I was greeted by an imposing, grand hotel that exuded an intimidating aura from the outside.
Since Sera had made the reservation on her own, I hadn't had a chance to object, but my jaw dropped when I realized just how expensive this place must be.
"W-wait a moment..."
While I was still speechless, a flustered Karen stopped Sera and Aria as they were about to head in. They paused, and both turned their attention to Karen.
Karen stammered, not knowing what to say first, opening and closing her mouth before finally forcing out the words.
"Isn't this place way too expensive?!"
"Well, we're bringing Urr along, so it should be worth the price."
After Sera, who had made the reservation, said this, Aria nodded in agreement.
"The Professor let us go even though it's technically not allowed. So we should treat Urr well so the Professor will be satisfied too."
"Ugh, even I feel uncomfortable with somewhere this expensive..."
"It's fine."
Aria continued nonchalantly.
"We need to show the Professor that we treated her well so we can bring her out again later. If the Professor finds out we took her to some shabby motel after taking the risk to let her go, they won't want to take that risk again."
I felt mesmerized by Aria's persuasive speech.
When she put it that way, Sera and Aria's reasoning did make sense.
It was true that the Professor had turned a blind eye and let me go even though it wasn't allowed. Considering that the Professor gave in to my request, I thought that if we made a good impression this time, maybe there would be another opportunity in the future.
Of course, I couldn't do it on my own. But what if the others helped like this?
"...You're right."
Karen was convinced as well.
There was no one left to object. We hurried inside, especially since we'd already bought ice cream.
"Wow!"
I couldn't help but exclaim as soon as we entered our room.
A spacious area with a table for four welcomed us first. And seeing the two large beds, I realized this was definitely proper accommodation.
When they suggested getting a room to hang out, I had imagined an empty space with just floor mats, and now I felt foolish for having such a simple expectation.
My mouth hung open. While I was captivated by the clean, sophisticated space with pristine white tiles, Sera and Aria had already gone to the table and started unpacking.
They took out the snacks we bought and put the ice cream in the freezer.
They separated the items that needed to be heated and placed them next to the microwave, contemplating for a while.
"What should we eat first?"
I tilted my head. Everything looked delicious, and I wasn't sure what to choose first to make the most of our meal.
Sera thought for a moment, then laid out the chicken items that Aria had selected without hesitation earlier.
"Let's start with these. They don't taste good when they're cold."
"Great!"
"Sounds good."
I pulled out a chair with a scraping sound. After pulling out chairs for everyone else, I plopped down in the last one. Aria chuckled and took the seat next to me.
"Urr, do you like chicken?"
"I do."
"So you like this kind of thing. I can buy it for you anytime if you come to the Garden."
I was startled by Aria's comment, which sounded like "I'll give you candy if you come with me, little girl."
I opened my eyes wide and leaned back slightly, when a voice like a saving grace cut through the atmosphere.
"I heard they use air fryers in the Garden."
"Well... air fryers are decent too."
"Not as good as deep frying."
"But what can we do? Raw olive oil catches fire easily, so it's difficult to use."
Aria tried to counter, but her excuse sounded weak.
By the way, raw olive oil? I wondered just how eco-friendly their living space was. Wait, if they had air fryers, wasn't that already a contradiction?
Despite being called an Elf's Garden or whatever, wasn't it just a countryside place with electricity and running water?
While I was seriously pondering this with a "hmm," I looked at the fried foods laid out before me.
With everything spread out, I was again unsure what to eat first. As I was seriously contemplating while rubbing my chin, Karen sat across from me and started watching cautiously.
It seemed like Karen wasn't deciding what to eat, but rather checking if it was okay for her to eat at all.
"Karen, do you want this? It's a chicken leg."
"Oh, yes. Thank you. I'll enjoy it."
Karen smiled and accepted the chicken leg from me. Seeing this, Sera, who was watching from the side, offered me something.
"Urr, would you like this?"
"Yes."
What Sera handed me was a cheese hot dog. It was interesting because there was no ham, just cheese, so I wanted to try it.
I took a bite, chewing only the batter with my teeth while stretching the cheese. The sight of cheese stretching from my mouth to the hot dog was somehow amusing.
"Mmmmm, mmmmm!"
I raised my left hand, which was free from the hot dog. I pointed at the stretched cheese, wanting everyone to see, and they all focused their attention on it.
Perhaps because of my small body, my arm length was limited, so I couldn't stretch it further, but I felt like I could if I really tried. After making strained noises, I gave up on stretching it more and started eating the cheese.
As I held the hot dog with both hands and stuffed the cheese into my mouth, Sera smiled.
"So Urr likes cheese. Earlier, your eyes lit up at the corn cheese that Karen found."
"Urr, in the Elf's Garden..."
"That's enough."
Sera sighed, cutting off Aria's words.
Karen, holding the chicken leg she received from me, looked nervously at Sera and Aria.
"Aren't you seniors going to eat?"
"Oh, we should. Here, take one and stop talking."
When Sera held out a chicken skewer, Aria looked at Sera's hand with a "hmm."
As if she didn't like that option, Aria averted her gaze and picked up a cheese stick that was placed in front of me.
"I'll have this. Urr, how about this? It's also a cheese stick."
"...I'll eat this first."
I already had one cheek full of cheese.
I had stuffed so much in that my cheek probably bulged out noticeably. After chewing diligently, moving my jaw repeatedly, I was finally able to swallow it all.
While I was busy checking everything and deciding what to eat next, Sera, who had immediately found the refrigerator when we entered, brought something out.
With a thud, she placed regular soft drinks and cans of beer on the table.
"Are we drinking already?"
Aria seemed surprised that Sera was ready to open alcohol so soon after arriving. Sera shrugged, apparently thinking that with our limited time, we shouldn't hold back.
"We have to leave in four hours anyway. Better to drink quickly, then rest for an hour or two before leaving, right?"
"That makes sense. Karen, do you know how to drink?"
After hearing Sera's words and nodding in agreement, Aria casually asked Karen.
"Oh, no. I've never tried it before..."
As Karen raised both hands in denial, Aria's shoulders drooped in disappointment.
Sera, who was watching quietly next to Karen, smiled and patted her.
"It's okay. Drink if you want to, and if not, there are soft drinks here. We have cola and juice too."
"Oh, thank you. I'd like to try a little beer."
"Really? That's good. How about this one? The alcohol content isn't high, so it should be manageable."
"Thank you."
Karen first poured juice into a paper cup. Then she carefully placed the can of beer Sera gave her in front of herself.
"Give me that one."
"You know the good stuff. I bought four of these, expecting that."
Sera handed over a green can. When I think of green, soju comes to mind first, but maybe that was just my bias.
My gaze was fixed on Aria and Sera as they each placed their drinks in front of them. While I was staring blankly, Sera must have noticed my gaze and offered me one too.
"Want one too, Urr? I'll give you a mild one like Karen's."
"Oh! I like it too."
I nodded. I think I used to drink beer quite often, and since this body is a Demon God's body, it should be fine! With that thought, I stretched out my arm.
It was extremely cold, as if they had put it in the freezer as soon as we arrived, not just the refrigerator.
I pulled my beer in front of me and swung my legs while waiting for the others to open their cans. My whole body swayed side to side. As I hummed while waiting, Sera handed me a juice.
"Thank you."
"I think I might be weak with alcohol..."
Karen smiled bitterly as she handed me juice.
Since Sera and Aria had said they didn't need juice, it seemed like Karen needed a juice companion to drink with her.
Since I wasn't sure how I'd handle alcohol either, I nodded and accepted. Juice buddies, nice.
I took a sip of orange juice right away. Maybe because I had eaten cheese earlier, I had a slight regret that I should have had cola instead of orange juice.
Just as I was furrowing my brow, Sera opened her beer with a hiss.
"A toast to our future Study Group...!"
Ooh.
"Aria will give it!"
"Hey, Sera."
I admired Sera's skillful maneuver of creating the situation and then quickly passing it off to someone else.