When we arrived at the Evernight Restaurant, Milea had already gotten used to the beads inside her ass and walked while humming by my side.
"Woah, this is really luxurious. As expected from the best restaurant in Academy City. Hehehe, Sir Arthur. I really love this side of you." The cheeky nun exclaimed and grabbed my hand as she looked around the restaurant's interior.
Unlike before, the restaurant was almost empty, so we didn't need a reservation. It wasn't called Evernight for no reason. It was because the dinner in this restaurant looked beautiful with its decoration. So no one except those really rich ones had breakfast here.
'Duke Blacktomb seems to have breakfast on the fourth floor, where a luxurious table is located.'
We approached the receptionist, and luckily, there were still tables left on the fourth floor. She was the same receptionist as before, and when she saw me, she smiled widely and brought me to the fourth floor.
At first, she wanted to lead me to the fifth floor, but I refused as it would be hot because the sun was still in the sky. I didn't want Milea to get sunburned, though if she had tanlines, she would look a little bit cuter, but not now.
As I said earlier, the fourth floor was a luxurious room with only 5 tables, each divided by a wooden cubicle, creating a small room.
When we entered, I noticed Duke Blacktomb sitting on the corner with a beautiful girl with wavy black hair that reached her waist. She was wearing a neat black dress, which looked elegant. Her modest breasts were held high, exposing a bit of her cleavage.
And when I looked at her face, I noticed her red blood eyes were similar to that of Duke Blacktomb.
'Relative? Or wife?' I thought as we walked behind the receptionist. It wouldn't be strange if Duke Blacktomb had a young wife.
The empty table was actually right beside where Duke Blacktomb sat, and he noticed us walking toward him as he raised his head. His lips morphed into a smile.
"My, what a pleasant coincidence." He chirped and stood up, walking toward me. When he was in front of me, he stopped and bowed slightly. "Who is it if not Your Holiness Paladin? It's nice to meet you again."
The receptionist looked a bit baffled. From her surprised expression, she probably forgot or didn't know that Duke Blacktomb was here.
I shot a glance at her and asked her to leave for now. She nodded swiftly and left the area, leaving us.
Milea looked at the gray-haired Duke and glanced at me. She kept silent without voicing anything. Good.
"Duke Blacktomb, it's nice to meet you again," I replied in a calm voice. "Please raise your head. While I am indeed a Paladin, I don't quite like excessive formality."
"Hahaha, please forgive me then." The Duke raised his head and laughed.
This man was so mysterious and crafty. Even when he bowed earlier, it was probably just for a display. While I saw respect in his eyes, he still tried to judge me.
'An old fox.' I evaluated him as I kept my smile.
"Sir Paladin, are you here for breakfast? Why don't you join me and my daughter then? Hahaha, we are still waiting for our menu and still have two empty chairs. Of course, that's if you and Miss nun don't mind." He shot a glance at Milea for a second before turning at me with an unwavering smile.
'So she's his daughter?' I glanced at the girl, and she smiled sweetly at me.
I felt like her smile wasn't as genuine as it seemed. It was a bit similar to when Princess Carissa met me for the first time, but I didn't feel unpleasant. That meant this black-haired girl was curious and didn't really think much of me yet.
While I did remember most characters and heroines in the Virtue Kingdom, I only remembered the Princess of the Sin Kingdom and one person from the Luxuria Church.
My memories about them were already blurry, and I didn't even care about it anymore as I thought this world was real and not the Sins Paradise game. So I didn't recognize this girl, though I had a feeling that she was one of the heroines.
"I will be honored to. And she also doesn't mind about that." I gestured to Milea, and she nodded her head. Then I turned to the Duke and glanced at his daughter. "But what about the young lady? Is she okay having breakfast with my nun and me?"
At my question, the girl stood up and curtsied, holding the skirt of her dress, "Please, Your Holiness. I don't mind. Instead, it will be an honor to have breakfast with you. Fufufu, I can brag about it to my friends in the Sin Kingdom." She giggled cutely.
'What a perfect opportunity to have a talk with the Duke. I just hope he won't offer his daughter to me like King Cassius. But I shouldn't worry about that, probably. This girl does not seem to have any plan to marry his father or a yandere.'
"Very well, then." I nodded. "I will take your kind offer."
"Perfect!"
Duke Blacktomb urged us to sie down. He also sat back on his previous chair, but the girl moved to the one closer to her father to make me a bit comfortable sitting beside Milea.
I took the chair beside the Duke and let Milea sit between me and the girl. The cheeky nun first refused, saying she was just my servant. But after Duke Blacktomb assured her that he didn't mind sharing a table with her, she couldn't help but sit. However, she shot a glance at me, pointing at her butt.
'Hahaha, she just didn't want to sit because it's uncomfortable, and the beads inside her ass are poking her inside.' I laughed secretly as I realized why she had suddenly become so reserved.
Thankfully, the Duke and his daughter didn't seem to notice that the cat tail and ears Milea wore weren't real. Her real ears were hidden behind her long blonde hair and couldn't be seen, so they might think that Milea was a cat Beastkin from her appearance, as the tail also moved rather realistically.
'So Duke Blacktomb and his daughter aren't racist either. Probably because the Sin Kingdom has more diverse Races than the Virtue Kingdom, they are more open-minded, including the nobles. They don't have those stuck-up 'I am holier than you' attitudes that most nobles have.'
Or probably, it was only true for Duke Blacktomb and his family. However, I couldn't rule out the possibility that they were just acting.
We talked about some pleasantries, not to mention anything important. A waitress that was supposed to take my order arrived, and I ordered something for Milea and me.
The Duke also introduced his daughter. It seems her name was Naya, taken from an Angel name recorded in the Goddess Tera Holy Book. I praised her name and introduced mine.
She also praised my name and called me humble because I wasn't really overbearing, even though my family name was Vainglory, which meant excessive pride or glory.
"But Vainglory really fit you, Your Holiness. Because becoming a Paladin isn't something everyone can do. Even your existence itself is the embodiment of pride. It can even stop the everlasting war between two Kingdoms for a while and allow me to step into the Virtue Kingdom."
"Hahaha, thank you, Miss Naya. However, this name is to keep me from being too prideful. I want to be the embodiment of the seven Virtues and keep my pride low all the time."
Our meal arrived shortly after that, and we decided to have breakfast first before continuing our conversation. Naya's expression when she took a bite was marvelous, and the Duke also seemed to like the breakfast in this restaurant.
It didn't take us 30 minutes to finish the breakfast.
"That was wonderful." Duke Blacktomb praised. "Such an expressive meal. It's light but fulfilling, a perfect breakfast. I now understand why Madam Alesia took me to this place that night. Hahaha, now I regret not taking your offer, Sir Paladin."
Milea somehow nodded in agreement. Her lips curled into a smile as she softly said, "So we can make something like this. I see…"
Her spirit as a chef seemed to be lit from the wonderful breakfast. I also needed to admit it was delicious.
"Truly." Naya nodded in agreement. "The Virtue Kingdom has such a wonderful breakfast. We should ask our chef to make something like this, Esteemed Father."
"I will instruct him when we return." The Duke laughed merrily, wiping his mouth with a napkin on the table. Then he put it down and looked at me with a foxy smile. "Now, Sir Paladin. Do you have something to ask me? As proof of our goodwill, I will answer your question to the best of my ability."
'Here it is.' I thought.
The real conversation started.
