Chapter 96: When the Dragon Girl Enters the Buffet

"Let me check the time... Yeah, we've spent too long here on the outskirts. We need to head back quickly."

Lin Lan took out his phone and glanced at the time, realizing it was already dinner time. 

But since they were still here, it would take a while to get back, and there were no vehicles nearby, which was inconvenient.

"Looks like we need to hurry, so it's up to me. Hold on tight."

The pink-haired girl suddenly let go of Lin Lan's arm, bent down, and lifted him up in a princess carry.

"???"

Being picked up by the slender girl, Lin Lan hadn't even processed what was happening before a powerful wind blast rushed past him the next second.

"Wo...whoa... Rupprecht, slow down..."

All Lin Lan could see were the surroundings rapidly flashing by. He could barely speak.

Rupprecht was moving at high speed, carrying him!

The intense wind pressure almost took half his life!

However, after the initial discomfort subsided, Lin Lan suddenly realized that his uneasiness had reduced drastically while their speed hadn't slowed down at all.

He quickly realized something and looked at his right hand.

Sure enough, the silver mark on the back of his hand was glowing brightly.

"We're here!"

It only took a minute or two for Rupprecht to cheer as she put Lin Lan down. They were now standing at the edge of the inner district, in a secluded corner.

"I told you to slow down. You nearly killed me, you know that?... Forget it, luckily I'm tough."

Lin Lan, released by the dragon girl, stood on the ground, feeling as if every bone in his body had come loose.

The simple-minded Rupprecht was completely unaware that if she had been carrying an ordinary person, they would have probably been knocked unconscious by the wind pressure.

After finding a decent-looking hotel and booking a room, Lin Lan took the pink-haired girl to the barbecue restaurant they had just discussed.

As for how many rooms they booked, does that even need to be asked? 

Of course, it was one room.

When a commander takes his ship girl out, is there any reason to book two rooms?

On the way to the barbecue restaurant, Lin Lan occasionally explained things Rupprecht was curious about.

"I want to eat this. It smells so good; buy it for me!"

"This is... um, candied pears? Two skewers, I want to try them too."

So, Lin Lan and the dragon girl each ended up holding a skewer of pears coated in syrup.

"What's that? It looks so delicious!"

Following Rupprecht's gaze, Lin Lan saw a shop where the staff was peeling pears and turning them into a red drink.

"That should be pear stew with brown sugar. Since it's getting chilly in the evening, this will be nice."

Lin Lan led Rupprecht to the shop entrance and ordered two cups of the drink he had only seen on TV shows.

Soon, the shop staff poured the fragrant pear stew with brown sugar and goji berries into two large cups, inserted straws, and handed them to the two.

"Wow, this is so good!"

As they walked out of the shop, Rupprecht took a big sip and gulped it down, making a satisfied sound.

Seeing the usually picky Rupprecht give such high praise, Lin Lan took a sip too.

The rich aroma of pear filled his mouth, and as soon as the warm drink entered, it drove away the evening chill around him.

No wonder Rupprecht was so satisfied; they had indeed found a treasure.

"We can have Akashi learn this and make it at the canteen back at the port."

Lin Lan thought of the sneaky little merchant and chuckled.

"She'll definitely make this a paid item."

Even Rupprecht had guessed how Akashi would make money off this if she learned to make pear stew with brown sugar, which spoke volumes about Akashi's reputation among the ship girls.

"I think we might as well have Roon learn it. At least the canteen at Iron Blood is free."

Rupprecht's suggestion made Lin Lan nod thoughtfully. This drink wasn't complicated, so it was certain the ship girls would learn it.

A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the all-you-can-eat barbecue place.

Since it wasn't a holiday or weekend, the restaurant wasn't crowded and felt a bit empty.

Lin Lan led Rupprecht to a window seat and began explaining how the buffet worked.

"Oh, I get it. So the more we eat, the more we get our money's worth, right?"

Rupprecht looked at Lin Lan with excitement. She had never known there was such a way to eat.

"Yes, just grab whatever you want. I'll handle the grilling. The drinks are over th—"

Before Lin Lan could finish speaking, the spirited pink-haired dragon girl was already sprinting toward the food area like a ravenous beast.

At this point, neither Lin Lan nor the restaurant owner realized the gravity of the situation.

The meal started around 7:30 and lasted until nearly 11:00.

Lin Lan watched in astonishment as the plates piled on the table were cleared away again and again, while a whole bucket of bamboo skewers filled up on the floor.

Rupprecht, still smiling, was chewing on the grilled food Lin Lan had prepared, seemingly in high spirits.

Equally stunned was the restaurant owner, secretly observing from the side.

The owner, an elderly man, initially didn't believe it when his staff told him a super big eater had come in.

But when he saw with his own eyes the slender pink-haired girl with strange dragon-horn-like accessories on her head, eating non-stop for over an hour...

Even after being in the restaurant for over three hours, she's still planning to go for more food.

The old man finally began to question his life. Where did all that food go?

"W-wait a moment."

The shop owner hurried over, standing in front of Lin Lan with a tearful expression:

"Sir, we're about to close."

Lin Lan had already felt it was time to leave. Most buffets have a time limit, and this one didn't, which was quite generous.

Looking at the pitiful restaurant owner in front of him, Lin Lan pulled back the dragon girl who was about to grab more food:

"Hey, hey, they're closing. If you're still hungry, we'll eat more tomorrow."

"Hmph, fine. It's time to take care of proper business... We should go back and rest."

Rupprecht crossed her arms and huffed lightly.

From her small stomach, there was no trace of the massive amount of food she had consumed.

This was probably the power of a ship girl. In a way, it was truly enviable.

"By the way, here are two VIP discount cards for you. Please take them."

As Lin Lan and Rupprecht were about to leave, the owner suddenly took out two exquisite cards from his pocket and handed them over.

Lin Lan took the cards in confusion. 

He was quite surprised; Rupprecht had nearly eaten through the restaurant's entire stock for the night. 

Why was the owner still giving them VIP cards?

When he looked at the cards, he realized they were for another buffet in a different commercial area.

"I think their food is better than ours. Please do visit them in the future. I beg of you."

Lin Lan couldn't help but laugh at the old man's sincere expression.

He could see it now—Rupprecht had probably left a deep psychological scar on the poor owner.

_______

20+ advanced chapters on patreon.com/SenatusTheta

_______

If any of you noticed an error, please point it out in comments!