Who Said It’ll Be My First?

Vincel opened his mouth to speak but shut it when a Waitress came over to their table.

"Are you ready to order?" she asked.

Zay'in nodded.

"Ah yes, I'll have the honey-glazed marinated Steak with a Salad side dish," she said and gave Waitress her Menu.

"Okay," the Waitress said and looked over at Vincel, "And for the good-looking gentleman with you?"

Vincel looked surprised at the good-looking comment and he looked from the waitress to Zay'in and then down to his Menu.

"Hmm? Oh yes, I'm supposed to order"

The words on the Menu seemed to be moving and when Vincel touched them, whichever order his fingers were on glowed.

'Hmm, what to order, what to order...'

He gave it all two seconds of thought before he smiled up at the waitress and handed her his menu.

"You know what? Just make it the same as hers" he said with a gesture at Zay'in.

The waitress blushed slightly as their eyes met and then she nodded with a smile.

"O-Okay. And what drink will you have the steak with?"

"The Tamira special" Zay'in said and with a final nod, the Waitress left them.

Zay'in looked watched the waitress walk away for a bit before she smiled at Vincel.

"I think she liked you."

"Really?"

Vincel stopped talking as the Waitress returned with a bottle of the Tamira special which she served into two wine glasses she placed in front of Vincel and Zay'in.

"Leave the bottle," Zay'in said.

With a nod, the Waitress placed the bottle on the table and walked away. Probably to check on their order.

Zay'in watched her walk away again while taking a sip out of her wine glass.

"And she's cute too. Could be nice as your first," she said once she had placed the wine glass back on the table.

Vincel raised a brow.

"How do you know she'll be my first?"

Zay'in smiled slightly.

"A guess. Was it an accurate one?"

The way she was staring at him had Vincel feeling like she was handling his member again like back when they were in the bath.

*Cough* *Cough*

Vincel managed to stop himself from blushing and then used coughing to hide his embarrassment.

When he spoke next, he was almost surprised at how normal his voice sounded.

"So you were saying about Active Gates?"

Zay'in chuckled.

"You're changing the subject."

"Yes," Vincel admitted easily.

Zay'in took another sip of the Tamira special.

"Oh, you're shy. So cute"

Vincel shook his head.

"I'm not. I just didn't have a lot of time for romance back in my W- back then. My disease also didn't make things easy for me"

If Vincel thought his sad tone would sober Zay'in up, he was in for a surprise.

"Excuses, Excuses."

Vincel looked a bit annoyed.

"My disease is an Excuse?"

"If you were not sick your whole life, then Yes. You were sick for months not years.

What about before then?

You never had a crush?"

Vincel sighed.

"I-I didn't go out much," he said with just a hint of regret.

There was a few seconds of silence.

The silence was broken by Zay'in.

"No one really knows the reason why Active Gates are unstable.

Everyone has their own theory.

Some say it's due to overpopulation but this doesn't really have a lot of merit since killing all the creatures inside an Active Gate doesn't stabilize it. In fact, it collapses faster when it is no longer populated.

Some say it's a sign that dimensional Gates are an abomination and should not exist in our world."

Vincel was glad she decided to agree to the subject change.

"What's your theory?"

Zay'in shrugged.

"I don't really care. They exist and clearing them provides a lot of advantages.

You should try the Tamira special." she said while gesturing at Vincel's untouched wine glass.

Vincel picked it up.

"The Forest Gate I was in- That was dormant right?"

"Yes." Zay'in said

Vincel took a sip of the wine and was instantly wowed by the taste.

Zay'in noticed.

"It's good, isn't it?"

Vincel nodded.

It was a bit difficult to describe the taste. It had the hint of the strong taste of alcohol, properly balanced by a sweetness that had just the right amount of sourness.

When Vincel was done with the glass, he noticed a sharpness in his eyesight.

Zay'in saw him blinking his grey eyes multiple times and nodded at him with a smile.

"Hmm, you've noticed huh? The Tamira special in appropriate amounts grants clarity. Drink too much though and it increases your eye's sensitivity to light.

You'll be effectively blind until it wears out."

Even as Zay'in listed side effects, Vincel refilled his glass and began drinking more.

Less than a minute later, their food arrived.

'Damn, that sweet smell...'

Even before it got wheeled to their table, the smell wafted to Vincel's nose and instantly brought his hunger to the forefront.

The Waitress from before was the one to wheel the meal over and she served them before smiling at Vincel again.

"Have a nice meal"

"Thanks," Vincel told her but his attention was on the honey-glazed steak in front of him.

The Waitress waited a minute as though to see if his attention would return to her and when it didn't, she left. Vincel could have sworn he heard her huff as she walked away.

Zay'in smiled while she grabbed her cutlery and started cutting away at the steak.

"Enjoy"

Vincel grabbed the knife and fork and cut a piece of steak to take into his mouth. A second later, his eyes widened at the delicious burst of taste in his mouth.

The meat was so tender, he could feel the inside of his mouth rejoicing.

He took several more bites of the steak before trying out the salad to once again be pleasantly surprised.

"You like the salad?" Zay'in asked.

Vincel nodded.

"It's good grass"

Zay'in chuckled.

"Vegetables, not grass"

Vincel took the time the chew the piece of steak in his mouth before replying.

"Same difference"

A notification appeared in front of Vincel's eyes to tell him his HP had recovered to the limit again but that was of no real importance to the boy currently stuffing his face.

Unlike in the Forest Gate, Vincel was not eating to heal but rather to fill his stomach and to have more of that delicious flavor.

Vincel only took a break from chewing steak or Salad to take a sip of the Tamira Special wine.

The entire meal was magnificent.

When they were done with the food, with Vincel fuller than he heard ever remembered being in his life, Zay'in signaled for the check and the pretty Waitress returned.

This time she ignored Vincel and focused on Zay'in. She also sounded cold- All about business.

"Your bill"

Zay'in picked up the bill, smiled, and then put it down.

"What's your name?"

"Melyna," the Waitress said.

Zay'in gestured toward Vincel.

"Melyna, this is Vincel."

Melyna turned to eye Vincel now and he mustered the most confident smile he possibly could as she spoke to him.

"Hello, Vincel"

"Hi. Nice to meet you" Vincel replied.

"Vincel is new in the City. It's his first time in Verlice." Zay'in said.

'Verlice? Name of the state? Country? Kingdom?' Vincel wondered in his mind and then he heard Melyna speak to him. The coldness in her tone before was all gone.

"Oh so you're a foreign Adventurer," she said with her black eyes just a bit wide.

Vincel smiled at her.

"I guess. But I'm just starting as an Adventurer," he said.

Now that he was paying attention to her more, Vincel was able to note certain things about her features;

Her face was pretty and heart-shaped, she had black hair she had tied into a ponytail and there was a loose lock of her hair that she had the habit and putting behind her hair. Maybe to flirt?

"You must be so brave. Adventuring is a dangerous job. Excuse me"

Melyna left their table to wait on another and Zay'in started counting Gold coins to put into the foldable bill she had been handed.

"Come on, let's go. Unless, of course, you'll like to pick dear Melyna up today. Her shift probably ends in the evening." Zay'in teased.

'Nah, I couldn't possibly do that. Not today at least,' Vincel thought.

They were walking towards the Door exit of the restaurant when Vincel saw Melyna return to their table to pick up the bill.

"Did you leave a tip?" Vincel asked.

Zay'in looked at him confused.

"What's a tip?"