A Lady's Meal
"I have a lot to report, but first, let’s have lunch."
I served the hamburger set on the table and urged everyone, who had just washed their hands, to dig in.
"Um… Cristea-sama, what is this?"
Alicia-sama asked hesitantly.
"This is called a hamburger. It’s a dish made by placing a grilled patty of finely chopped meat and vegetables between sliced round buns. The side dish is wedge-cut potatoes, deep-fried in oil."
Sei and Mariel-chan, already used to such meals, simply said "Itadakimasu" and swiftly grabbed their hamburgers, beginning to devour them.
"Eh!? W-Wait, are we not using cutlery?"
Alicia-sama, startled by our actions, frantically searched for utensils.
"Oh, you eat this by hand, just like a sandwich. Since it’s bigger than the sandwiches I served before, you’ll need to take a big bite out of it," I explained, picking up my own hamburger and carefully supporting it to prevent the fillings from spilling out before taking a bite.
"Oh my, Cristea-sama, how unrefined…!"
Alicia-sama seemed shocked at my eating style, but soon realized her usual manners wouldn’t apply here.
She looked around and saw everyone else—including the Sacred Beasts—biting into their hamburgers with wide-open mouths and munching on fries.
Determined, she hesitantly picked up her hamburger.
Holding it gingerly by the sides, she raised it with great care, unsure where—or rather, how—to start. Finally, she resolved to nibble at the edge.
Hmm… At this rate, she’ll only taste the bun and not reach the fillings.
"This bread is soft and delicious…"
As expected, she only bit into the top bun and a bit of the lettuce sticking out, making a somewhat awkward expression.
"Alicia-sama, you need to open your mouth wider and take a bigger bite to reach the fillings properly.”
"Wh-What? Open my mouth wide like that? That’s so embarrassing…"
Her face turned bright red, and she lowered her head shyly.
Oh no, she’s so cute! Alicia-sama in shy mode is too precious!
… Though, technically, her reaction is the correct one for a refined lady.
After all, traditional tea party etiquette does say to "peck at your food like a bird."
Ladies aren’t supposed to open their mouths wide while eating.
This is what proper upbringing teaches.
… I could never pull that off.
Okaasama used to frown as she watched her daughter gobbling down food.
Still, Okaasama is a foodie, just like Otousama.
Despite her upbringing, she learned how to use chopsticks just so she could enjoy delicious meals properly.
In that sense, I’m grateful to have parents who are so understanding about food.
I can’t thank them enough.
Not that it means I’ll ever master proper lady-like manners myself.
Mariel-chan seemed to be thinking the same thing because when our eyes met, she gave me a wry smile.
"Alicia-sama, please forget about formal manners here and simply enjoy the meal. To savor the taste of the hamburger, take a big bite that lets you taste both the bun and the fillings together."
"… Understood. Since Cristea-sama prepared this hamburger herself, enjoying it thoroughly is the true form of etiquette, isn’t it?"
As if enlightened by my words, Alicia-sama opened her mouth wider than before and bit into the hamburger.
"… Mmmph, it’s delicious…!"
She seemed to have bitten off more than she expected and struggled to chew for a moment, but soon her expression brightened.
"This is amazing! The juice from the hamburger patty bursts out, blending harmoniously with the bread and vegetables as I chew…"
Alicia-sama started giving an impromptu food review, but midway through, her expression turned hesitant.
"Alicia-sama, is something wrong?"
"Ah, um… I’d like a drink, but what should I do with this hamburger?"
She looked at the iced tea in front of her but seemed unsure how to handle the still-large hamburger in her hands.
Her confusion was absolutely adorable.
Since we’d already finished eating, there were no examples for her to follow, which only added to her dilemma.
"You can place the half-eaten hamburger back on the plate. If your fingers are dirty from the sauce, feel free to use the wet towel by your side to clean them."
"Oh… Thank you."
Alicia-sama gently placed the hamburger back on the plate, wiped her fingers with the wet towel, and finally took a sip of her iced tea, letting out a small sigh of relief.
Seemingly curious, she then picked up one of the wedge-cut fries and took a bite.
"My, it’s so fluffy. The potato itself has a slight sweetness, perfectly complemented by the salt… It’s a simple flavor, but I feel like I could eat these forever."
Ah, yes. Fries and hamburgers are the perfect pairing!
While stick fries are great, wedge-cut fries enhance the fluffy texture and are so delicious.
"Oh? What is this red sauce?"
"Ah, that’s…"
"That’s ketchup! If you dip your fries in it, it changes the flavor and makes it even tastier. By the way, mixing ketchup with mayonnaise creates an ‘aurora sauce,’ which also pairs wonderfully with fries!"
Mariel, eyes sparkling, enthusiastically chimed in to explain about the ketchup before I could.
Wait a minute!
Looking closely, only Mariel’s plate has aurora sauce instead of plain ketchup!
When did she manage that!?
"I-I see… Well, I’ll try the ketchup first…"
"If you need mayonnaise, just let me know anytime!"
"Y-Yes…"
Alicia-sama, a little intimidated by Mariel-chan’s mayo enthusiasm, tried dipping a fry into the ketchup.
Soon, she became completely engrossed in eating fries.
Meanwhile, the Sacred Beasts, ever the gluttons, begged for more hamburgers.
Needless to say, I ended up making seconds for them…
By the third round, though, they had to handle it themselves!
What do you think about this chapter?
