Chapter 71: Soup Before Sterility
Finn’s stomach roared in front of the girls. Like, actually roared. It was the kind of embarrassing noise that sounded less like hunger and more like a dying demon trapped in his gut.
His face flushed red. He clutched his stomach and hunched over in shame, looking like a medieval orphan about to dramatically collapse in an alleyway.
To be fair, he had completely forgotten to eat or drink since arriving in this hellish fantasy world. Two days of running from wolves, arguing with a narcissistic goddess, and dodging perverts had distracted him from minor details—like basic human survival.
But now the hunger hit him like a divine punishment. His insides churned. He felt like he’d eaten ghost peppers on an empty stomach and was now facing karmic retribution.
He stumbled forward and clutched the counter. "Please... your cheapest meal... with a drink..." he croaked, like a dying peasant begging for scraps.
The receptionist’s expression shifted to concern. Chestelle looked like a worried puppy. Lickthorn looked like she was moaning for bedroom reasons and gave a creepy little head tilt.
Moments later, Finn was guided to a table near Majestria—who looked at him like he had just tracked mud across her white carpet. She didn’t say anything. Just raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow and then returned to obsessively inspecting her nails.
The receptionist disappeared behind the bar (which Finn didn’t know they had until now, idiot), muttering to the kitchen staff—who, by the looks of them, were also the same drunk guys that poured beer last night for everyone. Multi-talented.
Eventually, she returned and slid a wooden bowl across the table. Soup. Or something like soup. It was vaguely beige, slightly lumpy, and emitted steam like a dying sauna.
A splintery wooden spoon thunked into the bowl beside a wooden cup of murky water.
Finn didn’t care.
He was already seated, hunched like a sad anime character. The receptionist sat across from him for some reason, like she was supervising an orphan. Chestelle plopped down beside him and smiled like this was all a big, exciting sleepover.