Chapter 183
The group woke up to a nice breakfast at the inn. Alice wasn’t entirely sure how the [Innkeeper] had done it, but he had made an omelet out of eggs that tasted faintly spicy, and had nice, crispy meat on the inside that tasted somewhat similar to bacon. It wasn’t as good as some of the meals she had eaten from Ethan’s personal chef, but it reminded her of meals she used to eat on Earth, and that made her happy. Even if it wasn’t the ‘best meal she’d ever had,’ sometimes, the taste of home was superior to high-quality cuisine.
“Do you like it?” asked the [Innkeeper], with the help of Ethan’s translations. “It was quite an odd mix of ingredients, but {Taste of Home} insisted it was the right meal for you. I’ve never tried cooking meat this way before.”
“It was lovely,” said Alice, giving the [Innkeeper] a thankful grin.
The rest of breakfast passed quickly, and the group prepared to depart from the area. When they stepped out of the inn, they were greeted by a pair of elderly villagers. One of them was an older man who looked to be in his sixties, and had a gnarled back and hands. His body resembled the trunk of an old tree that had weathered many storms, but had never broken under their weight. The other was an elderly woman, who had a straight back and bright, clear eyes. Alice faintly remembered healing both of them yesterday, but hadn’t paid very much attention to them. There had just been too many people to treat yesterday.
Alice stared at the two elderly people awkwardly. They hadn’t spoken yet, but Alice was still confused. Finally, after examining her, the elderly man smiled. He pushed a basket covered with a lovely red cloth into her hands. It was warm. Alice gently unwrapped the basket, and found a few loaves of freshly baked bread.
“Thank you for help with village, Immortal apprentice,” said the man in broken Illvarian. “Helped lots people. Good person. I make tasty bread. Try it!”
Ethan raised a hand first, and then his eyes flashed rainbow as he looked at the bread. He nodded, and lowered his hand. “It’s safe. You can eat it if you want,” he said.
Alice pulled out one of the loaves of bread, and took a hesitant bite, before she nodded in approval. It wasn’t as good as Immortal Jonathan’s bread, but it still tasted nice. The insides were warm and soft, and the outside was crusty and tasted faintly of butter and some sort of herb. Alice had never had it before, but it tasted decent.
“Thank you, elder,” said Alice. The man clearly struggled with Illvarian, but Alice hoped he at least understood her words.