Chapter 71: Let’s Get Cake!
Ding!
The bell that hung above the door that led inside the cake shop let out a ding as the door was pushed open.
"Welcome to—" the baker that was behind the counter turned to the door to greet his customers only to stop as he spotted a familiar face.
"Ah, it’s you!" He let out in surprise as he looked at the man with neatly arranged hair and round glasses.
Beside him was a beautiful lady was with white hair and blue eyes.
Between the two was a girl that seemed no older than twelve, with the strangest of eyes the baker had ever seen.
The two didn’t seem old enough to have a kid of that age, so maybe the child was a sibling of the white haired lady?
Speaking of which, the lady did seem incredibly familiar, but the baker was so focused on discovering the man that had overpaid the last time he was here again that he didn’t think too hard of the lady’s identity.
He immediately walked towards them with a smile on his face and he slightly bowed, "welcome back young master."
"You’ve been here before?" Renelle curiously asked as she watched the baker bow to Adrian.
"Hmm," Adrian nodded, "this is where I bought the strawberry cake from before."
The baker then turned towards Renelle, still slightly bowing, "I hope the cake was to your liking, my lady."
"It was," Renelle answered.
Still, she was a bit confused at the way the baker was behaving around Adrian. It seemed to come from more than his respect for nobles.
And she was also sure that it wasn’t because Adrian bought a single cake.
But before she could ask, the baker suddenly stood straight and said, "if you’d like a table, please come this way."
With that, he walked to the private section of his shop, and even though there were a few customers waiting for service, the man ignored them all.
"Oi old man, what the hell is this?" One of them spoke up, "I’ve been waiting for my cake for twenty minutes now and you’re attending to someone else?"
"If you’re unsatisfied, you can get the fuck out of my shop," the baker answered and that successfully shut the man up.
Yes, he could find another pastry shop, but none made it like the old man, so he chose to swallow whatever complain he had and silently sit down.
"Better," the baker said as he continued leading the three to a quiet part of the restaurant, separated from the rest by a wooden partition system.
"Please take a seat," the baker said as he stepped to the side waiting for the three to sit down.
Renelle and Isla were the first to sit down before Adrian sat opposite them and the baker finally spoke up again.
"What would you like to order?" He asked, looking at them, the smile on his face still present.
Renelle turned towards Isla who was also looking up at her expectantly, "what would you like to order?"
"Um," she seemed to hesitate for a while before answering, "strawberry cake..."
"Make that two," Renelle turned to the baker as she said before looking at Adrian.
From the memory she had seen of him on earth, he didn’t particularly care for sweet things, so she wondered if he’d order anything.
"Chocolate cake," Adrian said, knowing exactly what Renelle was looking at her for.
[That’s surprising,] her voice was heard in his head, [I could’ve sworn you wouldn’t order anything sweet.]
[I just felt like the moment called for it,] he responded with a smile, as he looked at her.
The baker, on the other hand, gave a small nod as he took in their orders.
"Two strawberry cakes and one chocolate cake," he repeated before adding, "it won’t take long."
He turned to leave, but paused for just a second as if remembering something, then continued on his way without another word.
There was silence on the table the moment he left and Isla was lookin around the restaurant for quite a while.
This was a place she had never visited, not even once, they wouldn’t even allow kids like them in a place like this due to how they looked.
Well, not that she blamed Conan since he was only in the streets because of her. For a six year old, he did his best to ensure his and the three year old Isla’s survival.
So she didn’t hate the fact that he was never able to afford a place like this. Still, being able to eat here at least once was a dream, she just wished that he was here.
But according to Adrian, she’ll only be able to see him again in a few days since he was getting stronger for her.
Renelle, on the other hand, was still looking at Adrian wanting to ask something.
"Is something wrong, my lady?" Adrian asked as he met her gaze.
"Why is the baker behaving so respectfully towards you?" She finally asked .
"It’s probably because I paid a single gold for the strawberry cake," Adrian answered.
"I see," Renelle finally understood why.
A cake was probably no more than 10 bronze coins, a hundred of which would make a silver coin and a hundred silver coins made a gold coin.
So in simpler terms, Adrian paid up to 10,000 bronze coins instead of 10.
To put into perspective how much that was, it was enough to feed a family of three for six months, and that too without being frugal.
So the baker’s behavior was understandable.
Speaking of him, the baker suddenly returned and gently placed the plates down one after the other, the soft clink of porcelain briefly filling the quiet space.
"Two strawberry cakes," he said as he set them in front of Renelle and Isla, "and one chocolate cake."
The rich scent of fresh cream and baked layers rose instantly, subtle yet inviting.
Isla’s eyes lit up slightly as she stared at the slice in front of her, her fingers twitching just a little, as if she wasn’t sure whether she was really allowed to touch it.
But the baker wasn’t done.
He carefully set down three tall glasses beside the plates, each filled with a thick, creamy drink, pale in color with streaks of fruit blended into it.
A light foam sat on top, along with small chunks of strawberry.
"I’ve also prepared something extra," the baker said, a hint of pride slipping into his voice, "a new drink I’ve been experimenting with."
He gestured toward the glasses.
"I call it fruit flavored milk, on the house," the baker paused before adding, "well, the name is a placeholder."
"Enjoy."