Phoebe (3)
As the waiter brought the menu, Reed raised his index finger before taking it and said.
"Please bring the chef's special dishes. Don't worry about the price, bring out all the dishes this restaurant is proud of."
"Understood."
What he has is money.
So there's no need to worry about what to eat from the menu.
The waiter took the menu back and poured champagne into Reed and Phoebe's glasses.
"Are you weak to alcohol or have any bad drinking habits?"
"No, I'm strong with alcohol."
"That's a relief."
One person with bad drinking habits is enough.
Reed drank the champagne with a sigh of relief.
Soon after, the chef's special dishes came out one by one, starting with the appetizers.
The appetizers were flavorful enough to whet one's appetite and felt like the chef's special dishes.
Phoebe smiled at Reed.
She instinctively felt that there was something to say.
"It reminds me of the old days."
"The old days?"
"Yes. When I first came to the Silence Tower and was adapting, we always ate together."
"Ah, right."
...Did we?
Having no further memory of it, Reed reacted awkwardly, and Phoebe apologized to him.
"Ah, I'm sorry. It wasn't a particularly good memory."
"No, I enjoyed it too."
"No. It was just a meal. It's a trivial thing. Yes, a very trivial thing."
An awkward expression.
That awkwardness was to suppress the emotions that were trying to burst out.
It was unclear whether it was resentment or anger at not being remembered.
The next dish came out, and they proceeded with the meal, leaving such questions behind.
After having the last dessert and cleansing their palates, Reed wiped his mouth with a satisfied look on his face.
"Very satisfying. Did you enjoy it?"
"Yes, I ate well and deliciously—."
Grrrrr.
"...Excuse me."
It was a loud sound that seemed to be perfectly timed.
Phoebe looked up at Reed, covering her stomach with a shy expression.
Reed pretended not to hear it, closing his eyes.
He agonized inwardly.
Should he ignore it or talk about it?
With that agony, he recalled what Phoebe had eaten.
'Didn't she eat a lot before she came?'
Reed faintly remembered her eating more than ten skewers in his head.
Despite watching her stuff her cheeks like a bun and eat a lot, she still seemed unsatisfied after consuming an amount comparable to an adult male's meal.
'Let's not mention it.'
Reed finished his thought and considered Phoebe.
"If you're still hungry, let's order one more dish. I'm a bit hungry too."
"…Yes."
Reed asked the waiter to bring something simple to eat, and soon a bowl of noodles was brought to the table.
Though they were supposed to share, Reed took only 10% of the noodles and gave the rest to Phoebe.
Unlike Reed, who was full, Phoebe picked up her chopsticks and inhaled the noodles without hesitation.
It took her 5 minutes to empty the bowl, including the soup.
"Were you satisfied?"
"…"
"…More?"
"Just one more bowl…"
So she cleanly finished another bowl.
Then, with a humiliating expression like a defeated knight, she answered like this.
"I think I might need to eat three more bowls…"
Reed didn't say anything more and gestured to the waiter.
He brought three more plates accordingly.
Phoebe ate the noodles with a humiliating expression.
Seeing the stacked bowls, she inadvertently blurted out her mistake.
"You eat a lot."
"Heeeng…"
"Eating a lot is not something to be ashamed of. You're a half-dragon, so you must be different from ordinary people, right?"
"…It has nothing to do with being a half-dragon…"
"…"
He said something unnecessary.
Reed tried to come up with a way to get out of this predicament while washing his face dry.
But he couldn't help but laugh as Phoebe kept eating.
"You must be hungry today because you've been so nervous. You escorted the Hupper King, took care of us, and even suppressed the Third Prince. It's only natural to be that hungry, isn't it?"
"Th-that's right?"
Phoebe's face brightened up as she found an excuse to escape.
"So feel free to eat."
"Yes!"
Phoebe was finally satisfied after eating two more bowls of noodles.
* * *
Reed returned to the inn and prepared for bed.
Having satisfied her appetite, under the night sky, she was led by her hand to see the precious sights once more.
The night market was slowly closing, and the streets began to darken.
'I don't know if she was satisfied.'
Phoebe always smiled.
So Reed couldn't tell if she truly enjoyed this break.
Knock knock.
"Who is it?"
It was unlikely that the manager would come at this hour. The only person who would come would be Phoebe.
"It's, it's Phoebe."
As expected.
Reed opened the door for her.
"What brings you here……"
He was breathless.
She had been wearing a red uniform, but now she was standing in a light outfit.
It was a soft silk dress that went down to her knees.
Her figure was more emphasized than usual, drawing his eyes involuntarily to parts he hadn't been conscious of.
Moreover, a gentle fragrance wafted faintly from her neck, making the atmosphere seductive.
It made him think of bad things.
"What's with that outfit?"
"This? I found a nightgown, so I wore it. What do you think?"
"It's fine, in its own way……. So what brings you here?"
Her well-ripened apple-like lips moved.
"There's something I want…… to do."
"What do you want to do?"
At night?
At this hour?
In my room??
No matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn't figure out what she wanted to do.
Well, he knew but tried to exclude that possibility as much as possible.
"What do you want to do?"
"This."
She showed something she had been hiding behind her.
It was…
A cotton swab, oil, scraper, and tweezers in a container.
"Master, I want to clean your ears."
He doubted his eyes for a moment, but it was indeed an ear cleaning set.
"…Ears?"
"Yes. Would it be okay if I clean them for you?"
Ear cleaning…
It was such an innocent request that he felt ridiculous for having had an indecent imagination for a moment
"Alright."
"Don't move too much, okay?"
"…Okay."
"I'll try not to hurt you."
Saying that made him more anxious.
Unnecessary words made him think about various things.
'If she fails to control her strength, my life will be over.'
The fear that she might not only clean his ears but also break them.
Reed thought he was entrusting his life to her.
Phoebe gently massaged his ear with her hand and looked inside.
"Oh my."
She let out a low exclamation of surprise.
Thinking something was wrong, Reed asked.
"…What's the matter?"
"It's quite built up."
"…"
"It must have built up this much because you've heard so many unpleasant things."
Phoebe didn't hide her pleased expression.
She was happy to have a lot of work to do.
"I'll get rid of everything that bothered you today."
