Chapter 109: No Refills
Chapter 109: No Refills
There was no way the people working in the royal palace—especially fully grown men—should be licking the containers clean like that. All the girls in the shop (and a few older women too) were staring at the pair. Or rather, glaring at them with contempt. The two men didn’t seem to notice the gazes (or perhaps didn’t care?), and of course they didn’t notice that the Queen was watching them either (or did they know? They had to have known). They kept licking away with smirks on their faces. This must be their usual habit whenever they come to this shop. Otherwise, there’s no way they could lick the containers in such a hostile atmosphere. The two of them hunched their backs slightly, grinning at each other, quietly exchanging impressions while licking."Ahem!"
I gave an exaggerated cough. Both men turned to look at me at the same time. When they saw the Queen beside me staring intently at them, they gasped, straightened up immediately, and sat properly in their seats again. I’m pretty sure their end-of-term performance evaluations just took a huge hit. A zero score would be completely justified.
"That is very bad table manners, so you must never imitate them!" I told the Queen.
"I thought so. Yes, that’s not proper at all. Grown men eating in such a sloppy way... Those gentlemen of a certain age should be setting a good example for the young ladies. It really is quite troubling," the Queen said in a quiet voice. Yet somehow her words seemed to echo throughout the entire shop. Lake-san and Relf-san turned pale in an instant and shrank in their seats. The girls looked like they had finally gotten some satisfaction.
The Queen finished her extra-large parfait elegantly and beautifully.
"Were you satisfied?" I asked once she had eaten everything.
"Yes. It was very delicious," the Queen replied with a smile. Her smile was just too cute.
"Then shall we leave the shop soon?"
"Yes!"
At the cashier, the Queen suddenly stopped. Palace personnel had been leaving without paying since earlier—the bill would be sent to the palace later. However, the waitress was still standing at the register as usual, bowing her head and saying "Thank you very much" every time someone left.
"Is your job to bow to everyone who passes by?" the Queen asked the girl. The waitress froze at the sudden question. Her eyes went wide and blank, and all expression fell from her face. She seemed completely stunned by a question she had never expected.