Doubts

These thoughts were interrupted by his order. With a look, Haru could confirm it had a rather stylish design, which in part reminded him of the pub itself that seemed more modern than the other pubs in the area, but at the same time did not seem so outlandish compared to the others.

Ignoring the people who joyfully drank and enjoyed themselves, Haru had a serious expression. He could not say what he had eaten so far was better than what he could eat in his previous world, yet this high-quality pasta gave the idea of being tasty enough to beat that belief.

'As I must taste this, It shall be done with the utmost seriousness.'

The "pasta" of this world were spaghetti with what appeared to be meat, all mixed in a sauce that Haru imagined being slightly different from the ones he knew.

He had a fork and a large spoon. However, Haru was aware of what to do. Although he was accustomed to eating with chopsticks, he was familiar with Western culture and knew that if there was a way to eat spaghetti, then it was using the fork and spoon.

Already knowing what to do, Haru took both cutlery in his hands. He used the fork to spear a few strands of spaghetti, then placed the tips against the spoon, which is held on its side, in the left hand. Twirling the fork, he wrapped the spaghetti around itself as it turns.

Bringing the spaghetti to his mouth, Haru could smell more closely the pleasant aroma formed by the union of the spaghetti, what he believed to be meat and a sauce he had never seen before.

---

Being able to see Haru who seemed to be enjoying the pasta with a satisfied expression while pulling on some threads, Syr also had a smile on her face, which made Mama Mia sigh.

"Yer' free to mess with him, but he's to pay for it"

To Mama Mia's statement, Syr reverted her attention to her.

"...Should I do so, I wonder?"

The situation was different from the usual customers. Her curiosity was difficult to satisfy, but in the same way, it was difficult to restrain. Syr felt conflicted with herself, but being able to understand this in the same way, Mama Mia kicked her out of the kitchen, ordering her to do what she wanted for now, as she was not in the right state of mind to work.

"Why don't ya keep him company?"

These were the words Syr heard before she was abolished from entering the kitchen for a while, and inevitably her gaze rested on Haru. He was busy eating his pasta as if he was eating something delicious. The vision was quite common in the pub, given the cuisine and the ingredients both of excellent quality, but seeing Haru so happy sparked a smile on her face.

---

There were no words to describe the taste of the food he was tasting. The meat and the sauce put together coloured the taste of the spaghetti, which even if alone were still good, combined with meat and sauce made the dish something Haru continued to eat with newfound happiness. This sensation was lasting for a while as the plate was more filled than a normal portion. But at the same time, Haru had nothing to complain about. The change of his parameters, also caused his body to need more energy.

After some time, however, Haru was interrupted as in his sight, he could see Syr sit beside him, watching him with a somewhat satisfied look.

".. Oh, please don't mind me. You can keep eating. I've been kicked out of the kitchen for now, so I have nothing else to do."

Haru interrupted his tasting for the time being, even if not much remained on the plate.

".. Is there a particular reason for this?"

She began this conversation. So Haru asked if there was any reason that she had fallen under such a 'punishment'.

She didn't know the most efficient way to answer him. Mama Mia had kicked her out because of her thoughts that did not allow her to work peacefully. If she had to specify a reason for this...

"I'm interested in someone."

Saying these words as she looked elsewhere with an imperceptible blush, Haru pondered on the words she had spoken. He did not know why Syr was sticking to him this much, but throwing her a glance that aimed at observing her mood, his thoughts were confused.

'This reaction...is Bell Cranel already in town? No wait, if this were the case Hestia would be proudly mentioning having a familia member, and probably Hephaestus would have given her the Abandoned Church...'

He had no choice but to come to this conclusion. If there was one thing he clearly remembered, it was the way Syr had 'jokingly' confessed her feelings for Bell, and he was quite convinced that would not change. He still had to explain himself were entrusting a total stranger with this matter was normal, but the theory seemed convincing enough for him.

"I don't know the nature of your interest, but if it's for romantic purposes, then I suggest you keep trying if the other person doesn't refuse you. Or at least, that's the mentality that drove me. Even though I didn't have many relationships able to prove the usefulness of such a method."

To his words, Syr was surprised. Her embarrassment vanished after she realized Haru did not seem to have understood she was referring to him. What she was looking for was not for romantic purposes, or at least, that was still a mystery. She realized her curiosity was only augmented.

"...Anyway, I'll figure something on my own about that."

Syr decided to move the conversation to something else. Since she had the opportunity to talk to Haru more casually, Syr tried to get more information about him. She was surprised when Haru told her he was part of the Hephaestus familia, one of the most influential familias of Orario that did not twirl around the Dungeon, but only on forging weapons. In her eyes, Haru seemed to fit perfectly in an exploration familia, No matter how much she kept looking at him.

"...Wouldn't you rather have joined a familia able to provide you with companions to venture in the dungeon? Since you managed to enter a familia like Hephaestus-sama's, I'm sure no exploration familia would have rejected you."

The question was natural on Syr's part. She knew S-ranked familias did not take adventurers so randomly, and if Haru had the requisites for such a familia, then she did not understand the reason for his choice. But to her question, Haru had a little smile.

"Rather than choosing to enter the familia, I was discovered by Hephaestus-sama. My goals are learning how to forge weapons for myself and how to use them according to their possibilities. The reason why I want to continue with the career as a blacksmith has its foundation on this concept."

His main goal was to keep the promise he had made to Hephaestus. However, he also wanted to create weapons of excellent quality alone. And as another main goal, Haru had to continue venturing further and further down in the Dungeon to face new challenges, all coincided and made them collide into one concept, growing up. Without growth, Haru could not have done anything. Which is why at this moment he was avoiding to face the "evil" that there was in the world.

Unlike how Misha and Haru conversed, tending to tease each other, Syr had a gentle character. Since they had not known each other for long, Haru limited himself to speaking imperceptibly more loosely than before. While his belief that she was interested in Bell Cranel had not vanished, in the same way, Syr had found the situation amusing. Haru had previously convinced himself that she needed romantic advice, and later on how to know someone better.

She pointed out that even if he had no particular qualities apart from the strange feeling enveloping his heart, Haru was a person with whom one could speak pleasantly, without having to pay too much attention to what she said. From this, she understood he had experiences with the opposite sex. However, the realization hamade her blush since she was still a virgin, and they looked more or less of the same age.

"How old are you anyway...?"

Discovering with surprise that they had the same age, Syr felt embarrassed, but their conversation continued for a while until the pasta in his dish was no longer visible.

Smiling knowing their time had run out, Syr was the first to rise from the chair she had placed near his, taking the plate with her.

"I don't know if it's fine with you, but if you want, you can come here and have breakfast in the morning before you go to the Dungeon, what do you think?"

At her proposal, Haru was also getting up ready to say goodbye reflected on her words. He would wake up early, have breakfast at the most intriguing place he found and then head to the Dungeon, so he could explore and remember the area better at the same time. It could be called his routine, even if he didn't have to enter the Dungeon. However, Syr's offer was tempting as having a breakfast like this every day seemed like a wonderful idea.

"..But as I recall, pubs are only open in the afternoon and the evening...?"

When asked, Syr nodded.

"That's right, in the morning we clean the place up before opening. However, I can still make you breakfast, so you can have the opportunity to taste my cuisine."

Having had the opportunity to put her cooking skills on the line since her job was more to do chores, Syr had a 'plan'. Combining her unseen cooking skills to her desire to know Haru better, she obtained this as a result.

"...If you don't mind, then I will accept your offer..."

He accepted because he knew the quality of the food would certainly be better than the pubs in the area, but the thing could only make him think. He couldn't wrap his head around why Syr had to require his presence in the morning. He decided, for now, to see how the situation would evolve, as his curiosity was piqued as well.

---

(To clear this up, I didn't specify there was a variety of pasta because spaghetti is named pasta, meaning there should be no other way 'pasta' could be found in Danmachi if not for spaghetti. Join my discord.gg/y8VBZAp and participate in polls regarding the novel!)

(Quick Reminder: Syr is 18 in the anime, but it's a few months before the original story and since birthdays are like never mentioned in Danmachi for the actual days, I choose to be the one in charge of the dates, literally.)