NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 39. Legal Tender
Ophelia still had some technical details to discuss with Kara regarding how she would recruit other girls to join them, but realizing that Kara wasn't very comfortable discussing such topics at their first date, she decided to postpone this discussion until a potential candidate appeared.
Anyway, it wasn't as if all the girls would throw themselves into Kara's arms, because although she was very attractive, she was also very intimidating.
'Maybe I should have considered that Kara wasn't raised in a noble family. Yes, for her, such formal discussions at the first date might seem a bit strange...', Ophelia thought to herself, once again confirming that for Kara, entering a romantic relationship with someone didn't involve calculations at all, but was solely based on feelings. Perhaps this was also the main reason why she agreed that Kara could have relationships with other girls, because she felt guilty that her love couldn't be as pure as Kara's.
Until they finished the food on their plates, the two avoided discussing such complicated topics, choosing instead to focus on their plans for the near future. Knowing that Ophelia was under pressure due to the problems waiting for her at home and that she wanted to visit The Great Dungeon nearby as soon as possible to become stronger and earn the money needed to pay off her debt, Kara suggested that they set off to its location the very next day.
Initially, Kara thought it would be simpler to go directly with Ophelia to her home and eliminate all those who caused her problems, but realizing that Ophelia didn't want to become an outlaw by violating noble norms, which would make it impossible for her to obtain the title of marquis, she no longer proposed this, deciding to follow Ophelia's plan. Moreover, she didn't want to miss the chance to spend a few weeks alone with Ophelia, without anyone disturbing them, considering the likelihood of Ophelia's sister being a third wheel once they arrived at Ophelia's home to be quite high.
Noticing that Ophelia really enjoyed the food at the restaurant and being aware that they couldn't waste time cooking while adventuring in the Great Dungeon, Kara asked for the menus again when the waitress brought the dessert, as she intended to order about 100 portions of their favorite dishes to store in her storage space provided by the Predator's Locker skill, where they would always remain fresh.
"Honorable customers, I don't want to seem like I'm doubting your honesty, but for such a large order, you will need to pay in advance...", the waitress said, a bit intimidated at the thought of taking an order worth as much as the total sales of an ordinary day.
"It's alright. After my girlfriend and I take a few minutes to look over the menus, we'll call you to calculate the total cost...", Kara said, taking the menus from the waitress's hand and then handing one to Ophelia.
Ophelia already knew from Kara about the properties of her storage space, so she didn't think that Kara's idea of ordering such a large quantity of food at once was strange.
"Kara, should I pay with the money we got from the mission?", Ophelia asked after the waitress left. She didn't intend to try convincing Kara to save money, knowing she wouldn't succeed, as Kara seemed extremely determined to offer her the best.
"There's no need. I plan to trade a diamond-clawed bear instead...", Kara replied, not intending to use the money she had just given Ophelia as she wanted to maintain her image as a wealthy girlfriend.
Ophelia found it hard to imagine such a transaction taking place in such a luxurious restaurant.
"...Are you sure they will accept?"
"Why not? Not only is the meat of a diamond-clawed bear very valuable, but it's also very difficult to obtain...", Kara explained, clearly not seeing the situation from the same perspective as Ophelia. Given that she had only visited luxury restaurants a few times with Alice for festive occasions, it was understandable that she wasn't too familiar with the etiquette required in such a place.
"Yes, it will be a bit strange, but they probably won't refuse...", Ophelia said, thinking that etiquette is almost always overridden by the prospect of a hefty profit. She then started to study the menu, occasionally taking a spoonful of the strawberry parfait the waitress had just brought.
After the two decided on the dishes they wanted to order, Kara touched the yellow stone in the center of the table to call the waitress, who promptly arrived with a notepad in hand. After they told the waitress their desired dishes and the quantities, Kara added a few bottles of fruit wine to the order, intending to recreate the wine-tasting episode in the near future, along with 10 portions of each type of dessert and nearly a hundred juice boxes as she noticed from Ophelia's expression of satisfaction when she took a spoonful of parfait that she had a weakness for sweet things.
"Alright. I'll need a few minutes to calculate the final cost." the waitress said after they finished ordering, intending to check her calculations at least three times to ensure no mistakes. If Kara and Ophelia were as arrogant as most clients, she might have checked even ten times, but perhaps due to the compromising situation she had caught them in an hour earlier, she had started to feel quite familiar with them, so she wasn't very stressed.
"All of this costs 748 gold coins. Adding the 8 gold coins for what you've already consumed, we have a total of 756 gold coins...", the waitress said after five minutes, never imagining that someone would be willing to spend so much money on food at once. Even if she was well-paid, she would have to work nearly two years to earn such a sum.
"Sounds okay. Do you think I could pay with a bear?", Kara asked, not intending to bore herself by verifying the waitress's calculations.
"With what?", the waitress asked, stunned.
'Could I have been wrong about them? Don't tell me they are the type of customers who want to cause trouble?', she began to panic, suspecting the two were trying to find a pretext not to pay for what they had consumed.
"I have a freshly hunted diamond-clawed bear that I haven't had time to sell to the Adventurers' Guild or the Trade Guild, and I thought of trading it in exchange for the ordered food. Since a specimen is worth at least 1200 gold coins, I think it wouldn't be a bad deal for the restaurant. Of course, if this isn't possible, we will pay for what we've consumed now and return in an hour to pay for the new order...", Kara explained the transaction she wanted to make with the restaurant.
"I understand, but I won't be able to decide that myself. You'll need to speak with the manager...", the waitress said after analyzing Kara's words for a few seconds, as she didn't want to be blamed for missing the chance for the restaurant to make a huge profit, although she preferred to avoid complicated situations.
"Okay, then I'll go with you to the manager, but first, I'd like to offer you a small token of appreciation both for your exemplary service and for facilitating this transaction...", Kara said, pulling 10 gold coins from her storage space and handing them to the waitress.
"This is too much!", the waitress exclaimed, realizing the sum Kara handed her, recalling that she had never received even a single gold coin as a tip, even when the clients were high-ranking nobles.
'Is it possible that one of them is a princess or the daughter of a duke traveling incognito to spend time with her secret lover?', the waitress's imagination began to run wild, with Kara and Ophelia becoming the characters in a story of forbidden love.
"Well, the customer is always right, so if I consider it an appropriate amount, you are obliged to accept it...", Kara interrupted the waitress's thoughts, her tone reminding the waitress of the unruly young ladies from wealthy families.
Feeling she had fulfilled her moral duty by refusing the overly generous tip once, the waitress accepted the money Kara offered without further contradiction, thanking her very sweetly, then invited Kara to accompany her to the restaurant manager's office.
Initially, the restaurant manager wasn't very enthusiastic about Kara's offer, but after consulting the person responsible for meat supplies and learning the price of a diamond-clawed bear, his attitude towards Kara became much more hospitable.
Since the terms of the transaction were quite clear, it didn't take long for Kara to strike a deal with the manager, and then she was led to a private room where she pulled the huge bear from her storage space under the astonished gazes of the manager and the two butchers he had summoned.
As the manager proposed to use an artifact with advanced storage space properties similar to Kara's to store the food immediately once it's ready to guarantee its freshness, Kara didn't need to spend several hours in the restaurant to store the food one by one, as she could return in the evening to collect all the food at once.
Returning to the table where Ophelia was waiting after a quarter of an hour, Kara found Ophelia reading a book with a glass of fruit juice in front of her, which she had likely ordered recently since it was untouched, probably expecting Kara to spend more time negotiating.
"It seems you were successful...", Ophelia said, seeing that Kara was in a very good mood.
"Well, it was to be expected. There are places where the diamond-clawed bear is recognized as official currency..."
Hearing the nonsense Kara was saying in a very serious tone, Ophelia rolled her eyes, not intending to make the effort to contradict her.
"Yeah, sure... I'm sure such places exist..."
"You should know that there really is such a place. Since I became the ruler of The Great Moonshadow Forest, I have the power to decide what the official currency is there...", Kara said, very confident that her reasoning had no flaw.
"I don't know what to say. I have a feeling you're abusing your position to cheat...", Ophelia accused jokingly, putting the book back into her ring's storage space. "Anyway, will we stay here until all the food is ready, or will we visit other places?" she continued, suspecting it would take quite a while for the restaurant's chefs to prepare everything they ordered.
"The manager promised to take measures to keep all the food fresh until this evening, so there's no reason to spend the whole day here. We can stroll around for about 6 hours..."
Ophelia agreed with Kara's plan, but having eaten a bit too much that day, her belly began to send her subtle yet insistent signals.
"Alright, but first I need to go to the bathroom... Do you need to go too?", Ophelia said, a bit embarrassed to bring up this subject in front of her new girlfriend.
Since Kara's body had become capable of converting absolutely everything she consumed into energy, she didn't need to go to the bathroom for anything other than to freshen up in the mirror. However, thinking that going to the bathroom would show they were already very familiar with each other, she responded affirmatively.
"Kara, it's kind of weird to go to the bathroom holding hands..." Ophelia said, seeing Kara reach out her hand after they stood up. She remembered how she used to go to the bathroom with her younger sister before she was 10 years old.
But could she refuse Kara, who was looking at her like a puppy afraid of being abandoned? Ophelia didn't have the strength to do that, so she ended up taking Kara's hand, hoping that Kara wouldn't insist on sharing the same stall, as her sister used to do.
