"pfough."

I feel as I've had the wind knocked out of me. What just happened?

"Yo, Beyes, you good?" S says, concerned.

"Uh y-yeah. Think I just nodded off for a moment." I respond, coughing a few times. Strangely, I feel disappointed about shuffleboard. Why? I've never even played it... how do you even play shuffleboard, anyways? I think there's... a rock. And some slippery stuff. 

"Man, training must have drained you more than I thought."

"Yeah, same." Man, I knew I was out of it, but... whew...

After a few moments, the innkeeper lady walks up to our table with menus. "You two are looking as fresh as ever!" She said as she handed the menus to us. Oh, yeah, with my face the way that it is, it's difficult to tell when I'm tired. "So, what'll it be?" 

I look over the menu. Yep, still illiterate. Hm... what to choose. On one hand, I'm almost too tired to think, and just want to pick the fastest option so I can retire to bed, but, on the other, I really want something sweet. Alright, it's time for my second wind.

With a new burst of energy, I begin to solve the simple logic puzzle before me. Ok, this is a large city, mostly business and residential stuff, little in the way of agriculture, so I doubt this place has cheaper, local ingredients or anything like that, meaning they must get them brought in from elsewhere. This means that the cost of ingredients could play just as much of a role into the price as the ease of preparation, so I can't necessarily just pick whatever is the cheapest in any category, as it's possible that the fastest one has more expensive ingredients, and is thus more expensive. 

Wait a minute, this is entirely pointless, because I can't read, meaning the trail goes cold here. I might be able to determine the fastest dish from this list if I knew what everything was, but, alas, I don't, and if I asked, we'd be here all night. Alright, so, in the end, I'll just pick the cheapest option anyways, as that'll be easier on my wallet. 

That being said, this isn't over. Now I need to decide if I want to just eat desert, or try to locate some sort of sweet meal. Well, then we have to consider if a sweet meal exists on this menu. Okay, what is this place most similar to in terms of restaurants I'm familiar with... it seems like it'd be close to casual dining. 

Alright, sweet casual dining meals... crap, all I can think of is the dressing on salads, but that's not exactly what I'm looking for... Hmm... Restaurant bread can be pretty sweet, I guess? No, that wont work either. Okay, desert it is. Wait, is it even wise to have desert as a meal? I mean, I used to do that all the time in my previous world, but... the stakes are a little higher here. Especially considering the unknown entity that is tomorrow... 

Alright, now that I've thought everything through, I've firming concluded that this was a complete waste of time. Wonderful.

Immediately, I am thrust back into a state of incredible tiredness. I yawn as I look over the menu, and struggle to keep my eyes open. 

"I'll have this again." I say, pointing to the noodle dish I got the first time S brought me here. "A-and a milk, please." I add, remembering what happened the first time S brought me here. Man, that reminds me, sometime I gotta ask someone about cola, or any soda for that matter. Why haven't I done that yet? 

"Alright!.. And for you, S?" The innkeeper lady asked after noting my order.

"Grilled lizard, please!" He says. He orders that almost every time. "And water."

"Alright! I'll be right back with those!" The innkeeper lady says as she walks off.

Man, I'm tired... but falling asleep again seems like a bad idea. Guess I'll make conversation to keep myself awake.

"Y'know, I only ever see that lady working here. Does she do everything by herself?" I ask S, partially just for conversations sake, but also out of curiosity. 

"Nah, I've asked her about that before, she says there's another person in the kitchen, who does all the cooking. Not sure who, and she seemed pretty evasive when I questioned her. Ultimately I just gave up and choose to live with mystery." S responds.

"Huh."

"Yeah, it's weird. Maybe they're just shy?" 

"Yeah, maybe."

"That, or it's some other worldly incomprehensible cooking monster or something." S said, chuckling. 

"Heh, yeah, maybe." I also chuckle a bit. 

"Anyways, where do you think we should head tomorrow?" Tomorrow, huh... Man, I probably should tell S about DYN2s message, but... how do I explain that? Plus, there's a chance nothings gonna happen, anyways. Well, there's not much good that'll come out of both of us being worried, right? I dunno...

"Oh yeah, this is our last night here, isn't it... Well, I have no idea what's nearby, honestly." Actually, I don't even know what this town is called. Actually, on top of that, I don't know the names of anyone other than S... I really ought to ask more questions, huh. I'll get around to it, I'm sure.

"Well, this is the biggest town in the area, so no matter what, the next place will be smaller... Ooh, wanna head to the mountains?"

My first thought is 'Ah! Heights! Bad!', but I quickly realize that the town is probably on the base of the mountain, not on it. Duh. "Yeah, that sounds good." Wait, crap, we'll probably have to go up the mountain a ways for a job or something. Crap. Actually, that might not be that bad a trip. There's something I'm curious about...

While I'm thinking about this, our food arrives.

"Here you are!" The innlady says, handing us our meals. 

"Thanks." I say out of habit.

"Thanks!" S also says.

The noodle thing is the same as I remember. Man, that green color is rather jarring. And it's still... yep, it's spicy. Ow. I take a swig of the milk. Man, that's spicy. Still, it tastes good. And, there's absolutely no chance I'm gonna fall asleep at the table while eating this, which is certainly a good thing. 

S eats his meal in a gruesome manner, as per usual. It kind of reminds me of a dog... or, more accurately, a starved lion. It's a little scary, to be honest. 

Man, I've been agonizing over this all day, but I cant help but wonder what tomorrow is gonna be. A monster? A villainous magic user? Serial killers? Did I piss of the mob again? Actually, is it necessarily even going to be a bad thing? Maybe I, I dunno, win the lottery or something. Heck, it's possible that nothing's gonna happen at all. They're all just as likely, the way I see it.

Well, whatever it is, I'll be ready. I think. One day of serious training isn't really enough to instill complete confidence within me, but somehow I feel like we'll make it through this just fine. 

I hope that, by the end of this, I feel stupid for worrying. 

Because the alternative is... Well...

After S and I finish up our meals and pay and all that jazz, we say our goodnights, and head to bed. Despite how tired I am, I find it incredibly difficult to fall asleep. I think I lay there for hours, staring. Planning. Waiting. Thinking.

Well, here goes, I guess.