Also being a top-tier Adventurer and a top-tier swordswoman, Ais noticed a detail that even Riveria hadn't discovered at first.
Immediately, Tiona, having heard Ais's voice, decisively leaned in—
"Eh? Ais, what were you muttering just now?"
"…"
Ais's gaze was vacant, her mind wandering elsewhere.
The deserted sweet shop became lively due to the arrival of the Loki Familia members.
The lively Amazon girl Tiona was always curious about everything, looking here and touching there, only to be scolded by her sister, Tione.
Riveria ate her cake quietly the whole time, looking like she was thinking about something.
And Lefiya, the elf girl (no mistake there), who had previously obtained a golden sword that Loki praised as extremely powerful, kept her head down, her fingers rubbing together constantly, occasionally looking up to steal a glance at the busy Ritsuka.
'Sword Princess' Ais was adorable the whole time, waiting for her fried potato balls.
At this moment, her solemnity as a swordswoman completely dissipated, and she turned into a female diner whose charm point was her natural airheadedness.
"Hey, hey, Lefiya, why have you been staring at the shopkeeper?"
Suddenly, after Ritsuka entered the kitchen, a devilish voice rang out behind Lefiya, and immediately after, Tiona pounced onto her back.
Lefiya's cheeks turned bright red; she felt a pair of hands resting very mischievously on her waist.
"Tiona!"
As the hands showed signs of moving upwards, Lefiya hurriedly pinned down Tiona's restless hands.
"Hehehe, don't be shy. Tell me what you're looking at. Could it be that you've taken a liking to this sweet shop's owner?"
"I, I have not!"
"You haven't? Then why do you keep sneaking peeks? Still not telling the truth…"
Tiona and Lefiya became entangled, lost their balance, and fell off the chair. Tiona, having the absolute advantage in stats, pinned Lefiya to the floor.
Just then, hearing the commotion, Ritsuka poked her head out from the kitchen. "What happened? I just heard a 'thud'?"
"I'm very sorry, they were just playing around."
Tione stood up, lowered her head, and apologized to Ritsuka.
After all, they were in someone else's shop, and causing such a scene was indeed wrong. Furthermore, she was much sharper than her sister and had already smelled something off.
Lefiya's attitude was wrong, and Riveria's motives were impure.
These two elves must have taken the wrong medicine today, Tione thought to herself.
"As long as you aren't hurt, it's fine. Be careful."
Ritsuka smiled slightly and returned to the kitchen.
Lefiya and Tiona climbed up from the floor and, under Riveria's helpless (serious) gaze, sat back down.
Tiona, leaning forward with her arms resting on the table, asked persistently, "So, what exactly is going on?"
"You all must have seen it, that golden sword I brought back earlier."
Scratching her cheek with a fair finger, Lefiya hesitated. When the term 'golden sword' was mentioned, everyone, including Ais, turned solemn.
Ais, whose personality was naturally pure, also reined in her thoughts.
She longed to get stronger. Although that golden sword was an external object and not part of her own strength, it could indeed enhance her power.
That sword was very special—so special that Loki called it a super-powerful magic sword that could be released infinitely as long as it didn't exceed its limits and had sufficient energy, with each release comparable to wide-range annihilation magic.
This was an incredibly terrifying concept; once exposed, it would surely cause a sensation in Orario.
Magic sword.
It is a sword that possesses magical abilities, allowing the user to utilize the magic imbued within the sword without the need for incantations. This is because the vast majority of Adventurers, even if they possess magic, find it difficult to cast during battle due to the long, complex incantations required.
Magic swords give those who cannot use magic the possibility of doing so; convenience and power are their defining characteristics.
The drawback is that the number of uses is limited, generally only in the single digits.
Moreover, magic is divided into strong and weak types. Taking Orario's strongest mage, Riveria, as an example, the wide-range annihilation magic she masters is a particularly terrifying type of magic.
Even the highest-ranked Adventurers currently find it difficult to take a wide-range annihilation magic spell head-on!
Furthermore, the incantations for releasing such magic are all extremely cumbersome; without the protection of companions, it is very difficult to cast inside the Dungeon.
Monsters that sense the magical aura will swarm over all at once.
"Could it be that this shopkeeper is the one who forged that sword?"
…
On the other side, Ritsuka, who was the subject of the discussion, was firing on all cylinders, processing the girls' orders.
Potatoes, cream, red beans, cream, low-gluten flour…
In a short while, supported by her super-strong physical constitution, the busy Ritsuka placed the first batch of freshly baked food onto a serving tray.
Then, she prepared all the drinks.
Ais's fried potato balls and fragrant sweet tea.
Tiona's foil-baked fish.
Tione's soy sauce ramen and lemonade.
Lefiya's strawberry cake and pineapple-pear juice.
"Sorry for the wait, please excuse the lack of hospitality."
The Amazon sisters were chatting at the table, Lefiya was looking down, not knowing what she was doing, and Ais 'finally' came back to her senses because of the fried potato balls.
"Thank you for the meal!"
"Thanks…"
The girls began to enjoy their food, and the energy consumed from shopping was finally replenished.
However, what none of them noticed was the change in Riveria's expression; she looked at Tione's soy sauce ramen, and her face turned somewhat pale.
Some bad memories flashed before her eyes.
Actually, this was Ritsuka's fault. If Riveria had eaten authentic Japanese soy sauce ramen, she definitely wouldn't have had such an exaggerated reaction, feeling like she had been hit by an instant-death spell.
That bowl was actually soy sauce ramen that only Ritsuka herself could handle—to be precise, it was a mix of soy sauce ramen and mapo tofu ramen.
To some extent, it was roughly equivalent to a 1:1 mix.
But even just that level was enough to take down this pale-faced elven royal.
Just then, Tiona excitedly ate her portion of foil-baked fish, tears of emotion streaming down her face. "Wuwuwu… so delicious, what is this flavor!?"
Everyone looked at her with strange expressions.
Though it might be a bit of an exaggeration, it truly was the best fish she had ever tasted. For a moment, Tiona was effortlessly sunk.
Ritsuka smiled happily. Even if the world was different and the language was unintelligible, good food truly was something that resonated easily. Running a small restaurant-like shop actually wasn't a bad idea.
Right, without even realizing it, she had turned the sweets shop into a little eatery.
'Thanks to old man Matsuzaki for helping with the order board.'
Not knowing the letters, Ritsuka had no choice but to ask the old man Matsuzaki next door for help, sincerely thanking him in her heart for getting the clapperboard made.
"My bowl of ramen is pretty good too, would you like to try some?"
"My cake is also delicious..."
"Let me have one, Ais's fried potato balls."
"No."
The girls chattered noisily, forever brimming with energy. Ritsuka and Riveria exchanged a smile.
Turning around, Ritsuka returned to the back kitchen and took out her treasured possession: the limited amount of black tea given to her by the old man Fujimura Raiga.
She immediately brewed a pot and brought it out.
"This is a special treat, would you all like to try some?"