Earth Land, Ishgar, Kingdom of Caelum, the Village Hidden in the Mist.
January 21, x792.
A few minutes after Mei answered the door for Alfonzo, the two had exchanged greetings and a bit of small talk before she led Alfonzo into the kitchen. Then, once they were both inside, Mei stood to the side while watching Alfonzo take the ingredients he bought out of the bags he was carrying and set them down on the kitchen counter.
Meanwhile, the two unnoticed, yet not uninvited, guests, Elicia and Cana, while still under the effects of Elicia's [Camouflage Magic] stood at the kitchen's entrance and watched the interactions between Alfonzo and Mei with great interest.
"Hey, what do you think Fonzie's gonna cook tonight?" Cana asked curiously. "More importantly, do you think he'll leave some for us, too? *Gulp*"
"I'm not sure." Elicia replied. "There's a lot he could make with chicken, onions, green peppers, and all the other stuff he bought."
"Seriously, why did I let you talk me into this?" Cana asked while shaking her head, she then took a swig from her flask before continuing. "Because when he actually starts cooking and we can smell the food, the only thing we're gonna be able to do is stand here. Then, when it's done, we'll have to watch them eat. This is really gonna suck."
Hearing that, Elicia froze completely. Then, tears started to well up in her eyes as Cana's words sank in.
"I... I didn't think about that." Elicia admitted in a shaky voice. "I only wanted to see how bold Mei would be if she was alone with Fonzie..."
"And to watch them if they did it tonight." Cana added.
"... but I never considered the torture we'd have to go through while watching them eat Fonzie's cooking." Elicia continued without acknowledging Cana's interruption. "This is gonna be even worse than the last time Fonzie refused to cook for me."
"Well, we could always just leave." Cana pointed out. "Man... You know something is wrong when I've been drinking all day and still have to be the voice of reason."
"Maybe we can sneak some food from their plates while their talking over dinner." Elicia continued, once again ignoring Cana's, completely reasonable, suggestion. "There might be more than enough for two plates, too. We might not even have to steal any food."
"*Sigh* Why am I even trying?" Cana asked while shaking her head at Elicia.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo, who was completely aware of Elicia's and Cana's presence, tried his best to not react to the frantic movements he could feel from Elicia through his [Magic Power Detection]. Instead, he focused on cooking.
Quickly slicing the chicken before seasoning the slices, Alfonzo heated a pan on the stove. Then, while the pan heated, he sliced an onion and a green pepper before dicing a tomato.
"What exactly are you making/" Mei asked while leaning against the counter and watching Alfonzo prep the ingredients.
"it's a dish I call Pollo alla Romana." Alfonzo replied while glancing at Mei, who was smiling brightly as she watched him. "I'll serve it over pasta once it's cooked."
"I can't say I recognize the language." Mei said with a gentle shake of her head. "But I have complete faith in your cooking. So, it doesn't really matter where the dish originated from."
Smiling at Mei's reply, Alfonzo poured some oil into the pan before going back to ingredient prep. Then, once the oil had been heating for a while, he flicked a bit of water into the pan.
*Sizzle!*
From there, Alfonzo continued cooking while engaging Mei in small talk. Meanwhile, as the food got closer to completion, Elicia and Cana found themselves being tortured by its sent. In fact, it was so bad that Cana had every intention of flaring her magic power so high that Elicia's spell would break, consequences of such a show of power in a village filled with trained assassins be damned. Luckily, Elicia was able to stop her, mostly because she did not want her front row seats to be ruined.
"*Gulp* I hate you so much right now, Lici." Cana hissed while watching Alfonzo plate the food.
"I hate me a little bit right now, too." Elicia muttered while her eyes followed the two plates Alfonzo was carrying to the kitchen table. "If I could go back in time, I would have done things differently."
At that moment, as if Alfonzo could hear the conversation between his first and second wives, he glanced in their direction with a smug smile on his face. Then, he mouthed a few words at them.
'This is what you get for being sneaky.'
"Hey! Wait! Why are you attacking me?" Elicia exclaimed as she jumped away from Cana, who lunged at her with her hands outstretched, most likely trying to strangle her. "I didn't say anything. If anything, you should be trying to strangle Fonzie, not me!"
"It's because this is all your fault!" Cana shrieked. "Because of you, we skipped dinner. Then, we had to smell Fonzie's cooking. And now, we have to watch him eat with someone else! You know what? I'm done! I'm leaving to get dinner, even if it won't be as good as Fonzie's cooking."
"Wait! Are you serious?" Elicia asked dumbfoundedly. "But if you get too far away from me, the [Hiding in Plain Sight] spell will break, and Mei will be able to detect you."
"I don't care." Cana replied uncaringly as she started walking toward the front door.
"And if you just pop out of nowhere, she'll know that I was hiding you." Elicia continued while following Cana towards the front door.
"That sounds like a you problem." Cana shot back ruthlessly.
"Come on, Cana, please don't go." Elicia pleaded while wrapping herself around Cana's right arm. "I promise, I won't do it again."
"Why does it sound like you're trying to stop me from breaking up with you?" Cana asked in a slightly dumbfounded tone.
"Minor details." Elicia replied. "Just don't go. I promise, I'll make it up to you."
"Really?" Cana asked with an eyebrow raised in skepticism.
"For real." Elicia replied. "I'll do anything you want."
["You really shouldn't have said that."] Scylla muttered from Elicia's inner world.
"Anything?" Cana asked, her other eyebrow raising to join the first.
["Within reason."] Scylla continued to mutter. ["Please add a 'within reason'."]
"Anything." Elicia repeated.
["*Sigh*"] Scylla did not even know what to say at this point.
"Fine... Then, you're paying for everything I get at the auction next month." Cana said, her eyes narrowing when Elicia recoiled at the demand. "Or was your promise of anything just a lie to keep me from leaving?"
"Of... Of course not." Elicia said while wincing at the hit she was about to take to her wallet. A moment later, however, she straightened her back, puffed out her chest, and spoke proudly. "I may be a lot of things, Cana. But a liar is not one of them. Don't worry, I'll foot the bill for your auction next month."
'Did that really work?' Cana asked herself while trying to keep a straight face after hearing Elicia's declaration.
["I told you it would work."] Hoyle said from Cana's inner world. ["The only question was whether or not you were willing to take the gamble."]
'Yeah, you were right.' Cana replied happily. She then pumped her fist internally as she continued. 'Free expensive liquor GET!'
Hoyle's triumphant laughter echoed through Cana's inner world while Cana rejoiced in her victory.
Meanwhile, Alfonzo finally served the dishes. He then sat down across from Mei and picked up his utensils.
"Dinner is served." Alfonzo said while gesturing to the plates on the table. "Pollo alla Romana. Please enjoy."
Knowing just how good Alfonzo's cooking was, Mei wasted no time digging into her food. And when she did….
"Mmm~~~~~!"
.. she moaned loudly and sensually as she writhed in her seat, rubbed her thighs together., and blushed in an intoxicated manner with her eyes closed in bliss.
'Hell yeah.' Alfonzo cheered internally. 'That shit never gets old. I definitely need to go on a trip to the Food Wars world someday. I bet the reactions will be even more intense there.'
["Doesn't Totsuki Academy exist in Tatsuo's world?"] Bedlam asked from Alfonzo's inner world.
'I'm not sure…' Alfonzo replied. 'We did go to the Restaurant to Another World last time we were there, though.'
["You should ask him later."] Bedlam said with a grin audible in his tone.
'I will.' Alfonzo replied with an internal nod.
At the same time, Mei came down from her food-gasm. Then, with a blush still on her face, she continued eating, trying to pretend that nothing happened.
Seeing that, Alfonzo could not help chuckling as he also started to eat. And while he did so, he continuously glanced in the direction where Elicia and Cana were negotiating.
"Something interesting happening over there?' Mei asked in a whisper while poking Alfonzo's cheek playfully. "Let me guess... Hmm... We've got two invisible guests, right?"
Feeling Mei's finger against his cheek, Alfonzo pulled his attention back to the table, that same, barely perceivable, smile still spread across his face.
"You noticed?" Alfonzo asked in return, though it sounded more like a statement than a question.
"Not really." Mei replied while shaking her head. "It's more like intuition. If you were to tell me we were here alone, I would believe you because all of my senses are telling me that's how it is."
"Women's intuition is scary." Alfonzo said with a chuckle. "But you're right. They've been here since before I got here."
Hearing that, Mei furrowed her brows for an instant. A moment later, she relaxed just as quickly.
"it's kind of unsettling how they got in here without my notice." Mei said with an expression of consideration on her face. "Luckily, I know they don't wanna hurt me. Otherwise, I'd be really concerned."
"Yeah, you definitely don't have to worry about that." Alfonzo said after swallowing a bit of his chicken and pasta. "If I know my Lici, which I think I do, they're here to see how things will go if they leave us alone. They just wanna watch the show, so to speak."
Immediately, Mei's eyes lit up with mischief and seduction. Her movements became more sensual as she continued to eat while she looked into Alfonzo's eyes.
"If that's the case…" Mei said as she stuck her tongue out and ran it across her lower lip. "Why don't we give them the show they were hoping to see? Who knows, it might be more than they were hoping for."
As she spoke, Mei batted her eyelashes with an obvious invitation. An invitation that Alfonzo could not miss even if he tried.
"Hmm… That's a possibility." Alfonzo said while tilting his head side to side in consideration. "But that will have to wait until after dessert."
At the mention of dessert, Mei's eyes lit up once again.
"What did you make for dessert?" Mei asked in an excited tone.
"I didn't make it, unfortunately." Alfonzo replied while shaking his head. Seeing Mei deflate, he could not help smiling as he continued. "Hearing you moan like that for a second time would have been great."
With the blush returning, Mei huffed indignantly. She then turned her attention back to her plate and cut a piece of chicken with more force than was strictly necessary. And when Alfonzo saw that, he laughed… hard.
"Shut up." Mei hissed while flicking a piece of chicken off the tip of her fork at Alfonzo.
Reacting quickly, Alfonzo jerked his head, catching the food before it hit him. Then, with a cheeky smile on his face, he chewed the piece of chicken with exaggerated movements.
"Just tell me what we're having for dessert." Mei ordered while trying to hide the smile that was threatening to break out across her face.
"*Sigh* Nothing special really." Alfonzo replied after swallowing the chicken. "I just bought some ice cream and fruit on my way. Though I'd heat the fruit and top the ice cream with it. If I had more time after worked ended today, I would have made tiramisu. It wouldn't have been authentic, though."
"I can't say I've ever had that." Mei pointed out. "So, I wouldn't have known whether it was authentic or not."
"I guess that's true." Alfonzo replied with a shrug while bringing a fork full of pasta to his mouth.
"But just out of curiosity, why wouldn't it have been authentic?" Mei asked curiously.
"I would have left out the cocoa powder it's supposed to be dusted with." Alfonzo replied after chewing and swallowing the pasta. "Well, I would have left it off of mine, anyway."
"Why? Are you allergic?" Mei asked.
"Nah…" Alfonzo replied while waving off Mei's question. "Just don't like chocolate. Hate it, actually."
Hearing that, Mei looked at Alfonzo as if he were some kind of alien.
"Yeah, we all looked at him like that when we first heard that." Cana, having finished negotiating with Elicia, said from the kitchen's entrance.
"I know, right." Elicia said with a giggle. "But it's good for us. There are three less people in the mansion who we don't have to fight over chocolate with. Since Mar'e and Cal don't like it either."
"True." Cana replied with a nod. "And that means I don't have to share my Kahlúa, either."
From there, it did not take long for Alfonzo and Mei to finish dinner. After that, Alfonzo returned to the kitchen and began heating the fruit he bought while Mei watched him from the kitchen table. He then topped two bowls of ice cream with the heated fruit and before making his way back to Mei.
However, before Alfonzo could put the bowls on the table, Mei stood up and gestured for him to follow her to the living room. They then sat down on the couch and enjoyed their dessert while continuing to chat. All the while, Elicia and Cana watched their every move.
Not long after sitting down, Mei placed her bowl on the coffee table, an action that Alfonzo followed shortly afterwards. She then smiled at Alfonzo seductively.
"Oh, what's up with that look?" Alfonzo asked, playing dumb while wearing an innocent expression. "Looks like you're still hungry. Should we go out? Unfortunately, there are no leftovers."
*Crack!* x 2
Alfonzo had to hold back laughter when he thought he heard the sound of two hearts breaking. Meanwhile, Mei rolled her eyes at Alfonzo's antics.
"You know exactly what this look is for." Mei said sharply as she grabbed Alfonzo's button-down shirt. Then, she continued while pulling it off. "So, stop playing dumb. I've made it quite clear that I want you since the day we met before the final battle of the civil war."
Once Alfonzo's button-down shirt was gone, leaving him in a simple, black, short sleeved shirt, Mei quickly straddled him and pressed him into the back of the couch. She then leaned forward to whisper into his ear.
"Besides, we still need to put on a show for our audience, don't we?" Mei asked in a seductive tone.