Stepping out on the other side of the portal, Glenda and Uriel arrived at a suburban-like city location underneath a darkened night sky. In front of them, Uriel could see what appeared to be some sort of glass pyramid structure, like a smaller version of Louvre Pyramid.

“Is that the Louvre Pyramid? Are we in Paris?” Uriel asked as they walked towards that glass pyramid structure.

“Not exactly, though we are in France,” Glenda replied with a smile. “Narbonne, specifically. It’s a 4-hour train ride from Paris. Here lies what is considered by many to be one of the best buffets in the world…Les Grands Buffets.”

“Woah…” Uriel uttered, gazing upon the structure of the pyramid as he approached closer before finally stepping inside it. Once inside the glass structure, he realized that it wasn’t the true entrance to the restaurant, as the pyramid merely acted as a buffer between the outside and the actual entrance—a buffer of which was still fairly aesthetically pleasing to look at, decorated with flowery shrubs and potted plants of various kinds. Inside, he could also see a line of people waiting to enter the interior of the restaurant, a testament to this restaurant’s immense popularity. “A buffet, huh? Do you have a ‘reputation’ here as well?”

“Well, kinda. Though I hadn’t made as much of an impression here as I did with the other buffets,” Glenda explained. “With fancy, decadent places like this, I tend to take my time to enjoy the taste of the food rather than just scoff it all down like a hungry animal. It really depends on the mood I’m in…and the company I keep.” She then ended with a wink towards Uriel, which caused him to blush a little.

Once inside the restaurant, Uriel was greeted with an even more magnificent sight. The interior was decorated with an opulent design of wooden and brass furnishings. The lighting provided just the right amount of brightness to create an atmosphere of elegance and class. Throughout the restaurant, there was food of pretty much every conceivable kind as far as the eye can see. Even from just a glance, Uriel was already captivated by the inherent magic of this place.

Right as they approached the greeting station to be served, the server saw Glenda and seemed to have immediately recognized her, reacting with a surprised and anxious expression.

“Sacré Bleu! Glendzilla!” the server exclaimed. 

Oh, no, not this again, Uriel thought with an uneasy expression. This felt like déjà vu already.

“Bonjour to you too, Monsieur,” Glenda said to the server with a giggle. “Relax, I’m not here to cause any trouble, at least not much. I’m just here to enjoy myself on a date while only eating a normal amount of food here.” She then curled her hands around Uriel’s arm and presented him towards the server with a jovial smile. “See, I’ve even brought my date with me.”

“Uhh…hi,” Uriel waved at the server with a nervous chuckle.

“My God, I cannot believe you have the audacity to come back here after what happened last time,” the server said, his accent extremely French. Uriel didn’t know for certain what he meant by ‘last time’, but, judging from what he knew about Glenda, it probably involved her eating way too much food, to the point of almost cleaning out the entire buffet. That’s ‘Buffet Destroyer Glenda’ for you. “Fine, then! But I’ll be watching you. If you so much as eat more than three times the amount of food a normal person consumes, you are out of here!”

“I’ll be sure to be on my best behavior,” Glenda said with a bow. 

The server sighed, withholding his trepidation. “Very well, then. This way, Monsieur, Mademoiselle.”

And with that, the server guided Glenda and Uriel to a table, one that’s lit with candlelight and set up with an assortment of wine glasses and silverware. The entire place was so immensely large that the server even had to provide them with a map just so they could navigate through it. Once they sat down, the server asked them what type of wine they like to have, to which Glenda responded with an aura of confidence.

“What kind of wine would you like to have, Mademoiselle?” the server asked.

“Hmm…I’ll have the Moët & Chandon champagne, merci,” Glenda said, her French surprisingly good.

“Magnifique. I’ll be right with you with your order.”

After the server left, Glenda glanced at Uriel and could tell that he felt a bit agitated.

“What’s wrong? You seem a bit uncomfortable,” Glenda said with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, can you blame me?” Uriel replied as he looked around his surroundings—surroundings that were decorated with exquisite paintings and luxurious chandeliers. “I’ve never eaten at such a fancy place before. I’m totally out of my element here. I mean, what if I do something embarrassing? What if I use the wrong spoon or something?” As he said that, he picked up one of the many fancy spoons on the table—looking at it with such fascination, it’s as though it was some sort of alien artifact. Was this spoon used for soup or dessert? He just had to know!

Glenda let out a laugh. “Oh, is that what you’re worried about? Don’t be. Despite how it may look, this place is actually pretty casual. Many of the people who eat here don’t even follow proper fine-dining etiquette anyway. Just relax and enjoy yourself.”

“Well, if you say so,” Uriel said with a blush. 

Indeed, he did see many of the customers around here wearing casual clothing, as though they were going to a McDonalds instead of a fine-dining restaurant, which seemed like a complete mismatch with the place. Here, fine-dining etiquette seemed more like a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule. However, even with Glenda’s reassurance, he still couldn’t wrap his head around this place. Deep down, there’s a subconscious part of his mind that told him he needed to at least be a millionaire to even deserve to sit at this table.

“Come,” Glenda said, grabbing Uriel by the arm and pulling him up from his chair. “Let me show you a culinary experience like you’ve never seen before.”

---

And so, they wandered throughout the buffet, checking out all sorts of food it had to offer. The diverse selection of food available was simply mind-boggling—going from regular meats like beef, lamb, and pork to seafood like lobster and crab, from hundred different types of cheese to hundred different types of chocolate, from caviar to foie gras to crème brûlée, and everything in between. This was a food lover’s paradise. One could practically wander here for hours and still not be able to try out all the food it had available. 

In addition to the food, there was also spectacle to be had while exploring, like seeing a towering mountain of lobsters or an entire cabinet of cheeses or a whole roasted duck held on a flaming spit. The presentation of the whole buffet was just as immaculate as the food itself, if not more so.

Furthermore, accompanying almost every food was some sort of paper tag, detailing the name of the food, its place of origin, and various other information. It’s as though they’ve anticipated that regular customers were going to be confused about the types of food they were eating and so offered these paper tags as a way to inform them. While the paper tag thing seemed a bit extra, it was a nice touch nonetheless and certainly added an interesting flair to the whole experience. 

After getting their own customized plates of food, they returned to their table to eat. And when they finished, they went back to the buffet to get more food. Rinse and repeat. As Uriel experienced more types of food from the buffet, the more comfortable and relaxed he became—to the point where he’s cheering and laughing along with Glenda as they enjoyed their food together. 

After a while of sampling the different types of food, they started playing a game in which they challenge each other into combining the different types of food from the buffet in order to create the most delicious bite of food possible. Whoever’s food combination was tastier wins the game. 

“Alright, here’s my version of a surf-and-turf,” Glenda demonstrated as she assembled her bite of food. “First, you start off with a piece of lobster, place an oyster on top of it, then place a piece of steak on top of that, then wrap it all up with a thin slice of cured ham. And if you want to be extra fancy, just add a smidge of caviar.” After putting it all together, she shoved that bite of food in her mouth and chewed it slowly, relishing its flavor to the fullest before swallowing. “Mmm…delicious. I call it…the Land-and-Sea Orgy Bite.”

“Woah…that sounds insanely delicious. But I bet I can do better,” Uriel said as he started constructing his own culinary combination to challenge Glenda’s. “I take one piece of bread, put a piece of saucy duck meat on top of it, put a piece of foie gras on top of that, add another piece of duck meat, and then another piece of bread. Boom! Duck sandwich! Then, I dip the entire thing in duck blood sauce.” After dipping his impromptu sandwich in the sauce, he took a massive bite out of it and chewed, savoring its flavor. “Mmm…even more delicious. I call it…the Motherducking Double Ducker.”

“Wow…that sounds so yummy,” Glenda commented, her mouth already watering. “But, I bet mine is tastier.”

“Nuh-uh. Mine is obviously tastier than yours,” Uriel retorted.

“Oh, you’re that confident, are you?” Glenda said with a smug grin.

“Oh, heck yeah, I am,” Uriel said, grinning with equal smugness.

“Well, why don’t we try out each other’s creation to see who comes out on top?”

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

And so, they both fed their food creations to the other at the exact same time, their bites of food going from each of their hands straight to the other one’s mouth—an action that’s typically seen being done by loving couples. 

“Mmm…so good!” they both said in unison upon eating each other’s food creations.

“But, what if—” Glenda said.

“—we combine them together?” Uriel followed.

“My thoughts exactly.” 

And so, they combined their individual food creations together to form an even greater food creation, sort of like the Voltron of food creations. (Or the Katamari of food creations? Whichever reference works best for you.) Afterwards, they split the resulting creation and shoved it into each other’s mouths, devouring it with reckless abandon.

“Mmm…so good!” they both said in unison as they chewed on the food deliciously.

Due to all the playing around with their food, both their mouths and hands were now sullied with bits of food, resulting in them looking like a complete mess. The server came by, saw the mess they’d made, and reacted with utter disgust.

“Sacré Bleu! You two eat like animals!” the server exclaimed.

“Correction,” Uriel pointed out. “We eat like animals…who are in love.”

“Aww, my sweet little angel,” Glenda cooed. “Come here.”

Uriel and Glenda proceeded to make out right then and there, in front of the server and all the customers nearby. As they sloppily kissed each other, they could taste the residual flavors of the food they’ve eaten from each other’s mouths, intermingled with their saliva.

The server saw the two of them making out in such carefree manner and couldn’t help but feel just a little bit grossed out by it, even if it was a strangely sweet moment.

---

After having dinner, Glenda and Uriel traveled to another location using a portal—this time in Paris. The two of them held hands as they leisurely strolled around the city, the view of the Eiffel Tower—illuminating in all its brilliance in the darkened night sky—not far from their sight. 

As they walked, they came across boats swimming through rivers, musicians performing on the streets, and people generally milling about. Everywhere they went, there was an innately romantic ambience to the area, one that soothed their hearts with a peaceful sense of comfort and contentment. If they could walk like this forever, they most certainly would.

After a while of walking, they soon came across a lone street musician playing an accordion on one of the cobblestone sidewalks—at an area that seemed not as crowded as the others. Uriel saw the musician playing his instrument and came up with an idea. 

“Hello, mister,” Uriel said to the musician in fluent French, handing him a stack of bills. “Would you like to play a song for me?”

“Oh, thank you, mister,” the musician said, accepting the stack of bills. “What would you like me to play?”

“Hmm…something romantic,” Uriel said, turning to Glenda with a smile. “Something that’s fun to dance to.”

“Alright, then. I shall play as you asked.”

And so, the musician played the accordion with a lovely tune, a sort of romantic music that’s especially suitable for dancing between two lovers. Once the music started playing, Uriel offered his hand to Glenda in an elegant manner, as if he’s courting a lady in a fancy ball.

“Would you accept this dance, milady?” Uriel asked with a charming smile.

Glenda reacted with a delightful giggle before graciously taking his hand. “Why, of course, milord.”

With that, the two held each other close as they danced, their movements following the rhythmic symphony of the music. Round and round they danced, graceful in each flourish, light-footed in each twirl, joyous in each laugh. Though they may not be well-versed with the proper technique, they danced with their hearts, danced as a way to express their love towards another, danced as though not even eternity itself could tear them apart. 

They danced…as though they were meant for each other, as though nothing else mattered as long as they were together.

Once the dance had ended, they held each other close and kissed with all their heart, wishing for this moment to never end.