun oranges in the air, their skins glinting like tiny suns, while a wandering wizard, his cloak a patchwork of bright colors, handed out small glass vials filled with glowing golden honey, claiming they were enchanted to improve one’s digestion.
"Wow! There’s lots of food to choose from!" The princess doesn’t hesitate to look around and sll the different cuisines available. How wonderful that she can get to experience the food district of the capital city of her kingdom. "And so many kinds of people gathered around at the capital."
She turns to see rchants of elves and dwarves. Princess Camille always sees their races in a few private parties, only the nobles ones though- it’s refreshing to see them bustling in the capital city too.
anwhile Rowan was too busy drooling over the grilled at that was on one vendor.
"Mm, they have a variety of at and fresh fish most likely caught from a nearby lake. The sll of them cooking is heavenly."
Princess Camille, seeing Rowan’s drooling and hungry face, chuckled and wondered what this girl liked to eat. "What kind of foods are you into, General Rowan?"
Rowan turns to the princess slowly wiping her drool away, answering with a straight face. "at, I love roasted chicken, fried pork, beef steak dium rare, fillet fish drizzled with lemon... and um anything that has at in it I suppose."
"Quite the at lover I see." (Princess Camille) thought that her love for at sort of fits the heroine’s character. Even in the original ga she was well known to be a at lover, thank goodness that hasn’t changed.
"When I was in the front lines, at was rather scarce. I missed it very much even though we were hunting, when there was nothing to catch we would often starve. One ti we tried cooking at on our own- it didn’t taste too good because we ran out of spices to put it in, none of the soldiers in my battalion know how to cook well and our Military Chef got injured. It took a while for him to get replaced." There were days when the great human-demon war got too much and food shortage happened, a few soldiers got desperate and ate so of their weak horses just to survive.
Rowan couldn’t tell the princess of her dark past.
"Hmm... I guess now that we’re talking about cooking I know how to cook. I would like to get to know what kind of palate General Rowan has so that I can cook for you every morning." (Princess Camille) closes her eyes for a second, imagining herself as the perfect housewife anyone could ask for.
There was this silly cliche that she always watched in slice-of-life ani of a married couple, you know where the husband cos ho and the wife acts all cute and asks, ’Would you have a bath, dinner or perhaps ?’
If she did that to Rowan, what kind of expression would she make?
"H-Her highness, you can cook?" The general was surprised.
Princess Camille crosses her eyes nodding with a smile, understanding Rowan for thinking that she can’t cook. Hell even in the palace’s kitchen she wasn’t allowed inside, she was missing so of the food she ate back ho in Japan- this European like kingdom didn’t have rice in their diet.
"Yep! In my past life I was always helping mom to cook since she does her best working as a freelance illustrator online and my dad was a salaryman that goes ho really late. I handled the cooking." She proudly stated.
Sohow hearing that only made Rowan fall even more deeper. The independent princess, she can’t wait to try so of the food that she cooked in her past life.
"A-Amazing! I... forgot that you lived another life. What’s a freelance illustrator and a salaryman?"
"If you want I’ll tell you all about it when we get to your ho, General Rowan but for now-"
Ding!
[Notifiation: Heroine is happy. She got to know more about the princess].
[Lover ter Full].
[Happiness ter Full].
"Let’s enjoy our date."
Princess Camille took the lead on the date, she doesn’t mind and it helps to know that they at least have a plan. They bought so chicken skewers from a food stall that slled good, "Mm! This skewered at is really good! It’s doused in so special sauce and it was only two silvers a piece."
From the way the at looked you would think it was burnt, but that was only the sauce- the at was quite tender and juicy.
"You’re right... The capital city’s food district is good. I would like twenty more of these please but you wrap it to go, miss?" (Rowan) took out so money from her pouch, counting the silver coins until she got the right amount.
The stall vendor who notices the bright red hair on her head, she squints her eyes trying to make sure if she was right. "I know who you are! You’re the great crimson general that defeated the demon lord!" Her voice was a little too loud.
All the other store vendors noticed her presence, beginning to gossip and smile.
"So it’s true? The great crimson general actually ca to visit the capital city? Do you think the girl beside her is the crown princess?" One old woman whispers to her friend.
Her friend was quick to respond. "Indeed rumors have it that she refused to marry any of the princes offered by the king. I’m not sure if it was true but have you ever heard of a woman choosing another woman? That’s utter hogwash- surely that rumor that’s going around is nothing but soone trying to sar dirt on the great crimson general’s na."
The relations of the sa sexes were seen as sothing: Unruly, disgusting and just unnatural for others.
However, seeing that the kingdom of Polestin once had a King who would take in both won and n for his harem... now they see it as sohow ’tolerable’ for a change.
An old man hearing this couldn’t help but groan. Such ignorance, don’t they know that this type of thing is quite normal? "Ay- you don’t know what happens in military ya old hags. Things like that are normal- hell my cousin in fort gay beca well... gay."
Rowan swallows the lump forming in her throat, being forced to reveal herself because of her red hair. "A-Ah yes, that’s . It is nice to et you. I am the crimson general, General Rowan Bonheur."
"I knew it! I think you’re the only red head I’ve ever seen in Polma City! This is on ! Please take it, no need to pay!" She grins happily- flipping over the cooked at, the war is over thanks to this girl she was very thankful for her great leadership and sacrifices.
Rowan waves her hand around feeling embarrassed, she nervously takes the coins in her hand offering it to the vendor. "No, no! You don’t have to give free food. I can pay you, this is a lot of at that I’ll be taking."
It was indeed a lot.
The street vendor laughs, honestly any other people in the capital would’ve taken this for free. "Nonsense, you saved our kingdom and the least we could do is feed our hero. Co on now, I’ll get your at ready and wrapped. I won’t take no for an answer."
"T-Thank you."
With a last thank you, the stall vendor got to work cooking her requested at.
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