Kotori entered the restaurant that Fawks was going to meet Bellmont at. It was a quiet place with soft low ambient lighting with the soft murmur of the high-class establishment.

The waiters all wore clean and press clothing and the patrons seemed to all be wealthy merchants. It was a restaurant that was unlike the one at Fawk’s inn. It was a place where Kotori could almost smell the money reeking from the people inside.

She made her way to a table where a man who met the description of Bellmont that Fawks gave her sat.

Bellmont was a slim person in contrast to Gerard. His face had thin bony quality and his green eyes were angled in a way that made them look like they were giving a sharp glare. He had a simple bowl cut that almost made Kotori laugh when she saw him.

[Mushroom head!]

“Hello?” He said obviously confused as Kotori took a seat next to him and started looking at the menu. It seemed like he recognized Kotori which meant that Gerard must’ve told him about her.

Kotori ignore Bellmont and continued to look at the menu. Fawks told her this would be on his tab so she was ready to eat her fill.

[Big mistake!] She thought, grinning while looking at the wide assortment of food the restaurant offered.

[Oooh this, fish pie sounds good, and this surf and turf]

“Hello?” Bellmont said this time more forcefully

Kotori gave him an annoyed look he had interrupted her while she was looking at the menu.

“Howdy,” She said

“Fawks sent me, he got too busy today and told me to let you know, he felt bad about missing out so he told me that this lunch is on him” She explained.

“Did he now?” Bellmont said raising his eyebrows in suspicion

Bellmont flagged over a waiter

“Would you like anything, sir?” The waiter said

“I will have the Caprese salad, go light on the dressing please” Bellmont ordered

“Very well, and for the lady”

[Oh no!] since Bellmont had disrupted her she hadn’t finished figuring out what she wanted to order

“Oh umm, I’ll have the Caprese salad, the fish pie, an uhh, the roast fish, and the surf and turf, and of course the cream soup…” Kotori started just listing off everything she wanted from the menu

Bellmont’s already upturned eyebrows raised even further once he heard all the items that Kotori was ordering.

“You have quite an appetite I see” He commented

“Well, I’m hungry,” Kotori said

In truth, Madame Dupont had taught her that ladies should eat very little in the presence of others. It was considered immodest. Although Kotori greatly respected the etiquette lessons that Madame Dupont gave, this was the one lesson she ignored.

Kotori was going to eat as much as she wanted whether Madame Dupont approved it or not.

Bellmont was giving Kotori a stare. She could tell he was surprised but trying to hide it. Bellmont was a surprisingly serious person in

[Oh right, can’t forget why I’m here]

Kotori started to activate [Charm] She had gotten a little better at it now and it was no longer a skill that was an all-or-nothing skill. She could adjust the strength of the effect.

From the perspective of Bellmont, she probably looked like a charming young girl.

Bellmont seemed to not react.

[Hmm, Maybe I didn’t make it strong enough?] Kotor thought until she saw several of the other patrons who had ignored her earlier were starting to sneak glances at her.

She looked back at the Bellmont who still hadn’t change facial expressions

[Is he gay? Wait no, [Charm] would work regardless.] Kotori thought. Since the charm would work on women as well, it didn’t matter what the persons’ sexual orientation was. She was beginning to realize that this Bellmont was going to be a tough nut to crack.

She increased the level of her Charm and now several patrons in the restaurant were staring at her with love-struck looks.

She looked back at Bellmont and now a thin line of sweat fell down his face. He gracefully dabbed it away with a handkerchief.

“Do you mind me joining you for lunch?” Kotori said looking into Bellmont’s eyes

He looked away his face slightly reddening.

“Not in particular,” He said

[So he’s a bit of tsun?] Kotori thought. Bellmont was quite good at hiding his emotions.

They sat for a while chatting about random things. Bellmont seemed to loosen up the longer he was with her and he became looser when talking about business. It was nothing that was particularly important, but Kotori learned several important tidbits about the kinds of business the Atleans did.

Soon the food arrived. The waiter first brought out Bellmont’s salad which he picked at like a bird. The way Bellmont ate food was almost robotic as if eating was a chore rather than something to be enjoyed.

The waiter soon started bringing Kotori’s food out. He had to take several trips on account of Kotori ordering so much to begin with. Soon enough the table was out of space, and the waiter pushed another empty table to have enough table space for Kotori’s food.

The other restaurant patrons were now staring at the huge amount of food instead of Kotori. Kotori, herself was licking her lips

[Food!]

Kitsura

I was a little hungry writing this chapter.