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Chapter 519: Talia Drops Her Chicken Leg
Chapter 519: Talia Drops Her Chicken Leg
A week passed by in the blink of an eye.
In the royal capital of Horton, Eccli.
At the Neko Boss Restaurant.
According to the Eccli Food Weekly, this restaurant enjoyed high ratings, with many positive reviews from regular customers.
Its consistent quality attracted a steady stream of patrons.
Occasionally, there would be peculiar comments, such as—"There is sometimes a very beautiful lady with gray hair who frequents the establishment. Although she always wears her hair in a braid and dons a pair of glasses, this very act of trying to appear ordinary only serves to highlight her natural beauty. And boy, can she eat!"
Pranai scanned the review, magazine in hand, standing behind the bar.
The Neko Boss Restaurant had yet to open for the day.
Pranai had intended to get a sense of the local patrons' impressions of the restaurant, but he hadn't expected to come across a passage that felt so familiar.
"As expected of our princess, she's never lost when it comes to beauty," commented Antanas casually from his seat at the bar.
"That's not quite right," Sinora interjected, eyes still closed as she tilted her head in confusion. "Talia, as a member of the royal family, is extremely disciplined. From what I recall, she always maintained the strictest dietary principles and training regimen, even going as far as abstaining from sweets. There was one time when I had to bring out the finest box of confections before she would indulge."
Well, aside from the second princess, Ephatia, who was notoriously lackadaisical and completely devoid of princess-like demeanor.
While the first princess might lack talent, her poise as a princess was beyond reproach. More importantly, the second princess had always clung to the first, so no demon tribe member would dare to use the former's behavior to disparage the latter.
"Just imagine, the second princess transformed into a noble and dignified duchess after coming to the human realm. If that's the case, then the first princess, with her natural charm, would surely be even more alluring. There's no way she would willingly debase herself," Antanas replied.
"Indeed," the siblings agreed.
Despite having their colleague, Chef Miss Asina, share snippets of her daily life with Talia, what they heard painted a picture of a reclusive Talia who diligently helped Asina evaluate cuisines, offering professional guidance and tasting only a little, always with elegance.
The three demons chatted leisurely.
Suddenly, Antanas remembered something and walked to one side of the restaurant's first floor, near a wall.
She patted the rustic wooden wall and retrieved a paper bag from behind the counter.
"By the way, I felt like there was a lot of empty space here in the restaurant, so when I was out shopping yesterday, I came across a painting that really caught my eye. I bought it, and I'd like your opinions on it."
Antanas took the painting out of the half-meter-tall paper bag and hung it on the previously barren section of the wall.
This was a much-discussed artistic reproduction that had been creating quite a buzz lately.
The painting depicted three human-like figures entangled together, exuding a sense of twisted, abstract beauty.
As it was heavily promoted by the United Parliament's official media outlets in the Southern Continent, it immediately sparked a wave of artistic discourse across the nations, with critics delving into its underlying artistic merit.
Pranai nearly dropped his magazine upon seeing it.
He struggled to maintain his composure.
"I don't quite understand this painting, but for some reason, I feel a strong sense of familiarity when I look at it. It's intriguing, so I decided to buy it," Antanas explained.
Unsure if her choice of words was accurate, Talia knew that she had decided to buy the painting the moment she laid eyes on it. She had always felt that she lacked an appreciation for art, rarely resonating with the so-called great masterpieces that others admired. In simpler terms, she just didn't get it. But with this painting, not only were the reviews overwhelmingly positive, but she herself felt an indescribable attraction to it, causing her to wonder if her dormant artistic cells had suddenly awakened.
"What a coincidence, I feel the same way," Sinora remarked as she studied the painting, sensing the inexplicable sense of familiarity that Antanas had struggled to put into words.
"I knew it! I knew you'd feel it too!" Antanas exclaimed excitedly.
"What about you, brother? What do you think?" Sinora asked, confident that Pranai, among the three of them, had the most artistic insight.
"Ah? Well, I think we should probably take this painting down for now. It just doesn't seem to fit the style of the restaurant," Pranai replied, feeling a cold sweat break out as he offered a gentle suggestion with a forced smile.
He could only phrase his objection in such an indirect manner.
For now, Pranai could still deceive Sinora and Antanas. However, he wasn't sure if he could keep up the act when Wang, Huperian, and Antalia returned. If the three of them saw this painting hanging in the Neko Boss Restaurant every day, he doubted he could feign ignorance any longer.
"Ah..." Antanas' face fell in disappointment as she hesitated to take the painting down, reluctant to part with it so soon.
"Why don't we wait for the boss to come back and let her be the judge?" Sinora suggested, seeing the forlorn look on Antanas' face.
"..." Pranai was at a loss for words.
How could he ask the boss to evaluate the painting when he wanted it gone as soon as possible? Just as Pranai was about to come up with another reasonable excuse to persuade Antanas to replace the painting without crushing her spirits, the wind chime above the door of the Neko Boss Restaurant tinkled.
One of the distinctive features of the restaurant was its beautifully curved roof, with eaves that extended far beyond the walls. Hanging from the deep eaves was a set of wind chimes that rang pleasantly whenever a gentle breeze blew or a customer arrived.
As they were not yet open for business, the sound of the wind chimes indicated that someone had returned.
The three demons looked towards the entrance.
"We're back, you three," Huperian announced as she opened the door and stepped inside, a small black cat perched on her head. She offered a smile and a wink to Antanas, signaling that she had fulfilled their agreement.
The demons turned their gazes to the door, spotting Lanchi approaching slowly from a distance, pushing a luggage cart, and seemingly still bickering with someone.
"I assure you, you'll be pleasantly surprised. This is your last chance to guess what I've prepared for you," Lanchi said.
"Hmph, what could you possibly have prepared that would surprise me? Is it a raspberry chocolate mousse?" Talia asked.
"No."
"A vanilla caramel brulee, then?"
"Wrong again."
"How dare you claim to understand me when this is the best you can do?" Talia retorted, holding a large box of crispy, juicy fried chicken legs drizzled with honey mustard sauce, occasionally popping a small piece into her mouth as she argued.
As their voices drew closer, they finally stepped into the Neko Boss Restaurant.
And there, they saw the three demons staring at them.
Talia froze, her eyes widening in surprise, and the chicken leg she had been eating fell from her hand to the floor.
---
Happy New Year!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
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