Compared to the aristocratic banquets she had attended in the past, the food Mrs. Nashi brought to the dining table was incredibly simple.
A few cookies, some warmed soup, and a few slices of bread.
She looked down at the food on the table and thought back to the crops she had planted with her own hands today.
Right now, they were still just tiny seedlings.
But in the future, perhaps they too would be served on someone's dining table just like the food before her, helping a family satisfy their hunger for the day.
At this thought, Leticia suddenly felt her heart fill with a very unfamiliar yet warm sensation.
Seeing Leticia lost in thought and hesitant to start eating, Mrs. Nashi looked a bit uneasy.
“Does the food not suit your taste?”
Leticia snapped out of her thoughts.
“No.”
She shook her head gently.
“I was just feeling a bit emotional, thinking about how the crops I planted today might help someone else one day.”
At this, she looked at Mrs. Nashi.
“Thank you.”
With that, Leticia picked up a cookie from the table.
She had originally thought that food made by an ordinary household would have a very simple flavor.
But the moment she took a bite of the cookie, Leticia's eyes widened slightly.
“It's surprisingly delicious.”
The cookie carried a toasted, grain-like flavor, along with a very subtle sweetness.
Although it didn't look as grand as the food at aristocratic banquets, it actually tasted even better.
“I'm glad you like it.”
Hearing her say this, the smile on Mrs. Nashi's face relaxed noticeably, and even the tail behind her began to wag lightly.
As a cook, seeing a guest enjoy the food they prepared was indeed something worth being happy about.
Watching Mrs. Nashi look so happy just because her food was appreciated, Leticia suddenly recalled the bread she had knocked over when she first arrived at the Demon King's Castle.
She remembered that later in the dining hall, the Head Chef had looked at her with an expression of dejection.
Thinking about it now, could that have been because she had shown disgust toward the food he made?
Because she had knocked over something he had meticulously prepared?
Leticia's hand holding the cookie tightened slightly.
“Mrs. Nashi.”
“Yes?”
“If I accidentally spoke harshly about a chef's food, how should I apologize to him?”
As she asked this, Leticia felt a bit embarrassed.
Because in the White Tower, no one had ever dared to look at her with resentment or dejection.
Otherwise, that person would have been “cleaned up” from the White Tower by her mother the very next day.
Thus, she had never learned.
If she hurt someone, how she should make amends.
Hearing this question, Mrs. Nashi was slightly taken aback at first.
Then, she thought about it seriously.
“Is that so? That is indeed a bit unfortunate.”
“A customer's feedback is incredibly precious to a chef.”
“If their food is rejected, that chef would probably feel very dejected.”
Just the thought of her own food being rejected made Mrs. Nashi feel as though a heavy rain were pouring down in her heart.
Leticia lowered her head.
“As I thought.”
Mrs. Nashi looked at her, her voice softening slightly.
“But since Miss Sia has already realized this, it's not too late.”
Leticia looked up.
“Not too late?”
“Yes.”
Mrs. Nashi nodded.
“In that case, try tasting it again with all your heart.”
“Feel the love the chef poured into that food.”
“After that, just give your feedback once more.”
Looking at Leticia, who was staring blankly while holding her cup, Mrs. Nashi gave a gentle smile.
“I think, rather than a stiff apology, a guest being willing to earnestly taste their cooking again is something that would make any chef incredibly happy.”
Leticia held her cup, falling silent for a moment.
Then, she nodded gently.
“Is that so? Thank you.”
After hearing Mrs. Nashi's explanation, Leticia decided that once she returned to the Demon King's Castle, she would earnestly taste the Head Chef's cooking.
Just then, there was a knock at Mrs. Nashi's door.
“I'll get it!”
Dashi immediately hopped down from his chair and ran to the door.
When he opened the door, he found a man with a few scales on his face standing outside.
The man was tall and carried a slight weariness from just returning from the outside.
“Daddy!”
Dashi cried out.
The man reached out and patted Dashi's head.
Then, his gaze bypassed Dashi and landed on Leticia, who was sitting at the dining table.
Leticia's disguise had worn off at some unknown point.
But because neither Mrs. Nashi nor Dashi had pointed it out, everyone tacitly continued to treat her as “Miss Sia.”
But now, the man had clearly not gone through this unspoken understanding yet.
He stared at the human girl sitting at his dining table, his movements pausing.
“Uh, Nashi.”
“Who is this?”
The man looked at Mrs. Nashi, clear confusion in his tone.
Mrs. Nashi, however, very naturally placed a plate of food on the table.
“This is Miss Sia.”
“Lord Phelan brought her here.”
As she spoke, she glanced outside the window at the sky, which had already turned completely dark.
“Lord Phelan must be busy with Miss Saintess right now. Honestly...”
Mrs. Nashi sighed softly.
“Even Lord Phelan can be this careless sometimes.”
The man rubbed his chin.
“That's a bit of a problem.”
He looked outside.
“It's already pitch black out there.”
Although the residential district wasn't dangerous, the night was still no time to let an outsider girl find her way back alone in the dark.
Furthermore, she didn't look like someone who was familiar with the roads of the Demon King's Castle at all.
Leticia also noticed the man's gaze.
She set down her cup and stood up.
“I'm sorry for causing you trouble.”
“How can you say that? It's no trouble at all, really,”
Mrs. Nashi quickly spoke up.
Then, as if she had already made up her mind, she gave Leticia a polite smile.
“How about this? Miss Sia, why don't you stay the night here?”
Leticia was taken aback.
“B-But, Nashi...”
The man also seemed to want to say something.
However, before he could finish, Mrs. Nashi had already turned around.
“Alright, Data, let's leave it at that.”
“Don't we have a spare room? We can't let the friend of our demon race benefactor make her way back to the Demon King's Castle in the pitch black of night, can we?”
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